PlayStation 3 costs $800, sez Merrill Lynch mob

[soulxtc]

http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/02/ps3_cost.jpg
If there are some people out there right now who are in the know when it comes to what the hell is going on -- we mean really going on -- with Sony, it's those investment firms. But even barring their research analysts getting all kinds of privvy information from direct executive input or connections on the supply side, it's kind of funny when one of these investment firms lets loose some juicy gossip. Like that Sony's albatross PlayStation 3 is going to cost them $800 per unit at launch (they list $900, but apparently Lynch financial analysts can't add their own totals). $800 per unit? Doesn't sound unreasonable considering what Sony's trying to get under cram under the hood of this thing; Lynch calls it an "expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product" because of the Cell processor and Blu-ray drive, which account for the lion's share of the backend parts costs (see above). Granted, most of this analysis comes off as estimation and prediction, but we'd like to make a prediction of our own: the PS3? She's like Kutaragi's Spruce Goose. Oh she'll fly alright, but at what cost?


P.S. It's worth a reminder that game companies always sell these things at a loss at launch, so we shouldn't have to worry too much about ponying up about a grand for a PS3. Eh, maybe only six or seven hundred.

READ ARTICLE (f there are some people out there right now who are in the know when it comes to what the hell is going on -- we mean really going on -- with Sony, it's those investment firms. But even barring their research analysts getting all kinds of privvy information from direct executive input or connections on the supply side, it's kind of funny when one of these investment firms lets loose some juicy gossip. Like that Sony's albatross PlayStation 3 is going to cost them $800 per unit at launch (they list $900, but apparently Lynch financial analysts can't add their own totals). $800 per unit? Doesn't sound unreasonable considering what Sony's trying to get under cram under the hood of this thing; Lynch calls it an "expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product" because of the Cell processor and Blu-ray drive, which account for the lion's share of the backend parts costs (see above). Granted, most of this analysis comes off as estimation and prediction, but we'd like to make a prediction of our own: the PS3? She's like Kutaragi's Spruce Goose. Oh she'll fly alright, but at what cost?)

[SanDiegoKid]

Hehehe.. is this Sony's 3DO?

If it is, well, sign me up... 'cause I bought that piece of shit back in the day too.

[Potato]

Oohh the costs of being a video game junkie...

[shawners]

The cost of ps3, the cost of a mod chip.. And no cost in buying games. Wait for the price drop as well as mods for it.

[Mels_Smileys45]

Kill the video game markert, it sucks and is evil.

[mountain_rage]

I have a feeling we will see allot of overheating with sony's new console

[VAMPYRE BLADE]

no video game unit is worth $800

[the great one]

no video game unit is worth $800

especially when it is made by a shit company like Sony!

[shawners]

no video game unit is worth $800

I think its cause there making it into a media center then a gaming one. Even if gaming is the main event.

[Auggie2k]

The cost of ps3, the cost of a mod chip.. And no cost in buying games. Wait for the price drop as well as mods for it.
That's what I've been saying for ages too. Spot on bro, people won't listen though. They'll still run out and buy it at full whack.

EDIT: And you guys are right, no console is worth $800 but this machine will have many possibilites, much like a PC, which would cost $800+

[boogiedan]

i think the psx3 will suck
playstation days r numbered
the big bad bill is nearly knocking em out!!

[kyle_ali11]

ps3 will cost 499 i know it

[Mels_Smileys45]

There is no doubt that it will not cost 800 smackers. I am betting also that it will be $399 - $450 bare bones with Sony taking a huge loss to get them to market. Good for consumers as long as they don't release a POS that is full of bugs (likely). I would not advise buying one till they are well tested by the suckers

[mountain_rage]

I agree with mels with 8 cores the thing is bound to have cooling problems. Theres also going to be blue ray drive problems too as every sony system up till now using new optical format has suffered from poorly developed optics.

[meyou123]

Something tells me that this thing may not go over as well as they think. You already have the xbox 360 and if the cooling problems along with blue ray turn out to be more troublesome than people realize, you may just see a bunch of returns on these systems.

Not to mention the very high price. Frankly I think it is stupid to try to make a video game console into a computer....which is basically where they want to go. I already OWN a computer, I don't need a console that does everything....just one that plays games and does a good job at it!

[Ultima-X]

There always will be thousands of ppl who will end up buying it. But i doubt it will be worth above 700$. I mean ppl will still buy it but Sony will lose money on it...

[Signa]

im very sceptical about it too. i have always been a nintendo fanboy but always cave in to sony durring the final stretch. im certain the PS3 will be worth it, but i have little regrets buying nintendo and then going sony later..... and thats speaking from the n64-GC era. i think the Wii is really going to be awsome and truly *be* better than the other systems.

[SexyAsh]

wow i might have to wait for that

Still it'll be worth it when it takes back the gaming market from big bill

[Mels_Smileys45]

wow i might have to wait for that

Still it'll be worth it when it takes back the gaming market from big bill


The research analysts say thats not going to happen. They are predicting the 360 to help MS gain the leading market share and hold it for a substantial period.

[SexyAsh]

*fingers in ears* La La La Ps3 will crush all La La La

[Mels_Smileys45]

Its being pre sold for about 1000 dollars American if you feel like blowing the kids trust fund but put back a few $100 if you want to buy acouple of the $100 dollar games to play on it. Blu Ray is turning out to be a huge problem, not an asset, as dual layer DVD's are fine for storing game data. Ive never even seen a two DVD video game so the only reason Sony would be using this drive is to try and bolster the BR format. Big Mistake.

[boogiedan]

i really hav 2 say i see MS winning this

[Theinfamousone]

This is interesting. Video games and computers have merged and at this point I think that they've gone way too far. Sony is feeling the pinch to be the best, they're already releasing their sytem behind the 8 ball and Nintendo is always going to take their share, especially with the *relative* simplicity of the Wii, Sony's only recourse is to go insanely outlandish with the Playstation's technical capabilities. The blu rhay thing does sound like overkill. Granted, the 4MB games of the early 90's on Super Nintendo aren't exactly going to elate consumers, If you're making games more than 8 or 9 gigs, well, cut it short and make a sequel...LOL

At this point it just seems that there is an impossible task put on video game makers. Create a system that can outdue your competitors technically and graphically for a price that consumers can swallow without taking out a loan, and then create super intricate and detailed games with 3d graphics and basically entire worlds, and do that all for the price of a tank of gas.

I can get games for PS2 or Xbox for half the price of a tank of gas, I know people complain about prices, but when you figure that games like that take A LOT of planning and time and effort and man hours and marketing and shipping and packaging and on and on, it's no wonder both Sony and Microsoft make these systems at a loss and Nintendo only can keep their prices so low because the Japanese government pays for it. But seriously, the price it costs to make a PS3, I could get a custom built top of the line computer. I'd rather see computers turn into video game consoles than the other way around. For some reason it's just not the same playing video games on a computer for me. There's something about having it a console that makes it more fun.

[nalubh]

Sony is counting on us ... just like all other big companies.

We have to have an iPod, blu-ray, PSP or Nintendo-DS ... it's all about brands.
And althought PS2 was ground-breaking, PS3 price is a bit over the top. They charging us all that because they know we'll pay.

Not to mention the game's price has doubled for the new console!

That's why I'm waiting patiently for 3 years. So some kid break into the console, chip it, make it region free, allow us to use copied games, allow us to run PAL or NTSC.

Hopefully by then I'll have a blu-ray burner as well and we either have a massive compressor or our broadbands get much much faster to allow us to download games of 20-30gb ...

Ah, the future!

[mountain_rage]

Well the wii has disc is confirmed cracked and I've heard from a few sources that theres a modchip allowing you to play commercial games. And considering that nintendo is making a 50$ profit on every system its safe to say that this will not kill them.