Sony Unveils PSX Details, Pricing

kevinvee writes "Following an earlier Slashdot article, Yahoo is now reporting on the actual unveiling of Sony's PSX, with in-depth details on features and Japanese-specific prices for the 'hybrid gaming machine with digital media hub', which will start at $720 for the 160-gigabyte hard disk version." Japanese site Watch Impress has more pictures from the unveiling, including close-ups of the machine, and Digit Magazine explains specific features of this "hard disk, DVD digital video recorder and PlayStation 2 rolled into one", most notably that "...recording at 24 times normal speed is possible when copying previously recorded video... to a DVD-R optical disc", while GameSpot provides further analysis.

Comments

Said a million times over

[bigman2003]

Like most people, I really don't need a multi-function device- especially one that tries to address un-related needs.

It's a video game console, of a generation that is in its decline.

AND it is an early generation DVD recorder.

Not too long from now, I would be buying the next-gen console, and I won't feel so good about my multifunction device (ugly to boot) sitting in my cabinet.

Take out the Playstation, and it makes more sense to me.

Re:Said a million times over

[Pink_Robot]

Suffice it to say, RTFA. Or, at least one of them.

This is NOT an "early generation DVD recorder." It has 24x write speed, a hell of a lot faster than ANYTHING (and, of course, it can rewrite, too).

I'm gonna disagree with your ugly statement, too, but that's not anything quantitative. In one of the articles, you might note that it compares the PSX to a competitor's simple device, and notes that the price is under half the comptetitor's price with a PS2 thrown in.

So, you're getting a large hard drive with almost everything a Tivo can do, with a DVD burner faster than anything on the market, it's got PS and PS2 cabilities, has all the outputs you could ever want, and even has internet connectivity.

Makes sense to me.

Re:Said a million times over

[Babbster]

It's definitely not a good value for people who already have a DVR/PVR and are not interested in archiving television programs to DVD-R.

That being said, when compared to other units with similar functionality apart from the console gaming component, it appears to be a very nice value. There are units out there that do both HD recording and DVD recording, but the units in a similar price range to the PSX sport smaller hard drives and, obviously, don't have PS2s in them. It should also be noted that I had initally read that Sony would have a Tivo-like guide service available for the PSX which, if true, would set the unit farther from the competition as previous HD/DVD-R units have only provided VCR-like timer functionality. My final thought in terms of price is that it compares quite favorably to the Tivo/DVD-R unit that should be coming out soon, which is supposed to retail at nearly $1000 with the guide service.

Gamespot's point that looking at this as an HD/DVD-R product first and a gaming device second is right on the money. When you do that, buying the 120-GB unit is like getting a PS2 for next to nothing (Panasonic's cheapest HD/DVD-R unit is about $700 MSRP, 80 GB, no guide service).

For a die-hard gamer satisfied with their current TV recording, this would be a dumb purchase. For someone looking to move up the digital recording ladder and get a PS2 - spare or not - to boot, the PSX is actually a good economical choice...unless one doesn't mind waiting a year since I'm fairly sure this kind of unit (sans PS2) will be available for $500 or less by next Christmas. :)

I'm sure this has been asked before but...

[MMaestro]

Again, who is this aimed for again?

DVD-R Drive : Good but not needed or even considered by many
Huge hard drive : Pretty, but I'm guessing Sony won't be happy if I try to use the PSX to house .mp3's
PS2 : Good, but won't I just buy a PS3 sometime in the future?
TIVO system : Fancy, but if you've got the cash to buy a PSX in the first place, you probably don't have much time to watch TV let alone play catch up

Re:I'm sure this has been asked before but...

[Babbster]

It's aimed for people who want a PVR and a way to archive recorded programs on DVD-R, with the inclusion of the PS2 being almost a bonus in the current market (see my message above).

I'll break it down for you, since that's what you seem to want:

DVD-R Drive - It's not considered by many in the same way that DVD itself wasn't considered by many for a while, or even the way that consumer VCRs weren't considered by many.

Huge Hard Drive - Bigger is better and compared to similar units this doesn't seem to impact the final price of the PSX, so what's the complaint?

PS2 - Sure you'll buy a PS3 sometime in the future, but that future isn't here yet. As noted above, you're getting the PS2 functionality for a song. Think of it as a PVR/DVD-R device first, if that helps (Sony is marketing this through their consumer electronics division and not through their gaming division which should tell us something).

TIVO system - This so-much-cash thing just isn't true. In order to buy a Tivo with a lifetime of service (anyone who pays monthly is a sucker, IMHO - I've been using my Panasonic Showstopper/ReplayTV since they first hit the streets so these units can last), you're going to pay $650!! That's for 80 GB of space and no DVD-R capability. Are you telling me that anyone who has bought a Tivo or ReplayTV so far has no time to watch TV? As far as the bigger hard drive goes, the 120 will be more than satisfactory for most people and the 250 is going to be for people who want to spend less on DVD-R media by leaving shows longer on the hard drive.

In short, when you add up the various functions of this unit you end up getting the PS2 part of the unit for virtually nothing. Taking the PS2 out of the equation, the pricing stands up even to units with LESS under the hood.

Maybe a lot of people don't need the capabilities that the PSX provides, but then again I could argue that people didn't need to upgrade to DVD to watch movies, and people don't need to buy a Tivo to watch TV. But for those people who want to move into digital video recording, easier time-shifting of TV and archiving on DVD instead of VHS, the PSX at the moment looks like one heck of a good deal.

My parents were recently looking for an upgrade to the ReplayTV I gave them. They bought the [DishNetwork] DishPVR 721 unit (80+ hours of recording space, two tuners, two-week guide...all the bells and whistles) for $750. They could afford it AND they [obviously] like to watch TV.