PS3 $400 Price Drop Rumor

[John Crichton]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_b...ct=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;6

I'm not big on rumors, as you may know, but this one is very interesting. Sony is being much more aggressive than I thought they would be if they release this 40gig model bundled with Spiderman 3. Price drops are never bad and they do have a better lineup of games these days but this would be a great way to get in better with the tech crowd and people on the fence about picking up a PS3.

Still, they need a heavy hitter game to really get close to the 360. From all accounts Lair stinks and Heavenly Sword is good, but not great.

If this happens (I'm playing wait and see as usual) it will be interesting to see if (or more likely, when) MS drop the 360 Elite below $400.

Coupled with the plummeting prices of HDTVs, there will tons of Blu-Ray & HD-DVD players/movies sold this holiday season compared to 2006.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

A price drop like this could definitely help out the PS3, but man the games that were supposed to be amazing and really sell systems are just turning out lackluster and not the AAA titles they were touted as.

The price drop may help, but the distinct lack of games coupled with adding yet ANOTHER model into the fold may hurt them more or just keep it in the same spot its been in.

 

[Mallus]

A price drop like this could definitely help out the PS3, but man the games that were supposed to be amazing and really sell systems are just turning out lackluster and not the AAA titles they were touted as.

Aren't they running 1.5 for 3 right now? Lair's bad, Heavenly Sword's good, and Warhawk's excellent. At what point in the 360's life did Gears come out? Wasn't that the first real OMFG system selling app for that console?

I'd like it if Sony found the right price point for the PS3 and started moving more units, seeing as I bought one last month. It's a sweet little (well, not so little) piece of consumer electronics, albeit less of game machine and more of a multimedia center (what it can do to MPEG4 AVC files is pretty close to magic...).

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Aren't they running 1.5 for 3 right now? Lair's bad, Heavenly Sword's good, and Warhawk's excellent.

Heavenly Sword being 'good', though, seems a step DOWN from what it was hyped to be. Sure, its bad to fall into hype, but it was constantly touted as being THE game to get for the PS3. The reason to buy the system. The game they needed.

But it turns out to just be 'good', and then its short...and, sadly, mostly a God of War-clone. The last part isn't necessarily bad, but the fact is the game just isn't the system seller it was touted as.

As for Warhawk, that one really slipped under the radar. Its definitely a great game, but it wasn't one of the so-called 'system sellers' that kept getting publicity like Lair and Heavenly Sword were. Doesn't take away from Warhawk at all, but it makes one wonder about the rest of the 'must have' games.

 

[drothgery]

At what point in the 360's life did Gears come out? Wasn't that the first real OMFG system selling app for that console?

That's completely irrelevant. Sony has to compete with the 360 games lineup that they have now, not the one they had last year.

I'm rather skeptical of the rumored $400/40GB PS3 (because a smaller HD just isn't all that much cheaper, and if they actually stripped out $100 worth of hardware so they could make a profit on the thing -- or at least not lose very much -- it'd drive their fanbase nuts), but if it actually happens, it'll be worth considering. At least, depending on what MS does in response, and exactly what's in the $400 PS3 package.

My working theory is that I'll buy the first system that's under $400 with all the features I want, and that has at least one game that I really want, and I'll put off the other until it breaks $250 in non-crippled form. An Xbox 360 Elite and Mass Effect would definitely qualify, as would any PS3 that's been released so far and FF XIII.

 

[Mallus]

But it turns out to just be 'good', and then its short...and, sadly, mostly a God of War-clone. The last part isn't necessarily bad, but the fact is the game just isn't the system seller it was touted as.

Being a clone of what's regarded as one of the best action games ever made isn't such a bad thing, especially when you couple it with production values that are getting universal praise (unlike the game play... ).

Eh, to be honest I'm still of the fence about HS... I might buy it just to have a next-gen eye candy title. Or I might ebay up a copy of Oblivion (aka the RPG that my laptop couldn't possibly run). I hear nothing but good things about it.

... it makes one wonder about the rest of the 'must have' games.

I think Ratchet and Clank will be a impressive, if not precisely innovative... and I'm hoping that out of UT3/Haze/Killzone 2 they'll be at least one FPS that will take the sting out of me not being about to play Halo 3 or Bioshock until much later in the 360's life cycle.

 

[Mallus]

That's completely irrelevant.

Not to me, I was curious...

Sony has to compete with the 360 games lineup that they have now, not the one they had last year.

Yes, I realize that. I was just musing that the 360 also went some time without a vaunted killer-app. I wasn't commenting on Sony competitiveness with Microsoft right now.

My working theory is that I'll buy the first system that's under $400 with all the features I want, and that has at least one game that I really want, and I'll put off the other until it breaks $250 in non-crippled form.

More or less what I did, except my price point was $500, and I used a pretty loose definition of 'game I really want', trusting that they would be some good titles in the upcoming late 2007/early 2008 PS3 releases.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Being a clone of what's regarded as one of the best action games ever made isn't such a bad thing, especially when you couple it with production values that are getting universal praise (unlike the game play... ).

Yeah, that's the odd thing about HS. If the hype hadn't been so crazy about it, I bet the reviews would have been even higher. The real problem with it is how much hype went into the game, making it out to be THE game to have for the PS3...then it ends up being a fairly short game that just doesn't live up to the hype.

That not really fair, of course, but nothing is. It IS a good game. Even as a God of War clone, its good. But its not great. And that's what it was supposed to be...that's also what Sony really needs: a great game.

I think Ratchet and Clank will be a impressive, if not precisely innovative... and I'm hoping that out of UT3/Haze/Killzone 2 they'll be at least one FPS that will take the sting out of me not being about to play Halo 3 or Bioshock until much later in the 360's life cycle.

Ratchet and Clank is definitely the one to watch right now. The game LOOKS beautiful. But looks aren't everything. We really haven't seen enough of the game itself to make a good judgement one way or another, though, beyond that it looks great.

As for UT3/Haze/Killzone 2. Well, the latter I think should be written off. Killzone was not a good game. The first one was actually quite terrible, and there looks to be nothing from the sequel to change that other than the fact that, yet again, it looks great. Haze also seems iffy, but its still being shown off for its looks again and again. Won't say anything about UT3, though, as I haven't been too up on paying attention to it.

I guess, for me, the real problem is all these games for the PS3 just keep going on and on about their LOOK. It seems more about flash than substance. To me, that's just worrying.

 

[John Crichton]

Aren't they running 1.5 for 3 right now? Lair's bad, Heavenly Sword's good, and Warhawk's excellent. At what point in the 360's life did Gears come out? Wasn't that the first real OMFG system selling app for that console?

Yeah, they both came out in November, so exactly one year between launch and must-have game.

Heavenly Sword being 'good', though, seems a step DOWN from what it was hyped to be. Sure, its bad to fall into hype, but it was constantly touted as being THE game to get for the PS3. The reason to buy the system. The game they needed.

Heavenly Sword was always a game that I thought would be solid, especially considering the lukewarm hype. The early previews looked impressive for it but it lacked even showing a level for at least a year. It was a big release and a system seller for some, but not a must have.

Lair is the huge disappointment to me. I went from looking forward to it to not even considering it once I heard about all the control issues. I don't have time for that kind of frustration. I should probably rent it and see for myself but I haven't rented a game in years so that is unlikely to happen.

I think you are right, they are 1.5 for 3. Lair bombed, HS is good and Warhawk appears to be awesome. I'd actually count that as 2 for 3 but if we are looking for system sellers, the 1.5 is more accurate. Not a big deal as the system needs just one must have title that we haven't seen yet. But an actual game selection that spans different genres is also something big for the PS3. Sony's consoles are known for covering the widest span of genres.

I'd like it if Sony found the right price point for the PS3 and started moving more units, seeing as I bought one last month. It's a sweet little (well, not so little) piece of consumer electronics, albeit less of game machine and more of a multimedia center (what it can do to MPEG4 AVC files is pretty close to magic...).

The game selection is getting better veeeerrrrry slowly, too. I also think it's safe to say that just about anyone buying a new, larger HDTV will want one for the Blu-Ray 1080p.

 

[Bobitron]

A new Gran Turismo and FF are the two titles that will get me to buy. Nice to hear about the reduction, though!