Sony grabs the market and WE pay for it...

[SolitoN]

I've been playing videogames for a long time...The games for the 8-bit Nintendo set my imagination on fire, and over the course of the 19 years since I first played them, my search for entertainment has led me to enjoy gaming on as many platforms (except X-Box) as I can, and to sample games from all genres at least once.

So you can definetely classify me as a hard-core gamer.

I remember that the controllers for the 8-bit Nintendo, as well as for all subsequent Nintendo consoles, were well-designed (except for the Gamecube -- yeech), comfortable, intuitive and rugged. I NEVER once had to purchase another controller after my initial purchase of the console it came with. The games had great gameplay and stories that were imaginative, fun and interesting (Faxanadu, the Zelda series, Contra, Metroid, etc, etc) Even as an 8 year old child, I could see that Nintendo was a company that aimed to entertain to the fullest.

The Sony Computer Entertainment Corporation, on the other hand, is about profit and market acquisition strategies and, in its ruthless pursuit of those, is willing to exploit gamers as much as they'll allow. Sony truly turned gaming into a business -- and for that I'll never forgive them.

The reason for the high-price of the PS3? Market acquisition.

As most people know, blu-ray is a new technology, and new technologies don't start off cheap to manufacture, so when that technology is new, customers pay outrageous prices i.e. $1000 for a stand-alone blu-ray player. But not PS3 customers...Why? Because Sony stands to grab a larger chunk of the high definition player market by using its already established gaming market as a springboard.

So, even though you and me might not want a blu-ray player...and why would you, by the way? The format conflict between it and HD-DVD ISN'T resolved, and it's most likely neither one will win, as third-party manufacturers will find common ground either in media or hardware. Nonethelss, we are forced to buy one, and Sony has the audacity to state that we are getting a deal, since we only pay between $500-600 dollars AND we get a gaming console. The problem with this reasoning is what I've just mentioned above -- most likely, third-parties will bridge the conflict, and thus, there won't BE any advantage in getting a blu-ray player cheap, since hardware will either support both formats, or new media will. Thus, Sony is trying to fool us into PAYING for their acquisition of the market and, when blu-ray doesn't win the fight, we're the ones who end up losing our cash, as Sony made us the fight sponsor wihout even asking us.

Some might argue at this point that the high price of the PS3 is also influenced by the Cell processor. I'll admit, it's a POSSIBILITY, since I haven't looked into the manufacturing and development costs, but since IBM has done most of the research, and that they stand to gain a lot of cash by including their chip in embedded systems, I doubt very much the costs to Sony were high enough to raise the price of the PS3 to where it is now.

The reason I mentioned Nintendo and its practices at the beginning of this post was so that these practices could be contrasted with Sony'.

The PS2 had disc-read errors from the beginning (which turned out to be caused by manufacturing defects), and the company' response was to remain obstinate until a class action lawsuit was filed. So, they messed up the manufacturing, but we should pay for it? The courts gave their opinion on that, and consumers got justice.

The price of the PS2 also remained static right up until the PS3 launch, showcasing Sony' ability to milk us for all we're worth.

The controllers Sony churns out are of poor quality; I had to buy THREE controllers after initially purchasing a PS2 (NOT including the second one I bought at the same time as the console)...and I don't throw my controllers or anything like that either, I just play Tekken with friends. Then there's the cost -- $50 a pop for a sub-standard, useless piece of junk. But I had no choice, and Sony exploited that. Lost your memory card? Too bad, cause it's going to cost you $40 for that. Want an HD cable? I think i've made my point.

Sony sells us gaming piecemeal, and the responsibility for bringing this practice into the gaming industry practically falls on its shoulders alone. Nintendo NEVER took us for all we're worth in the shameless manner Sony continues to do.

So I think I'll buy a Wii...and if I have too much free time, I'll spend some of it with friends, and take up more outdoor activities and get my them to come along. Oh, I'll buy a PS3, but only when PS4 comes around, making the price drop to sane levels.

What I won't do, is be exploited by some greedy chumps. D

[Zatoichi]

Sony IS selling their console at a loss. Let me clarify that; they are actually losing money on every console they sell. If they just wanted to take advantage of us wouldn't both the ps3 SKU's be $100 more to make up the loss?

[The_One]

Moved to General Chit chat.

While I agree with most of what you're saying, I don't agree with your reasoning regarding the price. The reason for the High price isn't market acquisition (Do you really think any Company is stupid enough to WILLINGLY price their product higher than their competitors?), but rather the technology involved. A stand alone Blu-Ray player is 1K, the PS3 being a Video Game console AND a BD player is already a bargain enough--not to mention the PC features.

PS2 Controller for 50 a pop? Uh, where do you buy your rip-off accessories?

As for PS2's price being static, that's plain wrong. PSTwo reduced its price before Xbox did, and Xbox is a dead system (They've already confirmed to kill support for it by the end of this year).

Either way, buy what you will. No one will stop you, and I won't try to talk you out of it. I'm simply pointing out a few errors in your judgement .

[GrayFox9593]

Yet another booo hooo let the tears fall b/c the PS3 is $500-$600 thread :sleep::sleep:

[LLAF]

Nintendo is the only one making a profit and you say they NEVER took anything from us.
how about the new gameboy every 2 years , how about the ereader and the ereader cards , how about classic nes version of pac man for the gba for 19.99 when the pacman collection was already selling for much 14.99
whats the deal with Zelda:tp coming out on the Wii BEFORE the Cube?

[Tribunal]

Some might argue at this point that the high price of the PS3 is also influenced by the Cell processor. I'll admit, it's a POSSIBILITY, since I haven't looked into the manufacturing and development costs, but since IBM has done most of the research, and that they stand to gain a lot of cash by including their chip in embedded systems, I doubt very much the costs to Sony were high enough to raise the price of the PS3 to where it is now.

You know, after actually buying an HDTV. I can honestly say that one of the major reasons I'm buying a PS3 is for Blu-ray.

Regardless what anyone says, it's a great deal. If you don't believe so you're in denial. Yes Sony is trying to use you to get Blu-ray to win but who cares? The only reason you should be pissed is if Blu-ray format didn't win (which I doubt will happen). Then it could classify as a waste of money. But for now I'll take this deal anyday. Same thing goes for that Worthless HD-DVD add on for the Xbox-360 I'd buy that too if there wasn't blu-ray/it could actually be used for games.

[Shadow]

I don't know what you're talking about Soliton, if anything Sony is cheating themselves. The Blu-Ray cost $1000 so they're losing $400 and there is more which am not going to explain because am tired and about to log off. Am just trying to get my bank up to 2000 before i go to sleep.

[SolitoN]

The_One:

Let me start by saying I don't appreciate having my post moved from the PS3 Chat section to the General chit-chat section all the way at the bottom of the home page. My post is PS3 Discussion and belongs in that category; I'm not talking about the weather. If I didn't know better I'd say you were censoring me...

And before you ask, I don't work for Nintendo or X-Box: I'm just a gamer.

All the counter arguments you provided to my original post were countered themselves IN that post. If you look at it again, you'll see that, so i won't repeat my args here. As for where I buy my accessories, it's Walmart, and I wasn't doing any comparisons when I mentioned the PS2' static price; bringing the X-Box into it is irrelevant.

Jaeger: do I SOUND like I'm crying? My arguments are valid.

LLAF: Those products all contained innovations. Let's talk about PSP: it doesn't contain anything the DS doesn't already have (in fact, it's missing a touch-screen) yet, the price is not coming down any time soon, again showcasing Sony's commitment to static prices.


Tribunal: if it weren't for Sony' grab for the market, the price of the PS3 would be significantly lower... THAT'S why you should care.

[Trinity]

Guess what? we already know it. We have had thousands of threads like this about crying babies whinning for a few dollars.

GET A DAMN JOB! if you dont like it, you can buy a Wii

[Tribunal]

Tribunal: if it weren't for Sony' grab for the market, the price of the PS3 would be significantly lower... THAT'S why you should care.

I still don't see why I should care so much. I get a wonderful game playing machine, web broswer, cd burner, whatever the heck else, and a blu-ray player all for $600... It's awesome no matter how you look at it.

"I only want it to play games... and I refuse to believe I'm ever going to use any of this stuff"... *Goes off an buys Blu-ray movies, surfs the web, burns CDs*

But hey, maybe I'm not narrowminded and just completely over optimistic.

[Trinity]

Why do all thse noobs always come with the same crap?

"I dont need blu ray, I just want to play"..grow up guys.

[Carsonal]

The price of the PS2 also remained static right up until the PS3 launch, showcasing Sony' ability to milk us for all we're worth

If by static you mean dirt cheap then i agree.
I don't even have a job but it wouldn't take long to rake up enough cash for one.
They're selling for $186+ a game in Australia, which is a great deal.

The reason for the high-price of the PS3? Market acquisition.

Could it also be the Cell processor, the RSX, the card reader, the implemented software, the controller, the cooling system, internal AC brick, ethernet, usb, hdmi & component ports, HDD, the blu-ray player, cables, wifi and casing?
Nah

[CrashBang]

LLAF: Those products all contained innovations. Let's talk about PSP: it doesn't contain anything the DS doesn't already have (in fact, it's missing a touch-screen) yet, the price is not coming down any time soon, again showcasing Sony's commitment to static prices.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH LMFAO LOL HAHAHAH, SO the PSP doesn't have a UMD disk drive, a gorgeous 16 BIT screen, that's MILLIONS of colours NOT thousands, it doesn't have a memory stick slot or a fully featured media player or internet browsing or an analouge stick either? Why don't you realise what market the PSP is aimed at and what it's features are before you say it's expensive eh? The only thing the DS does is play games and that's it unless you really want to use it's PDA functions, the PSP on the otherhand can surf the web and play music and films and has expandable memory storage, it's a completley different machine and is rightly more expensive.
I agree with the others, if you can't afford a PS3 then wait till it drops in price or get a job.
And I am not slagging the DS off by the way, it's a fantastic little machine aimed at a totally different audience. But to compare the two like for like on features just shows what little knowledge you have.
And for the record for the thousenth time the PS3 IS LOOSING MONEY, don't you know that EVERY console is sold at a loss at the begining because the profits come from the games?

Peace!

[Thorzilla]

Why do all thse noobs always come with the same crap?

"I dont need blu ray, I just want to play"..grow up guys.

Yeah...If you want to play, then you have to pay for the whole box. The decission was made. PS3 ships with BluRay, period. There is no way Sony will change their minds 2 weeks before launch.
"Because they[quess who] give you choices" I heard this before about a certain HDDVD reader...Sony is not launching a PS3 without BluRay support. It is completely pointless.

[Fekz]

I've been playing videogames for a long time...The games for the 8-bit Nintendo set my imagination on fire, and over the course of the 19 years since I first played them, my search for entertainment has led me to enjoy gaming on as many platforms (except X-Box) as I can, and to sample games from all genres at least once.

So you can definetely classify me as a hard-core gamer.

I remember that the controllers for the 8-bit Nintendo, as well as for all subsequent Nintendo consoles, were well-designed (except for the Gamecube -- yeech), comfortable, intuitive and rugged. I NEVER once had to purchase another controller after my initial purchase of the console it came with. The games had great gameplay and stories that were imaginative, fun and interesting (Faxanadu, the Zelda series, Contra, Metroid, etc, etc) Even as an 8 year old child, I could see that Nintendo was a company that aimed to entertain to the fullest.

The Sony Computer Entertainment Corporation, on the other hand, is about profit and market acquisition strategies and, in its ruthless pursuit of those, is willing to exploit gamers as much as they'll allow. Sony truly turned gaming into a business -- and for that I'll never forgive them.

The reason for the high-price of the PS3? Market acquisition.

As most people know, blu-ray is a new technology, and new technologies don't start off cheap to manufacture, so when that technology is new, customers pay outrageous prices i.e. $1000 for a stand-alone blu-ray player. But not PS3 customers...Why? Because Sony stands to grab a larger chunk of the high definition player market by using its already established gaming market as a springboard.

So, even though you and me might not want a blu-ray player...and why would you, by the way? The format conflict between it and HD-DVD ISN'T resolved, and it's most likely neither one will win, as third-party manufacturers will find common ground either in media or hardware. Nonethelss, we are forced to buy one, and Sony has the audacity to state that we are getting a deal, since we only pay between $500-600 dollars AND we get a gaming console. The problem with this reasoning is what I've just mentioned above -- most likely, third-parties will bridge the conflict, and thus, there won't BE any advantage in getting a blu-ray player cheap, since hardware will either support both formats, or new media will. Thus, Sony is trying to fool us into PAYING for their acquisition of the market and, when blu-ray doesn't win the fight, we're the ones who end up losing our cash, as Sony made us the fight sponsor wihout even asking us.

Some might argue at this point that the high price of the PS3 is also influenced by the Cell processor. I'll admit, it's a POSSIBILITY, since I haven't looked into the manufacturing and development costs, but since IBM has done most of the research, and that they stand to gain a lot of cash by including their chip in embedded systems, I doubt very much the costs to Sony were high enough to raise the price of the PS3 to where it is now.

The reason I mentioned Nintendo and its practices at the beginning of this post was so that these practices could be contrasted with Sony'.

The PS2 had disc-read errors from the beginning (which turned out to be caused by manufacturing defects), and the company' response was to remain obstinate until a class action lawsuit was filed. So, they messed up the manufacturing, but we should pay for it? The courts gave their opinion on that, and consumers got justice.

The price of the PS2 also remained static right up until the PS3 launch, showcasing Sony' ability to milk us for all we're worth.

The controllers Sony churns out are of poor quality; I had to buy THREE controllers after initially purchasing a PS2 (NOT including the second one I bought at the same time as the console)...and I don't throw my controllers or anything like that either, I just play Tekken with friends. Then there's the cost -- $50 a pop for a sub-standard, useless piece of junk. But I had no choice, and Sony exploited that. Lost your memory card? Too bad, cause it's going to cost you $40 for that. Want an HD cable? I think i've made my point.

Sony sells us gaming piecemeal, and the responsibility for bringing this practice into the gaming industry practically falls on its shoulders alone. Nintendo NEVER took us for all we're worth in the shameless manner Sony continues to do.

So I think I'll buy a Wii...and if I have too much free time, I'll spend some of it with friends, and take up more outdoor activities and get my them to come along. Oh, I'll buy a PS3, but only when PS4 comes around, making the price drop to sane levels.

What I won't do, is be exploited by some greedy chumps. D

Well then, Who should have majority market share? The company that put out reiterations of the Gameboy for over 7 years, or the company who found themselves in court facing monopoly allegations?

Point is, every business is going to take advantage of the consumer when there is no heavy competition. Don't like it? Blame Capitalism.

[exYle]

We've heard the same rant only a few thousand times. What makes you so different?

[Fekz]

We've heard the same rant only a few thousand times. What makes you so different?

Nothing actually. It's just the same regurgitated argument from someone who thinks it hasn't been said before. Either buy the console or don't. No one is forcing you to do so, SolitioN.

[MiDNiGHTS]

You are fooling yourself if you think company X is better than company Y. 8-bit Nintendo was fine but lets not forget their behaviour when they were on top and moving to the N-64. Nintendo is selling the Wii at a profit right out of the gate so I would say right now they are the ones shamlessly taking us for what we are worth and not Sony or MS. Couldnt they at least sell it for what it costs to make in beginning? They are not your best friends, they are companies and they thrive by making money. Which is why I strongly disagree with this quote especially if you look at the past.

Nintendo NEVER took us for all we're worth in the shameless manner Sony continues to do.

[Carsonal]

What's also odd is that these people seem to think people care what they have to say.
Its a little depressing to think there are people out there so misguided and misinformed that they base their decisions of a game console on that ignorance.

[Thorzilla]

What's also odd is that these people seem to think people care what they have to say.
Its a little depressing to think there are people out there so misguided and misinformed that they base their decisions of a game console on that ignorance.

If you think about it, you do matter. You wouldnt be posting here unless you didnt...

[Carsonal]

If you think about it, you do matter. You wouldnt be posting here unless you didnt...

Wha?
are you talking about me or the OP?

[MiDNiGHTS]

If you think about it, you do matter. You wouldnt be posting here unless you didnt...

Well, most posts have to contain some kind of point. Is he just rambling about how he feels? Is he trying to show us how dumb we are for buying the PS3 while he is a genius for supporting Nintendo and its Wii?

[Carsonal]

Well, most posts have to contain some kind of point. Is he just rambling about how he feels? Is he trying to show us how dumb we are for buying the PS3 while he is a genius for supporting Nintendo and its Wii?

Yeah, posters opinions count when they present new ideas, and information, even if they are anti PS3,360 etc.
But when its just rehashed blabber from early 2005..well that gets old fast.

[A7MAD]

SolitoN,

There was a lot I agreed with you on in your original post, however if it isn't Sony it'll be MS or Nintendo...

Anyone who can see beyond their fanboyisms knows that Sony is hoping and pushing Blu-Ray down our throats but at the end of the day we still have the option to buy or not to buy.

MS are playing the PC market, Sony are doing the same thing with the console market whilst trying to break into the PC market as well which in my eyes makes them worse than MS , but I consider MS, Sony & Nintendo to be just as bad as one another if given the opportunity.

I respect your stance, although I do not totally agree with it, all I can say is you'll enjoy the Wii I know I will.

[Thorzilla]

I meant everyone! You mind about his opinion, because you are actually posting here, telling him to go ***** himself up...I get your point. I know you dont care, but you do somehow *think about it*