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PlayStation (Games)

PS3 Price Up In The Air, Demos In 02/2006 75

Posted by Zonk from the it-will-be-expensive dept.
Gamespot is reporting that the price for Sony's next-gen console is still something being worked out. Additionally, we're not going to get the chance to play demos for the system until February of 2006. From the article: "When asked why there were no playable PS3 games at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, as previously promised by SCE president Ken Kutaragi, Saeki revealed that there was a long discussion inside Sony before the show opened. While many executives argued that it would be good for the public to play demos, eventually the decision was made to only show E3-style trailers, as it was the first time the PS3 was being shown publicly in Japan. When asked if there would be any changes to the February PS3 event where playable demos will be on hand, Saeki did not respond directly. However, he did say that SCE is planning something for the event that is sure to be a 'major' surprise. "
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PS3 Price Up In The Air, Demos In 02/2006 More

PS3 Price Up In The Air, Demos In 02/2006

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  • Like a Response (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yeah, probably a surprise in response to the Revolution and the new controller. I honestly don't know what other kind of suprise Sony could have. Both Sony and MS have had all their information out in the open for some time, so for there to be anything completely new coming out would be a real shocker.

    • Re:Like a Response (Score:5, Funny)

      by Skeezix ( 14602 ) <jamin@pubcrawler.org> on Thursday September 29, 2005 @01:40PM (#13677799) Homepage
      I honestly don't know what other kind of suprise Sony could have

      That's why it's called a "surprise."

    • Could be...but only if it uses something the Big N hasn't patented, and I'm sure they've got defensive patents in place.
      • Most of the stuff in the controller is off the shelf parts and there's plenty of prior art. It'd be really hard to have a general patent that would prevent MS and Sony from using a similar idea.
        • The gyros, the most important part of the thing, are patented and Nintendo pretty much bought the company holding those patents.
          • Those particular gyros are patented. Gryo's and 3D motion sensors in general are readily available. One could build a functionally identical device without the patented part.
            • ...except for the part of making it extremely precise, which would take more that throwing in stock pieces. I don't know what's the overall precision of 3D motion sensors, but it surely would take a lot of testing to make them work properly.
              • You can buy sensors that get down to millimeter. I have difficulty believing that more precision would be nessessary. As for testing, you are entirely right. Making the device easy to calibrate, getting the sensitivity just right, and getting the correct filter on the sensor signal are all very challenging parts of development. I in no way meant to imply that this was trivial, just that it could be done without running afoul of a patent.

  • Major surprise (Score:5, Funny)

    by PenguinCandidate ( 819243 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @12:51PM (#13677317)
    A boomerang shaped wireless remote that senses movement of the hand and distance from the console in 3D sapce, entitled the Sonylution.
  • "However, he did say that SCE is planning something for the event that is sure to be a 'major' surprise."

    Its a new controller that looks like a remote control. However, rather than just one remote control, you get TWO! Plus, each one has 7 face buttons and 4 trigger buttons! What innovation!

  • Timing... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by RUFFyamahaRYDER ( 887557 )
    They will release the price right before the 360 is released and I bet it will be cheaper than the 360. They are going to release the spec's of the system at the same time as the price so people will see a cheaper machine with better spec's and they will hopefully (for Sony) get people to wait.

    Either way, games are more important than spec's and I'll be waiting for all three new consoles to come out before I make a decision.

    • Re:Timing... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Turken ( 139591 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @01:13PM (#13677520)
      Somehow, I doubt that the price is going to be any cheaper than the 360. If Sony knows that they can price the PS3 for significantly less than the 360 without losing too much money, they wouldn't be debating the pricing internally, but would rather be trumpeting their lower price publically.

      My gut feeling from all the news bits read here and there is that Sony is really having a hard time even _matching_ the 360's price, hence their hesitation to say anything publically.

      But regardless of the price, I have to agree with you that it's the games that will most influence my decision.
      • Or maybe they're planning on doing the same thing they did when Sega announced the price of the Saturn.

        Both the parent post and the grandparent post are speculating but the grandparent post is speculating a turn of events that Sony has taken in the past.

      • Not to mention the fact we already know that the PS3 costs Sony $100 more to manufacture than the X360 costs Microsoft.

        If the PS3 is the same price, Sony is losing $100 more per unit sold than MS is. The question isn't whether or not the PS3 will be more expensive. The question is HOW much more expensive it will be.

        And with MS's already announced planned price reductions, expect the X360 to cost less than the $399 in costs now when the PS3 launches. So the PS3 won't be just competing against a $399 compe
    • Cheaper than the Xbox 360.

      Ho ho! The hilarity!

      But seriously, I have some land in Florida I'd like to sell...
      • Cheaper than the Xbox 360.
        Ho ho! The hilarity!

        Actually I wouldn't be surprised if it's cheaper than the XBox 360. (I'm also not convinced it *will* be.)
        Now, cheaper than the XBox Three-Shitty [penny-arcade.com] at $299 isn't gonna happen.

        Sony has launched in the US for $299 for both the PS1 and PS2, I suspect they are still weighing the pros and cons of trying to keep to that price point again for the PS3, no matter the cost, vs some other point up to and including $399, I seriously don't think Sony will breach $399,
      • Perhaps you are right. Not being privy to the future as you clearly are, I can only speculate.

        But consider: you are a major company coming out with your next generation console, and know you will be releasing it after your closest competitor. What do you do? One approach would be to continually make noise about how expensive your product will be (without actually revealing any figures) and hope the competition will take the bait. They will hazard a guess as to what your selling point will be, price thei
        • Your comment made me think of another scenario. Sony could not release a price, but make it suggest that it may be expensive but they are doing their best to control the cost.

          If someone is torn between the 360 and the PS3, they may hold off on the 360 to make sure they have enough $$ for the PS3. If Sony can make people think that the difference in value between the 360 and PS3 is more than the difference in cost, people may hold out for the PS3.

        • The inclusion of Blu-Ray alone will drive up the price of the PS3, I think that much can be easily concluded. It's hot technology, it will have it's early run share of malfunctions and poor manufacturing, little support at the beginning until it picks up steam and becomes standard technology in households (which is a HUGE *if* at this point, given the media war gearing up between MS and Sony, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray respectively), and basically just the crux of a company spearheading a new movement that will ha
          • Japanese businesses have always been better at thinking long-term than ours. Yes, Sony is suffering losses right now, but they are in it for the long haul. I don't think selling at a loss is beyond their abilities, and their shareholders tend to be more understanding of short-term losses. It isn't about the next quarter if you're thinking long-term. Even Microsoft (who admittedly has fairly deep pockets) has sold the Xbox at a loss throughout it's life. The question then becomes whether Sony is willing
          • yes, expensive was the word used. but then again, sony has tradition that they dont like to break from easily. if they like a certain price point then they will bend over backwards determining how best to make sure they hit that same sweetspot they found with the consumers. if they can get the technology into the homes this generation too, they will have the budget and finance department working overnight moving money here and there to make sure they can afford to take the hit. its been well publicized that
    • the specs aren't better than the 360.

      the cpu alone isn't the only factor in determining the "specs".

      the graphics solution in the 360 is far superior to the rsx (g70 derived core).

      the companies involved are both shitheads but the hardware overall is approx. equal in terms of processing throughput.

      4x antialiasing will come standard and will be "free" on the 360. and given sony's bad rep with regards to AA, this is yet another hit. sure the rsx can do AA but it'll divert significant resources to add AA to an a
  • I would say that Sony's best bet is to not release any official numbers until after the Xbox360 comes out (but of course keep the rumors of affordable hardware flowing) so that they can keep as many people "on the fence" for the first weeks or so after the Xbox launch. That way they can take as much wind as possible out of 360's sails upon launching. After all, once the prices for both systems are set, it will galvanize many gamers to one side or the other on price alone and Sony needs to keep as many peop

  • up in the air? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by justforaday ( 560408 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @01:05PM (#13677450)
    I take the phrase "up in the air" to be synonymous with "sky high."

  • Does Sony even consider Nintendo as competition? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Turken ( 139591 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @01:05PM (#13677451)
    So far, everyone replying here is interpreting Sony's "surprise" as some sort of response to or knockoff of Nintendo's controller. I thought that Sony and Microsoft had pretty much written off Nintendo as a competitor at this point, especially since the companies have such a different focus on markets and hardware strategies.

    However, the way the original article was written, it implies that the "surprise" is in regard to PS3 demos... such as a fully playable game, or some sort of software development beyond what we're currently expecting for demos.
    • I'd mod you up if I had points. I'm getting a little sick of the stuff I've been hearing about Sony and Microsoft being scared of Nintendo's new controller. Just because it might be great and exciting doesn't mean it's some kind of beacon of justice that will strike down the nightmare creatures that run the two console giants. (Chances of this being the general plot of the new Zelda game?). A "friend" who is a huge Nintendo fanboy has been telling me that he's "heard" that Sony are redesigning the PS3 cont

      • Re:Does Sony even consider Nintendo as competition (Score:4, Interesting)

        by dtfarmer ( 548183 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @02:14PM (#13678131) Homepage
        I'm getting a little sick of the stuff I've been hearing about Sony and Microsoft being scared of Nintendo's new controller.

        Yeah, I don't think it's scary for them, but I think you're missing the point most Ninentdo fans are getting - Nintendo plans to launch this new controller design as a standard pack in. Think about what that means - very much like the original XBox and the hard drive vs Sony and it's hard drive add on. In order for something new to catch on, it usually has to be a standard feature or it fails (dual-shock and N64 mem expansion being the exceptions to the rule, although dual-shock did quickly become a pack in proving the rule).

        The second part of this is that Nintendo has not said they won't be packing a standard controller attachment or a Gamecube controller for use on standard games as well - I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case, and I actually expect it to be the case. Alternatively, they may decide not to do either knowing that they can count on most people either having a GC controller or being willing to buy the attachment separately to play "regular" games.

        So despite the fact it probably isn't that scary to MS or Sony, you have to admit it is both different and exciting, especially in light of both Sony and MS releasing machines that feature speed upgrades (which to me seem more incremental than exponential) and the "new" feature of wireless (not standard on the XBox Three-Shitty [penny-arcade.com] of course) which Nintendo already perfected and proved. (Yes, third parties did it earlier, but the WaveBird is the first *good* implementation I've owned.)
    • I think you're probably right to assume that Nintendo doesn't consider the Revolution to be much in terms of competition (Although they're probably scared to death that the DS will win the portable war), and I doubt that Sony has any surprises in the sense that the Revolution controller managed to surprise a whole lot of people. It seems likely that Sony's surprise will be a bit noisy marketing campaign targeted in whatever region Microsoft looks most likely to do well in, and maybe a few exclusive game ann

  • 500$ says (Score:2, Funny)

    by DeadMilkman ( 855027 )
    The "surprise" involves a company partly named after a shape and partly rhymes with Linux, releasing a "Final" RPG game that is anything but final. :p
    • Heh heh, that would be a surprise and it would certainly explain some of the delays in releasing FFXII. That game has been practically MIA for quite some time now. If it were to become a PS3 launch title exclusive, it would move some consoles. But how unoriginal that would be. A real surprise would be if Sony announced that they were buying Square-Enix and it would stick it to Microsoft and Nintendo simultaneously by forever making the Japanese RPG giant a Sony company.
    • The surprise is a useful homebrew sdk. or a pc emulator that can run windows so you can play pc games on it.

  • One Word, Financing! (Score:4, Funny)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @01:29PM (#13677702) Homepage Journal
    The big surprise will be that Sony will provide low interest financing for the purchase of new Playstation 3s and two games! Low low rates, and everyone leaves with a PS3 regardless of income! Bad credit? No problem! No job? Now problem! Everyone plays!

    Seriously, I'm expecting that first, the PS3 release date in Japan is going to slip into Fall 2006. Not having playable demos at TGS says to me that there is no way they'll have good solid games ready by Spring. As for their surprise, I'm going with a new version of the popular Eye Toy being part of the basic PS3 bundle and perhaps being touted as an intrinsic part of the PS3 experience.
    • This comment is ingenius. It's so funny because it's true. I've heard they also give you swift kick in the balls too upon signing, but rumors are so rampant these days who knows.
    • As for their surprise, I'm going with a new version of the popular Eye Toy being part of the basic PS3 bundle and perhaps being touted as an intrinsic part of the PS3 experience.

      Actually that's not far fetched at all - the eye toy is the kind of controller which could compete with the one of the Revolution. It provides for new gameplay mechanics (something that a classic controles won't do), its only hardware requirement is just a cheap webcam, and it has been already quite tested on the market. It even was

    • Re:One Word, Financing! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by incom ( 570967 )
      Wow, if the ps3 were released in japan in fall '06, and let's say spring '07 in USA, the 360 may very well fall into a half-step generation like the dreamcast(which isn't a safe place to be). Even moreso if the revolution gets delayed until around then to add beefier specs to beat the 360(hardware prices go down with time). I'd be pissed though if I don't get a ps3 in '06.
  • I'd like to know what the final controller looks like. That boomerang thing looks terrible and they have said that it was not the final design (I wonder if they were waiting for Nintendo to tip their hand?).

    As for the price I think they NEED to launch at $300. While they will probably lose some money, it will help it sell (especially against the XBox 360). If they go above that, then I'll wait until the price drops to get one (something I'd rather not do). Of course, supply and demand says they could proba

    • Do you buy them based on form or function? Because the Dual-shock was one of the ugliest controllers ever devised by man, yet still being comfortable and simple to use.

      Just my thoughts. :)
      • The dual shock is a good controller but the boomerang PS3 one doesn't look ergonomic. In fact it looks like the design concentrated on form rather than function. It looks stylish but uncomfortable. Of course without holding one in your hands, that's pretty much speculation.
      • Except the left analog stick was placed incorrectly and the dpad sucked so bad it hurt.
    • It's an old link but...
      "When asked if the there was a possibility the design of the prototype PS3 controller--already derisively being called the "batarang"--might be changed before launch, Chatani replied that there may be some "minor changes." However, he said that its form factor will probably stay the same."

      Second paragraph.

  • Blue Ray (Score:4, Insightful)

    by JokerToTheTheif ( 802696 ) on Thursday September 29, 2005 @02:26PM (#13678263)
    I'm really surprised that no one's already mentioned this, but at the beginning of this week it looked like Sony's Blue Ray disk format was going to be the hands-down victor in the up and coming format wars. Then, a day or two ago both Microsoft and Sony announced support for the competing HD DVD format, and suddenly Sony has real competition in a fight that looked to be a foregone conclusion in their favor. Loss in the format war would be horrifically expensive for Sony. As such, I really don't think it's too great of a stretch to assume that they'll be more willing to take more of a loss on the hardware than they otherwise would have. Cheap PS3's ensure that millions of homes will be equipped with Blue Ray players (PS3's will play Blue Ray movies out of the box), giving Sony an instant customer base for their Blue Ray movies. Couple this with news this week that MS's X-Box division is currently 4 Billion dollars in the hole after its 4 years of existence and is experiencing increasing pressure both internally and from shareholders to turn a profit, and it starts to look reasonably likely that the PS3 and its superior hardware could retail for less than the 360 throughout the consoles' lifecycle. I don't think that a PS3 launch price point of $349 or even $299 are at all out of the question.
    • Except for the fact that Sony was only able to use the 'tech advantage' with the PS2 for a number of reasons. DVDs were the way of the future and everyone knew it (CDs held too little), the Dreamcast still used CDs, and Nintendo was doing its own thing with cartridges. The Gamecube wasn't out yet, Xbox wasn't even announced at this time, and DVD players were still expensive. The PS2 was basicly marketed as, 'buy a DVD player and get a video game system for $100 more!'

      On the other hand, Blu-ray has competiti

    • Then, a day or two ago both Microsoft and Sony announced support for the competing HD DVD format, and suddenly Sony has real competition in a fight that looked to be a foregone conclusion in their favor.

      This crap gets propgated because the trade rags love a format war.

      The Microsoft/Intel announcement was meaningless. It didn't sat "exclusive" in there. Windows will support both. The whole story was a cover so they could slip that fact that the release date for HD_DVD devices was getting pushed back again un
  • Didn't Sony pull this crap before, by not having playable demos and repeatedly telling us that everything we were seeing was in game? I mean word is the Blu-Ray drives are going to be costing them an arm and a leg. They may be able to take a shot at undershooting Xbox 360, but remember being first means M$ can price drop before PS3 launch and maybe even post holiday '05. There is such a big gap in time that I think the pricing war will actually benefit M$ more then Sony, because M$ will have more and bet
    • But like the theories go, expect Halo 3 and a price drop just as PS3 is coming out.

      If so, expect a Microsoft shareholder revolt shortly afterward...

      Xbox was allowed to lose billions of dollars over the console's lifespan to prime the market for version 2. You really think Microsoft can get away with not turning a profit on the 360 too? Why are they in the business then?

      If Microsoft had even the least little bit of flexability in the pricing, you wouldn't have seen them fuck themselves by releasing two versi
      • Actually they do have a good deal of flexibility in pricing. Don't forget that basically every present console is selling at a loss and I am pretty sure they have been from day one. All the money in recent years has been made on games which are insanely priced. Everything I have heard so far seems to point that Microsoft is making a nice profit at the prices listed and the only reason for two price points is to entice people to purchase the Xbox 360 at the lower price if they do not want to drop the huge
        • Don't forget that basically every present console is selling at a loss and I am pretty sure they have been from day one.

          I'd love for you to show proof, but you can't because there is none.

          Word is that the PS2 hardware is profitable now, and was within a year, and that the GameCube was profitable on day 1. Microsoft, however, has not only lost money on the hardware for Xbox, but they haven't come close to making it back on game royalties. They've lost billions. I'm fairly certain that they won't let that be
    • I mean word is the Blu-Ray drives are going to be costing them an arm and a leg.

      Before the PS2 launched everyone said the same thing and Sony ended up undercutting nearly every major namebrand DVD player on the market at the time including their own players, no $30 playback kit purchase necessary! It's all hype and rumor at this point, so don't believe it until Sony gives us a price.

  • Um.. That's not what the article said. (Score:3, Informative)

    by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Thursday September 29, 2005 @06:09PM (#13680286)
    Additionally, we're not going to get the chance to play demos for the system until February of 2006.

    Actually, the article didn't even come close to saying that. It said:

    When asked if there would be any changes to the February PS3 event where playable demos will be on hand, Saeki did not respond directly. However, he did say that SCE is planning something for the event that is sure to be a "major" surprise.

    That could mean there will be demos sooner, or that you won't even get demos in February. It doesn't mean what the summary says.

    Can we mod this article as "Troll"?
  • For some reason I could see Sony changing the specs of the PS3 to really out do the 360. Then the 360 would be a half gen behind kinkda like the Dreamcast
  • They said the PS2 would push 100 million polygons, but it actually only pushed about 10 million, so I wouldnt be shocked if that were the real surpise. So nobody bought the dreamcast because the thought sony was acutally telling the truth when they claimed it would be like 10-20 times more powerful.

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