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[sonycowboy]

Not surprised by this "news". The thought by anybody that we'd be seeing $299 for the PS3 is absolutely ludicrous. I was thinking a $499 full fledged system w/60GB HDD, wireless controllers, headset, etc. This is right there.

~If the HDD is standard, which IMO looks ~likely, the question is will they have multiple skus or not.

I do think Sony is going to get roundly criticized for such a high price point, but I also think it's going to sell out. And we might see a price drop within 6 months.

 

[Fallofmart]

Don't forget HD hasn't really taken off here yet either, people don't mind paying the cheaper price for a 360 with their new TV but I can't see many people going, wow I'll need a 350-500gbp machine to compliment my new 550+gbp tv because that almost doubles what you spend...

And personally, I don't know many people AT ALL over here who seriously know what Blueray is, we're only just getting a couple of HD tv channels!

 

[Newduck]

When did this near $500 pricing become unsuprising? I was under the impression that a $400 360 was still considered too expensive on this forum.

Around a year ago i thought the PS3 guesses of $500, were getting laughed at?

This kind of stupidly high price scheme is actually playing into nintendos hands, I didnt actually expect them to make a CHEAP console, but $200 in comparison to 500 is a big difference.

 

[SyNapSe]

I knew Europe got it rough with late release dates and paying a bit more but wow this thread has shocked me. I saw someone say they pay equivalent to $74 for PS2 games and $100 for X360 games.. now this price and people saying it's not far off from the PS2 launch price. That's unreal.. I'm sure if that ends up being true it will be to subsidize the NA market price Sorry guys

 

[FoxhoundNL]

So it falls in the same range as PS2 at launch in the Netherlands/rest of Europe, that console cost about 500 euro's too...

Well, I'm paying 549 euro max, but only if there is a good PSP connectivity and at least two REALLY GREAT launchgames.

Can't wait for the 8th of may...

 

[Viewtiful Darkness]

Here is an English translation of the first paragraph from the article on the Play France website:

Although the release date for the Playstation 3 was officially announced to be November, its price remained a mystery. Until last night that is. Discussing the new Sony console on Radio channel Europe 1 last night at 11:00 PM, George Fornay, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment France and Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, confirmed that the PS3 will sell in the 500 Euro range, that is - between 499 Euros and 599 Euros. He mentioned that it will be expensive for a video game console but emphasized that its an extremely reasonable price for a high definition console that can also play Blu Ray movies.

 

[Ghost]

HE'S SO RIGHT! ITS A GREAT BARGIN!

 

[Lince]

same as PS2 launch price in Europe, seems about right, the thing is with PS3 being region-free maybe it'd be way cheaper to import this time around.

 

[maxmars]

By the way, let all realize that this could totally be a Sony psychological stunt in order to get European and U.S. users to think the price is insane so that when they reveal the final price (probably lower) people will "think" they are getting some kind of deal. So it might not contain any indication about the final price.

Won't work for me.. I know how much I want to spend on it, and if I think I am not going to buy it, there's a chance I may buy something else while I wait for it (e.g. a 360, although I don't see myself doing it at the moment).

 

[Scalemail Ted]

same as PS2 launch price in Europe, seems about right, the thing is with PS3 being region-free maybe it'd be way cheaper to import this time around.

Won't there be problems with NTSC and PAL formats?

 

[Ponn]

When did this near $500 pricing become unsuprising? I was under the impression that a $400 360 was still considered too expensive on this forum.

Around a year ago i thought the PS3 guesses of $500, were getting laughed at?

This kind of stupidly high price scheme is actually playing into nintendos hands, I didnt actually expect them to make a CHEAP console, but $200 in comparison to 500 is a big difference.

No, most of the Xbots were trying to call the guesses of 500 early damage control while those of us who were saying expect $500 were just being realistic. There is just way too much stuff being packed into the PS3 for it to come in at $299 and anyone surprised that it comes in for more then $299 are either

A) Deluded
B) a Sony hater trying to stir shit up
C) Both

I will be pleasently surprised if it comes in at 399 with everything but $499 is what i'm saving up for. Once the rush is over you may see it drop to $399. If it comes out for over $500 in the US then I will call Sony batshit insane and they just gave up a major battle, if not the war, to MS. I mean all the stuff in the PS3 is real nice and its the major reason I want to get it, but even Sony has to understand that the percentage of the userbase that will want or use all of it is very small compared to those that just want the console. Granted consumers are stupid and don't know value when it smacks them in the face and they would much rather pay smaller up front and then pay up the ass for it later. But Sony has to find that fine line and know where to draw it. The HDD is nice and all, but honestly if it means a $100 price drop in retail price for the PS3 I think they should not require it. It was not a deal breaker for them last gen and it won't be this gen either.

 

[Striek]

HE'S SO RIGHT! ITS A GREAT BARGIN!

Try buying an X360(core)+HDD+WiFi+HD-DVD addon (unless you really believe it'll retail for €100 :lol) for NEAR €500. You won't be able to when PS3 is launched, you can quote me on that, and you're still left with an inferior system hardware-wise.

That said, I believe this will be the price range, but people are NUTS if they think that a Sony exec. will announce the price this early. Anyone expecting a low price or even an 'X360-like' price is going to be disappointed. PS3 is premium hardware, it'll command a premium price.

 

[phonte]

i thought there would only be one sku?

so, the wording in this is kind of strange.

i swear, if sony goes the core/premium route, i will almost wish failure upon them.

i don't appreciate being lied to.

 

[<nu>faust]

i thought there would only be one sku?

so, the wording in this is kind of strange.

i swear, if sony goes the core/premium route, i will almost wish failure upon them.

i don't appreciate being lied to.

the man is poetic

 

[Ghost]

Try buying an X360(core)+HDD+WiFi+HD-DVD addon (unless you really believe it'll retail for €100 :lol) for NEAR €500. You won't be able to when PS3 is launched, you can quote me on that, and you're still left with an inferior system hardware-wise.

That said, I believe this will be the price range, but people are NUTS if they think that a Sony exec. will announce the price this early. Anyone expecting a low price or even an 'X360-like' price is going to be disappointed. PS3 is premium hardware, it'll command a premium price.

Why would you buy a core 360 and a hard drive?

 

[Amir0x]

"Don't do it, Sony"

That's all I can say until they officially announce such an outrageous price.

 

[Vashu]

I knew Europe got it rough with late release dates and paying a bit more but wow this thread has shocked me. I saw someone say they pay equivalent to $74 for PS2 games and $100 for X360 games.. now this price and people saying it's not far off from the PS2 launch price. That's unreal.. I'm sure if that ends up being true it will be to subsidize the NA market price Sorry guys

Well, to be honest, the difference is also because of the difference in income and other prices. To us, almost all of the US games come off as cheap, let alone other household or luxury items. Last thing I heard is that the average middleclass household here earns more money than the average middleclass household in the US.

Don't know how much truth that holds, but that would explain the difference. Importing is a whole lot cheaper for us, if I would import a game I would pay 30 to 49 Euro's. That's half the price we pay for games that are not only released a whole lot later (Due to translation issues, so I'd suggest that the French, German and Spanish would just learn English already ), but also could suffer from a bad transition to the PAL setting.

Bad transitions happened with games like Final Fantasy X and a whole lot more S-E games, sometimes we didn't even receive a certain game. Xenosaga Episode I, Suikoden III and Front Mission IV all missed the boat.

Now I was hoping that with the simultaneous release of the PS3 things would change, but seeing this price mentioned, the assumption of more expensive games (X360 games cost around 70 Euro's, which is nearly $100) and still the problem of late releases (I don't think that will change at all, with translations and such) I have a bad feeling. Europe will pretty much get screwed again, and I don't think that fallible words like Harrison mentioned will help this time.

 

[BlizzyAzz]

Another important question would be why should i spend 500 Euros on a system without triple A titles for launch.

I mean Warhawk and Motor Storm are looking nice, but i dont think they are system sellers at all.

 

[Lince]

Won't there be problems with NTSC and PAL formats?

welcome to the High Definition gaming era, time to finally put PAL gaming (and SHAMEFUL conversions) to rest.

 

[Mrbob]

"Don't do it, Sony"

That's all I can say until they officially announce such an outrageous price.

QFT.

How reliable is this source?

500 Euros probbly means $499.99 price in USA.

Here is hoping Kojima Productions ports MGS4 to Xbox 360! I'll be waiting on PS3 if it is priced at 500 dollars.

 

[Newduck]

Unless i'm getting the price conversions off, then its not that close to the PS2 launch price, about 100-200 euros off. Nevermind that launch was using Sonys terrible and now generally defunct $=£ system. I dont think people can get away with that sort of pricing anymore, especially on a multiregional console where everyone and there mother can use ebay.

If sony attempt $=£ conversion with the PS3 you could be talking about the UK version being nearly $200 more expensive then the US one. Theres no way they can do that.

Hell using a $=€ conversion gets abit iffy the more expensive you get. If you're talking about a €600 console, you SHOULD be paying over $700. Not that thats remotely likely.

The "Theres way too much stuff packed.." reasoning is not applicable really, especially since sony have proved two times over with the PSP and PS2 that they CAN pack more then their competitors in and still keep pricing competitive.

Right now potentailly being over €200 more then your competitor isnt really that competitive. Especially since right now, your main advantages over them wont exist. Owning any sort of HD movie format in europe in 2006 isnt going to be much of a gain.

 

[Ghost]

welcome to the High Definition gaming era, time to finally put PAL gaming (and SHAMEFUL conversions) to rest.

PS3 will be about as region free as Xbox 360, ie rarely.


Sony might not want to use region coding but publishers still do because they hate grey imports. So if you buy an NTSC system, dont expect 100% compatibility with PAL releases.

 

[Striek]

Why would you buy a core 360 and a hard drive?

Because its the basic package and I was adding to it. Same price though.

PS3 will be about as region free as Xbox 360, ie rarely.

TBD. Sony's being sending mixed signals. This would be what I bank on though.

 

[Shawn128]

This just in:

Sony to GAF:

GOTCHA BITCH!

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

This just in:

Sony to GAF:

GOTCHA BITCH!

typo to Sony:

"Not gonna getcha, bitch!"

Not at $499... *looks at bank account*

 

[Scalemail Ted]

This just in:

Sony to GAF:

GOTCHA BITCH!

Jokes on them..

theres no more GAF, only neoGAF.

 

[Lord Error]

PS3 will be about as region free as Xbox 360, ie rarely.

How do you know this? I think it's more likely it will be as region free as PSP, which is - always PSP also gives publishers ability to region lock their games, but it's discouraged and so far noone did it.

 

[koam]

I just realised that price tag pays my rent for 2 months.........hey now

My god, is rent that cheap over there? That's about half the rent for my place for 1 month.

 

[Shompola]

How do you know this? I think it's more likely it will be as region free as PSP, which is - always Why should they uphold to other companies precedent when they've already set their own? PSP also gives publishers ability to region lock their games, but it's discouraged and so far noone did it.

This is the same SONY that is even more notorious that Nintendo when it comes to hunting down import videogame shops... The PSP region free for all was probably a response to the Gameboy region free for all... Now we are in the console territory.

 

[Xenon]

No, most of the Xbots were trying to call the guesses of 500 early damage control while those of us who were saying expect $500 were just being realistic. There is just way too much stuff being packed into the PS3 for it to come in at $299 and anyone surprised that it comes in for more then $299 are either

WHAT!!!!! I remember saying the thing wouldn't come in under 400 bucks and getting laughed at. You must...

1. have very selective memory.

2. be new here.

3. be suffering from sensory deprivation from having your head up Sony's ass.

The system will sell out easily during the Xmas season @ $499. Sony better drop the price soon after to keep the numbers up.

 

[Newduck]

Portable region coding hasnt exactly followed console ones, regional portable games have and always would be stupid. I wouldnt be that suprised either way, but MS have toted region free before, and theres been little reason for them to not stick to that, but it hasnt happened.

I expect publishers simply dont like it, and i don't expect sony to really push the feature, so it could just be left up to developers.

Much like the early 60hz PS2 issue, Sony did claim 60hz games, yet it took over two fucking years for games to become 60hz and borders still existed, because they did absolutely nothing about it. Despite every single dreamcast game was 60hz.

 

[PhatSaqs]

$399 or bust.

 

[kaching]

$500 in the US is too high a price for them to ramp down from in order to keep the PS3 selling at a rapid pace after launch period madness. They'd either have to decrease the price too quickly, pissing off and possibly disowning the early adopter userbase or they'd decrease too slowly and fail to reach an acceptable pricepoint for the mainstream audience quickly enough to get them to start buying in droves. I don't think there's a happy medium here. So, if Sony really did price at $500 then I'd have to think they're aware of the fact that they'd be giving up on marketshare, which makes some sense given how they're emphasizing new revenue streams through the network platform they discussed at GDC.

 

[Ponn]

The "Theres way too much stuff packed.." reasoning is not applicable really, especially since sony have proved two times over with the PSP and PS2 that they CAN pack more then their competitors in and still keep pricing competitive.

Not the same. The PSP was packed with cheap headphones, a soft carrying case and a small memory card. PS2 didn't come with shit, it had a dvd player but so did Xbox.

Here we are talking

- 60GB HDD
- WiFi
- Blu-ray which won't be on any other console, closest is the HD-DVD addon for 360.

 

[Frankfurter]

welcome to the High Definition gaming era, time to finally put PAL gaming (and SHAMEFUL conversions) to rest.

That's the problem, not the PAL standard.

 

[Newduck]

Fuck Wifi, Wifi isnt anything that should be considered into price. The fact that 360 didnt have it was annoying and just an excuse to sell an accessory, its NOT anything to justify a higher PS3 price.

HDD is exactly the same as the 360's, bigger or not. The 360 one was also obviously too small, and its another non high price issue.

Obviously blu ray costs, but thats a cost sony should be eating themselves at this stage, DVD was a PROVEN new movie format when it was in PS2 and it was still highly expensive. Its their choice that they're going with Blu Ray, adding a massive cost to the PS3 due to it is like claiming i should be paying more for my dreamcast as it uses GD Roms. Its bullshit. Right now Blu Ray is no different to the UMD format, its unproven and will be quite poorly supported for launch.

Right now it looks like you might be paying almost double for the same set of equivilent features the PS2 provided at the time, and a hard drive.

The PSP having high amounts of pack ins is not what i'm talking about. You described it yourself, wifi? umd movie player that wont be on any other portable? Its the same feature set.

I'm hardly unaware of these features being in the PS3 cost alot more too, but the price to feature ratio right now isnt too appealing, which is usually the complete opposite with sony. Considering that you just had the 360 launch in the UK at a LOWER price then the original PS2 launch, with much more features.

Theres been worse situations, £400 Xbox comes to mind, but that was pure bullshit also. The era of that sort of pricing in the UK is generally stopping, despite unjustifiable high game prices for 360 stuff over here, everything else has been pretty reasonable.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I don't believe this for a second, I really don't.

If it were true, I don't see how they could justify that in Europe. The Blu-Ray thing isn't going to mean shit for a long time. I read some report that said at the end of 2005 there were 2 million HDTVs in Europe. The whole of Europe. Even if it were just the UK that's only be 3%, but if I add up the populations of some of the main western European countries (the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, France, Sweden - ~345m) that's a penetration rate of 0.5% Add in other countries and it only gets lower (ermm...obviously).

While this was only their forecast so, you know, take it with a pinch of salt, they reckoned there would be 50m sets by 2010. 14.5% penetration 4 years into the PS3's life? Obviously they wouldn't have to justify the price by then because it'd be much cheaper, but unless this report is way off it'll be the generation after this one where things like Blu-Ray make a big difference in Europe.

I still don't believe it though.

 

[arab]

Logic tells me this isn't the actual price range. Why the hell would anyone with brains announce the price, allowing the competitors to alter their gameplan in order to capture Sony as soon as they launch?

Don't be expecting a price this early in the game.

 

[Ponn]

Fuck Wifi, Wifi isnt anything that should be considered into price. The fact that 360 didnt have it was annoying and just an excuse to sell an accessory, its NOT anything to justify a higher PS3 price.

HDD is exactly the same as the 360's, bigger or not. The 360 one was also obviously too small, and its another non high price issue.

Obviously blu ray costs, but thats a cost sony should be eating themselves at this stage, DVD was a PROVEN new movie format when it was in PS2 and it was still highly expensive. Its their choice that they're going with Blu Ray, adding a massive cost to the PS3 due to it is like claiming i should be paying more for my dreamcast as it uses GD Roms. Its bullshit. Right now Blu Ray is no different to the UMD format, its unproven and will be quite poorly supported for launch.

Right now it looks like you might be paying almost double for the same set of equivilent features the PS2 provided at the time, and a hard drive.

The PSP having high amounts of pack ins is not what i'm talking about. You described it yourself, wifi? umd movie player that wont be on any other portable? Its the same feature set.

I'm hardly unaware of these features being in the PS3 cost alot more too, but the price to feature ratio right now isnt too appealing. Considering that you just had the 360 launch in the UK at a LOWER price then the original PS2 launch, with much more features.

Ok. :lol

 

[pestul]

One thing's for sure, regardless of what the system has in it, a $499US or higher price tag is going to receive negative press from almost every media source (even if they're not looking at the whole package like we do). Us Canadians are likely going to have to put away ~$700 if we want a game with it.

 

[SantaC]

I don't believe this news. Even for a Playstation product it would be a disaster.
Or maybe they plan on doing quick money with the few (but enough considering it's a worldwide launch) that can afford to pay all this just to get it in 2006, then drop the price massively once the production is good enough. The mass market simply won't pay more than 400 euros for "just a toy". Heck, more than 350 euros is already difficult.

lol it happend with PS2. the PS2 costed 5000kr once in sweden which is roughly 499 euros.

 

[Ranger X]

If they cross the magical 500$ in Canada, they are fucked really.

 

[RaijinFY]

Not surprised by this "news". The thought by anybody that we'd be seeing $299 for the PS3 is absolutely ludicrous. I was thinking a $499 full fledged system w/60GB HDD, wireless controllers, headset, etc. This is right there.

~If the HDD is standard, which IMO looks ~likely, the question is will they have multiple skus or not.

I do think Sony is going to get roundly criticized for such a high price point, but I also think it's going to sell out. And we might see a price drop within 6 months.

I do not expect a real price drop. It will be more like a PS3 less expensive with less features too... :roll:

Also, I think it would be utterly stupid to do a price drop six months after a console launch unless your product doesnt sell very well (a bit like XBOX in Europe four years ago).

 

[Lord Error]

If they cross the magical 500$ in Canada, they are fucked really.

Xbox 360 + tax (+ one game at least for sure?) crossed that magical limit by quite a bit, and is selling pretty fine in Canada.

 

[Elios83]

Logic tells me this isn't the actual price range. Why the hell would anyone with brains announce the price, allowing the competitors to alter their gameplan in order to capture Sony as soon as they launch?

Don't be expecting a price this early in the game.

In fact the price is probably far from set,actual PS3 production won't start until June and price won't be announced until the last minute to not give competitors time to react.
Probably at the moment they're only taking a final decision on the SKU(s) (HD yes,no,standard?) which will be announced at E3.
George Fornay in my opinion is just shooting high,maybe he wanted to say that's top price they're thinking for PS3.
And at the same time they're already having a feedback on what people think of that price possibility :lol :lol

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Fuck Wifi, Wifi isnt anything that should be considered into price. The fact that 360 didnt have it was annoying and just an excuse to sell an accessory, its NOT anything to justify a higher PS3 price.

HDD is exactly the same as the 360's, bigger or not. The 360 one was also obviously too small, and its another non high price issue.

Obviously blu ray costs, but thats a cost sony should be eating themselves at this stage, DVD was a PROVEN new movie format when it was in PS2 and it was still highly expensive.

Right. PS3 could have more gear inside to justify the higher price, but the question is: will it really matter to the consumer? When someone who doesn't own a wi-fi router and an hdtv will buy a new console (actually the majority, here in Euroland), will he be appy to pay extra money for something he won't use, when the market offers another console with similar games (except exclusives, this will be the driving factor, as always) at 150-200 Euros less?

 

[Elios83]

lol it happend with PS2. the PS2 costed 5000kr once in sweden which is roughly 499 euros.

Yes with no competition,without MS in the game and bombing hard in sales for 8 months (January-August 2001) before crushing down the price to 300€, 200€ price cut.

 

[boyshine]

lol it happend with PS2. the PS2 costed 5000kr once in sweden which is roughly 499 euros.

Yeah, I can't remember exactly but I think I paid 4200 or 4400 kr (norwegian) for my launch PS2.. and that is (in todays rate) ~550€ ($670)

so 499-599€ seems pretty much the same as what PS2 cost at launch here.

 

[Wollan]

I just checked.

557.45 Euro or 681.27$ was the price I paid for my launch PS2 in Norway(4500nok).

 

[boyshine]

I just checked.

557.45 Euro or 681.27$ was the price I paid for my launch PS2 in Norway.

What was the price in NOK? (Er du norsk?) Edit: blind as a bat.. sorry.