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PlayStation (Games) The Almighty Buck

Both Sides of the PS3 Price Cut Rumor 257

So here's the deal: Kotaku has a flier for an upcoming Circuit City deal on the PlayStation 3, putting the price at $499. There's some confusion about whether this is just a sale from Circuit City, or an actual price drop from Sony. Next Generation has Sony saying 'no', indicating that this isn't a sign of an across-the-board price cut. Meanwhile, GameDaily says 'yes', with sources in the retail industry indicating this is the price adjustment we've heard coming for a while now. "As it turns out, a merchandising manager (who wished to remain anonymous) at one of the world's biggest retailers has confirmed to GameDaily BIZ that the price drop is indeed retail-wide and it's scheduled to take place on July 12, although the first wave of ads to promote the PS3's new price won't kick in until Sunday, July 15. Many analysts have speculated that Sony would drop the price on the expensive console this year, and some even predicted that it could happen this summer. It's starting to look like they were right. We're sure to find out much more next week when Sony holds its press conference at E3." Luckily we won't have to wait long to see what's the real story here.
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Both Sides of the PS3 Price Cut Rumor

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  • $499 (Score:3, Insightful)

    by penp ( 1072374 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:02AM (#19767567)
    Still way more than I will pay for bare bones console.

    Sadly, I could probably double the performance of my PC for that price.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by soccerace09 ( 908351 )
      The current price of the 20 Gb PS3 is $499. So if this is a price cut, it would be down $100 to make the 60 Gb $499. While it still may be more than the 360, it's hardly what I would call a "bare bone" console.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Sciros ( 986030 )
        Well... unless you really care about Blu-Ray movies (which IMO are way overpriced), by the time you pick up a game ($60), an extra controller, whatever other accessories (maybe component cables?), and factor in the tax on all this stuff, you end up paying $650 or more. When more must-have PS3-exclusive games come out (or Blu-Ray films become anywhere near a sensible purchase), the PS3 will become an ok purchase, but until then it seems a bit pricey.

        The 360 isn't necessarily that much more bang for the buck
        • Re:$499 (Score:5, Informative)

          by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:29AM (#19768005) Homepage Journal
          Well... unless you really care about Blu-Ray movies (which IMO are way overpriced)

          Not really, unless you mean to say that any money more than the DVD is "overpriced". For most of the new movies I looked at, the Blu-Ray version is $5 more than the DVD version. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs aren't any more expensive than in the first few years of DVD, so I really don't think the pricing is unfair.

          Besides, you can get Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies from Netflix for no extra cost.

          I don't regret the purchase at all.
          • Re:$499 (Score:4, Insightful)

            by Sciros ( 986030 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @12:03PM (#19768605) Journal
            The Netflix thing is a good point, although I tend to buy rather than rent because I'm a big moviegoer. But in terms of price, I tend to see Blu-Ray at $25-$30, with the $25 ones being bad Adam Sandler films or something. I buy DVDs at prices in the $10-$15 range usually. The only pricey ones I sometimes get are anime ones, which I'm always like "grumble grumble" about grabbing off the shelf. And if someone were to tell me that anime DVDs are overpriced, I'd say "ABSOLUTELY!"
            • Are the $10-15 prices for a _new_ DVD release? That's what I mean, which is often about $20. $25-$30 is about what DVDs costed in the early days, and the HD movies I've seen are far better at the same price.

              The anime DVDs are a little expensive the first time around, I really haven't been buying them until they get collected into a set. I don't blame them for their pricing, the average anime DVD probably doesn't get 1% the sales of a DVD of a US theatrical movie.
              • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

                by Sciros ( 986030 )
                It depends... if by "new" you mean "the movie was in theaters just a bit ago" then I can often find a copy for $15 for a limited time at Target. Or perhaps randomly discounted at my local grocery provided I have the "loyalty card" on my keychain at the time (got Seinfeld Season 8 for $25 new that way).

                But "not-so-new" (by which I mean older movies) DVDs are often in the $10-$15 range just about anywhere, and the "not-so-new" Blu-Rays are still like $25.
        • by ookaze ( 227977 )

          Basically as I see it the only current-gen console that is enough *if it's the only one you have* is the 360. The others just don't have enough games to play yet...

          What a load of ...
          Who are you to say someone doesn't have enough game to play on a console ?
          Some people have enough games to play for years on the Wii already. And with the Virtual Console, some have more than they could play in 10 years. So this thing about the 360 only having enough games is nonsense.

        • by ivan256 ( 17499 )
          When they first came out, sure, but now BluRay prices are within a few dollars for the DVD price, and rentals cost the same... If you don't have an HDTV, you'd be nuts to buy a PS3, but if you've got a 1080p set it's totally worth it.

          Incidentally, I've bought the system, and 4 games. I've spent $27 on games. The downloadable game selection has kept me plenty entertained, the games are cheap, and unlike on the Wii, they're actually made for the system (they use all the capabilities). And who needs an extra c
          • by Sciros ( 986030 )
            Well as far as RPGs go, Bioware is still sticking with Xbox so for fans of those games that makes a difference (or, at least, might make up for FFXIII being on PS3...).

            As for platformers, until Wii gets Mario Galaxy I'm not sure it's ahead really... 360 has Kameo and hopefully Rare will show us some Banjo 3 in a bit here (but who knows).

            For racing, 360 is well ahead with not only better games (PGR, Forza) but the pricey-yet-actually-good Racing Wheel.

            Still, I totally agree with your last sentence. I like al
            • by ivan256 ( 17499 )

              Well as far as RPGs go, Bioware is still sticking with Xbox so for fans of those games that makes a difference (or, at least, might make up for FFXIII being on PS3...).

              Yeah, I always forget about Bioware because, personally (yes, I'm in a minority with this), I tend to severely dislike their RPGs; Mainly due to their wretched interfaces. Plus they all come out for the PC too.

              As for platformers, until Wii gets Mario Galaxy I'm not sure it's ahead really... 360 has Kameo and hopefully Rare will show us som

              • by Sciros ( 986030 )
                I'm a "racing fan" for sure :-) (well, fan of a LOT of genres, including fighting games which atm I'd go with Xbox for due to DOA4's exclusivity. I LOVE Smash but it's in its own genre for me)

                Gran Turismo games as far as "racing fans" are concerned are a bit of a joke compared to Forza. The physics model and racing customization just isn't on the same level. They're more popular because they're Sony games for Sony systems. But the MS Racing Wheel is basically the undisputable trump card. "Pure" racers like
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by penp ( 1072374 )
        A console with no games and one controller? It's bare bone. What does a 60 Gb hard drive in my console do for me that a 20 Gb one doesn't? Better yet, what does all that extra space do that having the extra space on my PC wouldn't?

        Last I checked, 60Gb hard drives weren't $100 more than 20Gb hard drives.
      • While it still may be more than the 360, it's hardly what I would call a "bare bone" console.

        How many games come with it? Controllers? Accessories? HDMI cables?

    • Much as I want a PS3 to play MGS4 eventually, I completely agree. I recently spent $150 on a new graphics card for my PC that, while not particularly amazing, allows me to play all the great games I've missed out on over the last few years and some of the games to come in the future (plays Lost Planet decently, hopefully DMC4 and UT3 will work OK). All of the consoles currently available, IMO, are a waste of money for what you're getting (PS3 for the high price alone; 360 for the seemingly rampant hardware
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      Still way more than I will pay for bare bones console.

      Now how about for a console with Blu Ray, DVD, CD, SACD playback, streaming video & audio, H264 video, AAC, MP3, WMA audio, an integrated web browser, wifi, gigabit LAN, bluetooth, USB connectivity, a 60Gb hard disk, HDMI 1.3 output, wirelesss controllers, free online network support, integrated store, web browser, chat & messaging, ability to run Linux and doubtless many other things? AND it is a kickass games console.

  • by Fallen Kell ( 165468 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:04AM (#19767593)
    I really might consider buying at that price, if only for the BluRay. Hell, I paid $1000 for my DVD player!!! I think I can pay $500 for a BluRay player and a console in one.
    • Hell, I paid $1000 for my DVD player!!!


      Really? Want to buy another one? In fact, I think I can get you all the DVD players you want at that price...
    • I really might consider buying at that price, if only for the BluRay. Hell, I paid $1000 for my DVD player!!! I think I can pay $500 for a BluRay player and a console in one.
      But a few years later you could buy a fully-spec'd multi-region DVD player for $50. Plus DVDs are already being phased out in favour of a new technology, making your investment overpriced and shortlived. And yet here you are about to do the same thing all over again. It seems you just don't learn.
      • Plus DVDs are already being phased out in favour of a new technology....

        Er... they are? Which technology is that?

        • ... Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD.

          Is this the part where you tell me that DVDs will be around for ages? I doubt it. Almost all TVs produced now are HD-capable, give it 2 years for the players to go down in price and maybe another year for people to buy them and I'll bet you any money that one or both formats will be outselling DVD.

          The conversion from DVD to HD formats won't be as slow as VHS to DVD was. The fact that there is a format war just means that both parties are pushing harder than ever to get their format
          • by michrech ( 468134 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @12:44PM (#19769289)

            Is this the part where you tell me that DVDs will be around for ages? I doubt it. Almost all TVs produced now are HD-capable, give it 2 years for the players to go down in price and maybe another year for people to buy them and I'll bet you any money that one or both formats will be outselling DVD.
            I'm here to tell you that the 25" CRT I bought about 6 years ago is going along just fine. I'm also here to guarantee you that it will NOT be replaced, no matter how much Blue Ray/HD-DVD players and HDTV's drop in price, until my current TV dies, or the signals being sent to it from Dish Network and my DVD player quit working with it.

            That being said, adding the fact that I am not alone in the US (let alone the rest of the world) in this line of thought, DVD's will, in fact, be around for a while. If they are not, then the movie studios are going to notice a sudden drop in revenue as people such as myself forgo purchasing ANY media and get it via the internet instead (legally or not).
            • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

              by Ant P. ( 974313 )
              My 10-12 year old VCR is still working fine. Strangely the 2 year old DVD player and satellite TV aren't; I can't skip the ads on the DVD player and I can't find anything in 200 channels that isn't an ad...
      • by Achoi77 ( 669484 )
        But a few years later you could buy a fully-spec'd multi-region DVD player for $50. Plus DVDs are already being phased out in favour of a new technology, making your investment overpriced and shortlived. And yet here you are about to do the same thing all over again. It seems you just don't learn.

        Huh?

        Are you saying he should wait a few more years for blu-ray players to lower their costs to around 50 dollars, at a point where BRDVD are going to be phased out in favour of a new technology?

        Would it be deeme

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Achoi77 ( 669484 )

      I bought a ps3 back in January, mostly for Blu-ray. If you get a chance, try and get the Planet Earth documentary - absolutely stunning. I also bought a dvd copy of Planet Earth for my coworker, and while it still looks good - it's true: you really can't go back once you go HD.

      I'm sure the console is nice too :-) In all seriousness, my friends have been coming over, downloading demos like Gran Tourismo and Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and they do indeed look very pretty, I just haven't been interested in playing an

      • You know, on average (at least on BestBuy.com and Amazon.com) HD-DVD players are about $200-500 whereas Blu Ray players are generally in the $400-600 range. Or you can plunk down $1000 and have the dual format player. And Planet Earth is also in HD-DVD. But it's nice your player also could play games if you wanted ;)
      • I bought a ps3 back in January, mostly for Blu-ray. If you get a chance, try and get the Planet Earth documentary - absolutely stunning. I also bought a dvd copy of Planet Earth for my coworker, and while it still looks good - it's true: you really can't go back once you go HD.

        Ok, I must agree with "Planet Earth". I got it as an HD DVD and it is positively stunning. Really the perfect HD Demo DVD... I have a 360 with the HD DVD player, and VGA cables. Though it is not as impressive as 1080 native, the u

  • Nice, but not enough (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ShadowsHawk ( 916454 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:08AM (#19767657)
    I bought a Wii and a DS:Lite on a whim, but $500 is simply too much. I'll consider it when it is around $300.
  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:12AM (#19767713)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by Rayonic ( 462789 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:45AM (#19768289) Homepage Journal

      Then again, Sony will probably just release an ad with a monkey in a diaper

      Interesting. Usually ad execs don't star in their own commercials.
    • by adisakp ( 705706 )
      On the more serious side, a couple weeks ago Best Buy had a promotion where if you bought one of several Sony 1080P TVs (like their nice $2,000 42" LCD) and a couple PS3 games with a PS3, they knocked $600 off the package price, effectively giving you a PS3 for free. If I didn't already have a PS3 and a LCD TV, I would have considered dropping the dough.
  • Wii (Score:5, Funny)

    by Selfbain ( 624722 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:15AM (#19767749)
    Now Nintendo will only be beating them 5 to 1 instead of 6 to 1.
  • Obligatory (Score:3, Funny)

    by coop247 ( 974899 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:20AM (#19767855)
    Figures, I just bought one a week ago. My sacrifice is for the good of the people.
    • Most stores have a price match guarantee. I'm pretty sure Best Buy will refund you the difference if the sale is within a week or two.
  • probably not a sale (Score:5, Informative)

    by SolusSD ( 680489 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @11:24AM (#19767913) Homepage
    I sued to work electronics retail (best buy.. ughh), anyway- there is NO markup on game consoles, places like best buy and circuit city make their money by selling games, services, and accessories for the consoles. I highly doubt circuit city is willing to take a >$100 hit on each ps3.
  • Great Price (Score:2, Insightful)

    It's hard to justify buying an Xbox 360 if Sony does cut their prices. There's so much more you get with the PS3 including HDMI, Blu-Ray drive for movies AND games, built in WiFi, free online forever, soon to be free MMO (Home), and HDMI. Looks like Microsoft may have to cut their own prices to compete.
    • by brunes69 ( 86786 )
      But for $499 (assuming you buy online) you can get an Xbox 360 pro bundle with 4 games, PLUS the HD-DVD add on drive. Makes them quite comparable IMO.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      I'm not sure. I own a PS3. With the latest firmware, the PS3 gives me upscaling DVD and PS2 support as well as H.264 High Profile. I just encoded some video H.264/AAC and it looks and sounds awesome... but that's all I have been doing lately, video experiments. I am certainly using the PS3 as Sony intended since I am taking advantage of all of the PS3's features. However, at hundreds less, I own an Oppo reference deck that blows away most high end video components, including the PS3. Blu-Ray is nice, but at

  • by Paradox ( 13555 ) on Friday July 06, 2007 @12:04PM (#19768613) Homepage Journal
    I know Sony hating has been popular on slashdot, and I like to try and separate this from the PS3. I've got years of good karma banked, so I'm going to spend 5 minutes making a list of what my PS3 does, for its price.

    • Plays PS3 games
    • Plays Blu-Ray discs.
    • Upconverting (1080i) DVD player
    • Cross platform (Win/Mac/Linux) streaming media player (H.264, MPEG2,Many AVI-contained formats)
    • Local media player (variety of flash memory cards and external hard drives)
    • Can browse the internet w/ flash support
    • Can access sonys (admitted lackluster, but definitely there) Online Store.
      • Sonys online store deals in real money, not points (which are only bought in increments which do not divide evenly into common prices).
      • Sonys online store offers PSP content if you have one (more and more people do, they are becoming quite common now)
    • Plays a variety of farily good online content, with feature titles including Calling All Cars and the recent Super Stardust HD.
    • Can play most PS2 games with excellent upscaling (looks great) (nearly all games with non-UK release)
    • Can play most PS1 games (non-UK release) (upconversion to 480p, looks about as good as youd expect from such old tech)
    • Uses standard bluetooth and USB for all peripherals. You can use your existing bluetooth headset.
    • It can run linux. It cannot access the video hardware, but thats boring anyways. The Cell processor is far more exciting.
    • 802.11b/g right out of the box. No external adaptor required.
    • While PS3 failure is not unheard of, the box has an unquestionably better reliability rate than the Xbox 360, its major competitor.


    To get an Xbox 360 that is feature competitive (elite or not), you're going to be paying within $50 of the price of the current PS3. And even then, the Xbox 360 is far less cross-platform friendly, using nonstandard technology for its media streaming and peripherals. And you'll need to spend extra money for a HD-DVD box (if that's your thing). If you're considering buying a traditional game console, the PS3 is very competitive to the XBox 360 (especially so given the troubling reliability issues with the 360, I myself am on my third which refuses to play Gears of War!)

    In comparison to the Wii, I advise you go for the Wii first unless you have a big PS2 game selection, in which case the PS3 will probably be a better value. The Wii and PS3 are both game systems, but the Wii is the interesting bargain product and the PS3 is the luxury product. This is not a representation of Wii dominance, it's a representation of supply/demand economics and how they interact with MSRPs. For many people, the Wii is a lever to get gaming into homes that aren't otherwise receptive to it. That's awesome, it's the tide that raises all the boats, and no one can deny the Wii is an interesting an innovative console. I like it, I waited overnight for mine, I endorse it.

    But right now, the Wii isn't much more atttractive a platform than the PS3, if you get fair about the comparison. It's only got three really great titles (WiiPlay, Zelda and Paper Mario) and a release schedule that's nearly as lackluster as the PS3's. It's got a lot of development difficulty (instead of wrangling the cell, you're designing for a completely new and somewhat alien control system that requires a lot of realtime analysis of multiple data streams).

    I totally understand waiting on buying a PS3. The platform only has a few really great titles right now (Motorstorm and recently the revised Ninja Gaiden Sigma), so it's entirely reasonable to wait. But to say that this $100 price drop doesn't make it competitive is just absurd and it's hater-aide. Don't buy into the anti-hype surrounding the platform.

    Disclosure: I own all 3 consoles, a high def television. I am a supporter of Blu-ray as a recordable data standard. My Wii has stayed quiet since I beat Paper Mario, my Xbox 360 (2rd replacement) has just shown hardware defects and I'm told to send it in again. I do not work or take money from any video game company or Sony. I run both mac and linux boxes in my home, so an open media streaming capability is important to me.
    • >Upconverting (1080i) DVD player

      Huh? My PS3 doesn't do this.
    • I would assume that with a price drop Sony would switch to the EE-less PS3 everywhere, meaning backwards compatiblity takes a hit.
      • Upconverting (1080i) DVD player
      • Cross platform (Win/Mac/Linux) streaming media player (H.264, MPEG2,Many AVI-contained formats)
      • Local media player (variety of flash memory cards and external hard drives)
      • Can browse the internet w/ flash support
      • Plays a variety of farily good online content, with feature titles including Calling All Cars and the recent Super Stardust HD.
      • Uses standard bluetooth and USB for all peripherals. You can use your existing bluetooth headset.
      • It can run linux. It cannot access the video hardware, but thats boring anyways. The Cell processor is far more exciting.
      • 802.11b/g right out of the box. No external adaptor required.

      With the exception of the Cell processor and a different selection of "fairly good online content", I already own something that does all of these things. And unless you're also using your PS3 to post on Slashdot, so do you.

      • by Paradox ( 13555 )

        With the exception of the Cell processor and a different selection of "fairly good online content", I already own something that does all of these things. And unless you're also using your PS3 to post on Slashdot, so do you.

        Well, snarkily I note you left the online store content in there. But...

        Most computers are busy doing other things, and make . If you've got a media PC already hooked up, great for you. Don't get a PS3. I am not trying to tell you that you should buy a PS3. I am just saying that a $500 p

      • by xero314 ( 722674 )

        With the exception of the Cell processor and a different selection of "fairly good online content", I already own something that does all of these things. And unless you're also using your PS3 to post on Slashdot, so do you.

        You are correct that most of us already own a machine capable of doing some of what you listed (posting on slashdot does not require a DVD drive, Memory card reader, bluetooth, usb or wifi), but that many of us don't like to use or computers as entertainment hubs. For someone like be that has no desktop box and uses laptops exclusively having a fixed box entertainment hub is a good thing, and having one that does all of the items you listed is even better. This would also add another fully functional com

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Calculust ( 833735 )
        Yeah, it's called a modded Xbox.
    • To get an Xbox 360 that is feature competitive (elite or not), you're going to be paying within $50 of the price of the current PS3.

      True -- but that only matters if you actually WANT all of the features that the PS3 has. It's not a cogent comparison for those of us that don't care a whit about running Linux or downloading PSP content.

      And you'll need to spend extra money for a [Xbox 360] HD-DVD box (if that's your thing).

      And it it's not your thing, you don't have to pay for it! I can't argue that the PS3's
      • by Paradox ( 13555 )

        If you have a big PS2 game selection, you probably own a PS2 console already. And if you don't, you can buy one for 1/4 the price of a PS3. It's not a very persuasive selling point for the PS3.

        On this I disagree. The up-conversion makes PS2 games bearable on high definition displays. I couldn't finish Valkyrie Profile 2 because it felt like it was sawing my eyes. Once the PS3 started upscaling that, I could play it without distress. Since a lot of new games are coming out for the PS2 still, having a backwar

        • by DdJ ( 10790 )

          The up-conversion makes PS2 games bearable on high definition displays.
          That's a somewhat compelling argument for both of the people I know who have high definition displays. Not so much for me. Not so much for almost every one of my friends.

          If I get a PS3, I will do nothing with it but play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on an ordinary analog NTSC television set. It's just crazy expensive for that, right now. I'll think about it once it drops below $300 or so.
    • When I think about getting a game console, I'm only thinking about games.

      I honestly don't care one flip about all the 'extra' stuff the PS3 can do, and I'd bet most everyone else is the same way. It can run linux? Ok. Then what? My Wii can edit images. I'll never use it.

      Using your argument, they could've included a 3D holographic image generator that would project famous paintings on your wall for an extra $1000, and you shouldn't complain about the price because it's another thing it can do.

      I honestly
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Paradox ( 13555 )

        When I think about getting a game console, I'm only thinking about games.

        I was in the lucky position of buying the PS3 as I was building my home entertainment system. In this capacity, I saved a metric ass-ton of money. The PS3 was so crazily cheap compared to the morass of equipment to provide its functionality that it wasn't even a contest.

        The PS3 is a bad deal right now, and I'm not sure it will recover past the point where it's actually worth it to have it AND my 360. And with no games I'm certainly not

  • Gee, it's so hard to know who to believe here. Major retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Sears who have even printed up fliers to perpetuate this fraud on poor Sony, or the unthinkable... that Sony is lying to us yet again.

    Honestly, Sony, this is just next week. Whatever the minor statute of limitations on being arrogant lying sacks of crap is, it is definitely more than 7 days.
  • But I'm very happy with my Wii. The only other system out that I'd consider buying would be a 360, only because there are few games on it that aren't on any other system. (Dead Rising, etc). Even then unless you have a HDTV it's kinda pointless.

    I wonder if this is being done to get rid of excess inventory. When it came out there was a flood of early adopters and people buying JUST for resale on ebay. Now that it's not the hit it was supposed to be, stores are flooded with excess inventory. Simple economi

  • Okay, a few, actually.

    - The PS3 has a Blu-Ray player, which is going to win the format wars for the following reasons:
    A:The major rental outlets all recently went with it. Buying is silly - but renting for $3-4(same price) is slick - hi-def and you can essentially toss your DVD player.
    B:Larger capacity.
    C:The only somewhat affordable burners for PCs that are available are Blu-Ray. I can buy Blu-Ray blank media at Best Buy and other outlets. Not so with HD-DVD.
    D:Every major studio except for two have gone

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