E3 - Sony Drops PS2 To $149, Shows PSP, Hints At PS3

JSDopefish writes "Not much of a surprise, but Sony announced today at their E3 press conference that they're lowering the price of the PlayStation 2 console to $149, including the network adapter. That matches the already in-place $149 price of the Xbox system. The GameCube remains at $99." Elsewhere, jasoncart writes "Sony has just unveiled their Playstation Portable specs to the enthralled masses at their pre-E3 conference in LA. The result is the first photographs of the new device (alt. link), confirmation of the impressive specifications (Wi-Fi ahoy!) and hints on the games we'll be playing on the PSP, including 'clips of Gran Turismo... Wipeout [and] Metal Gear Solid'." 1UP also discusses mentions of the PlayStation 3 in the press conference, including "some rather grand predictions for the future of Sony's game console efforts."

Comments

Re:poor microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

Pretty soon? They were selling it at a loss on launch day, it's just been getting worse since then.

Re:This will sell like acid at Woodstock . . .

[bludstone]

I wouldnt be so quick to judge.

This will be an interesting competition. MANY technologically superior handhelds have gone up against nintendo, only to be defeated soundly.

Also realize that, if properly utilized, this touch screen could adapt the handheld to any control scheme necessary. Heck, Maybe in the future all controllers will be touch screen, and the button configurations will depend on the game programmers themselves.

We shall see.

Now. Gimme some ubisoft news. (play "beyong good and evil.)

Re:poor microsoft

[stratjakt]

No, it's been improving, and ahead of schedule. Word is xbox will profitable sooner than originally expected, due to increased sales and drastically lower production costs. It makes me wonder how much of that includes boxes sold to dorks who think buying xboxes to mod and run linux on "screws microsoft over". It doesnt. An item sold is an item sold.

Xbox outsold PS2 this month. The list of third party titles and developers is snowballing.

I really dont get being a fanboy for any console based on the "company x is evil!" philosophy. Both are big companies with histories of Evil(tm), hell add Nintendo and their emulator witchhunts and censorship of games to the list, oh and their illegal developer lockin contracts of days-gone-by. Hell, if they had their way, Capcom, EA, et al would be contractually obliged to only develop for them.

Re:More info on the PSP

[bludstone]

I suggest taking these specs with a grain of salt.

Sony has a history of promising incredible things, and then backtracking on them a week or so before launch.

"ps2 renders toystory in real time." Indeed. PSH.

Re:This will sell like acid at Woodstock . . .

[NanoGator]

"I'm going to be in line on day one. It almost makes you feel sorry for Nintendo with that dual-screen monstrousity of theirs. "

Monstrosity? Sorry, I don't feel sorry for Nintendo here. The system has wireless capability built in. This means both head to head play AND net play. It's got the touch screen interface like a Palm Pilot, that means you can play multiplayer + chat. Forget doing that on the PSP. It plays GBA games. Sorry, no backwards compatiblity for PSP. It has a built-in microphone. Sorry Sony, no voice recognition for you. Undoubtedly, the Nintendo system will be a lot cheaper than the PSP as well.

Who should feel sorry for who?

Re:WHY! Why does a portable system have so many po

[cubicledrone]

have so many ports from their non-portable cousins?

Because games are too expensive to develop.

Why are people fawning over the specs?

[LilMikey]

Yes, they slaughter the GBA and Gamepark but those were fairly underpowered on release. Compare it to something like the Zodiac it doesn't beat it on any field except the 1.8gig disk.

We all know it's going to be the games that make the system... so I'm sure this thing will be stunningly successful. As for the specs, it's almost exactly what I was expecting at the price-point, nothing more, nothing less.

Re:This will sell like acid at Woodstock . . .

[MoonBuggy]

Maybe in the future all controllers will be touch screen

Ugh, I hope not. No analog sensitivity, no tactile feel and no raised buttons. It'd be an absolute nightmare - imagine the simple on/off of a PC keyboard compared to the 2cm travel of an Xbox pad shoulder button. Imagine having to look down at the controls rather than just feel a large, well placed button like on a Cube pad. No thanks.

Re:poor microsoft

[Metallic Matty]

Actually, at current prices, Xbox is selling at a loss to Microsoft. They are hoping this will encourage sales for the system, and that they'll make it up on the sale of games.

And you're right, no point in supporting one company over another for "evil corp" reasons. Frankly, the way I see it, each company has its own domain. Up until recently I would say PS2 was the best system; but I think Xbox has taken over, with an excellent selection of games. Not to say that PS2 or Gamecube aren't good. Crystal Chronicles alone makes that system amazing.

Re:This will sell like acid at Woodstock . . .

[dasmegabyte]

It is entirely possible to have analog sensitivity with a touchscreen.

Anyhow, they're not meant to replace all the buttons. They're meant to make in easier to perform selections based on variable options. Sure, it's pretty easy to select "Attack monster" with an analog stick, or to scroll through a list of weapons to find the one you like. But it's even EASIER to have a visual catalog of options that you can slide your thumb down and tap to select. It'll make for some GREAT controls, and for some INSANELY quick and intuitive gameplay.