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PS3 Enjoys Retail-Wide Sales Spike After Price Cut
donniebaseball23 writes "Sony, after nearly two years on standing firm on PS3's price, dropped the console to $249, and it's been having an immediate impact. GameStop has already noted a 'significant' increase in PS3 sales, while big box retailer Target confirmed an 'immediate lift' in sales and recommended PS3 as a 'great option' for its customers. Not only that, but leading e-tailer Amazon saw PS3 sales explode by 400% in the days after the price cut. All told, in the months ahead, analysts are expecting Sony to see as much as a 30% sales bump for PS3 this holiday season."
I know quite a few people who have consoles and are looking at buying a new video card for their PC instead of getting BF3 on their console (PS3). The PS3 getting the price drop before several high end games (MW3, BF3, Mass Effect 3, etc) come out this fall doesn't seem like a huge surprise. For the less technically inclined, a $250 console might look like a better option than a $200-250 video card + installation + buggy drivers.
Heck, as a "PC guy", I might finally consider getting a PS3 simply as a HTPC replacement. Blu-Ray + Netflix + PC for web browsing on my TV @ $250 is way cheaper than buying a used mac mini or similar device. Not to mention the much better resale value...
moox. for a new generation.
You do realize you can get PSN without giving them your credit card info since it is free, right? Heck, even if you want to buy something you don't have to give them your CC info, just need to buy PSN cards at the store.
Jesus, can you shut up?
just because an event is obvious doesn't make it non news worthy, Especially when event is actually quantified.
or do you get up in arms when you see news articles like "bad weather destroys port" because "this isn't news, we know that bad weather can cause damage."
I think you need to learn the difference between news and unexplained phenomenon.
Wow, entitlement complex much?
For both ya'll... PS3 are great. I've had one for years, has lasted this whole time, and is playing the new Bad Lieutenant right now on netflix. If you have a media server on your home network, you can access it with the PS3. You can also put in yoru own HDD and not break the warranty. Sony tells you exactly how. That way you can do all kinds of media storing, etc.
PS3 is great. Blu Ray, HD, 3d gaming and movies, media playing, open platform for USB hardware and bluetooth hardware. I know people on slashdot hate sony and for their reasons, and i understand them. I've thought about whether i would buy the next generation... who knows.. but I do appreciate what I have. Great gear.
If all you want to do is Blu-Ray and Netflix, than the PS3 is just fine. If you plan to do anything else home-theater-esque with it (even web browsing), you'd really be far, far, far better served by a cheap HTPC. There are things like PS3 Media Server that help serve video from your PC to PS3, but it's frequently more trouble than it's worth.
Should people that purchased stocks, in any particular company, that ended up going down in price, be refunded the difference? The answer would be, "Hell no". The fact is that you have to make a purchase and hope your bet(i.e. your purchase) was placed at the right time. If you are wrong, then you go the poorer for it. If you cannot afford to be wrong, then do not buy.
As far as "earning" anything; you haven't. My girlfriend works for the life-sucking, vicious company that is AT&T(wireless). She wakes up at 0450, leaves the house by 0600, and does not get home until 1930 to 2000. Afterwards, if she doesn't have to log into her VPN, to finish off some work(which happens 85% of the time), then she has to feed the dogs and jump into bed. That is just in time to see the clock hit 2200 to 2230. If she has to do work, then it more like 2345 to 0030. Even when the weekend rolls around, she is work six to nine hours, both days. Of course, she is just happy to still have a job.
So, spare me this "well-earned" statement. There are people that work far harder than you, for far longer, and probably for less money. I mean, it isn't like my girlfriend is receiving a six-figure salary for the ridiculous amount of work she does. In actuality, she makes way below that mark; I mean way, way below it. On top of it, management tells her group others see them "smiling too much". ...and, no, I am not making that shit up. So, I guess she cannot be too overtly happy.
I do not fault you for wanting to see the most value for your money. My problem is that you are using the wrong argument.
You want money back? Pack the thing up and try to get a refund from wherever you got it from. Don't expect the retailer to have much sympathy either.
*twitch* You're using a PS3 on a CRT TV? That's like the A/V equivalent of buying a Ferrari and never driving over 30 mph. I think I'm going to have a seizure...
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Heck, you can buy a 460gtx which is 2-3x as powerful as a 8800GTS for $120 these days. $100 for an 8800GTS is wasting your money. I was in the BF3 alpha and can confirm that BF3 runs at a solid 60fps on a 460gtx.
I totally agree! I was running Bad Company 2 (BF3 lite) on a 8600GT and a midrange Core 2 for a few years (I've since upgraded). BF3 is definitely geared towards turning the screws on even a high end PC with all the settings maxed out... but at the same time, the engine still has to run on six-year old hardware *cough* consoles *cough*. I don't think (most) console owners are in denial that their hardware is ancient, but the stark reality is that games are written to run on consoles first, and PC is generally an afterthought*. You'll note that I highlighted "PC Guy" in quotes in the original post; I definitely agree you get a higher quality experience on the PC, particularly in terms of resolution. I don't think I'm forgetting that consoles run on ancient hardware. My point was that the console market is something like 10x the size of the PC market. I've run across some really sharp people, but have zero motivation and would rather have a console than a PC. There's a huge segment of the population that wants the "bleeding edge", but at the same time want bleeding edge technology that "just works". Consoles represent the equivalent of a toaster with an HDMI port on the back. Insert bread, press start button, receive 46" glorious 3D gaming toast. Asking the general public sitting on their couch after a 10 hour day + 1 hr commute each way with their boss breathing down their neck, a dog and 2.6 children to do any more is madness.
*yes, I'm acutely aware that "PC is the lead platform for BF3"
moox. for a new generation.
Amen. I started out with PS3 Media Server and the PS3, but gave up, it is such a friggin hassle to work with. These days I'm using a QNAP NAS and a small HTPC, works every time.
(Shame less plug, one drive in the QNAP gave up and for some reason the entire soft array got whacked, the QNAP tech rebuild the array remotely for no charge; that's customer service).
I'm calling bullshit on that. I use my PS3 as a media center and it's fine with all the divx/xvid movies/series that I've got, whether they're ripped or downloaded. It can get a bit fussy with some mp4 files, but a transcode to divx fixes that.
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Heh, I have to pay the MS tax every time I buy a laptop, even if the first thing i do is to wipe Windows off the hard drive. So why should I give them even more money?
At least all the money I've used for buying Sony stuff (not much more than a PS3 + games really) is based on a voluntary decision.
I'm more fond of Seven of Nine myself.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
I'm by no means a console fanboy or gaming nut. I grew up playing video games and still do. I was skeptical about buying into the current generation of consoles, but I purchased a PS3 Slim shortly after the price cut. In the prior years I hadn't played any recent games because I didn't have any recent console, nor did I ever purchase PC gaming hardware (a regular desktop was always good enough for me). It's a slick device and well worth the money; I'm really glad I bought it. Since then I got more into gaming and purchased a couple other consoles and a high end video card for my latest desktop. Most of my game time is still on the PS3, and I would recommend it to anyone who had to pick just one thing.
Also it's not just good for games. It's possibly the most well rounded general entertainment device I've ever owned. It makes the big HDTV in my living room come alive with on demand downloadable content, streaming movies and shows, blu-ray films, and whatever else a person could want from a home entertainment center. It's good at what it does and does it quickly and efficiently with great audio and video quality. Basically you're getting a lot of bang for your buck, because the PS3 has the equivalent functionality of 3 or 4 other devices that would require a high upfront cost and be more of a hassle to deal with. It's ironic considering how skeptical I was before I even thought about buying one, and I don't much like Sony, but after all is said and done, it's an awesome product.
Who the would trust Sony with their CC Info at this point and why would I want a PS3 without PSN?
One might reasonably apply that question to any random website. Besides Sony have had their kicking and it's likely their security is much better than the industry average.
Well, so much for all the ./ rage a few months ago about Evil Sony and their pursuit of poor hackers, DRM, and lax security procedures....
I guess at the end we all do have our price, don't we?
My old QXGA CRT would like to inform you
Does this monitor have a TV tuner? If not, it's technically not a TV.
If sharing a song makes you a pirate, what do I have to share to be a ninja?
Seeing as ninja were covert agents in feudal Japan, a close modern counterpart would be the kind of stuff reported on by WikiLeaks.
The PS3 doesn't support MKV container formats. Instead you use AVI (for DIVX format) or MP4 (for AVC H264) and you're good to go.
No, no, a thousand times no. This makes both the PS3 and Xbox 360 utterly unsuitable as a stand alone media player. In order to play these files anyway you now have to transcode them or use PS3MediaServer to transcode them on the fly, either way there is a loss of quality and a need to have another [powerful] computer active at the same time. Or you could have one quiet little HTPC connected to your TV which would perform this task better, run quieter... and yes, cost more.
Web browsing is poor on the PS3. There have been off / on rumours of something changing in that department for a while but nothing concrete. The issue is Sony uses a licenced browser called Netfront and it's a heap of crap.
Netfront has been around for eternity and it's always been a heap of crap. But you can run Firefox on your HTPC.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Finally someone with intelligence. Economic theory (so far as what 99% of the world is taught in school) is designed to explain how markets generally work. They are not designed to be simulations of markets.Hell, unless you have a phd in economics, you don't know enough to begin to simulate the complexities of markets; and even still, its largely somewhat of an art.
I can't tell you how may times I've debated economics, as it applies to the real world, with really intelligent people, who completely demonstrate epic failure of comprehension when it comes to economics because they can't grasp the world doesn't actually work like economics 101.
*twitch* You're using a PS3 on a CRT TV? That's like the A/V equivalent of buying a Ferrari and never driving over 30 mph. I think I'm going to have a seizure...
Hmm, I bought a PS3 (when the slim dropped the price a few years ago) because it had some games I wanted to play... The only TV I had was an old low-end 20" CRT, kinda fuzzy.. so that's what I used.
The games play just fine for the most part -- they're fun, look good, etc.
However ... there is one significant exception: many games use absurdly small fonts, which look like they'd be appropriate for a big computer monitor, but work pretty badly on anything with lower-resolution. This can make text super annoying to decipher, as letters are often little more than vaguely shaped blobs (this is especially true with Japanese text, which tends to cram in a lot more detail into characters, but only increase the character size a little).
When the text in question is "scroll important info by quickly with no pause button" text, then ... well ... argh! ... Must ... Kill ... Developers....
We live, as we dream -- alone....
It's easy but it doesn't work for shit. I used the PS3 with Tversity for a while and it was a buggy pile of crap. Movies would just randomly quit in the middle, if you tried to fast forward it would get all screwed up, and Tversity would just randomly disappear from your list of media servers sometimes. Also I sometimes had to turn my PS3 off to get it to refresh the list of available movies/TV shows because the PS3 would cache and there was no way to manually make it take another look. I mean yeah, it worked most of the time, but a lot of the time it irritated the shit out of me.
I have a media center PC with XBMC on it now and except for a few hiccups here and there which are commonplace for any PC, it works great. I even got one of those Logitech HarmonyOne remote, bought a cheap media center remote to use the IR receiver, and I can use it with XBMC now along with the TV and receiver.
Best part of having a media center always on is that I can also run other servers on it. I've got a remote desktop session with VMWare running an Apache web server and I've also got some game servers like Minecraft and Terraria. Plus I have a half way decent video card in there for using DXVA (1080p video can bring my dual core processor to its knees) and friends can use it to play some PC games on my HDTV. It's kind of cool to watch.
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
It's not bullshit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinavia