Playstation 3 Sony PS3: £425. Utter Insanity.

I actually mentioned this in another thread a couple of days ago, but Sony have confirmed today that the PS3 will cost us poor (mugs) British consumers a whopping £425.

I can safely assume that I am not the only person to think that is utter insanity.

Ok so it comes with a Blu-Ray drive... but frankly I'd rather pay £150 less and do without it. It seems (to me atleast) like we're being forced to adopt Blu-Ray AND pay an incredible price for the privilege. Now the price has been released, the (originally) enticing marketing hype about combining the Blu-Ray video capabilities and games machine doesn't seem so cool.

 

£50 bet that there will be ques to buy one on launch day. I feel like going down that evening and publically laughing at them.

MM yay, bluray and a HDTV, like the british public has that kind of cash to roll around

How many of the early adopters will go home and plug it into their 32" CRT SDTV through composite? Quite a few imo.

 

You would assume therefore Sony will be intentionally stiffling supplies to ensure that there is a shortage then, as that sort of price can only possibly be within the reach of the sadly obsessed and the student loans.

Good point mind about the HDTV. Spend £425 on something you can't get proper value from as few people actually have a HDTV at home to utilise the spiffy hardware on - Blu-Ray on portable tellies anyone?

I just thought - add another £30+ for a second pad, say £80-90 for a pair of games. You're topping the £550 mark there and that's without optional extras. That could buy you a 360, plus four games - I know these comparisons can be iffy, but there you go.

 

Yep. I still will put money on the fact that most people will go home and plug it into their normal TVs with composite and go "WOW IT LOOKS SO GOOD!"

Suckers.

 

Quoted for truth.

 

http://www.smashmyps3.com/

Go on. You know it makes sense.

 

Well, X360 for me then. I just can't fathom why I'd need to buy a PS3 since it really doesn't offer me anything other than MGS4.

 

Sooo not tempted. ps3 + games + controller = 1 week all inclusive in the Dominican Republic with money spare for a suitcase full of B+H.

 

Heh just spent more on a mobile phone

 

You sound like my kinda holiday partner!

 

im thinking of buying one, but the price is what worries me. that ps3 will sure look nice next to my HDTV :S. the 360 doesnt have the games i want basically the new FF games and MGS4. but i find it hard to put down the 600 dollars as i probably wont use the bluray player

 

Man i love sonys consoles the metal gear solid games are my favorite, but right now im content with my 360 and PC i wont get near a ps3 until i see at "least" a 200$ price drop witch is what like 2 and a half years away! So as i see it you have too options 1 either buy a x360 which i believe is worth 450+ of your hard earned cash or 2 take your 600$ and upgrade your PC you have now.

But hey thats just my opinion! if money is no obstacle hell just go for it

 

And seconded. I know of more than one who did just this with a X360 (rented, thankfully, not purchased) and were all impressed with having sweaty players on NBA Eternity. Aside from that being friggen gross, it's still not really comparing favorably with PC graphics (and seeing that half the lineup of 360 launch titles were EA sports...)

The only thing that could get me interested in a PS3 is an FF7 remake (and a damn good one- leave the storyline the hell alone and just make graphics teh secks). And as much as an insanely hardcore diehard FF7 fan as I am, even that probably couldn't convince me to buy one. Rent and have myself a no-sleep weekend quite possibly, but that'd be the extent of it methinks.

 

Is it just me, or did the exchange rate for pounds to USD jump up quite a bit lately?

Anyways, yes that is a pretty high price tag.

However, Sony does have a decent argument in the sense that other blu-ray players will cost a lot more. Like DVD players when they were new were at least $1000. DVD players sure didn't allow a person to play games like GTA3.

In the sense that the PS3 is a blu-ray player which also allows the playing of video games, and at cheaper price than any other stand alone blu-ray player without the ability to play games than the PS3 is actually a pretty good value.

What I want to know is why are the blu-ray palyers so expensive?

I dislike the price, but at least Sony can justify the price. Think about the last generation of consoles- did any of them release such a new media type? The Playstation was the first console to use CDs- at the time, CDs had been out for a few years. PS2- first DVD based console and sure enough- DVDs had been out for a while before the release of the PS2.

L J

 

The problem is that Blu-Ray isn't nearly as simple to justify as DVD. The jump in quality isn't worthy of the massive price tag. Not to mention the fact that Blu-Ray might just be another Betamax.

 

Screw that! For £550, you could

1.turn just about any existing PC into pretty much a dream rig.
2.Have a sweet holiday
3.Buy a GC, get all the best games, *and* have a weekend away in Paris
4.Buy a sweet guitar, and go home with change
5.Blow it all on drugs

If people really spend that on release day then they need their heads examined!

Sam

 

Il agree with bindi in that the fanboys will still buy it and it may still do well. I however think that this console war they may be slowly beginning to lose after this.
I pray sony get royally a55pucked in this.

Id actually love it if the market was equal between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. Unlikely i know but it would be awesome for us consumers with competitive pricing instead of companys like sony knowing they have a monopoly on the market.

 

The problem is the fanboy market can only count for so much. Sony basically led the way in marketing their products in exactly the opposite way as they are doing now - mass appeal, accessible to anyone, buy one even if you don't really play many games. The stellar appeal of the PS1 was down to this attitude when they got the pricing and packages at the right sort of level of affordability. Sure the fanboys will no doubt lap 'em up come launch day, but the rest of the normal world will no doubt look on in horror at people willing to splurge £425 on a games console, and approach the prospect of picking one up from Currys with just as much enthusiasm.

I think this is a shot in the foot. And if as expected the Wii launches for less than half that, and the 360 drops in price at the same time, then I think Sony will have a hard job convincing consumers to slap one of those bad boys on their credit card.