$150 PlayStation 3 discount [update 1]
Thanks to a promotion by Sony Style (Sony's retail operation), folks who sign up for a Sony-branded credit card by January 4, 2007 and who purchase stuff with said card by March 31, 2007, will receive $150 off of their first credit card statement.
If you're feeling charitable towards Sony as a result of their generosity, you could apply the $150 bonanza to your purchase of a PlayStation 3, bringing the price of that budget-busting beast into blue-collar range.
On the other hand, if you're the Billy Joe-Bobby Sue type, take the Sony card and run to your preferred online retailer who'll be more than happy to sell you an Xbox 360 or a Wii, either of which -- at $150 off -- would be a very nice deal.
[Update 1: lots of questions appearing in the comments ... check out this Fatwallet thread for answers.]
[Thanks, Mike!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Samiam030388 @ Dec 30th 2006 1:41AM
...or you could use the discount on a Nintendo Wii. Thats not only the better choice but its rather ironic at the same time. $100 for a Wii, what a Buy! (if you can find one)
KC @ Dec 30th 2006 1:44AM
sooooooo....
I can sign up, spend $150.00, let the free action take place, then cut up the card and never speak of it again?
Giving away free money? Or is there a catch?
muppetmeth @ Dec 30th 2006 1:45AM
Or a fifty dollar PSP or a 30 dollar DS.
muppetmeth @ Dec 30th 2006 1:46AM
Oops, I mean get the DS with 30 dollars left over. For a game.
vc @ Dec 30th 2006 1:52AM
KC: no catch. You're correct.
Eric @ Dec 30th 2006 1:53AM
Would someone actually buy the PS3 even with the discount? And is it only for Sony product purchases or is it for anything? I would love to get a ultra-cheap DS lite... :-)
Ben @ Dec 30th 2006 1:56AM
Buy a competing system and get $150 off. Genius.
KC @ Dec 30th 2006 1:59AM
Well I'm gonna sign up. I may as well use this credit card as my main card to get those points too.
Sounds like a good deal to me. Thanks for the info!
Mr, Objectional @ Dec 30th 2006 2:04AM
I'm never gonna sell it now...
*goes looking for PS3 reciept*
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 2:04AM
When the games start flowin you guys are gonna wish you used that 150 off towards a PS3. By that time you'll be begging to unload that piece of shit Wii.
Tim @ Dec 30th 2006 2:04AM
From the site:
Card credit will be applied to your Sony Card account 8-12 weeks after your first purchase. Offer expires January 4, 2007. First purchase must be made by March 31,2007.
So, you have to let your purchase sit and earn interest for two to three months before you get the credit. Or, I guess you could make a small purchase, pay it off, then make a big purchase when your credit hits.
KC @ Dec 30th 2006 2:08AM
Tim
It looks like the APR is set at 0% for the first year or so.
Negativecool @ Dec 30th 2006 2:09AM
Or 100 off PS3 and 50 off Wii...
Or 100 off Wii and 50 off PS3...
Or 95 off 360 and 55 off Wii...
Or 95 off Wii and 55 off 360...
Or 63.78 off of (item) and 36.22 off of (item) and 50 off of (item)...
Or 42.34 off of (something) and 57.66 off of (something) and 50 off of (something)...
Or 12.74 off of (just imagine the possibilities)and 6.73 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and
13.67 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and 16.86 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and 10.57 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and 39.43 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and 18.74 off of (just imagine the possibilities) and 31.26 off of (just imagine the possibilities)...
Wow...when you think about all the infinite possibilities of what you could do with that $150 big ones...You'd have to be retarded NOT to want to get this Sony branded card...no sarcasm...really.
Ringworm @ Dec 30th 2006 2:18AM
@Shagi
What happened to your greatest hits from 99' back when you controlled all the the radio stations? Oh that's right, your a has-been Sony fanboy!
Matt @ Dec 30th 2006 2:26AM
i just signed up and bought a ds and mario kart with it :D hahaha I'm a bastard
tack @ Dec 30th 2006 2:36AM
Wow a Premium 360 for only $250. Thanks Sony!!!!
Mateo @ Dec 30th 2006 2:38AM
@ Matt:
Where'd you buy that ds online? I've been looking all over for one. Thanks!
v1cious @ Dec 30th 2006 2:45AM
i think it's pretty obvious there's catch to this. there's no way they're gonna just let you spend 150 dollars, and then cut up the card.
Lazygamer @ Dec 30th 2006 2:56AM
"If you are approved, you will be able to make a one-time purchase at SonyStyle.com ONLY."
No, DS or Wii for you. And SonyStyle.com doesn't have any PS3 ATM. Also, I have to buy PS3 before March 1, otherwise no $150 credit back to you.
Skyler Jermyn @ Dec 30th 2006 3:02AM
So, $150 off a wii60. Thanks Sony!
TopaZ @ Dec 30th 2006 3:39AM
#19, they mean that the "virtual" CC# you get if instantly approved can only be used once, and only at SonyStyle.com. If you wait for the plastic card in the mail, you can make a purchase anywhere and still qualify for the bonus.
SowKnee @ Dec 30th 2006 3:44AM
This is the dumbest article you've ever posted. How about letting me know when Shell is offering free gas for signing up with their card? Stick to the game reporting.
thejakeman @ Dec 30th 2006 3:45AM
woah yeah come on fanbois! ill be sitting in my nice warm room with my pc keeping me company.
Earl @ Dec 30th 2006 4:13AM
Where have been for so long Shagi??!! We have missed you Sony fanboy comments!
Guess not much good to say for the PS3, huh Shagi?
Well let me say this much: $450 is still TOO MUCH for a game console!!
Yes, it is a game console! Why? Because if you ask anyone if they have the PS3, the FIRST thing you would say is : "Oh, yeah. What games you have?"
then something like "I got such and such also!" or something to that extent. No one says: "Oh. What videos do you have on it?" or "What Blu-Ray movies do you have?"
I am a "hardcore" gamer and, in my opinion, no game console is worth more than $300. That seems resonable to me. Get rid of that damn BD player Sony! That will make me love you again, since the console will be cheaper!
pistachou @ Dec 30th 2006 8:22AM
450$ too much ? It's a 360 + 1 year Live...and after 6 years of live... 300$ ?... houps sorry it's an "option"... The HDD drive of the 360 is soooo expensive... but size and price for HDD doesn't matter for online content.. no... and it's an "option"... and for the 200$ HD-DVD with no HDMI.. no futur HDCP.. no 7,1 sound, not for game... it's a joke no ? ..houps.. an "option" too...
The PS3 is not that much expensive for the open hardware inside... It's so stupid to judge the PS3 "today"... games will come soon... It's a 7 years choice or more... PS2 will die in 2008 !
So much sony haters for nothing... we dont care of kutaragi or third/second/first parties E3 trailers... oups it was only sony's game ? not sure :x.... We judge the hardware and the potential... games will come... be patient..
nabisco @ Dec 30th 2006 9:06AM
Shagi is great and all with his fanboy comments and all, but whatever happened to darryl. He took the cake for being the biggest of Sony's warriors and was 10 times funnier than Shagi.
Adam_Kadmon @ Dec 30th 2006 9:18AM
450$ is blue-collar price range... since when? What kind of blue-collar are we talking about? Still sounds like a "budget busting beast" to me, even with the discount. Unless of course, you're a blue-collar lawyer.
Someone commented once that Joystiq just posts pro-Sony/anti-Nintendo stuff just to piss off Nintendo fanboys and keep them coming back. I'm starting to think this is true. Though I do remember a while back, when Joystiq was a bit more objective in their writing. At least, not everything Sony had a positive outlook (except when the news is so bad they CAN'T slant it), and not everything Nintendo was rife with sarcastic comments and diatribes toward the Wii.
B @ Dec 30th 2006 10:00AM
Sony giving away money? NO WAY!
WedgeTalon @ Dec 30th 2006 10:28AM
Thanks for the tip, vc and mike. I'm still trying to rebuild my credit so I'll likely not get this, but if I do the free $300 (me + wife) will be nice. :) It'll be like another Christmas for us. :D
tituspullo @ Dec 30th 2006 10:38AM
no 10. control your fanboyisms, can't handle the fact sony's get there buts stomped by the wii. when the games come out? hahaha rofl. what a sad and weak attemot to sway people to the ps3.
sony's new motto
"when the games come out, you'll be sorry"
lol
Cuja @ Dec 30th 2006 11:00AM
$450 for a PS3? Still a big risk. Only people developing anything for it right now are hackers.
MarxMarvelous37 @ Dec 30th 2006 11:41AM
Forget the $99 HD-DVD player (see post above)... $49 HD-DVD here I come!
AX @ Dec 30th 2006 11:42AM
NO! People bad bad bad! Yes this seems like easy money, but you really dont want to fuck around with your credit for 150 bucks, becuase when you go through all the work of applying, getting your credit dinged, buying whatever you want, PAYING monthly payments on it until they credit your account, cancelling the card, blah blah blah
Please, this is not a good idea, if you dont like sony, then this is just a way of giving them money when you still have this card in a year and are paying 30% APR
MarxMarvelous37 @ Dec 30th 2006 12:28PM
AX - You are partially correct... you definitely don't want to be applying for credit cards left right and center. However, if you don't have many applications on your recrod, why not go for this one? And since it is 0% APR for the first year, you won't be paying any monthly payments on it. Finally, hopefully anyone who does this will have the discipline to not spend any money they don't actually have :)
Habber @ Dec 30th 2006 1:54PM
"if you are approved, you will be able to make a one-time purchase at SonyStyle.com only"
sounds like to wii or 360 discounts :(
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 2:10PM
Keep it comming Wii huggers people are starting to catch on that the motion controls suck on the Wii and that there aren't going to be any games worth playing till the middle or end of next year.
IM not talking about mini games like wario whatever or wii play or anything like that Im talking about real games, the kind gamers want to play not the kind that mom and dad will play for 10 minutes before turning on the 700 club.
Sony will have real games; games based on gameplay mechanics that you master and improve upon over the course of the entire game. Real games. Not time wasters where you master the controls in 10 secs and then all it is is a matter of time to finish the game. Games that are challenges.
Sure if you dont like challenges go ahead and get yourself a Wii, the controls are so innacurate that pretty much the games have been dumbed down to allow the user to play. Eventually you all are going to get tired of arguing for a non gamer system, even though you cant see the Wii for what it really is right now you will. Then your gonna run out and buy a PS3 or 360 and question why you thought there was ever anything to interest real gamers from Nintendo.
Nintendo is pulling off the biggest lie ever and the fanboys are eating it up, unable or unwilling to see the machine for what it is, a desperate last gen hack money grab by a company who can no longer compete with cutting edge electronic companies.
Also the argument has been brought up about the dumbing down of games. I would hate to see Nintendo SUceed to the degree that most games started to go the dumb and easy direction (like all games on the DS, which only works cause its portable and light entertainment works best).
I think that the Wii is a plot by politicians to so water down and degrade the gaming experience that gamers are no longer interested in gaming anymore after they've devolved into a collection of stupid mini games. The Jack Thompson sure is a clever dude.
Anni @ Dec 30th 2006 3:04PM
"I think that the Wii is a plot by politicians to so water down and degrade the gaming experience that gamers are no longer interested in gaming anymore after they've devolved into a collection of stupid mini games. The Jack Thompson sure is a clever dude."
Hahahahahaha
Oh wow, I never thought I'd actually read something so completely and so utterly retarded that I'd want to fly it from the back of an airplane in bold, bright red text.
New 360 Owner @ Dec 30th 2006 3:25PM
Cool, so I can get the card, buy a PS3, that Sony already loses $300 on, take advantage of their Blu Ray movie deal where they lose another $70 in movie rebates and charge it this card and make them lose another $150. Wow, imagine if every 360 and Wii owner did this. We'd all take Sony for $520 and bankrupt them.
Earl @ Dec 30th 2006 3:42PM
"Oh wow, I never thought I'd actually read something so completely and so utterly retarded that I'd want to fly it from the back of an airplane in bold, bright red text."
Haha, get used to it! Sony fanboys are rather stupid.
Come on Shagi, you think the Wii is selling like hotcakes WORLDWIDE (something Sony can't claim cause they pissed on Europe). Go ahead Shagi, pay $600 for that PS3 with NO games on it! Oh and pay to download all your PS1 games, cause you know how much graphics matter.
That's right, pay all you "last gen" games on the new super-uber 1080i systems. Graphics matter so much that XBLA and PS1 games can be downloaded. As we all know those old arcade games have the best graphics and those PS1 games, with their quadrillion polygon counts, are eye popping gorgeous.
Seriously, get off the graphics kick. Since anyone that paid for an "old gen" game on the 360/PS3 is a HYPOCRITE! It is not about the graphics if you are buying 10+ year old games...
Oh and the 360 is too much for a gaming console also. Why? Because if you are gonna buy one, you almost HAVE to buy the premium pack. M$ is just raping everyone by not including a HDD this time. Then the price for the wireless antenna is INSANE! $90 for that crap? That's more than a wireless router! Wi-fi is so cheap now that even Nintendo included it in every system. Hell, my cell phone has wi-fi built in.
Nintendo is the only system that is not trying to break people's banks. HDTVs are not common place, nor will they be for a number of years. There is no sense in paying more than $300 for a system that most people will not take full advantage of. HD-DVD? Who is really ready to replace their entire movie library? I got at least 100 DVDs and I have no plans on restocking them, just for HD. I can see plenty of movies in HD on Showtime or HBO.
Nintendo is slaughtering the competition. They made a console for the average person, which is the way it should be done. All the other "graphics whores," instead of buying a console why don't you do what REAL graphics whores do and build a gaming rig? It's a much better investment than spending $600 on a gaming console.
The Kid @ Dec 30th 2006 4:00PM
Approved for 5,000!!!!!; I'm going to get a Bravia to go along with my PS3!!!!
Thanks Sony!
nerfgun @ Dec 30th 2006 4:37PM
You guys can get a similar discount if you had a big PS2 library - what I did was I traded most of my PS2 games in when I bought the PS3, since I remember from my PS1->PS2 upgrade experience that I played them only barely after the new deck arrived.
So I hung onto 5-6 of my faves, traded another 16 or so, and voila - $150 off the PS3. No regrets. (If you are a 'collector' this might rub you the wrong way.)
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 4:57PM
Earl you are delusional, while I feel bad for your limited funds I seriously think the only reason you fervently support the Wii is beacuse your not going to be able to afford the next generation.
Enjoy your gamecube...err I mean Wiicube, but just cause its all you can afford don't attack the real next gen systems.
Matt @ Dec 30th 2006 5:14PM
mateo: I bought it at a local Wal-Mart
The Kid @ Dec 30th 2006 5:16PM
450.00 is still too much for a PS3? That's what it would be for the 599.00 model.
Just like Microsoft; they have another less expensive model for 499.00; subtract 150 from that price and it's 350.00 for the ps3! A PS3 with the same configuration as the premium 360 that plays Blu Ray HD movies.
The premium 360 or the core will cost you an extra 50.00 to go online; which brings you to 350.00 or 450.00; playing HD-DVD's will cost you 200.00 bringing you to 550.00 or 650.00
PS3 for 350.00 or 450.00 after the 150.00 discount IS A STEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Earl @ Dec 30th 2006 5:20PM
Funds? I got a HDTV, HD Directv, so I LOVE HD. Funds are not an issue. The isue is "worth." Is a console "worth" $400 (360 premium pack), or $600? Nope, not to me at least. I will buy a 360 one day, but that is only when the premium pack costs $300 or less. PS3 is up in the air right now. I don't even know if there will be exclusive games "worth" playing, plus the years it will take to get below $300. Not a fanboy, sorry to burst you bubble Shagi.
I am a fan of video games, from "kiddie" games to the FPS "hardcore" games (GoW is a lot of fun online!). As long as a game is fun, I will enjoy it despite the graphics. Right now, for myself, the only console worth buying is the Wii. 360 will be one day, just needs a price cut. Until then I will enjoy my mini-games with my friends on my "gimmicky" remote and have a great time doing it. While you, Shagi, will be stuck with a $600 dust magnet and nothing else to play except downloaded PS1 games, because developers will be jumping the PS3 ship. That thing is sinking fast.
Earl @ Dec 30th 2006 5:21PM
When I was talking about braking people's bank, I was talking about the general public, not myself. I guess someone doesn't understand "context."
The 360 and PS3 are mostly for the "niche" market and I hate to break your heart, BUT the "niche" market does not generate as much money as the general, "casual," gamer market will.
So, yeah you're a bright one Shagi. Did mommy and daddy buy you a PS3 yet?
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 5:25PM
Casual gamers dont drive the market beacuse they don't buy as many games as the hardcore gamers do. This is something thats going to seriously hurt Nintendos software sales especially when it comes to third party games.
Nintendo is targeting a demographic that traditionally buy 1 game every six months, this info came from some reasearch house and was posted in a joystiq article somewhere.
This means that Nintendo will continue to sell its first party games which tend to come out about once every six months, and the 3rd party developers will abandon the Wii when this becomes apparent.
Earl @ Dec 30th 2006 5:34PM
"Casual gamers dont drive the market beacuse they don't buy as many games as the hardcore gamers do."
That's faulty logic. Casual gamers dont' have to buy as many games, since there are tons more casual gamers than hardcore gamers. Casual gamers greatly outnumber the hardcore gamers. Look at the DS: most of it's games are geared toward the casual gamer and it is doing insane. There aren't many hardcore games on that system, compared to the PSP.
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 7:32PM
Yeah but why buy the cow when you can get the games for free? I think the casual game market you are thinking of, the PC casual games market, isn't interested in purchasing a seperate system when they can already get their fix of time wasters on the PC.
BTW heres how I define casual vs hardcore: Hardcore gamers play games beacuse they enjoy wasting their time playing games, Casual gamers play games when they want to waste time.
I just don't think the casual market is a good market to target, even if your strategy is to convert casual gamers into hardcore ones...
Shagi @ Dec 30th 2006 7:38PM
A little more:
Look at the atari 2600 for example, I think you'd have to agree that the majority of 2600 gamers were for the most part casual gamers. The 2600 penetrated that market probably better than any console to date but look what happened:
Tons of people started producing shlocky games confusing the market and making it forget why they enjoyed playing games in the first place. I don't see anything involving and innovative comming from Nintendo, just the same old stuff they have been relasing since the SNES. If 3rd parties get involved to any degree your certainly going to see more than the fair share of movie tie ins and such other shlocky games, ultimately this will hurt the software sales for that console.
Casual gamers are going to have to recognize that they owe the hardcore for the quality and quantity of great games. If it weren't for the hardcore that finish games faster and buy more games, you'd never have games reach the level they are at today anyways. If Hardcore gamers don't drive the market (rewarding the software publishers by purchasing and touting the actual good games for a system) your going to see development stagnate far more than it has already.
A new controller is not the answer for where has creativity gone in game developement, it lies with the publishers who pursue products that they can prove with graphs and charts are going to turn a profit. No controller is going to change thatand neither is targeting a different demographic of game player.