Play Station 3 hits US November 17. How much? The answer: $499 for 20GB version, and $599 for 60GB. Will gamers Wii instead of PS3?
The conference might have been delayed for an hour, but the results are in and the price is not far off from rumors and expectations. Sony has not only upped the anti for hard disk capacity but it has blown it out of the water!
Sony has used the Microsoft tactic to place two console packages on the market, one low end and one high end. The low end box is equipped with a 20GB storage disk while the high end is a 60GB storage disk. Even the low end product has more space then the Xbox 360. Who needs 64MB memory cards now Microsoft?
The Price
The price is steep, no doubt. Will the average consumer put down 500 USD to game on the Sony PS3 when they can save some money to fetch themselves an Xbox 360? I guess it depends how high end the first release of games are going to be. If Sony wants to see revenue on this golden box they better have some reason to buy otherwise Microsoft might take a piece of the pie.
With the cost of a PS3 and Xbox 360 together you can get yourself a used car or two weeks in Hawaii all expenses paid. Will the Wii be the second console of choice? If so, what will the first console be? The lines are being drawn in the sand as we speak.
The Disk
You are lucky if you have 12GB remaining on your Xbox 360 disk and no method to upgrade (yet). Sony has done the right thing in pushing the disk capacity to something similar to a laptop. Many people's home PC's are still not equipped with 60GB disks, but they're next-generation console system will be.
Microsoft talks about Tivo like capabilities with a disk which, in today's sizes, closely resembles that of a 3.5" floppy. If a gamers PC at home is a 300GB disk there is no reason why a console should be shipped with less then 20GB.
Now, Sony never mentions how much of their disk capacity is actually free to use (people have noted missing "gigabytes" on an Xbox 360 straight out of the box).
How many?
Microsoft got 1.5 million Xbox 360's into greedy hands by the end of '05, and Sony plans to push 2 million on launch and 4 million by the end of the calander year (which is only a month difference from launch). By March 31st '07 they're saying 6 million world wide. This is a world wide launch similar to the Xbox 360 but with almost double the number of units.
Is double enough? Considering how expensive Xbox 360's sold for on EBAY after its launch (easily $1,500 or more in some cases) will Sony's heavy pricetag slow down US sales? Or will people blindly buy into it? If the pattern is the same as the 360 launch we could see these things on EBAY for the price of a used '05 Kia Rio (well, close).
Will Sony make their numbers? We've got awhile to wait and see. Merry Christmas.
Who wins?
A shot has been fired over the bow of Microsoft 360 battle ship. Does it have a submarine waiting to retaliate?
UPDATE: It seems that the more cost effective console version (the 20GB hard drive release) will not have HDMI capabilities. The specification sheet shows the column for AV output having "HDMI" only for the 60GB version.
To see the PDF for yourself: click here
The conference might have been delayed for an hour, but the results are in and the price is not far off from rumors and expectations. Sony has not only upped the anti for hard disk capacity but it has blown it out of the water!
Sony has used the Microsoft tactic to place two console packages on the market, one low end and one high end. The low end box is equipped with a 20GB storage disk while the high end is a 60GB storage disk. Even the low end product has more space then the Xbox 360. Who needs 64MB memory cards now Microsoft?
The Price
The price is steep, no doubt. Will the average consumer put down 500 USD to game on the Sony PS3 when they can save some money to fetch themselves an Xbox 360? I guess it depends how high end the first release of games are going to be. If Sony wants to see revenue on this golden box they better have some reason to buy otherwise Microsoft might take a piece of the pie.
With the cost of a PS3 and Xbox 360 together you can get yourself a used car or two weeks in Hawaii all expenses paid. Will the Wii be the second console of choice? If so, what will the first console be? The lines are being drawn in the sand as we speak.
The Disk
You are lucky if you have 12GB remaining on your Xbox 360 disk and no method to upgrade (yet). Sony has done the right thing in pushing the disk capacity to something similar to a laptop. Many people's home PC's are still not equipped with 60GB disks, but they're next-generation console system will be.
Microsoft talks about Tivo like capabilities with a disk which, in today's sizes, closely resembles that of a 3.5" floppy. If a gamers PC at home is a 300GB disk there is no reason why a console should be shipped with less then 20GB.
Now, Sony never mentions how much of their disk capacity is actually free to use (people have noted missing "gigabytes" on an Xbox 360 straight out of the box).
How many?
Microsoft got 1.5 million Xbox 360's into greedy hands by the end of '05, and Sony plans to push 2 million on launch and 4 million by the end of the calander year (which is only a month difference from launch). By March 31st '07 they're saying 6 million world wide. This is a world wide launch similar to the Xbox 360 but with almost double the number of units.
Is double enough? Considering how expensive Xbox 360's sold for on EBAY after its launch (easily $1,500 or more in some cases) will Sony's heavy pricetag slow down US sales? Or will people blindly buy into it? If the pattern is the same as the 360 launch we could see these things on EBAY for the price of a used '05 Kia Rio (well, close).
Will Sony make their numbers? We've got awhile to wait and see. Merry Christmas.
Who wins?
A shot has been fired over the bow of Microsoft 360 battle ship. Does it have a submarine waiting to retaliate?
UPDATE: It seems that the more cost effective console version (the 20GB hard drive release) will not have HDMI capabilities. The specification sheet shows the column for AV output having "HDMI" only for the 60GB version.
To see the PDF for yourself: click here
