PS3 Pricing Unveiled

[AJ]

LOS ANGELES--Sony Computer Entertainment announced PlayStation 3 pricing and specific availability information and showed off the final version of the console's controller at a glitzy press conference held at Sony Pictures Studios here Monday.

The PS3 will come in two configurations: one version with a 60GB hard drive that will cost $599, and a second with a 20GB hard drive that will come in at $499, SCE President Kaz Hirai said.

Those prices are significantly higher than Microsoft's Xbox 360, which has two versions, one with a built-in hard drive that costs $399 and another with no hard drive that retails for $299.

In an interview with CNET News.com on Friday, SCE Executive Vice President and co-Chief Operating Officer Jack Tretton said, effectively, that the company thinks consumers will pay whatever the next-generation console costs.

"People are going to perceive enough value" with the PS3, Tretton said, "that they're not going to consider the price to be a barrier to entry."

The PS3 is certainly a big technological leap over its best-selling PlayStation 2, which Sony said Monday had recently topped 103 million units sold.

The PS3, which is based on the Cell processor, will play CDs, DVDs and include a Blu-ray drive. It also includes built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as ethernet compatibility. Further, it includes Dolby digital surround sound functionality and supports high-definition video up to 1080p.

The console also can run up to seven wireless controllers at once, and all PS3s will come with a built-in hard drive, either 60GB or 20GB.

Finally, it supports USB, Sony memory sticks, secure digital (SD) and CompactFlash.

In addition to announcing pricing, Sony also said the PS3 would hit store shelves in North America on Nov. 17, six days after its Japanese launch on Nov. 11.

And Hirai said Sony is committed to shipping 4 million PS3s by Dec. 31 and another 2 million by March 31, 2007. That means--if customers are not put off by the console's high price--Sony could be in position to avoid the criticism Microsoft took for not being able to meet initial customer demand for the Xbox 360.

Meanwhile, Sony also unveiled for the first time the PS3's controller.

Visually, the controller looks much like that of the PS2, though it is silver rather than black.

Where it differs substantially is in the fact that it includes technology that ties character movement on screen to that of players' hands. That is, as players move their hands around, the controller automatically senses the movement and translates it to character movement on screen.

That is a significant innovation that the Xbox 360 does not have, and it is not known if Nintendo's own forthcoming next-generation console, the Wii, will have similar functionality.

That may change Tuesday morning, when Nintendo hosts its own gala press conference in Hollywood. Microsoft's E3 conference follows immediately afterward, also in Hollywood.

It is expected that, among other things, Microsoft will formally announce development of "Halo 3," the follow-up to its best-selling "Halo 2." It is also thought that Microsoft will show off HD DVD drives for the Xbox 360.

On Wednesday, E3 begins in earnest, and tens of thousands of video game industry professionals will converge on Los Angeles for the annual marketing blowout.

In any case, the PS3, at a minimum of $499, is likely to hit Sony pretty hard on the bottom line. That's because, as CNET News.com reported in February, it appears that the PS3's component cost will be at least $800.

Sony looks at PlayStation family consoles--the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable--as having 10-year lifetimes, and therefore, the company hopes that over time, component costs will drop enough to make a profit.

But in the short term, the consoles are likely to cost consumers significantly less than Sony is paying to make them, and that could squeeze the company as it pursues other initiatives.

Still, as the company made sure to point out during the press conference Monday, it is still selling millions of PS2s and PSPs, and doesn't expect those sales numbers to drop anytime soon.

Indeed, Hirai said Sony expects to sell an additional 10 million PS2s. And it hopes to sell another 12 million PSPs by the end of the company's fiscal 2006, March 31, 2007, which would bring total PSP sales to 29 million.

In any case, for Sony to finally unveil pricing for the PS3 was an important move, as it will quiet speculation that has run rampant for months. And it will also give consumers six months to get used to the high cost of the PS3, something the company clearly hopes will lead to high sales figures.

Meanwhile, Sony also showed off a plethora of games that will be available either at launch or shortly thereafter.

Among the publishers it showcased was Electronic Arts, whose CEO Larry Probst, appeared on stage and said that his company was working on 10 titles for PS3 including new versions of "Madden NFL," "NBA" and "Tiger Woods PGA."

Sorry about the crap formatting. Hasn't seemed to copy and paste very well. I'm glad about the controllers being the same shape, not so much about the price though but it's to be expected really. This is the next-gen console I'll be looking to buy for sure.

BENJI EDIT: Format'd

Edited May 9, 2006 by Benjirino~!

[The LBTN Express]

I guess it'll be priced around £350 for the UK with the 60gb hard drive, although I don't know why you'd exactly need the extra 40GB for a console unless you were wanting to store a load of music on it or something. The 360 comes with a 20GB and I've hardly used any of that so far.

The price is worth it considering you'll get a console and essentially a blu ray player as well all in one.

[EddieRuckus]

I'll wait til next summer to get it. My 360 is keeping me content, and although I'd have the money for it in November, I'd rather wait and let all the bugs get fixed before I buy it. I was pissed that I didn't get my 360 when it first came out, but after hearing all of the horror stories I'm glad I got it later instead of launch day. Definately can't wait though for it to come out!

[Sparko]

Meanwhile, Sony also unveiled for the first time the PS3's controller.

Visually, the controller looks much like that of the PS2, though it is silver rather than black.

Where it differs substantially is in the fact that it includes technology that ties character movement on screen to that of players' hands. That is, as players move their hands around, the controller automatically senses the movement and translates it to character movement on screen.

That is a significant innovation that the Xbox 360 does not have, and it is not known if Nintendo's own forthcoming next-generation console, the Wii, will have similar functionality.

[The LBTN Express]

I believe the Nintendo's is more in the form of a laser of the top of the controller which would determine where you were pointing it, and where it was being moved.

The PS3 sounds more like it senses what sort of movements you are making with your hands, which is entirely different.

EDIT: From what I gathered about the Nintendo controller (haven't paid much attention to the Wii) is that it was a modified laser gun in the form of a controller.

Edited May 9, 2006 by LBTN™

[Guest clintcasey]

Wow, well I heard a rumer a while back that Microsoft is thinking of dropping the X-box 360's price by $100 (US so you brits should get about 50 pounds off) and possibly releasing Halo 3 to work against the PS3's initial Launch.

If thats true than Sony is going to have an up hill battle. This Console generation just might go to Microsoft at those rates.

Edited May 9, 2006 by clintcasey

[Benji]

You know the reason they're still selling so many PS2's? Because of how easy the things break (Y)

[Guest clintcasey]

I don't know about that, I've had my PS2 for about 4 years now and its still running fine. As long as you take care of your machine it should run fine.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Yeah I bought my PS2 in 2000/01 and it's still running just fine (Y)

[therockbox]

And I'm on my fourth since I got my first one. Most of the people I've spoken seem to have had more problems with there's than you should really expect.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

A couple of years ago mine started playing up so I took it apart, cleaned it up and now it's even working again stood up on it's side for the first time in ages. Haven't had any trouble for over a year.

The only thing it doesn't do is play some DVDs. I'm pretty certain the ones it doesn't don't have anything in common either...

[Benji]

I don't know about that, I've had my PS2 for about 4 years now and its still running fine. As long as you take care of your machine it should run fine.

Yeah I bought my PS2 in 2000/01 and it's still running just fine (Y)

Mine works fine now (had it since the day of release), I fixed it, but the amount of times I've had to fix it is astonishing, and those without knowledge of how to would have wasted a lot of money.

Edited May 9, 2006 by Benjirino~!

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I just poked around and cleaned out any dust I saw.

[Cole]

Wow, I can't wait. I should probably start putting a little bit of money aside each month. It's alright though, as I can't think of much I have to spend on in the upcoming months, there are only three PS2 games I want from now until whenever SD vs. Raw 07 comes out (which would be the fourth) and other then that, I might buy some figs and random shit like that. Plus I'll be getting a bunch of money...

I'll be fine, I just worry about getting my hands on one.

[K]

Do you actually worry about it? Like lose sleep over it? Are you comforted only by the thoughts of caressing its slick shiny outer shell?

[therockbox]

Get a Goerge Foreman grill instead, they look exactly the same.

[apsham]

I have had my Playstation 2 since a year after its release and it still works perfect. Mainly because I take care of it. The pricing doesn't bother me, because I know the PS3 will be top of the line, and an excellent gaming system. I'll likely stick with the 20 GB version though, unless I happen to have some extra money.

[Guest clintcasey]

Well one of the features with the Playstation 3 as I understand is your supposed to be able to download online content like Movies and game demos. Thats about the only reason why you might want the 60 Gig version over the 20 Gig (and its possible they could be selling bigger hard drives that you can spend more money on later. The hard drives are suppose to be swapable). If all your using the disk space for is saving your games then the 20 gig should be fine. But if you want to download a bunch of game demos and movies you'll use up that 20 gigs prety fast.

[apsham]

Well then 20 gig it is. How big the the normal X-Box one? I'm barely using 5 percent of that on game saves.

[Guest Bluesman]

I'm on my 2nd PS2, of which the first I took very, VERY good care of after seeing my buddy's break after we played GTA 3 on it for 18 hours a day. It's well established that the earlier PS2's tended to break easier and not last as long.

I'm still up in the air as to what I'm going to do. I'm leaning heavily towards just getting a PC set up for gaming and going that route. If do go for a console I'm going to wait for the price to drop and any kinks to get worked out. I'm also going to wait until there is a game that I have to play that is only available on the new console, like KOTOR III if the dirty assholes ever get around to making it.

Edited May 9, 2006 by Bluesman