Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Buy PS3 now or wait?

But don't you think price increases are ultimately going to be bad for the video game industry? Yes, there are a certain number of people who are going to pay that much, but it's a lot of investment for people who are on the fence about the hobby. Those people will probably settle for being a generation behind, and I suppose that's why the PS2 continues to sell.

I don't remember my point, and I don't think I knew anything to begin with, but yeah, there's SOME attempt at trying to respond.

Here is an interesting article on why the games cost so much Forbes
If the game doesn't sell at 20 mil to develop it could be a very risky endeavor.
On another note, I was at the local mall today and EB Games had both the 60gb and 20gb Ps3's in stock and were offereing a $100.00 dollar credit if you traded in your old Ps2 with a controller and memory card. Makes me think the Ps3 might not be doing so well.

Anecdote on the Xbox:

Living in the beautiful Puget Sound area, I have several friends who work for M*soft. They get very deep employee discounts on virtually every product EXCEPT the Xbox. That fact alone tells me that M*soft is still losing money on every hardware unit sold.

I'm not so sure about the Xbox cost, Jeff.

It seems to me that Microsoft would be well served by selling Xbox hardware at cost to gain market share and additional potential customers for the games. Yet there is NO discount off MSRP for employees.

Last I heard MS is still losing a little on the console($50-100) and Sony is losing hundreds on theirs..The PS2 is still selling because it is cheaper than either one, plentifull games and Sony is trying hard to get rid of the left over stock, while the original Xbox is long gone. So the only thing left are a few gamecubes and PS2's for those not willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a system that still uses regular style controllers.

I have no idea of where the pricing falls in terms of MS making a profit or not, but I'll say that there's a fight to see who will bring entertainment into everyone's living room, and the current consoles are about way more than gaming, providing a very strong incentive to build market share even if at a temporary loss.

Some interesting posts! In any case, I think that both companies are offering discounts to gain market share. How long will it last is the operative question.

I really can't see Sony increasing their price as that would totaly turn people off, its a little beyond what most folks,except hardcore gamers, are willing to spend. The Xbox drop in price for a bundled system was a direct move against the Wii, trying to sway people into the better graphics for the same price, But it appears to have not worked that well. The Wii was just different enough in its gaming style and the graphics are just good enough for most of the general populace, not to mention the price for the system was still $150 cheaper. I think the Wii is winning this battle so far. It will be interesting to see the total sales numbers by the end of this year, Sony will still be lagging far behind unless they are willing to take a further loss on its product or are able to secure cheaper component costs, but will the Wii catch the Xbox? Not sure if Nintendo can produce that many in a year.

I would but the PS3 right now. First of all waiting sticks. Second, Blu-Ray is where the content is. Universal is the only major HD-DVD exclusive studio, and their release schedule has mysteriously dried up.

The PS3 will have to be around for 4-5 years as a gaming machine, thus will have continuous updates to its firmware to keep its funtionality high. THere are already been good upgrades for the PS3 to enhance/add features for Blu-ray playback.

The PS3 will not go up in price with the Wii at the current price point, but it may not go down for a long time, another reason to buy now.

I thought about waiting on the PS3, I am incredibly happy I didn't.