If they droped the price to $99, I would be much more inclinded to buy one.

I actually expected this announcement a little sooner, but they waited until the 360 launch day to drop the bomb. Stringer (again) confirmed that the PS3 will ship between $300 and $400 (obviously waiting to see how the 360 does at the higher price). The PS3 will also ship with a "media bundle" which will include demos for movies, games, and TV shows. This is most likely a Blu-Ray disc cram-packed with demos.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13145

Wow. Very interesting. That should not only give Sony a huge advantage in the next console generation, it'll effectively kill HD-DVD. I wonder how much of a loss they'll be selling them at.

After seeing the madness of today, I wonder if I can reserve one at EB or Gamestop yet...

At least we can put the $500+ price rumors to rest.

i will definitelty reserve one asap

What you mean reserve 1, reserve 10.

I expect we'll see it at $399 now. Unless the 360 is totally kicking ass by then, which I don't really see happening with the game line up. They'll sell like hot cakes through January, then everyone that wants one for the launch games will have one and others will be content be waiting until the next killer game which will probably be Halo 3 or just waiting for a PS3.

Interesting (and intentionally inflamatory) article comparing the 360 and the PS3
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/668/668446p1.html

On a side note the main story link on ps3.ign.com has an interesting side view of the console that I hadn't seen before. It has all the HDMI/DTS/DVD logos etc and some air vents.

I spend some time the last two days updating the game list on the first page. It is now pretty complete (according to IGN) and I'll try to keep up with it. I added a few games which now have media, and added a bunch of new titles. Enjoy.

there is a similar one for the Revolution vs. 360, which has some stronger points than the PS3 article. "You can still pre-order a PS3" a reason to skip the 360? I think they were stretching to make a 10 item list.

Both have solid points and both have their faults(Girls & Grandpas will play Rev, a reason to skip 360? Also, ) But both are good reads.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/21/tech...2805/index.htm

Oops.

Though this might not do much of anything, Sony's two biggest exclusives (in Japan) are probably going to land on Xbox 360 alongside their Playstation 3 counterparts. Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest IX.

Square pretty much squashed that rumor:

http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/nid/1873/

As for the price retration - yeah - completely planned. Its more likely than not true, and they are just going to wait til a later date to confirm it. I doubt this happened on the 360 launch day as a coincidence.

As for the overheating, well, that is an issue when you use watercooling and don't have an external heat sink.

That doesn't really sound like a squash, just the typical "we have no comment on that" stance that a lot of companies take. Personally, I think at least one of those two franchises will make their way to the XBox 360, however I can see Sony still having a good period of time where they'll be PS3 exclusives, like the way GTA has been on the PS2.

When I saw the correction, my thought was that someone made a huge boo-boo. That price can not hurt them at all, but if that price becomes lodged in consumers minds and is not accurate, then it will be a blow. I am guessing someone said something they shouldn't have, someone else saw the news on the Web and asked for an immediate retraction. The damage may be done now though, and Sony may be locked into a price they were unsure about.

Aw, crap. I knew that sub-$400 was too good to be true. Still, if they want to be competitive with the 360 (which has taken more knocks in the press for price than anything else), they can't come in much higher than $400, can they? Must be a difficult position to be in. We'll see, I guess...

If they come in at more than $400, they're in major trouble IMO.

I've said many times that Sony will stay on top until they do something stupid on part with Nintendo sticking with Carts for the N64.

Launching at more than $400 could do that, especially if the 360 has a price drop by then, and the Revolution launches at the same time for $200. Especially if the PS3 has a crappy launch lineup like the PS1 and PS2 did where there were no real must play games for months.

They aren't going to come out for more than $400. Stringer told everyone the price, and then retracted that statement. Doesn't mean its not true - just that he spoke too soon.

Anyway, looks like Sony will be the highlight of the CES, as they have purchased the central stand at the show. They will controll 12,000 sqft of prime floorspace to show off their new products, including PS3.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_0251_So..._CES_2006.html

Oh man, I have to use some connections and get into that show. One of my friends is a big shot with trade shows, so I'll give him a call. That should be pretty cool.

While that could be true, there's about a 50/50 shot at it being a journalist mistake.

I agree it's unlikely they'll launch at more than $400. To much is riding on it, and I don't think Sony is that stupid.

I am starting to think that Kingdom Hearts 2 will be released as a Playstation 3 title on launch. Actually, that would be wise of Sony to do as far as from a business perspective. That would be an excellent game to release at launch. Systems need stronger launches.

Kingdom Hearts 2
Resident Evil 5
Grand Theft Auto: San Francisco

and a handful of other power titles.

all at launch.

I would have to find the money.

That'd be a killer launch, but I don't see it happening. Why didn't the PS2 launch with anything good? That's why I skipped it at first. Why didn't PSOne launch with anything good?

I don't think Sony cares much about having a spectacular launch lineup. They know they'll sell assloads of these things even if they launch with half-asses graphics fireworks demos.

There's no way SquareEnix would do that. They would lose a rediculous amount in sales by not releasing it for PS2 since it has the 90 million some odd user base. They would also have to redo the engine and that would cost a ton of cash.

Between GTA, MGS, RE, and Kingdom Hearts... That'd be one hell of a launch.