Well, here it is, Sony's promised European PS3 announcement - it's a "high value" starter pack containing the console, two first-party games and two SixAxis controllers for 425 quid.
The starter pack will hit the UK on July 18, and be available in the rest of Europe on August 1.
According to Sony, "The choice of first party games available in the Starter Pack will vary to suit the interests of entertainment enthusiasts in each country, but will include million sellers such as Resistance Fall of Man and MotorStorm".
I'll check Amazon.co.uk and play.com tomorrow to see if it works. According to Amazon.com PS3 is still top seller, thank to recent price cut.
I have PS3 already - Wish I'd waited
TBH i think they just included this bundle, as its too early for an actual price cut in europe (4months). I suspect by September/October euro ps3s will get a price cut
This is so annoying from Sony! My hopes have been dashed again... Why should I have to pay for two games that I can't choose and an extra controller that I don't need? I would've much rather have a cheaper standard pack like the other territories. It seems like Sony is intent on making as many mistakes as possible in PAL territories. Why not have both options available like in the US (albeit with the 80Gb HDD). Oh well, I guess that I have already waited for such a long time that another year won't matter. I now know that I won't be buying a PS3 in 2007. (AU)$1000 for a console is crazy! Imagine how many other forms of entertainment that amount of money could buy.
Me too... enjoying my PS3 but wish I'd waited now. Bundles and price cuts are fine if they happen after a year or so, people who already bought it don't care. But 4 months after launch they've already put a bundle together? Ah well, early adopters always get screwed. It was to be expected really. This is some damn good value here though... the U.S got a $100 price drop, didn't we technically get a better deal? 2 games + SixAxis > £/€100
I actually think this is a good deal. You could get a PS3 with an extra controller and 2 quailty games for the same price as a PS3 on its launch. Granted there arent many other games out there at the minute but by christmas things will change
I was hoping for a price cut aswell. I can buy an xbox 360 with Gears of War, Project Gotham 3, Crackdown and Xbox Live arcade. It also comes with an extra controller and all for £299.99 OK so you dont get a choice of games - but they are decent games in their own right. I waited all week for this announcement to put off buying a xbox incase the price dropped on the ps3.I Pitty the Sony fools
Me too... enjoying my PS3 but wish I'd waited now. Bundles and price cuts are fine if they happen after a year or so, people who already bought it don't care. But 4 months after launch they've already put a bundle together? Ah well, early adopters always get screwed. It was to be expected really. This is some damn good value here though... the U.S got a $100 price drop, didn't we technically get a better deal? 2 games + SixAxis > £/€100
I just crunched some numbers and basically we get a bonus of € 180,00:
- Sixaxis controller = € 50,- - Average PS3 game costs € 64,95 x 2 = € 130,00 (rounded up).
So basically for the same price (€ 599,-) you now get extra free stuff worth € 180,-, which is almost the cost of a third of the console.
I'd say that is great value and an even better deal than the yanks are getting!
Hopefully this will kickstart the sales PS3 needs and improve competition, which in the long run will only benefit the gamers.
personally i think this is really good. i mean sure a proper price cut would be nice, but most people would buy at least one or two games and probably an extra controller too. I was an early adopter and actually bought exactly everything in this pack for about £550! so it's almost like a price drop of £125...except it's not, obviously, because you can get resistance and motorstorm cheap second hand... anyway i don't regret being an early adopter, i knew this would happen sooner or later. but i've been enjoying the console for almost four months already! so it's all good
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but could it be just too little too late?
Now let's see if they do the right thing and offer the existing userbase a free game and controller, just like M$ did when they slashed the price of the original Xbox within the first 6 months.
tgrav and another few smaller sites were selling ps3's for £350. i got mine for £400 with resistance and an HDMI cable. resistance is a s**te game though i never chose it. motorstorm is worth getting though
in The US they dropped the 60gb by 100$ BUT...they have said today that this model will be sold out by the end of July which then forces folk to buy the 80GB for 100$ more, clever bastards those sony folk.
I for one would rather pay £100 less then pop down to mu local indie shop and pick up motorstorm and resistance for £25 each second hand!
I think this is a really good deal, granted you cant pick the games but resistance and motorstorm are two of the only few games that are only on the ps3 and they are good showcases for the ps3. With an extra controller too, thats like another 30 quid for nothing. Some people are just never satisfied.
Sht console, s**t controller and two utterly s**t games.
Wouldn't pay half that for the pack.
your wrong Im afraid. Ps3 is the best console of the three, but with no games to show of its power, apart from motorstorm wich is no way s**t. resistance has an awesomme online, and the controler?, point taken, but you realy cant complain about it unless you compare it to the 360s.
You dont like ps3 much do you?
great value, as youd want to get a ps3 with a game, and have another sixxaxis to play with your friends.
i think this is a great deal. good value, a good console(despite the europeans missing out on various chipsets that all the other territories have *sigh*) an ok game with good online, and an all round good game with an extra controller.
but still...
theres not much else out there than those two games, resistance and motorstorm...
Resistance & motorstorm have both sold well since launch & sales for those two games are stalling as everyone that wanted them already has them & there is not much else really that is exclusive to PS3 worth getting.
The extra controller is ok, but I think they could have added a little more value & made it at least £400 even.
Also what about the early adopters will they give them a couple of free games & an extra pad like MS did with the original Xbox when after a few months they knocked a £100 off its price...no i didn't think so either, Seeing as they have basically paid over the odds compared to this new bundle.
nice but really why not just knock a 100 quid of the basic pack? that would of sold me to it and no doubt alot of others too, we dont want "value" packs we want a cheaper console
Sony don't really have any choice. They were going to be left with a huge chunk of cash tied up in inventory at a time when they don't have (by their standards) a huge chunk of cash. Something has to get it moving.
But there should be at least either a new game or another controller for those early adopters who supported Sony at launch. It would be a lot more meaningful than a very few 42" LCDs for London residents and might even stop us regretting our purchase!!
Sony don't really have any choice. They were going to be left with a huge chunk of cash tied up in inventory at a time when they don't have (by their standards) a huge chunk of cash. Something has to get it moving.
But there should be at least either a new game or another controller for those early adopters who supported Sony at launch. It would be a lot more meaningful than a very few 42" LCDs for London residents and might even stop us regretting our purchase!!
Agree entirely.
Also, I have a feeling that if the rumors of a 360 price cut are to be belived we'll see a price cut proper before christmas. Sony will have no other option. Otherwise Sony will be out on a raft in the middle of the ocean while MS and Nintendo are relaxing on the beach with coctails, giving Sony a wave.
the people who are moaning about this are very tight! On launch day i paid £525 for the 60gb PS3 3 games and one pad as a bundle deal from play.com i also got a free hdmi cable and free copy of click on blu-ray
but now you will be getting the 60gb console 2 pads and 2 of the 3 games i got (the 3rd being genji which is a waste of money anyway) for £100 less, and chances are play.com will throw summet in for free!!
Also consider this, the xbox 360 elite is being released on august 24th for £330 from play.com with one pad and no games. Now if u went to buy 2 games and another pad you are more than likely paying more than £425 not to mention still no HD media player in the console either
Fair points on both sides here but being an early adoptor i'am a little peeved at this announcement. All the early adoptor's were given in europe was a casino royale blu-ray and that's it! But to throw in so much into a bundle so quickly there must be something for us!
I love my PS3 but sometimes now i really wish i'd held off and got the 360 the choice of games are far superior than PS3 and although it will (hopefully) change i dont know how much longer i can take of poor games being released with the only highlight STILL a 360/PC port of Oblivion.
Sept 07 onwards seems to be when PS3 will really kick into gear but i wish that i wasn't playing my old PS2 collection to satisfy my gaming needs!!
Hopefully the new bundle will drive the poor sales so far if it doesnt i really fear for my investment!
the people who are moaning about this are very tight! On launch day i paid £525 for the 60gb PS3 3 games and one pad as a bundle deal from play.com i also got a free hdmi cable and free copy of click on blu-ray
but now you will be getting the 60gb console 2 pads and 2 of the 3 games i got (the 3rd being genji which is a waste of money anyway) for £100 less, and chances are play.com will throw summet in for free!!
Also consider this, the xbox 360 elite is being released on august 24th for £330 from play.com with one pad and no games. Now if u went to buy 2 games and another pad you are more than likely paying more than £425 not to mention still no HD media player in the console either
If you're trying to justify spending what is quite frankly a disgusting amount of money on (this is the important bit) a games console, it's not working.
From Memory, the games included on that deal weren't the best. Genji for example was poor and that's being kind to it. Fair enough 2 games and an extra controller is great but it's still a lot of money for what in reality is an unproven system.
Like someone said earlier about the controllers, new ones will have rumble added to them but what's more concerning to me is the 60GB HDD when there's a 120GB on the way? Doesn't seem all that rosey of a deal to me.
I uhmed and ahhed about buying the 360 many months because I was a previous PS1 and PS2 owner.
The 360 won though, and I won't even consider getting a PS3 until the price drops below £300 and there are at least 5 great games out which I can't play on the 360.
The 360 will keep on doing well with much more 3rd party exclusives until 2009 imo, then we may see the PS3 creep ahead, purely on the power of the brand...I've already seen friends of mine buy the PS3, and then regret it, because the game lineup is way behind the 360s By 2010 I fully expect M$ to be talking about their next system, which will be fully backwards compatible with the 360...the 360 then comes out in a super slim form, and by 2012 we'll see the new xbox console.
Pretty good deal but i don't think it'll be enough to convince the masses this year.
From what i've read sony aren't too fussed about how they do now but in the long haul. Three years from now when every bit of juice has been squeezed from the 360 the PS3 will hit it's stride and people will notice too. I'm not even bringing wii into this as i consider it slightly niche (but not crap by any means).
I don't own any consoles at the moment but will probably get a PS3 one day, just not yet. Sony need to get their s**t together before i part with my cash.
This is so annoying from Sony! My hopes have been dashed again... Why should I have to pay for two games that I can't choose and an extra controller that I don't need? I would've much rather have a cheaper standard pack like the other territories. It seems like Sony is intent on making as many mistakes as possible in PAL territories. Why not have both options available like in the US (albeit with the 80Gb HDD). Oh well, I guess that I have already waited for such a long time that another year won't matter. I now know that I won't be buying a PS3 in 2007. (AU)$1000 for a console is crazy! Imagine how many other forms of entertainment that amount of money could buy.
Its quite simple, Sony like to force stuff onto people. They did it Blu-Ray and now they are doing it with their bundles. Including exclusives like Resistance and Motorstorm will also increase sales of the game as they are being forced on people in the bundle. This will then give Sony the chance to point sales figures at the developers for those games to try and pursuade them to make more exclusives for PS3.
Its quite simple, Sony like to force stuff onto people. They did it Blu-Ray and now they are doing it with their bundles. Including exclusives like Resistance and Motorstorm will also increase sales of the game as they are being forced on people in the bundle. This will then give Sony the chance to point sales figures at the developers for those games to try and pursuade them to make more exclusives for PS3.
I doubt it's anything to do with that. I'd say it's more likely that they lose less money offereng the 'value' pack rather than just reducing the price by £100 like everyone wanted, but it still offers the technical equivelent of the £100 drop to the customer.
Not ideal but better than nowt. And if MS drop the price of the 360 substantialy this year Sony will need to give a proper price reduction to compete.
£425 for a console, 2 games and 2 (almost outdated) pads is good value. It's certainly NOT cheap though, they're two very different things. I really can't see this driving sales in a big way at all. It may help to sustain them in the face of very stiff competition but not for long.
I'll join the chorus of voices who are crying out for a sub £300 price point. I personally won't even consider buying one until then. That's not being tight, it's called being sensible.
I'll join the chorus of voices who are crying out for a sub £300 price point. I personally won't even consider buying one until then. That's not being tight, it's called being sensible.
I own a 360 so I have no need to buy a PS3. IF however the price was reduced to a more reasonable and competitive price in the range on £280 then I may consider getting a PS3 as a Blu-Ray player.
Well i hope you've all realised that Sony are bloody w****rs. Always giving us Europeans the s**tty end of the stick. Fools, please stop bloody buying their consoles. Then we'll see if they'll start being fair to us.
Well I will be definately buying a PS3 now. I was planning on getting Resistance and Motorstorm, but now I can get them included with the console. Plus an extra controller.
I think this is a great time to be getting a PS3, and just think of the quality games that are going to appear within the next 6 months.
on the bbc website they are doing a poll asking whether people prefer a bundle but still pay £425 or just pay less for the PS3 with no bundle. Currently 83% just want a cheaper PS3. you hearing that Sony?
well said kizzkc, people arnt happy unless they got something negative to say. Personally I think this is a sweet deal, its kinda like an unofficial price drop... a new console, two games two pads, its got a fairly huge hdd and dont forget a blu-ray player too. At the mo I cant afford it nor a 360 which i did have but had to sell to pay bills but when I did buy my 360 I paid around £425 for the same deal but minus 40gb on the hdd and no blu-ray. You go into a shop now and pick up a standard 360 premium pack bundled with a hd-dvd drive and your looking at 400 sniffs easy and thats without games etc.
you guys bitch too much if you dont wanna buy the console then dont buy it dont come on here bitching about the price if you aint got enough p's to get it at £425 with the extras then personally i think you are a bit of tight ass...
Mayb its because you really cant afford it dats y or is it bcus mummy and daddy said they aint getting this one for you and you finally got a reality slap grow up its a games console not your f**kin mortgage its not gonna cost you the rest of your life if you spend £425.
if you think a PS3 is expensive then you truly have no idea of what expensive is i think the PS3 is rather cheap in my opinion and never once have i doubted my purchase. Btw since i got the PS3 the 360 has had to spend time on the subs bench...
To be quite honest, anyone over the age of 20 could easily afford a PS3, the problem everyone is having or as you say, 'bitching' about, is that the console isn't worth £425! PS3 is currently in the same situation Xbox 1 was in. Late to the party, lacking in the software department, looks like a tank and over priced. Xbox 1 then had to reduce its price by £100 within a few months due to poor sales and ended up having to give original buyers stuff back in return. To avoid a similar situation, instead of dropping the price, getting bad press and having the reimburse original buyers, Sony have simply included stuff with the console in a bundle. Basically, Sony know they are in the s**t. They PS3 isn't going to sell or compete at its current price but they can't risk dropping the price so soon as it would make them look extremely bad. Also, you must understand that ALOT of the PS2 owners were children/teenagers and they obviously can't afford to move on to PS3 at this price. Where does this leave them? Taking the option of 360 which has the same games at a cheaper price with a better online system.
you guys bitch too much if you dont wanna buy the console then dont buy it dont come on here bitching about the price if you aint got enough p's to get it at £425 with the extras then personally i think you are a bit of tight ass...
Mayb its because you really cant afford it dats y or is it bcus mummy and daddy said they aint getting this one for you and you finally got a reality slap grow up its a games console not your f**kin mortgage its not gonna cost you the rest of your life if you spend £425.
if you think a PS3 is expensive then you truly have no idea of what expensive is i think the PS3 is rather cheap in my opinion and never once have i doubted my purchase. Btw since i got the PS3 the 360 has had to spend time on the subs bench...
To be quite honest, anyone over the age of 20 could easily afford a PS3, the problem everyone is having or as you say, 'bitching' about, is that the console isn't worth £425! PS3 is currently in the same situation Xbox 1 was in. Late to the party, lacking in the software department, looks like a tank and over priced. Xbox 1 then had to reduce its price by £100 within a few months due to poor sales and ended up having to give original buyers stuff back in return. To avoid a similar situation, instead of dropping the price, getting bad press and having the reimburse original buyers, Sony have simply included stuff with the console in a bundle. Basically, Sony know they are in the s**t. They PS3 isn't going to sell or compete at its current price but they can't risk dropping the price so soon as it would make them look extremely bad. Also, you must understand that ALOT of the PS2 owners were children/teenagers and they obviously can't afford to move on to PS3 at this price. Where does this leave them? Taking the option of 360 which has the same games at a cheaper price with a better online system.
Agreed beat me to it. There are actually people out there who want it but can’t afford it.
Well there's no way im letting this lie, at launch i bought motorstorm, resistance and an extra controller, for something in the region of £550.
Just need an address to write to, I demand freebies as compensation; early adoptors should be thanked, not punished.
I feel your pain, but it is your fault for not waiting,not Sonys everyone could see this coming from 2 years ago, same as it will be another 100 squid cheaper next year
I'm the same as Moby_696; bought the exact same package for €750. I saved up for 3 months for it. God damnit. (Yeah I knew it would happen but not this soon - under four months! I would have waited otherwise).
We all know sony are losing money on the PS3 (somthing like £200 per console shipped), and the only way they were making anything was on games sales (and lets face it, their not great) the attachment rate is very poor for a new console, and now their giving away 2 free games (motorstorm and fall of man), their best selling games for the system, ie the only ones people were prepared to pay for anyway.
I dont see sony increasing sales by much with this, it is a good deal for people wanting a PS3, 2 controllers, 2 games for the price of the console by itself just 12 weeks ago.
But what would have driven sales even more was a reduction in the price to 350 quid.
Leaves me wondering if MS will bother to drop the price now in the run upto xmas in both the US and europe, their still cheaper than the PS3 and the sales are still better in a weekly and monthly charts.
On another note, will sony trying to recoop huge loses bother with a price cut in the run upto xmas, now that the value pack is out.
Seems the consumer on both sides of the fench has been screwed by this annoucement.
Well there's no way im letting this lie, at launch i bought motorstorm, resistance and an extra controller, for something in the region of £550.
Just need an address to write to, I demand freebies as compensation; early adoptors should be thanked, not punished.
Thanked? no no, you should be pointed and laughed at. Way to expense then for the sensible people to buy it. Sony themselves said they surprised how many dumb people bought it at that price.
Responding to a question about whether – regardless of what's included - £425 is perceived as just too much for a console David Reeves said “It is, but surprisingly, people are paying that amount of money for it.”
you guys bitch too much if you dont wanna buy the console then dont buy it dont come on here bitching about the price if you aint got enough p's to get it at £425 with the extras then personally i think you are a bit of tight ass...
Mayb its because you really cant afford it dats y or is it bcus mummy and daddy said they aint getting this one for you and you finally got a reality slap grow up its a games console not your f**kin mortgage its not gonna cost you the rest of your life if you spend £425.
if you think a PS3 is expensive then you truly have no idea of what expensive is i think the PS3 is rather cheap in my opinion and never once have i doubted my purchase. Btw since i got the PS3 the 360 has had to spend time on the subs bench...
I find your logic astounding. If you walked into a sweet shop and saw a lollipop for £20 would you buy it ? ...Probably not. Could you afford it ? Probably. I could go right now and waste money on a console with little software and s**t controllers but I will not because it is a waste of money at this time. To be honest i'm not a big fan of any of the new consoles mostly because they will either break down(360) or they have very little software (ps3 wii).
p.s. Have you ever thought of using grammar in your posts ?
We get an extra soon-to-be-outdated controller and 2 year-old games all for just $300 more than the USA's bare-bones pack. I'd better get it before the 60GB version gets retired and the 80GB comes out for the same price.
They must be pig-sick and green with envy over there.
Not looking good for Sony. Apparently this bundle is actually just to try and sell all the stock they have of the 60GB version. Once they are all sold out, it will be replaced by a 80GB version with no games and the new rumble controller. This is apparently because they are loosing too much money selling the current version. Its also rumored that MS will be reducing the price of all its 360 SKU's by $100 as from August 11th. How that will translate for the UK is yet to be seen but it looks like its just getting worse and worse for Sony...
Just to add my flaimbait.. The 360 is THE best console so their!!
Apart from that, Sony still need a kick up the ass, I mean cutting the price with one hand but for less then a month before you force everyone to pay full price again?? And I'm so sure that buying 80GB HDD's by the tousands has increased the price...NOT... It's a good console, the new PSP is cool, but for Gods sake Sony get an idea on how to market your products. They fired the God of Playstation, had the perfect opportunity to strike back at the market, and yet again have totally let it go by? I'm not surprised MS and Nintendo blew their trumpets about sales (esepcially Nintendo) if Sony is the competition. And another thing, IF they launch a rumble controller they are going to look rrreeeeaalllyyyy stupid, considering all the talk they talked about rumble being so last gen, rumble is crap etc to Nintendo and MS. What they going to say? We listened to the fans? Like they should of in the first place.
This dumb arrogant stupid attitude is EXACTLY why I got a 360. If they treated the UK with a bit of respect and it's customers as not being stupid then I would of fallen over a PS3.
Hey i want a free game or controller man, i paid 460 with motorstorm and genji. £35 for a pad that dont rumble is a rip off. i think thats a good price £425 two games and two pads! that is good but the point is ppl dont want to pay more than £350 in the first place
It astonishes me how many people still continue to moan and bitch in here. However you look at it, a better value package is a good thing. As an early adopter I'm used to paying more than a machine will ultimately cost, so why should I moan now? I payed more than £400 for an original Jap PSX when it was released - and that was when £400 was worth something! Not cheap enough for you? So what, go moan elsewhere -I'd like a ferrarai instead of beamer, but it ain't gonna happen. In particular 360 fanboys who simply want to snipe are a bafflement to me. I guess I'm lucky in that I own all the consoles, not because I'm rich, but because I love my games and I'm prepared to make sacrafices needed to have my machines. I've seen all the geneartions of games machines since the early pong machines, and owned them all (yes I'm old enough to know better! ). Theres no question in my mind that the PS3 is a value for money purchase, and has cost me significantly less than my 360 when comparing like for like. Not only that, but I play it more too, and its hasn't broke yet - unlike my 360 thats failed twice now.I simply prefer using it as its a more quality piece of kit. Playing titles like the Darkness, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Motorstorm, super stardust etc - I wander why people insist theres no quality software? I find its usually people with no experience of the machine that have that opinion. Nowadays I only turn my 360 on for some Guitar Hero 2 action! Sony have made great machine with a bright future, almost universally agreed at this years E3 was the strong line up and showing at E3. theres never been a better time to buy into the PS3, and I'm glad it better value so that more people can. People without an axe to grind who actually like games, will appreciate its no bad thing that its starting to get cheaper already...
It astonishes me how many people still continue to moan and bitch in here. However you look at it, a better value package is a good thing. As an early adopter I'm used to paying more than a machine will ultimately cost, so why should I moan now? I payed more than �400 for an original Jap PSX when it was released - and that was when �400 was worth something! Not cheap enough for you? So what, go moan elsewhere -I'd like a ferrarai instead of beamer, but it ain't gonna happen. In particular 360 fanboys who simply want to snipe are a bafflement to me. I guess I'm lucky in that I own all the consoles, not because I'm rich, but because I love my games and I'm prepared to make sacrifices needed to have my machines. I've seen all the genertions of games machines since the early pong machines, and owned them all (yes I'm old enough to know better! ). Theres no question in my mind that the PS3 is a value for money purchase, and has cost me significantly less than my 360 when comparing like for like. Not only that, but I play it more too, and its hasn't broke yet - unlike my 360 thats failed twice now.I simply prefer using it as its a more quality piece of kit. Playing titles like the Darkness, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Motorstorm, super stardust etc - I wander why people insist theres no quality software? I find its usually people with no experience of the machine that have that opinion. Nowadays I only turn my 360 on for some Guitar Hero 2 action! Sony have made great machine with a bright future, almost universally agreed at this years E3 was the strong line up and showing at E3. theres never been a better time to buy into the PS3, and I'm glad it better value so that more people can. People without an axe to grind who actually like games, will appreciate its no bad thing that its starting to get cheaper already...
Good post, and like you, i have played from the early pong days( well not the original, but an old Binatone in 1980 ), thing is for me its sony's overall arrogance with the PS3 thats preventing me touching it, i love games,ive had a PS1 & still have my PS2 Also i do think its way to expensive for what it offers, for 630euro its around the cost of a medium end gaming PC( without screen and with a Core 2 and 8800GTS 320mb ) and PC's offer a lot more than the PS3, im also quite happy with 100+ DVD collection and have no interest in replacing them.
I may pick up a console by the end of the year or early next year, i would have liked to get a PS3 but i very much doubt i will, sonys PR leaves a lot to be desired and i dont like how theyre trying to push Blu-Ray with the PS3, if i ever get a PS3 i will deliberately NEVER but a blu-ray movie unless HDDVD dies completely. Also i dont like Sony's new ad deal, i that this ad crap that is seeping into more and more PC games, never mind the act that Sony can gather all the info from your PS3 harddrive including sites youve visited etc and sell it to the highest bider
Its great if youre happy with your PS3 and really enjoying the games, at the end of the day its all about having a bit of fun gaming, but Sony really really needs to improve their public image and screwing Europeans on base cost. Its great that everyone now gets more for their money but the current PS3's price point puts it out of the range of most people.
Im sure the PS3 will take off eventually, i was all set to buy a PS3 when it was supposed to be released last november, but all their stunts they've pulled since then, ill probably not buy any Sony product from now on, i spent the PS3 cash on building a new PC. I have to thank them for my PS1 & PS2 experiences though
Not looking good for Sony. Apparently this bundle is actually just to try and sell all the stock they have of the 60GB version. Once they are all sold out, it will be replaced by a 80GB version with no games and the new rumble controller. This is apparently because they are loosing too much money selling the current version. Its also rumored that MS will be reducing the price of all its 360 SKU's by $100 as from August 11th. How that will translate for the UK is yet to be seen but it looks like its just getting worse and worse for Sony...
Yeah i never thought of that, get rid of the extra stock of soon to be old controllers and then bam it up with new packs and rumble. Anyway as long as its cheap by time mgs4 comes out i wont mind
titntit..good post mate...(i like others reminisce of the halcyon days of gaming/pong (well on an orange granstand methinks) with regards to this bundle....the bundle comes in a 'special' box yeah? so whats gonna happen to those boxs without the extra graphics(box wise)controllers etc...im sure THOSE boxes (i.e ps3 without the extra content) are gonna be sold cheaper....(er think i confused myself here with the over use of box/es) but you get my point... if that fails...go buy a second hand one from CEx or game or summat? (apparently a lot of you guys invested into the ps3,found out there wasnt many games at launch,then strangely decided to sell it to get a 360 )
I own a 360, DS and a Wii. In the past I've owned most of the consoles from all seven generations of home consoles. I've also worked in retail in 20 years so I know all the tricks that manufacturers use to sell product. This 'value pack' is just one of many tricks that Sony could've used but they picked this one.
First trick, call it a 'Value Pack'. This can only be described as a value pack if you took the RRP of each of the extra bits and added them to the cost of the console itself i.e. two games and a extra controller = £140 of value. However, by virtue of them being really the only 1st party games of any decent quality (and with my 30+ years of gaming experience I can tell you hand on heart, that R:FOM and Motorstorm are only slightly above average) Sony have already made as much money as they are going to with these titles so bundling excess stock as 'value' will in fact cost them VERY little.
The matter of the extra controller.... it is an open secret within the retail industry that a new sixaxis with rumble is out before Q4 (Christmas) this year. Once it does ALL retailers who have a Sale or Return deal with Sony (which is most of them) will send back excess stock of the old style controllers as no one will buy them.
The 'Value Pack' is in reality a clearance sale. Sony are using this opportunity to shift all old product from their inventory before the 'new' PS3 is launched with a larger HD and a Rumble sixaxis at Christmas with the finally ratified spec for the Blu-ray player. (that's right, from 1st October all BD players must be able to use BD Java for interactive services. Nearly all players sold so far don't have that facility and can't be upgraded using firmware updates because they need x amount of ram to run BD java and most don't have it)
As a short term statergy 'Value packs' are good business sense. They enable you get rid of poorly selling selling product from your inventory and release the cash holding value of that product for other things. However, long term they are a bad idea as 'value' will be seen as the norm by those aware of the packs existence but not yet brought one because they want a better spec'd machine but with the games as well. This can't be done without a financial hit on the part of the manufacturer.
As some recently pointed out the forums, the PS3 is a fine machine launched at the wrong price point, at the the wrong time with only average game support and with an online service which is inferior in every important aspect to its main rival.
The chances of me getting a PS3 are 50/50 in the future but those odds are dependant on the price of the console being less than £300 and at least three AAA titles that I can't play on another machine (I got a N64 JUST to play Goldeneye for example). As I have very little interest in MGS4 (overblown interactive movie) GT5 (still no crash damage???!!) and Killzone 2 (poor mans hybrid of Halo 1/2/3 and Gears of War) I don't think I'll be getting one soon. If GTA4 was still an Sony exclusive it might've been a different matter but Sony dropped the ball on that one too.
Glad thats you opinion mate, I absolutly love it. Cracking game! Pure fun! Graphically superb, fast, great playability. Certainly a top first title.
I agree a price drop would of been better, BUT......between paying £425 with possibly one game a couple of weeks ago, to paying £425 with 2 and an extra controller its certainly better value one way or the other. AND please dont start with desperate times people. No one complained at Microsoft for producing pack ins. The only reason why Sony are doing it 5 months earlier than Microsoft is due to launching later and need to build up speed.
A price drop will come, by the end of the year I would feel. By then more titles will be out as well.
Its nice having having the choice of systems to be fair, both having pros and cons. Though price is the real factor here.
Sony have had it bad for a while, but don't slam the company completly. After all without the Sony PS1 playing games would still be deemed immature and laughed upon by many. They have done many good things for the console industry. Without competition, would you want just a Nintendo, or a Microsoft product alone sat on your shelf? Its about choice.
Personally I own 2 x 360s and a PS3 and think they both offer some great titles now, with much potential yet to come. There will always be titles on one system that wont appear on the other and that choice allows for me, to experience some Tripple A gaming goodness.
The 360's line up this year is astounding. Simply put. It is the year of 360. Nintendo have some cracking titles to come, as do Sony. All in all each offering something different than the other.
the deal is really good though. If i bought a 360 with 2 games and 2 wireless controllers, and a live subscription, how much would it be? Im guessing it would be roughly the same as this.
And as someone says, your also getting 40gb extra, and a BR player.
Sorry thats just not good enough, a p**s take in fact. £425 is a rip off in anybodys book when they are £200 in the land of the yanks, and Sony are going to suffer for it. Good enough for them. I'm not buying one until they are the price of the 360, regardless of whatever games they have coming out!
The 'Value Pack' is in reality a clearance sale. Sony are using this opportunity to shift all old product from their inventory before the 'new' PS3 is launched with a larger HD and a Rumble sixaxis at Christmas with the finally ratified spec for the Blu-ray player. (that's right, from 1st October all BD players must be able to use BD Java for interactive services. Nearly all players sold so far don't have that facility and can't be upgraded using firmware updates because they need x amount of ram to run BD java and most don't have it)
I like the rest of your post, very informative - and correct, about marketing it as value to sell stock thats soon to be replaced (controllers etc).
However, on the technology side, i think you're a little mistaken. The new java features that are going to be incorporated do require a fair amount of ram, but not more than what the PS3 has.
Sony have sold several million PS3's already, do you really think this new java update will not be able to run on those machines? And that all future bluray films bearing this standard will be incompatible with PS3's being sold now?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD-J
A quote from that site, referring to which machines are compatible with certain newly released films bearing the new java standard...
The Descent (As of now only working on Sony PlayStation 3, Samsung with firmware update, the Panasonic player, and PowerDVD 6.0 BD Edition; other players need firmware update)
Firstly, it states that the BD-J standard works on PS3, and secondly, it says that some machines may need a firmware update in order to play the film (not a hardware overhaul).
Sony they put themselves in a no-win situation due to setting the original price point so high.
Option 1:- Lower price of machine, take an even bigger per-console financial hit and lose face by admitting they made a major mis-judgement of the European market (in the sense that they thought we LIKED being bottom raped by them).
Option 2:- Bundle deal at same price point. It's STILL £425. The choice of games isn't much of a choice at all (mmm Genji, yes please!).
I've played Resistance and Motorstorm and thought they were great fun B/A grade titles but to get me to part with that much money Sony are going to have to have some AA or AAA grade titles that I can buy NOW (please note the NOW, why pay more for a console to play Final Fantasy in a year or so when I can buy the console for cheaper when Final Fantasy comes out).
I was really disappointed in the Sixaxis pads as well. They creaked and felt cheap. The R2 and L2 became uncomfortable after a little Motorstorm on a warm day (and how much cooler would that game be with a rumble feature, it's off-road for christ's sake) . The only good thing about them was playing Rub-a-Dub from the network.
Strangely enough the Blu Ray player is now the most attractive thing about the machine to me (despite Sony's problems I think putting a Blue Ray drive in a Playstation effectively makes the HD format wars a foregone conclusion).
AND please dont start with desperate times people. No one complained at Microsoft for producing pack ins. The only reason why Sony are doing it 5 months earlier than Microsoft is due to launching later and need to build up speed.
Rubbish, when I brought my 360 it came with Gears Of War and Rainbow 6 and that was in Febuary and NEITHER of those games had run out of steam, infact Gears is STILL consistently in the top 20 selling games. Sony have made this so called 'value' pack to shift stock of the 60GB model so they can push the 80GB one that's back up to full price. And OptimusFrag great post, and yes I would not put it past Sony not launching BR players that aren't future proof. But I would be surprised if you couldn't upgrade them.
Thats just bloody annoying - Sony are just clueless. the console is TOO expensive. Drop the price and get rid of the gimiky bundles and let people opt for a cheaper starting point.
The word bloody typical come to mind. You go out spend 450 on a PS3 with Reistance and another pad, Get slightly bored of it so buy Motorstorm for 40 quid. And then 3 months down the line you could have got the lot for 65 quid cheaper. Oh well at least Rainbow Six is keeping me happy. To be honest alot of got beef with Sony and there pricing but its nothing new. In 1990 I paid 120 for a Megadrive with Sonic1991 150 for a Snes with Mario World 1995 280 for a Playstation with Ridge Racer and Crazy Ivan 1998 320 for a Dreamcast with Power Stone and Blue Stinger 2001 350 for a PS2 with Tekken Tag and Unreal Tournement. Look at those figures and do the math its logical progression and increasing steadily with inflation. Sadly for us early adopters it has always been this way. The only price I didnt grumble at was for my (now sold thank god) 360 because Igot it free with a phone but that cost me a fourtune in peripherals.
You can already pick up a used copy of Motor Storm or Resistance in the shops for £20. It probably costs Sony around 20 pence to press these discs and stick them in the box. They are just trying to unload the millions of obsolete controllers before they release the rumble version in a few months and screw us again.
Let's be honest. It is a bum deal for those who bought the machine at launch but it IS worse that within four months Sony have done this (to those who think it isn't). Its a good piece of kit but not worth the price. The games are cack and if rumours are true, the pads will be out of date within two months.
Someone said that the PS3 has good games out. No it doesn't, not really. It DOES but they're cheaper on the rival machine and better. And for someone who said they have great games to play on the PS3 within the first months, what are they? Ninja Gaiden might be good but its an XBox game. The 360's first few months had Dead or Alive 4, GRAW, Oblivion and Fight Night. Much better games (and next gen). The 360 launch games were better also.
The PS3 should have some good games but for the short term future, apart from multi-platform games, it has nothing interesting or worth justifying the price. For those who mention Blu-Ray, that's irrelevant. And MGS 4 isn't really THAT mindblowing, particularly after seeing Resident Evil 5 and Unreal T'ment 3.
Lastly, those who moan that Sony think their customers are stupid and treat them like s**t...if the people didn't buy the machine, then maybe you would get it cheaper. Their customers ARE obviously a bit retarded as they ARE buying it, so that won't force the price down just yet. You can't have it both ways..
BTW, I'm not a 360 fan boy, so shooting me down for that won't mean anything. I'm just talking logic. I do have one, but I do admit it does have its faults too and does need something more than just games that involve shooting. Yes there are some, but that's just it, only some...
The word bloody typical come to mind. You go out spend 450 on a PS3 with Reistance and another pad, Get slightly bored of it so buy Motorstorm for 40 quid. And then 3 months down the line you could have got the lot for 65 quid cheaper. Oh well at least Rainbow Six is keeping me happy. To be honest alot of got beef with Sony and there pricing but its nothing new. In 1990 I paid 120 for a Megadrive with Sonic1991 150 for a Snes with Mario World 1995 280 for a Playstation with Ridge Racer and Crazy Ivan 1998 320 for a Dreamcast with Power Stone and Blue Stinger 2001 350 for a PS2 with Tekken Tag and Unreal Tournement. Look at those figures and do the math its logical progression and increasing steadily with inflation. Sadly for us early adopters it has always been this way. The only price I didnt grumble at was for my (now sold thank god) 360 because Igot it free with a phone but that cost me a fourtune in peripherals.
320 for dreamcast and 2 games? wasnt dreamcast out for 199.99 quid and powerstone wasnt a launch game so did u just make these numbers up or has my memory faded me?
The word bloody typical come to mind. You go out spend 450 on a PS3 with Reistance and another pad, Get slightly bored of it so buy Motorstorm for 40 quid. And then 3 months down the line you could have got the lot for 65 quid cheaper. Oh well at least Rainbow Six is keeping me happy. To be honest alot of got beef with Sony and there pricing but its nothing new. In 1990 I paid 120 for a Megadrive with Sonic1991 150 for a Snes with Mario World 1995 280 for a Playstation with Ridge Racer and Crazy Ivan 1998 320 for a Dreamcast with Power Stone and Blue Stinger 2001 350 for a PS2 with Tekken Tag and Unreal Tournement. Look at those figures and do the math its logical progression and increasing steadily with inflation. Sadly for us early adopters it has always been this way. The only price I didnt grumble at was for my (now sold thank god) 360 because Igot it free with a phone but that cost me a fourtune in peripherals.
320 for dreamcast and 2 games? wasnt dreamcast out for 199.99 quid and powerstone wasnt a launch game so did u just make these numbers up or has my memory faded me?
Your memory is fading (except for powerstone, it was a launch game) the dreamcast came out in 1999 on the 9/9/99 in the uk for £199.99 and the games were 39.99 each, so 2 years later when he said he got one, he paid well over the odds for it, special, since the dc had just been killed off and were going for 50 quid brand new and games were being sold to clear stock by that point.
In fact by just looking at his facts on pricing, i would say he is the dumbest person around, he's paid over the odds for every console he has owned, a few years after it came out.
I paid 300 punt( around 370euro ) in France for a playstation 2 soon after it came out( and you could actually go into a shop and but it without having to preorder ). It was 400punt in Ireland at the time( about 500Euro ). Anyway after i bought it the only decent game was Tekken Tag, 3 months later and GT3 was out, it was then another 6 months before i could buy another game( cant remember what it was Devil May Cry i think ). So thats why i gave up on being an early adopter, by the time decent games were out it was around 300euro everywhere
Your memory isint fading (except for powerstone, it was a launch game) the dreamcast came out in 1999 on the 9/9/99 in the uk for £199.99 and the games were 39.99 each, so 2 years later when he said he got one, he paid well over the odds for it, special, since the dc had just been killed off and were going for 50 quid brand new and games were being sold to clear stock by that point.
In fact by just looking at his facts on pricing, i would say he is the dumbest person around, he's paid over the odds for every console he has owned, a few years after it came out.
ah wasnt sure about powerstone. I got sonic at launch hmm and would of thought i got something else. I just remember getting powerstone and then taking it back week later to get soul calibar(which had been delayed). What an amazing game that was.
Edit - hmm Dreamcast has got to be my fave console. Just checking out the games i got and the number hours spent on pso online - i just cant get bored of that game. Soul Calibar and code veronica(hope they remake that for wii in nice new graphics). Sega themselves were really rolling out some nice games at that time unlike now. OH SHENMUE! lol
AND please dont start with desperate times people. No one complained at Microsoft for producing pack ins. The only reason why Sony are doing it 5 months earlier than Microsoft is due to launching later and need to build up speed.
Rubbish, when I brought my 360 it came with Gears Of War and Rainbow 6 and that was in Febuary and NEITHER of those games had run out of steam, infact Gears is STILL consistently in the top 20 selling games. Sony have made this so called 'value' pack to shift stock of the 60GB model so they can push the 80GB one that's back up to full price. And OptimusFrag great post, and yes I would not put it past Sony not launching BR players that aren't future proof. But I would be surprised if you couldn't upgrade them.
b******s, you clearly have no handle or perception on marketing. I dont disagree with the fact Europeans are being slammed again, but AS I SAY, its better to get something than nothing.
wow, i though the PS3 was total value before this.
I mean back in 2005, i remeber reading countless magazines "PS3 will be expensive", and then it would list all the features and they added upt to alot.
I was expecting to pay £600-£800 and i ended up paying £600.
Obviously 425 is the Magic Number, written into a lot of Sony business plans and invested in a lot of people keeping their jobs at present. There's been quite a lot of good comment on this thread. What we don't know was whether the bundling is a genuine bid to move the market, or a gesture given the US move and probably some unwelcome flak in the tabloids had they not.
I don't think it is going to move the market, 425 is still a very unattractive price for a games console. There's time before Christmas I suppose, but maybe the sales figures are right and they're selling as many as they feel they need to.
Obviously 425 is the Magic Number, written into a lot of Sony business plans and invested in a lot of people keeping their jobs at present. There's been quite a lot of good comment on this thread. What we don't know was whether the bundling is a genuine bid to move the market, or a gesture given the US move and probably some unwelcome flak in the tabloids had they not.
I don't think it is going to move the market, 425 is still a very unattractive price for a games console. There's time before Christmas I suppose, but maybe the sales figures are right and they're selling as many as they feel they need to.
What isn't surprising is that all the retailers who were selling it cheaper before are now doing even better deals.So its a win win situation. My local shop is now selling it at £350 for just machine or £375 with ANY game. I bought it with Ninja Gaiden. The machine exudes quality and isn't just a games machine.
Sony machines always first come out expensive and then drop down in price (but then again so does most technology nowadays)
Best advice now is see what your local retailers are doing.
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Oh my god. Look everyone, a xbox fanboy. t**t
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