GBP 425 well looks like you brits are getting the short end of the stick. http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=17105 for all of us yanks who don't know how much this is.. it's about $800. i know there's another thread that i started for the US price. but this is just so insane i thought it deserved it's own topic. what do you fellows think of this price?
As a console, it's expensive, as a blu-ray player, it's cheap. Value wise it depends on what the blu-ray format offers over DVD, and on how much of the movie market uses the blu-ray format, and how many people have hdtv to actually see a benefit from them. Microsoft Vista recognises the format now, but a lot depends on how Sony licences the technology for 3rd party use.
It's not as bad as I was expecting, to be honest. I was kind of expecting them to just switch the $ symbol with a £ and charge us £599. I'm so tempted to preorder one and flog it once the stocks run out and all the little brats want one for christmas, then buy one for myself when the price drops afterwards. Last christmas, I was waiting in a queue in Game for nearly half an hour because this guy was trying to bribe the cashier to let him have the Xbox 360 that was in the display case because he couldn't get one. I might need to get me some of that action
Lets see.... there is no guarantee blu-ray will win, neither blu-ray or DVD-HD will really kick off for a while yet, and you need a HDTV to really see the benefits, which most don't have yet. In other words – waste-o-money. Why add such an expensive device which won't get used as much. I'd love it if DVD-HD win and Sony will be left with a useless betamax.
Thanks for ignoring the part of my post that you repeated. When the PS2 came out not many people had DVD players, and started buying DVDs because they had a cheap player for them. When it was released the PS2 was by far the cheapest DVD player on the market, and for plenty of people even now it's their only DVD player, that and their PCs. Sony are taking a gamble that because people buy the console they'll want to buy bluray format to make full use of the machine.
Blu-ray is either going to go the way of the mini-disc or it will get big a few more years down the line when the next gen are coming out. It's way too early IMO. Who the hell has blu-ray discs anyway? I think it's a stupid idea because they aren't really catering to their market that well ie. the mass market. Stuff like blu-ray and HDTV is more for the geeks at the moment and I can't see many people wanting to stump up 425 quid for a PS3 thinking that it's a good price because it has blu-ray. Crazyness. Nevertheless, some n00blets will still buy it at that price because of the hype.
and brand loyalty to the playstation. i guarentee if the ps3 was a shoe box with strong and cans for controllers we'd still get people on here claiming it was the be all and end all of gaming.
Am i right in thinking that sony stopped making UMD movies for the PSP because they were so unpopular? If thats the case the same could happen with blu-ray, although i'm guessing it's not just sony backing blu-ray for the future...
You can't compare them. UMD was never meant to be a next gen format. As for minidisc, it was meant to replace the casette tape. Did it succeed? I don't know, as I don't see either around these days!
The biggest problem the minidisk had was that it wasn't viable for third party developers to use the format, because Sony held the licence. Hopefully they've learnt from their ways, but that's going to be the biggest decider.
Thing is the main thing its supposed to do is play games yet I think I have heard hardly anything about the actuall games and more about this new Blu-ray. But all I can say is Blu-ray isnt gonna sway me from my 360 to a PS3 and a price tag as high as that isnt either. I dont think I would of payed for a 360 for that price, just my opinion.
I agree, I'm glad I got my 360 and didn't wait for the PS3. Blueray sounds good but I'm not going to be rushing out to buy a HDTV just to watch a few movies. I've got my 360 plugged into my spare 19" monitor and it looks fantastic, but I wouldn't want to watch movies on it. HDTV's are just to expensive an outlay for what you get in return.
This is precisely what I'm getting at - Sony seem to be making out that what they are selling is a blu-ray player that also has games. The majority of regular playstation buyers aren't going to give a crap, and would probably be willing to pay half the price and not have blu-ray. As Saz said on another thread, what will the quality of the blu-ray player be like anyway? Hopefully not as crap as the DVD player on the ps2.
it is common knowlege that sony hates it's customers. http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=sony+hates+it's+customers&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
If you get the cheaper PS3 the Blu-Ray player won't be able to play DVD's in High Def. The crux of the $499 PlayStation 3's problem is the fact that HDCP copy-protection only supports digital connections, namely HDMI. Cutting straight to the chase, the $499 PS3 will not be able to play Blu-ray movies in 1080p High-Definition the moment Blu-ray DVDs begin implementing ICP. Though most studios have agreed to a one or two year grace period in which the Image Constraint Token will not be implemented while American consumers make the switch to next-gen DVD and purchase HDCP-ready HDTVs and PCs, barring a massive retreat on the part of the Hollywood studios, HDCP and ICP are the future of Hi-Def movies, and the $499 PS3 will not be invited to the party. http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/709/709495p1.html
The main problem with it is that unlike the Xbox 360's two systems, there's no forseeable way to complete the "lesser" system. So if you get a new TV after you buy the 499$, then either you pass up on the higher-def, or you buy a new, more expensive 599$ PS3.
