[JimH443]

Funny the author mentions stubborningly clinging to a price and televisions in the same article. I remember, not too long ago, when you could buy a 30" TV for around $300. No, of course it wasn't HDTV, but come on... at 30" from 10ft away the picture is not going to be so much better that it's worth twice the money!
I'm going to be sticking to my NTSC TV for as long as replacement parts are available until the prices on TV's gets reasonable again.
IMHO, they're just charging these high prices because they THINK we're being forced into replacing 100% of the TV's in our homes. Well, come February they're going to be sadly mistaken when they find that all the TV's they thought would move are still sitting on the shelf.
As for games, I'll play them on my computer - where they belong.

[HarveyDanger]

Yes, yes it is. Unless you own an HDTV, it's useless.
Sony was aiming for the upper-class when they started marketing their console, but in a world where the economy is dipping, people can't afford superfluous "features," and this is why the PS3 is failing.

[HarveyDanger]

Also of note is the fact that when DVD started out, most households already had TVs and VHS players. As it is now, most of the world, especially America, is not in possession of HDTVs, and so Blu-Ray is useless to them. It's seen as an unaffordable and relatively useless luxury when there are so many other options for thrifty spending.



Maybe when LCD prices drop after a few more years, Blu-Ray will finally become the standard, but as it is, the install base is not large enough. The same argument can apply to movie streaming, as well, although all people need for that is broadband internet, which is slowly but steadily expanding across the country.

[wrathforger]

its not just ALL about video quality when it comes to blu-ray. what about audio? audio is important too.

[coastie65]

wrathforger said:

its not just ALL about video quality when it comes to blu-ray. what about audio? audio is important too.

Good point. I can only speak for the PS3. If you have the audio system in place, the PS3 will give you all you want as it is Dolby Digital as are most things these days I guess. If you have a surround sound set up, you really have something. coastie65

[mpheadley]

I gotta comment on what you all are saying about the popularity of HDTVs. You guys must not live in the northeast. I'm in south jersey, and every store I have gone to in the past few weeks, there is someone buying a flat screen or they've already just bought one. Doesn't seem like the economy is keeping anyone here from buying any here.

Also, one of my broadcasting industry publications has just estimated that one in four Americans has at least one HDTV. I'm surprised by that figure and who knows how accurate they are, but they had to get that figure from somewhere and a lot of people out there must have them!

And as far as the price goes. In 35 minutes a 30" CRT HDTV is about to end on ebay (local pickup from maryland) for 80 dollars. You can own an HDTV really cheap if you look for it. I myself bought a 32" sony CRT HDTV from someone off craigslist for like $125. And let me tell you, they look fabulous! CRTs have the fastness and the contrast ratio and the colors! Just find a decent TV stand and a friend with a truck to help you lift it up on there. People are getting rid of them because of the weight and the size of them, but they are a great affordable alternative!

[theangrycarp]

Really? Is that where that RJ45 goes? I had no idea! I thought that was just for a really big land-line telephone!

I guess you didn't read the part where I stated I wanted to play wirelessly. I live in a relatively large home with serveral roommates who all own consoles they play wirelessly - as well as their PC's. I have a great broadband connection and have purches extra bandwidth to support an awesome wireless connection. So yes, I do know that they support a wired connection - but that doesn't really help me. PS3 was already thinking ahead ahead so they included the wireless NIC.

Thanks though.

[JimH443]

mpheadley said:

And as far as the price goes. In 35 minutes a 30" CRT HDTV is about to end on ebay (local pickup from maryland) for 80 dollars. You can own an HDTV really cheap if you look for it. I myself bought a 32" sony CRT HDTV from someone off craigslist for like $125. And let me tell you, they look fabulous! CRTs have the fastness and the contrast ratio and the colors! Just find a decent TV stand and a friend with a truck to help you lift it up on there. People are getting rid of them because of the weight and the size of them, but they are a great affordable alternative!

Yeah, and I know a guy who goes by the name of "Fast Eddy" who sells them from the back of his van for about the same price. At Wal-freaking-Mart that same TV goes for $600. http://www.walmart.c...duct_id=9252002

[mpheadley]

I said CRT, not LCD. If you have the space, why spend hundreds when you can find one of these really cheap and the quality of the picture is excellent?

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=270313689866

[JimH443]

I realized it was LCD long after posting that - and I agree completely. Unfortunately, the industry seems fixated on making LCD's to the exclusion of CRT's.. I'd bet they're cheaper to mfr and go for a premium - so of COURSE they're fixated on them.

[redmatrix06]

Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony have made a good case for me not to purchase any of their consoles.

Sony: Too expensive for what it does. The price on blu-ray players have been dropping and why not on the PS3. Why did they make Blu-ray part of their system. I am not going to get a PS3 until it hits under the 200 dollar range in a few years. Or skip it completly. I dont want to pay extra for blu-ray movies. Regular movie = less than 10 bucks. While Blue ray is 25-30 bucks. Not backwards compatibility. Regular DVD movies are good. Since most 95% of the movies were made with standard def and not high def. Sure the studios can re-master them. but they can only get so good. Blu-ray is not going to make a 1955, 65,or 75 movie appear high def.

So instead of replaying my old games while waiting on a great title for PS3 to come out. I can't. The price of laptop hard drives have dropped as well. a 250gb drive is less than 99 bucks. Why are the PS3 only with 60-80gb. Seem pretty lame. Sony can get hard drives in bulk and stick bigger ones in for almost the same price. But no. And people say why Xbox 360 and Wii sell more. There cheaper and fun to play.

Microsoft: For loosing the Blu-ray vs HD. SHouldn't the Xbox 360 be cheaper. Whats the point of having an HDMI connector if you cant play high def DVD movies. Its useless if all you need HDMI for 1 game. Disc scratching, red ring, and dropping millions on extended warranties and being sued by its customers. For all those people who bought the external USB HD drive. I would guess its a nice paper weight now.Only upside is their exclusive RPG games. Which only belonged to Playstation, now have left them for Xbox360.

Nintendo: Always using the same characters, Remove Mario and his friends, starfox, f-zer, Metroid and bring in some unique and better games. They recycle the same crap over and over. Now to play those games I have to move around. Sucks if you want to play a sports game on the Wii while in bed and not trying to wake up your wife. No decent games other than their main characters.

I purchase a netbook, laptop and PC desktop before buying any one these "console"

[TechieXP]

Thinking back to Sony's start in the VG market after being burned by Nintendo, I think Sony banked on the quality of their name. They did an awesome job with the original and PS2 and PSP. I think the problem with PS3 is marketing.

Xbox spec wise is a better system even without Blue-Ray. Which helps keep teh cost down. I think most people shied away from Xbox simply because it is from Microsoft. But many are realizing that in many games side by side with PS3, they look and play better on the Xbox. And since more games developers are more familiar with its hardware it won't be long before they have a shot at passing Nintendo.

It amazing how it has changed so much with the olders kids Atari and Sega not being in the picture. If rumors are true and Apple enters this market image the hype. But I don't think being able to stream NetFlix is that big of a deal. However Xbox's online play is so much better as M$ dumped tons into making sure the network could handle the amount of gamers expected to be there. In fact it works better then similar games available on PC. Even on the same connection. MS like Sony came into teh market not knowing how gamers would respond to their systems and they all have found there niche. Even the physicall appearance of Xbox looks so cool. I do like PS3 blue glow in the dark...but I didn't like the game play.

Price will play a key role, but if Nintendo and MS can't keep systems on teh shelf the Sony will be a last ditch effect not to disappoint the kids. And since MS dropped teh price on the Elite System to 399...so still has a competitor at a high price. The battle will come more to what games pop up at xmas, and who has the most available system. Xbox could snatch number 1 sales before it is over. They certainly have the jack to manufacturer plenty.

[coastie65]

redmatrix06 said:

Sony: Too expensive for what it does. The price on blu-ray players have been dropping and why not on the PS3. Why did they make Blu-ray part of their system. I am not going to get a PS3 until it hits under the 200 dollar range in a few years. Or skip it completly. I dont want to pay extra for blu-ray movies. Regular movie = less than 10 bucks. While Blue ray is 25-30 bucks. Not backwards compatibility. Regular DVD movies are good. Since most 95% of the movies were made with standard def and not high def. Sure the studios can re-master them. but they can only get so good. Blu-ray is not going to make a 1955, 65,or 75 movie appear high def.

You can play SD DVD's and if you have an HDTV hooked up through HDMI, it will uprconvert the Standard Def DVD. Yeah, the lack of backwards Compatibilty with PS2 and only limited compatibilty with the PlayStation is a drawback. coastie65

[TechieXP]

I also disagree too somewhat..



Starting with Nintendo. Mario and Zelda as you said has been carrying the Big N for years now. As long as they offer enough slew of those title they will always have teh kiddie fanbase. But they need to be more agressive and build a better system. Yes Wii is really cool, but it doesn't have the power to port over any games found on Sony ans MS. Image if they port WOW. Whatever they may be planning they already see what teh market likes. Adult needs are far different then kids and power is everything. Violence is whats taking off. Nintendo first shid away from violent games when Mortal Kombat was first released. It cost them games sales as Sega ran right by because of what look like a family oriented decision. Its not their job to play teh moral game, the parents are spending teh money let them decide. As long as they continue to make good title for the target audience and trget teh hardcore crowd they can be a good contender. if not they will end up like Sega.

Next. Please don't slander Xbox. Yes I do agree PS3 is nice. But developers found programming games for it was very hard. XBox uses a platform developers are already familiar with DirectX and Xbox is a developer paradise as it is starting to be more into titles that everyone wants. The graphics are better then on PS3 as it has a better graphics solution. The fact that MS took cell processing to a new level since Apple did nothing with it is all ggod. Xbox live offers much better online game play. Being able to stream movies in HD quality burns blue-ray. Sure Blue-Ray movies look better then dvd, and yes CD's sound better than cassettes too. Blue-Ray is just to expensive. Disks costing 2 times as much. I agree you don't need a huge TV..I too have a 42" and I havent invest in BR yet But I did try it. It doesn;t make that much of a difference to justify the expense. And unlike some I dont have to have the next new think. The 360 is way better than the original and it should b, but it is far from poor. But I do respect your opinion on it. Many shied from teh system because it is a MS product, but I think now that they are getting more games and they play and look better then on PS3 its no wonder that even though Sony has been in the market for longer than MS, that it isn't enough. And I dont think MS is trying to dominate the VG market. They dont need too. They obviously have a lot to learn about this marjet. They are still wet behind the ears. MS dropped way more jack onto Xbox development then Sony did on PS3...it is a smarter affordable system vs the 2 and it simply offers more.

The stigma MS started as always trying to be dominate just doesn't hold up anyore. That's just biased. They already own the PC market. They took a gamble getting into teh market in teh first place bec of their Rep. But at least they didn't come in all shy and scared. They came to play and they brought 2 success heavy guns. Sure Xbox I was more like a dedicated PC for gaming vs 360. THis time they got it right along with a sleek design that to me mimic the Box from Nigmatech. And I think lots of ppl will disagree with you, the market sure does.

[TechieXP]

I think from reading some ppl think that having great hardware is all that matters. An argument that I had with an Apple fan. Yes MS and Sony both loses money on every system sell, but you can make uo the gap in cost with volume software sells. Sony isn't selling either. Even if MS did sell a 360 for teh rest of teh year and bumped out great titles they woiuld still make good money. And as someone said, MS has enough money to get them buy, does Sony? Sonly even hasn't been doing well with PC sales or other electronics either. VAIO's are way to expensive...its like PC's version of a MAC. When you can get a machine just as good. Even DVD players not sold by Sony and its off-brands are selling.

Wii isnt powerful enough to run the hardcore games, which means it will suffer. Gimmicks is what is selling as long as they can appeal to their main fanbase and they have. But that fan base is changing. People are getting into more online play...music, video, gaing is all on-line and Xbox out of teh 3 do it best. Unless N abd Sony follow suite that will end up 2 and 3 respectively.

[coastie65]

Hey techie, You are right about the programmers have found it difficult to develop games for the PS3. Yhey have releasing Tomb Raider titles on the PS2 for some time and have been good for the most part. Their first outing with a Tomb Raider title for PS3 ( Underworld) was a bust. It was released far too early, with a lot of bugs, and leaves the game unplayable at one point and unable to advance any further. I guess that will be PS3's bugaboo, just like Xbox's RROD. I can deal with having a screwed up game alot easier than having to send a console back on a regular basis to be fixed. Once more programming tools become available, I believe the game problems will probably be history. coastie

[TechieXP]

I just read about RROD which I didn't know about. But that isn't a reason to pass it up. As I remember the sequel to the original PS would catch on fire from over-heating. The PS2 what had that chip issue and issues with DVD playback, where the software was on the memory card or something and it still wouldn't work? And what about some of the perpherals for either PS2 or 3 not working...?

In this case sense it is a defect, MS I am sure is replacing without an issue. Even if system is passed teh warranty. I have never seen a company in history that gets slammed more than MS wherever possible.

Do I hear Civil Rights for Microsoft...lol(sarcasm) Stop being prejudice against them...the God's of Technology created them too. Even the devil can have bad days.

[mikebarton]

Special titles like "Little Big Planet" is the way forward for PS3. I got my PS3 for XMas for $340 from Dell (with still running discount codes) and considering it has the best Blu-ray player (c'mon, Blu-ray looks incredible on my Sony Bravia 40-incher) that is good value. It's going to be around longer and who wants to by a new console -- I hope this pup will last the average life of a PS2. I just could not buy in to Microsoft for home entertainment -- just getting a non MS HDD to work is a nightmare and they charge a fortune... I can put a 500GB in the PS3 for cheap and easy after the 80GB fills up. I am miffed, however, that PS2 games are no longer supported. Sony really should offer virtual engine software to get em to work... I tink cheap PS2 games are key for the younger (5-7) audience.

[coastie65]

Hey Techie, I never had any periphial issues with either, nor did I have any heating issues with the PS2 ( I have the sequel, bought in '07, not the original ). After 1000+ hours, the disk quit turning athough everything else apparantly works. Yeah, to their credit, Mico$oft is dealing with the RROD issue without any problems. You send it back and they replace the toasted MOBO in the thing and send it back. There is a cooling issue with the Xbox. coastie65

[HarveyDanger]

1. The average consumer does not care about audio, only video, because that's all they ever hear about.

2. If you've already got a 5.1 set-up and a DVD player, it's all the audio anyone needs. It's not like music is on BluRay.



mpheadley:

I live in the northeast, MA specifically, and the only people I know that own HDTVs are two relatives of mine. None of my neighbors and none of my friends own them, and do not plan on buying them soon.