What You'll Really Pay for the PS3

You want it. We want it. But we're all gonna pay for it, and much, much more than you might think. Here's a full guide to what you're likely to pay this fall for Sony's dream machine.

Surprises suck. When Sony announced the price of its PlayStation 3 -- $499 and $599 for a low-end and high-end model, respectively -- the world gasped.

[big_tim]

Of course you will have to buy games and accessories. Of course there is sales tax. Who the heck wrote this? Did they think they were a genius? This applies no matter what machine you buy. Why point at the PS3. When I bought my 360, tax was a lot.

[Marriot VP]

no it's not big news it's just a way for people to see how much their gonna actually pay. Although people who buy the PS3 at launch aren't going to care about price it's still a good heads up. Anybody could figure this out, obviously.

[andy capps]

True, not big news. Reading this though made me realize why MS and Sony push bundle packages so much at launch. I had thought about it before, but it really clicked that the reason is so that they can push their software attach rates. MS has been doing this consistently now. If anyone remembers the 360 launch, the packages were huge and were usually the worst games. I'm sure it'll be the same for the PS3 as well. Oh the joys of being an early adopter, I sure hope I can find a PS3 by itself so I'm not stuck with Madden, Tiger Woods Golf, etc...

[specialguest]

it's a realistic estimate for those who can't figure it out themselves.(those who forgot how to do simple addition..lol) however, i does sound kinda like a "legal" cheapshot. hahahah.

the PS3 is an expensive console and i hope people know what they're in for in terms of spending money before they buy.

[TheMART]

Game prices will be higher then stated 1 game: $59.99*

Sony already said they expect it to be 79, 89 up to maybe 100 dollars... So I guess it'll get really expensive, especially if you like to buy multiple games...

[DJ]

Do you have any proof that PS3 titles are going to be above 59.99? (i'll just save you the effort and tell you there isn't any). Kaz Hirai stated in the PSM August 06 issue that the games will be higher than what we had in the PS2 era, but not to expect anything extravagent in the 80~100 dollar range.

[TheMART]

Actually he said it could be up to 99 dollars but he didn't expect that on the highest. He didn't expect it to be close at 60 dollars, he said on the other side.

So I guess he is talking about something between 70 and 90 Euro/dollar a game. That's a freaking lot still if you buy multiple ones and get the same on another system between 50 and 60 dollars/euro's

[achira]

the Mart such ppl like you are called morons. did you really think a game will cost 70$ ??? man, than you are totally moronic. the games will not cost more than 59$, you know this you ignorant b!tch.

[tatical]

achira, most 360 games are on $60 DVDs. Blu-Ray disc are more expensive than DVDs. You think it’s moronic to expect a Blu-Ray game to cost the same as a DVD game...? GET REAL! A 50-pack spindle of DVD-R cost about $20, a SINGLE BD-R cost about $20 (that was just to show you that there is a price difference, I'm not trying to say that it cost Sony $20 to make each disc).

The bottom line is if you can afford a $600 console, then you can afford $70-$80 games.

[bernie]

You assume a lot, we don't want it, it's too expensive, it's just a games machine.
It's not worth it and in a years time the launch hardware problems will be fixed and it will be cheaper.
If it still isn't cheaper in a year I'll wait two years and so on, in the mean time there's planty of great alternatives. :)

[Jay da 2KBalla]

yea 360 and wii are looking better and better everyday.

[achira]

who care what you think and what you dont want to buy ? do i say i dont want a ipod ? does it care you ? no, and ppl are not interested in your foolish fanboys sh!t.

[Monchichi025]

Yeah, I'm gonna buy a PlayStation again!! LOL Wow, and these packages don't even include the BluRay $40 BluRay movies people will have to purchase to take advantage of there now Beta-Ray player.
Sorry sony but this former Sony fan will be "Jumping In" tonight when I go purchase my 360 to play some Madden 07. You're not making a sucker out of me.
Oh any question, has anybody ever heard of a X-box person switching over to Sony camp. No; me neither! And that is why I'm guessing the 360 will dominate this generation.

[achira]

BlueRay films cost 25$. if you buy films for 40$ you are a moron.

[starbug one]

I had a freind who made the switch. He bought one b/c he's a anime freak. I thought he was crazy, but he did it anyway. Two months later after playing DOA on PS2 and Rainbow 6, he switched back to xbox. Rainbow 6 on PS2 was a total joke. The gun sights were like looking through a stop sign. I can't believe they got GTA SA to run on that machine. (well the draw distance was about ten feet)

[Monchichi025]

Just reading all these comments I often see people telling others to stop going into another systems section. Well my stupid friends, all the news falls in the same catagory when one goes to the same page so we are looking at all the news. It's all fair game!

[Ken Kutaragi]

OOOOOOOhhhhhhhh noooo!!! My news is out! Well, now that you know, you might as well buy a POS2 and a POSP. Then when you can get enough money from your parents, you can purchase a POS3!

[DJ]

Yeah, it's going to be expensive. But still hella cheaper than upgrading a PC. Plus the blu-ray functionality really seals the deal.

They should make a similar chart for the 360. If you buy the Premium System (which is really required since the Core system doesn't have backwards compatibility or a hard drive) then you end up paying 433(system & tax)+50(controller)+60(game) which comes out to...

$543 for an Xbox 360, a game, and a controller. Not too shabby. If you want wi-fi just add another hundred, but i doubt many people need it.

[The Real Deal]

Xbox 360 bundle features the Xbox 360 Premium System with one additional wireless controller, a game of your choice and a Bonus LIVE 12 Month Gold Card.

Any 29.99 wi fi adapter works with the 360. You don't need to by the Micorosoft wi fi adapter.

[The Real Deal]

http://www.walmart.com/cata...

[The Real Deal]

Blu ray movies that are one sided 25 gig are 25, 30, and 35 dollars on average. All hd dved movies are 25 and under. At walmart all HD dvd movies are 20 dollars and some are 18.88. And the hd dvd movies are double sided with a whopping 30 gigs of hd movie data. All head to head comparissons thusfar show HD dvd offers superior quality and value over blu ray.

[pRo loGic II]

It doesn't matter what you're paying for, the bulk of Sony's current generation Fanbase is made up of people That are on a budget and could care less about HDTV's or it's nifty ports in the back. lol I hope it's not $600 bucks Christmas of 2007. lol

[THAMMER1]

The cost of the average kids Xmas. Plus games and controlls!!! Parents will be giving blood for kids to enjoy this thing. Adults like myself can crak just one third of a pay check for this and be O.K. but the actual people out there who have no idea how much this thing is will crap right in the isle at Wall Mart. On launch night I will ride around and see who is silly enough to get all the buggy units.

[pbo2m3]

I keep hearing about 1080p and HDTV on the PS3. The problem with that is that most people dont have HDTV's so they could care less about 1080P. I have a huge family and only my brother and I have an HDTV. Everybody else has a regular tv. Also, only 4 other people in my family have the 360. The rest say that its still to expensive. Now I consider myself and my family middle class and if this is anything to go by, then you can see that only the hardcore fans will be buying the PS3 because the rest of the people beleive that the price is to high. Also I only have a handful of friends that have a 360 and none of them have an HDTV. So if only HDTV and 1080P are the only selling points that people can come up with for the PS3 then they're in real trouble.

[achira]

the problem is you dont look into the future. in 2-3 years 1080p will be standard, and then the ps3 is the system which is suited for the tv. but of course if you look at the life-span of the xbox360 ( 3 years ) you dont need 1080p for xbox360. in 3 years xbox720 comes. and all xbox360 owners are screwad.

[pbo2m3]

1080P might be standard in 3 years but that doesn't mean that it will still be affordable to the average person. And the 360 has a longer life than 3 years. The xbox was 4 years. So what makes you think that the 360 is only going to last 3.

[Thugbot187]

Ok achira if and if the 1080p takes off and is a standard and nothing better comes out in two years it will be a good idea. However the price of the PS3 will have dropped in two years, so please explain what the value in rushing to get an over priced machine. HD TV’s are going to have to go way down in price, and 1080p is going to have to show a huge advantage over 720p which right now it doesn’t. Besides 720p has more of a likely hood of being in the ball park in price for the mass consumer in 2 years then 1080p.

[CAPS LOCK]

if u think thats bad try living in the uk, the tax is 17.5% and the cosole will be at £425, which is around $800-$850.

i know a guy who is selling a car for £400 i will buy that and spend the rest of the money on new seats.

lol i will wait for the ps3 to be £200 in the mean time i will be playing my pc, i will not buy the 360 since 90% of the games will come to the pc.(although i might pick up one for £100 with games ofcourse...call me a cheapskate if u want.)

[achira]

nice buy a car and use it, have fun with it. the ps3 is not for such poor ppl like you.

[Witewunder]

Why do you put people down like that, especially unprovoked.

[kewlkat007]

Good article for those Casual gamers that are still not disgusted and with atleast alil bit of "consumer sense"

Yes we do know it's an expensive console..Why you think Most "sMart" consumers on here been trying to tally up the big differences between the "next-gen" consoles. It's looking like there isn'tmuch of a big difference for why someone would spend that much money on a Console+Games+gadgets.

I feel bad for the UK people, you guys must make alot of money over there since everything is +$200 bucks for electronices.

[xboxlj]

The PS3 is a car payment.

[Dragonopolis]

I love gaming on my PC. To get a PC that games well you probably going to hover $1500 on up. No matter what the economy has been over the years I've found a way to always keep my PC updated and stay with the current games.

PS3 or Xbox 360 is nothing to a person who loves gaming. A true gamer will find a way to get what he or she wants. All I hear are cry babies. The Xbox 360 is a great machine. The PS3 is a Great Machine. I bought my xbox 360 last year I going to get a PS3 this year. How do I justify it?

MS is justifying selling us a HD-DVD player add-on for $200. I'll take that and invest that money into my $600 PS3. Now how much is my PS3? $600 - $200 = $400. WoW! I'm getting a second console for $400 and its PS3! Oh, buy the way, I justify the $200 because I was going to spend it on HD movie player but I also get HD movie playing with HDMI on my PS3! and it plays HD Movies too!.

I also just bought the brand new 1080p 57" Mitsubishi HDTV for $2700. Been saving for a While but I've never seen a High-end TV look this good for under $3000. Just a little over a year ago 720p HDTVs were hovering around this price.

Ya baby! 1080i/p is here!

While you cry babies still whine and moan at each other to justify why Sony or Xbox 360 fans can't play all the cools games that will come out on each other's system I will have both machines and will be able to enjoy all the greats of both consoles.

Probably the ones complaining about all the money are the teenagers who scrimping by on parents allowance or their measly part-time jobs.

Go get a Nintendo Wii. That's more up your alley.

PS3 and Xbox 360 are for Adults who actually work for a living. You Pay more you get more.

I had a 720p big screen watched HD Satellite and xbox 360 on it. Now I'm playing my 360 on it and WOW! There is more to a tv than just pixels. The colors are just eye popping and the contrast is soooooo much better than my last big screen.

So go get a full-time job or promise to be your parents or relatives servants if they will spring for new TV or Console or whatever.

Just stop crying and whining about why you can't buy Next-Gen products.

No $400 to $600 PC can match what the Xbox 360 and PS3 can do so just Shut up!

Never has High-End gaming been so CHEAP!

"We need MORE gamers NOT haters"

[Phytonadione]

Seriously, if you can't afford it, don't buy it. Stop b!tchin and complaining about the price. I have many part-time employees (college students) that are paying rent, making car payments, and paying for school, and yet they are able to save enough to buy $300 ipods, $200 cell phones (hella nicer than mine) every 6 months, and nice laptops. They on average net about $350/week. I'm sure a couple of them are getting a little help from mom and dad but I know for a fact that most are not. If these guys can save money to buy these sort of things, I think that most people can save a total of $700 within a 5 month period. That's $140/month. That's $4.67/day. Stop making those trips to Starbucks and stop complaining.

[kewlkat007]

I'm sure it good to have money..but talk for yourself bro not almost 50% that are casual gamers out there and not rich.

It's stupid coming in here and arguing for Hardcare gamers...We already know about them or yourself..

The article is about the different pricing of the PS3 depending on what you buy with it.Not about who we know will sell thier mama to get it "just cause they are hardcore".

Again if you haven't heard the HD-DVD drive is optional bro..If you don't need it or have a nice tv you don't have to get it. Sh!t

$600 is my car and insurane payment and rent to some people. Can slo be a first time Cutless Ciera for a first car.

It's like having Gas prices, Housing, and Taxes go up while you still getting the same FN paycheck. How is that affordable?

Talk some consumer sense about the availbility to the masses not urself...

[Phytonadione]

more than 5 months to save for a PS3. In order to save $700 in 5 months, you need to save $140/month, $4.67/day. I don't want to sound like one of those charity organizations but, that's about what people spend at Starbucks for a cup of coffee (including tax). Do you think you could save $5.00 a day? If not, I recommend that you find a higher paying job, maybe serving food at a Denny's or something. Good luck.

[Moostache]

What your analysis ignores is not the cost of owning the PS3 by saving $5 a day for 5 months (Sundays included...lol). The point is not whether or not it CAN be done...the point is whether or not it WILL be done outside of hardcore gamers.

I freely admit to being a former Sony-only guy before I got an XB and the a 360. To me (and to many others) it is not a question of money or value - its is a question of options.

I will haev the choice this fall of:

Choice A) a PS3, one game and a second controller for about $650-900 after taxes, etc.

Choice B) any 10-12 XB360 titles for the same money.

The choice is easy to me - what offers me the most GAMING now versus the future. If I buy the PS3 at launch, then I restrict the GAMING HOURS for my money. Sure, I could blow twice that amount and get both, but the question then becomes why?

PS3 will have some great games eventually, and when Sony is forced to drop the prices I am sure I'll grab one. But not at a launch premium - and theres the rub....I am a hardcore gamer (right now on 4 systems - PS2, XB, XB360 and PC). If I won't buy a launch unit, then that is not very good for the outlook on casual gamers jumping on the PS3. A discussion today with a manager at a local games store confirms this - his quote, not mine - "people keep asking me about Wii by 2-to-1 over PS3, when, how much, etc. PS3 is not going to be as sought after as the 360 was last year."

That is a manager at a independent game store with no axe to grind either way in the Sony-MS debates. I wish them well, but Sony needs to come down a good amount (or totally blow away anything seen on the 360) to entice me into changing my mind at this point.

I actually see this as a positive - I got a "new" system in 2006 with the 360, I can get another "new" system with a Wii in early 2007 (Cheaply) and then can complete the deal with a new PS3 in 2008 or 2009 (again cheaply). for those less patient, by all means get out there and buy those launch PS3's - your money will finance my later purchase at a reduced rate, so I thank you...

[Phytonadione]

by making my comment on this site, I am addressing the so-called "hardcore" gamers. I mean, 90% of the people that post comments on this site claim to be "hardcore" and wear that title as a badge of honor. I consider myself to be a gamer through and through (hardcore? not quite, don't have the time to be playing games all the time), I just happened to be blessed with a very successful business. I understand that most people (the masses) are on a tighter budget than me, but if you're going to claim to be a "hardcore" gamer, then be/live like a hardcore gamer. Do I think that the PS3 is pricey? Yes, I do. Do I think that it is over-priced? Well, considering that Sony may be losing as much as $200 a unit in sales, I think we are getting a pretty good deal with all of the technology packed in the system. Do we need all that technology now? I don't know, but if the technology is eventually used to its full potential and gives the PS3 a couple more years of life, the $643 dollars I spent on the PS3 will be well worth it. And I respect your decision to wait a couple years for the price to go down and see if the games will be worth the price of admission, but I have owned both the PS1 and PS2 and have yet to be let down by Sony amd Co.. That is my view and opinion.

[PS360PCROCKS]

eh I payed like $415 for the 360 and a game after taxes with my target discount, if you buy one from Target, either of them, just go to the pharmacy and get one of their cards and they give you a %10 off coupon for free, I worked their for the time so I got my own 10% off...also the PS3 controllers will NOT cost $50, if the non bluetooth xbox 360 controllers are $60, you really think the PS3's are going to cost less? lol...they'll be between $60 and $80 because look at the bluetooth headsets for cell phones, their atleast like $70, and these are first party Sony controllers...so you can probably add about $10-30 on top of that total, plus I think their third party games will be between $60 and $70...simply for the increased cost in Blu-ray discs...and the fact it is costing all the companies money to get new hardware to burn Blu-ray games...I dunna I am just giving an opinion, don't get all pissy at me! Oh and to the guy who said:

"MS is justifying selling us a HD-DVD player add-on for $200. I'll take that and invest that money into my $600 PS3. Now how much is my PS3? $600 - $200 = $400. WoW! I'm getting a second console for $400 and its PS3! Oh, buy the way, I justify the $200 because I was going to spend it on HD movie player but I also get HD movie playing with HDMI on my PS3! and it plays HD Movies too!."

Huh!? No idiot your getting both consoles for a $1000 plus...either way you slice it your logic makes no sense...you can minus your $200 from the PS3, but your still paying $1000 plus...

[SEER]

Achira, you hate poor people now? You have sunk low kid. What's wrong with waiting for a price drop? It doesn't mean that person is poor, it just means they have 'consumer sense'. And as a bonus you will be getting a good console without bugs as the launch ones always have problems. You should be careful what you say KID.

[CAPS LOCK]

i live alone and i have a 3 bedroom house i pay my bills which are £170 on top of the t.v license, i have a 24mb wirless network at home, i work as free lance video editor and i have 1 laptop mac and one pc, i also have a ps2 and a gamecube.

call that poor if u want i am doing well for my self and i am only 18, i earn £750 a week and i only work when i want and how long i want, i get projects and i have a deadline, i usalyy edit up adverts within a week before its deadline, so don't call me poor, i just like to wait for things to get finalised.

i dont like spending alot of money on new consoles, i have a good pc and games like WOW to keep me busy so i can wait till price drops and better games, ur a boy not a real man achira u live with mommy and daddy and they can buy u all the sh!t u want, that doesnt make them rich just want u to stop wining. and SEER knows what i am talking about i have consumer sense.

[Dragonopolis]

Who the Heck buys a freakn 360 or the soon to be released PS3 for casual gaming? FOR CRYING OUT LOUD people - Get a Grip on Life. You want casual gaming get a Nintendo! Also a "Casual" movie watcher is not going to get any HI-DEF Movie player either soooooooooo............ Stick to your Wiis and your DVD players. Stick to your PSP or your DS because that, my casual gaming friend, is casual gaming.

PS3 and Xbox 360 were "Never" intended for the casual gaming market and whatever casual gaming that is created on the Xbox or PS3 is done to appease these people and to squeeze every cent out of a consumer they can.
Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 will never compete in the Casual Gaming category against Nintendo.

Get a Wii.

As for #17 I'm well aware how much the total cost I spent. Of course that was over 1.5 years since I first started saving for the Xbox 360 long before November 2005. I'm also aware of the fact that I'm Also getting a Second Gaming Console not just a Movie Player. I'm a gamer. If I'm going to purchase something for any gaming system it better have something to do with gaming. Sony has some excellent titles coming for it and I would love to expand my gaming choices. By having a both systems I get best of both worlds I justify the cost because I have always paid over $1000 for PC gaming and only had ONE Machine. Now I'm paying over $1000 and I have 2 machines and the ability to play HD movies something that Most PCs won't be able to accomplish for Under $2000 for at least a Year. Quite frankly, my investment is fine.

After my investment in gaming this year (and of course my new tv) I will start saving up for my Vista compatible computer. Xp should hold me at least for a year and then I'll have a screaming Vista/DirectX 10 ready PC.

True gamers who are smart will keep up with the latest news and will know when the next new system will come out. Thankfully, MS decided not to go head-to-head with Sony and released the 360 last year. So I smartly save up in 2005 and paided for my Xbox 360. That money is gone - forgotton. I now have been saving for a PS3. I will easily achieve the money needed to get a PS3 this year.

Its not that hard. You just have to be smart about it. However, don't go saying a system sucks because you can't afford it or you don't know how to save. If MS and Sony would have battled it out at the same time I probably would have had to choose and I would have probably got the PS3 since it had HD Movies out-of-the-box. Thankfully, the market played out the way it did and now I can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Xbox 360 rocks. PS3 rocks. PC gaming Rocks.

Get a job or save up - its not hard. If you need even more help with saving use an Online Game Rental Store. If price of games do go up beyond the $50 mark (which is expensive already) its a good way to try before you buy and gives you access to more games you normally wouldn't have because of the initial expense. Often times you get really good new and use game deals from these companies as well. They also have a bigger selection of games compared to the normal walk-in stores.

Anyways, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are great products for the money. They give us a taste of High-end PC gaming at the fraction of the Price. People need to stop judging a machine base on whether they can afford it or not but on Its power and Performance for the Price and both consoles are worth the price they are asking for.

I've said many times and I'll say it again.

"We need more gamers not haters"

Peace

[SEER]

it's funny when achira gets backlashed he never returns. Where are you KID?

[Anerythristic26]

" If you can't afford it , don't buy it! "

I wonder what place Sony will garner is this console cycle with a slogan like that ? They'll nestle in nicely between the Phantom and Square Enix's new console.

[ChickeyCantor]

dollars aint that much! in the netherlands euro's are more and our tax is 19% ( yes 19%)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!