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You are not gonna walk away with a PS3 for $600 or $700 for that matter. According to some new news, Bundles are hiking up all the way to $1000. Six Hundred would be great, but its not gonna happen when this thing comes out. Be prepaerd to dump some 4-digit amount of cash.

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Hirai stated that no Sony representative has officially announced the currently popular belief that PS3 titles will retail at $59.99. He added, "I think it would be a bit of a stretch to think that we (Sony) could suddenly turn around and say PS3 games now $99.99. I don't think the consumers expect the software pricing to suddenly be double."

 

Hirai continued, "So, if it becomes a bit higher than fifty-nine bucks don't ding me, but, again, as I said, I don't expect it to be a hundred bucks."

 

At this rate the PS3 will die a quick death if it's game hit 70 plus dollars.

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Yeah nuh. Cool as the PS3 sounds, I don't even know what a blu-ray player is & for nigh AU$1000 I'm not willing to find out. Even if I had the money to blow, it's a fucking console. If this thing can either drive me to work, failing that create a S.H.I.E.L.D-quality LMD that gets to work for me, doesn't get me fired and lets me stay at home & play my Wii or 360(cause by the sounds of it I won't soon be able to afford games for it) it's a great big mebbe. And even then I'll wait a year for the price to drop.

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If you can find one other person I'll chip in. and this time pay me back you ass.

 

one more thing about the PS3.

 

To 360 fans at this point, it shouldn't matter at all. With HD-DVD an add-on for hi-def movie playback, it just means you'll be paying as much,if not more, as if you bought a PS3. Still wont be able to use it in the context of gaming.

 

If when next-gen gaming becomes more developed, may actually need the space hi-def discs can supply, then and only then will Sony have been judged as doing the right thing.

 

And think about this.

 

When the next grand theft auto comes out on the blu-ray how much bigger of a map could it be compared to san andreas? And how much more stuff could they stuff in it(abilities, cars, planes ect...)

I think it would be awsome to have a gta game the size of 3 san andreas sized maps. Or could they map the entire United States? Or Europe? Or other small countries? Just think about the potential.

 

There's a new game coming out also for 360 called Justified or somesuch. Pretty much a GTA dealy but see here! Oh, it's called Just Cause and check it: GTA SA covered 35 sq Kilometres of land(you guys do the imperial math) whereas JC will cover just over 1024 sq Kilometres. Apparently it's set in south America or something, and here I quote directly from ZooWeekly when it says "You can nick a car, jump in a plane, scoot up into the blue yonder, freefall out, open the chute at the last possible second and then land softly onto the back of the original car all in about a minute. Why? Because you can."

 

Now that's a game I can get behind.

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You are not gonna walk away with a PS3 for $600 or $700 for that matter. According to some new news, Bundles are hiking up all the way to $1000. Six Hundred would be great, but its not gonna happen when this thing comes out. Be prepaerd to dump some 4-digit amount of cash.

 

you mean, off of re-selleers, or retail? I just dont buy it. $600 is bac enough, I cant honestly see Sony releasing bundle-only systems, theyre not stupid enough to screw themselves out of a huge chunk of their clientele.

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I think the PS3 is going to drop in price within the first year. I don't know any parents willing to pay $1000 or £700 for their childs birthday, christmas, or whatever. I can't see many kiddies saving their pocket money to get one either. It's definately for the adult working class...

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you mean, off of re-selleers, or retail? I just dont buy it. $600 is bac enough, I cant honestly see Sony releasing bundle-only systems, theyre not stupid enough to screw themselves out of a huge chunk of their clientele.

 

Well its not $ony who makes bundle sales happen, its the retailers and it becomes like a chain reaction where everyone else does it...at least thats what my manager at GameStop told me ages ago. Besides, there are always systems sold w/o games that can be purchased, problem is that u gotta find those vendors. :welcome:

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Makes sense. even with a prepay, you still gotta put in work, be up & in line at the asscrack of dawn to get your shit. PS2, Bishop here drove & picked me up from the mall, i stayed up studying for an EMT midterm and slept a bit in one of the kiddie houses out front that they sell (hah) and Gamecube, i was on crutches and got knocked over in the crowd. Fucking savages.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so ive read Wikipedia's page on the PS3, but im still unclear on the differences of the $500-600 versions.

 

1) 20 vs 60 GB internal drive - what are you using this for, if not bootlegging games onto it eventually? downloadable content? I know the lineup's still early, but i dont see a lotta online games here.

 

2) Wifi - i thought that shit was used for PC's in LANs, what does it do here?

 

3) HDMI? i read the article a bit, still dont know what this is.

 

4) why would i care about flash card readers?

 

and a black system vs silver, that's not important. I understand these features are things that might get used more later, but that's stll not good enough to warrant the price. I know it costs more (usually) to upgrade later, i just wanna know why i would.

Bishop - what was the difference between the 2 x-360s again?

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Ok differences between the PS3s other than the fact that if history has anything to say about it early adopter demand will be better for the $600 dollar model.

 

1) Downloadable content, mods, saves stuff like that. Hell, I have to clean out my 360 fairly often because I am always downloading trailers and the like and they do take up space, especially in HD. Up to you whether or not you think it is worth it.

 

2)Wifi is a wireless net connection, basically you have the PS3 online without having to tether it to an ethernet cable, of course you will need a wifi router, but those are pretty cheap nowadays. A wired connection tends to be more stable for online gaming, but the wifi is usually hella more convenient.

 

3)HDMI from wikipedia:

 

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI provides an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a set-top box, a DVD player, or an A/V receiver and a compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV).

 

HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It is independent of the various DTV standards such as ATSC, and DVB(-T,-S,-C), as these are encapsulations of the MPEG data streams, which are passed off to a decoder, and output as uncompressed video data, which can be high-definition. This video data is then encoded into TMDS for transmission digitally over HDMI. HDMI also includes support for 8-channel uncompressed digital audio. Beginning with version 1.2, HDMI now supports up to 8 channels of one-bit audio. One-bit audio is what is used on Super Audio CDs.

The HDMI Connector

Enlarge

The HDMI Connector

A HDMI (Type A) Plug

Enlarge

A HDMI (Type A) Plug

 

The HDMI 1.3 standard was released on 22 June 2006 and as of that date is projected to be available in consumer products by the end of 2006. HDMI 1.3 is necessary in order to output the full bitrate of the new audio formats used on HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. [1] [2]. The spec also covers a new mini connector for devices such as camcorders. [3]

 

Type A HDMI is backward-compatible with the single-link Digital Visual Interface (DVI-D) used on modern computer monitors and graphics cards. This means that a DVI source can drive an HDMI monitor, or vice versa, by means of a suitable adapter or cable, but the audio and remote control features of HDMI will not be available. Additionally, without support for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) on both ends, the video quality and resolution may be artificially downgraded by the signal source to prevent the end user from viewing or especially copying restricted content. (While nearly all HDMI connections support HDCP, many DVI connections do not.) Type B HDMI is similarly backward-compatible with dual-link DVI.

 

Basically useful for popping the PS3 on an HDTV, and pretty much necessary if you want to watch Blu-ray in any of its glory, and knowing Sony's history that copy protection is going to be implemented often.

 

Useless if you don't have an HDTV, but it is the big thing that gimps the $500 in comparison to the $600, if you upgrade to an HDTV in the future, you won't be able to get the best picture quality, though to be fair, component works for any signal below 1080p. The bigger issue is that any copy protected Blu-ray discs will run at 1/2 res.

 

4) The flash card readers will probably be the memory cards of the future, allowing you to transport saves and the like, or so I would imagine. SOny hasn't talked that much about how they would be used as of yet, or if they did, it wasn't reported on much. Supposedly any USB 2.0 memory card reader can be plugged in to the PS3 as a replacement, but I'll believe that when I see it.

 

So, if you don't think you are gonna have an HDTV this gen at all, the $500 one is ok, but if you DO think you are, or even might, I'd bite the bullet for the extra $100.

 

Or even better, don't. This thing is hella expensive, see what happens price drop wise down the line, by then even the gimp version might have HDMI.

 

Now the difference between the Xbox 360 versions is the cheaper one has no hard drive, no headset for online chat, does not have component cables, and uses a wired, instead of wireless controller. All of these pieces can be added on, though you will probably pay like $180 retail for what the extra $100 gives you at the time of purchase.

Edited by bishopcruz
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I see...shit, that was pretty hepful, thanks man.

Though i do find the prospect of Sony realeasing blu-ray games later with that kind of encryption (im thinking similar to the DVD-9s used on, say, God of War) forcing the cheaper version, even on an HDTV, to play at half-rez is...harsh. I dont think the average consumer is gonna be aware of that possibility.

 

My only real concern with this system is playing & finishing MGS4 before its possibly spoiled for me. if i have the opportunity to rent the equipment (doubtful) or, let's say, BigChiefSlapaho, who intends to buy one and possibly MGS, and needs to leave town for the holidays, calling on his trusty neighbor to housesit...you see where this is going.

 

But realisitically, yeah, im gonna wait. The opening lineup is looking a bit better after some previews (Assasin's creed or whatever could be fun) but im gettin past the age where i need things opening night, and while Sony's not gonna like chopping the price on this, by holidays '07 they oughta have a great lineup going, and at least some form of a slash in price.

And till then, christ knows ive got at least two dozen PS2 titles to catch up on one day, anyway.

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Yeah, im buyin' the $600 price tag PS3 (given that i get that job as soon as i graduate). I mean, it seems more than reasonable because you'll eventually upgrade to all the things Sony takes out of the $500 bundle. On top of that, i get so sick of hearing how its SO expensive when compared to the Xbox (not that Cruz was comapring). But anytime a price-point is mentioned about the PS3, think to yourself...that graphics card is worth more than the system your paying for. Its a good deal man. All i really worry about though is their line-up of games which doesn't seem too bad. Though i may end up waiting a bit to see the extended line-up of games. on top of that...no paying for 'Sony Live'...so they say.

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I can apprecaite the graphics card, but its just too much for a console. Im gonna need a price slash and a better lineup, especailly when i can buy like 2 Wii's and a few games for that cost, you know?

...on that note, youre not planning on buying the PS3 and leaving town immediately, are you? Have i mentioned how i housesit for next to nothing?

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Couple a quick notes, the graphics card is aight, and expensive as fuck on a PC, but that has always been the case, though that isn't hte most expensive part of the PS3 by FAR. From everything I have read the big costs are the Cell chip itself and the Blu-ray drive.

 

Like I said, the $500 version is okay if you know what you are getting into, but the fact that you will NEVER be able to upgrade to HDMI means that part of the system will be forever gimped in comparison to its big brother.

 

As far as the 360 is concerned, the Premium is $100 less than the low end PS3, and the Core is $200 less, so if you wanted to start playing next gen games, and didn't give a fuck about HD or online shit, you can get a Core and a Memory card for $160 cheaper than the PS3, and from what I have seen the multiplatform games are looking IDENTICAL for the most part, even more so than they were last gen.

 

Also the bulk of Xbox live services are free, the pay service covers a rather small subset of Xbox live stuff, mainly playing online with others. We have no idea what Sony's final pricing structure is.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

From Gamespot

 

Long story short, PS3 will launch with only 400,000 in the US and 100,000 in Japan. Sorry European hondonians, you're boned if you want a PS3, not gonna come out there until March 2007.

 

Sony claims that it will still sell 2 million by the end of the year, and I seriously doubt that. Considering the production delays and only 500k total at launch, I have trouble believing that they will have 1.5 million more by year's end.

 

Looks like there will be a lot of demand, for the PS3 as supplies will be short as hell. Not unexpected. But much money will be made on Ebay.

 

This morning in Tokyo, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi announced that only 500,000 PlayStation 3s would be available in the US and Japan at launch, and that the console's European debut had been pushed back until 2007.

 

Of the 500,000 launch PS3s, 100,000 will go on sale in Japan on November 11, and 400,000 will hit store shelves in North America on November 17. "We decided to focus on the Japanese and US markets," Kutaragi told reporters at a Tokyo press conference before apologizing for the delay, according to the Associated Press. Reuters echoed the numbers and said that Kutaragi had lowered the worldwide 2006 PS3 shipment target from 4 million to 2 million.

 

When initially contacted by GameSpot about today's PS3 news, Sony reps said only that the company had "not announced specific ship numbers for Japan or North America." They also said that, despite the European delay and the reports of reduced shipment numbers, the previous estimates still stood. "[We] have announced that 2 million will be available in the world come November 11 and 17, and 4 million by the end of the calendar year," said a spokesperson.

 

However, later in the day, Dave Karraker, SCEA's newly appointed head of corporate communications, told GameSpot that the wire-service figures were correct. "400,000 is just the day-of-launch figure," said the executive. "1 to 1.2 million units [will be] available in North America by December 31." This afternoon, Karraker confirmed the reduced international numbers to The Rocky Mountain News. "Worldwide, there will be between 2 to 2.4 million units available in North America and Japan by the end of the year," he said.

 

Karraker also claimed that, while reduced, the US PS3 launch numbers bested those of another next-generation console. "By the end of the year, we will have...more than double what Microsoft sold through of Xbox 360 [in 2005]." He reiterated this sentiment to MTV News. "The supply we have at launch is comparable to what was available for the PlayStation 2, not Xbox 360," said Karraker. "The total allocation for units in North America...is just less than what we had for PS2 and more than Microsoft had for Xbox 360."

 

Both the PS2's October 2000 launch and the 360's November 2005 debut were plagued by widespread sellouts, long lines, and occasional scuffles at US retailers. Sony estimates it had around 500,000 PS2s available day of launch. By contrast, NPD reported that Microsoft sold around 326,000 units by the end of November 2005. However, the hard-to-find next-gen console moved just another 281,000 units during December, bringing the 2005 total to around 607,000 units--half the number of PS3s Sony believes it will sell this year in North America.

 

Speaking to MTV News, Karraker urged calm among prospective PS3 purchasers. "People shouldn't fixate on the day-one allocation number," Karraker he said. "They should instead be more interested in the overall units available through the holidays, which will be 1 million to 1.2 million, which are significant amounts that will provide retail supply week over week with no dips in available stock." This was likely a veiled reference to the fact that many 360 retailers did not have the console in stock for weeks--or months--after it went on sale.

 

Though the flurry of various launch figures was initially confusing, one thing has always been perfectly clear. Sony is officially sticking to its original PS3 sales estimates for its current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2007. "The previously announced PlayStation 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed," the company said in a statement issued early this morning.

 

Karraker also offered an explanation for the PS3's European delay and US-Japanese supply problems. "The PlayStation 3 is a revolutionary, as well as evolutionary, product. If we were simply putting out PlayStation 2.1, it would be much easier to hit a worldwide launch," he said. "As it was, Ken Kutaragi set very ambitious goals for the PS3, based on what he felt we could achieve. The simple fact is that many of the components for the PS3, particularly the blue laser diode, had never been produced on a mass scale before."

 

The blue laser diode is a critical component of the high-capacity Blu-ray Disc drive that is at the center of the PS3. Sony is pushing the cutting-edge format, which can hold up to 50GB on a single-layered disc, to be the high-definition successor to the DVD format. Microsoft is backing a rival format, HD-DVD, and will offer an external HD-DVD drive this fall.

 

But for all of Blu-ray's promise, manufacturing players for the format has proven more than a little problematic. In February, Sony hinted blue laser diode production problems could delay the PS3 from its then-scheduled Spring 2007 launch. The new November launch date was confirmed at Sony's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference in May, the same month Sony announced the US launch of the Blu-ray format had been pushed back. Meanwhile, in July, several Taiwanese business newspapers, including the Commercial Times, reported that Sony was falling behind in production of blue laser diodes, although Sony would not confirm those reports.

 

Analysts were swift in their response to the PS3 news. UBS's Michael Wallace predicted the delay could have an alarming ripple effect with third-party publishers. "We also think this delay could cause some of our companies to push some of their PS3 games out until March 2007 to take advantage of a larger installed base," he said in a statement. "We note that Activision (three launch titles), Electronic Arts (four to five launch titles), and Take-Two (three titles by January 2007) currently have the greatest exposure to the PS3 at launch, so they could be impacted the most by this delay."

 

Today's PS3 developments caused Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter to lower his entire US annual software sales estimate--just issued yesterday--from three percent growth to two percent. He also tweaked his European annual game-sales estimate from one percent growth to a one percent loss. "Our prior forecast assumed that Sony would ship 2.3 million PS3s to the US and Europe in 2006," said Pachter. "Our revised forecast assumes shipments of 1.5 million to the US (unchanged) and zero to Europe (down from 800,000)."

 

Needless to say, the PS3's delay and any supply issues will be a boon to Sony's rivals, Nintendo and Microsoft. "There will undoubtedly be some 'substitution effect' from lower PS3 shipments, with a portion of the shortfall offset by higher sales of PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii hardware and software," Pachter said. "We have not adjusted our model to reflect this substitution...but we suspect that 25 to 50 percent of the shortfall in PS3 software sales (an estimated $124 million in Europe) will be offset by sales of software for the other platforms."

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  • 2 weeks later...

From 1up

 

Gran Turismo HD: Two Versions, Tons Microtransactions

Famitsu reports a brand new model for Gran Turismo on PS3.

by Luke Smith, 09/20/2006

 

There's horse armor and then there's the kind of microtransactions that Famitsu is reporting (via: Beyond3D and the vitriolic NeoGAF). According to the Famitsu inteview with Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo HD will have two SKUs on the PS3. One of these games will ship with no cars, all of them will be purchased via microtransactions.

 

The other, Gran Turismo HD: Premium, will ship with two courses and 30 cars, with an additional 30 cars and an additional two courses online at a later date. The Premium game is being considered a prologue to the PS3's eventual Gran Turismo 5.

 

The microtransaction-focused game, Gran Turismo HD: Classic will be the online-focused entrant into the GT-series. In this game, players will (reportedly) start with no cars or courses available to them. Instead, they will need to purchase their stable of cars and courses to race on. The pricing reported in the Famitsu piece indicated that cars would cost between 50-100 yen ($0.43-$0.85) and courses between 200-500 yen ($1.71-$4.26). There are approximiately 750 cars and 50 tracks available for purchase in the GT: HD Classic. Let's do the math:

# 750 cars for $0.50-$1.00 (Sony will round-up, don't you think?)

# 50 tracks for $1.50-$4.50

 

A complete copy of the game will cost gamers somewhere between $426.50 and $975, and that's without factoring in whatever Sony decides to charge for the menus (since that's all you'll get with GT HD: Classic).

 

Does this sound a little familiar? It should. Phil Harrison alluded to a possible future like this one last June in OPM.

 

I'll give you an example; Kazunori [Yamauchi, producer of the Gran Turismo series] would kill me for this: Imagine Gran Turismo shipping on a disc with one car and one track. And then you can browse, online, a dynamic circuit of vehicles that's growing every day because either the car manufacturers are adding new vehicles or we're adding new vehicles. And you can see a specific-type car that's being called up and say, "I think I'll play with that one. Let me download and play it." Maybe the business model allows you to play it for a day; maybe the business model allows you to own it forever. But that content is now yours on your hard drive. Or [maybe you could download] new tracks, new music, whole games.

 

Now, is it possible that the game will be a full-priced title with a built-in download system that allows users to download cars and tracks equal to the number of the game's retail price? We hope the model ends up similar to this. However, right now, details are extremely sparse, and Sony has to have an answer to these questions -- most of the people who can answer are over in Tokyo, we'll update if we hear back.

 

Welcome to next-gen.

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