[Definitive] Sony PS3 Thread

[S7R1K3R]

relax bhav its jus a gaming system, no need to get all mad about it. im sure sony wants your money

[Bhav]

relax bhav its jus a gaming system, no need to get all mad about it. im sure sony wants your money

What the hell... :huh:

[Matrix XII]

lol wth haaha

[indianN00b]

u think im a stereotype :cry: im jus getting the board up with the latest stuff :(

[Bhav]

u think im a stereotype :cry: im jus getting the board up with the latest stuff :(

Yes. Partly because this has already been posted, and partly because you had to create a whole new thread to point out something in a similar way to n00bish IGN boarders (I suppose it's appropriate, considering your username :laugh:)

But anyway, as a warning don't get too exicted about this Taipei show...people, like yourself, are already hyping it up by pointing out little bits of spin that news sites have added to their articles. Just lower your expectations...you'll feel a lot better when Sony do finally say something interesting ;)

(Already posted here: https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=430680)

[Bhav]

Floorplan:

[NEVER85]

Can someone give me an up to date release date of the PS3? I have a Sony fanboy ranting about how it'll be released next MONTH, when all he presents as evidence is articles from 9 months ago. Also, he seems to think the specs released from back then are facts. I'd like to shut him up if possible.

Oh, and if you have a link containing said information, that'll be great, since he definitely won't take me at my word.

[Bhav]

There is no official word on release date, unfortunately. So your Sony fanboy has nothing to rant about.

[The Teej]

Tell your Fannboy friend that the fact that there's been no playable demos and the Sony Hype train starts 2-3 months before the console is released proves that it won't be released next month.

[mikash]

Picture this: you plug your TV into a box the size of a phone book and go online to check headlines. You get bored and click over to a Giants game. Later you download Casablanca, play Metal Gear Solid against an opponent in Seoul, then chat with a friend in Seattle. What sort of box is this? It could be a PC, but Sony (SNE ) hopes it will be a PlayStation 3, the video game console it plans to introduce this spring. Advertisement

Six years in the making, the PS3 is a crucial component of Sony's strategy to dominate the digital home with a full lineup of super-sharp TVs and other gear. To attract teens and parents alike, the console plays high-definition games and movies from Blu-ray DVDs. It boasts a huge hard disk to store photos, music, and TV shows. And it can connect to the Net for play against far-flung rivals, while a new multimedia chip called "the Cell" -- developed by Sony, IBM (IBM ), and Toshiba (TOSBF ) at a cost of $400 million -- juggles the workload (see BW Online, 2/08/06, "The Cell Chip's Other Life").

TOO LOADED? If that seems like a lot to pack in, it is. But there's a lot at stake. Sony is banking on the console to lift its consumer-electronics division out of trouble, and the Blu-ray drive is expected to give a boost to that Sony-backed format, one of two competing to become the next-generation standard for videos. "PS3 is very important for us," says Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda. "There are so many key devices from the electronics group that will go into it."

Some question whether Sony is trying to cram too much into the new box. The PS3 is expected to cost $350 to $400. While it has the potential to be a megahit, Sony's message might get muddled in the process of going after too broad a market, says Deutsche Securities analyst Takashi Oya. "It would be difficult to sell PS3 initially as anything other than a game machine," Oya says. Sony declined to comment on such concerns.

Spearheading the PS3 assault is Ken Kutaragi. The 55-year-old former engineer heads the game division and is the mastermind behind the smash-hit PlayStation and PlayStation 2 machines, which have made Sony an unstoppable force in the industry (see BW Online, 2/09/06, "Can Sony's Kutaragi Score Big?"). Last year, the game unit earned $365 million and accounted for roughly 38% of Sony's operating profit, compared with a $290 million loss at the electronics division.

LEARNING LESSONS. But Kutaragi's Midas touch has let him down before, especially when it comes to creating multipurpose machines. Exhibit A: the PSX. Released in Japan in 2003, it was designed to appeal to a broader audience than the hard-core gamers attracted to the PS2. It comes with a 250-gigabyte hard drive and a simple Web browser and plays games, movies, and music. But the PSX bombed as consumers were confused by the hybrid and put off by its $800-plus price tag.

"If Sony wants PS3 to be a hit, it has to avoid the marketing mistakes it made on PSX," says Reiji Asakura, author of Revolutionaries at Sony, a book about the development of the PlayStation.

Another risk is that Sony could undermine software sales by positioning the PS3 as something other than a game machine. The company makes the bulk of its game profits not from consoles but from games, which can cost $50 or more. Even when Sony doesn't design the games, it picks up royalties from each sale.

FEWER GAMES. If consumers buy the PS3 as a multimedia machine, they might not purchase as many video games. Sony ought to know: The handheld PlayStation Portable (PSP) has been a success since its debut in December, 2004. But since the PSP also plays music and movies, fewer people are buying games designed for it. In the PS2's initial year on the market, players bought more than three games for each machine that was shipped. For the PSP, that ratio slipped to 2 to 1.

Sony hasn't set a launch date, but analysts expect the PS3 to be released in Japan by June and hit U.S. stores in time for Christmas. With all its features, the PS3 might indeed help Sony in its battle for the living room as rivals roll out their own digital-entertainment hubs. Unless, of course, all consumers really want is a simple game machine.

BusinessWeek

[mikebeech]

"If Sony wants PS3 to be a hit, it has to avoid the marketing mistakes it made on PSX,"

that's exactly what i think. :yes:

[mAcOdIn Veteran]

That's utter BS.

For one both the Xbobx and the PS2 play DVD's and many people use them as such and it doesn't stop them from buying games as well, although IU would say most peoples DVD collection exceeds their game collection but that comes down to quanitity and price point. The PSP hardly has any games, people aren't skipping the games because they'd rather watch Stealth, they're skipping the games because there's like 2 worth owning.

Not too familiar with the PSX on account of it never being released here, but 800 dollars is pretty steep and it's a tough sell to get someone to replace their PS2 with a new one, and I have no idea if the Japanese like DVR's or not over there. I doubt that people were "confused" over it, it probably just didn't work at the price.

[Mx]

A good article, the PS2 and PSP game ratio is a good example. I think it may go as the article suggested but I think they will sell a good load of games.

[Aahz]

If the PS3 turns out to be a cheap blu-ray solution as was the PS2 with dvd then yes the attach rate could be quite low. Even early adopters like to save a few bucks when they are looking to spend twice as much on the non game playing models.

[Laughing-Man]

Exclusive: PS3 HUB; September Launch

Next Generation can reveal that Sony is planning to launch an online games service, largely modelled on Xbox Live, currently called PlayStation HUB. We also understand Sony is aiming for a September launch for PlayStation 3 in Japan and North America.

According to well-placed industry sources, PlayStation HUB will offer PlayStation 3 owners much the same services as Xbox Live, including chat, downloadable demos, independent games and online play. It's a departure from PlayStation 2's online strategy, widely regarded as vastly inferior to Microsoft's.

PlayStation HUB is being described to developers as a 'subscriber service' suggesting a monthly charge. We understand the service is being created by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, although this is unconfirmed.

September launch

Developer sources are also suggesting that PlayStation 3 is currently scheduled to launch in September. A launch games release schedule seen by our sources states a September launch. Although the schedule does not explicitly state a hardware launch date, nor a launch territory, we understand Japan and U.S will both see the machine in September.

Some in the industry have taken this as a lead to speculate that September 16 would be a launch date in Japan (a Saturday before a national holiday) followed by September 21 in the U.S. These dates are not confirmed.

A spokesperson for SCEA said the company does not comment on rumors. However, we understand Sony is preparing to announce HUB some time in the next few weeks.

Source: Next-Gen.biz

Weird if true, the US will have the console before Thanksgiving and the fact they would release it in Japan that close to the Revolution release if the Revolution is being release in the fall in Japan.

Edited February 15, 2006 by jmole

[mikebeech]

cool, not to keen about the name "PS3 Hub" but non-the-less still sounds good.

[Spookie]

Will be interesting to see what they do with it. Not to mention if it can compete with the already established XBox Live.

[ludeboy12]

sounds good to me....

[giga Veteran]

Go here.

http://www.playstation.com/products.html

Scroll down to the asteriks.

:unsure:

Man, I hope they'll keep the price down. I can't afford all this.

[dheaddy]

Storage media (HDD, Memory Stick, SD memory card and Compactflash) are sold seperately

HDD sold seperately? Not encouraging...

[sundayx Veteran]

sony never intended to include a harddrive, at least now i could hook up 200/300 gb on there. it may be another money making move, but i rahter have more choice

[forster]

sony never intended to include a harddrive, at least now i could hook up 200/300 gb on there. it may be another money making move, but i rahter have more choice

:yes:

Shame the machine still looks butt-ugly, but just to my taste.

Ill definately be hoping to add my own HDDs to it.

[Laughing-Man]

I wish they would just bundle the damn thing with the system, even if it means hiking up the price.

I am sort of confused though, from pictures of the PS3 it looks like there is a 2.5" slot for an HDD internal on the side like for a laptop HDD. The thread says extrenal HDD which makes it sound like a USB or Firewire attachment, not internal HDD. I can't check the site out at the moment so maybe it is just a typing mistake. It would be nice though if they allowed non-proprietary HDDs so that you could use whatever size you want, but that is just begging for the PS3 to be hacked then so I doubt they would do it.

*Edit: Nevermind, just checked the site about the slot. Just me being confused.

Edited February 15, 2006 by jmole

[kitchenutensils]

well its good we have confirmation now at least - i think its good because it will allow consumers to have more flexibility than the 360 core/pro editions

[richardsim7]

So urr...I haven?t really been keeping up on the news, but the PS3 is confirmed for Spring this year?!:DD

-Rich-