Comments on: Sony cuts price on PS3--is it enough?

With the XBox 360's reliability problems, is $400 the magic price point for the PS3--and its built-in Blu-ray player?

[Capt8Track]

Sonys Failures

I am older then probably everyone on this post and those of you "Fan boys" of either console or Company should note the following. The reason Sony FAILED miserably with BETA was because VHS was a free format. Beta was actually the better format. Sony missed the boat on that one! Oh shall we forget their underestimating the MP3 format for over 3 years! And the PS2s online ability is stone age compared to XBOX live. Its worth the fifty bucks a year($4 and change a month. Ooooh I'm broke, I should show you my cell bill.) And not to defend Microsoft their failures are too numerous to mention (Vista, not being on Critical PCs at 08 Olympics - going with XP Pro.) The Zune is the Ipod 4 years ago and Apple went with the Interface on the Iphone...need I say more. Basically to defend either Multi BILLION DOLLAR International corporation over the other is ABSURD! And parents ARE NOT GOING to buy a PS3 because it has a Blue Ray Player. They are going to buy it if it will shut their damn kids up, but NOT at $400 for the console and one controller and a crappy game the kid does not want anyway. Add on a controller and a game now you are probably over $500 maybe closer to $600. The game market will do what every other market will do. Price and Convenience will push it were it will end up. Not Graphics, or processors or anything else. Hell if it were Processing power that was going to determine then PS3 should be winning. And yet they are gathering dust,and 360s aren't exactly flying off of shelves either, but Nintendo Wii's are. You still can' t find that little turd almost anywhere. And I don't even own one! If you are going to spend $400 to $600 on just a console Then all of the other Games, Apparatus, you know what you have a Fricken PC you Jerks. Game consoles should be Cheaper then PCs not more expensive thats why the console market grew in the first place!

[bingbot]

It's not nearly enough !

I am not paying a dollar more than $300 for ANY console.

Ideal max price is $250.

Thanks for the chance to say what I think !

[joemin97]

I own 2 PS3's why?

Well I bought one when it was released, I bought the other when MS released their Elite after I had already purchased my second 360 for party going and MS said they was not coming out with a new model, ticked me off when the next month a new model showed up. But I also purchased the second PS3 for my Bedroom so that I could watch BluRay Movies in that room as well. I remember when Sega came out with the Dreamcast they inlcuded a CDrom drive and PS2 had a DVD drive people complained that Sony was making them buy a DVD player Granted that the Price wasn't as drastically higher than this Gens PS3. But if you consider that a Piece of Audio or Video Equipment normally sells for $500 and the PS3 is a Gaming Machine, BluRay Movie Player, Media Center connection to PC's and Photo Viewer for HD Displays, include Wifi and Bluetooth, its a great buy even at $600. When you consider that yes the Controller didn't have rumble I knew they would add it in the future once a settlement or new tech would allow it just like they did with the original Analog addition to the first controller and the Vibration to the Dualshock. I have to admit that Sony has what maybe 5 Tripple A titles right now for games. they need more. But if you were to do the math and add up the 360 with 4 controllers with MS's rechargeable battery packs and HDDVD add on you will far exceed the $400 $500 on a PS3. PS3 controller at least came with the Rechargeable Battery inside the controller at no extra charge. I own a Wii but have 5 Games only for it Waiting for Mario Galaxy which is the only Wii game looking forward to. Wii's are great for kids and elderly at this point.

[joemin97]

A little more Info

Forgot to mention that my original 360 I had to go through 3 when they all got the 3 Red Rings of Death. One after the other taking 3 months to straighten out, this all happened when Gears of War was released that is when I had to purchase a 2nd 360 just for a Backup just incase.

[kb24sd]

I Dont Get XBOX Fan Boys

Listen for me I havent owned a XBOX or XBOX 360.Here why's.

-Most of Microsoft biggest hit games on both XBOX and XBOX 360 have been shooter games.A lot of the games that they claim are exclusive to XBOX or XBOX 360 usualy end up on PC.Just look at their 2 most beloved and sucessfull franchises Halo and Gears Of War both of them ended up on PC.For me I'd rather play shooter type games on PC rather than on a console.

-Hardware issues on the consoles.It's been well documented about the 3 rings of death and now the HD-DVD drive having problems with playing HD-DVD movies because of cookies on the HD-DVD movies.

-Also price is another big issue.Comparing the XBOX 360 to any of PS3, you would have to buy the most expensive Elite or Limited Halo edition XBOX 360 to get a system that has a HDMI port and built in wifi, and on top of that you have to buy a add on HD-DVD drive for $179 that only play's HD-DVD and normal DVD's.The drive isnt and wont be used by game developers to make XBOX 360 games on the HD-DVD format.

-Also paying $50 bucks a year for XBOX Live online service is a huge turn off for me.

So if you do the math $449 for Elite XBOX 360 and $179 for add on HD-DVD drive comes out to $628 without tax yet.Which is more than what the orginal PS3 60GB version was last year at $600 and is more than the current 80GB & 40GB PS3 systems.

Rumors are already strong about Microsoft plan to counter the 40GB PS3 by coming out with another updated XBOX 360 console.This time with a built in HD-DVD drive.I dont see how a XBOX 360 with built in HD-DVD drive, HDMI port, and built in WiFi can be price at $399 or lower to counter the 40GB PS3.That should make current XBOX 360 owners even more pleased who are on their 2nd or 3rd consoles because of hardware issues or for the early supporters of HD-DVD who bought the add on HD-DVD drive seperately.

[lynstrob]

im in it for the tech.... and sonys got it!

the ps3 is not just a console it is the bleeding edge hands down. i still to this day have not heard of a personal computer that has any where near 8 cores!!! as nvidia stated the gpu is twice as good as there best card for the pc (at the time). you can even run linux on the darn thing. i could go on and on but in my opinion for the price it is a STEAL! a relative system for pc(if it exists yet) would cost in the thousands! but every one over looks the cost of these features blue ray alone just for a drive for pc is half of the ps3 or more. MY HATS OFF TO SONY!!!

[Spacs]

Not really

You're aware that the GPU is basically a little more powerful than two 6800 Ultra's right? And the Mac Pro's already have 8 cores.

Don't get me wrong, the PS3 is an extremely powerful system, but bleeding edge it is not.

And costs in the thousands for a comparable PC? What back-alley dealer have you been going to? o.O

[brandonh33]

Tell all the facts

First of all, the only reason that the mac pro can have 8 cores is because it has 2 quad cores inside it, not as advanced. Also, it operates at a slower speed. And the biggest reason is because the actual price they are charging you for the processor in the mac is around $1900-$2000. That is not the computer, that is just the processor, all alone! If you want you can easily check my info, its valid. Go to customize a mac pro and look at the price for the 8 core upgrade.

[JJH777]

Doesn't matter how much they lower its price.

It doesn't matter how much they lower the price like they said at the end of the article it needs exclusives like mass effect, Halo, Bioshock, Gow, Oblivion with all dlc(does ps3 even have shivering isles yet?), and im sure theres more i cant think of but you get the idea does the ps3 have any good exclusives right now? no. Once it get FF13 ill probable buy one but thats not gonna be for a while so there ****ed until they get exclusives.

[truedorian]

Time to set the record straight...!

Hazyb91,so you have an X-Box 360 Elite,huh? Yet, you also make a comment about the small 10 gig hard drive you have to deal with on your X-box 360, which is fine except for one problem: the X-box 360 Elite comes standardly equipped with a 120 gig hard-drive.
As for you, "lil-yankee", PS3 has never, ever been in anything other than last place regarding overall console sales, with the X-box 360 handily trouncing PS3 in terms of software, superior online play and a superior menu interface. I personally have both systems and find the PS3 to be a sexy piece of hardware, but sadly, I use it primarily as a Blu-Ray player, which it does very well indeed. Somewhat changing the subject, in regards to both machines Hi-Def capabilities, I also own an X-box 360 HD-DVD add-on drive, and I find the picture quality to slightly differ, depending on which of my two televisions I am using (both are Hi-Def CRTs, perfectly calibrated, one being an RCA F3810 38-inch Widescreen, the other a Sony XBR 960 34-inch). Overall, both look excellent, but the Blu-Ray image is oh-so slightly sharper, and I have well over a hundred discs of both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, so I have plenty to compare, regarding film transfers, etc. That being said, if you have a plasma, projection or an LCD television, you will notice virtually no difference in picture quality, no matter the size of your screen. You will notice, however, that HD-DVDs are superior in special features and general menu interface thanks to HD-DVD having a unified specification for their format that Blu-Ray lacks (from Cnet: "all HD DVD players are required to support Ethernet connections, dual video streams (picture-in-picture), Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD soundtrack decoding, and "persistent storage" (onboard flash memory"); the other reason being the studios supporting Blu-Ray have followed Sony's lead with releasing filmson blu-Ray with little or no special features (commonly found on their simultaneously-released standard DVD counterparts) in a effort to bilk fans for as much money as possible with endless re-purchases (I'm talking to you Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox and Sony/MGM). HD-DVD discs, on the other hand, always comes with the same special features found on standard DVDs (and some HD-DVD exclusive content, as well!). For this reason alone, HD-DVD is, for me, the superior format.

Overall, I prefer the X-box 360 (in spite of the hardware failure issue, of which I have been the victim of three times... F.U., Microsoft!), due to its superior software (both it's game library AND its superior HD support... and if you Sony fanboys don't like, TOO BAD!

[commorancy]

Is the price drop enough?

In short, no. The price cut means nothing when there are no enticing must-have PS3 game titles. After all, the PS3 is intended primarily for gaming. The Blu-Ray movies are just a bonus. Sony isn't _trying_ to sell the PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player. The PS3 is targeted at avid gamers. As I said, the problem (no matter the price point of the PS3) is that there are no enticing titles to reel these avid gamers in.

Instead of dropping the price in hopes to get people to buy the PS3, Sony needs to spend more time enticing big game developers to produce exclusive high quality PS3 game titles. I guess Sony still hasn't figured this out yet.

[commorancy]

PS3 price drop unit capabilities

I forgot to mention that not only have they dropped the price, but they've sacrificed PS2 and PS1 compatibility in these new 'cheaper' PS3 units. This means that anyone who purchases one of the cheaper PS3 units can only play PS3 and Blu-Ray titles. No longer can the avid gamer bide their time with PS2 titles until more PS3 titles arrive. So, these newer PS3s are now, more than ever, expensive paperweights once all of the PS3 titles have been played. This is yet another reason why this price cut is not enticing to an avid gamer.

[BrOnXbOmBr21]

Re: PS3 price drop unit capabilities

You're not being 100% accurate. The 40 GB PS3 has no PS2 backward compatibility, but it will still play PS1 games. Weird, huh?

[Maj0rPysch0]

I'm one of those fence sitters

While I'm happy to hear that Sony is lowering their price point, I'm equally disappointed that it comes at the cost of removing backwards compatibility for PS1/PS2 games. My shelves are already crammed with previous systems; I don't need any more competition for space for placement of yet ANOTHER system. Not to mention many PS3 games do not fully support 1080p resolution, but only 720p. I find that HIGHLY ironic since it was Sony themselves that went around touting the "superior quality" of 1080p for their games, yet only a handful are supported. That's not to say future games will not be supported, but you'd think if they made such a big deal in the BEGINNING about that feature that all games straight out of the gate would support it....

And don't even get me started on HD vs. BR. That's a pissing contest I can ill afford to get involved with. So while a lot of people use the argument "It's a great buy for what you get," so what? That doesn't mean jackcrap since, correct me if I'm wrong, if I buy a GAME console system (operative word in there being "GAME") then I'm buying it to play games and not for bells and whistles. A lot of people condemn MS for charging separate for their HD player. And while I'm not an MS fanboy by any means (they've pissed me off many times as well as a company), I do see the logic in offering your consumers a CHOICE rather than forcing on them a technology (BR) they never asked for nor is required to fully enjoy its main function (as a GAMING system). So what if BR discs can hold twice the capacity HD can; that doesn't necessarily mean they'll USE it. A lot of people are naive in that respect.

So to end this diatribe I will say that I am still not persuaded to run out and buy a PS3. When they start beefing up their game library then that will be the time to buy. As for right now it's a waste of money.

[AKIELB]

GIve me a better price on the same unit.........

HEY EVERYONE!!! WERE GIVING YOU A GREAT DEAL!!! Does it do everything that the $100 more one does? ah.......um......... ITS A GREAT DEAL!!!

Shut up! How can you expect me to think this is a good deal when I get get twice the HD space and backward compatibility for only $100 more. I've been waiting to buy a PS3, I'm not a hard core gamer and was planning on making the purchase for the Blu-Ray player. It just seems to me that Sony has a history of always having the best technology, pricing it like its the best then getting out sold by a lesser technology to the point of having to bail on the project.
I'll wait till February when they drop the price again, Sales will go down after x-mas and another price drop will be called for. Also, when GTA 4 comes out on 3/4/08 and the new Gran Tursimo 5 makes it debut, I will NOT be able to stop myself from paying whatever price a PS3 is at that moment. I will not buy some downgraded POS thats barely a discounted price.