PS3's hefty price tag raises eyebrows

[Renew Deal]

By Kim Peterson

Seattle Times technology reporter

LOS ANGELES — You'd expect that Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 console would find a warm reception among the crowds at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, the annual convention of the video-game industry.

After all, these attendees are technology's early adopters, ones who for years have readily plunked down hundreds of dollars for video game systems and more for all the games to play on them.

But the PS3's hefty price tag is generating some concern even among the avid gamers Sony hopes to target when it debuts the system in North America on Nov. 17. A full bells-and-whistles version will cost $599 and have 60 gigabytes of storage space.

For a hundred dollars less, Sony will sell a version with 20 gigabytes of storage space. But that version doesn't have wireless Internet access or compatibility with compact flash memory storage devices. It may also be problematic if you try to watch movies in the new Blu-ray high-definition format (you can watch them in standard definition video).
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002985447_webethree10.html

[MSgt213]

1. I think it does cost too much. With the prices for most computers going

down the gaming systems are going up.

[Renew Deal]

3. You can buy a PC for less.

It does say that it's much less expensive than comparable PC technology, but that may be missing the point. The point is a gaming system. Sony is going for an entertainment center.

[0rganism]

23. gotta look at what's actually IN the computer

The PS3 is a hot-shit system. You want to buy a computer system OTS with comparable technology, it's going to cost maybe 3 times as much. The PS3 has all the makings of a heavy-duty applications processing machine, with kickass graphics tacked on as a bonus. I bet there are already people thinking about using it as a CAD system -- hell, the same processing guts are already being used as computing boards in IBM Blade systems, you could do a lot worse than hooking up a few of these $600 machines into a distributed computing environment for an animation studio or engineering shop. 'Course the hi-def DVD drive is kind of overkill, in that context, but it's meant to be a gaming system.

I think Sony would actually be LOSING money on this deal, except they're one of the co-developers of the Cell processors (and probably a lot of the other mission-critical hardware) so they can probably get the chipsets at a huge discount.

I'm going to withhold further praise or criticism until I get a longer look at what they have in the way of games. Some of the launch titles look real sweet on TV, but I haven't played them yet myself, and it's possible that it will take a few more months for developers to sink their teeth into the PS3's full capabilities.

[WindRavenX]

2. my bf and I are buying this together

We are both longime fans of Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto; we enjoy video games together and we look forward to this :D

It still is outrageous, though. What's the Nintedo Wii going to cost?

[Renew Deal]

4. Estimated $200

[WindRavenX]

5. dayum

that's ...tough.

[geomon666]

6. Longtime gamers are being priced right out of the market.

Just wait til the next generations.

[dysfunctional press]

7. how so?

i would think that most "longtime gamers" are now at least in early adulthood or beyond, and have jobs with paychecks...which will allow them to "buy up" to the new systems. it would seem to me that the youngest/entry-level gamers would be the ones least likely to afford one...unless their longtime gaming parents purchase it for them.

[Renew Deal]

8. You said exactly what I was thinking.

Is this the gamble that Sony is taking? Parents are already sold on video games. I think I read that 40% of adults are gamers. That's significant. More people play video games than support Bush.

[WindRavenX]

10. I think it's all about target audience

Sony usually has an older fanbase, whereas Nintendo has more young adult stuff. The prices of the systems reflect this.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Most gamers in their late twenties, early thirties.

The question is, will gamers be willing to pay for this, and the high definition TV they'll need to play it on?

The other question is, is this the official price, or just more speculation? People have been speculating about the PS3 price for some time.

[Renew Deal]

14. Hasn't the government decided to standardize to digital TV in 2009

And HDTV's are pretty common now.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. I don't know how common they are

I haven't got one yet though.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

13. I'm one of those long time gamers

Personally, I could afford this thing If I wanted to get it, but it would knock something else out of the picture that I might spend $600 on. I'm just not ready to pay $600 for a gaming system at this point.......it seems so expensive. I may end up with one of these things someday, but I'm not going to be blowing $600 on one anytime soon.

One selling point is that these PS3's play high definition dvd's, so they are tailored to higher end TV's. It will be interesting to see how they sell.

I understand they are taking some amount of loss with the price, I figured they could make stuff like this for pretty cheap. I guess I was wrong about that. I always thought they were making a killing selling this hardware.

[Renew Deal]

15. $600 is tripple what I remember paying for my PS2.

It'a a major leap.

[Zynx]

21. I remember when the SNES came out and it was only $120.

New gaming systems are one of the few technologies that have increased in price over the past fifteen years.

[AlCzervik]

9. wait a year after it's debut and the price will drop. I bought my kid a

ps2 when they first came out---should have waited, i could have saved at least $100.

[Placebo]

11. People are still going to buy it.

Especially because it will play Blu-ray DVDs, and most of the Blu-ray DVD players coming out are priced higher than the PSP.

Plus, gamers are fanatic, and SONY has more fanboys than anyone, they'd buy it if it cost $1,599.00

[Scooter24]

17. I'll probably buy one

for myself and another one for my boyfriend's brother's Christmas gift. I rarely have time to play video games myself, but the PS2 has been such a nice system to have, and when I do get time to play it, the game quality is top-notch. I'd expect nothing less from the PS3.

[lovuian]

18. I have to admit thats way steep of a price

Its downright ridiculous!!!

[killbotfactory]

19. No thanks

I don't want to have to pay 200 dollars more for a Blue-ray/Betamax II player.

Of course, I thought buying a gamecube for 80 bucks was expensive.

[Godhumor]

20. MMOs have usurped my gaming time

I am a gamer from way, way back. I am also a consistent early adapter, but I have bought very, very little in the way of games for almost two years. Why? 99% of my gaming time now goes to City Of Heroes.

I believe I've lost my gamer cred due to the fact that I see games that look neat and don't buy them--my reasoning being that within 24 hours I'll be back on CoH. As a result, I won't be picking up a PS3 at launch. Maybe in a couple years or when my infatuation with CoH wears off.

[Zynx]

22. I was going to be a bastard and buy a bunch and resell them on EBay for

gouging prices when shortages develop, but I don't want to take the risk that I can't move them at these prices. One slip up and I could be out a lot of money.