PS3 price will drop soon, predicts MS

By Ellie Gibson Published 6 January, 2009

"We're surprised it's taken this long."

Microsoft exec Aaron Greenberg has predicted that Sony will cut the price of PlayStation 3 very soon.

"We absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months," he told Edge.

"We're frankly surprised it's taken this long... I would expect they'd have to move on price, sooner than later, for sure."

Right now the 120GB Xbox Elite carries an RRP of GBP 229.99, while the 80GB PS3 is GBP 299.99. At last year's Leipzig Games Convention, SCEE boss David Reeves told us there would be no price cut "this year" - and as it turned out, he wasn't making it up.

But last year's "this year" has since become last year - now this year's "this year" is fully underway, will there be a price cut this year? No idea, still trying to work out what I've just written.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (107) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • crwoody #1 3 years ago

    Drop the price to a hundred and i'll pick one up :)

  • ps3owner #2 3 years ago

    I give you a price cut right now.

    PS3 in the UK = £290 (including 3 games) on play.com
    PS3 in Mainland europe (germany) 400 euros, on amazon, with 1 game

    pound to euro = almost parity.

  • DFawkes #3 3 years ago

    Sony really, really need to drop it a bit, or at least do a cut down version for less money. They're pricing themselves out of this gen - I'd have never have paid money for one.

  • asharkman #4 3 years ago

    Yup i'd say ebay.co.uk is making brisk trade these days!

  • Vistrix #5 3 years ago

    Its amazing Sony is selling PS3s well, even with its current price point.

    Sales are going to completely explode as soon as a decent price cut hits.
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 16:31

  • Widge #6 3 years ago

    If they did a 40gb for £200, I'd buy one for upstairs. Slap Play TV on it and I'd be well chuffed.

  • Kazzahdrane #7 3 years ago

    I for one am waiting for a price drop. I've fancied picking one up for a while but have been turned off by the price and there are still only a handfull of games I consider personal "must haves" so have thus far resisted temptation. Could easily see myself buying one in the first half of the year if the price drops by £50 or so and if there are some good bundles going.

  • morriss #8 3 years ago

    :D

    Great stuff Ellie! Hope you have a great last year's "next year" this year

  • Moonprince #9 3 years ago

    Greenberg is such an annoying little twat...

  • sifujames #10 3 years ago

    Dear Sony,

    Drop the goddamn price already, you're getting spanked. And when God of War 3 comes out, bundle it up with a PS3 for less then £200 (and I don't mean £199.99) and I'll be there queuing up before the shop opens.

  • Gaol #11 3 years ago

    Why a European price cut is difficult for Sony just now.

  • Ryze #12 3 years ago

    @DFawkes

    The one they're selling now IS the cut down version! That's why I've not bought one yet!

  • bluem4gic #13 3 years ago

    Wait till the price drops

    MS will eat their words

    I didn't like the PS3 at first, hence why I got the gf to purchase mine

    and I admit that Playstation network is wank

    But more and more I am playing my PS3 and using to watch stuff I download from the net etc

    It's not noisy, it does not break down and you play pretty any movie divx, xvid file you throw at it

    it the must have for the gadget loving individual

    If the PS3 was the same price as the 360 would be laughing right now

    I also love how they big up their sales when the wii is wiping the floor with both of them

  • Ultra238a #14 3 years ago

    £199 at Easter

  • Petulant_Radish #15 3 years ago

    I don’t trust anything that Yahoo say, they are the Zionist oppressors and smell of cheese biscuits. Those TUG ones.

  • Wendelius #16 3 years ago

    I waited for a price drop when I got interested in Blu Ray and waiting for some game to truly grab me (over time, some like MGS4 and LBP came very close). Then cheap stand alone Blu Ray players with lots of free movies came along. I got one for half the price of a PS3. Which means it will take an even bigger price drop to make the PS3 attractive to me alongside my 360 and my Blu Ray player.

    Sony should have moved sooner. But I don't think they could have afforded to.

    Wendelius

  • quantumsheep #17 3 years ago

    "But last year's "this year" has since become last year - now this year's "this year" is fully underway, will there be a price cut this year? No idea, still trying to work out what I've just written."

    Genius :)

  • stephen #18 3 years ago

    /shakes fist at UK sites that won't ship console hardware outside the UK

    Basic 80GB PS3 in the shops with no games = €400 here.

  • DFawkes #19 3 years ago

    @Ryze
    Good point, forgot that one. Fucking Sony. Take out the backwards compatibiltiy and cut down the hard drive, card slots and USB ports, that'll sell more! If you keep your price premium, keep the console premium too.

  • El-Dev #20 3 years ago

    Maybe sony have more than one business strategy other than keep cutting the price and get all of the gaming press to continually mention it in every article they write.

    Just a thought...

  • sifujames #21 3 years ago

    @ps3owner:

    Sure about that? I just checked Play.com now and the only PS3 bundles listed were £309.99 with either SW: Force Unleashed, Bioshock, or Mercenaries 2. The other bundles aren't available.

  • Ryze #22 3 years ago

    @bluem4gic

    'I admit that Playstation network is wank'

    nuff said - no sale.

    'it does not break down'

    Bollocks. Either way, the 'other' console has been fixed for over a year now.... blah, blah

    /yawn

    /waits for PS3 pricecut...

  • Apologie #23 3 years ago

    what??? you guy's dont mind paying for live, for a defective console with lots of PHERIFERIALS with no bluray player and with previous gen hardware, a console that have 0 exclusives given the fact that most of them end up in the pc a few months after... but feel robbed when, for a littl bit more, you can buy a PS3 that have so many more features, better reliability, more durability in the long run, better spec, REAL exclusives, multiplayer for free etc...??

    some of us dont have quality standards, that's for sure...

  • #24 3 years ago

    "We're surprised it's taken this long." -

    "Were surprised people are buying it at that price, perhaps we shouldn't have dropped our price"

  • ps3owner #25 3 years ago

    @sifujames

    F*CK! last week they had 4 on offer... god damn them... I think they may have noticed the pound to euro thing as well... oh boy. should have bought a batch and sold it on ebay. damn it. Thanks for pointing that out.

  • drumbaby #26 3 years ago

    People only buy the Xbox 360 because the PS3 is considered too dear and the Wii has shite software. As soon as they drop the price on the PS3 and get some good games on the Wii then it's all over for Msoft.

  • bluem4gic #27 3 years ago

    @Ryze

    Why you waiting for a price cut if you already have a 360 is there something you want from it?

    @Dfawes

    The backwards compatibility has not been present since the 60GB PS3 as well as the memory card slots


  • DFawkes #28 3 years ago

    To be fair, my personal experience of PSN has been fantastic, and equally good to the bits you pay for with Live (onlinr gaming and video chat).

    Pity you have to pay significantly more to get that in the first place. The cost of a couple of years live seperates them, if you're just into the games then it's hardly good value for money.

    @bluem4gic
    It was sarcasm, I know they've cut those out, and they're still gits for doing so.
    Edited by 2 at 06/01/09 @ 17:03

  • MasterNameless #29 3 years ago

    @Apologie

    As ever, you have no idea what you're talking about. You still haven't told us why you're back after you swore to never return. And yes, I'll keep linking this for you, as I know it makes you cry a little inside. XD

  • metalnut #30 3 years ago

    "for a defective console with lots of PHERIFERIALS"

    Wow, where do I get me some of these 'PHERIFERIALS'? They sound awesome.

  • Petulant_Radish #31 3 years ago

    Why would anyone say it’s all over for Microsoft if Sony drop their prices? Yes it’s all over for the company whose bank balance no doubt dwarfs Sony’s, and I’m sure that the sizeable chunk that they have taken from what was previously Sony’s pie makes them so sad that they just want to end it all and take their toys back. Silly billy.

  • miiiguel #32 3 years ago

    I hope Sony does a price cut sooner than later, Live is getting too crowded...

    PSN is the place to be, go there.

  • GamesConnoisseur #33 3 years ago

    That really a glove thrown onto the ground moment from MS to Sony!! Egging them to cut when MS know very well Sony is hardly in position to afford a drastic price cost after the heavy investment, cost of hardware, and currency exchanges!!

    Still we know PS3 will sell bit more should there be a reasonable price cut, but leave it too long and get timing wrong is going to be a problem i believe. So Sony really SHOULD cut this year to make better progress or they ll pay!
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 20:50

  • teabagger #34 3 years ago

    I don't think there is anyone here that wouldn't have come to exactly the same conclusion as Aaron.

    (edit)

    Also, I suspect a price drop will fall when there aren't too many *must have* PS3 titles around so the effect on sales might not be huge. Had they been able to get the hardware cost down in time to cut the price in November to go with the glut of excellent titles they'd have been on to a winner. Shame it didn't/couldn't happen really as I suspect they've missed the boat a tad.
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 17:26

  • KayJay #35 3 years ago

    MasterNameless Wrote - The only thing that annoys me with PSN is that I have so many friends playing on Live it really feels that I'm out of the loop, playing games on a lonely island all to myself, when on my PS3. Only a few friends have PS3's, and they don't play that often.

    Well get over to the PSN ID list thread and pop a few of us on there you fool.

  • bushwod #36 3 years ago

    My GF saw one in a cash converters (through the window I swear, we're not chavs) for £175 so we got it as a cheap blu-ray player.

    Haven't actually played a game on it yet and will probably only buy a few (LBP and maybe killzone or resistance).

    I personally would never get a game on PS3 if I could play it on xbox but there are still a lot of non gamers who think playstation is the better console because of the legacy of it's name so I think it will sell when they drop the price.

  • MasterNameless #37 3 years ago

    @kj66246

    Yah, that may actually be the best route to go! As most of my work/old college friends have 360's they'll never get a PS3 too for a long long time - not as big gamers as I am unfortunately. :(

    Btw, I deleted that post as it was kind of a response to miiguel, and felt it was going off-topic. Didn't realise anyone had spotted it! :)

  • Kryon #38 3 years ago

    Seriously, is Apololol some kind of spastic?








    I already know the answer is yes.

  • Burkey123 #39 3 years ago

    When i got my ps3 for christmas 2007, i was doubting it after a few months but in my opinion it is getting better. I feel it will overleap xbox by the end of the year, especially if there is a price cut. All in all its completely irrelevant though because the wii is sweeping the floor with both of them. I really wish wii had a quality online service.

  • MasterNameless #40 3 years ago

    @justanotherdave

    I think it's more to do with the fact that Sony had complete dominance over the market with the PS2, so in comparison the PS3 is doing terribly. Ignoring the PS2 though, yeah, it is still very competitive with the 360. That alone though is a huge achievement for MS, considering how badly the Xbox sold compared to the PS2.

  • miiiguel #41 3 years ago

    disclaimer: I didn't want to sound like a asocial prick, but I kinda miss the "oooh is that an xbox? wow! never seen one? I know PlayStation though..."

    360 is changing that :/

    I wish PS get its mainstream crowd again... I dig the "niche" thing.
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 17:44

  • Rash' #42 3 years ago

    ms is the only company that comes out and talks like this about the competition. honestly they make the whole thing into a soap opera. just because you say it it doesn't mean it won't happen. deep down you know they're not looking forward to it. they only managed to stay level in sales because they dropped price, in some regions twice.
    Edited by 2 at 06/01/09 @ 18:03

  • citizenHUNTER #43 3 years ago

    I do want a PS3 but I'm in no rush, my priority for now, primarily for the games available for it, is getting a new 60GB 360 since I sold my old one to a mate. Since a price drop is inevtiable I'm gonna wait til that happens, and I'd be happy enough if I could pick up a PS3 and a game for £200, maybe about £220 max, no way am I paying £300 for a console I don't feel like I need other than to play Wipeout HD and GT5 whenever that one appears.

    My new 360 will keep me very happy up til then and for as little as £150 these days for the 60GB one I'm laughing.

  • Rash' #44 3 years ago

    Ryze, i have a spare 60GB if you want it. question is can you put your money where you mouth is and pay up for it.

    i'm not joking.
    Edited by 2 at 06/01/09 @ 18:04

  • woodnotes #45 3 years ago

    "Why a European price cut is difficult for Sony just now."

    Aren't PS3s manufactured in China?

  • MasterNameless #46 3 years ago

    @justanotherdave

    Oh god yes, I agree. Although thrown slightly off-kilter as moms and sisters buy Wii's as well now - we have 3 Wii's between my family, myself not included - and none of them would ever have considered buying a PS3 or 360. Saying that though, PS2 did begin to break the fun-for-the-family crowd with Singstar and Buzz and the like, but nowhere near as much as the Wii has crowbarred itself a brand new market!

    But again, yeah, the Wii has kicked a phenomenal amount of arse compared to the Gamecube!
    Edited by 2 at 06/01/09 @ 18:05

  • dominalien #47 3 years ago

    I own a 60GB PS3. This means I get backwards compat, memory card readers and 4 USB ports.

    Back compat is useless to me. At the beginning, I put some PS2 games into it to see how they ran, but now I play all PS2 games exclusively on my PS2. Three reasons: 1) the PS3 is quiet, but the PS2 is quieter, 2) the PS2 uses less electricity (I'm poor) and 3) PS2 games look a lot better on my 21" CRT than they do on my 1080p projector screen (also, the CRT uses less electricity than the projector and the bulb doesn't burn out). Both are connected to the same sound system.

    I like the card readers and use them. I'd miss them if they were gone, but probably not much.

    Of the 4 USB ports, I've only ever used two at the same time. I don't have PlayTV, though.

    Of course, YMMV. But I don't consider myself especially blessed by the 60GB PS3. I kind of like it, though. ;-)

  • Retroid #48 3 years ago

    @Rash': "ms is the only company that comes out and talks like this about the competition. honestly they make the whole thing into a soap opera."

    Oh dear, someone wasn't paying attention to Sony around and after the PS3 launch.

    "The next generation doesn't start until we say so", "only the PS3 is HD, the 360 doesn't support 1080p", "360 BC is lacking, we do it properly" and all of those gems from various Sony top brass.

  • Foxclose #49 3 years ago

    From Sony's point of view, having the Xbox 360 only a few million in the lead is very good considering the trogan horse for Blu-ray movies has worked.

    Why MSFT talking about the PS3 price point is beyond me!
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 19:32

  • Rash' #50 3 years ago

    Retroid, i bet you over the course of this gen you'll find more stories about ms execs bitching about the competition than any any other. i know because it's what i've picked up and detest most about the way they run things. the whole "we'll sell more 360s than PS3s" from last year's E3 was another prime example. my thinking is if you were confident of where you were at why would you want to talk about the competition? and of course ninty's never a subject for debate. i reckon they can feel sony breathing down their backs, and they're worried as hell.
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 19:50

  • Retroid #51 3 years ago

    I'm really not sure about that. But MS could be catching up, it's true :)

    Some of the hateful arrogance from the MS software division does seem to have seeped through since Peter Moore buggered off to EA Sports.

  • IneptPercy #52 3 years ago

    The price is the problem to me, owning a 360, wii, PC bluray player and Dreamcast (had to include that) the PS3's only selling point to me is the exclusive games and none of them are worth £300 to play.

    The other problem is as technology gets older the price I am willing to pay goes down, it seems my price is dropping quicker than Sony so I may never own one at this rate.

  • Rash' #53 3 years ago

    ^^^ GoW3, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Infamous, Heavy Rain... seriously? I'm looking forward to the year ahead as gamer. Now is definitely the time for a price drop.
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 20:37

  • Gaol #54 3 years ago

    @Woodnotes

    SCE's balance sheet is in Yen.

  • Dizzy #55 3 years ago

    Of course ms want Sony to lower price, that would probably finish them off financially.

  • Inigo #56 3 years ago

    Its funny isn't it! I would think nothing of buying a £300 iTouch but i hate the idea of buying a £300 PS3 which is also a blueray player, media pc, and has free multi-player.

  • BartonFink #57 3 years ago

    Will these mouthpieces ever learn to STFU? MS or Sony all as bad as each other when it comes to this shit.

    If Sony do cut the price it will be minuscule they simply cannot afford to drop the price that much it would ruin them.

  • Rash' #58 3 years ago

    one thing is for sure sony dropping price is on everyones lips even the competition. that speaks volumes really.

  • DVR #59 3 years ago

    But last year's "this year" has since become last year - now this year's "this year" is fully underway, will there be a price cut this year? No idea, still trying to work out what I've just written.

    Personally, this is my favourite funny of ought nine. Also, I think that this news coming from MS, is a tacit admission that the rumoured march price cut for PS3, is quite likely.....although, it could also be smoke and mirrors on MS's part to make the most of their own xmas sales by putting doubt in consumer's minds about the possibility of a PS3 price cut.

    /pours another beer
    /regrets sounding so gawd awful on "teh interweb"

  • BartonFink #60 3 years ago

    @DVR - I might be slightly confused but wasn't the run up to Christmas a few weeks ago? Looks like they have missed the boat.
    Or are we living in some time traveling alternate reality where Christmas 2008 hasn't happened yet?

    On second thoughts stay off the beer and move onto the whiskey ;)
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 22:05

  • BonzoBanana #61 3 years ago

    If Sony didn't drop the ps3 price for the christmas season it would seem illogical to do it now. Personally I think they'll bring in the cost reduced (45nm chipset) ps3 sometime this year but still sell it for £299 until about august or september and then officially drop to something like £219 or 209 to allow a £199 discounted price. I do think 2009 is going to be the year of the ps3 but it will mainly happen at the end of the year. I wonder if the wii will get a price cut this year, surely demand for that fairly basic console is going to start faltering at some point.

  • Kryon #62 3 years ago

    "I do think 2009 is going to be the year of the ps3"

    glol. I swear I've heard that one before...

  • BartonFink #63 3 years ago

    Wasn't 2008 supposed to be the year of PS3?

    I suppose the tag line 'This is waiting' is appropriate :D
    Edited by 1 at 06/01/09 @ 22:12

  • BartonFink #64 3 years ago

    Good point one game changes everything :D

  • DVR #65 3 years ago

    /moves onto the whiskey
    /starts talking to self

    ;o===

    @ Barton Fink- I mean't that perhaps Microsoft, knowing how well they did over the festive period, and guessing at the possible moves their chosen competitor might make, have decided that they can continue to sell units to consumers who wanted to buy 360's over xmas, while at the same time stymying Sony's potential consumers by suggesting the possibility of an imminent PS3 price cut. On the other side of the coin, it could be that Microsoft really do think a PS3 price cut is in the off, and hope to make this old news in the eyes of the public so as to "steal their thunder", in so far as it's no longer news-worthy, thus reducing the exposure and influence of that news.

    I'm probably wrong on both counts but "he-ho" that is what it sounds like to my drink addeled mind :p

  • Xerx3s #66 3 years ago

    26 360 mentions vs 23 PS3 mentions, how exactly does that make it the year of the PS3? :/

    Also, Picard's hand isn't big enough to cover the comments in this (and the other) thread that we have been hearing since 2001.

  • BartonFink #67 3 years ago

    Nah you could very well be right. Nothing would surprise me coming from any of these mouthpieces.

  • Machiavellian #68 3 years ago

    I believe DVR is on the right track at least it was the scenario I pictured when I read the article. Nothing stops people from purchasing a product if they believe they will get it cheaper. MS saying that a price drop is a done deal lends more credibility and thus is a very sly way of killing sells for the PS3 until the price drops

    The problem Sony has is that with their current condition, a price drop is probably the furthest thing they would want to do. If Sony is looking at April or May for a price drop, how much of a drop can they afford to take. Banks are stingy on loans and the fact that pretty much all of Sony units I believe are in the red doesn't help. Not only that, if you get a lot of people waiting on that price drop, the PS3 sells will fall steeply thus putting a lot of pressure on Sony.

    MS on the other hand is sitting pretty because weather the PS3 price drops or not, the fact that Sony is probably not ready to drop any time soon make the situation for the PS3 worst not better. With Blu-Ray players selling much less than the PS3, the PS3 is no longer the player to get. If 360 sales continue to eclispe the PS3, then the 8 million lead will grow. This will then cause developers to definitely lead on the 360 and we know the PS3 needs it the other way.

    Just because Sony will break even this year doesn't mean they want to go back into the red with a price cut. Personally, I feel Sony will not drop the price of the PS3 this year. Sony wants to get cost down and make a profit. If Sony is hurting as a lot of reports are saying, Sony might feel they can hold out until either they come out with a new PS3 so stripped of features that they can compete with the 360 on price or that their 10 year plan means that they need not rush to keep up with the 360 or Wii in sales as long as the PS3 sale at a decent pace.

  • onyxbox #69 3 years ago

    "Wasn't 2008 supposed to be the year of PS3"

    in terms of games I believe it was; MGS4, LBP, Wipeout HD, Pixel Junk games, Motorstorm, R2, Valkyria Chronicles, Siren + all the excellent 3rd party stuff like Deadspace, Prince of Persia, Fallout, Bioshocl, Grid, Bad Company, FIFA, Burnout, Soulcalibur, GTA 4 etc.

    Also in terms of online gaming; XBLA has much better community stuff but Lets not forget that you can't get online play like Warhawk and R2 or even LBP on 360 yet. Playing 60 player Skirmish is refreshing after playing countless Pier to Pier 8 - 12 player MP where latency plays a part in creating unbalanced fire fights on XBLA (CoD kill cam speaks volumes at times).

    I think PS3 just about scraped it last year.

    In terms of sales, I think they did very well without dropping their trousers like MS did, but who gives a **** anyway. Poor sales didn't stop me getting an XBox 1 many moons ago or a 360 two and a half years ago.

    BTW: I do own a 360, 3 of which have failed, and despite this I'm not a 360 hater I just think PS3 *for me* started to pull ahead in 2008

  • Rash' #70 3 years ago

    Mach, that's a great point eloquently put. of course it's on the bases that consumers buy into ms's propaganda by being dedicated enthusiasts like us on here and keep constant tabs on gaming developments. that's a big stretch for me. i guess what i'm saying is you're probably right regarding ms's motives, but whether it bares fruit is debatable.

    as for a price drop, i definitely think it's on the cards internally. when it will come will be dictated by market trends. a wii price drop, declining sales, holiday season build up etc. i think sony are privately prepared for price war but as you point out they will hold off to gain as much profits as they can.

  • MZ #71 3 years ago

    The PS3 needs a price cut and it needs to be a big one, a £30 drop won't impress nobody. If they cut it to £199 in march I wouldn't hesitate in buying one.

  • Machiavellian #72 3 years ago

    I think MS would love to go on a price war with Sony. I believe at this time a price war is definitely not what Sony needs if their Financial situation is not in great shape. As you stated Rash, the proper time and place for a Price drop is what Sony is looking for but how long can they wait. How much can Sony drop the price and not continue to bleed money. I really believe that Sony is looking at the long term and feel they can stay the course, become profitable and find a way to maintain profibility. A price drop would not obtain Sony those goals especially in today's market. The only way I see Sony dropping the price on the PS3 is when they completly redesign the system with enough cost cutting components and be able to sell the PS3 at cost or a profit.

    The thing about Greensberg comment is that you will see it getting picked up by news agency and could even make print. Next thing you know, you will walk into a game store and one of the help will tell you to wait on getting the PS3 until the price cut.

  • Rash' #73 3 years ago

    lol! The sales assistant that says wait for a price cut isn't doing his/her job properly. I worked in retail and it's not the obligation of the assistant to inform the customer about heresay, especially if it hits store takings. after all what does a ms employee know about sony's business?

    I agree profit in the current economical situation will be the governing factor in business strategies at sony. but whether that will impact a potential price cut this year i'm not sure. they definitely have a strong enough line up of games to go into the festive period at a mass market price. of course what that price is is open to debate. certainly wii has set a benchmark for one price if the product is compelling enough to the consumer. with a line up worth bragging about i think that price is feasible in the lead up to christmas.

    of course this all depends on how sales hold up at the current price point through this year.

    having reread Reeves' recent comments i think there's good reason to be optimistic.
    Edited by 3 at 07/01/09 @ 01:35

  • Dave52 #74 3 years ago

    "Right now the 120GB Xbox Elite carries an RRP of GBP 229.99, while the 80GB PS3 is GBP 299.99"

    But it will cost you about £50 a year to play on line with the X-Box which brings the X-Box price up to 279.99. So, with the PS3 you get a Blu-Ray player for about an extra 20 quid.

    Also, you can easily (and I mean really easily) swap out the PS3 Hard Drive (I picked up a 320gig hd for about 50 quid last year).

    PS3 will have a price cut this year for sure though.

  • FairgroundTown #75 3 years ago

    "But it will cost you about £50 a year to play on line with the X-Box which brings the X-Box price up to 279.99. So, with the PS3 you get a Blu-Ray player for about an extra 20 quid."

    But that isn't how most people think, is it? The razors/ blades model and all that.

    Plus... although you are comparing like with like, MOST people aren't really pricing the PS3 against the Elite, they are pricing it against the more basic models, and then the difference becomes a lot bigger. (I wonder what the breakdown is on arcade/ std/ elite xboxes?)

  • HuggyAtHome #76 3 years ago

    I play my download stuff on the PS3 (and the Wii) and the multi format stuff on the 360.

    The best stuff on a PS3 right now is the PSN only titles. If they could bundle it with Wipeout HD, Pixel Junk Eden/Monsters, Riff: Everyday shooter and Linger in Shadows they would have a good proposition. Throw in a LBP disc (and an HDMI cable FFS) to sweeten the deal further.

  • MoFo #77 3 years ago

    I've only recently picked up a 360 and whilst I've enjoyed it so far, in retrospect I do feel the PS3 is considerably better value for money for my needs. I have a new Full HD TV which I can't watch full HD movies on due to a lack of sky/cable or bluray player. I had to pay £40 for a wireless network adaptor for the 360. I can't browse the internet at home on my 360 (my laptop died).

    So really if I'd thought about it more in advance my 2 options were:

    1) Buy cheap blu-ray player (£150) + buy 360 (£150) + wireless adaptor (£40) = £340 (and I'd still have no way to browse internet at home)
    2) Buy a PS3 = £279

    So there you have it Mr Microsoft Exec. The PS3 would actually have worked out better value for money for my circumstances and for an extra £50 I could have got PlayTV to record TV and it would still work out cheaper to have the PS3.

    Am I missing something here? I'm sorely tempted to dump my 2 week old 360 on ebay and get a PS3.

  • muscleblade #78 3 years ago

    I dont want one even if its free. I have a couple of 360s and a standalone blueray player.

  • mcbi4kh2 #79 3 years ago

    No you're not missing anything, the PS3 is extremely good value if you use all what it has to offer.

    Plus you can easily install Linux on it if you need it to be a PC aswell, not blisteringly fast but it does the job.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/09 @ 08:41

  • mazzl #80 3 years ago

    i don't thing sony will go for a price drop anytime soon.
    sony is loosing loads of money, and shares has dropped since the financial crisis is here.
    i personally don't see a pricedrop before christmas, they will have to do something by then, but probably will be able to beceause of cost reduction.
    MS should put a browser out for the xbox, why IE7 isn't on there is beond me, it would be ideal.

    this year finally looks good as far as exclusives go for the ps3, but as always with sony, you'll have to wait and see what is actually delivered instead of promised.
    still 2008 was a great year for games! so roll on 2009 :)

  • miiiguel #81 3 years ago

    @ MoFo: video games is clearly not your thing, hence what you said, hence the "thing" with Mr. Microsoft.... :D


    PS3 for Linux and to be a PC..., lol!

  • Xerx3s #82 3 years ago

    Oh dear not the old "T3H PRICE!" bs again. When will people realise that this is entirely dependent on the user? i.e. all those extra functions may be fine and dandy for you but they are completely useless for me so I'm happy not to pay for them. That makes a 150 euro machine a whole lot more attractive than a 370 euro machine.
    As for PSN...you get what you pay for. Our test machine here took 45 minutes to download (only download) the tiny system update. In comparison, live took just under 10 minutes to download 2 old expansion packs (total 700 something mb) while being switched off.

    If you think that 50 euro's in a year is too much, you might want to reconsider having such an expensive hobby such as gaming - 13 cents a day, are you really that poor? ... you spend more money each day on junk food and candy and random crap.
    Not that it has to be that expensive as I bought my account in 2007, it ends in dec 2010 and cost me the mighty figure of 7 euro's in the end. Shopping around does work...

  • teabagger #83 3 years ago

    trebell : "if you clearly didn't buy one due to the games selection and quality and only wanted a blu ray player that can play the odd game then yes.".

    The PS3 is as an accomplished gaming system as the 360. For sure the 360 does some things better, but the PS3 wins out over 360 in other areas. Suggesting it's only good as a Blu Ray player with the odd game thrown in isn't really true. I've got abuse for saying this in the past, but I will always buy a multiplatform title on PS3 simply because I think the end-user experience is nicer (noise levels, build quality etc. etc.).
    That said, you can't really argue against the 360 price point if you were in the market for one or the other now. For all that I mentioned above, I couldn't say it's worth the extra £130 ish.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/09 @ 09:49

  • SharkVLion #84 3 years ago

    'Dear Sony,

    Drop the goddamn price already, you're getting spanked. And when God of War 3 comes out, bundle it up with a PS3 for less then £200 (and I don't mean £199.99) and I'll be there queuing up before the shop opens.'

    LOL; Why dont you ask them for a free blow job while you're at it

  • MoFo #85 3 years ago

    @ miiiguel & trebell: Not sure how you came to the conclusion video games are not my thing. Especially as we're writing these posts on a video game website! It's just that for my personal taste in video games both the 360 and ps3 have an equal number of games that appeal. Since the PS3, as mentioned, also offers other benefits that I need at a lower ultimate price than the 360 then clearly the PS3 is the winner for me in terms of value for money.

    Of course we all have different needs but clearly the Xbox 360 is not a cut-and-dry price winner as this Microsoft bigwig is implying. Indeed from my point of view Sony do not need to drop the price at all as it already seems to be the better value console of the two. Not that I'd complain if they did!

    So for now I shall continue enjoying my 360 gaming and when I have the extra dosh I'll swap for a PS3 and enjoy the extra benefits it has to offer.

  • forcephil #86 3 years ago

    i bit the bullet and bought one for £292. considering i paid £300 for my 360 a couple of years ago im happy with my new purchase.

    Oh flogged my Wii to help me purchase the PS3 as that hasn't got any love for soooooooooo long

  • Widge #87 3 years ago

    ffs, what is this utter "if you want a PS3, you are not a gamer" BOLLOCKS

  • miiiguel #88 3 years ago

    @ MoFo, what I meant is (and I'm a Linux user for over 10 year, and I was in that "hate MS" trend issue for too long -I only have a Win box for less than a year and that solely because VMware plus Zune ain't cool), PS3 is plain bollocks for Linux use. And even worse to work as a PC.
    And, imo, 360 (forget it's MS) for the price/performance (ludic software wise) is... well... let me say... I don't understand how they can seel it at this price.

  • Rash' #89 3 years ago

    Xerx3s, well i think you'll find mofo's post was a personal account of his needs not a generalisation. its the 360 boys such as yourself who predictably get touchy whenever value is mentioned as a possible deciding factor.

    trebell, if games were a deciding today PS3 would capably hold its own.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/09 @ 11:01

  • Widge #90 3 years ago

    no no, if you like GAMES you HAVE to own a 360 and NOTHING ELSE

  • Gormless #91 3 years ago

    how much does the price of a wireless adapter and having to pay to play on line add to the price of the Xbox Elite?

  • kaya08 #92 3 years ago

    I think it should be noted that while the 360's reliability is pathetic the PS3 is by no means impressive. Of the 2 people I know who own one, both broke within 1 and a half years, neither was used regularly (the odd exclusive). I've heard many similar stories so I don't think its 2 isolated incidents. Could be wrong obviously.
    Granted the 15-20 people I know who bought 360's are all on at least their second console but at least every single one was replaced free of charge.

  • mazzl #93 3 years ago

    @Gormless
    wireless can be bought for around 45 euro, 13 months live for about 30 euro.

  • influenceuk #94 3 years ago

    I love the way MS still insist on comparing the 2 consoles.

    Do the math
    PS3 - £299 (or less)
    360 arcade + BD Player (one that close to the PS3) - £330
    360 elite + BD Player (one that close to the PS3) - £430

    Granted the 360 is cheaper than the PS3, but if you want the BD capability too it works out cheaper, so MS maybe its time to use some common sense stop comparing the consoles, hell they have different specs in the end!

    edit: the BD Player i was using as an example is the Sony BDP-S350 @ £199 + 6 free films from Blockbuster. You can get a Logik BD Player in Currys for around £129.99, but the Logic player is well... crap.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/09 @ 12:52

  • bonker #95 3 years ago

    "/shakes fist at UK sites that won't ship console hardware outside the UK

    Basic 80GB PS3 in the shops with no games = €400 here. "

    Look harder - there must be tons of places that will ship to you - the main problem will be paying for it cos most UK places will assume that a 'European' credit card is fake/stolen ...

  • chessboxer #96 3 years ago

    @ influenceuk

    The PS3 also loads Blu-ray movies considerably faster than any other Blu-ray player on the market.

  • IneptPercy #97 3 years ago

    I have seen a blu-ray player for £100 and if you have a resonable media PC then its a £50-£60 upgrade.

    As mentioned the PS3 is good value if you need it all, my games consoles are to play games, I don't want/need wireless, bluray.

    Also the thing about paying for xbox live, I think its great value. I look at it in a simply way for how much longer does it keep me playing a game, the best example was halo 2 for me, I spend easily 50 times longer online than I did on the single player.

    The game cost me £30, so £30x50 = £1500 worth of entertainment for £25...

    Yes its a funnt way of looking at it but the amount of life it has added to games for me makes it a no brainer.

    Nevermind how many 360 games are cheaper than PS3 versions, you soon could pay for a year on xbox live with that difference, overall the cost of xbox live comes out of my games budget and not hardware.

    If all you want to do is plug it in and play games then the 360 is the better value.

  • Rich72 #98 3 years ago

    it would be sods law if they reduce it as i just bought one. mind you i only play wipeout on it. 360 for everything else.

  • sifujames #99 3 years ago

    As other have said, the whole "360 works out more expensive cos you have to buy a wireless adaptor, pay for XBox Live, and buy a BD player to equal a PS3" argument only works if:

    A: You don't have your router near your 360 or you don't want to run cables between rooms
    B: You want to play online.

    Neither of those arguments apply to me, and probably doesn't apply to the vast majority of normal gamers, who just want to play the big name multi-platform games (FIFA/PES, GTA, COD) and don't care about online capabilities. That's the market that bought millions of PSones and PS2s and put Sony in the lead in the, and it's that market that Microsoft are stealing from Sony by offering a console that can play FIFA etc at over £100 less.And I really don't think BD even comes into it.

    C: BD movies are more expensive, and as the vast majority homes don't have HD TVs, the difference in quality between BD and DVD is irrelevant.

    So what we really come down to is what happens when Mr Average walks into Game and wants to buy a new console to hook up to his flat screen TV. He's not a serious gamer, but likes his footy and driving games. He's got a DVD player and boxsets of his favourite movies already (Rocky, Aliens etc) and he's happy with that. Now he can buy either a PS3 and a game for around £300, or a similar 360 bundle for around £170. Not a difficult choice really is it...

  • mazzl #100 3 years ago

    @IneptPercy
    the pricing of the games is a good argument not enough made.
    i buy most of my games via the internet or second hand via ebay or something.
    or i buy from the classic range, this is the xbox budget line, there are over a 100 games in there, so it;s really cheap to get a great gaming experience. if you compare multi format games xbox vs ps3, a lot of times the price difference is 3-5 euro in favour of the xbox. that's the price of a month live gold......

    still if i could afford both, i would get a wii first ;)

  • kaya08 #101 3 years ago

    My main argument for not buying a PS3 would be that they've been taking the piss out of the european market this generation. For the launch they we're offering an inferior model at a later date for a higher price than the japanese / american model. You could import a superior PS3 from Asia for less than you could buy it in your local shop. That alone pretty much made me want to boycott it.
    Then screwing europe so monumentally this generation was exacerbated by MS and Nintendo really trying to level the playing field with worldwide console / triple a title release dates. They haven't always succeeded but at least they're trying. It might piss you PS3 owners off (and I do apologise for that actually) but I'm going to slate Sony at every given opportunity because I genuinely hope its a monumental failure this generation, if i can help that happen with a rant, I will. That way we might just get a reasonable deal next generation (I would like to own a console with MGS, LBP, God of War, ICO et cetera).

    The PS3 is overpriced particularly in the current economic climate. Its been out 2 years and its still €400. That must be by far the most expensive console at this point in its life. No one can argue that its so much superior to previous consoles to warrant that price.
    I don't want a blue ray player and i hope it too is a monumental failure. The storage capacity is overkill and I don't want to upgrade my dvd collection so soon after updating from VHS. The change in picture / sound quality is minute.
    I can live without the exclusives (that'll change when team ico release a new game or Disgaea 3 get released, it'll be very difficult to resist at that point). No one is taking advantage of the apparent advantage in power it has over the 360 (I'll believe it when I see it) and they're not going to.
    Anyone with half a brain given the choice of 360 or PS3 will take the 360 - its far better value (awaits flames). The end. (I'll agree having both is the best option if possible).

  • Rash' #102 3 years ago

    trebell, Yeah agreed that if the console is only meant for SDTVs than maybe 360 is a better buy. But these are HD consoles and so will ultimately be intend for use on such displays in which case the BD argument is valid. In fact I would argue that as this gen moves further on the argument for BD will become stronger.

  • pha #103 3 years ago

    Sony WON'T drop PS3 price any time soon as they have been losing $50 or more per unit and still counting.

    Hypothesis
    This is just another clever marketing scheme by M$:
    "Tell people that the PS3 price will drop soon... and that, will stop the PS3 sales increase, because people will rather wait than buy now!"

    Thesis
    Sony has the better Machine (Cell processor, Blu-ray, etc) but Microsoft has the better Marketing strategy (came out first, have great exclusives, they have more $$$) plus both the Cell processor and Blu-ray are UNDER-USED.

    Prediction
    By the time Sony is able to leverage their investment in the Cell processor and Blu-ray, Microsoft will have already come out with a better machine and storage device (ie. Software Downloading)

    Edited by 1 at 07/01/09 @ 15:41

  • konniehuqfan #104 3 years ago

    when the ps3 drops to £199 i will buy one, as will millions of others.

    i can't wait for the smirk to be wiped off microsoft's face!

  • pha #105 3 years ago

    Yeah me too!

    Too bad that by that time I'd be purchasing the previous generation console XD

  • bonker #106 3 years ago

    "I've only recently picked up a 360 and whilst I've enjoyed it so far, in retrospect I do feel the PS3 is considerably better value for money for my needs. I have a new Full HD TV which I can't watch full HD movies on due to a lack of sky/cable or bluray player. I had to pay £40 for a wireless network adaptor for the 360. I can't browse the internet at home on my 360 (my laptop died).

    So really if I'd thought about it more in advance my 2 options were:

    1) Buy cheap blu-ray player (£150) + buy 360 (£150) + wireless adaptor (£40) = £340 (and I'd still have no way to browse internet at home)
    2) Buy a PS3 = £279

    So there you have it Mr Microsoft Exec. The PS3 would actually have worked out better value for money for my circumstances and for an extra £50 I could have got PlayTV to record TV and it would still work out cheaper to have the PS3.

    Am I missing something here? I'm sorely tempted to dump my 2 week old 360 on ebay and get a PS3. "

    Well if you're seriously considering that then that probably underlines your apparent inability to assess your needs and priorities versus what's available on the market.

    Noone can say what you should have done cos your own values are your own values but if you ain't got much cash or current equipment and want to embrace 'modern media' then yeah, a PS3 is good value - just be aware why you're buying it though - it ain't for the best gaming experience on offer as that's clearly the 360's domain. You will, however, be filing lots of holes in your, er, 'lifestyle' perhaps although none of them with anything like the best quality out there but if you want/are happy with a price/performance compromise for your modern media needs then the PS3 is just that I think ...

    Personally, in your situation, I'd want to do it all properly and (this is exactly what I've done BTW) just put together a simple HTPC (a *way* better HD media player than any dedicated h/w will ever be) for £300-£400 for my HD watching and Net surfing and keep the 360, best of all worlds then mate ...

  • bonker #107 3 years ago

    "trebell, Yeah agreed that if the console is only meant for SDTVs than maybe 360 is a better buy. But these are HD consoles and so will ultimately be intend for use on such displays in which case the BD argument is valid. In fact I would argue that as this gen moves further on the argument for BD will become stronger. "

    Umm, kinda.

    As time goes on, BD will penetrate into more homes obviously but I don't see the momentum building at all, over any time period. I think it's dead-tech with a growth lifespan of a couple or three years at best ...

    As for the PS3's BD, this is devaluing by the day so any arguments re value cos it's included in the PS3's are going to be moot by the end of this year ...