Overheard at PAX: PS3 price "is some grade-A bullsh!t"

this is going to be a fun generation, all the sony fanboys will be bashed 24/7, not only for the truth, but because of how they liked to bash everything last gen and pretend they were gods.

like i said. FUN. and oh boy do you guys deserve it.

and to the person who obviously dropped out of math class, you dont add up 50$ times 6 and say well it costs more. you make a certain amount every year from work. you pay 50$ out of that. not 600 out of a weeks pay. see the difference? and before you say yea well i save up, well you can do the same for the 50.

OH AND SONY ALREADY MENTIONED THAT ITS NOT UNIFIED THE ONLINE SERVICE.

It looks like the backlash to the pricing backlash is ON biyatches!

Seriously, stop snitching, whining and sputtering and hurry up and DON'T BUY THE PS3.

There are about 20-30 million people lined up to buy it at the current pricing, think your ass will be missed? Oh, what,the next generation of gaming doesn't start until YOU have a PS3?

The price will inevitably come down and another 40 to 60 million people will be lining up to buy those units too.

Enough of your reverse-psychology crap about Sony only hurting themselves. No fool, they are hurting YOU and all your moaning and bewailing won't make a damn difference, 'cause mainstream gamers ain't reading this crap anyway.

So have a coke, a smile and you know the rest.

(and yes, I am Rick James!)

I'm trying to figure out why everyone here defends their platform of choice tooth and nail, even if they haven't played it before. It's like your life depends on the success of the choices you haven't made yet.

I can't wait for the PS3 to come out, all the PS3 fanboys to shout "look OMG I have a PS3, it is so much better than yours." I'll look at my collection of games, my superior online service and laugh. I'm not anti-sony, I have a Sony TV, camera, Vaio and used to have a PSx and PS2. Xbox Live is worth every penny, and its the price of one game. PSO is horrible and unless sony drastically changes this, I won't be converting. I might buy a PS3 later on but it certainly won't be for the online play. Seriously who has had good experiences with PSO?

Laughing Target,

As an engineer, I despise your last comment. :) I'm just a lowly mechanical engineer, however. My job has nothing to do with this industry, and I'm glad of it. As for us engineers being notoriously bad businessmen, I can't really argue with that. I've had two co-workers be forced to take business classes by the company I work for as punishment for "poor project budgeting."

ps3 is retarded, nuff said

In response to #50

I wonder if Microsoft will even continue much longer with the XBox console.

Recent interview with Microsoft showed that due to increasing popularity (and the money that comes with it)of MMORPG games. The company is gearing up the next year to focus on PC games. Why? Cos despite the redundant question of whom will buy which console... everyone who can afford a console with Internet access... most definetely will have a computer to go online with and play games with. So the plan is to allow their OS like Vista get the most out of the gaming experience and blow millions of dollars on ads to entice more customers and developers for PC games.

Hmm, then again this could actually be a good thing for the XBOX since thise will most likely make it easier to port games in between the XBOX and the PC.

Regarding Sony and its PS3 well i been reading comments all over the web and i honestly think Sony made a big mistake with its pricing and the lack of respect for the "customers"... somehow selling a product with the idea that "it's sony and people will buy a sony" isnt really justification for shelling out a lot of money on. Developers have realised that and one by one many of them are dropping out on PS3 games especially with prices being so prohibitive to develop a single game for the PS3.

As for me, i am mostly a PC gamer and never really bothered with consoles. Mostly cos the kinda games i like are easier to play with a mouse and keyboard. But if i were to get a console or handheld it would Nintendo all the way. The Wii and the DS jus make all the games looks fun. Lol fact is the more reviews i read.. the more i want a DS (really curious about animal crossing)

Dont get me wrong. I love excellent closer-to-life graphics with awesome light shows but the more i play a game the less i notice the graphics. I think Nintendo is revolutionary not only for their console but also because they have done something the other consoles have neglected... which is they have stopped worrying about making their system more powerful and are focusing on making games more enjoyable.

After all, the purpose of the video game which everyone seems to have forgotten is to have fun with the games!

Last point, I think the Wii is revoutionary (and Sony has proved it by swtiching to motion sensitive technology for their controller) because the wii-mote is only the first of many steps for a true total immersive gameplay experience.

Nintendo may have been there, but I didn't see a Wii booth, just the same old DS booths from last year.

I don't want to buy a $500 - $600 PS3 cause it's too expensive, so their choice is to buy a combo of game systems that may well cost $650. "PS3 is so expensive I'm gonna go spend more!". Really if it's about the value added of having two systems as opposed to on then fine. But to couch the argument as their choice as consumer is to rebel against the high cost of the PS3 is silly... CAUSE YOU'RE SPENDING MORE.

Soooo no one takes seriously where is Wally T_T

Fanboys heartless.

Once again, another Joystiq post that taunts a system, and a flamewar on consoles insues. And like every console war, it ends with everyone sounding retarded, and no one's opinion has changed...

Seriously, why do we go through this everyime Joystiq makes a post that targets a system?

"Dude, you realize you're backing a system that's just an overclocked PS2, right?"

This is more true than many people think.

cell = emotion engine

The PS2's "emotion engine" was a crippled MIPS CPU combined with 2 vector processors. The PS3's "cell processor" is a crippled PowerPC CPU combined with 8 vector processors. It's just evolution of the same concept.

Even the hype is the same! The emotion engine was hyped prior to the PS2's launch, exactly like the PS3's cell processor is hyped today. The emotion engine was going to be "revolutionary", a "supercomputer", and an "order of magnitude" more powerful than everything else for years to come.

We all know how the emotion engine lived up to its hype.

@19, B33

"Seriously, fanboys need to stop pulling that card. It's $100 more then a 360. Get over it. You spend just as much after Xbxo live and the Hard Drive. You didn't see this much complaining when the PS2 was more expensive then the Gamecube..."

It is $100 more than the 360, but you forget that this is talking about the 360 that comes with the hard drive. and 60 bucks for a year of XBL isnt bad, thats 5 dollars a month, even less than 5 because of the 12+1 month plan.

and @ everyone else talking down people who have 360s:
I have a 360. I think PS3 is waaaaayyy too expensive, but mainly because I thought the 360 was too expensive, and Sony made theirs more. The only reason I have a 360 is because it was a gift. I would have never payed that much for one, and I will NEVER pay $600 (Converted to CDN = $665) for a PS3.

In my opinion people are overreacting about Sony's planned price on the PS3. Think about it...Xbox 360 cost $400+ (depending on package deals), yet it doesn't come close to matching the abilities and features of the PS3. Just because Sony chose to build a video game system thats loaded with all kinds of components doesn't mean they are trying to rip consumers off. If you don't want to spend $600 or $700 on a video system, then don't blame it on the company that made it.

After reading all these comments I have several responses to make, but I'm too lazy to respond to each with @ signs and whathaveya, so I'm just gonna list them all off.

1) I don't read PA (not regularly anyway) and I really have no idea how much weight their opinions have in the gaming world. However, what makes this interesting is that they said the price is bullshit and the crowd /cheered/ them. Not only do they agree that the PS3 is too expensive, they agree that it is 'bullshit.' Thats a lot of hardcore gamers that will probably not be buying a PS3. And if hardcore gamers think it is too expensive, do you really think the casuals will buy it?

2) Which brings me to my next point, the PS3 price. The reason why so many gamers are angry about the price is not JUST because it is half a friggin grand for a video game console, but also for two other important reasons as well. The first is that prior to PS3, every Sony machine started off at $300. It's gonna take the PS3 quite a while to reach that point, let alone the super-low price the PS2 is at now. Gamers that bought a PS2 because they felt it was a steal are now extremely pissed and feel betrayed that Sony has priced the PS3 so high. And the other reason I think people are pissed about the price is that a lot of people think the PS3 could have axed several features that are making it so expensive and there wouldn't have been that big of a performance cut. Bluray? Cell? Are these REALLY necessary for a nextgen experience? Well, a lot of people think not, and a lot of people think those technologies were just put in there by Sony to make them mainstream and cash in a pissload of money. In other words, many gamers think Sony is using us to further their agenda with the Cell processor and Bluray.

3) The price of Sony's online plan. I couldn't find the link, but I know Joystiq reported a while back that Sony has been going back on their word about free online for PS3. They pretty much said that some of it would be free, while they are still 'looking into the price' for other features. So if you think Sony is going to launch a service akin to XBoxLive for free, you are just kidding yourselves. If it is going to be free then I can't imagine it will be that much different from online gaming on the PS2. No centralization, no 'gamertags,' etc.

4) The 360 is just as expensive as PS3 when you factor in XBoxLive costs. This is, in part, true. However, XBoxLive is optional, and many people may simply decide they don't want it at all. Also, as I mentioned in number 3, I sincerely doubt the PS3 will launch with a XBoxLive like service for free, because Sony would lose too much money on it. So, you're essentially paying $50 a year for an online system that is, to this day, absolutely unrivaled. Maybe Wii's service will kick its ass, maybe Sony's will, who knows? But at this point saying PS3 + free online = XBox360 + XboxLive is a flawed argument, because you don't know if PS3 online will indeed be free, and you don't know what it will offer when compared to XBoxLive.

Either its not free or it is not as good as live. All that people are paying attention to is that gaming online and matchmaking are free who really cares if they charge for additional services. Can someone list the additional services you get while playing on live?

Why not have the Cell?

And blu ray not needed?

"The Darkness" developer:

"The 360 is a fantastic machine. I really really like it. The only thing, you know, that is going to cause trouble is the amount of storage space available on a DVD... thats really a problem."

http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=446554



Team Ninja:
"The infamous Team Ninja front man has a thing or two to say about Microsoft's decision to assign standard DVD format to the Xbox 360. Limiting his development team to a measly 9GB does not sit well with Itagaki, especially when Team Ninja is looking to include any number of (MS-coveted) HD cut scenes. It's ironic that Microsoft has been the most outspoken about the "HD era", but is the least prepared for it… However, don't be surprised to see an Xbox 360.1 springing up in a year or two, complete with HD-DVD drive."




"Enchant Arms" developer:
"The developer of "Enchant Arms," an upcoming role-playing game in Japan, told Gamespot.com last year it was hoping to be able to fit the game on two discs, but admitted "that's even looking grim." Any old school gamer can tell you that switching discs while playing is not a fun experience."




Vivendi Universal:
"The technical requirement for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies," said Michael Heilmann, chief technology officer for Vivendi Universal.
"Blu-ray offers the capacity, performance and high-speed internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming."




EA
"EA, a leading games developer and publisher, added that the delivery of high-definition games of the future was vital and Blu-ray had the capacity, functionality and interactivity “needed” for the kinds of projects it was planning.
"

Mark Rein:
Unreal Tournament was 6GB compressed. Next Generation games are going to be 20GB plus, and how we're going to fit them on DVD9's I don't know, they'll probably be a few of them. On the PS3, we're going to be using the majority of the space on those Blu-ray disks. So, online isn't really the best option in some instances.Downloading 30Gb isn't really feasible. What online could be, is the back-channel to get additional content. Patches and things like that. I think what Valve has done is great. It'll be interesting to see where marketing fits in. Now they're going with EA in the future, the biggest publisher of all. You can't do one without the other, otherwise no-one knows about your game. Unless you have the huge marketing budgets that major retailers have when launching your game, so I think there's still a very important role for retailers.
For even more ownage here is an article about blu ray movies that already require and use 50gb discs


Toriyama and Versus producer Shinji Hashimoto:
"Toriyama and Versus producer Shinji Hashimoto defended the decision to release FFXIII on the PS3. According to Hashimoto, the development staff determined that one DVD would not be enough for the type of visual expression they were attempting to make. Toriyama noted that, regarding visual expression, the PS3's shader abilities are a big factor."



Q: Will the graphics improve from F1 05?

A: We try hard every year to improve where neccessary, but as I said before, the PS2 is running on it’s limits with the 22 cars. Graphically it is similar to F105, although we believe that the driving experience is much more rewarding with the new kerbing and the new phyiscs. The PS3, though, is something else! That machine is a Beast! We are adding an enormous amount of graphic detail to absolutely everything. To give you some idea about detail levels, one car in the PS3 game takes up the same amount of memory as all 22 cars in the PS2 version!! That’s a 22 fold increase! You can damage the sidepods on the PS3 cars and see in side the car and it has radiators and exhaust pipes and everything. It’s awesome. Gameplay-wise the PS3 also allows us to use much more accuarate collision models. In a PS2, the car has an invisible ”box” that detects collisions all the way around the car, but in the PS3, there is no single box – you can get the wheels interlocked with the other cars.


Ubisoft

OPM: How's your experience with the storage media of the PS3, the HDD and the BluRay disc? And do you have any comparable experience with HD-DVD technology?

M.M.: Our focus is 100% BluRay, so I cannot compare with HD-DVD. I can only say that the new BluRay disc format is truly awesome. The capacity is immense, and the Data Transfer Rate is way beyond what we are used to. And that's really important, because Data Streaming (OPMED: where the console constantly loads new data from disc) is truly the only way to push next-gen games to the limit. The Playstation 3 HDD is something that we have so far given less attention to, because it hasn't been certain all that long yet that it will be standard on every console. Decreasing load-times by copying a part of the game to the HDD is one possibility, though it doesn't matter all that much for a streaming game like ours. But there are tons of other applications, such as the possibility to as it were record your whole game, to be able to watch a replay of it later on. We intend to use the HD optimally, but how, I can't tell yet currently.



Ninja theory:
Originally Posted by Arfi-Gorgona-O
Well i want to ask something if i may.Do you guys use/plan to use the extra space the blu-ray provides,for the benefit of the game,or its just to early for that yet?

Originally Posted by Arfi-Gorgona-O
Guys,someone to answer my question too?At least tell me if you cant so i wont ask again,even a no comment is good enough for me

Chief Technology Ninja
Sorry Arfi - let's see if we can't get you a decent answer....

"Yes!"

There you go

Seriously though the game is gonna “need” a whole lot of data for all the levels and characters that we are planning. At Sony's presentation on Monday last week they had a slide showing that the storage medium for a console is usually 100 times the size of the consoles main RAM - the point being that a DVD wouldn't be able to hold enough data for a AAA quality game. So yes, we'll definitely be needing the space that's available on the BD!

http://www.ninjatheory.com/forums/sh...p?t=111&page=3

some people are gonna need to change thier tune.

@ Staticneuron

Because the last time I checked the cell is just as expensive to put in the PS3 as the Bluray is.

Yeah the space is obviously going to be an issue. But my point is, is next-gen READY for a new media format? From the looks of it, no. PS3 might have the edge on the 360 with extra space with bluray, but that has jacked up the price, and many gamers just aren't ready to spend half a grand on a PS3. Hell, I would not have even bought my 360 if I couldn't get my brother to go halfsies on it with me. To me, $400 is too much, and $500-$600 is WAAAAAAAY too much.

The extra space will obviously benefit the games, but will the cost stay the same? The high price of the PS3 and rumors of even higher game prices than the 360 suggest otherwise. And gamers don't look too pleased about that. If this generation started a year or two later, when HDDVD or Bluray is already established, I wouldn't even be having this argument. But, if the cost of gaming is going to increase signficantly, I don't care how many AAA games are on the PS3, I'm absolutely NOT going to buy it.

Oh, and I could really care less about Team Ninja bitching about prerendered HD movie clips. Point of fact, it pisses me off that they waste any time at all making those stupid clips instead of focusing all their effort on the game itself. I beat the game with every character and there were only a couple of endings that I watched again. Most of them were just so stupid. I could care less about prerendered CG in my games.

One last thing. If I'm not mistaken, no game yet has used a DUAL LAYER dvd. All games have been a single layer. That's a whole other side of untapped storage space.

Sure the extra space will be used by developers. I mean, if they have the extra space, they'll use it. But, my point is, will this make the games much better than 360 games? Enough to the point where people will deliberately pay extra for a PS3 and (possibly) extra for each PS3 game? It could be, but personally I doubt it. And if gamers don't buy it, then developers won't develop for it.

Ultimately I guess it doesn't really matter to me anyway. I'm much more excited with what Wii is offering than the 360 and PS3 combined.

on ign, quote "A version for next-generation consoles will follow." 360 and wii only? or all 3?

hmmm... discuss!

"It is $100 more than the 360, but you forget that this is talking about the 360 that comes with the hard drive."

SO? And? Why shouldn't we compare it with the $400 Xbox 360? Are you telling me that the Ps3 doesn't come with a Harddrive, or are you going to say something about a wireless controllers? because at $100 more, the PS3 comes with the same 20GB harddrive, have similar features and can play Blu-ray movies, and can play PS2 and PS1 games.

Or perhaps you want to compare the PS3 to Xbox 360 core? Which is stupid and retard since the Xbox 360 lack so much stuff it's not even funny.

Reply to Jake from Msg #72:
[[72. John Lucas,

Are you saying that 10 years from now we should only be paying $200-$300 for game consoles? You (and what seems like everyone else) are not thinking about inflation. That $299.99 we payed for the PSone back in '95 is now worth nearly $400. The $50 we payed for games back then is now worth $60. How do you expect companies to keep the same price on products when the value of our money decreases ~2% less each year that passes by? Gas prices change, food prices change (remember being able to buy a can of Coca-Cola from a machine for $.25?), why can't console prices change?

It really bugs the piss out of me to hear people complain about game prices these days. Does anyone remember the N64 cartridge prices when that system was released? I remember paying over $70 ($82 after inflation adjustment for today) for some of those things. Before GameStop bought out Babbages, they were charging a standard $60 for just about every new console game. The rising popularity of the industry drastically increasing the volume of games released, and increased competition between game companies have driven prices down to where they are, but at some point they have to go back up.]]

Yeah. Why not?
Nintendo did.
20 years ago the price was $200 & there's CERTAINLY been enough inflation since 1986.
Yet they STILL launch in the USA at what?
$200.

Yeah things go up. Everything goes up.
Except people's wages. Hahahahaha.

You don't REALLY want to see what happens if game companies tried that type of nonsense.
Go to Brazil where the bootleg runs wild because most people who like games can't afford the ridiculous prices.
I guarantee you that gaming would dry up if they followed that type of business model you propose.

Making money in gaming is a HARD thing to do. Always has been. Always will be. ESPECIALLY now with the pirate scene. Honestly if you think about it, with respect to the intellectual properties & energies put forth by the gamemakers, we should pay a lot MORE for gaming than we do. And probably more than $600 for systems & $50 for games.
But guess what?
Either people will stop playing games or they'll simply pirate what's been made.
There would really be no incentive to put so much energy into something tha'ts GUARANTEED not to make you any money so where would your developers be?

As for the N64 catridge deal. That's ONE of the things that messed up the N64's chances in the market. Big cartridges at $70/$80 & something VS. CD's at $40 or $50. It's one of the many reasons Sony Playstation took over in market share.

Look at the successful used games market (which is where I've gotten lots of my games by the way). There are folks still angry about $50 game prices. You know the story with the RIAA, P2P, & the music industry.

The very FACT that everything else goes up such as the gouge of the gas prices is EXACTLY the REASON WHY gamecompanies SHOULD continue to remain at the $200-$300 economic window. Gaming is NOT a necessity but a luxury. And when belts get tight luxuries start to get cut loose.
Gaming is a economical pastime & luxury. This is what made this industry grow to the heights it is today.
(how long did the arcades use the 25-cents model?)

If gaming started becoming more class-based where only the richer can play I can guaranTEE you that gaming would be on the decline. There are ALWAYS more poorer folks than richer folks. And the smart companies pay heed to that by keeping prices reasonable so that the MASSES not just the ELITE (who can get everything anyway) will put forth their populational power in the forms of dollars. That's how you profit.

It's the Yamauchi principle.
That old Nintendo prez from the VERY BEGINNING made his company subscribe the good quality product at reasonable price philosophy.

Every company that bucked this trend eventually paid in the end. Sega. 3DO. Phillips. NEC. SNK. And soon Sony.

Only unattached singles, money fritterers, hardcore enthusiasts, rich & 'hood rich would think otherwise.
The only thing inflating around here is Sony's ego to think that this will in any shape fly.

John Lucas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#Release_data_and_pricing
The Playstation 3 launching at $1199.95 ($1200) New Zealand dollars?!!??!!
How bizarre....how bizarre.

I personally don't care what those 2 IDIOTS have to say about the PS3 I would rather have one than the Piece of CRAP Nintendo anyday. Why would you want a console that's only barely more powerful than the original Xbox and with Nuncka joystick that will that probably give you RSI (repetitive strain injury) after a couple of weeks. When you break the PS3 into it's parts you will see that its good value so stop whinging.
Also could you see MS selling the HD-DVD for the Xbox 360 for anything less than ($300 Australian) you would be dreaming. I own an Xbox 360 but I won't be being buying the HD-DVD add on. I am fed-up with all the Sony bashing, Gabe and Thyco you 2 wankers need to get girlfriends.

Wow… there are certainly a lot of jealous haters posting about Gabe and Tyco. For a comic that so many think is “Crap”, there seems to be 120 comments about it – So that’s at lease 120 people who read Penny Arcade ever week. So WHO is REALLY full of crap???

Since so many of you think you can do a better job of creating a web comic strip 3 times a week – let’s see you DO IT!!! Putt-up or SHUT-UP!

I do remember them clowning on themselves about waiting in line to buy the 360. And yes, $600 bucks for the PS3 IS B_LLSHIT, – but that doesn’t mean they won’t buy one? They are gamers, and a lot of gamers are going to buy a PS3 regardless of the price. (I won’t be one of them).

Even thought I pay $50.00 a year on xbox live. At least microsoft has so many game tournaments running on Live where you can make your money back. Take a look at the huge accomplishments my team & I had since the xb360 dropped. This is because we're great gamers. I rather stick with the 360. Ps3 = 3rd place in the war.
At PS3 launch it's
(xbox360)Gears of War vs (ps3) Fall of Man = Gow wins

1 Year later after the PS3 launch it's
(xb360) Halo 3 vs (ps3) Killzone 2 = Halo 3 wins

my site was http//.Z-hour.net to view the accomplishments

my only concern about the PS3 price tag is this: it's too high for me. I was thinking about getting an OPPO upconversion DVD player to pair with my projector, but I considered holding off for the PS3 and just using the upconversion drive included with the system's BR hardware. however, it occurred to me that if the PS3's upconversion abilities will only output over HDMI (admittedly, I don't know if this will be the case, but it seems likely since every other upconversion player is this way) that I'll be stuck paying for the too expensive one. and for me (and I'm sure for at least some other prospective PS3 fans) the $600 SKU is a losing deal considering there isn't even one launch title I'm excited about (sorry, Resistance, but you look kind of like teh suck.) I'm waiting for probably a year, at least, and that sucks.

@Pc
So… Who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself? Nobody is stopping you and your friends from drop 6 C-notes on a PS3 – Go ahead. Butt… just because the rest of us don’t want to spend that much on a “GAME” system – then we MUST be jealous of the PS3. You sound like a 3 year old.

How do you know that PNP is going to be free, (or only be a small monthly fee) because Sony said so? Are you really that much of a sucker? Do you have some magical crystal ball that shows you the future? You don’t KNOW? None of us do?

What we are trying to show you Sony lunatics is a little thing we call OBJECTIVITY!!!! Say it with me! Objectivity is a word we used to describe a person or an OBJECT “Using all available data or historical facts, when reacting an opinion. Not being influenced by feelings, hope, or daydreams”. (try the dictionary)

So… before shouting about “How BAD-ASS, Super System, bluh, bluh, bluh” and “hater/fanboy, wahh, waaah”. Get the facts before you spout off like an idiot. (that’s you “hohoho”). The only "bad ass" game system, is a PC that you build yourself -- FACT.

@Staticneuron

That’s a LOT of faith to give to a bunch of people you DON’T KNOW? What if it doesn’t work out the way you plan? What then? More waiting? More hoping? Yes, “zsavior”, was being condescending, but he was making a VERY GOOD POINT. Which you seem to be missing?

You see, it’s the unswerving loyalty, without question – that’s the problem?

It’s the common sense factor!! Maybe lower expectations and consideration for "Human Nature". [not anti-Sony] You said it yourself “I expect nothing but greatness from the Devs taking advantage of the hardware.” What if they don’t come through with a good game? That has happened in the past, on more than one occasion. What if the picture is only marginally batter? (Or worst, exactly the same?) What if Sony delay’s the PS3… again? (Spring 2007) The Developers JUST got the final kits a couple weeks ago. So far, Sony hasn’t proven that the dam thing even works – nothing but silence on their side.

Nobody is asking Sony to eat the additional cost of the machine, of course not. But nobody asked them to put a Blu-Ray Drive in it either, that was all Sony’s Invention. What would and SHOULD have been $350 is NOW $600. …And if that Blu-Ray drive should stop working? What then? Do you send the WHOLE unit back? (Believe me, if that happens – all you’ll be thinking about is how much you’ve paid for it)

That is the over all point.

D

Um… No you wouldn’t. Because you’d live in the “Bay Area” and you would have to pay RENT. $2,000 for your studio apartment, after working 60 hours or more a week. Let’s not forget, having a girlfriend. So… No you wouldn’t buy 6 PS3… that would be stupid.

This is silly...

Some Sony fans see the PS3 as a bargain because it doesn't require you to purchase a bunch of accessories. When they see the 360, they see hidden costs.

Some MS fans see the PS3 as too expensive because it requires you to purchase a bunch of optional accessories which they won't use. When they see the 360, they see choice and a cheaper overall price.

The truth is, the PS3 is similar to a bundle package while the 360 is similar to just buying the system then purchasing all accessories seperately.

Personally, I'm all about the games. The price is definitely something to talk about, but when all is said and done, we are left with two different consoles that offer different games.

In the PS3, I see unhappy developers are a steady loss of 3rd party exclusives. Games that set it apart are MGS4 and Resistance (sure there are more, but this is my opinion, and games like Warhawk aren't doing it for me).

In the 360, I see happy developers and a steady gain of 3rd party exclusives. Games that set it apart are Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Halo 3.

Is MGS4 and Resistance enough for me to buy a console (at this point: $600)-----> no.

Is Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Halo 3 enough for me to buy a console (at this point: $400)-----> yes.

Will I buy a PS3 once the price is under $300? Yes, and it will be nice because all of the "older" PS3 games will have dropped dramatically in price.

Till then, I'm enjoying my 360. My name is Joe, and I'm a gamer.

"Well, they did. Remember E305? Remember dual-HDMI ports, each one capable of outputting a 1080p image? Remember 3 gigabit ethernet ports? Remember 1 SKU, with the card reader and wifi included? I do, and so does Gamespot:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html

The wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3 - lists the current specs.

Compare those two links and you'll see that the specs did indeed change."

Didn't they state an obscenely high resolution and framerate for PS3 games at the time as well? Something like 2,560 * 2,048 resolution at 240fps, IIRC.

"I would buy 10 or 20 ps3s @ launch if i had a 6-fig salary......keep one 4 my HDTV (nice BL player) & sell the rest on Ebay for $1000+ a pop."

If supply is high enough that you could acquire 10 or 20 PS3's at launch, then it follows that demand on the secondary market will be low enough that you won't be able to move them on eBay for a penny above MSRP, much less $1000+.

Some more bad news if you are really only supporting Sony this holiday season. I just left Gamestop today and a little kid walks up to the register with his dad asking about preordering the $400 version of the PS3. Of course the employee corrected the kid and told him that the 2 versions for preorder are the $500 and $600 versions. And to preorder it would require a $100 deposit. The dad automatically groaned and rolled his eyes. The kid looked at his dad helplessly. Then to add insult to injury the gamestop guy said that Sony won't be releasing any of the $500 versions of the PS3 until after Christmas, forcing you to buy the $600 version if you try to preorder one now.
Oh well. This is going to be a tough sell for Sony. C'mon guys. Support your country. Buy an American Product from a company that pours money into our economy. Cars aren't the same argument because of the technology jump between american cars and foreign cars. Foreign cars are far better. Gaming technology however is a much closer race between us and Japan. We should support our own companies if it is financially possible. I'm not saying don't buy a PS3. Just don't let that be your only gaming system if you live in America.

My favorite part about all this is that every time someone shows all these PS3 fanboys that the next itteration of their console probably isn't going to do so well this time around, they instantly turn on the "this site has always been leaning towards nintendo" or "you're just saying that because you can't afford it." It's always some dismissal... "Oh, well they said it, but they are irrelevent."

The CEO of Sony himself could come out and say "PS3 costs too much, and 360 or Wii are a better option" and no doubt, there would be a large group of fanboys who pop up out of the woodwork and claim his opinion means nothing.

Wake-up call guys. Most people can't afford it, and most people just follow what looks the best. Unforunately for you, what's looking best is not the PS3 at this time... Deal.

hahaha @ StaticNeuron... dude, you quoted the oldest-slash-most-irrelevent stuff. Enchanted Arms ships this week on one DVD9 disc. and Gears (made by Mark Rein's Epic) isn't clocking in at anywhere NEAR 20gb (more like six, I think), nor is UT2K7 from what I read. actually, neither is The Darkness, given that Starbreeze found enough space on a DVD9 to put hours of compressed video to play on in-game tv sets. honestly, I wonder if any of that stuff is current.
it isn't fair to bring up old, out-of-date information when speculating about whether or not we'll run out of DVD9 space. in related old news, I've got a Popular Mechanics issue in my room from 1979 that says I'm totally buying a flying car like, next weekend.

"For a comic that so many think is “Crap”, there seems to be 120 comments about it – So that’s at lease 120 people who read Penny Arcade ever week. So WHO is REALLY full of crap??? PUTT UP OR SHUT UP!"

What are you, like 12?

I think a lot of the commentors in this post are completely full of shit.

What, so suddenly Penny Arcade isn't funny at all and their opinions are irrelevent because they say they aren't spending $600 on a fucking PS3? Oh goodness no, we must ignore that statement and pay our gratitude to the almighty Playstation, creator of Heaven and Earth!

And you want to compare DONATING $20,000 TO A CHARITY TO SPENDING $600 ON A GAME SYSTEM? Oh well, if they're willing to give money to the needy people of this world, they might as well just spend it on an over-priced, over-hyped piece of shit. Don't get me wrong, e3 2005 made me excited for the PS3. And then the demos weren't real time. And then e3 '06 rolled around. I don't think I'll ever buy a PS3, BASED ON PRICE ALONE. I have better things to spend my money on than a so-called "super computer/media center/game system/computer replacement". Things like: a car, a house, food, clothing, or even an ACTUAL computer.

And don't you bitch about how $600 is nothing when you buy a house or a car, because if you do, you obviously don't understand the value of a dollar, and the work that goes into earning money.

And by the way, you guys obviously don't understand the irony in Penny Arcade comics that make it so funny. The fact that they use the word "fuck" in contrast with Tycho's highly advanced linguistics makes it funny, and they usually use the word as a tool to parody themselves.

Unlike CTRL-ALT-DEL, which suggests you buy the CAD Premium account (ha) to unlock PREMIUM features, it has a soul. I still read CAD, but I'm just uninterested in it now, it's so consumer-ized. It's like they have to franchise the comic. I mean, PA makes mugs, shirts, etc. but it doesn't feel commercial.

And I'm sorry, but no way is Sony going to have a Live-equivalent for the free version of their online network; just like how you can have Live Silver without paying.

"130. I personally don't care what those 2 IDIOTS have to say about the PS3 I would rather have one than the Piece of CRAP Nintendo anyday. Why would you want a console that's only barely more powerful than the original Xbox and with Nuncka joystick that will that probably give you RSI (repetitive strain injury) after a couple of weeks. When you break the PS3 into it's parts you will see that its good value so stop whinging.
Also could you see MS selling the HD-DVD for the Xbox 360 for anything less than ($300 Australian) you would be dreaming. I own an Xbox 360 but I won't be being buying the HD-DVD add on. I am fed-up with all the Sony bashing, Gabe and Thyco you 2 wankers need to get girlfriends."

The epitome of Sony fanboy genius. There are so many errors (both orthographically and logically) that my mind is going to blow up.

Look,everyone needs to calm the hell down.If you don't like the PS3 don't buy it,same applies for the Wii and the 360.Everyone has a certain company they like and regardless of other peoples opinions they're gonna buy it.So why so much arguing?Buy whichever console you REALLY want to have and take the high road and not listen to people rant on about how said company is crap.Settles everything.

I dont know wtf everyone is complaining about. The price im willing to pay if it lives up to its name. And what is this compaling about the vibrartion thingy? It was good ill admit, but these motion sensors could be an excellent addiction to the controller, case personally when im playing a game i move my controller all the time. Xbox was very good, and so was the game cube, but PS2 did it for me. So i intend to try all 3 of the new ones, and then make up my mind.

zsavior: I know you just HAVE to spout off about things that you obviously know nothing about, but you could at least try not to contradict yourself.

Aside from your absurdly ignorant statements concerning Japanese culture, the simple fact is that Square was ORIGINALLY VERY CLOSELY TIED TO NINTENDO! Every Final Fantasy title before FF7 was put out on the NES or SNES and NOT its competitors. When the N64 turned out to use cartridges and not CDs, Square said "to HELL with that, I want FMVs!" and bailed out in favor of Sony's Playstation. Now, thank God, we are beginning to see a rekindling of the magic: after a rough start with Crystal Chronicles, Square is getting back into the sack with Nintendo, as the upcoming AWESOME FFIII remake, and Children of Mana, both for the DS, prove. This is just one of the reasons the DS is only BEGINNING its epic beatdown of the latest fools to dare challenge Nintendo's handheld supremacy.

On another subject: Penny Arcade is very influential, and very opinionated. Many people will follow their lead, but that doesn't make them some kind of prophet. Penny Arcade is two people with VERY BIG MOUTHS AND A VERY LARGE AUDIENCE.

I believe that Sony is shooting themselves in the foot with the PS3, but keep some perspective. They have a LONG way to fall before Nintendo or Microsoft catch up, and they're shooting themselves in the FOOT, not the HEAD.