Playstation 3 bundle price

[opaque]

Theres no way on earth I'm ever going to buy a PS3 at that sort of price.
A console needs to be cheap enough to be an easy buy, not something you have to think about and plan how you're spending most of your wages!

As I don't 'need' any of the newer consoles I'll just wait until they all get really cheap :)

[Quirkafleeg]

>I have some severe doubts about Blu-Ray as well.

Most people could not care less about hi-def...

[The Amstor Computer]

As I don't 'need' any of the newer consoles I'll just wait until they all get really cheap

Well, the 360 is dropping and will probably dip again when the PS3 and Wii arrive, and Wii is very unlikely to launch for more than ?200 (a price as low as ?150 has been rumoured) which is about as close to an impulse buy as you can get for a brand-new home console.

Most people could not care less about hi-def...

To an extent, I think this is correct - people just don't seem to be seeing the SD>HD jump as being as significant as the VHS>DVD leap and are less willing to invest. Tie that to a high entry cost to get the best of HD - a brand-new telly and a brand-new HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player - and I think the uptake is going to be slow.

[Keef Monkey]

I'm not too bothered about HD, just bought a telly recently so by the time I buy my next one everything'll likely be HD as standard so I'll see what all the fuss is about then. There's an HD dvd drive coming out for the 360 for about ?130 I think.
As for the whole console war, I've always been a playstation guy but I'm really happy with the 360 and so far any games that have been announced are either 360 exclusives or coming out on both, so I'll not be getting a PS3.

[Something Fishy]

being a sad technical geek i've read loads and loads of comparisons now.

Therotically the PS3 hs higher floating point performance.

In practice though, it turns out to be little or no more powerful than the 360 and is apparently a bugger to develop for (1 full processor and 6 SPE's (1 is redundant and another is reserved for the OS in the 8) that have more limited functionality) against the 360's 3 full procesors each with full functionality.  The 360 Graphics card is better than the PS3 one too.

They say the PS3 and 360 will look all but the same but toward the end of the PS3's life it might look a little better  have a tad more going on on screen in terms of effects (but only a handful of gameswill have the dev time to leverage this).

[IndigoPrime]

:: Wii is very unlikely to launch for more than ?200

How great would it be if Nintendo could set it at a real impulse level, close to the price of the DS (say, ?129)? Mind you, some idiots would probably think the console "rubbish" because it's so cheap and trot off and buy an overpriced piece of Sony junk... That pricing lark's tricky.

[Quirkafleeg]

I think to the average punter Blu-ray et al is just another shiny disk and does not have the obvious advantages of stepping up from video to dvd did. And the fact that films are exclusive to either format is the kiss of death. And knowbody wants to be left with the next Betamax or Minidisk.

[Something Fishy]

I was chatting to a mate earlier who owns a video store.

He was saying they are not happy at all with the attempts of companies to push next-gen DVD on them already.

he said in his area it's just asking him to spend more and take up shelf space with something that most people are not ready for and don't have the telly for.

He has also seen UMD bomb so dropped it and is close to giving up on PSP due to low levels of rentals.

He's tempted to stick with 360 and PS2 for a while in consoles until PS3 gets to a price that people in a poorer area could touch.

I found that interesting. Are Sony (or Tosh) even thinking of the small business and whether they even want another format pushed at them? should they not really be keeping the next gen format seperate from their games machine? Maybe ps4 for Blue Ray would be better, when more people are ready? All academic now i know.
 
 

[Quirkafleeg]

Looks like Wii is turning up early as well

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/commentary/column_gaming/index.htm" target="_blank">Wii may get early launch

[The Amstor Computer]

Aye, it's looking likely. There have been rumours suggesting Nintendo are well into manufacturing already with a launch in late September/early October being on the cards. Nintendo have also announced that September will be the month that they will announce the exact date, launch price and launch lineup and there is speculation that they may be gearing up for a snap launch shortly thereafter.

If they can beat the PS3 to launch, and come in under ?200 with a decent launch lineup they should be in a great position.

It'll be fascinating to see how the Japanese market responds to Wii, as even during the quiet summer months the DS is selling around 150,000-200,000 units per week there. If the Japanese respond to Nintendo's new home console in the way they have with their new handheld, it could be an explosive autumn & Christmas over there.

[Buttonman]

Tsk tsk, technical perfection was reached with the advent of Jungle Hunt for the Atari 2600 - c'mon catch that vine!

I have a PS2 and can tell you it's gaming, not procrastination that is the thief of time.

Last week I had an empty, with the girlfriend away on a cruise - thanks for the invite! So how did I spend this valuable time? Yup spending the entire week playing Resident Evil 4, sometimes until 4am. With that amount of effort the machine should print you off a cheque for ?500 for finishing (only on 'easy' the shame!), instead of the actual prize of your character wearing a new outfit the next time you play.

I like gaming but have no interest in being in the vanguard of console buyers. Why spunk ?500 on a new machine with bugger all softwear when you can get Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill 4 for ?20 the pair. Stay one step behind that's my tip. I do however have no geeky friends to impress, apart from you people who love me anyway.

[Radbacker]

I was reading in a games mag this week how the DS is now classed as a Pop phenomenom in Japan now which as we all know means demand is massivly outstripping supply, apparently you cant find a new DS Lite on the shelves and second hand ones are going for the equivelent of 200 -250 pounds(I dont have one of those funny pound keys on my keyboard).  It makes sense for Ninty to launch their new console while they're riding high on sales of their DS the name is now even more of a household name in Japan.
Look at the Japanese games sales charts(always weird at the best of times) and 8 of the top 10 games are DS titles.
Go Nintendo

CU Radbacker

[Keef Monkey]

I've always figured that regardless of which consoles are most popular, the Nintendo fans are the most hardcore.

[WoD]

Ahh...as a new Ninetendo convert I wish them all the success in the world, and as a 360 owner I can say MS have done a pretty good job...as an ex-PS2 owner I can say that at this price there's no chance I'll be buying (and if I did buy then I would SO have to hide it from Mrs-WoD).

[Will I. Cooling]

Bah, gaming reached perfection with the Sega Saturn. The only games that grab me today are the yearly Pro Evo games and the odd retro collection. My PS2 would be the biggest waste of money ever if it didn't come with a DVD player.