May 8, 2006 8:55 PM PDT
Sony unveils PS3 pricing, release dates
Last modified: May 9, 2006 12:14 PM PDT
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The PS3 will come in two configurations: one version with a 60GB hard drive that will
Those prices are significantly higher than Microsoft's Xbox 360, which has two versions, one with a 20GB hard drive that
The announcement came on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)--an annual gaming industry trade show taking place in Los Angeles this week.
In an interview with CNET News.com on Friday, SCE Executive Vice President and co-Chief Operating Officer Jack Tretton said, effectively, that the company believes consumers will pay whatever the next-generation console costs.
"People are going to perceive enough value" with the PS3, Tretton said, "that they're not going to consider the price to be a barrier to entry."
The PS3 is certainly a big technological leap over its best-selling PlayStation 2, which Sony said Monday had recently topped 103 million units sold.
The PS3, which is based on the Cell processor, will play CDs, DVDs and include a Blu-ray drive. It also includes built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as Ethernet compatibility. Further, it includes Dolby digital surround sound functionality and supports high-definition video up to 1080p.
The console also can run up to seven wireless controllers at once, and all PS3s will come with a built-in hard drive, either 60GB or 20GB.
Finally, it supports USB, Sony Memory Sticks, Secure Digital (SD) and CompactFlash.
In addition to announcing pricing, Sony also said the PS3 will hit store shelves in North America on Nov. 17, six days after its Japanese launch on Nov. 11.
Hirai noted that Sony is committed to shipping 4 million PS3s by Dec. 31 and another 2 million by March 31, 2007. That means--if customers are not put off by the console's high price--Sony could be in position to avoid the criticism Microsoft took for not being able to meet initial customer demand for the Xbox 360.
Meanwhile, Sony also showed off for the first time the PS3's controller--which looks much like that of the PS2, though it is silver rather than black.
How it differs substantially is that it includes technology that ties character movement on screen to that of players' hands. That is, as players move their hands around, the controller automatically senses the movement and translates it to character movement on screen.
for massive industry blowout.
That is a significant innovation that the Xbox 360 does not have. Nintendo, by contrast, has long said that the controller for its own
Tuesday morning, Nintendo hosts its own gala press conference in Hollywood. Microsoft's press conference follows immediately afterward, also in Hollywood.
It is expected that, among other things, Microsoft will formally announce development of "Halo 3," the follow-up to its best-selling "Halo 2." It is also thought that Microsoft will
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technology that ties character movement on screen to that of
players' hands. That is, as players move their hands around, the
controller automatically senses the movement and translates it
to character movement on screen.
That is a significant innovation that the Xbox 360 does not have,
and it is not known if Nintendo's own forthcoming next-
generation console, the Wii, will have similar functionality."
*****
You are a complete waste of a journalist. The Wii brought about
motion sensing controls into the home console market this past
fall. Sony mearly copied the idea to steal Nintendo's thunder.
Sony has lost all of my respect. And the launch of this
technological beast is going to be plagued with so many bugs, it
will be far worse than the 3% or whatever 360 is.
technology that ties character movement on screen to that of
players' hands. That is, as players move their hands around, the
controller automatically senses the movement and translates it
to character movement on screen.
That is a significant innovation that the Xbox 360 does not have,
and it is not known if Nintendo's own forthcoming next-
generation console, the Wii, will have similar functionality."
*****
You are a complete waste of a journalist. The Wii brought about
motion sensing controls into the home console market this past
fall. Sony mearly copied the idea to steal Nintendo's thunder.
Sony has lost all of my respect. And the launch of this
technological beast is going to be plagued with so many bugs, it
will be far worse than the 3% or whatever 360 is.
Please do not try to justify this with the blu-Ray thing because $30-$40 for a movie and no backwards compatibally with current generation DVDs really shoots that one in the foot.
high-tech toy. Playing cd/dvd's/ are for home systems which
most people have if they can afford a game console.
I know there are some serious gaming nerds with money out
there.
But to the rest. It's just way too much for a stupid machine that
plays kids games. $600.00 to play games and lets not forget
the video games them selves which are going to cost more or
less the same thing. Anybody spending that much money to
play kids games are completely lost in a virtual world of
unreality.
Proberly 20 to 35 years old, living with their parents and doing
nothing with their lives.
Sony knows what their doing.
Later.
Nino Nice.
The real world is much better.
Mr. Terdiman, are you daft?
C|Net, fire this Terd. ...Sorry, couldn't resist.
Mr. Terdiman, are you daft?
C|Net, fire this Terd. ...Sorry, couldn't resist.
I won?t go into if they stole the idea or not from Nintendo. However I do hope that the writer of this article avoids further embarrassment by getting the facts straight next time.
YOU NOOB LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Microsoft can knock the legs from under the PS3 and they have the cash to do it. I can see a couple possible responses: (A) a substantial price cut, something like $30 or $40, or (B) replace the Core System with a new low-cost model that has a harddrive.
People were complaining that the demonstrator looked like he was having a really hard time working it, but reviewers that got hands on time with the controller said it felt very intuitive. The controllers will also be used differently because the Wii controller operates in 3d space, not simply motion. So the PS3 will not be able to be used for sword fights and the such
Most importantly to shut up the "Sony is such a copycat LOL OMG" jerks, Sony started developing the technology for a motion sensing (doesn't look right still) way back in 2003. To say that they coppied Nintendo, which revealed its controller in late 2005 I think (I have a bad memory) is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
No, you're probably right, Sony came up with a whole technology of gyroscopes, built a bunch of working prototypes, and implemented it into an incredibly advanced game in a few weeks in desperation.
Even if they did copy Nintendo, which they didn't, So what? That's what advancement is, taking other people's ideas an improving upon them. And if you're gunna cry about it, don't use it, I won't mind. Would you have rather just had a PS2 controller with nothing different? It seems stupid to complain when all they did was add in a pretty cool feature.
Their announcement that their controller would have motion-sensing technology sparked quite a lot of interest in the gaming community. Personally, I don't think that Sony would have bothered with it if Nintendo had not first "tested the waters" with their announcement.
Sony shouldn't be credited with this innovation.
Sony copied every bit of their controllers from Nintendo.
I watched the press conference. Sony even had the gall to refer to this as an original innovation. Thier faces told a different story though. It's as if they were expecting the crowd to laugh or something.
With such a high price point, underwhelming graphics, and a cheap ripoff of Nintendo ingenuity, I do believe this is the beginning of the end for Sony as the giant of this market.
Hopefully ppl won't buy it on principle alone!
I hate nasty business ppl!
this is corporate favoring and its totally obvious. CNET has just lost a long time user
Title of CNN article:
PlayStation 3 prices: $499 and $599
New gaming system will go on sale in U.S. on Nov. 17 with two hard-drive sizes, mimics Nintendo controller
Sony neve went about $299.99 for a launch, and there's a good
reason for that in the past.
Xbox 360 is struggling, with a high price and Dreamcast-type
games on it (not content, marketing style), people are looking at
it (the common man that Nintendo keeps talking about) and are
saying, "Nope, I don't care." Strangely, they'll come into my
GameStop and buy four or five ten dollar PS2 or GameCube titles
on a whim.
Like in comics, fanboys don't count. The don't make any money.
They are 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of the gaming dollar and
audience. Many of them troll GameSpot, CNET, and other such
websites, to quickly crap on anybody bashing them and their
religion.
Get a life, boys.
$500 or $600 is stupid. There's a war on, and despite reporting
on the economy, it's not so great where I stand. Many people are
either jobless or working jobs that don't really pay too great,
just get the ends to meet.
Besides, look at some terrible failure of consoles that came in at
such a high price: 3DO ($800), Jaguar ($400), Saturn ($400),
LaserActive ($1200), CD-i ($500), Neo-Geo CD ($400), and a
TurboGrafx-1 with the CD ($500+). In Saturn's case, the Sega
fanboys could not save it, no matter what. Mainly because they
didn't shell out the big money.
And who remembers talks about PS2 and Xbox being failures
throughout 2002? I heard it all, especially from gamers and the
common man who came into the GameStop (newly renamed
back them). Even at $300, both consoles didn't sell too well till
the price game down to $200, then took off. During 2002, and
our SKU/UPC scans back us up as a company, we sold mostly
GameCubes and what was left of the Dreamcast. We had to warn
most people that the Dreamcast was cancelled and to not expect
too many games to be released, if any at all. Most people were
like, "What's the difference?"
I posted in another PS3 story Sony needs to get in cheap.
Consoles, traditionally, have always been cheap, $300 being the
make-or-break point. Nobody is saying you need to see a billion
units, and nobody has (59 million total consoles sold spread-out
between Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox and GameCube, not the false
numbers claimed only by the companies).
Good luck to Cocky, I meant, Sony. Thanks for pulling a Saturn
on themselves.
write back. Yes Sony stole the idea of the motion snesitive
controller from the Big N (but frankly who doesn't turn their
controller as you try to get that car round that damn hairpin?).
I digress, all people are whinging about is the price. £410 for
the 60GB and £350 for the 20GB (I'm from the UK OK?). Now
could somebody do be a favour and look at the price of a
Toshiba HD-DVD player just on it's own! I bet it costs something
similar if not more and it only outputs at 1080i. My point is this:
Sony is not just supplying a games console, it is supplying a
multimedia hub for the home. You get a games console, the
most powerful one ever produced, a blu ray DVD player, capable
of 1080p output (games are also capable of this i believe), a free
online service if we are to believe current stories, numerous
connectivity options for additional hardware and hardware types,
and additional items such as wifi, ethernet connections, USB
etc...In short be grateful for what you are getting. Sony didn't
have to do this, they're the worlds leading console manufacturer
with 103 million PS2 consoles sold to date, and they have future
proofed their new box to within an inch of it's life! Don't think
about it short term think long run...you'll never have to buy
another box for under the TV for years to come.
My final point is this at least Sony put everything together for
one big push. They have to if blu ray is to succeed and the price
is largly due to the cost of blu ray technology. Would you have
been any happier if they had done what Microsoft did with the
360 and charge you an additional extortional rate for addon's
that they didn't put into their console in the first place (wi fi
antenna, HD-DVD player?). Quit throwing your controller down
in a hissy fit and look forward to some spectacular tech like
most ppl do
- Maybe I should pass
-
by Dachi
May 9, 2006 3:59 AM PDT
- I was going to get one of these, but the $100 price diff between the 20G version and the 60G version is a bit much considering you can buy 250G drives now for only $90
-
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See all 179 Comments >>The biggest turnoff though was the plug for EA with: "new version of "Madden NFL," "NBA" and "Tiger Woods PGA.""
/please/ tell me for $600 I can do something more interesting than play next years version of the same games that have been out since Sega Genisis?
A lack of original games is the reason I didn't buy an Xbox 360.
PS. The reviewer did short change Nintendo in this review.