by Jeromy "Doc" Adams
SOURCE: Joystiq

U.S. gamers are geekin' out over Sony's announced price drop for it's 60GB PS3. After just 230 days at the release price of $599, the company announced today that it would take just $499 for the console. Later next month, if you're still really into dropping huge sums on a gaming platform, you'll be able to spend $599 for a new 80GB model.

Monday, July 9th 2007. A day that will live in infamy. Today the three-way console war began in earnest. Sony's huge price cut, if truly married to a massive delivery of AAA titles by March of 2008, will turn up the heat on Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's low-powered but hot-selling Wii.

This is a pivotal moment for Sony, as the PS3 has enjoyed a lukewarm (at best) reception since it was launched late last year. If they can start cranking out games, provide an online experience that is at least in the same hemisphere as XBL, and iron out their public image.... we'll all win.

Microsoft will by no means concede next-gen battle. Expect the company that is already (by some estimates) losing $150 per console sold, to answer with its own big news.

Not to take anything away from Sony's announcement today. You know that I've been first in line to kick them while they were asking an arm and a leg. Now that it's just an arm.... I'm ready to listen.

The controllers still don't rumble though. Hmmmf.

My prediction for a rough course of events...

60GB for $499

80GB + MotorStorm for $599 in August (possibly including ShockAXIS controller - name not confirmed)

60GB units sell out in retail channel

80GB unit de-bundled, sold at $499 almost certainly with ShockAXIS.

At the end of the day, the PS3 is $499. I say that because even before the PS3 launched, Kutaragi mentioned the PS3 would likely come in many different configurations and how do you realistically change only the hard drive capacity of a model without introducing different SKUs? Sony's pack-in bundles have always been temporary. This is just a mechanism for getting the mainstream PS3 to 80GB (and it may happen again in the future with other hard drive capacities or system spec changes such as a new controller if it doesn't coincide with this bundle).

So what this does is cement in people's mind that the PS3 is now only $499 but I don't think the offer (or even the ones in my proposed timeline) are of the nature to make PS3s fly off the shelf (at least not without some software reasons added to the mix -- that's what this week is largely about though).

My thoughts....

First, rothbart, there's no way that the 60 gb sku's will sell out, even at the lower price point. *No way. *Not until ps3 has a killer app, a la, Gears of War or dare i say Wii sports. *Not gonna happen. *People dont buy consoles, people buy consoles to play games and as Doc has already let everyone know, ps3's got no frickin games.

Second, I will scream to my dying breath that the Wii, in the consumer electronics world, is not a competitor to the 360 or ps3. *Wii, to their credit, has created their own niche of a low priced, somewhat innovative platform that appeals to the market segment that does not involve the hard core gamer, but appeals to the causal gamers of all ages and gamers under 10 or over 40. *The 360 and ps3 on the other hand appeal to gamers. People that have the manual dexterity of a fighter pilot who geek out at pixel counts and anti-aliasing levels. These consoles have nothing in common with the Wii and at best, the wii complements the big two on a gamers shelf, so IMAO, i would not include the Wii in the "console wars" talk.

I believe that the ps2, in the alternative is the competitor to the Wii. *In my opinion, and I believe that this has been proven with the recent redesign of the slim ps2 to make it cheaper to produce, is that sony will continue to support the ps2 for the next 2 to 3 years as a direct competitior to the wii. *Sony needs cash and the ps2, surprisingly still sells a ton of consoles.

Finally, i agree with doc that this is the beginning of the console wars. *This fall is huge for both sony and microsoft. *IMAO microsoft has a huge advantage with the killer of killers halo3 coming out, but if heavenly sword is the god of war of the next gen consoles, *and lair makes an appearance in 2007, this may become a two horse race. *As consumers we can only hope, because competition will bring out the best of both consoles and in the end, the consumer will win...

Lono, please tell me you didn't just call Wii Sports a killer app? I think a bit of me just died. Yes Wii Sports is entertaining, due in no small part to its innovative control scheme, but to call it anything more than a novelty demo is blaspheme. I'll be the first to admit that at first I was taken under the spell of this "game". If I recall I even went so far as to say that Wii Sports was worth the price of the system alone. Oh how naive I was. It wasn't too long after that statement that I realized how little substance to Wii Sports there actually was. In the end I put it away and I hardly ever touch it now.

As for your assertion that Wii is not a competitor in the next-gen wars and furthermore that it does not appeal to hardcore gamers, I have to disagree. I was a Sony fan since the initial release of the play station, and I loyally followed to the PS2. But when news started spreading of the Nintendo Wii [Then the Revolution] and the PS3, I critically evaluated my options. I felt in a way abandoned by Sony as a fan because it seemed their games lacked the magic that originally attracted me to the system. Soon I found myself to no longer be a citizen of Sony Nation but that I had instead defected to Nintendoland for comfort. Now that I have a Wii I am very happy. Sure there is a lack of truly even mediocre games at the moment, but from what I've seen PS3 doesn't have much on Nintendo as far as game selection goes. Give it a year and we'll see where the chips lie.

Please don't think that I am spelling out the doom of PS3, as I find many blindy do. I simply want to wait to see where things go. I will agree that PS3 and the Wii appeal to slightly different demographics in some ways, but I feel there is also a very strong overlap between the two.

Now, regarding the PS2, I don't think you'll see anything but licensed movie games on that system from no on. And even that will stop within the year. I don't see even short term support for the PS2 being a reality.

I say let's back off calling a winner. As this past week has show there are problems each company is facing and at this point I don't think anyone can realistically call a next-gen winner. Should the PS3 win however, I have no problem being on the so-called losing side. I'll still remain happy with my choice, the Nintendo Wii.

Lono, please tell me you didn't just call Wii Sports a killer app? I think a bit of me just died. Yes Wii Sports is entertaining, due in no small part to its innovative control scheme, but to call it anything more than a novelty demo is blaspheme.

I wholehartedly agree, however you cannot deny that this "pack-in" has sold more Wii's than any other game, which would make it the "killer-app" for the system. *That's all. *I personally think the game sucks, but five million people must know something that I don't. *Wouldn't be the first time. *


Now, regarding the PS2, I don't think you'll see anything but licensed movie games on that system from no on. And even that will stop within the year. I don't see even short term support for the PS2 being a reality. *


As far as support for the ps2 you could not be more wrong. *God of War2 anyone? *Check the sales figures, ps2's are in like 80 million homes. *That's quite an install base and a base that isn't forgotten by game makers. *
Furthermore, sony just redesigned the slim ps2 to make it lighter, thus reducing the production costs. *Like it or not, *the Ps2 will be here for a while.

Maybe I am wrong about the PS2, but I don't think so. Yes you had GoW2 on the system, but I can't realistically see Sony pulling anymore big name games to the system when they could make them for the PS3. At most I think you'll see some older franchises throw a few onto the pile, unfortunately that pile is the PS2 funeral pire. Only time will tell, and who knows, maybe the PS2 will be around for a few years to come. I however will send flowers to the memorial service.

I will add though that the PS2 was and is an amazing system, clearly the winner from the last-gen console wars. But it's time has passed, and now it moves on to the far greener shores of legend.

but if heavenly sword is the god of war of the next gen consoles, *and lair makes an appearance in 2007,

Here's my problem with your post... you've pegged the PS3's future on Heavenly Sword and Lair. *Two of my personal iffiest upcoming franchises. *They both have a very significant chance of underwhelming. *What you seem to ignore (and I assume this is because you're not really following PS3 games that closely and that can't entirely be blamed on you -- Sony should be shoving media down people's throats even if it's a ways off). *Warhawk will sell tons. *Will it be a system seller? *No, but it adds to the package. *Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. *I think BOTH of these games on their own will be system sellers. *Uncharted for obvious reasons, it looks and animates impressively and it's got a bona fide pulp adventure story that seems to just "fit" (and Naughty Dog doesn't disappoint). *And I think R&C will really "wow" fans of platformers like they've never been wowed before. *Microsoft serves of a big steaming plate of poo when it comes to offering platformers... *Woohoo... Banjo Threeie is coming. *What's that make, ONE exclusive platformer for the system? *Don't even say Kameo, it's NOT a platformer.

I can't fault fans of other systems for not seeing what else is coming. *And for folks that don't already have a 360, a LOT of the upcoming multiplatform games should be compelling on the PS3 as well. *The devs are getting better. *Ranbow Six Vegas and The Darkness were both released on the PS3 and didn't suffer from accute sucky-itis like earlier multiplatform titles.

I don't expect the 60GB units to fly off the shelf simply because they're $100 cheaper. *It won't happen for that reason. *But by combining various promotions now, you can apply for a Sony credit card (http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentDisplayView?jspStoreDir=SonyStyleStorefront&mpe_id=1908885412&cmsId=sony_card&catalogId=10551&evtype=CpgnClick&intv_id=1908884855&langId=-1&OmnitureESpotName=ESPOT_CAT_RNAV_1_S_Digital_Home_ CPU&storeId=10151&storeId=10151&ddkey=ClickInfo) for a $100 credit after buying a 60GB PS3 for $499 (effectively making it $399) and still take advantage of the 5-free Blu-ray movies deal... *without the CC deal, it's a hell of a lot better deal than it was quite recently. With the $100 credit (use credit cards responsibly folks) it's really hard to argue with. Anybody saying "There are no upcoming games I'm interested in" is either a Halo 3 fanboy interested in only one (or two) games, or simply uninformed.

The games are coming. *And I expect people to be wowed this week (for various reasons).

Rothbart, you're kidding me right? *Freaking Warhawk? Dude, I know you think you're in the know, but FYI, Heavenly Sword and Lair ARE the most hyped exclusive games for the system. *Period. *Warhawk looks okay, but a system seller it is not. *Furthermore, while I loved the ratchet and clank series, those games weren't killer apps on the ps2, so why would they be for the ps3? *

Finally and I can't say this enough, Drake looks like crap. *Tomb Raider with a dude. *I saw the Game head show that i tivo'd over *the weekend and I couldn't fast forward through the craptacular segments fast enough. *

Look don't think that I'm a sony hating fanboy. *I'm not. I own a psp and the ps2 and the original playstation... I thought i was pretty fair in my assessment of the ps3 v. 360 contest. *If your biggest problem with my post is citing heavenly sword and Lair, well, this may be a boring day here in the forums....

Oh btw, Rothbart, I hope you're getting paid to shill for the sony credit card.

Have you played Warhawk? It's a frickin' blast. yeah, it doesn't have amazing graphics, but isn't it the fun we're after? It's a PS3 exclusive so whether or not the other systems could run this game, they can't. It will be the poster child for PSN and it's sub-$60 games. Speculation has this game coming in at $30-ish. And it's worth every penny.

I think the two games you mentioned, plus Warhawk when aggregated, will form a fairly compelling "backup reason" to get a PS3 whenever some game you really want finally hits. I'm not a "buy a system for a single game" guy... but if some game I really want comes out and there are several other games that I'd really like to play, and now one I'd love to play... well, that's a bit more compelling.

I'm not shilling anything. If you've got the cash to buy one outright, get the CC, save $100, pay it off, cancel it. Not too hard I don't think... very little work for $100 savings IMO. I've done it before for other promotions. I know they prey/count on you keeping it (and with a balance), but if you're savvy enough to work deals in your favor, all the power to you.

Heavenly Sword and Lair are the closest to streeting, but they won't be the most impressive games on the system this year... I'd be willing to stake a buck on that. I have high hopes for them, but not as much confidence as I'd wished.

And I think you're in the minority when it comes to Uncharted. Keep on hatin'. BTW, the original Tomb Raider was a frickin' paradigm shift in adventure gaming. I could think of a lot worse games to be compared to. Even though I think your comparison is basically "jungle setting"... my guess is come November, Crystal Dynamics is going to wish their new Tomb Raider was more like Uncharted.

Ooh, this is getting good. Ok, now let's fight to the death. Rothbart, you'll represent PS3. Lono can fight for the 360. As for me, I'll be the Wii and just sit on the sidelines because my processing power can't take the strain of actual combat. And...begin!

Have you played Warhawk? *It's a frickin' blast. *yeah, it doesn't have amazing graphics, but isn't it the fun we're after?
says the man defending the cell processed blue ray player. *


Rothbart, buddy, if sony is staking their entertainment division on Drake and Warhawk.... oh boy. *Look, I'm not going to restate the obvious, but neither compares to mass effect, bioshock, halo 3, katamari damacy, two worlds and so on and so forth....

Dang, I just checked gamefly's upcoming releases and I don't even see Warhawk with a release date yet...

Look dawg, i'm sure warhawk is fun, heck at $30 bucks, i'm sure its a steal, but it aint no halo 3 killer. *You and I both know that they need something bigger than what is on the slate this fall if they want to grab headlines from the 360. *I'd be willing to bet my ridiculously high government salary that warhawk and uncharted won't. *But i'm not the expert. *

Rothy baby, just get yerself a 360 elite... they're black and have an hdmi and almost as expensive as a ps3. You won't even notice the difference, and heck you might even play a game on a console for once instead of waiting for "future" releases. Go ahead dude, I won't hate. Pick up gears and I'll see ya online...

Rothbart, buddy, if sony is staking their entertainment division on Drake and Warhawk.... oh boy. *Look, I'm not going to restate the obvious, but neither compares to mass effect, bioshock, halo 3, katamari damacy, two worlds and so on and so forth....


This is the quote of quotes for this thread. One of the main drives toward the Playstation 2 was the many exclusive games Sony wrangled up. They have totally dropped the ball keeping those rights, and thus, PS3 really has nothing too impressive coming, even in the long run.

Similar thing happened to the PSP. If you can't cater to game developers and make them WANT to develop titles for your system, then your device's worth to the people decreases systematically.

Come on rothbart, come out of your spider hole and join us 360 owners... *WE ARE LEGION!

If I were to get another system, other than my Wii, it would be the 360, most definitely.

i bought a ps3 rite when it came out i like it dont love it yet just not enough great games, it has a lot of good games but nothing thats great. I bought a 360 Elite last week I like the 360 teh games are great but once the ga,es start coming out for ps3 it will b way better.

Rothbart, buddy, if sony is staking their entertainment division on Drake and Warhawk.... oh boy. *Look, I'm not going to restate the obvious, but neither compares to mass effect, bioshock, halo 3, katamari damacy, two worlds and so on and so forth....

Dang, I just checked gamefly's upcoming releases and I don't even see Warhawk with a release date yet...

Warhawk is going to be released as a downloadable PSN game and as a retail bundle with a headset. *I'm not surprised in the least Gamefly won't be carrying it. *Why would they? *They'd get stuck with a ton of headsets paying more than people who bought via PSN.

BTW, if you haven't noticed from previous posts, I already have a 360. *And I'll play great games I like on that system too. *BTW, in case someone hasn't told you, the world isn't made of FPS and ball-of-crap rolling games alone... *I honestly am not interested in Mass Effect, Bioshock or Halo 3. *Of the ones you mentioned, Katamari is the one I'd be most interested in and I've already played it a bit on my PS2 and well, it's um... different. But since you went there, it's FAR from a system seller.

While I feel DougB45 didn't really justify his statement very well (it sounds a bit fanboy-ish -- which isn't an accusation), I agree with it 100%. *I will take a special little moment to myself each time an amazing PS3 exclusive comes out and 360 fanboys deny it's anything special. *Before this generation is over, ALL the platforms will shine in their own areas. *The 360 has the current lead in software development, but I'm overly confident the PS3 has the lead in raw hardware potential and I think it will eventually not only catch but surpass the 360 in software before all is said and done. *That doesn't mean everything the 360 has to offer will be bested, that just means we'll get to a point that you'll be able to tell (from higher quality reasons) that a game is on the PS3 and not the 360...

I still think there wont be much of a competition. The 360 has a nice installed base and it is still cheaper. Now parents are going to look at the Elite and the $500 PS3 and say, this one has more games, a bigger hard drive, and this sales man is telling me I should get it...

This is awesome. The 60 gig doesn't have HDMI though, does it? The 80 gig is still a bit much for me, maybe this fall I'll get one.

Here's something that I don't understand. We are all gamers, right? If that is correct, why do we bitch and moan about the PS3 "sucking" so much? Drake's Fortune looks great. Sure he doesn't have breasts or short shorts, but if the gameplay is great then who cares. (Unless masturbatory fantasy is at the top of your list of game requirements) I personally like games, all games. I wish I had a PS3 to play Motorstorm and Resistance, but I bought a 360 instead. I really enjoy the games that I have bought. I don't buy every game, I'm sure that those of you who are fanboyish do. I think that I only had CoD2 for at least a couple of months or more before I bought my next game. I'm a lot pickier now because of the increase in price and the realization of how much money I spent on original Xbox games (I could fund a small country for that kind of cheese). I also realized that fun and gameplay was more important than the system that I had. Brand loyalty isn't always the way to buy games, unless you work for the company.

This is awesome. *The 60 gig doesn't have HDMI though, does it? *The 80 gig is still a bit much for me, maybe this fall I'll get one.

Here's something that I don't understand. *We are all gamers, right? *If that is correct, why do we bitch and moan about the PS3 "sucking" so much?

Altered, yes, every model of PS3 has HDMI, only one Xbox 360 does. And you're correct, regardless of how much the PS3 itself costs, it's okay to call a good looking game "good looking"... even if it's exclusive to a platform you don't see yourself buying.

This is awesome. The 60 gig doesn't have HDMI though, does it? The 80 gig is still a bit much for me, maybe this fall I'll get one.

Here's something that I don't understand. We are all gamers, right? If that is correct, why do we bitch and moan about the PS3 "sucking" so much? Drake's Fortune looks great. Sure he doesn't have breasts or short shorts, but if the gameplay is great then who cares. (Unless masturbatory fantasy is at the top of your list of game requirements) I personally like games, all games. I wish I had a PS3 to play Motorstorm and Resistance, but I bought a 360 instead. I really enjoy the games that I have bought. I don't buy every game, I'm sure that those of you who are fanboyish do. I think that I only had CoD2 for at least a couple of months or more before I bought my next game. I'm a lot pickier now because of the increase in price and the realization of how much money I spent on original Xbox games (I could fund a small country for that kind of cheese). I also realized that fun and gameplay was more important than the system that I had. Brand loyalty isn't always the way to buy games, unless you work for the company.

I will make you a deal. I will stop bashing on PS3 and such as soon as all their people stop bashing the 360.
This will never happen, and so if everyone who rips on the PS3 were to stop, those jackasses would still be dissing the 360/Wii. That is why people are what you call "fanboys". I just stand up for what I think. I think the PS3 wouldn't be as good as the 360 even if it sold WAY more systems, had WAY better games, etc. I just like the 360, it looks good, has games that I like, is easy to use, and most importantly, fun and worth my hard earned money.

I will make you a deal. I will stop bashing on PS3 and such as soon as all their people stop bashing the 360.
This will never happen, and so if everyone who rips on the PS3 were to stop, those jackasses would still be dissing the 360/Wii. That is why people are what you call "fanboys". I just stand up for what I think. I think the PS3 wouldn't be as good as the 360 even if it sold WAY more systems, had WAY better games, etc. I just like the 360, it looks good, has games that I like, is easy to use, and most importantly, fun and worth my hard earned money.

I will make you a deal. *You stop lumping me in with fanboys and I'll stop arguing with your blatant PS3 bashing.

Check this (http://home.comcast.net/~sean.workman/chris_paladino_on_rothbarts_logic.mp3) out. *That's one of the Microsoft Community Managers (Chris Paladino to be exact from Video Game Show episode #45) commenting about me. *People generally want to call me a fanboy, but I think the "boy" part isn't correct. *I'm a fan, for sure... an avid one at that. *But I base my posts and opinions on fact and logic, not fallacy with disregard to facts.

Wow, Roth.. and I thought my posts to you were excessively harsh even though I wasn't doing it for seriousness.

This thread makes me both ;D and :'(.

Wow, Roth.. and I thought my posts to you were excessively harsh even though I wasn't doing it for seriousness.

This thread makes me both *;D and *:'(.

I just wanted an excuse to whip out that soundbyte... I'm almost done whoring that out CPal... ;D

BTW, this forum got a mention in VGS #45 too.

I will make you a deal. I will stop bashing on PS3 and such as soon as all their people stop bashing the 360.
This will never happen, and so if everyone who rips on the PS3 were to stop, those jackasses would still be dissing the 360/Wii. That is why people are what you call "fanboys". I just stand up for what I think. I think the PS3 wouldn't be as good as the 360 even if it sold WAY more systems, had WAY better games, etc. I just like the 360, it looks good, has games that I like, is easy to use, and most importantly, fun and worth my hard earned money.

I will make you a deal. You stop lumping me in with fanboys and I'll stop arguing with your blatant PS3 bashing.

Check this (http://home.comcast.net/~sean.workman/chris_paladino_on_rothbarts_logic.mp3) out. That's one of the Microsoft Community Managers (Chris Paladino to be exact from Video Game Show episode #45) commenting about me. People generally want to call me a fanboy, but I think the "boy" part isn't correct. I'm a fan, for sure... an avid one at that. But I base my posts and opinions on fact and logic, not fallacy with disregard to facts.

I never said you were a PS3 fanboy...

So we're in a Mexican standoff? *Or was it Chinese? *How many other ethnicities can I throw in here? *Ethiopian standoff, that's right. *They're known for this sort of thing.

You bash PS3, I defend it. *You praise 360, I naysay some of it. *I'm right, you're wrong. *Oh, nevermind... *There's no problem here... * ::) *just kidding... mostly.

*whistles*

*walks away*

Haha, you should've made the text match the background. :P

Haha, you should've made the text match the background. :P

The background color alternates (and is different in quotes). There's no "true" invisible on this forum software...

Oh yeah?

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

WTF?! The first thing I do with your posts is highlight them... *grin* isn't it fun confusing the heck out of other people? Well, some of them...

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

I really hope this person is joking, otherwise I may have to cry.

Google?

Oh come on. Just because some guy is on a gaming website, and doesn't know about E3 doesn't really mean anything.
It is this really small gaming convention that not very many people know about, just the people who pay attention to ANY gaming website that is talking about it right now. Which would be about.... all of them. :P

Oh come on. Just because some guy is on a gaming website, and doesn't know about E3 doesn't really mean anything.
It is this really small gaming convention that not very many people know about, just the people who pay attention to ANY gaming website that is talking about it right now. Which would be about.... all of them. :P

lol :lol:

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

I really hope this person is joking, otherwise I may have to cry.

He is kidding... highlight my entire earlier post. Altered Weapon knows what E3 is...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/Walken20Pranked.gif

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/Walken20Pranked.gif

Just so you know...

Christopher Walken saying "You Got Pranked" scares the shit out of me. :P

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

I really hope this person is joking, otherwise I may have to cry.

He is kidding... highlight my entire earlier post. Altered Weapon knows what E3 is...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/Walken20Pranked.gif

Well, Altered Weapon is a sly one indeed. I shall have to start highlighting people's posts. As for the Christopher Walken GIF, if I am reading his lips right he is saying "You just been Pranked!" He's definitely saying four syllables anyhow.

(I love that I just did a quote within a quot within a quote within a quote.)

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

I really hope this person is joking, otherwise I may have to cry.

He is kidding... highlight my entire earlier post. Altered Weapon knows what E3 is...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/Walken20Pranked.gif

Well, Altered Weapon is a sly one indeed. I shall have to start highlighting people's posts. As for the Christopher Walken GIF, if I am reading his lips right he is saying "You just been Pranked!" He's definitely saying four syllables anyhow.

(I love that I just did a quote within a quot within a quote within a quote.)

No more quoting. :x

Yeah, that was a tad excessive. :oops:

Okay, I think now the console war has begun... the three major camps had their E3 conferences... what did people think?

What's E3? I joke, I joke!

I really hope this person is joking, otherwise I may have to cry.

He is kidding... highlight my entire earlier post. Altered Weapon knows what E3 is...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/Walken20Pranked.gif

Well, Altered Weapon is a sly one indeed. I shall have to start highlighting people's posts. As for the Christopher Walken GIF, if I am reading his lips right he is saying "You just been Pranked!" He's definitely saying four syllables anyhow.

(I love that I just did a quote within a quot within a quote within a quote.)

No more quoting. :x

Parody from "50 DKP" WoW video...
"MORE QUOTES, MORE QUOTES!!!

He still hasn't noticed my invisible post. :O

Just so you know...

Christopher Walken saying "You Got Pranked" scares the shit out of me. :P

I had no idea you were a woman... :shock:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/rothbart_photos/interweb_memes/1167614597601.gif

And let the real console war... grind to a shuddering halt (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/13/sony-switcheroo-no-more-60gb-playstation-3-in-us-after-july/).

Sony are discontinuing the (now $499) 60GB PS3 from August 1st, and will be replacing it with the $599 80GB version.

And let the real console war... grind to a shuddering halt (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/13/sony-switcheroo-no-more-60gb-playstation-3-in-us-after-july/).

Sony are discontinuing the (now $499) 60GB PS3 from August 1st, and will be replacing it with the $599 80GB version.

Some price cut, eh?

Phase out the 499 60GB model leaving on the 599 80gb version.

Then, after reading the rumor mill known as the internet, maybe make a standalone 80GB for 499 and leave the bundle at 549-599. Either way, this is bad press and a very stupid move.

Even if the rumors are accurate, Sony is going to piss people off. If you run right out and buy a 60GB "price cut" model without knowing this news, and then they discontinue them and make the 80GB standalone the same price as the 60GB one a month or two later... whoops, just pissed off some consumers.

If they don't drop the 80GB model to 499 as a standalone and discontinue the 60GB model, whoops, just pissed off consumers.

Lose, lose. Not one of Sony's brightest moments, especially not on the heels of the price cut news.

Yeah, it's an utterly stupid thing to do - just when they were finally getting some positive press about the machine's price...

Just wanted to add a quick note that it's not just some rogue SCEE exec saying this, either. Kaz Hirai has said the exact same thing in an interview with a Norwegian Gaming/Entertainment site.

From ATVS.VG.NO (http://atvs.vg.no/player/?id=10235):

Kaz Hirai: "Well, again, just from a hardware perspective, the 499 dollar price adjustment that we did for the 60 GB version, for the american market, uh, we're no longer in production for that product, so uh once that product is gone from the retailer shelves, then we're back to the $599 SKU only, so it's not like we have a two price strategy here in the US market. We found out very early on, you know, consumers react mostly to just having one SKU as opposed to two."

Edit, upon further thought:
My prediction of Holiday 2007, for what it's worth:

Sony creates an non-bundled 80GB model and prices it at 499.99 before the holiday season. Microsoft responds in kind by dropping the HD-DVD addon to 99.99, the Core SKU to 199.99, the Premium SKU to 299.99, but leaves the Elite at 479.99, justifying the cost by including the HD-DVD player with the Elite.

This is where I think we're heading because those price points would put Microsoft in better competition with Nintendo and having an Elite system with a bundled HD-DVD at 479 would put them in a better position to compete with Sony as the Elite would then boast similar features, except it would be HD-DVD instead of Blu-ray.

I heard that Sony announced they will wait for the $499 60gb to sell out then only have $600 80gb left for perches.

I heard that Sony announced they will wait for the $499 60gb to sell out then only have $600 80gb left for perches.

Go here (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26751) and read what I've been telling people (before Pachter said it). Once the $500 units are gone, the 80GB unit will almost certainly be unbundled and the price dropped... Pachter goes one step further to predict another price drop in '08. Way to nutkick Sony's holiday wafflers into not buying Pacht!

Now you can say you "heard" the $499 price was permanent! That's how the internet works! If it makes you feel better, you can tell people I told you the PS3 will be $99 in September 2022

I heard that Sony announced they will wait for the $499 60gb to sell out then only have $600 80gb left for perches.

That was a nice little trick there. using 499 and 600 to make the difference seem greater. Looks like 200 dollar difference instead of a 100 dollar difference.

I've got my eye on you.

:shock: