PlayStation 3

[Anya 0]

So the system was $200 and the game was $50. Okay, still a good deal.

 

 

.....how is that a good deal? That's at best like, breaking even or something.

 

 

5 years ago Gamecube launched at 200 dollars. In 2006 Nintendo is selling Gamecube based hardware with a new controller and a game for 250. This is a deal?

 

I could see this being an acceptable price but a deal? Worth praising Nintendo over? Yeah, I think no.

[World's Worst Man 0]

You could also add that Wii Sports is hardly a game, let-alone a $50 game. It's a compilation of what is essentially 5 tech demos. It's ok as a throw-in, but it's not like we're getting Super Mario World here.

 

I think the Wii was right where it should have been. It's an upgraded GameCube (which retails for $100 now) with the Wiimote and nunchuk, which cost $70 together, plus Wii Sports, which would reasonably sell for maybe $10. It's a good deal in that its a $250 system amidst $400 and $500-$600 systems, but it's not a good deal based on what you're actually getting. It's reasonably priced based on what you get.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Nintendo can't keep Wiis on the shelf at $250. That would indicate that they're underpriced, not overpriced.

[AndrewTS 0]

Or undersupplied.

 

Anya, you have to be joking about the "shortages." I've already told you--the Wii strap fiasco showed they were selling all they made. Plus every company has had the shortages. Come up with a real point, plz.

 

How convenient that you say portables don't matter except when you're scraping around for a negative point. Meanwhile, even major gaming publications are begging Sony for a PSP revision.

[ZGangsta 0]

Jesus, what is with people arguing the price of the Wii based on the Gamecube price? The Wii is not a Gamecube, but let's for a minute be dumbasses and assume that it is "just an overclocked Gamecube" (which is a ridiculous sentiment since there ARE processor, video card, and RAM differences), it still has built in WiFi, added hardware for handling the Wiimote controls on top of the remaining 4 gamecube controller ports, a memory card reader, the USB ports, a smaller form factor, a new disc drive that reads the Wii disks and Gamecube disks.

But oh yeah you guys are right, I forgot that all that shit is free, as well as all the R&D (no longer factored into the Gamecube hardware cost), ramping production for launch (no longer factored into the Gamecube hardware cost), setting up the infrastructure for online services and tech support (no longer factored into the Gamecube hardware cost), marketing (you get the idea), etc.

"Fuck teh Nintendo~! Teh gamcube is 100 dollerz so teh wii shud also cost 100 dollerz~!"

Bunch of engineering and economics geniuses.

 

 

And for some actually Playstation 3 content:

I saw MotoStorm being played on a Sony Bravia HDtv and it was the prettiest video game experience I've ever seen, I was completely blown away. Anyone know if that was doing 720p or 1080p?

[AndrewTS 0]

"The hardware is basically a GC." -- Miyamoto

 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/shiggy/miyamoto-o...a-gc-205086.php

 

"My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software. If we hadn't used NAND flash memory [to store data such as games and photos] and other pricey parts, we might have succeeded." -- Miyamoto

 

http://wii.ign.com/articles/746/746380p1.html

[ZGangsta 0]

"The hardware is basically a GC." -- Miyamoto

 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/shiggy/miyamoto-o...a-gc-205086.php

 

"My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software. If we hadn't used NAND flash memory [to store data such as games and photos] and other pricey parts, we might have succeeded." -- Miyamoto

 

http://wii.ign.com/articles/746/746380p1.html

 

Yeah, but 'basically a Gamecube' doesn't mean that you can roll the cubes off the same production line, change the bus multiplier to overclock them and then sell them, which is what it would require to sell the Wiis at the same cost as the Gamecubes. I mean "If we hadn't used NAND flash memory [to store data such as games and photos] and other pricey parts" right there is the point that I'm making, It costs more than a 5 year old Gamecube because it does have different parts.

I'm not trying to make some commentary on whether the price of the Wii is awful, reasonable, or great, I'm just saying that people going "It's an upgraded GameCube (which retails for $100 now)" and then making their judgments on that is baseless.

[World's Worst Man 0]

Hahaha. Ahahahahaha.

 

I don't think anyone actually thinks the Wii is just an overclocked GameCube. It's just an exaggeration to show that the Wii isn't a whole lot stronger than than the GameCube, which is why it shouldn't be sold for a whole lot more than a GameCube. Minus the Wiimote/nunchuk combo, the Wii costs $180, $80 more than the GameCube currently retails for. Which is fine for a system that isn't really a huge leap in processing/memory power.

 

Edit - It is a modestly upgraded GameCube, whether you want to believe it is or not. Deal with it and move on.

[MrRant 0]

Well, depends on how you look at it. If you consider that the Wi-Fi adapter for the Xbox or any "game adapter" for that matter, retails between $70-100 bucks, you could say that part of the cost is there.

[Invictus 0]

It also has MoSys 1T-RAM, which is some of the priciest and fastest RAM available on the market.

[naiwf 0]

Sony to miss FY PlayStation 3 sales goal by 25%

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Sony Corp. (6758.TO) will reach only 75% of its global target for PlayStation 3 sales this fiscal year through March, according to a Nomura report released Monday.

 

Nomura cut its target for PS3 game units shipped during the period to 4.5 million from 6 million, citing poor sales over the holiday season in North America.

 

The Tokyo-based consumer electronics maker is fighting to keep its position at the top of the video game market against rivals Nintendo Co. (7974.TO) and Microsoft Corp. (MS). The company's rollout of its newest system has been beset by delays and supply shortages, but it has maintained it will sell 6 million units through March.

 

Sony said last week it had shipped 1 million consoles in the U.S. in 2006, but it sold only about 470,000 in Japan according to data released by computer game publisher Enterbrain Inc. This put it well below its global goal of 2 million for the year.

 

The unit is due to be released in Europe sometime in March.

 

In its report Monday, Nomura also cut its PS3 sales forecast for next fiscal year to 10 million from 16 million next fiscal year and to 11 million from 18 million for the following year.

 

IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon has told GamesIndustry.biz that Sony must produce more first-party software for PlayStation 3 or risk seeing more and more units left on shop shelves.

 

Pidgeon's comments follow the release of NPD's videogame sales data for 2006 which, according to SCEA boss Jack Tretton, show "the power of PlayStation".

 

The IDC analyst said he agreed with Tretton that the power of the brand "is confirmed with the PS2's performance in the market", adding that sales of hit titles such as Guitar Hero 2 meant that last year "PS2 was helpful to most third-party publishers' bottom lines".

 

However, he continued, "The PlayStation brand doesn't appear to be helping the PS3. If NPD's numbers are correct, there are over 300K PS3s on retail shelves. That is not good for a console launch of only a million and it's not good for publishers with PS3 software."

 

Pidgeon warned that Sony must focus on the games available for PlayStation 3 and the number of first-party titles in development, stating, "Software libraries are the key driver of console sales, and no console is going to sell on the promises - they've got to deliver.

 

"Sony needs more must-have first party titles to sell consoles. Gamers know Halo 3 is coming on the Xbox 360, and they can expect Mario on the Wii, but there are no established first party franchises coming to the PS3 except Gran Turismo - and that is delayed."

 

Pidgeon did say that first-party PS3 games Heavenly Sword and Motorstorm "look great", but observed, "They are new and less anticipated."

 

Posted by: broshnat on Tuesday 16th January 2007, 06:40

 

Not sure if this is all that relevant or even accurate, but this article says over 30% of the units shipped may not be sold yet and yet the videogame charts site lists the PS3 as having 0.94 million units sold in Americas and 1.58 worldwide. I know that they also had the Wii selling 4 million units worldwide quite awhile ago, and then amended it to 3.5, while it's now standing at 3.67. I think the whole thing is pretty confusing because I can't tell if it's units shipped or sold and if the same method of documenting "sales" applies to every brand or not.

[World's Worst Man 0]

vgcharts.org goes on number of sales, not number shipped. As far as I know, the NPD numbers don't count Canada, nor does that article. The "million shipped" was only to the US. vgcharts also uses sources other than the NPD.

[naiwf 0]

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

[k thx 0]

I think that if those 300,000 unsold PS3s were available in Europe at the same time as the other launches, they probably would have been sold.

[EricMM 0]

LOL I forgot that Sony basically dicked over Europe.

[NoCalMike 0]

My buddy just bought a PS3 from EB Games....he traded in his PS2 with 2 controllers and a single memory card, and they gave him $100 off the price, he said he was told that is their store policy right now for trade-in value.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Yep, and that's one of EB's current "deals" now, too.

[EricMM 0]

That is, BTW a *terrible* deal.

 

Well, it certainly feels like one.

[NoCalMike 0]

Well I mean it is probably as good as it is going to get. I mean the longer the PS3 is out, the less trade-in value the PS2 will have, and if you don't trade in your PS2, you will basically have a video game console sitting around that you aren't playing. The only thing that sucks is that if you have any PS2 games that you completed yet because I don't think the PS3 can accept PS2 memory cards.

[Guest Princess Leena]

It's actually not bad, since the used fat PS2's go for $100. If anyone still has one that works. You're only taking the loss from the memory card.

 

I remember the days of better deals where you could trade-in 5 shitty games and get $50 towards a console. It was fun raping those assholes.

[NoCalMike 0]

It's actually not bad, since the used fat PS2's go for $100. If anyone still has one that works. You're only taking the loss from the memory card.

 

I remember the days of better deals where you could trade-in 5 shitty games and get $50 towards a console. It was fun raping those assholes.

 

 

*raises hand*

[Invictus 0]

I even have the ill-fated harddrive in my fat PS2. I was a beta-tester for FFXI on PS2 and thus Square Enix provided me with the HDD and the game free of charge. Good times, were those.

[Red Baron 0]

My gf played NHL 07 on the PS3 at Future Shop yesterday. The system crashed on her.

 

Shame cause the game looked good, but the controls looked awful. (Still don't like the whole right stick shooting thing)

[EricMM 0]

Booyahkasha?

 

http://www.techspot.com/news/24156-japanes...ps3-prices.html

 

Japanese retailers cut PS3 prices

By Justin Mann, TechSpot.com

Published: January 22, 2007, 7:29 PM EST

 

While Ireland and the EU in general isn't so lucky when it comes to PS3 prices, Japan is one of the very few areas that is actually getting a price cut on the expensive console. Most likely due to extremely poor sales, retailers are taking matters into their own hands, not willing to wait for Sony to act. As such, the prices in Japan for the 20GB PS3 are being cut by as much as 20%:

 

 

Retailers are also buying "used" PS3s at much lower prices than previously, paying well under the original sticker price. Just look at how the Don Quijote in Akihabara is slicing 20 percent off the 20GB PLAYSTATION 3.

 

While Sony is claiming they made their goal of 2 million shipments, even in my local area I have noticed stores stocked with PS3s that aren't selling. The retailers may be buying them, but how many are actually making it into peoples living rooms? Considering the console itself looks quite nice and has everything there to offer something great, the underlying problem is most likely the high price. Would a 20% cut across the board now affect Sony so much that extra sales couldn't help it?

[World's Worst Man 0]

Maybe Japanese gamers are smarter, so they won't buy an expensive system that's lacking in good games? Oh wait, this is the same region where a collection of five tech demos selling for full price, is topping the charts.

 

But seriously, Sony is fucked until they get some good software out, but that is nothing new. It'll be interesting to see how the release of VF5 affects things. I can see it spiking sales for a bit, but after that it'll be back to what it was before. At least until the next big time game is released.

[AndrewTS 0]

The retailer itself is cutting the price and taking a hit, not Sony. It's not a genuine price cut.

 

"Maybe Japanese gamers are smarter, so they won't buy an expensive system that's lacking in good games? Oh wait, this is the same region where a collection of five tech demos selling for full price, is topping the charts."

 

Hey, there are PS3 games that are selling: Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidge Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacer and that Gundam game.

 

But even at regular retail price, the PS3 is still cheaper for Japanese gamers when you take exchange rates into account.

 

I've considered, at some point, importing a Japanese PS3. I'll be able to play all PS3 games, import PS2 games, and can continue to play American games on my PS2.

 

"It'll be interesting to see how the release of VF5 affects things."

 

It'll be an arcade sensation, but Anya has noted that usually the home ports don't sell all that fantastic. The draw to those big fighters is the arcade competition, and there's little need for a home port when you can drop a few hundred yen at the local arcade and get real human competition that you never met/fought before. Home version would be usually used for practice.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Today was the first time I actually saw a stack of about 15 PS3's (60 GB) at the front entrance of my Best Buy just sitting there looking all sad, right in front of a stack of 360's sitting there too. Still no damned Wii Component cables though...

 

Id buy the thing in a heartbeat if they dropped the price to $450 instead of $600 just for the fact its a Blu Ray player, but theres no way that will happen any time soon in the U.S.

[Guest Princess Leena]

At my Gamestop, there's a sign that covers nearly half the window saying "WE HAVE PS3'S!!!". They got about 30, too. Considering they don't get many PS3's, that's quite bad.

[Craig Th 0]

Id buy the thing in a heartbeat if they dropped the price to $450 instead of $600 just for the fact its a Blu Ray player, but theres no way that will happen any time soon in the U.S.

It's called eBay. I got mine for $7.06.

 

And I see them at GameCrazy and Gamestop.

[EricMM 0]

You did not buy a PS3 for seven dollars and six cents.