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$499 PlayStation 3 Confirmed
Gamespot is reporting that the rumoured price drop from earlier this week is a reality. Starting on July 10th, the current 60GB model will sell for $499. Coming to US shores in August is the 80GB version only available in South Korea at the moment, which will retail for $599. They're bundling that unit with Motorstorm, so it's not just another 20 gigs for $100. "The price drop further indicates that, after a slow start, Sony is now aggressively trying to expand its customer base in the US. The move comes none too soon. According to the latest figures from industry-research firm the NPD Group, the PS3 only sold 82,000 units in the US in May, compared to the Xbox 360's 155,000 units and the Wii's 338,000 units." So, is this it? Will this price drop make you buy a PS3, or are you still holding off for the big games this fall?
I want one for the Blu-Ray player. I have a 61" DLP set that is just screaming for Blu-Ray or HD DVD, Personally I like Blu-Ray. Currently stand alone Blu-Ray players are $650+ (from a quick Google search). From the reviews I have read it holds up fairly well against them. Plus an awesome gaming machine.
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
Calling a $500 price "aggressive" may not be appropriate, really. Realistic, perhaps; it's still $200 pricier than an HD-DVD player or a basic XBox 360. I'd call it barely reasonable, but not aggressive.
And honestly looking at FFXIII despite being a huge FF fanboy doesnt make me bite at all, not for 500 dollars. As for the other PS3 killer apps right now, more than a few are actually out or coming out on the 360, which I already own.
Im sure a bunch of people are going to jump on me with bluray this, and HDMI that, but quite frankly Sony really think about what made their PS2 a huge seller. They though it was the diehards, and built a system perfect for them. What they forgot was the casuals, of which the 100 dollar PS2 became a big seller not the 300 dollar original pricetag version.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
no.
no.
This just confirms that Sony is in full-blown panic mode... They keep talking about the long-term viability of the PS3, and I can see why since it is a pretty nice piece of hardware. But they're obviously very worried about their near-term prospects so I could easily see how they'd cut another $100 before the end of the year if things don't turn around quickly.
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi
Compared to the neo geo, the PS3 is a flippin bargain.
I've been debating getting a Game Cube or PlayStation 2, now maybe I'll seriously look at the PS2. :-) Prices are soo much better at the trailing edge.
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
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Or I could get this one imported for $582 AUD but have no warranty. Both options are bad, but the fact I could almost get TWO from America at the same price makes the warranty issue not look so bad after all.
Sony doesn't stand a chance against the Xbox or Wii(which is still regularly sold out) in Australia any time soon. Even with the best damn games on the planet $1000 is a ludicrous price, next to $350ish Wii or $500ish 360. I could in fact get both consoles and some games for the same price... Bluray doesn't even enter into consideration.
"So, is this it? Will this price drop make you buy a PS3, or are you still holding off for the big games this fall?"
That's it? Where's the third option, "neither of the above". I want my third option, god damn it!!
Let's see, what does $499 PS3 change. XBOX360 is $399, Wii is $250.
For your extra money, you get poor list of games, $65 a pop, and Blu-Pending-Disaster support, at around $45 a pop.
I'm about as excited about all of this, as I would be if Epson released $50 cheaper printers. It's about the ink, people!
This is absolutely fantastic news.
It will now cost me $100 less to not buy one.
Sigh. I know I'm going to probably get modded "Flaimbait" for this, but here goes anyway...
It's only been two years since the CD rootkit scandal and already it seems the consumers have either forgotten or forgiven Sony. So please bear with me while I just take a moment to point out that there are probably still holdouts like me out there who *really* meant it when we said we would never buy from Sony ever again.
We now continue with your regularly commercial sheep-like programming existance where electronics are mass-marketed to you as shiny new objects.
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
Wow, that's the craziest "advantage" I've ever heard anyone cite :-) "PS3 is slow right now because it's hard to program for, but you should buy it anyway because one day hopefully they'll figure it out" - where do I sign?
Here's a thought - why not just wait until when/if they do figure it out, and then buy it? It'll be cheaper too.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
In other words expect a full video / music download service and possibly IPTV to be announced at E3. It's been a long time coming seeing as it was such an obvious and natural feature for the PS3 to have.
"Stuff is worth what people will pay for it."
Clearly, the PS3 isn't worth $600 to very many people. I'll be surprised if it's worth $500 either. Despite all the technology they've crammed in there, the games library has almost zero appeal. Boring, joyless games plus Blu-Ray does not equal $500.
With the Wii outselling PS3 6-to-1 in Japan, there's little reason to think third-party software makers will turn this around.