Tuesday, September 12, 2006

iTWire - Microsoft has Sony on the ropes over PS3 say analysts

Blu-ray == Betamax v2?... 

Gamers, as fanatical as they are about their craft, have only so much money to spend and their pockets may well be empty by the time the high-priced PS3 becomes available in March-April. No doubt, the first batch of PS3 consoles will go out door quickly but it's the subsequent sales that matter.
Looking at it things from a high definition video player perspective, HD DVD already had a huge price advantage over Sony's Blu-ray. The PS3 was going to be a way to narrow the gap. However, that is not going to happen for at least six months now. Meanwhile, in addition to the relatively cheap HD DVD players already on the market, Microsoft will bring out a US$200 plug-in box for the millions of Xbox 360 consoles.
In addition, Toshiba just yesterday announced a new three-layer disc technology that will enable HD DVD discs to play on ordinary DVD players.

Source: iTWire - Microsoft has Sony on the ropes over PS3 say analysts

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Timely reality check :)

Peter, the 360 is actually quite a bit more when you start adding up all the pieces for a family gaming/movie machine - by about $200 dollars more.

From http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/original/price-check-xbox-360-vs-ps3-199625.php

Here is how he adds it up...fairly I think.

Xbox 360 Standard: $399.99
Gold Xbox Live Subscription: At least $49.99 (Likely more.)
Wireless Networking Adapter: $99.99
Second Wireless Controller: $49.99
Two Play and Charge Kits: $19.99 times two.
HD-DVD: $199*

Total: $839.94

Playstation 3 standard: $599
PS3 Network Platform: Free
Wireless Networking Adapter: Built-in
Blu-ray player: Built-in
Second Wireless Controller: $49.99*
USB charge cables: Free

Total: $648.99

If you want to drop the Xbox live service, wireless adapter, second controllers and just keep the HD-DVD then they are the same price - but PS3 still gives you a wireless adapter, roughly twice the HD capacity for movies and extra content and 5 times the capacity for *games* - since the HD-DVD can only be used for movies on the 360.

I think the HDMI 1.3 port for 1080p output is also included on the PS3 he is quoting but I could be wrong about that. And since HDMI is quickly becoming the standard (poor Firewire - argh) on home theater TV's (as well as surround sound processors) - that will be come more important in the near future. Something I think people should be aware of when making their decision.

I bought xbox last time (2 of them actually because the first one died - out of warranty - and the kids were screaming really really loud). After evaluating everything I liked the job MS had done. Went thru the same process this time and I'll be going with the PS3 - it's actually a bit of no brainer IMO when you look at the numbers and next gen longevity of the PS3 vs the Xbox 360. Just like the xbox was a half generation ahead of the PS2 I think the PS3 is a half generation ahead of the 360.

Of course MS could make a big price cut just around Nov - but it would have to be a very large one to matter IMO. Even if it dropped a $100 that would only cover the wireless adapter - so it's even again. And yes wireless is a must.

As a side note - given the cell architecture I wouldn't be surprised if the next PS3 is a number of cell chips simply glued together. IOW the architecture that has been done now has a lot of legs to it..that was part of my thinking as well.

Of course didn't MS hire Mr. Cray? :)

And yes I'm still bitter about how they screwed up Halo 2 - given Halo was the greatest game I had ever played. Man did Halo 2 suck by comparison. But that's not why I'm going with the PS3.
Much better value to me is the reason. Just like the xbox was the first time around.

pbokelly said...

Thanks for the insights -- I think it'll come down to price elasticity on the base unit, to a large extent, and also don't believe either wireless or HD/Blu-ray is a must-have; we shall see.

Anonymous said...

Agree the HD-DVD/BD is not a absolute must have, just clearly pointing out the numbers involved if you are thinking along the lines of an all-in one multimedia station - which was one of the points of the article.

The article was mixing it's conversations and left the impression the sony was overpriced compared to the xbox + hd-dvd combo - which is clearly not the case.

Just trying to stick to the facts with the information I'm aware of.
And make it as clear as possible which are my opinion and which are the facts.

Thanks.

And yeah agree the apple thing was mainly a non-event.

pbokelly said...

Thanks again for the reality check -- much appreciated