Will prices on PS/3's come down for the holidays?

[SlumpBuster]

Jeez Louise! I guess there's fanboys for everything. I won't buy any of them. I haven't had a "console" since the Atari 2600. After my first summer playing games on a Commodore 64 it was all PC all the time for me.

FLAME ALERT! I guess if you like playing watered down versions of PC games, having to pay for online play, playing with "rush into the scrum" kids and nOOb middle aged dads then PS3 and 360 is good for you. But if you want to play complex involved games that need joystick, keyboard, and mouse to control and you want to play with the L33T HaXors, then PC is good. And finally, If you're a little girl - I have a Wii you might like.

I'M GONNA PLAY HALO ON THIS!

[GMichael]

Been repaired once over a year ago. Never had a problem since. Took 1 week from start to finish. MS paid Next-Day shipping both ways, and it didn't cost me a cent. They sent me a new factory sealed box, and extended the warrenty from 1 to 3 years. Also extended my warrenty from the date of shipment of the replacement unit.(Not the original purchase date, that was already 11 months old)

If you consider that a bad deal, I guess thats on you. For me, it was handled quite professionally, and quickly. In fact, I wish all electronic repair issues were handled as well.

Enjoy your PS3.

One return is not bad. I hope that's the end of your returns. You should get to enjoy your system for years without down time.
I'm just a little gun shy with all the stories and threads I've seen about the 360 reliability. Hopefully all those problems are fixed and gone. But my shyness (sp) remains.

As far as the Wii and Atari, I'm sure the Arari is fun. I know the Wii is. I have a friend who has one. We had a blast with it a couple of weeks ago. But I've invested a lot in HD. Wouldn't make sense for me to skip out on HD here.

Everyone has to pick what they want for their own needs. Doesn't mean that your choice is any worse than mine.

Now, about those price drops.........????

[L.J.]

All 3......I've kept up with all this stuff in the past, but I'm done. I currently have the PS3, Gamecube and Dreamcast (That's right Dreamcast, remember those) hooked to my main system and a PS2 up front. A PS1 and Nintendo sitting in a closet. Thought about getting a Wii for a second but I'd rather just invest that $$$$ on my PS3. Now I'd be very tempted to pick up a 360, but the lack of HD audio decoding (that plus all the problems I keep reading about and the fact my friend has been through 2 units already) has held me back since my main purpose in buying it would be for HD-DVD.

[GMichael]

All 3......I've kept up with all this stuff in the past, but I'm done. I currently have the PS3, Gamecube and Dreamcast (That's right Dreamcast, remember those) hooked to my main system and a PS2 up front. A PS1 and Nintendo sitting in a closet. Thought about getting a Wii for a second but I'd rather just invest that $$$$ on my PS3. Now I'd be very tempted to pick up a 360, but the lack of HD audio decoding (that plus all the problems I keep reading about and the fact my friend has been through 2 units already) has held me back since my main purpose in buying it would be for HD-DVD.

Prices on the stand alone HD-DVD players are dropping like a stone. One may not be too far off for me. Early next year maybe.

[L.J.]

Prices on the stand alone HD-DVD players are dropping like a stone. One may not be too far off for me. Early next year maybe.

You may be able to get one for about $59.99 by then

[Groundbeef]

One return is not bad. I hope that's the end of your returns. You should get to enjoy your system for years without down time.
I'm just a little gun shy with all the stories and threads I've seen about the 360 reliability. Hopefully all those problems are fixed and gone. But my shyness (sp) remains.


Now, about those price drops.........????

If one were in the market for a 360 now, I would only buy one that has the HDMI output. That means either the Elite, or the Pro system. Both have been reconfigured on the innards to reduce the failure rate. The most common thought from the repair centers is that there was inadequate heat-sink protection, and the heat buildup was causing solder to liquify and thus cause wires to not be connected anylonger.

The new units (Elite, and the Pro systems with HDMI) has larger heat sinks, venting, and a more reliable DVD drive. Plus any new system is warrented for 3 years versus standard 1 year warrenty. Many game shops are reporting far fewer returns for failure, and it appears the problems have been fixed. Judging from sales #'s consumers are not really concerned either, as last month they bought 2x as many 360's vs PS3's.

As far as price drops, at this time Sony has all but ruled out any additional price drops for the year. But if it continues to get its ass kicked in the market place they may be forced to. But for every $50-100 they drop, MS can match.

[audio_dude]

I agree with SlumpBuster. The PC was, is, and always will be the best gaming platform. Sure, consoles seem so much faster when they come out, everyone ooo's and ahhh's, but in the end, the PC will surpass it in at max a year. For all the horsepower the PS3 has...the graphics on all the games i've seen suck ass.

Well, i bought a Wii mainly because i can't stand console controllers...they just aren't made for First Person Shooter...i tried playing gears of was on the 360...it just wasn't playable. ah well, a console has all kinds of games, but is suited to none of them. On a PC, mouse and keyboard still rule the FPS camp.

The best thing a controller is good for is Sports games...thats it.

[GMichael]

I agree with SlumpBuster. The PC was, is, and always will be the best gaming platform. Sure, consoles seem so much faster when they come out, everyone ooo's and ahhh's, but in the end, the PC will surpass it in at max a year. For all the horsepower the PS3 has...the graphics on all the games i've seen suck ass.

Well, i bought a Wii mainly because i can't stand console controllers...they just aren't made for First Person Shooter...i tried playing gears of was on the 360...it just wasn't playable. ah well, a console has all kinds of games, but is suited to none of them. On a PC, mouse and keyboard still rule the FPS camp.

The best thing a controller is good for is Sports games...thats it.

Can I hook up a high quality steering wheel to a PC and drive one of the Grand Tarismo games?

[Groundbeef]

Can I hook up a high quality steering wheel to a PC and drive one of the Grand Tarismo games?

Audio Dude, and Slumpbuster bring up some valid points. On the PC there are certainly many advantages over the console with regards to gameplay. Just the ablity to use a keyboard is 1 major one considering how a mouse/keyboard combo works together.

However, the weak spot of PC gaming is the constant need for upgrades. I have a PC that I use for gaming as well as my 360 (and Dreamcast before it), and it is awesome. But it is also 2 years old, and looking a little long in the tooth tech wise. Most new games I can only play on "medium" video quality because I cannot afford the newest $5000 alienware, Falcon Tech, or Dell XPS.

The 360/PS3 are dedicated gaming machines (although in this round it is a little blurry with some of the D/L opportunities etc). The nice thing about the console is relative ease of use. You buy a game for the machine, put it in, it works. Every machine is the same, so programmers can really optimize a game for a particular machine.

In the past PC games ruled supreme in the simulation catagory (IE, flight, racing in particular) but not really anymore. PGR, DiRT, Sega Rally (little arcady), GT for the Sony folks, have really started to shine, and graphically are on par with some of the best PC systems.

And most console racers also support the use of a wheel. I know the MS wheel offers force feedback, wireless control, and other PC like features. Not sure about the Sony offerings.

Flight simulators will be the PC's best chance at standing out. The flight control options for the PC are the best bar none. Consoles gamepad control of a fighter plane are pathetic, and really don't match up.

Console online gameplay is typically a bit easier to use than the PC as well. I know, I know, the 360 charges you $50/year for the priviledge of online play. But, as both a PC gamer, and a console gamer, I say let me pay. I have had more trouble getting online with PC games, and frankly none with the 360. If you want to play online with 360, you click mulitplayer, and viola, your online with players ready to go.

With the free PC setup, you are at the mercy of the company providing the play. EA is really bad, Valve is hard to authenticate, and a slew of smaller companies never seem to have enough server bandwidth to support online play. So it may be "free" but it aint "easy".

And to GMicheal, Gran Tourismo, isn't really a "high quality" racer. It's pretty to look at, but as far as simulation goes, its a crapper. No damage modeling (hit a wall at 200mph, and keep on goin!), and wonky physics.

I haven't bought many racers for the PC as of late, but yes you can hook up driving wheels from MS, Logitech, and some other makers to your PC.

[GMichael]

Audio Dude, and Slumpbuster bring up some valid points. On the PC there are certainly many advantages over the console with regards to gameplay. Just the ablity to use a keyboard is 1 major one considering how a mouse/keyboard combo works together.

However, the weak spot of PC gaming is the constant need for upgrades. I have a PC that I use for gaming as well as my 360 (and Dreamcast before it), and it is awesome. But it is also 2 years old, and looking a little long in the tooth tech wise. Most new games I can only play on "medium" video quality because I cannot afford the newest $5000 alienware, Falcon Tech, or Dell XPS.

The 360/PS3 are dedicated gaming machines (although in this round it is a little blurry with some of the D/L opportunities etc). The nice thing about the console is relative ease of use. You buy a game for the machine, put it in, it works. Every machine is the same, so programmers can really optimize a game for a particular machine.

In the past PC games ruled supreme in the simulation catagory (IE, flight, racing in particular) but not really anymore. PGR, DiRT, Sega Rally (little arcady), GT for the Sony folks, have really started to shine, and graphically are on par with some of the best PC systems.

And most console racers also support the use of a wheel. I know the MS wheel offers force feedback, wireless control, and other PC like features. Not sure about the Sony offerings.

Flight simulators will be the PC's best chance at standing out. The flight control options for the PC are the best bar none. Consoles gamepad control of a fighter plane are pathetic, and really don't match up.

Console online gameplay is typically a bit easier to use than the PC as well. I know, I know, the 360 charges you $50/year for the priviledge of online play. But, as both a PC gamer, and a console gamer, I say let me pay. I have had more trouble getting online with PC games, and frankly none with the 360. If you want to play online with 360, you click mulitplayer, and viola, your online with players ready to go.

With the free PC setup, you are at the mercy of the company providing the play. EA is really bad, Valve is hard to authenticate, and a slew of smaller companies never seem to have enough server bandwidth to support online play. So it may be "free" but it aint "easy".

And to GMicheal, Gran Tourismo, isn't really a "high quality" racer. It's pretty to look at, but as far as simulation goes, its a crapper. No damage modeling (hit a wall at 200mph, and keep on goin!), and wonky physics.

I haven't bought many racers for the PC as of late, but yes you can hook up driving wheels from MS, Logitech, and some other makers to your PC.

So dude..........

Don't take this the wrong way, but...
How much time do you spend gaming?

[Groundbeef]

So dude..........

Don't take this the wrong way, but...
How much time do you spend gaming?

Probably 3-4 hours a week. Unfortunatly schooling, work, and family don't leave much time for it. I do read a couple of gaming magazines though, as the games themselves are too expensive to just buy without any research.

Anyway, does it really matter? How much time do you spend listening to music/watching movies? Its all in how you choose to spend your time I guess.

[GMichael]

Probably 3-4 hours a week. Unfortunatly schooling, work, and family don't leave much time for it. I do read a couple of gaming magazines though, as the games themselves are too expensive to just buy without any research.

Anyway, does it really matter? How much time do you spend listening to music/watching movies? Its all in how you choose to spend your time I guess.

Movies? More than you spend on gaming.
Music? The exact number is, "a lot." But I can listen to music while doing other things, so that doesn't count as much.

When you gonna be done schooling?

I've been reading up on games now that I an planning on buying a unit. They sure do look nice. Beats the heck out of my last unit. Pong!

[SlumpBuster]

Groundbeef states some good points against PC. But I always considered upgrading to be a strength, not a weakness. My PC rig is ultimately limited by only by the processor and motherboard. Those are the only two things I need to "future proof" when buying. But, that also assumes I'm tech savvy and adept at building and upgrading computers (which are actually both pretty easy).

But, your right about cost and sunsetting as downsides of PC. My Dell XPS wasn't cheap. But, I have found that if selected well with upgrades in mind, I can get 5-6 years out of a tower computer.

Sunsetting is the biggest problem and Valve is the biggest culprit. You can't play Half Life 2 without an internet connection. Also, the Valve software triples my bootup time. However, when MS sunsets some of their games and shuts down the servers and doesn't have a sequel on the horizon, they will open up the source code to the fan community and allow the fan community to continue online play on their own servers. That happened with MechWarrior.

Audiodude is right, too. FPS is like all I play and PC is the only way to go. But there is a weakness. While I can become a really good player with a top notch PC rig, most PC games are subject to way to much hacking and cheats. Call of Duty's Kill Cam was a god send, but still problems remain. I never got into FEAR's online play because I suspected hacking. I've seen plenty of hack free play with circles of friends that I know and trust. So, I know when something looks fishy.

Oh and finally, to all the PS3 players: Welcome to Hi-Def. We (PC players) have been waiting for you... for like 6 years.

[Groundbeef]

Groundbeef states some good points against PC. But I always considered upgrading to be a strength, not a weakness. My PC rig is ultimately limited by only by the processor and motherboard. Those are the only two things I need to "future proof" when buying. But, that also assumes I'm tech savvy and adept at building and upgrading computers (which are actually both pretty easy).

But, your right about cost and sunsetting as downsides of PC. My Dell XPS wasn't cheap. But, I have found that if selected well with upgrades in mind, I can get 5-6 years out of a tower computer.

Sunsetting is the biggest problem and Valve is the biggest culprit. You can't play Half Life 2 without an internet connection. Also, the Valve software triples my bootup time. However, when MS sunsets some of their games and shuts down the servers and doesn't have a sequel on the horizon, they will open up the source code to the fan community and allow the fan community to continue online play on their own servers. That happened with MechWarrior.

Audiodude is right, too. FPS is like all I play and PC is the only way to go. But there is a weakness. While I can become a really good player with a top notch PC rig, most PC games are subject to way to much hacking and cheats. Call of Duty's Kill Cam was a god send, but still problems remain. I never got into FEAR's online play because I suspected hacking. I've seen plenty of hack free play with circles of friends that I know and trust. So, I know when something looks fishy.

Oh and finally, to all the PS3 players: Welcome to Hi-Def. We (PC players) have been waiting for you... for like 6 years.

Actually, Motherboard, and Processor are less important as programmers are optimizing game play to utilize the latest in either Nvidia, or that other off brand graphics card. Without that you can't utilize the latest in Direct X 10, and have to suffice with lower frame rates, less AA smoothing, and overall playback.

The CPU doesn't shoulder much of the load anymore for games, although many of the graphics cards do scale depending upon processer speed.

I just wish I had a PCI-E motherboard. I'm stuck with AGP cards for now. Cant justify the upgrade right now.

And PS3 players can't compete on "Games For Windows" PC vs 360 games...to bad for the Sony folks!

[kexodusc]

Audio Dude, and Slumpbuster bring up some valid points. On the PC there are certainly many advantages over the console with regards to gameplay. Just the ablity to use a keyboard is 1 major one considering how a mouse/keyboard combo works together.

However, the weak spot of PC gaming is the constant need for upgrades. I have a PC that I use for gaming as well as my 360 (and Dreamcast before it), and it is awesome. But it is also 2 years old, and looking a little long in the tooth tech wise. Most new games I can only play on "medium" video quality because I cannot afford the newest $5000 alienware, Falcon Tech, or Dell XPS.

The 360/PS3 are dedicated gaming machines (although in this round it is a little blurry with some of the D/L opportunities etc). The nice thing about the console is relative ease of use. You buy a game for the machine, put it in, it works. Every machine is the same, so programmers can really optimize a game for a particular machine.

In the past PC games ruled supreme in the simulation catagory (IE, flight, racing in particular) but not really anymore. PGR, DiRT, Sega Rally (little arcady), GT for the Sony folks, have really started to shine, and graphically are on par with some of the best PC systems.

And most console racers also support the use of a wheel. I know the MS wheel offers force feedback, wireless control, and other PC like features. Not sure about the Sony offerings.

Flight simulators will be the PC's best chance at standing out. The flight control options for the PC are the best bar none. Consoles gamepad control of a fighter plane are pathetic, and really don't match up.

Console online gameplay is typically a bit easier to use than the PC as well. I know, I know, the 360 charges you $50/year for the priviledge of online play. But, as both a PC gamer, and a console gamer, I say let me pay. I have had more trouble getting online with PC games, and frankly none with the 360. If you want to play online with 360, you click mulitplayer, and viola, your online with players ready to go.

With the free PC setup, you are at the mercy of the company providing the play. EA is really bad, Valve is hard to authenticate, and a slew of smaller companies never seem to have enough server bandwidth to support online play. So it may be "free" but it aint "easy".

And to GMicheal, Gran Tourismo, isn't really a "high quality" racer. It's pretty to look at, but as far as simulation goes, its a crapper. No damage modeling (hit a wall at 200mph, and keep on goin!), and wonky physics.

I haven't bought many racers for the PC as of late, but yes you can hook up driving wheels from MS, Logitech, and some other makers to your PC.

Good post.

I've just found different games do better on a PC than on a console - I dunno why, but for whatever reason I have found almost all sports games to behave better on a console than on my PC. And yeah, I have a PCI-E mobo, but I don't have the $400-$500 equivalent video card of whatever's in that 360.

And I never managed to get it looking as nice on my 51" screen either...I think if budgets weren't an issue, PC would be easily be the way to go. That's just not the case though.

[Groundbeef]

Good post.

I've just found different games do better on a PC than on a console - I dunno why, but for whatever reason I have found almost all sports games to behave better on a console than on my PC. And yeah, I have a PCI-E mobo, but I don't have the $400-$500 equivalent video card of whatever's in that 360.

And I never managed to get it looking as nice on my 51" screen either...I think if budgets weren't an issue, PC would be easily be the way to go. That's just not the case though.

Oh, I whole-heartedly agree. I much prefer Civilization IV on the PC, Command & Conquer series on PC, any flight game, and I just got this game called World in Conflict. It was for both the PC and the 360. I don't know how you could really play it on the 360. So much action, and I had a hard time with the keyboard/mouse combo. Let alone try and hotkey on a gamepad? No way.

I wish I had more money for a top rate PC, but I don't. And the 360 does excell in sports and driving games.

[L.J.]

Hey shouldn't you guys be off somewhere playing Halo =)

[GMichael]

Hey shouldn't you guys be off somewhere playing Halo =)

Is that today?

[L.J.]

Is that today?

Bunch of people were standing in line like idiots last night.

[GMichael]

Bunch of people were standing in line like idiots last night.

HAHAHA I love people who have to be the first one on the block to own something.

[Groundbeef]

When you gonna be done schooling?

If I don't finish up MBA school next May(08) I won't be posting much as I'll be dead (according to my wife).

[GMichael]

If I don't finish up MBA school next May(08) I won't be posting much as I'll be dead (according to my wife).

Cool, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel then? (talking about the school thing here, not the wife killing you)

[GMichael]

Looks like Sony has filed a new model of the PS3 with the FCC.

http://communities.canada.com/sharei...h-the-fcc.aspx