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Sony Playstation 2 for Over $1k [Updated -- $5K]
The Alpha noted this, but several others have told us as well that ebay is hosting auctions for several playstation 2's... some of which have broken a grand. Nice little profit margin there ;) Conspiracy theorists propose that many folks (Jon Doe, Retailers, or Sony!) are raking in huge profits on the things. Hope the system is worth it. [Updated 27 Oct. 2:15 GMT by timothy:]
the3dmaniac writes: "I was just looking at the auctions for PS 2 systems at ebay and found this very disturbing sight. The craze has gone overboard, time to make some cash while it is still hot." Whoah -- check that price. Errr, so this would be the "premium" gasoline, sir?
Some poor shmuck better enjoy their 2 weeks of coolness..
Sony are probably holding back supply to build the hype. Lines at stores, $1000 auctions etc.
this one sold for $14,999.00.
more proof that all the wrong people have money to waste.
Emotion Engine issues? Developers slow to code for it? I think not. I think this 'shortage' is a calculated move of Sony's part to cause a frenzy. We've seen it before: Furbys, Cabbage Path Dolls, etc.
:-)
Believe me, Sony knows what they're doing, and they're loving every minute of this. I'll bet you there's a warehouse full of PS2s sitting somewhere in Japan, waiting to trickle into the US market from now until Christmas.
Happy shopping!
Here at cmu there are people offering them on our little buy/sell newsgroup. but $1000?! I wonder how high his $350 initial offering will get if I post this/a& gt; link.
Who really wants one of these? Name one thing that this can do that the mid to high end computer can't do. I suppose at a ~$300 price it's pretty good... but $1000 is a lot to pay to be the first kid on the block with an overrated piece of hardware.
So, this absolutely has to be wrong, but, well, um.... they're going to have to pay hefty eBay fees anyway!
PS2 for $15k??I'm really confused about this one...
It used to be that a consoles success was gauged by its first day sales...
Then by how many people were mugged for their new consoles on the way home on the first day of sales...
Now the mark of a consoles success is relative to its grey import value on Ebay?
Truly the internet has brought about a paradigm shift in console gaming....
grab your ankles bitch
"these ps2s are being sold at many times their
retail price! Somebody, possibly the person
selling them, must be making a profit!"
K.
-
-- Proud descendant of semi-nomadic cattle-herders.
There is a sucker born every minute.. and eBay is out to show us that.. hehe.. oh well I guess some people have more money than patience... lets hear it for supply and demand..
JOhn
Campaign for Liberty
OK when I got my first system (Atari 2600), I never would have guessed that one day we'd have console scalpers, now that's progress.
Still I guess ebay beats fist fights at zellars for cabage patch dolls.
-Peace
Dave
Free as in "the Truth shall set you..."
$1000?
$2000+ was a common going price earlier today on ebay.
for example, i saw bidding on a ps2 jump from ~$1400 to ~$2000 in less than a minute
how many of the ps2 purchases were made just to be resold?
should there be limits?
What we see here at work is the basic economic law of supply and demand. When there's a limited number of PS2s on the market (I believe 500k units in the initial shipment), and demand for about ten times that amount, retailers and individuals looking for profit will cash in on that demand. If you want a PS2, my advice is to wait until around March or April of next year, and buy one then. The prices should have come down to more reasonable levels, there will be a larger selection of games available (plus the fact that a few of your favorite titles and series are likely to be in development for future release), and you won't have to fight any crowds at the store.
I've heard a person in my German class today say that she was very close to attacking another person with a PS2, and walking off with his PS2 and taking it to the checkout line. If we have this kind of behavior and attitude by consumers at this time of year, imagine how bad it will be when you have everyone and his/her mother doing the same thing, not only for the PS2, but for every other "hot item" on everyone's Christmas wishlist.
Here's an idea: why not offer several up, then wait for them to come on the mainstream market... it always takes ages for auction purchases to go through anyway, and you can just ship when the main shipments arrive. Or, following the conspiracy theorist's ideas, patent the concept and then sell it back to Sony for £10m or so...
I just don't understand how demand for these things can be that big!
Seriously, are there really people that think the game quality is going to be instantly better just because you can push a few more pixels. I just (and I mean just a couple of weeks ago) bought a N64 and will probably now consider buying the old Playstation (as the price will surely drop like a rock now). The older games are far more plentiful and there are a few that are even enjoyable to play. I find that in the first year or two of a new system there are very few games that are actually fun to play.
Most of the games I see now are completely ridiculous when it comes to game-play. Sure, I suppose the system is great if you are really into all that "I have the latest available toy" sort of thing, but I think if you waited you would save yourself a bundle and get more enjoyable games to boot.
Now I'm off to play the Bard's Tale II on my old trusty Apple IIgs (it's still more enjoyable than about 90% of the games I've seen in the past few years).
Bite my yammer.
I should have gotten mine this morning, but Software Etc. screwed me over. Apparently, they presold too many units (I had a 5 month old reservation), and they couldn't supply them. Sony even discouraged retailers from preselling units. Anyone know how best to take action against such places? I'd love to know.
I even wrote a mean article about this on Digital Theatre
There's no shortage of people who don't honor bids on eBay. Notice how many bidders are first timers (with the shades.)
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
We would all be lined up right now trying to get one.
Never underestimate someones desires because they are not inline with yours. And don't tell them to get computers , eventually they would get curios about the online world and you would only be adding to AOL's stock and sucking away precious bandwidth.
Papa Legba come and open the gate
Check it out, every high bid has been made by the same person who has zero feedback. Wonder what Ebay's policy is on this.
I think this well establishes that the masses are a$$es....
On a funny tangent, I saw two best friends have their nice lil splitting of ways. And why would these two friends of many years part? Very simply. Person A was called by Person B just as he was about to go inline, a call which lasted for a total of near 30 seconds. Person A then left to stand in line, and when it became his turn to get one, they had just sold the last one. Yup, the person in front of him got the last one of the store. Person A called up Person B, had a lovely lil tirade, and now these two former-friends are out and about spreading rumors.
And they say video games don't dehumanize us.
Information is the catalyst for revolution
--
...I missed this
for paying $35 for a used 2600 with five whole games.
Are YOU listed?
I was able to get mine from the local virgin megastore. They pre-sold them as late as yesterday. For 100$ down yesterday i was able to get one today. They were selling it as a package only..it consisted of 1 core unit, 2 games, 1 dvd movie, 1 extra controller, 1 8mb mem card, and 1 dvd remote control..not a bad deal at 499$. Havent played it yet, but i saw madden and it looked INSANE!
***There is no point in asking, you'll get no reply***
So I'd expect Sega or Bleem or someone would be happy to drop 15 grand to pre-preview a Playstation 2 and not think twice about it. Reverse Engineering efforts or Competitive Analyses are probably already underway.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I mean if you're really going to karma whore, you can't just stop at saying, "Product X should be open source." Granted, you get some credit for suggesting "hackers" would make such a platform great (of 1337, if you prefer), but in the modern jaded era of Slashdot Moderation, you have to go all out and use both barrels.
Try it like this:
====
The question I have, as I heard about plans for future expansions, is has anyone ever considered devloping an "open source" gaming platform? A system whose schematics and such are open for everyone and under which both commercial developers and hobbyists have the same capabilities. It might be interesting to see something like this. Think of all the peripherals you can think of, and think of hackers making some of them.
Such a system could easily be made using a lightweight Linux kernal with optimized graphics code -- perhaps even capable of supporting OpenGL and/or DirectX. This would allow developers to jump-start their development with open standards.
Also, while DVD and PS2 support is nice, USB and Firewire would be far superior standards for expansion.
Such a system would offer tremendous advantages over Microsoft's still-vapor "X-Box". The openness of the platform would undoubtedly encourage development from third-party vendors and might even bring back the long-lost days of the small independent gaming software company. Certainly, with internet connectivity, the need to rely on under-the-table retail shelf-placement deals goes away.
And, if all that wasn't enough, can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these things?
====
There. Plenty of "+1 Interesting/Insightful" fodder. Take it from an old pro, you'll get yourself up to the 50 cap in no time at all. Hope this helps.
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.
It's not broken $6000...that's what the person put for his opening price...
IIRC eBay policy and various state laws give sellers rights to pursue bidders. It's a dangerous proposition to bid $250,000 on something you never intend to buy, particularly if the seller is so inclined to collect. A bid, according to the fine print, is a contract. Consider where this goes with the passage of law to for electronic signatures, should they apply in present or future.
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I was really pumped when I read the specs about outperforming the SGI servers, etc. I actually took a look at the graphics at the Sony store here in good ole SF, they blow. I'm sure people buy games for more reasons than graphics, but I'll stick to my computer for a while...
there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
BTW, many of the PS2 autions of $500+ are being bid by the same person... "cillbosby". Just food for the conspiracy theorists.
Or is that far enough off that it will be an issue for the PS3
--I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.
Dreamcast
thank you.
Why, why, why would someone pay 1600$ for a PSX2 that costs 200$ the manufacture and sells for 300$? That's absolutely retarded.
Damn rich smucks.
You think they are actually going to be able to collect the money from whatever 12 year old that made the bid? Nope. Bidding by 12 year olds is against ebay policy, so either the bids would be disallowed, or since a minor can't enter into contracts anyway...
I think that's the idea of the much-hyped (on /. at least) Indrema. Check out the interview about this a couple days back... it runs Linux, and the SDK is free (and also open source, I believe). They are counting on that as their big selling point.
This a cut&paste of a post I made on the Shugashack when Sony announced day 1 supply would be cut from 1 to 1/2 million:
;)
As anyone who's taken any intro to economics class (much less an econ major like myself) could tell you, there's something wrong with this picture. On the very first DAY of PS2 availability, we see there's at least 1,000,000 people willing to pay whatever Sony's charging to get one (let's call it $250, cuz I don't know the real figure). Yet, Sony only has 500,000 of the things to sell at that price. Now from the consumer's standpoint (particularly for the ppl who won't get one), the ideal situation would be to just make more of the damned things, and I think that's what Sony would be doing if they could, so let's assume they can't. You're Sony, you've got this HUUUUUUUUGE demand for your product, and can barely meet half of it. What do you do? You raise the price! If Sony jacks the PS2's price up to $350, will a lot of ppl not buy it, at least not on preorder? Of course, that's the Law of Demand at work. The practical question in this particular situation is, will enough people choose to do without so that any of those 500,000 units don't get sold? If not, then do it!
If I was a Sony shareholder, I'd be pissed too, cuz these guys are too stupid to raise the price on the goddamn thing! If the price was increased $100, and every unit still sold, that'd be $50,000,000 (yes, FIFTY MILLION) more in revenue!!!
On the other hand, it sure is nice for consumers that Sony's never thought to hire an economist...
...
These people who are now reselling PS2 units for like $1000, I applaud most heartily. Even though they ripped off my idea (hehe), they're moving goods from lower valued uses to higher valued uses, which is what capitalism is all about
MoNsTeR
Shy of females??
Everything is but a number spoken by itself.
How can something that hasn't even been moderated yet be overrated? Come on! get your moderation straight. It's called 'troll' or 'flamebait.'
Pax Digitalia
CNN carrying the brief on used Russian descent capsule. Only $2.2 Million, The sellers of the capsule say it would make a nice playhouse for kids. I can just imagine them complaining it doesn't have a Playstation 2 in it... On sale here
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I just don't get the demand here. Where I work, we've had a Japanese Playstation 2 and a Dreamcast sitting next to each other for a while now and frankly, were I to buy one, I'd go for the much cheaper Dreamcast. Comparing "Soul Caliber" on the Dreamcast to "Tekken" on the Playstation side-by-side, I certainly don't really see any compelling difference, graphically. Hell, "Soul Caliber" looks better.
The cake is a pie
The Space Store
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I just don't understand how demand for these things can be that big!
.... you can play DVD's on it!"
;)
I've read many articles about the PS2 in the last year. The one that stuck out the most in my mind was the one that said that the PS2 was selling well in Japan because it not only could play old PS games, but because it was a DVD player too.
This is Sony's main selling point, and it's working like a charm. "Who cares if the system costs a hundred or two extra
Also, if you play the PS as much as my friends do, your PS has probably seen better days. The PS2 is an excellent way to replace the old system.
rLowe
PS> I swear I don't work for Sony.
----- rL
And you're probably still trying to finish that game as well... That game was @%$#@ IMPOSSIBLE!! Puzzles that had NO clues whatsoever. Bard's tale III was MUCH better...
I finished Bard's Tale III in, like, 5 days using the characters from when I finished Bard's Tale II. Maybe I would have found the game more challenging if I'd used new characters, but even then the final battle at the end was so anticlimatic it wasn't even funny -- the thief sneaks up behind Tarjan, critically-hits him with the miserichord, then I spent the next hour killing off all of the death paladins Tarjan summoned -- the rest of my party never survived, only the thief.
As for Bard's Tale II, there were plenty of clues for the puzzles. For the big "real-time" puzzle rooms, the clues were liberally scattered throughout the appropriate dungeon.
(Minor spoiler...)
If you had trouble figuring out how to get the last piece of the destiny wand in the final dungeon, the clues were printed on the back of the rulebook -- a series of pathways formed by arrows that look REALLY familiar if you, say, mapped them out over a room that had a series of ever-changing doors...
Jay (=
Its about 8 or 9 years old, running a overclocked 8086 chip with not one, but two 5.25 inch disk drives! It has a 300 baud modem and I'll toss in the 12 inch monocrome monitor for free! Come on people, you'll kick yourselves later.
Now I'll just wait for the 15 grand.
The PlayStation, like most consoles, is a loss leader. Sony isn't making a lot of money selling them, in fact, it's highly likely that they are losing a small amount in the US. In Britain, the PS2 will cost about $100 more, but then the market's smaller, and a lot of additional costs are higher.
However, Sony has a monopoly on selling licenses for the PS[2]. If you want to code for it, first you need to fork over a lot of cash for a development kit (ie. tens and tens of thousands of dollars), which in effect is little more than a Linux box with funky things thrown in.
Then, you need to give Sony lots more cash. In fact, they make money with every game sold, because they do per-copy licensing. So, for doing *absolutely nothing*, Sony gets money from the publishers of PS2 games. Sorry, correction: For allowing them to develop for PS2. In return for allowing them to develop for PS2, Sony gives developers binding contracts which often ban them from developing for other competing systems. Ever wonder why Electronic Arts games don't get published on the Dreamcast? EA didn't want to piss off their moneycow, PS and now PS2.
MS may be portrayed as the evil empire, but they have nothing on Sony or Nintendo. Hell, you should have seen the lawsuits flying when software makers dared to try to publish games for Nintendo/Sony without getting licenses...
Imagine that: Microsoft suing you as a coder because you wrote a game for Windows - without giving them money. Most of Sony's profits in the last few years or so were from PS-related licensing. They didn't make any money from the hardware.. but raked it in when it comes to software.
Reality check, guys.
Alex T-B
St Andrews
Yay, laws.
Send your friends messages of love at fuck-you.org
I mean. What's the big hurry to get one? I've only seen a few games for it so far. (none drool worthy) Is it just to be the first on the block?
Yeah that's it.
It's all the 1st Post Trolls waiting in line. They'll prolly walk around with the damn thing, or a part of the packaging, walk into their [school|work|mall?|friends house] saying 1st PS2
Thank you. Drive through. (:wq)
Right now, I don't see any PSX2 titles I would want to buy. In November, Star Wars: Star Fighter will be released and I'd have to wait til 2001 Q1 for the game I truly desire...Gran Turismo 3.
My current favorite games are Counter Strike (based on the Half-Life engine) and StarCraft. PSX2 has nothing close to this. I don't even think I want any DVDs til the Pavement live DVD is released. My parents have a DVD player and watching the Matrix and Private Ryan are getting boring. I don't have a problem waiting for the market to catch up with the HYPE!BTW:
I have a friend who got two PSX2 and he plans to sell one for $1000+ on eBay. He waited in line for eight hours so if you break it down, he got paid $80/hour to wait for PSX2. That's not bad at all.
-- ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space!
Others that are inspired by the needs of game developers include packages like svgalib, Crystal Space (http://crystal.linuxgames.com/), and Allegro (http://www.talula.demon.co.uk/allegro/).
I'm sure there are many others that I'm missing. If you know of any, please post them.
stonewolf
i'm suddenly having flashbacks to bard's tale i and the 4 groups of 30 something-or-others that lived in some tower/casle thingy. I remember when my monk started hitting more than twice, and when your ac got so low it used some two letter abreviation instead. But i can't seem to remember any of this exactly. Argh. I hope you apreciate the fact that the rest of my day which would have been productive will now be spent trying to remember the answers to these and other questions.
And in bards tale 1 you could summon a stone monster/god/thingy to join your party by hitting "z". and that's the only useful thing i remember....
--BlueLines "The cost of living hasn't affected it's popularity." -anonymous
This is just idiocy at its peak. If these people waited a few weeks, they could buy a PS2 in the store with plenty of games, and go and eat dinner at a nice restaurant that night -- For the same money, or maybe even less.
P.T. Barnum was wrong. There is a sucker and an idiot born every minute. And every other minute, a sucker/idiot is born. And those people are now paying $1000+ for a PS2.
Sad... So, so sad.
--
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
My melons! Why will no one buy my melons? - Chaim
No way that a PSX2 is worth a G. You gotta remember that Microsoft is going to be busting out the Xbox (complete w/$500 million marketing budget) in the near future.
Unless you have money that you burn, save it for a cheaper PSX2 or Xbox.
www.niceFire.com
www.niceFire.com
Funnier than a speeding bullet
You've probably seen this already, but Sega's marketing department has got it's attitude back and is taking advantage of the PSX2 crunch.
This/a& gt; is not actually a Playstation 2. Heh heh, someone's going to feel very dumb for paying $300+ for a PS1.
Now, that is not to say that there was not a shortage at launch, but that 1.3 million number is not that far from the 1.5 million they had originally forecast. So much for all those auctions on eBay that stated no more units till next March. I guess some are paying a premium for scouts obtaining systems.
From a gamer enthusiast standpoint, it makes me sick to see the launch go this way. Again, thousands of teenagers and young adults, indirectly thanks to eBay, are scalping their systems for a huge margin. Most likely not needed if that many systems are coming out each week from now till X-Mas. In fact, I do part time work at a local Best Buy, and at least four of the employees were scalping their systems they had purchased at that store over eBay. That only angers me, as I was sadly screwed out of a system for myself by someone wanting to make a quick buck. To see a gaming machine purchased for such a reason makes a hobbyist like myself rather upset. I will now likely wait and purchase a system when Metal Gear Solid 2 comes out, as this has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Bryan R.
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
Despite the fact that the PS2 arrived "late", does anyone else think that Sony might have jumped the gun on its U.S. intro? It might be hard to sustain the current level of hype into the meat of the holiday shopping season (still another good 3-4 weeks away for most people).
Whatever happened to the other important metric?
Number of Soccer Moms who decked, bit, strangled or rammed others in the parking lot?
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I say having an older console is like having an ugly girlfriend. It won't make your friends jealous, but if you can get over the looks than you can have almost as much fun :)
Wait a few months this thing ain't goin' nowhere.
this
/dev/null!"
-BOFslime
"Hello, National bank... Yeah.. just forward my funds to
He put it for sale on ebay. But the catch is he doesn't own it. He put it on lay-a-way and when the money comes in he gets it out and sends it on its way
I/O, I/O, its off to disk I go, with a read and a write, and a bit and a byte, I/O, I/O, I/O, I/O
Other parts of the system are in demand and in short supply. I've been calling around looking for the new Monster PS2 S-Video cable with no success (all the Best Buys sold out this morning).
The other missing part is memory cards, which might be in even shorter supply than the consoles - at least I know that there were a number of people in stores I was at earlier today who had a PS2, but no memory card!! Talk about annoying.
As for me - I preordered one for me, and one for a friend. One from EB, and one from Gamestop. Despite getting e-mail from each saying I'd have the system on launch day, I have only the memory card and extra controller EB was good enough to send, and the copy of SSX that gamestop sent a week or so ago. Maddening! (if only I'd bought the game that would've made a great pun)
So, I have nothing, and no way to tell what's going on - at least Gamestop sent me mail saying they sent the console out today, but EBworld has shut off the phone systems, shut down the online order tracking, and is trying to say "Go away, I can't take the load".
Moral of the story - always pre-order at your local game shop! Even though I preordered eight months ago, there are people that preordered only a few months ago or just were patient enough to stand in line this morning that have one right now.
Plus, it might not even cost you more - at Gamestop they charge tax for every order, and had seperate shipping charges for every PS2 game!
Oh well, at least I got a lot of work done around the house.
As for if it is worth it - I've tried a few systems set up in stores and it seems worth it to me. I wouldn't pay the current e-bay price for one, but $300 is pretty reasonable - also, once I get the PS2 (and Mosnter cables) I can give my mom my current DVD player.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Anyway, he started his eBay auctions last week, made sure they ended this morning, and sold one for $1000 and one for $1600. He was getting email like crazy and made phone contact with the final buyers before he ended the auction... one guy is FedExing the check and the other guy is paypal'n the payment through.
All in all it's a sweet deal and he would have been an idiot not to do it... $2k profit for 1 nights work... and the work was sitting around outside for a few hours.
You sort of feel bad that there is less to go around for the local kids, but on the other hand, he was able to make $$ off of Sony's hype. Why not?
The shades don't mean new bidded/seller, they simply mean new name. IOW, you could have a feedback rating of 1000, but as soon as you changed your name/handle/ID, you would get the shades. It is possible to see the history of a user's ID now, if they change names mid-stream.
New bidders/sellers get the shades because they are, in effect, a new name. After awhile (30 days?), the shades go away - even if they never bid on anything (though they would have to bid at least once for others to see the shades, or absence thereof)...
If you want to truely know how well a bidder/seller is doing, look at the feedback, as well as the feedback comments. Don't trust somebody simply if he has 300 feedback - for all you know, he had 400 six months ago, and received 100 negative feedbacks since then! Similarly, don't knock someone who has low positive feedback without checking the comments - he may only have 20 feedback, but maybe all were positives, spanning a three month period or something - pretty reliable individual, if you ask me...
Only if you see someone with zero feedback and shades, should you consider the person an unknown. This doesn't mean they are bad, just keep your wits about you...
I support the EFF - do you?
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
I bought a Dreamcast when it first came out, and So ul Calibur blew me away.
The graphics were fantastic and it was really fun! But the little I have seen of the PS2 games are not too impressive, graphics wise.
Of course games need to be enjoyable and playable as well, but lets face it, graphics rule. Anyone have a PS2 and care to comment on the current games?
(and obviously the games will get better as developers take advantage of the system, but it's been live in Japan since March, right?)
I'm no big time auction guru, but isn't this a little screwy? That umpa-umpa dude raised it 10 Grand bidding against himself...
screw the playstation 2... someone else can step in line for me...
Simply put: Why put off a sale you can make today? Any consumer oriented company that acts like this tends to go bankrupt(auctions/speculations are a different case). That would be like thinking Pizza Hut can sell more pizzas if they make people wait for an hour after a customer comes in looking for food.
What happens, and this happens all of the time too, is that Sony must approach multiple companies and make orders *months* in advance. Sometimes they underestimate. More often what happens is that no manufacturer can fill the order in the quanties and price they wanted. It happens. So they make as many as they can and continue to order more parts.
Also, even if there were Japanese PS2 sitting in some warehouse somewhere you just can't load them up and drive down to Software Etc./Babbages.
we've had one in our office for a few months now (the japanese one, easily bought on canal st. in NYC) and frankly it's not that special. Evolutionary, not revolutionary. Of course, I just played some racing game (grand turisimo?) that had terrible control and street fighter 3 which was laughably easy.
I know I'm whiny, but I was so pissed this morning. I'm the victim of corporate greed! Someone bet that they could make a lot of money by risking too many presells. They screwed up, and they owe me. I'm sure if they caught me shoplifting a game from them, they wouldn't take any lame excuses from me and just let me go if I offered to give it back. Not that my life will end wihtout my ps2, I'm just pissed that they're trying to get away with crap like that.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Actually, no. Early estimates indicate that Sony is losing approximately $20 on the sale of each USDM (That's U.S. Domestic Market, BTW) PS2. They expect to make it back in licensing, though; They probably get $5-$10 in licensing fees per copy of a title sold, and people almost never buy less than two titles, which may make them the whole thing back right there. Meanwhile, I own something like 20 PSX titles, and will probably end up with a similar number of PS2 titles eventually.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I was one of those lucky ones that managed to wait only 8 hours and get a PS2 in my area (BIG TEN college town). There were actually people who lined up at Walmart 14 hr prior to the release then found out that Walmart resorted to raffling the consol instead of 'first come, first serve'. Enough people lined up at Best Buy to encircle 1/2 the store 9 hours prior to launch(around 50-100 available at launch). Super K only had 3 available at the launch. Circuit city insist on bundling Fantavision along with the consol at $350. It was unfortunate that these stores were very vague on the # they had and how they were going to distribute them.
After trying 4 different stores we stopped by Target at midnight (8hr before launch) and found them to be the most informative. They specified at the door that only 27 consols are available, and they will hand out 27 tickets to the first 27 people in line. Naturally, the original 27 people in line banded together and discouraged anyone from lining up. Informal numbers were passed around, a list was created to ensure that we would get it. However, near the store opening many people attempted to cut in until the managers intervened. Throughout the experience, I say that Target was the most professional store out of all the ones I visited (super K, Walmart, Best Buy, Meijer).
Note to those who might want to get PS2: Target will have another shipment in the next 2-3 days.
Also, a I heard a rumor regarding the PS2 shortage... Sony had to retool some of their production line due to lack of inventory of PS1 after they slowed production. This caused them to have a 2 month lag in PS2 production. Anyone that can comment on this?
Early estimates indicate that Sony is losing approximately $20 on the sale of each USDM
Last I heard Sony was biting $100 for each system sold. Maybe it changed since the Japanese launch.
Also, have you noticed Sony hasn't advertised through television or print ads? I guess the Playstation brand will sell it all... along with the press hype.
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Neafevoc
You may notice that the one who's bidding over a thousand is an AOL account with 8 references from an equally obscure account.
he's either wealthy or stupid if he's really bidding, since he's bid on the top 3 systems for sale.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
All arguments over whether the shortage is artificial or not aside, I personally intend to pick up at least a memory card and no fewer than two games when I get my PS2. I will probably also buy the DVD remote control unit at the same time.
You need memory cards. I already have standard dual shock controllers, so I don't particularly need another Dual Shock 2, especially since the few titles I've played (Tekken Tag and Fantavision being chief among them) don't use the variable-pressure-sensitive buttons.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
not only that, but the current high bidder has a spoofed rating. 8 identical ratings from the same guy, cmon.
he's bid on the top 3 machines now, and he's ruining the auction.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
Sony's been spending money on parties featuring celebrities who were presumably paid to attend. The press then covers them for free. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't cheaper than doing commercials.
In a month or so (or perhaps even today) the PS2 commercials will hit the airwaves.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
somebody should tell them they've been available for months at well under a grand from japan. My friend bought one then turned around and sold it for 2k to someone who arrived to late. Some people have too much money.
All this proves if someone has the money the will spend it.
PS2? I'll wait 'til it hits the bargain bin.
I dunno 'bout the rest of you but I have work to do.
There's quite enough talk about the supposed worthlessness of the system, terrible quality of the launch games, conspiracy by Sony etc. That's boring. How bout my "getting the PS2" story, and some actual reviews instead ;-)
;-) The graphics engine rendered a huge landscape that stretched off in the distance with no draw-in and a tiny bit of LODing on the objects; Overall it looked very nice, and the physics engine made for some great dune-buggy-style driving.
---
The story:
I live and work in Dallas TX (I'm a game developer with Ensemble Studios.) For a few weeks now, a couple of us around the office have been setting up plans to get the PS2 the day it came out. Our plan as of yesterday was to camp a Best Buy, which was supposedly getting the largest shipment of units (~150.) We decided that 4am was a good time to show up (6 hours in advance of opening.) Yesterday, however, at about 4:20, I started thinking that perhaps there were some 24 hour places that might put the system on sale at midnight, so I called around.
4:30, and the first 24 hour Walmart I call tells me, "We've got 18 systems in, and we're putting em on sale tonight at 12:01. There's already 5 people in line." 5 minutes later, and my pal Rob and I were already in the car speeding through traffic to get there (We figured that a 7 hour wait in the evening was better than a 6 hour wait at 4 in the morning.)
We arrive at approximately 4:55. As we're pulling up to the store, we watch a group of 4 kids literally bolt across the parking lot and run into the store. I know what they're here for. I tell Rob to park and I jump out of the car and enter the store, heading for the electronics section. As I walk up, I see a number of people looking around for a place to line up. I search for the nearest clerk and ask him where the line for the Playstation 2 is, he looks confused and intimidated and tells me to wait there. Not content with that answer, I track down another clerk - this one points me to the layaway section in the back of the store. As I round the corner into the layaway halway, I finally see the line. It looks like at least 30 people to me. CRAP. Quick tally. Wait - 15 people! Woo! Rob comes rushing in 30 seconds later. We've got spots 16 and 17. Five minutes later and the line is full.
The next 7 hours were filled with mixed games of Magic, talking about game design ideas, Gameboy playing, attempts by various people to sneak their way into the line, and a few muted threats that the cops were going to come to quiet things down if people didn't behave or parents didn't show up to accompany the minors. All in all, Walmart was very cool about the whole thing, and although they admitted to not at all expecting what happened, they handled it gracefully and even held an impromptu raffle for some 20$ gift certificates towards the purchase of the PS2 for those of us standing in line.
Finally at 11:55, as everyone was standing and a very noticeable excitement and tension was in the air, we heard a page over the intercom for "Assistance in the front." and 3 minutes later, a shopping cart filled to the brim with bright blue boxes was escorted by no less than 2 walmart managers and a couple of large stocking guys right by the line and into the back room behind the counter. The 18 were then cordoned off from the 20 or so "spectators" and parents (as well as my girlfriend Jade, who is the coolest chick in the world; she likes games and actually spent the evening playing Magic with us geeks and hanging out), and we purchased our systems one by one. I walked out of the store at about 12:20am, playstation2 in hand. =)
On the way to Rob's house after the purchase, we drove by the Best Buy we were going to camp at, just to check it out. At 12:30am, there were 36 people we counted lined up outside - 9 and 1/2 hours before the store opened.
---
The System:
After all that, we certainly had to get home right away to plug'er in. The system itself is very stylish and sleek looking. My personal preference (as well as Rob's) is that a game machine look more "fun" than the PS2 looks, but if you're preference is the cool factor, this is definitely the coolest looking console to date. The manufacturing quality appears to be as high or higher than that of the PSX. The black plastic of the case is embossed with the PS2 logo on top, and it has some very nice little touches like a rotatable PS logo on the drivebay, and a very slick blue LED power indicator. Some negatives there are a really wacked power cycling scheme that involves a seperate master switch on the back (intended to be left on always), and then a "reset" button on the front that actually activates the system, and which you have to hold down for a few seconds to power the system off. Also, there seems to be a pretty significant cooling fan in the back of the system that emits a rather loud, compared to other consoles, (though not really unpleasant) whirring noise.
Included with the system is one controller, AV cables, instruction manual and a power cable. No demo disc, and no memory card (and apparently, the (un)availability of these cards is 1 for every 5 systems sold right now!) I was suprised by the lack of demo disc - that seems to be a no-brainer marketting oportunity to me, and I was disapointed that the system came with absolutely no included software save for the firmware.
Turning on the system for the first time presents you with a slightly different opening than the Japanese PS2 systems, with a display of the PS2 line-drawing-style logo, and then a list of languages and time zones to select from. Interesting to note is that the system was aware of the date/time out of the box - it was preset at the factory. The system configuration and memory browser menus are very slick, sporting background dolby surround sounds of ocean surf, and images of blue crystal icons and cool depth-of-field effects.
The overall sound quality of the system when hooked up via the included optical jack, and set to Dolby AC3 is phenomenal - way beyond that of the other consoles I have hooked up to my system. The music in games like Madden and SSX sounds really good, and the sound effects are crystal clear and sport very smooth and loud bass. Overall I'd have to say that the game audio is movie-quality and really impressed me. The video quality (for in-game videos, such as the Armored Core intro, or the Madden Intro) is also far ahead of what other console's have to offer and was the first thing that really impressed me when we booted the games.
---
The Games:
I wasn't expecting the games themselves to be very good actually; In the past, console launches have tended to have only one (maybe two) strong games, and a bunch of shlock to fill out the launch. Rob and I had between us: Fantavision, Madden 2001, Smugglers Run, Armored Core, Midnight Club Racing, and SSX.
Overall, I was suprised and quite pleased with the quality of the games. Almost all of the titles we tried, with the exception of Midnight Club Racing, were very strong A-quality titles.
- Out of those titles, SSX and Madden are clearly the best games for the system at this time. SSX is a VERY nice looking (very fast too - 60fps) snowboarding game that is a mix between Tony Hawk (skateboarding game) and 1080 (snowboarding game.) It's all about frantic downhill action and crazy stunts, the gameplay was right on and the production quality was very high. Madden is the best looking title available on the PS2 and the production quality of that game was also remarkably high. Neither of these games had the usual rushed-out-the-door quality I would normally expect with a launch title, and none of the games had the pre-first-generation feel that I'm used to in the games that are available when a system first comes out - they were all very polished.
- Smuggler's Run was probably my second favorite game, right behind SSX, because of it's split-screen multiplayer. The CTF style capture-the-loot game is really fun, and makes me think of the PC game Tribes, except with cars
- Fantavision was a unique and fast-paced puzzle type game, that didn't appeal to me as much as a tetris clone, simply because it was lacking a bit in depth of strategy. Armored Core was a great looking FPS mech game that was fun to play and had a nice shallow learning curve - the only downside was lack of analog stick support. Midnight Club Racing seemed the weakest of the bunch to me, simply because it seemed tedious, and the graphics were not at all up to par with the rest of the group.
I can't wait to see what second generation games look like. The games I listed above leave out some very notable titles that were also available at launch such as Tekken Tag Tournament, Dead or Alive 2, and Ridge Racer V.
---
As Rob pointed out to me, your average gamer has no idea that many development houses are having lots of difficulty wrapping their brains around the PS2, those things might get some coverage in the hardcore-gamer news channels. All your average gamer knows is what he thinks is fun, and what his friends and magazines tell him is fun. I would have to say that the amount of hype and momentum to purchase the system I experienced yesterday, coupled with at least half a dozen very strong launch titles, suggests to me that sony still has great potential to lead this next generation console market. The XBox and Gamecube also have undeniably promising potential that is going to make for a very interesting playing field this coming year. =)
On my way home from Rob's, Jade and I drove by Best Buy again, and there was a line that stretched from the door, all the way around to about halfway down the side of the building. At least 60 people there at 3am. The parking lot looked as full as it does during normal hours. This Best Buy is merely one of probably half a dozen in the DFW metroplex - according to the other two guys here who actually got a system this morning (woohoo! 4 for 4!) every store they went to had a similar phenomenon.
paulb
p.s. I'm sure that some people consider the rush to get a new console the day it comes out to be pretty pointless. We all have our priorities I guess, and for me, Fun is pretty high up there on the list. The fun and excitement of this experience was way worth the 9 or so hours it took, so please don't bother to flame me for it. =)
Paul Bettner
Game Developer et al
-c.
--
Casey
More scratches on the cave wall, thanks be to anonymity.
What planet are you on, loser? You deserve swift kick in the chops from Yoshimitsu, sucka!!
I'm not impressed.
Yet.
Glückwünsche, haben Sie Slashdot ermordet, indem Sie zum korporativen Druck beugten und Subskriptionen einlei
"Gasbag" is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum
Actually, that's not at all how scrotal inflation works. I understand it involves injecting sterile saline solution into the scrotum. I've never tried this, but you can read how to do it safely in case you're interested.
(Before you moderate this down, ask yourself honestly -- who are the real crazies -- people who do scrotal inflation, or people who pay $1000+ for a game console?)
The Playstation 2 has zero decent games in comparison to the Dreamcast right now. Madden is kinda cool, but NFL2k1 spanks it all over as far as gameplay goes.
By the time good games are out the system will be back down to a reasonable level. And no net play? WTF is that?
i got mine.. i ordered in may and paid $300.. would i pay $1000? hell no.. would i sell mine right now for $1000.. sure. email me your offers!
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
And in someways its easier to throw money at providing whizz-bang physics engine development than it is to do satisfying game-play.
Ancient Domains of Mystery (www.adom.de, runs on linux or windows) is a roguelike game of immense complexity and challenge and i enjoy playing it more than most other slashers i've ever seen.
And the graphics are ASCII, but its the guys evolving life work, not a 2 year development project to get shoved out the door.
As a game it is superior to diabloII in EVERY way
except graphics
maybe once the visual envelope is virtual things will return to questions of balance and game design.
But i think we've got ten years of eye-popping dross ahead.
'There is a Light that never goes out.'
Sony is stupid for selling these for $300 a pop. They are losing so much money because they could get away with selling the initial batches for $600 and up. ``I would've paid up to $500 for it,'' he said. ``It's well worth the money.'' from Yahoo! news. They should just auction them all off on eBay, and extract every last drop of consumer surplus from buyers. If I was a Sony shareholder, I would be dismayed. I can't imagine what purpose it serves to sell them below the price at which consumers are willing to pay.
Sure, call me cynical, but I really don't see why people are so obsessed over a gaming console. For some reason, they seem to have forgotten that any PC purchased within the last, say, 3 months, probably out-powers the PSX2 in both processor speed and video power. And, if you want to play PSX/PSX2 games, there is always bleem!
Note, I'm not trying to troll here, I am simply expressing an opinion. I never really understood the alure of a gaming console.. does anybody have any comments?
------------
CitizenC
Ch eck This One Out!
if you look at the bid history.. well.. just look. opa-opa is my hero, and montana131 owes someone a lot of money.
I was in an Electronics Boutique in NYC today and asked about Playstation2 availability (more to see what they would say then expect to get one). Well I was shocked and pretty pissed off when I was told there were one left (of course) but if I really wanted one the clerk would sell me his for $900 dollars. What the heck is that about? The worst part is that all of the employees in the store were doing it. With inside competition like that how can anyone expect to get one. (This is not a flame versus EB just this particular one.)
Well we know what this years furfy craze is. Thanks for letting me know.
The truth shall set you free!
Dude, I bought stock. I like stuff that apreciates. Pre split it was $17.00 4 years ago. Today it's $45. I'm buying a moterhome.
The truth shall set you free!
So what's the conspiracy? They ARE raking in profits, or else they wouldn't make the stupid game console in the first place! Sony will charge to maximize its total revenue. If this means charging more per unit than it costs Sony in research, parts, and labor, then more power to Sony. This is a sign that more people should be making game consoles like the Playstation, and try to get a share of the profits. Heck, I'm game. Anyone out there want to start up a game console business?
An unjust law is no law at all. - St. Augustine
There is a greater demand than supply. Not everyone who wants one will get one. In these circumstances, as long as there are free traders, the price will rise to a level where demand is reduced to the same level as supply.
Are you seriously saying that you prefer rationing to free market economics? What makes the person willing to place an 8-month preorder more deserving than the person willing to pay 3 times the sticker price?
The only thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is that this is way of thinking is so common. Scalpers serve a useful economic function: helping to reduce all prices to purely monetary ones.
--------
The PS/2 model 25 was, at first, an 8086. The model 30 was also an 8086. Later, IBM released 286 versions of both. The PS/2 line went up to the model 95, which could be equipped with up to a P90, although several people have gotten a P180 to work. These were some nice machines, and a lot of fun to play with. Once, a friend of mine and I figured out how to modify a normal video card to make it work with the model 25. Once that was done, squeezed a 486 motherboard into it and booted Windows 3.1. It was really cool.
sup
Nice, Anonymous coward. Why the fuck would I play something I just said sucks ass? Yes, it uses the same controller don't give me that shit. It sucks, admit it with all the other people that agree with me and start walking away now!
It'll be interesting to see what they have to say about it, as this person admits to being a Toys R Us employee.
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Forward that info to their corp headquarters, CC: Sony. That should have some impact. Sony is already acting to discourage gouging.
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Next time that happens, talk to the manager, do not pass go, do not pay $900. Its possible that the clerk was just trying to gouge you, and he didn't even own the unit. Think about it, he takes your $900, puts $300 or whatever the unit costs in the register, and pockets the rest, rings it up after you leave. I am all for free trade in secondary markets, but a clerk in a store should not abuse that position as such. You could have easily had him fired.
-
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
Sony has made a huge, risky investment. They need to get a good return on it to survive, and there is nothing evil in this. Or do you just not like business?
/me wonders if I can sell some of my old IBM PS/2 systems to some unsuspecting fool on Ebay..
It isn't suprising that a fool and his money are soon parted, the suprising thing is that they got together in the first place. These people paying double and triple retail the the PS2 are just crazy. Any bets on how many people get took on ebay? RastaSaf
Seriously, though, I'm not giving Sony shit for the PS2, even though I want one. After going to see the new Jackie Chan flick and spending the first 10 minutes watching 7 fucking commercials before the previews even started, I decided that the companies forcing this shit on me weren't going to see a dime from me until they let me watch movies in peace again.
And before you say I wasn't forced to watch them, you usually have to get to "big" movies early if you want seats. Not watching movies isn't an option for me. Bah.
Aaaaaanyway, to get back to the actual topic, I'll be buying a PS2 used. Probably in about 6 weeks, knowing the console market.
-Legion
DISCLAIMER! I am not suggesting anyone tinker with the prices on ebay in any way by this post, just making an observation
like most folks, i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw this article or the actual prices on ebay for playstation 2s, but as some people pointed out earlier and i noticed by looking at the bid histories, it looks like there are a few people out there interested in monkeying with the high-bids on these systems, because there are a LOT of systems with multiple bids from the same person. in a way, i kinda feel bad for e-bay because now they get to police all these fakers, but in another way, i feel somewhat vindicated that someone is wasting some (granted not much) of these auctioneers' time. it almost makes up for the "who wants to buy this off me?" and "grandma here is gonna play this as soon as we get home!" cracks i had to endure after standing outside my local store for 2 hours while the people who actually got consoles waited inside.
ah well, back to my trusty old Playstation.
- rewster
Almost a hoax for sure, but guess it shows how crazy things are in general.
There's 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
...masterminded by the good people at Old Man Murray.
---
Now all they need to do is make Everquest for the PS2. Then you could buy a $2000 character to use with your $15k PS2. (perhaps using some of those cool new kidneys, too)
Stupid like a fox!
Some moderators feel justified in calling a logged in poster's default +1 overrated if they don't think much of the comment.
And others don't care if it's justified or deserved or not, they just like to revel in their moment of power and laugh at the people who get stirred up.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I'm living in Tokyo and picked up my PS2 months ago...and it's been collecting dust pretty much ever since I got tired of Ridge Racer 5.
Quite frankly, there are just not enough _GOOD QUALITY_ games out for the PS2 right now, and it's going to take another year before or so before there will be.
Looking back on my 39800 yen purchase, I would have rather bought a new SCSI controller or 3D card for my PC instead.
--
We are sorry, but our site is temporarily unavailable due to weekly scheduled maintenance between 01:00 Pacific Time and 03:00 Pacific Time on Friday mornings.
The purpose of these scheduled maintenance downtimes is to make improvements to the system, such as adding new hardware or making changes in software to offer new features. During scheduled maintenance, we try to make improvements as quickly and as safely as possible.
Please check the Announcement Board at http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml for updates.
Regards,
eBay
...for $4000
/ANY/ serious bets for this PS2?
sir runs off laughing
OK, were there
everyone shakes their heads.
[Taken from the simpsons]
skiy. www.Smokedot.org Drug Info, Rights, Laws, and Discussion
The guy selling it is pretty dang corrupt. Charging 2.5% for shipping and handling.. Bite mE! $127.50 for S&H?? What you packing it in gold foil wrapping paper??
and what stupid sod bought a game that has no value for $5100.00?? Anyone with a brain knows how to get one for the retail price. Hell - Comp-usa in Grand Rapids still had 2 last night when I looked at them.
(Buy one? no way in hell... I'll wait until next christmas and get one for $199.00 and the modchip is available.)
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Parents beating each other up at K-Mart. Load balancers burts into flame. It's a mad mad mad mad world out there.
Check out the full story. You probably won't regret it.
Probably.
It's annoying when people say stuff about how premium gas is a scam. My car requires it or I'll get ping
What the hell $5000?! Buy yourself a plane ticket to Japan and get a PS2 there for $85.
Wow, man -- I can't wait to hear the whining when this economic bubble blurps and bursts. "60 bucks for a game, man you're kidding me right?"
Yeah, yeah, off topic -- go ahead.
---------- You are not the contents of your sig.:-p
Rambus does not manufacture memory at all, It liscenses it's Intellectual Property to other manufacturers.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
There's not much point in advertising an item that customers won't be able to buy for another few months. The people who have preordered don't need an advertisement to convince them to buy a PS2. :)
--
Forward, retransmit, or republish anything I say here. Just don't misquote me.
that would be SLY not Shy.
There is no spork.
haha, Hey mybe you can get together with groundskeeper willy and you, him, and youre "Dool" can go "DOONTOOON!" I know, its sad.
There is no spork.
I waited in line outside a Target yesterday morning from 5:30 till 8AM, when I got it. I put up an ad on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem &item=480556343), and no one has bid on it yet.
There are just way too many of them out there and not enough buyers.
If you're interested in an unopened PS2, help me out Slashdot brotha. It ends Sunday at noon.
I don't understand this craze over the console. I mean, it's cool to own the last console but don't you guys remember what happened with the original PS?
Sony needed several models before a lot of issues were addressed, like overheating. And with PS2 in Japan, there were problems with memory cards and the cd unit.
Do you want to buy bugs?
Be my guest, I'll personally wait until Dec 2001 mainly because of 2 reasons: a) the chance to buy a bug free console and b) second generation games.
Oh, and don't forget the chance to get a better price.
RE: Without Ford making cars, who would buy car tires?
Consumers. Usually repeatedly, after the Firestones that came with the car shred to pieces.
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
Scrotal inflation.