Buy PS3 now or wait? - Axiom Message Boards

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Dear all,

I have been pondering this question all weekend, and I thought I'd post here to get your comments/suggestions.

I recently upgraded my home theater and got a new HDTV (Sony 40XBR1), which displays up to 1080i.

I need a DVD player, and was considering the new OPPO 981.

I will want a PS3 eventually for gaming as well as for watching blu-ray movies. But should I get it now since I need a DVD/SACD (and eventually game/blu-ray) player anyway?

Here are reasons that I came up with for waiting:

1) There isn't any game that I have to have right now, and I don't have any blu-ray movies yet.

2) Early adopter problems (possible hardware issues yet to be discovered/worked out). Problems with early PS1, PS2, XBOX, etc came to mind.

3) At the moment, PS3 doesn't upconvert DVDs (not clear if it ever will, or even possible).

Reasons for buying PS3 now:
1) I'll get one eventually, why not now instead of forking out an extra $230 for OPPO?

2) I'd be the coolest dude in town (ok, actually living in NYC, there are obviously tons of people with PS3's already since none can be found at any NYC retail store, but no one I know actually has one).

3) If I don't like it, I can sell it pretty easily without losing too much money in NYC where there is very little supply.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think.

Buy it now, don't wait. Of course I like spending someone elses money

Haha Rick, I knew I could count on you to help me with my upgrade-idus.

p.s., for full-disclosure, I voted for buy now

I vote for waiting. From the financial aspect, something to consider is that new PS3's are now selling pretty close to retail price on eBay, and have been doing so since the end of December. So the days of making lots of money off of selling them are over. I don't know what the prices are for used PS3's, but I imagine they're going to be less than retail. Some online vendors are starting to sell PS3's at retail price without tying them into a bundle. The deals may not last that long, but the fact that it's happening (which isn't true for the Wii) means that demand is slowing down and more in line with supply.

Also, the price of the console will drop eventually (as all console prices do), so I don't know how long you were planning to wait before getting one. Your money could be better spent from now until then, rather than being tied up in a console for which there aren't any games that you have to have, nor to play movies that you don't own yet.

A similar thing happened when the PS2 came out, as it was less expensive than many other stand-alone DVD players at the time. I've used it once to play DVD's, and it's an average player at best. If you're looking to get into Blu-Ray, a standalone player will be better (maybe not right now, but down the road).

As for being the coolest dude in town ... well, if that's what it takes for you or your friends to feel that way ... then the above arguments are probably moot.

I believe they're saying that upscaling on the PS3 could prove troublesome, since it doesn't have a dedicated hardware scaler. It would have to be done through software, and I don't know how feasible that is.

As for games, yeah, there will be a wait for decent ones. I have Resistance: Fall of Man, which seems to have the best reviews so far, and I find it to be very mediocre.

As for SACD playback, I think that has to go through HDMI? I assume you have a receiver that supports audio through that? I don't yet, so it's not doing me any good with my (admittedly limited) selection of SACDs. I really need to get a new receiver so I can get good sound out of my... one Blu-ray disc. Ha ha. I've bought over 25 or so HD DVDs, but I've only bought one Blu-ray.

I think I'll probably end up getting an Oppo for the DVD-A/SACD playback myself. I can no longer play DVD-Audio after switching my old DVD player to my second system.

A couple other impressions.... People say how quiet it is compared to the Xbox 360, but I find it to be louder than mine. They say the new Hitachi DVD drive on they're using for more recent Xbox 360s is the culprit, whereas the old Samsung wasn't such a screamer. My Xbox 360 is still too loud for my tastes, but the PS3 is even worse. It doesn't make noise when you first start it up, but once it's warm and the fans are going, it can definitely cut into the experience. The functionality overall is a bit lacking, too, next to the Xbox 360. Xbox Live Marketplace, while still not offering as much content as I'd like, has a lot more going on than Sony's so far. The web browser I find fairly pointless. I tried it for maybe 20 minutes before deciding there's no way I'd want to browse the web that way on a regular basis. As for media playback, it would be nice to be able to access stuff stored on the network somewhere. The Xbox 360 has spoiled me, so for me, the PS3 hasn't really justified itself. Blu-ray actually seems to be its most compelling feature, and I'd still rather buy HD DVDs.

C.V.

buy it now. if your like me and dont have that much time anyway the few good games (resistance is very good) and blu-ray movies are worth it. YMMV

Buy it now. I was at my local Best Buy yesterday and to my amazment, they had 4 60GB units in stock for sale. You'll get yourself an amazing game console, and think of this: a blu-ray player for "free" as a bonus!!

I read an article today that said that PS3 sales have slowed considerably since Christmas, and that sales were now falling behind the projections. Thus the reason that you can find them in stores right now. The original sales projections were saying that you would be hard pressed to find them in stores (without waiting in a "lottery line" to get one) until March. Hmmm....

That would be due to the price and not that many people can take full advantage of the great graphics, so they are waiting and buying Wii's instead.

"great graphics..." Hmmm. I was playing a PS3 the other day at a local GameStop on about a 32" HDTV. They had some off-road style racing game running. The graphics looked like what I've seen on my PC that is now 2 years old. Only my PC doesn't "bog down" like that game did when there were more than 3 other cars on the screen. It wasn't noticable at first, until you start pulling away from the pack, and as soon as you get down to about 3 cars in front of you (instead of the whole pack of opponents) it gets noticably faster, or in other words, starts running as it should.

Granted it probably has something to do with the program code more than the PS3 capacity, but so far I haven't been impressed, but that is a side note. Personally, I wouldn't want to invest anything into the Blu-Ray camp at this point (not that I am investing in HD-DVD either, yet). You could easily end up with a pricey door stop pretty easily, especially since Sony (and their Blu-Ray camp) have been counting on the PS3 to drive Blu-Ray sales, which it hasn't.
But again, I hi-jack the thread... Sorry.

I have heard that they're very hard to program for, which probably explains your experience. I don't doubt that they have plenty of horsepower, but programming and optimizing for a chip like that (asymetrical multicore) has got to be very difficult.

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Ha ha. I've bought over 25 or so HD DVDs, but I've only bought one Blu-ray.

Blu-ray actually seems to be its most compelling feature, and I'd still rather buy HD DVDs.

C.V.

My understanding is that 80% of the studios are pro-blu-ray and the other 20% (1 notable studio) release stuff on HD-DVD. For example, I don't think you can buy Spiderman on HD-DVD. So it's more like the movie (titles) that you're into dictating the format you're buying...

That would be because Spiderman is a Sony film.

I mean I'd rather buy HD DVDs on principle. If it's available in both formats, I'll buy it on HD DVD, and if it's Blu-ray only, I have to really like the movie. I've bought a lot of HD DVDs that I've only been mildly interested in, just because I want to support the format.

Maybe it'll be a big waste.

Launches for both formats were pathetic. They designed the formats for the movie studios, not the consumers, but I don't think upcoming downloadable formats--whatever they turn out to be--are going to be any better. With those, you won't get physical media, but I'm sure they'll charge close to the same price, and I'm sure special features will be nothing compared to what we know now. So yeah, I see a long, drawn-out death for both disc-based formats, to be overtaken by overcompressed, featureless HD downloads. Okay, not really. I think it could go either way.

I bought a PS 3 just after Christmas for $599 and it had the 60 Gig Hard Drive. I bought it mainly for the DVD capabilities which I understand will be software upgraded in the near future.

One thing to consider is that I understand that Sony is taking about a $100 loss per unit to get the Blue Ray technology established. I have to wonder how long it will be before the price goes up. My PS 3 was cheaper than any of the DVD players that I was looking at. I found that very interesting.

I read that Microsoft takes a $126.00 hit on every 360 sold, Sony is taking close to a $300.00 dollar hit on the PS3 just to stay competetative. Where they make up the revenue is in the games that run for $50.00 dollars a pop.

Figures like that always seem to be just guesses by analysts, so I don't know how accurate they are, but last I read, Microsoft was at least breaking even on the price of the Xbox 360, with some estimating a profit of around $70 on each console. I've heard $300 loss on the PS3, too, but even if they are losing that much, I think Sony will probably be quicker to get production costs down. Still, it's a lot bigger gap to close, and Microsoft will always be ahead in a price war.

Nintendo is making profit on all of their hardware right out of the gate, so from a purely financial perspective, they're kicking both Microsoft and Sony tail. I wouldn't be surprised to see them overtake in market share this generation, either. They really have seemed to shake things up. I'll get a Wii after I get my QS8s. Soooooooon.

WOW, I had not heard that $300 number for the PS 3.

While the games do seem somewhat expensive, just look at the graphics and the content. Even with all the processors on the playstations, I'm sure that they are expensive to generate.

In any case, I think that the price of the Sony and Microsoft will, eventually, be adjusted such that these companies make a profit.

Sorry, the "they're expensive, but look at the graphics and content!" doesn't hold water. PC games have the same graphics and content (if not better in some cases), and they don't generally cost $60. This is simplly a case of gouging the consumer.

If it's a case of gouging the customer, then the customers are willing masochists.

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.

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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.

Well, an extra copy of software essentially only costs MSoft the cost to make a CD and boxes (probably pennies) whereas XBOX costs about $200.

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.

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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.

How is the regular DVD playback on the PS3 compare to Oppo 971? What kind of TV do you have?

I am still not sure as to buy an OPPO now and wait on the PS3... I think a lot of it will depend on how good PS3's DVD playback is.

I am using the sony pearl SXRD front projector on a 106" screen. The OPPO creates a great picture, but I wished I had the 981H, since it upconverts to 1080p which my display will handle, and it also transmit the auido via HDMI (which the 971H will not)

I have only watched a couple of standard def DVD on the PS3, but the quality was only slightly below the Oppo. One important difference is that at this point the PS3 is only progressively scanned and output at 480p. It has been discussed, but not announced, that the PS3 would get a firmware upgrade in the future that would allow for upconverting standard def DVD's. Firmware upgrades are simple to do with the PS3.

I would go ahead and get the PS3. It is an above average DVD player with the added benefit of being a good gaming system and top-of-the-line Blu-ray player. It is likely that it will be able to upconvert in the near future. After watching several Blu-ray discs, you will forget about your old DVD's anyway.

Looks like Sony is considering a price cut on the PS3 already... PS3 price cut

The article didn't mention timing though.

I guess I will wait for the cut, and get an OPPO 981 in the mean time.

Interesting!

If they are already taking a $100 -300 loss per unit, I have to wonder how much lower they will go???? That article talked about their overall loss and their goal of making a profit.