PS3 on pre-order

[stevie667]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5088154.stm

Sony's PlayStation 3 goes on sale

The release of the PlayStation 3 has been delayed until November

Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) has gone on sale on the web despite not being launched until November this year.
The next generation consoles are on offer as "pre-orders" to Europeans for £550 ($1,020) at online shop, play.com.

The website says that because of an expected European shortage, it cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas.

The PS3 is the successor to the best-selling PlayStation 2 and will compete with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii.

The Xbox 360 is already available, while the Wii is due out later this year.

All three consoles promise cutting edge processing and graphical power.

Higher price
Sony currently dominates the console market with more than 100 million PlayStation 2s in homes around the world.

The electronics giant had originally planned to launch the new console in the spring, but was forced to delay because of technical problems with its high-definition Blu-ray DVD drive.

The PS3 comes in two different models. The basic model has a 20GB hard drive, while the more expensive model comes with a 60GB one.

The lower end model also lacks wi-fi, a slot for memory cards and a HDMI port for high-definition programmes.

The model for sale on play.com is the 60Gb model.

When Sony announced prices earlier this year it said that gamers would pay about £425 ($785) in the UK for the top end version of the machine.

play.com is also offering three games in its package. Driving simulator Formula One 06, flying game Warhawk and the karaoke-themed Singstar.

The website says the games shipped with the console may change due to availability.

Gamers will have to wait until later in the year to buy a console in the shops.

Japanese gamers will be the first to get their hands on the PS3 on 11 November while the console will arrive in the US and Europe on 17 November.

£550?

It makes my head hurt just thinking about that much money being spent on a console. For less than double i can go out and buy myself a 50 something inch rear projection TV. And that isn't even including games and other phericals.

Some people do like their games.

[CaliLivChick]

The lastest OPM magazine is saying the prices (at least in the US) are more like $600 for the high-end model, and $500 for the lower end model. Still a lot of money, but for what you're getting, it's really not bad (just getting a blu-ray player is about $1,000). We won't be jumping out to buy this right away, but will probably end up getting one in the next year or two.

[MexicanOnABike]

i'm sure the ones who want one will buy it. for example my friends all bought the original xbox in canada. it was 800$ for 1 or 2 games 1 extra controler and 1 remote. 800$$!! thats insane. and now that the ps3 is saying that price, i wont be suprised to see it sell out.

[Aurakles]

Blu-Ray player or not (besides, I doubt I or anyone will use it as a standalone Blu-Ray player), I still fine the price outrageous for a videogame system, since primarily that is what it will be use for.

[qtpye4u84]

I thought it was only going to be like $600 I was willing to pay that but now if it is going to be higher I'm going to have to go half's on it with my hubby.

[Nikilidstrom]

I just bought a 360 for 400 and I thought that was a little crazy. 500 or 600 is out of the question, and is absolutely insane to ask of anyone to pay for a game console, no matter what the extra features are. For that money, I'll just continue to upgrade my PC and play games that look better, and last longer (with mods), than any console game. Not to mention I can do a hell of a lot more than just game with my PC.

[smooth]

you'd have to spend way more than that if you were to load your computer with equatable parts. In fact, I'm not even sure you can get equatable parts for your computer yet.

[Reese]

I seriously wouldn't pre-order from that place. They don't even guarantee you'll get it before Christmas. If I pre-order anything I better get it at midnight the first day it's released. PS3 has a hefty price tag and far few exclusive titles than the PS2. I'm not going to mind waiting for a big exclusive title like MGS4, Silent Hill 5 or FF13 (yay for sequels) to buy the console.

like my sig says, my opinion of the console might change before it's released

[MontanaXVI]

I am running into a pre order problem here in Columbus OH, I went into 2 EB Games and one Gamestop (both owned by Gamestop though) and none of them are taking any sort of pre orders at all due to the fact they have no idea how many systems they are going to be getting at each store, I got a line in one shop about Sony only putting out 1 million a month for the first 6 months with Japan slated to get hald that number each month, leaving the rest of the WORLD with 500k units.

I cannot put too much stock into that, as I have not seen numbers like that anywhere online, at least not from any reputable place. The other problem I have is how can they say no pre's because they don't know how many they will get, they don't know how many they will get any other time and they always do a pre order on everything new that comes out. I used to work at Toys R Us and we had no idea what was coming it just showed up, we knew we would be getting XX game or system but no set numbers on how many until it showed, I can only imagine EB and GS are pretty much the same way.

Can anyone input on any of this info?

[Buk]

Originally Posted by MontanaXVI

I am running into a pre order problem here in Columbus OH, I went into 2 EB Games and one Gamestop (both owned by Gamestop though) and none of them are taking any sort of pre orders at all due to the fact they have no idea how many systems they are going to be getting at each store, I got a line in one shop about Sony only putting out 1 million a month for the first 6 months with Japan slated to get hald that number each month, leaving the rest of the WORLD with 500k units.

I cannot put too much stock into that, as I have not seen numbers like that anywhere online, at least not from any reputable place. The other problem I have is how can they say no pre's because they don't know how many they will get, they don't know how many they will get any other time and they always do a pre order on everything new that comes out. I used to work at Toys R Us and we had no idea what was coming it just showed up, we knew we would be getting XX game or system but no set numbers on how many until it showed, I can only imagine EB and GS are pretty much the same way.

Can anyone input on any of this info?

Basically they got really burned on the Xbox 360 pre-orders and had to refund alot of people's money before the launch day who they called and told they weren't getting one.

The numbers that person told you about how many PS3 systems will be available worldwide are correct, there is an article on gamespy with some VP saying exactly that, except they aren't saying what the allocation % will be for each market, probably it will be Europe that will be shafted. So probably 2 million ps3 systems for US market from Launch in November until Jan 1. About the same availability as 360 and a little better than PS2.

The allocation for 360 systems was roughly 12 systems per store unless you were an A+ reseller like Best Buy for example then you received 20. I have no idea how many on avg gamestop or EB received but I got 12 at my store.

My guess would be that PS3 launch will be very similar to 360 with no availability anywhere and the prices will be even more insane on ebay etc because of the high starting point of $500 and the fact most everyone will want the $600 unit.

The manager at the Gamestop said they will announce a pre-sell date for both the Wii and PS3 at their annual manager's conference next month.

[Aurakles]

Originally Posted by Buk

they got really burned on the Xbox 360 pre-orders and had to refund alot of people's money before the launch day

Correct...and for this reason they won't start their pre-order program until October. Smart move on their part, because even though "early adopters" will jump on this, I am not sure this thing will fly off the shelf like Sony expects. Casual gamers and, especially, parents and teenagers don't even understand the technical jargon, so they could careless about Blu-Ray and that in no way will help sell this system. Most people still see it as just a game system, and at $500/$600 that's a hard sell. Moreover, people say $500/$600 as if it's a flat rate. You have to consider games, accessories, and tax. One could end up paying between $800-$1000 before it's all said and done.

[YaWhateva]

ok well the way I see it is this: If any of you are into computer gaming you will understand the price of the PS3. The Playstation came out in 1995, the PS2 in 2000 and the PS3 will (should) be out in 2006. That's a long time between upgrades. I know I have spent WELL over $600 on my computer since 2000. Probably like 3 or 4 times that. Because of this, I don't see paying $600 for the PS3 as being that big of a deal for a massive upgrade. Also it should be mentioned that the original Playstation was price at $299 on it's release date, over 11 years ago. That's not that huge of a price difference over 11 years.

[MontanaXVI]

thanks for putting in on this guys, knew I could count on the TFP for some info, posting stuff like this on the official playstation forums or other game forums just gets bumped to the last page within minutes because everyone has to ask the same 20 questions in a new thread every 5 minutes because they don't realize there is a search button, or the ones that do answer have some smart ass whatever reason that their brother told them or something.

Thanks again guys,

also I will be on their ass in October to see if they will do a pre order then.