***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

[Kashanova]

Re: PS3 "Core" System to be Stripped Down in More Ways..

another advantage for the 360, as you can always add on the premium features

[23]

The All Sony Price and Features Thread

Please post all thoughts pertaining to the subject here. Any others will be locked. Thanks

[gschwendt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

For those that buy the $499, you'll almost definitely be able to add on the missing features later. WiFi is already USB capable, Smart/Flash Cards readers are already USB capable, replacement HDDs with even bigger capacity will be coming out, and MS is already working on an HDMI add-on for their system so surely Sony (or a 3rd party) could make one for the 499 system.

Im still debating it myself, but it would be very likely that you could get the 499 and still in enjoy the features that require the missing components by just simply purchasing them down the road when theyre necessary.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

Sony's ridiculously arrogant in thinking they can force BR down people's throats and establish a new standard. It's just too early - it's not like you have a ton of publishers out there having to make multiple-disk games. And even fewer gamers are worried about the machine's HD capabilities; most of us don't have HD and of those that do, an even smaller percentage have a HDTV capable of displaying a 1080p signal. The conference ended up being a boring joke with a few nice looking games, but nothing that seemed impossible to do on the 360. And to top it off, the take the rumble feature out of the controller which is HUGE.

I think if they had some mind-blowing games, it may have made the price seem a little more palatable. As it is, they've made the PS3 a multimedia device first and a game platform second

[greenegt]

Re: The All Sony Price and Features Thread

I remember the sticker shock when 360 was priced at $399 for the premium. I can only imagine how I'd feel being faced with a $599 premium price tag. Yikes. The tilt feature on the controllers should be interesting, but losing force feedback will hurt. Sony will still have a lot great games for PS3, but MS has a great shot at winning over the casual market in the US and Europe this time around. All they have to do is keep the games coming.

[gschwendt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

It's just too early - it's not like you have a ton of publishers out there having to make multiple-disk games.

Then I ask, why has MS developed their own HD-DVD addon drive which will be available shortly? If they thought it wouldnt be an issue, they wouldnt be developing the HD-DVD drive yet; they'd wait for the winner of the format to prevail and develop a drive for it then.

[greenegt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

Then I ask, why has MS developed their own HD-DVD addon drive which will be available shortly? If they thought it wouldnt be an issue, they wouldnt be developing the HD-DVD drive yet; they'd wait for the winner of the format to prevail and develop a drive for it then.

That's for HD movies only. Games will only be on DVD.

[gschwendt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

That's for HD movies only. Games will only be on DVD.

Then why release one now?! HD-DVD movies wont be in the right price range for 4 years (as someone else said earlier), why put it out now? I truly believe theyre releasing it for SOME games that will take advantage of the larger space (ie GTA).

[Misfit]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

People actually care about the rumble feature enough to call it a huge blow and a must-have? I find that hard to believe. It took me months to realize my Wavebird for the Gamecube didn't have a rumble feature. I don't think their tilt technology is anything fantastic (its nothing like what the Wii controller will do) but there are far more possibilities with it than is with a rumble feature. What's been the greatest moment for the rumble feature since it was introduced by Nintendo with Star Fox? Aside from Psycho Mantis being able to make your controller move on a hard surface (you guys with carpeted game rooms missed out there), I can't think of a rumble feature doing anything special.

No HDMI is the big omission, in fact, we might as call it the stupid omission. While it doesn't render having Blu Ray useless (as some of the anti-sony people would have you believe), it certainly makes it less effective and I can't imagine adding that one port makes that much of a difference in cost, but I could be wrong.

[greenegt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

Then why release one now?! HD-DVD movies wont be in the right price range for 4 years (as someone else said earlier), why put it out now? I truly believe theyre releasing it for SOME games that will take advantage of the larger space (ie GTA).

MS has backed the HD DVD format and is releasing the add-on as an option to compete with PS3's Blu-Ray HD movie playback abilities. There's no way they'd force 360 owners to HAVE to upgrade to the HD DVD drive to play certain games. DVD seems to be doing fine, anyway. Remember all of the hoopla over Enchant Arm needing to be on multiple dvds? It ended up shipping on one.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

People actually care about the rumble feature enough to call it a huge blow and a must-have? I find that hard to believe. It took me months to realize my Wavebird for the Gamecube didn't have a rumble feature. I don't think their tilt technology is anything fantastic (its nothing like what the Wii controller will do) but there are far more possibilities with it than is with a rumble feature. What's been the greatest moment for the rumble feature since it was introduced by Nintendo with Star Fox? Aside from Psycho Mantis being able to make your controller move on a hard surface (you guys with carpeted game rooms missed out there), I can't think of a rumble feature doing anything special.

No HDMI is the big omission, in fact, we might as call it the stupid omission. While it doesn't render having Blu Ray useless (as some of the anti-sony people would have you believe), it certainly makes it less effective and I can't imagine adding that one port makes that much of a difference in cost, but I could be wrong.

the $499 version is missing more then just HDMI.

[Misfit]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

I know, I said the lack of HDMI is the only relevant one though.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

I know, I said the lack of HDMI is the only relevant one though.

I'm a little confused too, I thought my I read putting the HDMI in the PS3 was somehow going to stop people from pirated software. So if the $499 system has no HDMI connect won't that leave the door oped for people to pirated software?

[gschwendt]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

I'm a little confused too, I thought my I read putting the HDMI in the PS3 was somehow going to stop people from pirated software. So if the $499 system has no HDMI connect won't that leave the door oped for people to pirated software?

I believe thats more towards pirated movies. HDMI will give the ability to studios to hard-lock the movies to require HDMI. What that means is if you buy a hardlocked movie and try to watch it on your 499 PS3, it wont work. However, the initial release of movies most likely wont have the hardlock is my understanding.

[Misfit]

Re: ***The All Sony PS3 Price and Features Thread***

No HDMI means that Software companies who choose to release their Blu-Ray discs as "protected" won't be viewable through a non-HDMI connection. I believe (but I am not sure) that to experience 1080p you need a TV that is first capable of it and an HDMI connection.

In other words, if you get the cheaper SKU you won't be able to play all Blu-Ray discs that are released. This could be big if software companies are protecting some of the games. I imagine Sony will ask them not to for at least a little while or until some sort of USB/HDMI adapter is released.