No Merry Christmas For PS3 Speculators

Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2006 @ 7:36pm

People who buy a console only to resell it only hurt the gaming industry. Bastards.

Tyshaun, 29 Dec 2006 @ 8:21pm

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...

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thunderball, 29 Dec 2006 @ 8:44pm

Meanwhile...

the Wii is still selling for $100 to $150 over retail on eBay.

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Chris, 29 Dec 2006 @ 8:48pm

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.

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dj noname, 29 Dec 2006 @ 9:05pm

duh

it's because the PS3 is a piece of crap and no one wants one

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brother from another mother, 29 Dec 2006 @ 9:38pm

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!!

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brian, 29 Dec 2006 @ 10:10pm

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?

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Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2006 @ 10:11pm

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.

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Manic Mobius, 29 Dec 2006 @ 10:17pm

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.

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Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2006 @ 10:20pm

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.

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BCKrogoth, 29 Dec 2006 @ 10:20pm

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...

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Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2006 @ 11:10pm

and with a xbox 360 you never have to leave the house.

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Sanguine Dream, 29 Dec 2006 @ 11:23pm

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.

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Anonymous Coward, 30 Dec 2006 @ 1:15am

I'm waiting..

C'mon, guys. Some one here must be able to figure out a way to 'sell short' a game console! :)

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Anonymous Coward, 30 Dec 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.

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bignumone, 30 Dec 2006 @ 5:45am

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!

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bignumone, 30 Dec 2006 @ 5:55am

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.

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August West, 30 Dec 2006 @ 6:08am

Re:

Wow, anonymous, your mommy must be so proud... When are you moving out of her basement and getting a girlfriend?

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JediN8, 30 Dec 2006 @ 6:15am

All his Hd movies on it

Wow, he must have a small collection to go with his small IQ

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Wizard Prang, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:10am

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...

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John, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:01am

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.

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bignumone, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:10am

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!

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Observer, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:11am

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...

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Momo, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:27am

PSGreed

Moogie, moogie!

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Smudge, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:54am

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."

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asshat, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:58am

Re:

shouldn't it be xcox suckers?

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Sean, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:59am

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.

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Anonymous Coward, 30 Dec 2006 @ 9:20am

the wii is so much bettr. why spend 600 on a ps3? and by the waY I got BOTH for christmas

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Charz, 30 Dec 2006 @ 10:00am

Obvious

Thank you Captain Obvious!!
This story is useless.
What does the article say that we don't already know?

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Norman619, 30 Dec 2006 @ 1:34pm

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.

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Gordon, 30 Dec 2006 @ 5:17pm

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.

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Boris, 30 Dec 2006 @ 5:22pm

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.

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ryan, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:17pm

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.

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PhysicsGuy, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:37pm

Re: 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.

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PhysicsGuy, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:38pm

Re: stupid people

and making grammatically horrendous comments on blogs isn't a waste of time?

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craig, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:38pm

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.

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Video Game Store Guy, 30 Dec 2006 @ 7:40pm

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)

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Anonymous Coward, 30 Dec 2006 @ 8:56pm

sounds like the real estate market, with +the difference that a house cannot be returned :)

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rpgSE.com, 30 Dec 2006 @ 9:45pm

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.

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Anonymous Coward, 30 Dec 2006 @ 10:35pm

Re: 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.

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Overcast, 30 Dec 2006 @ 11:07pm

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

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Bman, 30 Dec 2006 @ 11:44pm

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.

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Chris, 30 Dec 2006 @ 11:55pm

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.

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Effeminem, 31 Dec 2006 @ 1:38am

Are yall saying RPers aren't hard core? : (

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Evil Bastard, 31 Dec 2006 @ 1:58am

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.

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The Swiss Cheese Monster, 31 Dec 2006 @ 3:41am

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.

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Brad, 31 Dec 2006 @ 4:11am

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...

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bman, 31 Dec 2006 @ 5:14am

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.

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Darren, 31 Dec 2006 @ 6:15am

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.

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Smudge, 31 Dec 2006 @ 6:31am

...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.

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me, 31 Dec 2006 @ 7:36am

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.

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fanboys, 31 Dec 2006 @ 7:43am

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

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rockfan, 31 Dec 2006 @ 7:50am

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.

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Anonymous Coward, 31 Dec 2006 @ 8:04am

Re: stupid people

i r try to red ths but i cant

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rockfan, 31 Dec 2006 @ 8:27am

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

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PhysicsGuy, 31 Dec 2006 @ 8:56am

Re: 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.

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90% of people are idiots, 31 Dec 2006 @ 8:58am

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.

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Darve, 31 Dec 2006 @ 10:16am

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.

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cyprian, 31 Dec 2006 @ 11:43am