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So what exactly is the deal with PS3 pricing?

S

scrawnypaleguy

Golden Member
So I've decided that I'm going to ask for a PS3 for my birthday this year, but I want to know exactly what's going on with the pricing because I'm hearing a lot of different things and I don't know what to believe. Here's what I know so far:

1 - the 60gb PS3 is now $499
2 - the 60gb PS3 will only be at this price for as long as they have stock
3 - the 80gb PS3 will be $599 at its introduction this month

The first question is, how long are stocks of the 60gb version going to last? My birthday is in late november, and the only estimate I've heard about availability is that it should last "until fall." Fall is kinda general, and I know that no one except Sony themselves knows how many units they have left, and even then they can only provide an estimate based on the rate of current sales, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on this issue as to when stocks might start to run low and I'll need to hurry up and get one?

Also, I've heard people on several forums state that as soon as they're out of stock of the 60gb version, sony is going to drop the price of the 80gb to $499. Is there any grounds to this claim? I don't know why anyone would think that, and I have no idea why sony would do that since it would piss off consumers a lot. Does anyone know where/why this rumor originated, or if there's any truth to it?

Just looking for a little buying advice.


P.S.: i'm not looking for this to turn into an argument over how sony sucks or the xbox360 is better and i should get that, etc. I've weighed the pros and cons of each and I've made my decision, I'm just looking for some advice so i can get as good of a deal as possible. Thanks.
 
Well the 60 gig PS3 should last awhile (unless they keep up their momentum from the price drop) and there isn't any ground to the argument that the 80 gig will drop except what analysts say. It's still possible though.

Oh yea, the 360 is better 😉

Sorry, had to.
 
Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian
Well the 60 gig PS3 should last awhile (unless they keep up their momentum from the price drop) and there isn't any ground to the argument that the 80 gig will drop except what analysts say. It's still possible though.

Oh yea, the 360 is better 😉

Sorry, had to.
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Yeah, but how long is a "while"? September? October? Would they last until November?
 
Well I suppose Sony is the only one who can accurately answer that question. I'd imagine that they'd still be somewhere in November, and if they are gone you have a shot at a $500 80 gig.
 
No one knows whether the 60GB will last until late November. No one knows whether Sony will then drop the 80GB to $500.

You can get $150 off a $500 60GB now by getting a Sony/Chase Visa card from www.SonyStyle.com, see the deal thread in this forum. If you can go this route you could get it now, enjoy it for the next 4 months, and ask for something else in November.
 
I can't see the 60gb version lasting all the way till november, but no one in the world will be able to tell you exactly when. Im guessing it'll be getting very rare, very soon. Better get it while the getting is good, although you can always find one used on ebay indefinitely, probably for even less than $499.

As far as the 80gb being dropped to $499, I wouldnt count on it. Not this xmas with motorstorm bundled at least.
 
Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
The first question is, how long are stocks of the 60gb version going to last? My birthday is in late november, and the only estimate I've heard about availability is that it should last "until fall." Fall is kinda general, and I know that no one except Sony themselves knows how many units they have left, and even then they can only provide an estimate based on the rate of current sales, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on this issue as to when stocks might start to run low and I'll need to hurry up and get one?
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Right off the bat, remember that it was Sony themselves that said the 60GB stock would sell out this fall. But don't be fooled, there are a TON of units still out there. I haven't seen any numbers lately, but I can tell you that from working at Gamestop, our particular store hasn't sold a PS3 system since the day after they announced the price drop. We had two people come in and buy a PS3 when the price dropped, and since then, nothing, nada. People seem more interested, but the general consensus is that it's still too high. We've had the same number of units sitting in the back for 3 weeks now. We even have 2 used units that nobody is interested in. We received 2 of the 80GB units last week on the 2nd, but those also haven't even moved, nor have I been asked about them at all.

Also, I've heard people on several forums state that as soon as they're out of stock of the 60gb version, sony is going to drop the price of the 80gb to $499. Is there any grounds to this claim? I don't know why anyone would think that, and I have no idea why sony would do that since it would piss off consumers a lot. Does anyone know where/why this rumor originated, or if there's any truth to it?
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There really isn't any grounds to this claim, it's just the general consensus of us internet know-it-alls 🙂. It's the only scenario that really makes sense for Sony for the position they've put themselves in. I think it'd piss people of more if they keep effectively raising the price rather than keep dropping. I'd rather be teased with a $499 price, then once it runs out of stock, have another option at $499 rather than going back to the $599 as the only option.

Just looking for a little buying advice.
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It's my personal opinion that the 60GB SKU is the one to have if you can find it, and it's also my personal opinion that you'll still be able to find them rather easily in 2-3 months. At my Gamestop store, they simply aren't moving anywhere, period. And with GTA4 being delayed, they certainly aren't looking good to sell out.

I think you're fine at getting a system for $499, no matter what happens with stock or future price drops.
 
Thanks Blurredvision, that's exactly the kind of insider opinion I was looking for. I'll keep an eye on my local game stores but if what you say is true then I'll be able to hold out and have a proper birthday present, instead of looking greedy and asking for it months in advance. 😛
 
Most things point to a 80GB system for $500 when the 60GB run out...mainly they will be getting rid of the 60 GB model. Sony is not that stupid to effectively raise the price on the console. Mostly though, the 80GB is actually cheaper for Sony to produce.

There are no guarantees in life, and Sony could very well raise the price to $1000 if they wanted to, but I would say it is a pretty good bet the 80GB will be $500. Unfortunately we have no clue when the 60GB will run out and this will happen.
 
Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
Thanks Blurredvision, that's exactly the kind of insider opinion I was looking for. I'll keep an eye on my local game stores but if what you say is true then I'll be able to hold out and have a proper birthday present, instead of looking greedy and asking for it months in advance. 😛
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Just keep in mind that my opinion is based on one store and one store only, but I'd be willing to guess that it's a very similar situation all around. At the very least, I'd say you could wait until the end of September and still get a 60GB SKU no problem. Heavenly Sword and Lair are the only two high-profile exclusive games coming out in the next couple of months for the PS3 (you could argue that timeline to be 4 1/2 months), so it remains to be seen how many systems those games can sell.
 
Get the 60 gig version. The 80 gig version doesn't have the PS2 hardware inside. PS2 has such a huge huge library, that backward compatibility is very important to me (I own one PS3 game: Super Stardust HD, and own/rent more PS2 games... I missed out on the entire PS2 games).

I'm sure that the 80 gig will be completely backwards compatible, but it'll software emulate PS2 games. It won't come w/ the PS2 hardware.

I couldn't careless about the hdd. I took it out, installed that HDXT mod, and put a 3.5 SATA drive inside an enclosure connected to the PS3.

400 gig PS3 running Yellow Dog Linux.
 
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Get the 60 gig version. The 80 gig version doesn't have the PS2 hardware inside. PS2 has such a huge huge library, that backward compatibility is very important to me (I own one PS3 game: Super Stardust HD, and own/rent more PS2 games... I missed out on the entire PS2 games).

I'm sure that the 80 gig will be completely backwards compatible, but it'll software emulate PS2 games. It won't come w/ the PS2 hardware.

I couldn't careless about the hdd. I took it out, installed that HDXT mod, and put a 3.5 SATA drive inside an enclosure connected to the PS3.

400 gig PS3 running Yellow Dog Linux.
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I havent heard anything about the PS2 software emulation running slower though. In theory, it could be slower, but if the Cell can handle it, it should have no problem running at full speed. Also, software emulation does bring the potential of re-rendering the games in 720p - the PS2 hardware alone cant do that, it can only be upscaled, and re-rendering is a zillion times better than upscaling. Rendering at a higher resolution is pretty much 100% GPU dependent, whereas the emulation is CPU dependent - so it would basically come for free if they ever bother to enable it and work out the kinks.

The Wii renders N64 games in 480p vs. the 240p they were designed for, and they look a LOT better. Though with my HTPC, I've been rendering n64 games at 720p with 4xAA/16xAF, and they look a hell of a lot better than the already improved 480p.

No guarantee they'll ever do this, maybe if they start selling PS2 games through the PSN, but don't count out software emulation. Besides, the cell is a supercomputer, it should be able to handle a lowly PS2. (Wait, wasnt that a supercomputer too?!?)
 
Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy

Also, I've heard people on several forums state that as soon as they're out of stock of the 60gb version, sony is going to drop the price of the 80gb to $499. Is there any grounds to this claim?
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One reason people have been saying this is because the 80 GB has a bundled game. People think they wouldn't have a system with a bundled game as the only available model, so they figure they'll drop the bundle and drop the price at the same time.

People also say that the increased sales of the 60 GB are an indication that the PS3 would sell a lot better at $499 than at $599. However, you could have said the same thing when the 20 GB was the only PS3 model that was scarce. People wanted it, but Sony dropped it ostensibly due to "low demand." Really it was because they lost more money on it.

So I think anyone who tries to make any guess about what Sony is going to do is really taking a shot in the dark. They've left us dumbfounded many times in the past. Certainly they must be aware that they're fighting an uphill battle. Still being in last place by a huge margin after a year is not where they want to be. I'm sure they have people much smarter than me weighing the increased short-term losses of leaving the 80 GB at $599 vs the long-term benefits of getting more PS3s in homes.
 
From a hardware standpoint, I'm not really concerned with Backwards Compat; I only have a few PS2 games, and don't really play them (aside from GH2, but having that for the 360, I really don't care too much).

With that being said, does it make sense to go for the 60gb or the 80gb? I'm not really a fan of $100 more for an extra 20GB and Motorstorm, but how do you guys feel? Is there that big of a difference between them hardware wise? I've heard mentions of the bluetooth/wifi chip being played around with, and also that without the EE that the Heat is reduced...does anyone find heat an issue on their 60gb?

Damn that was like 6 questions in one....😉
 
Originally posted by: thawolfman
From a hardware standpoint, I'm not really concerned with Backwards Compat; I only have a few PS2 games, and don't really play them (aside from GH2, but having that for the 360, I really don't care too much).

With that being said, does it make sense to go for the 60gb or the 80gb? I'm not really a fan of $100 more for an extra 20GB and Motorstorm, but how do you guys feel? Is there that big of a difference between them hardware wise? I've heard mentions of the bluetooth/wifi chip being played around with, and also that without the EE that the Heat is reduced...does anyone find heat an issue on their 60gb?

Damn that was like 6 questions in one....😉
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Even if you were buying motorstorm anyway, its arguable that the extra 20gb isnt even worth the extra $40. I'd go with the 60gb model.
 
I've couple question about PS3 and upscaling of PS2 games. Will it upscale all PS2 games? Upscale to what? 480P?

Is the current firmware using EE for backward compatibility?
 
Originally posted by: Naustica
I've couple question about PS3 and upscaling of PS2 games. Will it upscale all PS2 games? Upscale to what? 480P?
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It will upscale all games to whatever resolution you're running at...720p, 1080p (AFAIK). It's not as big of a deal as it sounds though - its not rendering at a higher resolution, just stretching the image, just as your TV would if you gave it a 480p feed- albeit in a slightly more advanced way, but the difference is much more noticible in screenshots than it is in reality. Upscaling is WAY overrated.

Is the current firmware using EE for backward compatibility?
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The 60gb, yes. The 80gb doesnt have the EE, and uses software emulation.

 
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