Please DON'T buy the PS3 until Sony drops the price

[VNAF Ace]

My fellow gamers... Don't let Sony rip you off! $500 - $600 for a console is absolutely ridiculous when your competition already has a $300 - $400 console on the market!

I can't believe I'm hearing this #### from the same company that offered us a $300 PS1 at launch (while Sega offered us a $400 Saturn at launch), and a $300 PS2 at launch. I was one of those gamers who paid $300 for a PS2 4 months after launch!

Let's send a message to Sony. Don't buy the PS3 until Sony drops the price!

Note: GT5 will not be a launch title. I'm sure we can all force Sony to drop that insane $500 - $600 price tag by the time GT5 comes out.

 

[amp88]

The technologies involved in the production of the PS3 are incredibly expensive (bluray and Cell are probably the two biggest costs). I read a page a month or so ago that said each bluray drive was costing Sony something in the order of $130 US. I think $500 US would be a fair price at PS3 launch, when you consider just how much of a machine you're getting.

I'm also very sceptical that Sony would reduce prices just because some people boycott the launch. I probably won't be buying it when it comes out as I won't be able to afford it anyway, but if I had the money I'd get it as soon as any really good games were available for it.

edit: Interesting article here.

edit2: I was a long way off on that price actually.

"Our updated analysis indicates that the initial bill of [production] materials for PS3 could approach $900," read the report. The report said that the production cost of a single Cell processor will be $230 at launch, with the Blu-ray drive setting Sony back $350 per unit.

 

[Solid Lifters]

My fellow gamers... Don't let Sony rip you off! $500 - $600 for a console is absolutely ridiculous when your competition already has a $300 - $400 console on the market!

I can't believe I'm hearing this #### from the same company that offered us a $300 PS1 at launch (while Sega offered us a $400 Saturn at launch), and a $300 PS2 at launch. I was one of those gamers who paid $300 for a PS2 4 months after launch!

Let's send a message to Sony. Don't buy the PS3 until Sony drops the price!

Note: GT5 will not be a launch title. I'm sure we can all force Sony to drop that insane $500 - $600 price tag by the time GT5 comes out.

Yes! I agree! Don't buy a PS3! You want to be made a fool?!? Don't buy one! Sony are laughing at you! They think you're stupid enough to pay these outrageous prices!

I know where I'm going to be on PS3 launch day...






























... at an electronics store purchasing a 60GB PS3 with nobody around me. Tee-hee!

 

[TheCracker]

My fellow gamers... Don't let Sony rip you off! $500 - $600 for a console is absolutely ridiculous when your competition already has a $300 - $400 console on the market!

You can't just think of the PS3 as a gaming console - Sony don't. Think of it as a state-of-the-art next-gen HD movie player & next-gen console. I wouldn't have thought you'd be seing Blue-ray players for much under $500 for some time. $600 really isn't that much for the technology it packs, the Xbox 360 is only a standard DVD player and has only an optional-cost extra built in hard drive.

 

[Master_Yoda]

My fellow gamers... Don't let Sony rip you off! $500 - $600 for a console is absolutely ridiculous when your competition already has a $300 - $400 console on the market!

I can't believe I'm hearing this #### from the same company that offered us a $300 PS1 at launch (while Sega offered us a $400 Saturn at launch), and a $300 PS2 at launch. I was one of those gamers who paid $300 for a PS2 4 months after launch!

Let's send a message to Sony. Don't buy the PS3 until Sony drops the price!

Note: GT5 will not be a launch title. I'm sure we can all force Sony to drop that insane $500 - $600 price tag by the time GT5 comes out.

I'd buy it for $1000.....
It's easly worth that much.
Some of us, DO live in a wealthy family! Some people won't be able to afford it. But for some of us, price isn't a issue.

 

[VNAF Ace]

Hey, I'm been gaming since 1987. I was around when Sega made the exact same mistake with the Saturn's pricing ($400 for the Saturn vs $300 for the PS1). Except in this case, there is a $200 gap between the best X360 package and best PS3 package! I know the PS3 is meant to be a movie player + gaming console. That was why I wanted a PS2 at launch! But I sure as hell would not have bought a PS2 if it was $500.

 

[amp88]

Hey, I'm been gaming since 1987. I was around when Sega made the exact same mistake with the Saturn's pricing ($400 for the Saturn vs $300 for the PS1). Except in this case, there is a $200 gap between the best X360 package and best PS3 package!

Why exactly is it a mistake? Console manufacturers now don't expect (or intend) to make a profit on hardware (especially at launch). They do, however, have to cover at least some of the costs. Read the articles I linked to, look at the prices of the hardware, look at the spec and if you still think it's a "mistake" on Sony's part with the expected price of the PS3 then I think you're missing the point.

Yes, the Xbox360 was cheaper at launch than the PS3 will be, but compare the technology. Xbox360 has a standard DVD drive, PS3 has bluray. Xbox360 has a (fairly) ordinary power unit, PS3 has a Cell chip. PS3 also has more complicated memory systems than the Xbox360.

 

[G.T]

I don't think they're ripping you off at all. Considering all of the technology it packs it's pretty amazing they've almost kept the price down this low. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were more expensive than it is right now.

What IS expensive it buying all of the stuff for it, HD TV, decent sound system etc. That's the main problem for me.

 

[VNAF Ace]

Still... There is no way in hell you're going to convince me that a 60 GB HDD costs $100 more than a 20 GB HDD. I bought a 300 GB HDD for my comp back in December and it only cost $160 ($80 after rebates)!

And of course I know that MS and Sony don't make money off of their hardware sales. However, I have a very hard time believing that the #1 console seller in the world can't afford to offer competitive pricing.

 

[Solid Lifters]

If you purchase the 20GB model, you wont have to worry about a HDTV set or a nice stereo system. It wont have HDMI, and that means no HD movies, if ICT is used, and no modern digital surround sound like Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus at all.

 

[amp88]

Still... There is no way in hell you're going to convince me that a 60 GB HDD costs $100 more than a 20 GB HDD. I bought a 300 GB HDD for my comp back in December and it only cost $160 ($80 after rebates)!

How many hard drives do the company you bought your 300GB hard drive from make in a year? Millions? Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions? How many PS3 hard drives do you think will be made a year? A few million at most probably. Also, don't forget that the PS3 hard drive will probably employ a proprietary connector (as the Xbox360's does) so some money will have to go into researching and building that too. Then you've got the demand from the general public and Sony for the thing to look good, so it's not just going to be a bog-standard OEM IDE hard drive, it'll have to have its own case, which again costs money to design and produce on a relatively small run. Economies of scale are at work here to a degree, though I do agree with you to a degree, console hard drives are too expensive for what you're getting in terms of storage capacity, but with a console you could argue there's not so much storage capacity required.

And of course I know that MS and Sony don't make money off of their hardware sales. However, I have a very hard time believing that the #1 console seller in the world can't afford to offer competitive pricing.

$400-$500 would be competitive pricing for what you're getting though. You don't expect to be able to get a Bugatti Veyron for Volkswagen Golf money, do you?

 

[VNAF Ace]

$400-$500 would be competitive pricing for what you're getting though. You don't expect to be able to get a Bugatti Veyron for Volkswagen Golf money, do you?

Not a good analogy when we haven't seen any significant difference between X360 games and PS3 games.

And FYI, the PS3 will cost $500 - $600. I wouldn't be complaining as much if it was $400!

 

[amp88]

Not a good analogy when we have yet to see any significant difference between X360 games and PS3 games.

The price has absolutely nothing at all to do with the games. The price is dictated in this case by the hardware, which is very advanced (even in comparison to the Xbox360). The graphical performance of the systems and games available don't matter as far as the price (launch price anyway) of the system is concerned.

 

[Dave A]

It's pretty close to what I expected, 499Euro-599Euro would price the PS3 at £350 and £400 respectively, I was expecting the PS3 to come out in two packages with maybe the cheapest one being £400, ofcourse I was hoping it would be cheaper around the £300 pounds mark, hell I'd have liked it to cost me a tenner, but realistically it's a bargain. Look at it this way, the X360 preium pack retails for £299 so for an extra £50 your getting a blue-ray player, rip off, I don't think so.

 

[Pako]

I certainly don't mind paying the bill if the technology merits it! If it means that they lower the quality, features, specs in order to sell it for $300 at launch, I think they would be making a grave mistake. This thing is suppose to out perform Desktop PC's. Have you priced a desktop PC build for extreme gaming? You can spend $600 just on a video card. It's still expensive and many people will probably wait until the price drops. Other people have been saving their money to get one ever since they first heard about it. Maybe I'm a Sony junky, but I fully support their decision as long as their product performs the way they say it will. Have you priced out HD-DVD players today? $600+ just for a player.

If you want to save money, you could always buy a Xbox 360.

The message I want to send Sony is that people are will to pay for quality and next generation technology and that we are not all cheap.

 

[TheCracker]

...Also, don't forget that the PS3 hard drive will probably employ a proprietary connector (as the Xbox360's does) so some money will have to go into researching and building that too. Then you've got the demand from the general public and Sony for the thing to look good, so it's not just going to be a bog-standard OEM IDE hard drive, it'll have to have its own case...

Not that i'm any kind of expert (or even novice) on these matters, but i would have thought that its not quite as simple as bunging a hardrive into the PS3 - i expect that software has to be written and even some kind of operating system developed to interface with the hardware. Development for software doesn't come cheep, so has to be added to the price of the hardrive at some point in the machine's costing.

 

[amp88]

Not that i'm any kind of expert (or even novice) on these matters, but i would have thought that its not quite as simple as bunging a hardrive into the PS3 - i expect that software has to be written and even some kind of operating system developed to interface with the hardware. Development for software doesn't come cheep, so has to be added to the price of the hardrive at some point in the machine's costing.

Yep, I hadn't even thought of that. That may also come into the equation aswell. Even if they choose to use (or are even able to use) an existing disk controller/interface they'd probably have to pay a licensing fee for it.

 

[Dave A]

I certainly don't mind paying the bill if the technology merits it! If it means that they lower the quality, features, specs in order to sell it for $300 at launch, I think they would be making a grave mistake. This thing is suppose to out perform Desktop PC's. Have you priced a desktop PC build for extreme gaming? You can spend $600 just on a video card. It's still expensive and many people will probably wait until the price drops. Other people have been saving their money to get one ever since they first heard about it. Maybe I'm a Sony junky, but I fully support their decision as long as their product performs the way they say it will. Have you priced out HD-DVD players today? $600+ just for a player.

If you want to save money, you could always buy a Xbox 360.

The message I want to send Sony is that people are will to pay for quality and next generation technology and that we are not all cheap.

Great post, I agree one all counts, I'd rather pay a little bit more for a quality item especially if it's something I will still be using in 5 years time. Sony would need to have not bothered with either the Cell, or the Blue-Ray to realistically price the PS3 in the XB360's ball park, and that would be bad, sure we'd still perhaps like the PS3, but at least it's being innovative and pushing boundaries with what it has ,12 motnhs down the line it'll probably be cheaper anyway. I'm reserving judgment on if I buy one straight away purely based on the UK price and the launch lineup, I will get one, but I might wait a couple of months first.

 

[VNAF Ace]

Well, for $600, Sony better make sure their PS3 disc drives last longer than the crap they gave us in their early PS1 models and early PS2 models!

The PS2 I bought 4 months after launch takes so long to load GT4. Note: I did a comparison between my 1st PS2 and my 2nd PS2.

 

[Scaff]

Well, for $600, Sony better make sure their PS3 disc drives last longer than the crap they gave us in their early PS1 models and early PS2 models!

The PS2 I bought 4 months after launch takes so long to load GT4. Note: I did a comparison between my 1st PS2 and my 2nd PS2.

And my launch day PS2 is still doing fine with no problem ever experienced during the period I've owned it, I must admit my PS1 is getting more than a bit cranky, but given that my kids don't exactly treat it with a great deal of care thats not a big surprise.

Personally I'm planning on getting a PS3 on launch day, the money is already put aside for it. The 360 has just not got me excited in any way, but the PS3 (particularly MGS) I am looking forward to.

At the end of the day its down to personal choice, if I can afford it at launch and want one then I'm going to get it. Look at it this way the most likely reason that PS3 prices will drop long term is if they shift sufficent units to justify it, a mass boycot at launch is hardly likely to convince a commercially lead company like Sony to drop the price at all.

Early adopters of the new tech will buy the hardware and more importantly the software, which will feed the very cycle required for the later price drops.

Boycot by all means, but don't be too surprised if those who can get it at launch don't follow your lead.

Regards

Scaff

BTW - I actually think the price for the tech you get is not too bad at all, but then I expect to pay a premium to get on-board early, its the same with most items of this nature. I'm old enough to remember how expensive the first CD-Players went for.

 

[El Gigante]

I don't think they're ripping you off at all. Considering all of the technology it packs it's pretty amazing they've almost kept the price down this low. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were more expensive than it is right now.

What IS expensive it buying all of the stuff for it, HD TV, decent sound system etc. That's the main problem for me.

That's on of the main reasons i'm not buying one.

I don't think $600 is too expensive, but it's more than i was expecting, and i don't think everyone will be able to afford it like they could with PS2 and PSX.

 

[Swift]

Well, here's my take on it. It's a blue-disc player, it supports INSANE resolutions and you can play PS1-PS3 games on it. Yeah, 600$ is NOT small amount of money. However, since Sony FINALLY got the hardrive thing together, it should basically cut out loading times or make them very quick. Not like the 25+ second loading times of the PS2.

Am I going to get one at launch? Maybe, but I WILL be selling one or two on Ebay. After seeing what Xbox 360's went for, I can't pass up the oppurtunity to make some extra money on the PS3.

 

[Robin]

I very much doubt I will be buying one on launch day now..... Sony will see no one turn up to buy it on launch day as everyone will be buying discounted 360's round the corner! For the average gamer its a stupid price... Im sure they will lower it soon after launch because they are just taking the piss with a price like that!

 

[G.T]

If you purchase the 20GB model, you wont have to worry about a HDTV set or a nice stereo system. It wont have HDMI, and that means no HD movies, if ICT is used, and no modern digital surround sound like Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus at all.

Really? Looks like I'm going for the $600, then... I guess they're ripping you off a little there. They're forcing you to get the more expensive version if you're a real buff when you might not even need a 60GB HDD...

 

[Dave A]

I bet it will be out of stock into the next year because of there being too much demand, seriously. I'm like Swift, regardless of a personal purhcase, I will be e-baying one or two, maybe three.

 

[Kylehnat]

I agree: as long as it is QUALITY, the price is justified. I mean, the PS2 is a PS2, PS1, DVD, and CD player. How much would you spend on all of those things if you bought them seperately? Certainly more than the $300 they wanted at launch. And Sony builds durable machines. My PS2 is now 4 years old, and I have zero problems with it. It may be the best $200 purchase I ever made.

$600 is a big purchase, but I think in time, it will be justified. I mean, think of how many people now own $4000+ televisions. Why pay that much when you can get a decent TV for $300? The technology in the PS3 is far beyond the PS2, so we should expect the price to be as well.

I'd buy it for $1000.....
It's easly worth that much.
Some of us, DO live in a wealthy family! Some people won't be able to afford it. But for some of us, price isn't a issue

Flaunting your (or in this case, your parents') money is not a good way to make friends. When you learn the true value of money, you'll see that $600 (or even $100) is not an impulse purchase. Most people will have to make other sacrifices to buy the PS3.

 

[Robin]

Yeah, Im gonna have to save up for a PS3, regardless of my parents money... and its not cheap.... I may have to put other spending on hold and get a job...and Im now really having doubts if I want it that much... games are going to be very expensive aswell... If however is it very well made and solid, like the original PS2's made in japan early models then it will be worth it..... many of the later made ps2's the lazers failed all the time and where cheap and nasty... Ive never had any problems with the early models...

The point about how much all the stuff would cost you if you bought it separately..... why do I need another cd player, another dvd player, another ps2 (ive got 2 that work fine!), etc etc..... all it has is Blu Ray which at the moment is not guaranteed to suceed.

Making people basically have to buy the high end model is stupid, the low end version is basically useless (plus is doesnt look as nice with all the chrome removed), if all the games are designed for HD output you would be buying something useless, the base model is already the same price as the 360 premium pack!

 

[Event]

People bought the 360 for $1200. $600 is cheap.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I think trying to get the PS3 boycotted at launch is like signing an internet petition. Pointless.

However, I won't be buying the PS3 at launch mainly because I probably won't have enough money (even if I work in the summer) for it and a few games. Plus, I do hold a few doubts about launch hardware, probably unfounded but nonetheless I don't like risking that much money, even though they'l probably repair it trouble free.

If it does come to buying it though I would definetley go for the more expensive model. It is worth the extra £50 just to future proof it (HD).

 

[Max_DC]

I am used to importing consoles from Japan. 600 $ is rather cheap compared to getting a console from the Japanese market at launch. Few available, and very expensive + shipping + 20% import tax... But hey, nobody has to buy it at launch, I understand that, 600 bucks is a lot of money, especially when you are younger...