[The News Bot]

Sony has got an uphill battle on its hands persuading consumers to buy into the PlayStation 3. So predicts Carl Gressum, senior analyst at marketing group Ovum. “Sony has gone from being the king of consoles, to face stiff competition in a market where for the time being it has been side-tracked.” Ovum, a consultant [...]
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[John Clark]

While the PS3 is 27% more expensive in the UK than in USA it is 30% more expensive in Iceland than in the UK. So stop whining

[Rizza]

68 per cent more expensive than in Japan, sorry that's a lot of reason to whine.

Rizza

[jw250]

Everything is 30% more expensive in Iceland. Except the beer, which is about 300% more expensive. As for Japan, there is no excuse for a 68% hike. We are more in-line economically with Japan (I think?) than Iceland. Not sure where this disparity in prices comes from - tax?

[DannyBoy73]

Originally Posted by John Clark

While the PS3 is 27% more expensive in the UK than in USA it is 30% more expensive in Iceland than in the UK. So stop whining

Well said! I reckon the PS3 is a bargin!! Awesome bit of hardware

[The Atheist]

Originally Posted by Dan_Mason

Well said! I reckon the PS3 is a bargin!! Awesome bit of hardware

agree totally. I think too many people are stuck in the mind-set that the PS3 is just a games console - just coz the xbox hasn't moved on doesn't mean the playstation is following suit!

[DannyBoy73]

When the Playstation 1 came out it was 300 quid... and that was about 1995, 12 years ago.

With a bit of inflation etc... 425 quid today is seems very reasonable.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by The Atheist

agree totally. I think too many people are stuck in the mind-set that the PS3 is just a games console

But that is entirely the problem. For the general public the PS3 is only a games console for £425.

Apart from those of us on the forums here and maybe a few others who know exactly what it's full amazing capabilities are, the general public are clueless about blu-ray etc. So to them it is just a very expensive games console.

[jagdeepp]

Originally Posted by The Atheist

- just coz the xbox hasn't moved on doesn't mean the playstation is following suit!

Think thats a fairly harsh comment.

I remember when the PS2 came out with its dvd playing capabilities.. for me that was one of the reasons to buy it.. having purchased it i realised that it wasnt a committed dvd player and in fact shoddy at handling dvds since the forward was slow and i was better off with a dvd player. I think its the same with the Blu-ray.. its NOT a dedicated blu ray player, so what if it can play blu ray.. not a dedicated player.

I don't agree with the assertion that the Xbox hasnt moved on. Rubbish! The 360 is a top notch machine. A modded Xbox1 with XBMC is a very powerful unit capable of upscaling media to 720p and 1080i. It also has an upgradable hard drive and is networkable! Whats the progress with the PS2?? They made it smaller, thinner and more smaller.. could u do anything else with it? nope, nothing, nothing at all. it just got smaller and cheaper. Thats all. Those like me who've owned a PS2 and moved onto Xbox have never touched the PS2 again.

There is issue with which will outlast, blu ray or HD DVD. Why waste loadsa money only to find the blu ray flopping.. i'd prefer to wait. Plus the Xbox 360 looks like it'll now drop further in price since its now going to be re-released with more mods...

[shared4]

Originally Posted by Greg

<snipped>the general public are clueless about blu-ray etc. So to them it is just a very expensive games console.

That seems, at least to me, to be a bit of an arrogant assumption


I've always been a playstation fan, but i'm afraid Sony wont be getting my hard earned this time around, i dont care how much it is in iceland or anywhere else, why should i pay more than anyone else.

Sony have misplayed their hand this time, they've vastly mis-calculated the loyalty of their fans, and i believe time will show this assumption to be correct.

[WelshBluebird]

Originally Posted by Greg

But that is entirely the problem. For the general public the PS3 is only a games console for £425.

Apart from those of us on the forums here and maybe a few others who know exactly what it's full amazing capabilities are, the general public are clueless about blu-ray etc. So to them it is just a very expensive games console.

It's not just the general public though. A lot of gamers (including myself) do not give a crap about Blu-ray or HD-DVD, and so for us, the PS3 is just a very expensive games console.

For what it does (aka, a very cheaper Blu-ray player) then yes, its brilliant value. But if you just want to play games on it, then its too expensive imo.

[dr no]

Originally Posted by Dan_Mason

When the Playstation 1 came out it was 300 quid... and that was about 1995, 12 years ago.

With a bit of inflation etc... 425 quid today is seems very reasonable.

When you put it this way the outcry over the price seems silly!
What you get for your money is extraordinary really when you think about it - even excluding the blu-ray element. Barely more than than a PS1 or PS2 at launch and you get all the mod cons of a NOW generation machine.. i.e networking, harddrive, wireless controllers, free demos etc...
The games will come with time so thats not an issue.

PS3 will overtake the others make no mistake. It's just matter of time and price reductions.
I'm not into gaming anymore - I find them too hard and time consuming these days.. I but prefer Wii games with family and friends instead

[shared4]

Originally Posted by waled

When you put it this way the outcry over the price seems silly!
What you get for your money is extraordinary really when you think about it - even excluding the blu-ray element. Barely more than than a PS1 or PS2 at launch and you get all the mod cons of a NOW generation machine.. i.e networking, harddrive, wireless controllers, free demos etc...
The games will come with time so thats not an issue.

PS3 will overtake the others make no mistake. It's just matter of time and price reductions.
I'm not into gaming anymore - I find them too hard and time consuming these days.. I but prefer Wii games with family and friends instead

They're valid points, but lets not forget that the price/cost of all this technology has also decreased by significant amounts since the launch of the original, i agree with you that it will no doubt become the best seller, but i also know that people are wise to Sony, and are not paying what is a hiked up price.

[akewt]

the price is not 'hiked' as you say. the unit costs a lot of money to make. once the yeld on parts has gone up and parts cheaper it will come down in price. the price of the ps3 is in no way more expensive than any other hi spec units cost ON RELEASE!!

[akewt]

Originally Posted by shared4

but i also know that people are wise to Sony, and are not paying what is a hiked up price.

i find that comment quite funny. it makes it sound like Sony have wronged you in some way!! they have brought us some top hardware and must be respected for it.

[shared4]

"The numbers who lined up outside their (Virgin) nearest participating outlet seemed disappointing low around London, with only just over 100 at the Oxford Street launch, shattering the traditional image of an almost-endless line of eager shoppers waiting for the January sales of yesteryear.

Early reports indicate not one high street store actually filled their pre-order lists and so leftover consoles will be available to those who didn’t place an advance deposit."

Taken from... http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03...nally_on_sale/





"In Paris only about 50 people turned out to buy the 1,000 PS3s that went on sale at a ceremonial launch at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.

At the Myers Department store in Sydney just 65 eager gamers queued for four hours to take the first devices away at midnight – barely outnumbering store staff and publicists."


Taken from... http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle1558263.ece


Hardly selling like hot cakes is it lol ?



akewt, The simple fact is, it's more expensive here, and has less backwards compatibility, have you read my previous posts in this thread ? i've already stated that im a Sony fan, but i, among many others will not pay artificially inflated prices for an inferior product, Sony havn't wronged me in any way, i think they've just overestimated my own, and many others willingness to pay for the privelige.

[akewt]

yeah fair enough. well those figures for people waiting for consoles on launch are pretty bad!

i do know that sony arent making a great deal on these consoles as its costing a lot to produce though.

I think one of the problems with the PS3 is the spec required to use it. To get the quality on screen you need a HD tv!
A lot of public dont own HD yet and more to the point the young people who play games usually end up playing them in their bedrooms. My kids do not have HD tvs in their bedrooms and I doubt many others do. As a result it is probably only well off 25-35 year-olds who can afford to reap the benifits of this console. That is a small demograghic compared with the kids playing Wii in their bedrooms on a portable tv.
As an example my 14 year old boy doesnt play his PSP anymore because he prefers the DS Lite wirelessly thro the BT Home Hub.
He tells me he is not interested in PS3 either as he would only get PS1/2 quality on a normal tv. And anyway spends most of his time playing multiplayer Halo/UT 2k4 on the pc.

[the id]

It will be interesting to see the official sales figures (PS3 console and games purchased) for the first week launch!

(Second Wave Launch - where every price point is significantly (I know the economy of each particular region dictates how a piece of new electronic hardware justifies this, not just the PS3 )more expensive than the First Wave Launch!)

[justdoit]

Can I just say FANBOY'S!!! The UK PS3 is already stripped down compared to the US and Asian Machines as PS1 + 2 software is now done in software emulation rather than via a chipset and did sony drop the price because of this saving? did it chuff. Sony is flogging an overpriced GAMES system to sorry punters who are daft enough to pay the price they are asking only this time they have got it wrong. All this talk of it doing so much more, RUBBISH! It's a games machine with a few add-ons that have made it overpriced.
I worked in the games industry for over a decade and I bought a PS1 on launch day because nothing out there touched it, the Saturn (have one of them too) was a mess, 3DO (ditto, still got my Panasonic machine) was struggling despite being a great system but TOO PRICEY at £399. I bought a PS2 on lauch day as I was 'lucky' enough to 'win' in the pre-sale lottery order system, simply because I believed the hype Sony gave about it being a high end DVD player as well as a games console and we all know what a load of twoddle that turned out to be, infact for the 1st 3 months of the consoles life I only bought 1 game for it (SSX) because the launch line up was that poor, compared to the 10's I got for the dreamcast (A system that that was a much better system in my and many others eyes). And whilst on the subject of launch titles, again its poor, the same as the 360's was on launch yet its been nearly 18 months since that was launched in the uk and most of PS3's titles are ports of 360 and pc games that your average gamer has already finished on said systems.
I am not anti Sony, far from it as I have plenty of Sonys gadgets, HD5 walkman, K800i phone, Handycam etc but I feel Sony has taken the p**s with the PS3, and in turn it will backfire on them big time! As a wondered around The Trafford Centre on Sunday in my eyes this was confirmed. Every shop selling PS3's had stock, I saw not one person buying one or even looking at the bundles on offer (you still couldn't buy a Wii for love nor money mind) so after the Fanboys rushed out and bought theirs on friday no one else seems interested.
Also take a look on ebay, kinda backfired there eh chaps? In order to make any money on the console it would have to sell for £463 to include ebays fee's, most consoles aren't even making retail, something unheard of in ebays lifetime. You might argue that this is down to Sony waiting till it had enough units made, but thats not surprising as it isn't selling that well in the states either!
My guess is Sony will do a Microsoft, and drop the price pretty rapidly as what happened with the original xbox because Joe Public isn't going to pay £425 on a console for little johnny to play games on. Forget Blu-ray its too early days, forget wireless media hubb thats not fully utilized until later this year , forget rubbish tilting controller thats not anywhere near as good as Wii's as a good old fashioned vibrating one is coming out now Sony have an agreement with Immersion , infact forget PS3 until it has decent unique software and a sensible price tag.

[AgentCool]

The PS3 certainly isn't selling amazingly well. Case in point; the Sainsbury's I work at got a few PS3s and Wiis in on Friday. They were plugging the PS3 in numerous places throughout the shop yet I didn't realise they were stocking the Wii until someone told me and I went to look for myself. Despite this, all the Wiis sold out within about 4 hours whilst only one PS3 went over the weekend and that was to a staff member.

[mickmock]

You think sony havent shafted the public ?.Why is it that only the larger unit is on sale in europe ?could it be that theyve lost a lot of money lately and yet again the europeans have to subsidise this.Theyve released a sub standard console compared to the us and japan and expect people to pay more ,i think thats fits the definition of "shafted " dont you ?

[WelshBluebird]

Originally Posted by bentman123

I think one of the problems with the PS3 is the spec required to use it. To get the quality on screen you need a HD tv!
A lot of public dont own HD yet and more to the point the young people who play games usually end up playing them in their bedrooms. My kids do not have HD tvs in their bedrooms and I doubt many others do. As a result it is probably only well off 25-35 year-olds who can afford to reap the benifits of this console. That is a small demograghic compared with the kids playing Wii in their bedrooms on a portable tv.
As an example my 14 year old boy doesnt play his PSP anymore because he prefers the DS Lite wirelessly thro the BT Home Hub.
He tells me he is not interested in PS3 either as he would only get PS1/2 quality on a normal tv. And anyway spends most of his time playing multiplayer Halo/UT 2k4 on the pc.

couldn't agree more really. Although the quality of PS3 graphics on a normal TV would still be much better than PS1/PS2 (going on what the 360 looks like on my TV).
I suppose one thing with the 360 anyway though, is that you can hook it up to a PC monitor. So for relativity little cost, (especially if you have a spare monitor at home, or if the PC is in the childs room) then you can play at HD resolutions without having a HDTV. (AFAIK, you need a HDCP compatible monitor for the PS3).

Hmm spoke to mate who works in game at Lakside. He told me they have allready had 2 returned by people who also own an Xbox360 and said " the PS3 did not meet their expectations when compared." So I guess you can draw your own conclusions reguardless of the price issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fillumgeek]

I'd guess the largest demographic of people who buy games consoles (or have them bought for them) are 15-25. How many of these will have
a) nearly £500 (with game) sloshing around b) a HD-TV which (v cheap ones) cost at least another £400?

The other thing is that at this stage in the game for Sony they not offering
anything significantly better than Microsoft, or any more fun than Wii.

Right now it also doesn't matter whether you think the PS3 is great value as a blue-ray player, can make the toast, get you dates, etc:
£400 is a significant psychological barrier to casual or even semi-casual buyers.

Let's hope that a market flooded with the machines, and a Europe fed up with being treated as a third-class citizens in the global scheme, will leave enough of them on the shelves for a price-cut to be as soon as this year.


End of the day, it is a games console though, and nobody who isn't already a geek (me included) cares one jot about Blue Ray, NO ONE CARES!!!!!!!!!).

[fortean]

I've been looking at the 360 and PS3 to buy one for my son. Having the Blu-Ray drive in it makes the PS3 a bit expensive when compared to the 360. He wouldn't be interested in playing HD movies and he doesn't have a HD TV in his bedroom. I think a lot of parents buying their eldest a console are going to be put off by the PS3 price and these kids are the next generation of humans to be interfacing with a games console. If they have younger siblings then the choices made now could have far reaching consequences. I've always thought that the new entrants to a market are the most important for the long term future of a product/company.

[stockyvillage]

Originally Posted by akewt

the price is not 'hiked' as you say. the unit costs a lot of money to make. once the yeld on parts has gone up and parts cheaper it will come down in price. the price of the ps3 is in no way more expensive than any other hi spec units cost ON RELEASE!!

if thats the case explain to me why it is alot cheaper in japan and dont say shipplng costs as you can get a lot of ps3 in a container on a ship cos thats how they travel to the uk

[Rizza]

What amuses me is why people have to argue about which one is better or which will win the battle.

Fact is they're both fantastic consoles and I'm pleased there's a choice, both have advantages and disadvantages over the other one, my guess is that most game lovers will ultimately own both after the inevitable price cuts kick in. I think blue ray matters to some cos a colleague (who admittedly isn't a gamming fan) bought one bcos he reasoned it was cheaper than a standalone player he had been eyeing. Each to their own.....

Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on the PS3 once the price is right!

Rizza

[shared4]

I agree wholeheartedly, as i said earlier i happen to be a Sony fan, that dosn't mean i dislike xbox's, and i couldnt care less which one sells more, as long as whatever i buy does the job i personally want it to do, at a price that's reasonable, then i'm happy.
Some of the Ms versus Sony comments really make me laff , you dont get people in the general AV hardware section saying "x" receiver has outsold "y" receiver, or even if you did, you wouldnt get the impression that they're typing comments whilst foaming at the mouth, or with a demonic grin so wide a cheshire cat would ask them what they're smirking at.