Other Game Bundles For the Cost of the PS3 149
ImaNumber writes "When Sony announced the price of the PS3 many people were left dumbfounded at how expensive it was going to be. Microsoft joked that people would get the Xbox360 and the Wii instead. Brittlefish has taken this a step further and put together a list of some other gaming 'bundles' that you could buy instead of just getting one PS3. You might be surprised at what you can get for that kind of money."
Wow... (Score:5, Interesting)
This would be perfect for those common families that make up so much of America with two kids... the two DSs will keep them from constantly saying "Are we there yet?" in the car, and that Wii will keep them entertained at home. And you get all that for the same price of a PS3...
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Interesting)
I have 2 children (3, and 1.5 years old) and although I love them, and like spending time with them, a long road trip can be quite horrible. Children have a VERY short attention span, and the interior of a car is not the easiest place to entertain them. I know I know, they don't need to be entertained 100% of the time, but when you are on a long road trip and they are bored, trust me, electronic entertainment would ROCK.
Just last weekend we drove 5 hours to see my in-laws, a
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
Better take a Nintendo DS to keep yourself entertained while you drive.
Re:Wow... (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Wow... (Score:1, Funny)
One American degree is the number of Big Gulps one must consume to remain hydrated.
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
OT: Your sig (Score:3, Funny)
It's probably somewhere around 38 degrees.
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
More than just a games console? (Score:2, Insightful)
Then again, the Xbox and Xbox 360 are both capable of playing DVDs and CDs just fine and they never had such a steep price tag...
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
YOU HAVE 20 SECONDS TO COMPLY...
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:3, Insightful)
Think DRM.
Consider the "media sentry" as hardware version of their rootkit!
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:3, Insightful)
Sorry, I've been silent after seeing this happen like 3 times today in different threads. Couldn't hold it any longer and I'm fresh out of mod points.
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:1)
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
I'll second that. How the hell do you get "sentry" from "centre"? When I first saw that, I had to go back and scan the original post for the phrase "Media Sentry", when I didn't find it, I suddenly realized what they were talking about, and it just pissed me off! Sometimes I purposefully use english spellings like that just to make people wake up. Sometimes I fucking hate Americans.
Kuddos to the person who originally called them on it. If I had, my post would have been a lot longer, and a lot more flagran
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
Why should I have pride in a country that:
Re: centre -- sentry (Score:2)
I assume you're referening to the post:
"A media sentry? Does it transform into a mecha-soldier and forcibly defend my video games and DVDs from burglars?
YOU HAVE 20 SECONDS TO COMPLY..."
1) It's a just a pun based on an alternative pronunciation of "centre." If you had never seen the word before, it's a somewhat plausible phonetic pronunciation of the letters. (The pun is a bit of a stretch, but the mental image of a giant console guarding the games is funny enough to excuse it.)
2) The post doesn't
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:5, Insightful)
I rather imagine this is how it happened at Sony HQ (in the land of Mordor, on the slopes of Mount Doom...)
[SONY EXEC A] We may have a difficult time selling the PS3 at $600
[SONY EXEC B] Hey! Iv'e got an idea! Lets just charge $1000 for our Blu-Ray player that no one will buy! By *comparison* the PS3 seems incredibly cheap!
[SONY EXEC A] Great idea! In fact, we don't even *need* to make the standalone player! We just announce it and a price and keep delaying it untill after the PS3 is out! It's whole point in life will just be to sit there and look expensive next to the PS3!
[SONY EXEC B] BRILLIANT! Lets go make some hats out of money and torture some kittens.
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
[Sony Exec A] Sucks to be you! Our PS3 is going to rule the world.
[HDDVD Partner][aside] Excellent....
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
Make Blu-Ray an optional add-on (I believe I read that no games will
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
Seriously, though. The point is valid. A Blu-Ray drive adds what, exactly? HD movies which there's a VERY small market for, and more space for games, which hardly justifies the added expense.
I fail to see the value. Console
Re:More than just a games console? (Score:2)
(Given, the original Xbox media center software stunk, but I hear the software on the 360 is really good. In any case, I've used Sony software before, and it all pretty much sucks.)
That might be Sony's excuse, but it's a bad excuse.
How about the MMO bundle? (Score:1)
By my calculations, if you spend $20 a month on MMO subscriptions then you can spend $600 on two-and-a-half years (30 months) of MMO playing. Granted, $20 a month is a bit more than most subscriptions are today, but we can assume that this will include paying for the game in the first place and the inevetiable inflation.
So which would you pick: one PS3 or two-and-a-half years of playing WOW?
Re:How about the MMO bundle? (Score:2, Funny)
You're not including the hidden costs (Score:2)
Considering... (Score:3, Funny)
$50 for live
$100 for something i forgot for Xbox
$200 BEER to make it look like a 360/PS3
Mandatory: Bash Bash Bash Sony Sony Sony
No Current-Gen bundle? (Score:5, Insightful)
Example:
PS2 ($130)
Extra controller ($25)
Guitar Hero ($70)
God of War ($20)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence ($30)
GTA: Vice City and San Andreas ($40)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 ($15)
Resident Evil 4 ($40)
NFL 2006 (even though arguably earlier versions are better and cheaper) ($30)
Shadow of the Collossus ($40)
Final Fantasy X ($20)
Burnout 3: Takedown ($20)
Virtua Fighter 4 ($4 used from Gamestop.com)
Devil May Cry ($10 used from Gamestop.com)
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 Int'l ($20 used from Gamestop.com)
Gran Turismo 4 ($20)
NHL 2002 ($2 used from Gamestop.com)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance ($25 used from Gamestop.com)
Soul Calibur 2 ($15)
Shipping if buying from gamestop.com ($10+)
Re:No Current-Gen bundle? (Score:1)
Re:No Current-Gen bundle? (Score:2)
Re:No Current-Gen bundle? (Score:1)
Stay one step behind the current gen, and you'll save a ton of money. You just have to ignore all the hype about the latest games.
Discover! (Score:4, Funny)
Buying a Wii: $250
Watching Sony's entire marketing department get sacked: Priceless.
My next expensive console.... (Score:2)
See, I have about every electronic toy I have ever wanted. My cell phone is a PPC-6700 PDA phone with unlimited EV-DO (higher speed internet). I own several laptops. I have a PSP which I game with and also a couple
Is the price really that bad? (Score:1)
Realistic Gamer Dad Package (Score:5, Funny)
TV for the kids to play N64 on: $100
Lock for the kid's room: $20
Gamecube: $70
Three decent adult Gamecube games: $100
Beer and chips: $60
Earrings to shut the wife up: $200
Re:Realistic Gamer Dad Package (Score:2)
Ultimate bundle (Score:2, Funny)
Apple Mod chip - $15
300 gb hd - ~$85
Evox bios/XBMC/DVD2Xbox/emulators:roms:NES:SNES:MAME:A
160 Xbox game Rentals - $400
3 years to play it all till next gen matches above price and hackability....
Or... (Score:2)
Re:Well now... (Score:1)
Also, the mood towards Sony is everywhere on the internet. Not saying it's good or bad, just that it is. Eventually, there will be a pro-Sony "backlash". When the PS3 comes out, there will be good games, and people will say "hmmm. It's here now, and it doesn't suck! Hooray Sony!".
Of course that's a best-case scenario...
Re:Well now... (Score:1)
Re:Well now... (Score:2)
just another article brought to you by another night hitting the bottle
Re:Well now... (Score:3, Interesting)
Other Game Bundles For the Cost of the PS3
No surprise if Nintendo Wii beats Sony PS3 to shelves
Minter: Sony's PS3 Strategy Arrogant
Then for the wii I'm getting:
Wii On Sale Earlier Than October?
No surprise if Nintendo Wii beats Sony PS3 to shelves
Cubed Report | Hands-On at the Nintendo Wii Press Even
Re:Well now... (Score:5, Insightful)
What folks don't seem to understand is that Slashdot isn't a news generator. It's a news linker. It would be exactly like getting upset at Google because a search generates negative press about the PS3. If anyone is to blame, it's Sony and the writers of the linked articles. But, then again, maybe the people here at Slashdot subscribe to the "If you don't have anything nice to say..." philosophy...you know, until they get a chance to bash something they dislike.
Personally, I hope that the PS3 turns out to be a kick-ass game console that, after a year or so, I'm ready and willing to buy. Until that happens, though, it seems too expensive for its intended purpose, and I'll be purchasing other game systems in the meantime.
Re:Well now... (Score:3, Insightful)
I try to always do these little comparisons whenever I buy something. $1200 for a computer seemed like alot, and I could get the following for the same price: 120 DVDs
PS3, Xbox360, and Wii
About a month's worth of my ebay budget
Still, doing the calculations and realizing I still wanted the PC made me feel that much better about spending the money. At the very least, I don't have to always wonder if I could've spent it better.
How is it shocking? Plus you have the price wrong (Score:2)
It's pretty obvious what you can vbuy with other systems for $500 plus games on the PS3. Yet many people, includig myself, will do so. I'll probably ALSO get a Wii. Doesn't that just blow your mind? How could someone get a PS3 and anything else? After all they must be a mindless Sony slave!
I don't have a 360 only because they have no games that appeal to me at the moment, but all i
Re:How is it shocking? Plus you have the price wro (Score:2)
So yes, you can buy a ps3 and a wii, or a ps3 and a 360. Personally, I'm fairly certain that within 3 years, I'll own all 3. However, most people aren't like you, and it's the majority, not the minority you fall into, that determines which console is most successful. And the most successful conso
Re:How is it shocking? (Score:1)
It's not easy to tell, all preorder ads I've seen only say 599€
Anounced price (Score:2)
If you were just going to measure a console price by the price it sold for on average in the first week the XBox 360 would weigh in at somewhere aorund $800, thanks to eBay.
Re:How is it shocking? Plus you have the price wro (Score:2)
Yes, actually, it does. Who has $800 to blow on game consoles, before buying games and controllers, plus the 32" HDMI TV to JUSTIFY buying a 1080p HDMI console? I'll tell you: a very small subset of the richest people in the world. You're not middle class if you can justify all this. I'm sorry, but you no longer belong in this catagory. There's nothing wrong with being an upper-class citizen, but
Why a new TV? (Score:2)
I do. And I don't need a new TV, I use a projector that can't display 1080p but even at ower resolutions is much better than a normal TV. Why do you think you absolutley have to have the latest TV to work with the newer consoles, they are going to look much better even on a normal TV.
As for cost... how much do you spend on alcohol a year? I don't
Re:Why a new TV? (Score:2)
In short, screw Sony if they won't even make their console compatible with *2-year-old* TVs.
No you don't (Score:2)
Actually you don't - the $500 PS3 does not in fact even include an HDMI port, and uses component cables to output HD signals. It will also have S-Video and Composite adaptors, as will the $600 model.
My projector can take in up
Re:Well now... (Score:2)
All the complaining and bitching about the PS3 is because people want a PS3, but they also want to be able to pay their mortgage. When given a choice between a gaming machine, and shelter, electricity, water & food, one side of that scale is going to weigh more heavily than the other.
I, personally, am a major Nintendo fan, but I still want a PS3. However, I just have no way of justifying the necessary expenditure.
To be fair,
FUD (Score:2)
Wow, that almost sounds like a Tekken combo or something. Coincidence??? Hmmm...
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2)
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:1)
Slashdot editors are just giving their customers what they are wanting. If you haven't realized by now that the majority here is into Wii, impartial to 360 and against PS3 then you are slow.
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:1)
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2, Insightful)
The way it works is this, Sony has been burning a lot of bridges lately; they seem to be gouging their most dedicated and well informed fans (their early adopters) with the price of the PS3, they have then demonstrated massive hubris and arrogance with their statements following th
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2)
Oh, Sony could buy good press. Unfortunately for them, they've reserved that money to help pay for the loss they're still going to take on the PS3 despite its high price.
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:5, Insightful)
You have to admit that Sony's been doing a pretty good job of shooting themselves in the foot lately, and the lack of positive news about the PS3 reflect this. It's not as if there's a mass media conspiracy to muzzle pro-PS3 news; it's just that the PS3 really is doing that badly.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2)
Re:You brain washed fucktard. (Score:2)
All we know about it is that its going to be more powerful than its competition.
No, we also know:
1) The PS3 tardbox will cost 25% more than the full 360, and at least 100% more than the Wii.
2) The PS3 will be DRMed to hell and back.
3) The PS3 is made by Sony, the same people who brought us the 1001 model PSX and the PS2. (Read: crappy hardware until at least the third hardware revision).
Go back into your hole, little fanboi.
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:5, Funny)
No, the editors are only getting linearly worse over time. However, the general quality of the posts (and for that matter, the moderation) is getting exponentially worse, so maybe that's where the confusion comes from.
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2)
Maybe because Sony deserves it? Objectivity doesn't mean you lie and say a pile of crap is good. If it's bad, it's OK to say it's bad. If competitors are outmaneuvering Sony, that doesn't obligate us to coddle Sony.
I will give you one concession. I predict that Sony will indeed sell out of consoles in 2006. They've said something like 2 or 3 million will be shipped, and I suspect that there are exactly
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:4, Informative)
Moderators should feel free to check NineNine's posting history to see where he's said that he thinks the PS3 is the best console by far and that the Wii is still "kiddy" and the 360 has no compelling content etc etc etc.
This particular post [slashdot.org] comes to mind.
Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score:2)
Being able to get a 360 and a Wii, then that makes a lot of differ
I'll call your bluff... (Score:1)
So, how about you post them here? Seriously, I can't think of a single thing that the Sony has done right with the PS3. I'm doing fairly well coming up with a list of things that Sony's done wrong, but I really can't think of anything positive about the PS3.
So please enlighten us. Give us some good news about the PS3.
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:1)
Built-in wi-fi, versus $100 for Xbox 360 (The Wii also has wi-fi)
60 GB HD, larger than the HD in any other unmodified game console
There, that's three positive things about the PS3. The last two are pretty minor, but the first one could be good if HDTV owners want a fairly-priced 1080i(p?) movie player.
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:1)
They're also all old news, stuff known back around E3.
Except that the version that supports high-def Blu-Ray playback (which is kinda the point, I'd think) costs $600. The $500 version only supports downscaled Blu-Ray playback since it's missing the HDMI interface. (Yeah, I know, "certain Blu-Ray movies" won't suffer from that restriction, but I'd rather n
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:2)
The "vast majority of people" don't own HDTVs. This is true today, but those who do own HDTVs are much more likely
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:1)
And that's why all of this HD hubbub is pointless until the NEXT next generation consoles.
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:2)
I'm going to stop there. Your arguments are all valid, but essentially meaningless to me, as I already have a ps2 and a pc.
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:2)
If you really believe that constitutes a "news article," please say so. I will then write three brief articles stating three positive things about the PlayStation 3 and submit them to Slashdot, where they will be accepted in the name of even-handedness.
* Intentional misspelling
Re:I'll call your bluff... (Score:2)
It is not news, in the classic sense of the word, but the commonly appear on news programs. A human interest story is literally a story that draws interest for it's emotional qualities, not because it contains anything newsworthy. These are common in ever television news program, newpaper & magazine.
This is a similar thing. The story is not simply that you can buy a lot of games for $600, it's a thoughtful breakdown of exactly what you can buy for $600 t
Re:Jeez. Hate much? (Score:1, Flamebait)
Or put another way similar to "digg" - lessie over 110 million PS2s sold - OM(fucking)G! PONIES!!!!!???! Someone likes PLAYSTATION? Holy fucking SHIT!!!!!
Re:Jeez. Hate much? (Score:2)
In all fairness, Sony still has time to fix things before the thing's launched. Enough bad press might actually cause them to make some changes. Just look at the controller.
Translation (Score:2)
"I admit it, buying a PS3 is an irrational decision due to its extremely high price tag..."
"... but to actually SAY so is biased."
There you have it: Conclusions, due the possibility of ruling one thing better than another, are fundamentally biased. Tell me, is there an exception
Re:Jeez. Hate much? (Score:2)
LuciferosX sounds like nothing more than a paid shill sponsored by Sony. Not that I can prove it, but just the way he has to bash Zonk any possible way he can screams "I'm paid by somebody to disgrace my competition." If LuciferosX were smart (no astroturfers are) he'd slow down on the bashing to look a little less biased, a little less likely to be background checked to see where money is coming from. But then again, Sony wouldn't pay him for being civil.
There, see how crazy your paranoia sounds to you, o
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:1, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Interesting... (Score:4, Interesting)
You've just given me an idea of my criteria for buying a PS3:
In short, if they want to market it as a Linux computer, then it had better be a Linux computer.
And even if they give me all that, I'm still going to wait a bit to either see some amazing Qemu speed, or to see enough good, cheap games for the PS3 to make me want to get it instead of upgrades for my desktop. After all, for $500, you can still get quite a lot of computer, especially as an upgrade.
And of course, remember, Halo 3 and Zelda are pretty compelling reasons not to buy a PS3, even if you are a hardcore console gamer.
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2, Redundant)
The whole point of Blueray is that DVD is no longer a credibly DRMed format. DVDs are now, to the most remotely savvy of users, the video equivalent of (non-rootkitted)
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Question is
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:1)
Back on topic, though. How certain are you that all the content you want will be available to your non-hdmi compliant device? Are specs available on the ps3 regarding it's outputs? Another crt projector enthusiast wants to know (cause there's nothing like crt-fp for home theater or gaming!). 1080p on an 8" raster - that has to be difficult to get a non-softened
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Most Blu-Ray distributors have pledged not to flip the down-rez bit until 2010, I will no doubt have a stand-alone (sub $100) player by then and an HDMI compatible TV or projector.
I bought the rig over 5 years ago used on Ebay (just over $4K). 2 summers ago I almost gave up on it.
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:5, Insightful)
You know what I noticed in all of those years? The bulk of our shoppers fall into what I'd call the "clueless" demographic. They come to buy a system as a gift, or for their home, and they generally are shopping for some kids, somewhere. They looked at 2 things almost every time: the price tag, and the endcap display unit. That's about it. They didn't look at specs, or feature lists, or future expandability.
A typical shopping experience would be as follows: Shopper comes into the area, strolls around, stands watching the endcap displays (and occassionally plays one), then walks over to the display case to get the skinny on the cost. Usually they'll ask a couple of basic questions (how many controllers in the box, what kind of plug-ins do I need, etc). Now, the thing is, most of these were parents (maybe grandparents) and they wanted to get the most for their money. Plain and simple. They know that the kids/teens are looking to rip that sucker open, chuck in a game (not movie), and get pwning on some n00b.
I think maybe 3 times in 10 years did I run into a shopper who truly knew, or wanted to know, all of the particulars about a system. I would be astounded to be discussing polygon counts, resolutions, DVD/CD speeds, etc, with a shopper. Usually it was the same-old, same-old: I have $400, how can I get a machine with the most games. Or, perhaps, they would ask about backwards compatibility (now that's the one place I'll grant the PS3 will probably be more attractive).
So, here's my take. I think the kind of bundles mentioned in the article are going to be the exact sort of mental processes going on in most shoppers, whether you think it's a fair comparison or not. I know shoppers - I was PAID to know shoppers. People like quantity, especially when they're spending that much money. To spend $600 (or $500 even) and just walk home with a box with a machine and 1 controller, but no game, is going to be a serious case of sticker shock for a lot of "regular" shoppers. Especially when people could likely buy an XB360 (which might be $399 by then, never know) and a game, or a Wii and 2 or 3 games. HDMI? Half the "regular" shoppers won't even be able to use that. A large hard drive? That is relatively meaningless to many shoppers - witness the continued popularity of PS2 without one versus an XBox with one. (That was a major training point by Microsoft for us retailers: hype the hard drive and it's possibilities. It'll make sales. Never did.)
And as for BluRay? Why is that relevant to a majority of shoppers? I can tell you that when PS2 came out, DVD playback was never a major selling point at all. It will generally always be the case that a dedicated machine will be more feature enriched and [once a generation has passed] cost far less than a do-it-all machine. I'll grant you that a PS3 will be cheaper than a standalone BluRay for a relative time, but I will also say it's more than likely that given a year, perhaps, a BluRay player will probably drop down to the same (or less) than a PS3, and will also likely end up with more features. It's just common consumer electronics history. We rarely sold PS2s because they could -also- play DVDs - people wanted a videogame machine, plain and simple. (Ask XBox how that whole DVD Playback kit deal ended up...)
The PS3 is trying to do too much, and stuffing BluRay into it is the one thing which will cause it to lose perhaps 30% of the potential sales it could have had. Sony could have gone with HD-DVD, had the advantage of launching AFTER the XB360, and they would have been able to nearly match the XB360 price. PLUS they would have had better backwards compatibility
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Because it's the only way to get full functionality. You can't upgrade the $500 later when they start enforcing the constraint token. I'd have thought, based on how you praise how "functional" the PS3 in your post, you'd be inclined to ignore the $500 offering as well.
"PS3 will likely be Linux compatible straight out of the box without modding. How could Slashdotters not go ape for this console?"
Because we've seen Linux on the PS2, and
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
That HDMI can't be upgrade later on the Cheaper models is DOUBLY true of the XBox 360. I don't understand why you insist the comparison MUST be made to the high-end model. The XBox 360 has accessories and you don't insist that the acce
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
1080p HDMI is the graphical equivalent to an audiophile sound system. Okay now, imagine that Apple had released the iPod with digital headphone outputs, included earphones worth $300, and priced the thing at $1000, just because it had audiophile quality sound! That's just great, so now you've just won over 2% of your market, and alienated the other 98%, makes
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Aside from the fact that the PS3 cannot be upgraded, there's:
"Don't get it if you don't need or want it."
There's the rub. I don't want any sort of HD player at all. At least with the Xbox 360 I have the option of not buying the (hypothetical) HD-DVD add-on. However, if Sony is going to require that I pay extra money for Blu-Ray functionality by not releasing a PS3 without it, it doesn't make sense not to go all the way.
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Also, if they licensed a Windows kernel for it, there's a slim-but-non-zero chance that Microsoft might make the Xbox 360 compatible with Sony videogames, and that would kill of the PS3 in weeks if it happened.
Re:Purposefully wrong comparison (Score:2)
Ha, ha, never heard that one before. Boy really proves your point.
Serisously, though you insist the comparison be made with HDMI when down-rezing will only be down on Blu-Ray movies. Not games, and then not till 2010. How is the $500 box not the more valid comparison? I still don't get why PS3 detractors are so shrill about not needing HDMI, not needing Blu-Ray, then insisting that the high end model is that one that must be compared when the low end model