No Merry Christmas For PS3 Speculators
from the too-easy dept
A few days ago, we pointed to a post by Clive Thompson, in which he noted that the value of getting a PS3 before they were available to the public was somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000, as buyers bid up their price to nosebleed heights on eBay. Since then they’ve cooled off significantly, sliding steadily through Christmas day. This has defied the expectation of speculators, who had bought them up, hoping to sell them for a rich profit to procrastinating parents right before Christmas. As it is, many of those profiteers had to return the boxes to the stores to get a refund. In a sense, it wasn’t hard to see this scheme failing. After such a rapid rise, the price had nowhere to go but down. And even though there’s a lot of pressure on parents to get a box under the tree on Christmas, apparently many realized that it made sense to hold out a few more days. So, next time a really hot videogame box is released, don’t do the obvious thing and buy them up before Christmas. The real money is in figuring out a way to short them, as you would a stock.
Comments on “No Merry Christmas For PS3 Speculators”
People who buy a console only to resell it only hurt the gaming industry. Bastards.
Re: Re:
Isn’t that what Best Buy and Circuit City and all the other stores do?
What is the harm in that?
If you are talking about those who aren’t legit resellers, who are only in the market to sell for in the thousands, I have a hard time seeing how they hurt the gaming industry. After all – part of the promotion of any new gaming unit revolves around these guys doing what they do as the news media will grab these stories and help the gaming industry without the expensive fees involved in paid advertising.
true...
So obvious, why pay 2 grand on Thursday when on Saturday it will be worth 6 hundred?
Methinks the instant gratification thing is going a bit far and perhaps children don’t need every whim fulfilled at any cost…
Re: true..., except...
Or perhaps the console really wasn’t for the children 🙂
Meanwhile...
the Wii is still selling for $100 to $150 over retail on eBay.
Re: Meanwhile...
$100 is an understandable markup as they’re still decently hard to find. $1400 is not, however. Thats more than twice the price I bought my current beater car for, and I get more use out of it. Can’t ride home on a PS3…
over rated system
Look back on the history of gaming systems, what company has won back to back consoles no one. The problem with the ps3 is that it is too expensive, Microsoft got it right once by having the HD-DVD separate from the system. If a user doesn’t want to watch Hi-Def DVD’s they shouldn’t have to pay for it. Like today 12/29/2006 I was in a Target in Columbus at Easton and they had 4 PS3 60GB in the case and another 4 in the back and no one was buying them, however the Wii’s sold out again. I think Sony is in a world of hurt with this system.
Re: over rated system
Ummm, PS1 and PS2 anybody? They dominate the market. Sure, the original Xbox had some decent tries with Halo, but overall, the PS1 and PS2 smoked the other consoles on the market.
Also, for those that haven’t noticed, the Xbox 360 doesn’t exactly have great games everywhere either. Take out Gears of War, which sucks as a single player game (way too easy and short) and Prey, what does that leave you? F.E.A.R. doesn’t count as it was a port from computer. The typical war and sports games that every console has. The one thing that everyone keeps forgetting. These, both the 360 and the PS3, are no longer marketed as just only gaming consoles. I love the Xbox 360. But, overall, the PS3 is a better deal. I realize the Xbox is much cheaper. But Sony smokes every detail in specs, plus you are getting the next gen winning dvd format. For those of you that don’t think Blu-Ray will win, wake up. Sony produces right at half of all movies, when you include all their other companies such as MGM. 50% of all movies could be made available as only Blu-Ray. Not to mention that every major computer manufacturer except Toshiba is backing Blu-Ray. I don’t think of the PS3 as an expensive gaming console. I think of it as a very reasonable Blu-Ray player that duals as a gaming console. In fact, the PS3 out performed almost every other Blu-Ray player in the market. As far as the Wii is concerned, it is a contender just because of price alone. Except for small kids, it will not be the primary console. But people who buy the 360 or PS3 will probably buy the Wii next just as an interest item.
Re: Re: over rated system
But take out Resistance: Fall of Man, and the PS3 has ABSOLUTELY nothing of note. At this point, that’s all it’s good for.
Re: Re: Wii as a second console
I don’t game. My roommates all spent hours daily playing computer games and occasionally I would join in with them. I haven’t extensively played a console system (2+ hours entirely) since owning a N64 in ’97 as a seventh grader.
November 19th 7:30 AM I was in line at Circuit City. By 8:30 I was happily walking out of a Kmart with a Wii and Zelda
I have put in 50+ hours on Zelda alone.
It took me a month to just find a new nunchuck controller so I could play other games multiplayer.
My Wii comes with me to most parties at request of the hosts or other people. It is never left home when I go to my girlfriends parents house.
So any BS about Wii being a second console to people have no concept of what gaming normal average people want to do. I don’t have any friends who have or want a 360 or PS3. They all want a Wii and bundled Wii Sports.
That is why Nintendo named it Wii – it is for anybody and everybody. Nintendo is committed to gaming and always have been. They got it right and PS3 is watching from the sidelines this Christmas season. So any comment about it just being a second console for everyone doesn’t live in the real world.
Re: over rated system
A blue-ray player costs over 600.00 retail. what are you talking about? p.s. sony will do just fine once Europe starts selling. They still own Europe and Asia.
Re: Re: over rated system
Good point. I think it’s a worthy mention that it took the PS3 less than a month after release to have more units in Japan than the total amount of 360s in the country after a year.
Microsoft keeps saying the 360 is selling well, but the PS2 is still outselling it and there are many times more PSPs than 360s. Let’s not even start talking about how mind-blowingly well the DSs are doing.
Oh, and I live in Dallas, Texas, (Cali or no, there are still well over a million people living in the metroplex so it’s not exactly hick-ville.) and I have yet to see a PS3 in stock. “In the back” doesn’t count, Best Buy has been reported holding PS3s in the backroom and not selling them until they build up their stock or until a sale or special event.
Re: Re: Re: over rated system
“Oh, and I live in Dallas, Texas, (Cali or no, there are still well over a million people living in the metroplex so it’s not exactly hick-ville.) and I have yet to see a PS3 in stock. “In the back” doesn’t count, Best Buy has been reported holding PS3s in the backroom and not selling them until they build up their stock or until a sale or special event.”
Okay, Mr. I live in Dallas, Tx. I would like to inform you that I, a Plano, TX resident, currently have ELEVEN (11) Playstation 3 Consoles at the EB Games that I currently manage. All of them are of the 60GB variety. That is significantly more than the five (5) Xbox 360 systems we have in stock. On a side note, we have also received approximately thurty (30) or so Wii units, all of which sell on the same day that they arrive.
Now, you speak of the PSPs outnumbering the Xbox 360. You are 100% correct when you speak of systems that have been manufactured. But what matters most is how many of said systems have been purchased, not just how many have been manufactured and are sitting on store shelves. Now, I don’t have the numbers sitting right in front of me, but there have been significantly more Xbox 360’s sold to customers than PSP’s. My store, at this current moment, has nine (9) PSP systems in stock, more than the Xbox 360. And, on a side note, we are currently completely out of Nintendo DS systems (at the store and the warehouse). Sony actually pulled the vast majority of resourses out of developting new products (namely movies) the PSP’s UMD format.
So, at this current moment in time, the major game system manufacturers are listed like this in order of quality game systems:
(Manufacturer – System (# In Stock) )
NINTENDO – Wii (0), DS (0), Game Boy Advance (0)
MICROSOFT – XB360 (5), Zune (7)
SONY – PS3 (11), PSP (9)
None of these are what you call “in the back” or are being held for any reason. They are all very well advertized around the store and are available at any time that the store is open.
Right now, Nintendo has the most in-demand products (all of which I own). They have the best systems, hands-down.
If I had more time, I would continue this post, but alas, I have work to do. So, I will leave you with this note:
NINTENDO RULES!!
Re: over rated system
” Look back on the history of gaming systems, what company has won back to back consoles no one. The problem with the ps3 is that it is too expensive, Microsoft got it right once by having the HD-DVD separate from the system. If a user doesn’t want to watch Hi-Def DVD’s they shouldn’t have to pay for it. Like today 12/29/2006 I was in a Target in Columbus at Easton and they had 4 PS3 60GB in the case and another 4 in the back and no one was buying them, however the Wii’s sold out again. I think Sony is in a world of hurt with this system. “
Dude Nintendo ran the market years ago. the NES and the SNES were back to back hits. It wasnt until N64 that they dropped the ball.
duh
it’s because the PS3 is a piece of crap and no one wants one
hear hear
you got that right, the ps3 is garbage, the network play is a joke and the game selection sucks. Stick to an xbox 360 with hd-dvd –> believe me your be much happier!!
Re: hear hear
Because it all of a sudden became a ps3 bash. I bought my ps3 before christmas and I love it. I have HD, and 1080 DPI is the future. IF your willing to pay an extra 150 bucks for an HD upgrade for your xbox go for it, but your losing on on 50 dollars for a 600 dollar system that basically kicks ass. Sucks for all those speculators, personally if I were the retailers, i wouldn’t take them back.
better option
you can buy both an xbox 360 (for hi def gaming) and a wii(for the unique gameplay) for the price of the ps3. where is the question here?
PS3=crap
PS3 and bluray are pieces of crap. Sony has set up the PS3 to fail. The graphics could be fantastic, but if the games are no good and the console is $200 more than another system that has been out for a year, then you have a problem. Sony is trying to bush their over-priced technology on us and i recommend moving to the Wii, or the xbox360 where you don’t have to put up with Sony’s BS.
Re: PS3=crap
Anyone remember BETAMAX? Even though it was superior format, BETA lost out to VHS. Looks like the same thing might happen with Blue Ray vs. HD-DVD.
hey
the ps3 is a great system. the only downside is just the lack of games. the graphics are amazing on the ps3. resistance is on the same level as gears of wars… and resistance is a launch title whereas gears of war came out, like what, a year after the 360 came out? the ps3 is doing badly because of bad marketing moves by sony. sony shouldn’t have announced its release date before all the kinks were worked out. honestly, the release was premature. they should have waited for more games. the ps3 is a fine system. its just premature. wait for more games to be developed and its sales will pick up. no point in buying a system when you can’t do anything with it. the wii is great as well. however, i’m wondering if its novelty will wear off eventually. gamers don’t want to always have to be getting up out of their seats to play a game. though, the wii does have potential to overcome this.
Re: hey
“the ps3 is a great system. the only downside is just the lack of games.”
Hilarious. I am the world’s greatest lover, apart from my lack of girlfriends.
A game system is for playing games. A game system is not for showing off the graphics on the demo disc to your friends, not for bragging rights, for the communal experience of camping out all night in line to get, and not for staring at the beauty of the blue glowing LED.
A game system with a lack of games is not a great game system – unless you have some other use for it than playing games.
Re: hey
Resistance the same level as Gears of War? No no NO! Resistance is a cookie cutter shooter with nothing tremendously new to offer. Gears of War is a technical marvel, kind of like Kill:Switch without screwing up. Implementation of active reloads, duck for cover and tactical game play, a worthy co-op system to play over live or on split screen.
Resistance is only on par graphically maybe… otherwise, no. It’s only a decent shooter.
and with a xbox 360 you never have to leave the house.
Serves them right...
Money grubbing bitches. Thought they could buy them up and sell them for 4-5x the original value. All those people that did get no pity from me.
A small markup (like +$100) would make sense but those prices were horrific.
They waited in line and bragged about the money they were going to make and didn’t care about the real that were getting left out. Well now they have to abandon their plans and just settle for a refun/exchange/not much profit.
I'm waiting..
C’mon, guys. Some one here must be able to figure out a way to ‘sell short’ a game console! 🙂
wow so many xcock suckers. I have the PS3 and it fucking rocks. I put Fedora PPC 5 on it, have a 250gb external drive hooked up which i keep all my HD movies and shows on, plus i got it for FREE! I sold 3 PS3’s right at launch and made a TON! So fuck all you haters who had to return them or didnt get one.
Re: cussing
Cussing really takes very good comments and makes you sound unintelligent and crass!
I hope the webmaster has the sense to edit or eliminate your post!
Re: Re:
Wow, anonymous, your mommy must be so proud… When are you moving out of her basement and getting a girlfriend?
Re: Re:
shouldn’t it be xcox suckers?
Re:
C’mon, you dont have a ps3. You dont even have your own place. Get an education, get a job and get a life. Your post will seem pretty embarrasing when you hit puberty.
Re: Re:
You’re a thirty something still living with mommy and daddy aren’t you….piss ant.
Re: Re: "Your MOM"
If your referring to my comment about the whiners. No I am a 20 old business owner with my own house, and haven’t lived with my parents since i was 17
Hopeful
Maybe if people see others losing money doing this, it will stop this type of activity.
These people ruin it for everyone by buying up new products with no intent of giving them as gifts. You artificially keep prices high and eliminate limited stock for those who actually want the thing.
I would like to see a 15% restock fee for people who do this, although I don’t know how you would differentiate legitimate returns. It is really no different than scalpers buying up concert tickets.
But the best defense against these people is to not pay more than MSRP for a product.
Re: Hopeful
Ticket resellers bother me much more than this nonsense. Little guys trying to make a couple of bucks off of consumer feeding frenzy (real or imagined).
I would even go so far as to say that the desire for instant gratification that makes this market possible is more reprehensible.
All his Hd movies on it
Wow, he must have a small collection to go with his small IQ
Is this the free market...
…or an abuse of the free market?
I wonder if it would be possible/legal for the MFR to insist on a name and address for warranty purposes at the point of sale? Perhaps that would help with the rampant profiteering that has been going on here.
Some may think that this is all fine and dandy – and they would be right – but when a gas station does this sort of thing the AG hauls them into court…
Re: Is this the free market...
That may not be a bad idea, have some major bonus at the point of sale that can only go to the purchaser. Say a credit-card linked coupon for a major discount on an add-on after Christmas that is built into the price. So if you buy one on ebay w/o the coupon, you can’t get the add-on!
Something like that, maybe?
Really it would be best if people just said they refuse to pay that price for the technology. It is sad, but jerks abound that are happy to ruin it for everyone. But if these guys lose their shirts a few times, they will stop!
A PS3 is sitting unsold on store shelves... Still
I was at the mall on the 23rd of December in a EB Games. I asked if they had any Wii in stock and he said no, but we have PS3. Ohh well. I went back to the mall yesterday and the store still had one PS3 sitting behind the counter for sale. I assume its the same from the initial batch. Either way I would not say these are hard to find.
There is a myth that Lemmings, little mammal creatures that resemble hamsters have a strange behavior of running in mass over a cliff to there demise somehow comes to mind…
PSGreed
Moogie, moogie!
I hope the scalpers (and Sony) get stuck with thes
I just checked e-bay again this morning (I’ve been following this madness since the release). While there are still thousands of listings, there are very few bids for the PS3.
Yesterday, at Target, I saw 3 in the case, and no interested parties in sight. The Wii is still nowhere to be found.
Another thought:
I keep hearing ‘just wait. once the developers figure out the cell processor, the graphics….blah blah.’ Does anyone think Sony would actually let this thing out of the factory with no developer support to showcase the claimed performance/appearance!? Personally, I think the PS3 is a case of ‘what you see is what you get.’ The kids play with it at WalMart and such. I have to say, I’m NOT impressed. This thing costs as much as a new PC, yet won’t perform graphically like one. My son has PC games that are graphically superior, and they are a few years old. Again, I’m NOT impressed.
I caught a review/comparison recently between the XBOX360 and PS3. They did side-by-side comparison using screenshots. The writers of the article, as did I, conclude the XBOX to be a slightly superior console. Also noticed, were significantly higher framerates on the 360. I’m not a gamer, and I don’t own a console– but the differences between these units was obvious to me.
Sony has a long reputation of charging nearly double for goods the rest of market sets to a reasonable price. Their gear also is nowhere near the ‘best’, but marketing and public perception sustain this paper tiger. Personally, I won’t own a Sony product. My observations show them to be mechanically and technically inferior to the major part of the competing market. They also fudge technical & performance specifications, and outright lie about their innovations, i.e. CD’s. Sony DID NOT invent the CD. They licensed/purchased it from Philips. Such is the case with most any innovation claims from Sony. Think of them as a Japanese Microsoft; profit and control driven.
Sony is in dire financial straights at the moment; the world is finally figuring out they build/make crap. They’ve been banking on the PS3 launch to bail the rising water out of their ship. At present, it just doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I would be tickled pink to see Sony go bankrupt.
Enjoy your PS3’s fanboys, ’cause it’s just a matter of time before it breaks(down).
I don’t actually think I’d be surprised to find out ‘Sony’ is Japanese for “broken.”
the wii is so much bettr. why spend 600 on a ps3? and by the waY I got BOTH for christmas
Obvious
Thank you Captain Obvious!!
This story is useless.
What does the article say that we don’t already know?
I See Nothing Wrong
There’s nothing wrong with buying one of these over priced toys and turning around and trying to make a few bucks off of it. If people are stupid enough to pay those prices for them then so be it. Why do peopel have this need to have the latest and greatest right now? Why not wait and buy it a litle later when the market is flooded with the things and priced more “reasonably?” Hope this whole mess forces Sony to clean up it’s act. My company used to buy Sony laptops every other year. Sony made a pretty penny off of us. I started woking there and started seeing how fast these things were breaking down and showed my boss the numbers. After seeing how much time and money we were loosing due to thesae defective laptops we have abandoned Sony. I heve never owned anything Sony in a long time. Working at this place pretty much showed me Sony is to be avoided. It’s sad.
Re: I See Nothing Wrong
Here, here, I agree. Many years ago I was much more invovled in the consumer electronics via installation and sales aspect, as far as Sony is concerned I don’t recall any consumer product they peddled as being of any thing special, just a name brand that they have continued to capitalize on…
Seriously...
I agree with Norman619. There is nothing wrong with this. If there are people out there desperate enough to buy a LUXURY item at 3 times the cost because they have more money than they know what to do with and can’t wait a week or two then really what does it hurt you? This isn’t a limited time product like a concert or sporting event. Is it really going to kill little Timmy to have to play with his PS2 for an extra week or two before he gets to waste away his life in front of the PS3?
In fact I would wager that most of you judgmental types, if were offered 3X the cost for the system as you walked out the store with one under your arm, you wouldn’t even give it a second thought as you thumbed through the Benjamins to ensure that they were all there as you waved goodbye to the new owner of a system that was previously yours. And if you refused to sell the system, then you are a fool.
If your little Timmy’s are going to be psychologically damaged because they don’t have their game system right away then you have much bigger problems and should think about taking some classes on discovering what really is important in life.
Lastly, Prang the pretender, there is a big difference between a luxury item like the PS3 whose absence from society would be meaningless and gas which these days has become a necessity. Next you’ll say that the pet rock industry should be monitored as closely as the power industry.
Re: So now we're down to name-calling, Hm?
In fact I would wager that most of you judgmental types, if were offered 3X the cost for the system as you walked out the store with one under your arm, you wouldn’t even give it a second thought as you thumbed through the Benjamins to ensure that they were all there as you waved goodbye to the new owner of a system that was previously yours. And if you refused to sell the system, then you are a fool.
There’s this thing called the Golden Rule. You may have heard of it…
When I heard that Amazon was selling Xbox 360s for $100 I thought about doing exactly that… then I decided not to, as I didn’t want one, and didn’t feel right out of doing someone else out of a Christmas gift. Perhaps I’m the only one who feels this way. Judgemental or compassionate? You decide…
They again, I don’t buy into the hype and run after the hot toy du jour, and have little respect for those who do. Never have, never will.
Ironically, I agree with most of your sentiments. As things worked out, those who got stuck with PS3s they could not unload on Boxing Day… so perhaps justice was done, after a fashion.
Oh, and show me where I said or suggested that PS3s should be monitored.
Simply put, I didn’t. I made the point that this might be considered an abuse of the free market (which it is), and what I considered to be a reasonable suggestion to prevent people buying such items solely for the purpose of resale.
The point is not whether the item is a luxury or a necessity. The point is whether someone is taking advantage of short supply of an item to make a windfall profit. Legal? Probably. Ethical? Probably not.
Keep up with the name-calling and the jumping to conclusions, though… you’re doing great.
Get a grip shall we?
Smudge, those comparisons are all of multi-platform games that were ported from the xbox 360 (not the other way around) to the PS3. While many of them (well, the one that really suffers is COD3 and it seems like Tony Hawk a bit too. NFS:Carbon, Tiger Woods, Fight Night, and Madden surprisingly are improved over their 360 counterparts, but still pretty bad in the eyes of fanboys on both sides due to the simple fact that EA doesn’t know jack-sqaut about developing games) suffer from (usually) framerate problems due to two COMPLETELY different processor architectures and hardware.
Have any of you seen the latest HD in-game GTHD videos (by the way, before you throw BS about how expensive the game is, the game is a free download. It’s an abandoned game basically and though Polyphony will update it from time to time, their focus in on GT5 now. yay)? No other racing game compares graphically, not even Forza, and feel free to compare by your own unbiased self if you don’t believe me. And this is basically just a demo of the future of the GT5 engine (which, thank God, finally will feature damage and dynamic weather. Probably a few years off though).
How about Warhawk? Lair? Metal Gear Solid (also don’t give me that crap about it coming to the 360. Konami officially debunked that rumor by saying it’s not planned for any other system yet)?
Rather than putting down a few buggy third-party/EA ports at launch and using that to judge a $500 (I personally don’t see the need for the $600 one. But that’s just my point of view) console which more than pays for itself after a harddrive upgrade/HD-DVD(which now has less upcoming titles and no PC support whatsoever when compared to Blu-ray) upgrade/few years of Live service for the ‘other console’; how about you realize how well first-gen launch titles on the PS3 are comparing the 2nd gen 360 games?
I’m not saying the console is perfect, far from it, especially at this point in the game; however, fanboys on either side gaming world are no good. Have an open mind and realize that competition is a good thing for this idustry.
Talking about competition, are you people seriously considering the Wii as competition to either of the other consoles? The Wii is a “secondary” console. Most people pick either a 360 or a PS3 (because of price) and pick up a Wii as well for the hell of it. It’s a completely different experience meant for a completely different market; that doesn’t mean it appeals to the hardcore gaming crowd at all. It’s not aimed at them/us.
Just because a bunch of people on the comment pages of Techdirt and Slashdot happen to share your opinion, doesn’t mean you speak for the rest of the world. Many of the reports aren’t even true. The stories of overheating are exclusive to unventilated display cases (have you not noticed that not a single person who plays it at home has complained?). The stories of many PS3s in stock are mostly due to the fact that retailers are trying to sell overpriced bundles (exceeding a thousand dollars) – much like they tried with the 360 when it launched. Both plans failed.
I have yet to find a PS3 in stock just by coincidence; although I’m sure it’s possible if you wait a few minutes before a store open.
Some people here speak of typical Sony DRM when the console not only allows you to play other people’s games, but you can also share games you buy online via the PSNStore with 3 other people at no additional cost. How in the hell is that DRM? You can even install your own OS of choice (unless of course that happens to be windows… though I’m sure you could if you had the source code). Red Kawa has a media center for it now.
Anyway, this has carried on for long enough. All I’m saying is, don’t be fanboys. If you must critisize the system, critize the bad online multiplayer when compared to Live or something. Or the constant Firmware upgrades. Talking about “typical sony” based on their laptops and overheating kiosks and their general past in other divisions of the company is just you preaching to the choir, and most of us readers who know better choose to ignore the propoganda-based criticism.
Re: Get a grip shall we?
actually.. u say thers not alot of PS3 right because of blah blah.
well in fact. there ARE alot of PS3 left unsold. i dont kno where you live. but here in CALI alot of the stores ive seen after wii hunting[ which i have now] do have several PS3 on display or in the back.
alot of people just arent solid enough for the PS3 considering its so expensive.
360 is also isnt all that great. but ive yet to buy more games for it seeing i got it this xmas.
the wii however, even if alot of people say is a difernt market to a diff group of people and not directed to HARDCORE games, is not a second console. the Wii is just a new console entering the arena and its new way of doing things is finally bringing somthing new for once. what do you mean hardcore gamers? games like gears of war? halo 2/3? im shure by the end of next year 07 there will be a larger share of developers cranking out games of all sorts aimed at any type of gamer. even for you HARDCORE gamers. the wiimote seems very adaptble even with its lack of buttons compared to other consoles.
stupid people
i wudnt do that even for the 1600+ profit, even tho u cud make tons of money off it, it just isnt right to do that to the people who cant afford 2 grand for a stupid game. myself i wudnt even spend 200 on a game system, videogames make nothing, they do nothing but waste time.
Re: stupid people
i r try to red ths but i cant
Get a grip shall we?
for someone posting as a know-it-all, you’re lacking in knowledge of what’s at hand.
(I personally don’t see the need for the $600 one. But that’s just my point of view)
your point of view is severely flawed. you don’t just lose out on 40 gigs of hd space. buying the 20gb ps3 essentially renders the HD quality and bluray ineffective as all video will be down sampled to 480p. now, you may still hold your point of view, but considering one main selling point of next gen consoles is hd quality, the fact that the 20gb version lacks it is somewhat damning of that version. this also completely destroys the selling point of having a bluray device.
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/unions/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24602542&union_id=4159
Talking about competition, are you people seriously considering the Wii as competition to either of the other consoles?
of course the wii is competition. you have an entire generation (myself included) who grew up with nintendo. i, personally, will be buying a wii and will not be buying an xbox360 nor ps3. why? because i have a top-notch computer for next gen graphics. the only console that makes me want to get out of my chair to purchase is the wii. if you don’t think i’m a “hardcore gamer” then you should check out my xfire stats. when research ends gaming commences. i’m not the only “hardcore gamer” either that is looking to solely purchase a wii for a console. if you don’t consider that competition then you’re a fool. the beauty of the wii is that it appeals to both the hardcore gamer and the others.
The stories of overheating are exclusive to unventilated display cases (have you not noticed that not a single person who plays it at home has complained?).
i take it you’re referring to the xbox 360’s overheating problems. you should probably retract that statement as i’ve had conversations during classes with several other students concerning this very issue. i’ll agree that the stories of plenty of ps3s in stock are over exaggerated. you’d be lucky to find one or two.
first gen games for the ps3 are hands down not great. that’s not to say that they’re bad. however, despite all the arguments of “programming for the ps3 is difficult”, you have to look at their actual gpu clock speeds (not saying other consoles have spectacular gpus). so they have a cell processor… big deal… in game physics are already 100% acceptable and games like oblivion with complex ai run just fine on the 360. (my point here is, essentially, screw consoles for graphics… it’s all about the pc).
i completely agree with your final assessment. DON’T BE FANBOYS… our current tv is a sony and it’s perfect. i personally think the ps3 sucks, but i also think the xbox360 sucks (halo3 is going to suck the worst… halo1 = good… halo2 = suck ass). i don’t really have much against sony as all products i’ve ever purchased from them have been reliable. sure, some of their products haven’t (and the root kit issue was a little much) but name one brand that has been around as long as sony that hasn’t had some product issues here and there along the way.
Re: Get a grip shall we?
“your point of view is severely flawed. you don’t just lose out on 40 gigs of hd space. buying the 20gb ps3 essentially renders the HD quality and bluray ineffective as all video will be down sampled to 480p. now, you may still hold your point of view, but considering one main selling point of next gen consoles is hd quality, the fact that the 20gb version lacks it is somewhat damning of that version. this also completely destroys the selling point of having a bluray device.”
Wrong. That was changed in the final design. Ask any member on ps3forums.com. 20Gig version has HDMI and does not downsample.
“
i take it you’re referring to the xbox 360’s overheating problems. you should probably retract that statement as i’ve had conversations during classes with several other students concerning this very issue. i’ll agree that the stories of plenty of ps3s in stock are over exaggerated. you’d be lucky to find one or two.”
No I’m referring the PS3 ones.
Other than that I agree with everything you’ve said. Although, I do know a lot of console gamers who buy the Wii as a second console, I forgot to think of the PC exclusive gamers I see commenting here and on /. want no other console but the Wii.
I’m planning on getting once the price drops $50 (I don’t find it being worth $250 just yet) at least. Well, no matter what, I will be waiting (something most of these people buying consoles off ebay should be doing) until just around March to get a next-gen console. I’m more than pre-occupied with various PS2 and PC games I need to beat through first.
And I realized my last comment was a hell to read through grammatically.
Re: Re: Get a grip shall we?
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you sound like a only child spoiled brat
stupid people
and making grammatically horrendous comments on blogs isn’t a waste of time?
Funny story, I work for a video game store once a week. I worked there today and found a back room full of PS3s…Nobody buys the things, they’ve been there all week! People keep calling and popping in asking for Wiis (and 360s which we have and they buy) and I tell them that we don’t have any and offer them the PS3 and nobody bites.
Also, the PS3 can only do 1080p at 60Hz, so if you bought a TV that can only do 24Hz or 30Hz, the system downgrades the signal to 1080i.
And the only reason they debunked Metal Gear for 360 was because they aren’t allowed to talk about it yet. Kojima said it himself that he would have made it for 360 if there was a dev kit available to him at the time (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/676/676685p1.html)
Re: Video Game Store Guy
you need to do some research, mr. Video Game Store Guy.
oh and ign is not a reliable source of info. to make it worse, at the bottom it says source:1up.com. so ign is taking news from another page, a page that dosent provode its sources.
metal gear is playstation.
my source: (and i dont rely soley on this)
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=55468
sounds like the real estate market, with +the difference that a house cannot be returned 🙂
PS3
We gave 1 of each (20g 60g Wii) away for xmas and one of our winners asked if he could trade the 60g version for the Wii instead, the Wii winner said no.
For the price of these BS consoles, I went to newegg.com and put my son together his own PC for Christmas. Just no way I can see spending even what they want retail for these consoles. Sure, they are ‘nice’ I guess, but still – they only play games…
Think the reason a lot of these are sitting on the shelves is the price, lol
ok if we want to compare xbox 360 to ps3. lets compare them. price, 200 dollar difference. now what do u get in the 200 dollar difference. blu ray, blue tooth, wi-fi built in, 7 controller capabilities, card reader, better graphics. sure games suck right now, its launch time. give it time, ps3 will have amazing games. socom will be a huge hit on ps3. thats one of many. now u also get a 60 gig compared to xbox’s 20. i have a 360 right now. its awesome, but if i wanted to even get my 360 up to par with the ps3. it would cost anyone over 700 dollars to do that. so for 600, ure getting a better bargain if you think about it when u compare everything down to the bottom.
Re: Re:
that’s the good thing about Xbox360.. you don’t need all of those add-ons to have fun gaming. You have a choice of saving $200-300 and have a GAMING system that’s awesome.
Hell, my 360 was less then$400 because I had $150 worth of BB reward money 🙂
Choice is good. I choose to not have bluetooth, hd discs or card readers. I want to play games on my console.
Are yall saying RPers aren’t hard core? : (
Know your history...
Sony has NEVER won a format war, and they’ve entered several against Philips (CD+ vs CD-, Beta vs VHS, DVD+ vs DVD-, UMD vs. nothing).
Sony can’t win a format war because their corporate culture is so ass-backwards. They’re pushing an inferior standard that loses in the marketplace.
And the big, dark secret? Blue lasers last between 5000 and 8000 hours. Then they die. This includes the PS3.
It might seem like a long time, but between movies and games, you might find your console dying by 2009. $300/yr for a console seems mighty steep to me…
Re: Know your history...
simple solution to that problem. get an extended warranty. 🙂 if you dont get one even with the 360, bad choice, ive had my system for 7 months and already had to use that warranty twice. best money i ever spent for a warranty.
Re: Know your history...
It might seem like a long time, but between movies and games, you might find your console dying by 2009. $300/yr for a console seems mighty steep to me…
2009 – 2007 = 2
300 / 2 = $150/yr
Re: Re: Know your history...
(Depreciation)
Sony Should have learned
The Lessons for Sony are Clear.
Dont overprice yourself
Dont piss off your customers (eg DRM)
Dont piss off your customers ( DRM again – Hey its important)
Dont piss off your customers ( Rootkits in your products)
Dont piss off your customers ( Acting like a corporate thug )
Dont piss off your customers .. simple.
If Sony seriously wants to win people back over, they will remove all DRM and allow distributors to have mod chips. But of course thats going to happen about the same time as Satan Ice skates to work.
...about 'standards'
Sony’s main thrust in the PS3 creation was not so much innovating/re-inventing the console experience, moreover another attempt to forcefeed a stanard nobody will embrace (Blu-Ray). This is just my opinion.
They’ve done this time and again.
How much money is Sony losing on each unit (some $300) because of the inclusion of the Blu-Ray player? How much time was wasted on this, thereby delaying the launch for SEVERAL months? They’re not including Blu-Ray out of the kindness of their gaming little hearts. They’re trying to pull a Microsoft-esque standards ‘tour de force.’
Again, it will fail.
Did anyone catch the news bits about Sony canning all the executives in the Play Station division over this debacle?
Back to the Wii for a moment…
The Wii will triumph in the console wars because:
1) It’s fun– The epitome of ‘interactive.’
2) It’s affordable. This is a key element.
3) It’s potential market is MUCH MUCH broader. Fanboys only make up a minuscule cross section of market share, relative to the rest of the humans on the planet. From all I’ve read, everybody wants to play; grandparents, aunts, uncles…moms who never gave a gaming console a second look or thought are getting hooked. Imagine that- kids and parents doing stuff together. The laughs and experiences here, will produce life-long memories for all involved. I know this isn’t as cool as a Blu-Ray player, but kids and parents that interact are nice too.
Now, fanboys, don’t get your collective panties in a bunch. Just because the Wii doesn’t produce graphics that’ll give you and your buddies a boner, doesn’t mean it’s not a killer console. In its own right, it’s a stroke of genius. Perhaps your moms should’a gotten you one of these Wii’s instead. There will be a lot of main-stream, normal people playing along you could meet; perhaps even a girl (those are the humans with boobs). You should get your boners from girls, not games. That’s free advice. You’re welcome.
In my mind, there’s something VERY odd about you fanboys who will summarily obsess over a video game console, spending all the time and money you [don’t] have. For god’s sake, go outside or something- there’s lots of stuff in the world to experience. Make some friends who DON’T speak Klingon.
If you find it strange nobody cares about your score in Fall of Man, or walks away from you when you yammer incessantly about your precious PS3, perhaps it’s time to re-assess your priorities.
I would definetly rather have the PS3, but because of the cost… I just bought the 360. I am satisfied with it, but I think in the end, PS3 is going to be the better machine. I do not blame sony for the cost… you get what you pay for, and the PS3 is probably worth every dollar.
I see a lot of fanboys in these comments… but It seems like Sony is getting a bad reputation. There is no better system… it’s going to be exactly like xbox 1 vs. ps 2
well
i have played all 3 of these systems. and even though i only got to play the ps3 for about 30 min, i was thourghly impressed. the controls were great, settup was easy, and game play was pretty good (resistence, fall of man).
i do have one problem though, the games suck horribly when compared to the specs of the machine. i believe it has to do with crapy programing done by lazy developers.
the 360 has better games only becuase its been out for a year longer. the developers have had enough time to get there crap right.
as for the price, i’d say its about right. i work with computer and electronic hardware on a daily basis, and for the specs listed your getting a bargain.
try building a pc that can do the same thing as a ps3, i’m talking twelve 3.2ghz processors, 256mb xdram, a nividia video card with 256mb gddram capable of outputing at 1080p60, 7.1 digital audio card, a blue ray optical drive, oh and a mother board that will support all of this. all said and done your looking a well over $3,000.
oh and about these blu-ray disks. that 50 gig capacity is a major advantage. it allows for extremly detailed and vast games (still yet to be seen saddly), plus the video capabilitys. i’d like to see microsoft try and fit the same amount of detail that MGS4 will have on to one of there 8gib dvds that the 360 uses.
oh and about the cost again. nobody should be complaining. the ps3 is a gaming rig, period. any computer nerd (such as i) will tell you that if you want the best gaming experience you have to be willing to pay for it. as it stands a ps3 costs only $500. the upgraded premium package is $600. even at 600 that is a deal when you consider that sony is losing $300 on every ps3 they sell. this is becuase sony understands that people cant afford a $900 counsol. so there losing money so that you can better afford one.
bottom line is this. sony is trying to work with the consumer, so give them a chance and wait a year (like you did with the 360) before you start bashing it.
buy a ps3 this summer when the quality games are released. till then enjoy the wii and 360, becuase there about to be blown out of the water.
Know Your History
“DVD+ vs DVD-“
… to let you know… sony didn’t have anything to do creation of + or – format… also, to let you know, phillips and sony both support the + format… i’m sure the same thing can be said about CDs but don’t quote me on that. i know for a fact that both sony and phillips supported
the technically superior + format and neither + nor – actually won out
Sony can’t win a format war because their corporate culture is so ass-backwards. They’re pushing an inferior standard that loses in the marketplace.
umm… betamax was technically superior to vhs
And the big, dark secret? Blue lasers last between 5000 and 8000 hours. Then they die. This includes the PS3.
you seriously need to stop pulling random figures out of your ass…
… before you start telling people to know their history, maybe you should learn some of it yourself.
I made money, didnt you?
I sold several PS3’s, but i played it smart. Starting Price, exactly what I paid, with the proof posted as well. All of my PS3’s sold for atleast twice what I paid for them. If you just let the stupidity work to your advantage, you often find out that trickery is not needed, just the mass idiotes as the greeks called them, to sweeten the deal for you.
I see a major problem developing for Sony. They simply aren’t getting enough consoles out into the market to intice game developers. True, the system hasn’t been out for very long at all, but if this reception is an early indication of the public’s demand for this product, the PS3 is in major trouble.
When you compare the hardware, the PS3 is without question more advanced than the 360. But that doesn’t matter at all right now because the potential of the system hasn’t really been tapped into yet. From the view of the average consumer who couldn’t care less about the nitty gritty details of technical performance, the games for both systems basically look the same. And they’re going to continue to look the same until game developers feel that they’re going to get a good return on spending the extra time and money to put out a game that really takes advantage of what the PS3 has to offer.
The big problem though is that game development of this nature is rediculously expensive. If a company wants to make a game that truly takes advantage of the PS3 hardware, they’re going to have to make a huge resource commitment. And if the Sony doesn’t get enough PS3s out into the market it’s not going to be worth the investment for the developer to make the really impressive games. Why spend more money to sell a game to a smaller number of potential customers (PS3 owners) when you can produce a game for much less money with the potential of selling it to a lot more people (XBox 360 and/or PS3 owners)?
So until developers see enough systems in the market to make it worth their while to spend the money on developing good PS3 games, you’re not going to see much of a difference in quality from one system to the other. And when given the choice between two systems that vary greatly in cost but don’t appear to be all that different when all is said and done, the average consumer probably isn’t going to spring for the extra $200 to bring home a PS3.
The only thing that I can forsee that will save Sony is if a few key game developers deliver some “must have” games that are exclusive to the PS3. There are a few in the works but I don’t know if any that I’ve heard of so far have a broad enough appeal to be able to boost sales to the level that Sony needs. What they need is a game that will do for the PS3 what GTA III did for the PS2. Too bad the new GTA is slated to be released on both systems. Who knows though, maybe there’s a killer app in the works that will save the system by over the next christmas season. Only time will tell.
I have got a PS3. I know more games will come out so I am not worried.
I got it for xmas. It was purchased at retail price.
I don’t care about the bluray or HDdvd format for movies.
I just plain don’t like nintendo or its games, I don’t hate it though.
I am used to PS controller, that is why I don’t own an xbox 360.
Why are some of you angry at consoles, did they do something to you?
Lazy American’s get too wrapped up and angry with people or business’ that make money. You know if you were the owner of sony stock you’d be stoked when the checks came in. If you made $ on selling a PS3 on ebay, you’d say screw you to the haters.
Let your pocket book make the statement.
Re: Re:
Not everone has the “bread” like you brother. i have plenty of money to shell around on a PS3, but I’m not going to do it. Why? I don’t condone a company abusing its position in the market, by force feeding their customers technology they’re not interested in. Nor do I condone extortionists buying out PS3’s in hope to sell them for far too much.
If you don’t think when you buy and will spend whatever you need thinking cost isn’t important, then you are the reason for inflation all across the board. Your blatant disregard for economics and cost and its effect to the world around you and the video gaming industry, imo, make you arrogant.
Re: Re: Anonymous Coward
“Your wrong and I’m right damn it! I’m right!”
Waaaahhhhhh!
—sniffle— 8’^(
M$
**the xbox360 where you don’t have to put up with Sony’s BS.
**
Sounds like you think Microsoft is a great company with no “BS” :cough: TOOL :cough:
PS3
I have 3 kids, 18, 15 and 10. My 10 year old wanted a Wii for Christmas and my boys wanted a XBox 360. We wound up buying 3 systems the Wiii, X Box and PS3. We couldn’t sell the PS3, my older kids don’t like it, and they all spend their time playing the Wii.
Re: PS3
While I don’t think my age demographic is really what Nintendo had in mind when they released the Wii, I have to admit, it’s really darn fun to play.
The only problem is the pain the next day after getting a little too into the boxing game.
Why do all the PS3 games say coming soon? I haven’t seen one that you can buy. I know there out but there not on shelves. maby its just the stores I shop at.
Try playing the Wii before bashing it. and remember Grafix arn’t everything. The game could be photo realistic but if the game sucks otherwise the game still sucks.
If you want a PS3 go to Altoona, PA there are quite a few that no one wants. The sales guys cant get rid of them. But the Wii’s, I was warned walking in that they didn’t have any.
The OP has some parallels with the housing market.
Who cares about HD and DVD... really?
The Wii is competition. They have already out sold PS3, although Sony and Nintendo’s March quarter expectations were the same as far as console sales.
Yes you can find PS3s on the shelf (and the ones I have seen are a little dusty). Yesterday I went to 5 different stores looking for a specific RAM upgrade for a PC, and I stopped by the gaming sections of each. In five stores I counted 3 Xbox 360’s, ZERO Nintendo Wii’s and 19 yes NINETEEN Sony PS3’s. At 2 of the stores I asked the sales manager about the issue, as I have been following the PS3 conundrum for a while. Both informed me they get 30+ Wii’s a week, 10 360’s a week shipped. You can do the math. As far as the PS3’s go, one store (Super Wal-Mart) hasn’t had to restock a single PS3 since December 22nd (must be the layaway, right?.. oh no, they got rid of that) the other store has had the same 6 consoles since Christmas day.
I, myself will not buy a PS3, and the ONLY reason I got a PS2 was the pressure form the kids. They got one, and now it sits gathering dust.
The original Xbox, the 360, the game cube and the Wii are too hot to touch at my house cause they never get turned off.
You want to talk about correct marketing? Nintendo is the ONLY gaming console that got it right. I DO NOT buy a GAMING console to watch DVDs. That is what I bought a DVD player for. I am a retro gamer and have been since the Atari 2600. I got the NES the day it came out, Sega genesis, Neo-Geo, Super nintendo, N64, and on and on. I have EVERY console connected and working, and a library of over 6000 games. I even have a third Desktop PC just for games with over 300 titles to play on that.
I don’t care about blu-ray, HDTV, dvd players. I have those in the ports they were designed for. I want my game consoles to play games. I don’t go and by a dishwasher hoping it will also act as a stove. Can the game system play GAMES? If yes, and well I will buy it. But clutter is becoming an issue. So what else do I look for? Back-compatable systems. The Wii has 100% (read as – EVERY SINGLE GC GAME!) the PS3? Have they broke 150 back compatable with the PS2 yet? The 360?
Leave the gaming consoles for gaming. All the other technical crap is not needed, is a distraction and too redundant.
on line 1. you say:
“by Anonymous Coward on Dec 29th, 2006 @ 7:36pm
People who buy a console only to resell it only hurt the gaming industry. Bastards”
then, line 15 you say:
by Anonymous Coward on Dec 30th, 2006 @ 5:18am
wow so many xcock suckers. I have the PS3 and it fucking rocks. I put Fedora PPC 5 on it, have a 250gb external drive hooked up which i keep all my HD movies and shows on, plus i got it for FREE! I sold 3 PS3’s right at launch and made a TON! So fuck all you haters who had to return them or didnt get one.
either your sarcastic, a hypocrit, or have multiple personalities…
Attention Span
What story was about: Speculators’ system collapses.
What story’s comments devolve into: Worthless console fanboy circle-jerk fiesta.
Why do you feel the need to whip out the measuring tape every time a console is mentioned? Is it that you need to be reassured that the purchase was worth it – or are you just defending your purchase over phantom attackers that only you can see?
Who won the console war? Offhand, I’d guess IBM – considering they made a massive number of CPU’s and other logic chipsets for the three companies.
Anon Cow
I never ceased to be amazed what a total loser Anonymous Coward is…
All Whiners
Instead of whining about the people who resold all those consoles, you simply could have gotten in line in front of them!
PS3
I hear it sucks anyway….another SONY BOMB! Why would you pay $400-500 for a gameing console anyway…a bit steep I think
http://members.tripod.com/acls2001
PS3
I can’t believe you clowns are comparing game selection on a system that came out in 2005 (xbox360) with one that has only been out 50 days. PS3 is superior in every way and it will crush xbox again. BTW for you clowns commenting on Blu-Ray and Sony not winning a format war: Sony (and phillips) invented a little audio format/media called the CD a while back and followed it up with another “failure” called DVD more recently. Reading is fundemental.
Man, So many Xbox stooges here spreading misinformation. I’ve been trying to get a PS3 since the release. The PS3 is still sold out at all websites and every store mentioned in the posts above. I spent about an hour calling all around the country you lying wankers. BTW there was an article in the Merc stating that over 12 Million people would be willing to by a PS3 right now for $600 if they were available. You microsoft shills suck.
Re: Re:
tell them to go on Ebay, there is about 12 million of those over priced, over rated systems for sale on there, apparently that everyone who buys them wants to sell them lol
Sony/PS3
Killmeister said:-
“Sony (and phillips) invented a little audio format/media called the CD a while back and followed it up with another “failure” called DVD more recently. Reading is fundemental.”
Let’s not forget ‘Betamax’, ‘UMD’ and ‘Minidisc’, don’t forget how the world jumped on those formats too… Oh no, wait, I remember now, they all flopped!
Also, look up the history of DVD and then tell me Sony made it… They were working on ‘MMCD’ with Phillips, which was not adopted as the standard, so they jumped ship to Super Density (SD) disc, which later eveolved to DVD… And as for CD’s, “According to Philips, the Compact Disc was thus “invented collectively by a large group of people working as a team””, don’t think we can give Sony credit for that one either…
Next time, do some research before just jumping to defend Sony like the little lost fanboy you are…
Re: Sony/PS3
Next time, do some research before just jumping to defend Sony like the little lost fanboy you are…
I love people using the word “fanboy” as if they themselves are not a fanboy of something. Minidisc was reasonably successful outside of the US. (i.e. Japan)
(Well for those of us who are not under the age of 18 and have been outside of the US.)
YAY PS3 Rocks so much nobody is buying them. My local walmart has NO Wii’s or 360’s but has 13 PS3’s in stock. Anybody want one? LOL