PS3 600 dollars? Sony is on crack

[DonTadow]

Inflation from 1977 to 2006 puts that as about the equivalent of $450 - $500, depending on how you calculate things, though I think the indexes overstate things for consumer electronics.

Thing is people said the same thing, heck people pay 2,000+ bucks just to play the latest pc game. We gamers pay 1500 + dollars to havea sweet projector setup in our game room.

 

[drothgery]

Thing is people said the same thing, heck people pay 2,000+ bucks just to play the latest pc game.

... but rational people don't, because the best value sweet spot for PC hardware is a lot lower. Twenty years ago, a $1500 PC was a crippled toy. Ten years ago, a $1500 PC was a bargain basement box. Five years ago it was a solidly midrange machine. Now it's definitely high-end.

 

[Arnwyn]

Apparently the Xenosaga series hasn't sold all that well, which was why they're wrapping in up in three games (instead of five); it'll be a while before we see anything there again (if ever).

This is yet another example of where we have conflicting information.

Apparently Xenosaga sold reasonably well (and very well in Japan), enough so that it spawned two sequels during the same console lifecycle.

The "five games" was simply an early estimate during the early planning and design stages.

According to a BusinessWeek Online report, some developers are actually steering resources away from the PS3 in favor of the more affordable Wii from Nintendo and even the Xbox 360.

Yeah, that's exactly what the Japanese developers are going to do - they'll develop for the 200,000 owners of the Xbox 360 in Japan. (Moving to the Wii is more plausible.)

I don't think Sony has much to fear on the Japanese front. I'm questioning this guy's critical thinking skills.

 

[DonTadow]

This is yet another example of where we have conflicting information.

Apparently Xenosaga sold reasonably well (and very well in Japan), enough so that it spawned two sequels during the same console lifecycle.

The "five games" was simply an early estimate during the early planning and design stages.


Yeah, that's exactly what the Japanese developers are going to do - they'll develop for the 200,000 owners of the Xbox 360 in Japan. (Moving to the Wii is more plausible.)

I don't think Sony has much to fear on the Japanese front. I'm questioning this guy's critical thinking skills.

This is my info as well drough. Xenosaga sold extremely well in Japan and pretty mooderatly here. the problem was that they couldn't develop the titles fast enough (tallying in translation) so their wrapping it up after 3. This same thing happened with Xenogears which was also suppose to go to 6 games (not 5).

I'm very interested to see what the next generation final fantasy are going to be like . XII looks great and the focus back on partying. The demo played pretty cool.

Isn't sony's new ps3 suppose to have equiopped tivo too? I know they were marketing for a home entertainment center.

 

[Arnwyn]

Isn't sony's new ps3 suppose to have equiopped tivo too? I know they were marketing for a home entertainment center.

I've heard rumors of some sort of PVR functionality, but they're only (wild) rumors. I'm highly skeptical something like that would be included right out of the box.

Though I'm highly skeptical it'll appear ever. Heck - I'm still waiting for my PS2 to launch missiles!

 

[Vigilance]

As for the origiinal dollar. Of course we'll pay 600 bucks. IF you do the inflation math, the Atari came out at ..what 200 300 dollars which would be well over 600 bucks in today's dollar. We'll buy it, smile and then have a thread about how angry we are that we paid so much.

Sony is banking on that, and they're going to be wrong.

Look, you guys can tell me 500 bucks isnt that much money all you want.

But it's 25% more than the competing next-gen console, and the graphics previews don't look that different.

In fact the previews Ive seen, the X-box 360 looked better.

And it's 25% less.

I don't doubt there will be people who have to have it just cause. But I also know that people aren't stupid consumers and that pricing yourself 25% higher than your competition is just BEGGING them to suck away your market share advantage.

The fact that someone like me, who never even THOUGHT about owning a x-box, is now looking seriously at my alternatives, should worry Sony because I doubt Im the only one.

 

[Jdvn1]

Look, you guys can tell me 500 bucks isnt that much money all you want.

But it's 25% more than the competing next-gen console, and the graphics previews don't look that different.

In fact the previews Ive seen, the X-box 360 looked better.

And it's 25% less.

20% less. That's just how the math works. Doesn't affect your point, I'm just nitpicking, sorry.

 

[DonTadow]

Sony is banking on that, and they're going to be wrong.

Look, you guys can tell me 500 bucks isnt that much money all you want.

But it's 25% more than the competing next-gen console, and the graphics previews don't look that different.

In fact the previews Ive seen, the X-box 360 looked better.

And it's 25% less.

I don't doubt there will be people who have to have it just cause. But I also know that people aren't stupid consumers and that pricing yourself 25% higher than your competition is just BEGGING them to suck away your market share advantage.

The fact that someone like me, who never even THOUGHT about owning a x-box, is now looking seriously at my alternatives, should worry Sony because I doubt Im the only one.

But selling is part product part brand loyalty. Most people will buy the ps3 simply because they have the ps2. The super nintendo came out 50 bucks more than the genesis and it still won that console series. Dreamcast dropped their price to 50 bucks below the ps and it still lost. Nintendo cost 150 bucks for the full thing, wheraes a full sega master system was 89 bucks yet Nintendo still won.

We havn't really seen what it can do yet, but its a far more powerful system than the xbox 360 and in this case, the price is actually higher to indicate that. Whereas you say its a dumb business move, marketing it at 25 percent higher than the competitor is actually a smart move, and one typical of Sony. Sony electronics routinely are prices 10 to 25 percent higher than their competitors.. from tvs to computers. You might even say that its their way of establishing their brand as a more superior brand.

From what I've read, Sony is not going to market the ps3 as a sole game machine. Their betting the next gen dvd console wars on the ps3 and their gunning it to be more of apart of your home entertainment system than just a video game machine. The Tivo enhancement is probabl y75 percent a reality, considering how inexpensive the boxes and services are getting. A good many blue ray dvds will have a release around the time of the ps3 as well.

For those of us whom spend money on our home entertainment system, 500 bucks is a drop in the pan. Heck, my equilizer costs that much.

Of course, waht we've seen so far is previews and its probably the main reason why E3 has bit the dust.
The real stuff from the ps3 hasn't been finished yet so its not fair to compete it with rushed stuff.

 

[Jdvn1]

It's the usual for all, same as last gen. One controller per system and no games. I imagine the controllers will be somewhere between $40-50 for both the PS3 & Wii. Extras like controllers are where companies really cash in.

I thought I read the Wii comes with four controllers.

 

[takyris]

But selling is part product part brand loyalty. Most people will buy the ps3 simply because they have the ps2.

No argument there. There's been a lot of outcry, but I think that most PS2 owners who were planning to get a PS3 won't be turned away because of price.

We havn't really seen what it can do yet, but its a far more powerful system than the xbox 360 and in this case, the price is actually higher to indicate that.

I think it would be more accurate to say that the PS3 is supposed[ to be more powerful than the 360. As you say below, we haven't seen a real one in action. Any assumptions we make right now, good or bad, don't mean much. It could very well blow the doors off the 360, or it could be buggy as all heck. It might be safe to assume that it's going to be roughly on a par with the 360 -- better in some performance areas, worse in others -- at least in terms of playing console games.

From what I've read, Sony is not going to market the ps3 as a sole game machine. Their betting the next gen dvd console wars on the ps3 and their gunning it to be more of apart of your home entertainment system than just a video game machine.

I don't disagree with what you're saying -- that goes with what I've read -- but I'm skeptical that it's going to turn out to be that helpful for them. When you price a console game at $500, you're pricing it for geeks -- specifically, geeks with a fair chunk of disposal income. (At least, that's how I see it. Feel free to disagree.) The number of geeks who are going to be interested in getting the PS3 who don't already have a decent PVR and/or DVD player is, in my completely nonscientific estimation, pretty low. When I got my xbox, I didn't get it thinking, "Hey, and I can watch DVDs, too!" The DVD feature was a non-seller for me, especially given that the DVD player I already had was better, with more features than the xbox's DVD-playing features.

So I don't think the "it's an entertainment center" line is going to sell them that many more units. They're making a console gaming system. I don't believe (and again, feel free to disagree) that many people are going to get the PS3 and supplant their existing digital recorders with what the PS3 offers.

So, short version, Tacky thinks:

- Some people will buy the PS3 because they have a whole lotta free income.
- Some people will buy the PS3 because they are strict Sony fans (which includes liking games that are only available on Sony systems)
- Very few people will buy the PS3 because of the non-console features it offers