Just in: The OFFICIAL price and release date for the PS3!!!

[lennonisgod]

From Gamespot.com

PS3 $499, $599, November 17 release
Dates and prices finally revealed for Sony's next-gen console. Two SKUs will be available, one with 20GB HD, one with 60GB HD.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted May 8, 2006 6:51 pm PT

At today's pre-E3 conference held at Sony Pictures Studios, two questions that have been on gamers minds were answered. Sony president Kaz Hirai revealed the PlayStation 3's price and launch date.

The PS3 will be released in Japan on November 11, and the United States on November 17, 2006. Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 will come in two configurations, one with a 20GB hard drive and one with a 60GB hard drive.

The 20GB will retail for $499 in the US (59800 yen in Japan, 499 euros in Europe), and the 60GB model will retail for $549 (open price in Japan, 599 euros in Europe).

Sony expects to ship two million units in its first month of launch, four million by the end of the year, and six million by the end of its fiscal year, which ends in March 31.



Personally, the price may be a little too high, considering what I am hearing from E3, the games don't look as good as Sony was claiming a year ago.  Go figure.  It will sell like crazy anyway, but I think Microsoft will probably end up winning the console wars this generation, except in Japan of course.

[-Jack-]

Gay.

600 fucking bucks? Haha. And 500 for missing features? Jesus.

Plus, they TOTALLY bailed with the controller. Wow. All they did was add a motion tilt sensor to the PS2 controller. Looks EXACTLY the same.

If your willing to pay the money it'll be worth it... but I think sony is biting more than it can chew.

600 BUCKS!??

[Gunner80]

Gay.

600 fucking bucks? Haha. And 500 for missing features? Jesus.

Plus, they TOTALLY bailed with the controller. Wow. All they did was add a motion tilt sensor to the PS2 controller. Looks EXACTLY the same.

If your willing to pay the money it'll be worth it... but I think sony is biting more than it can chew.

600 BUCKS!??

The tech that's going into this system is amazing for the price. Also the controller staying the same is a good thing.

[anythinggoes]

so whats going to come out first PS3 or Chinese Democracy thats the $2 question

[speed-stone]

so what can this thing do that the PS2 can't? i'm not up on technology...

[Drew]

$600 is really to steep of a price.

[anythinggoes]

so what can this thing do that the PS2 can't? i'm not up on technology...

On paper, the PS3 is 2x more powerful than the Xbox 360 and 15x more powerful than the Nintendo Revolution is predicted to be. It has a processing capacity of 2.18 TFLOPS, which is put into context when you realise that some of the fastest computers in existence can only do 36 Terraflops. It is said to be 35x more powerful than the PlayStation 2 is. Unfortunately, we have not seen any playable games, and so it's difficult to judge on anything other than the official specifications. Hopefully E3 2006 will give us a better idea of what to expect.

Like it says all thats on paper but i remember a certain thing called an Atari Jaguar and Commadore CD32 which were supposed to be all that on paper but were shite but i would be suprised is Sony fucked it up completely but saying that i was surprised when Sega ballsed up with the dreamcast

[Jonathan]

Thanks man, just read about it on a swedish website too.

This is fucking awesome, a little expensive, sure, but I don't really care when it comes down to a thing like this.

I'm getting it the day it's released for sure.

[MR W,AXL ROSE]

when will that hit the UK then?

[Jonathan]

when will that hit the UK then?

It'll get released the same as in Sweden, I guess.

November 17th.

[axls#2]

Isn't this price actually cheaper than the price that was rumored a couple of months ago?  I thought I heard somewhere that it was going to be around 800 bucks.

[MR W,AXL ROSE]

when will that hit the UK then?

It'll get released the same as in Sweden, I guess.

November 17th.

cool,will they be as hard to get like the PSP was when it first came out?

[Jonathan]

when will that hit the UK then?

It'll get released the same as in Sweden, I guess.

November 17th.

cool,will they be as hard to get like the PSP was when it first came out?

I have no idea.

But it will be as hard to get a PS3 as it was to get a XBOX 360, PSP, Nintendo DS etc. etc. etc. when they came out, to say the least.

[anythinggoes]

when will that hit the UK then?

It'll get released the same as in Sweden, I guess.

November 17th.

cool,will they be as hard to get like the PSP was when it first came out?

Any thing like that is look at the XBOX 360 and the PS2 i was lucky i paid ?300 in the November 2000 because i was on waiting list i could of sold it for ?600 the next day but i didnt

[MR W,AXL ROSE]

when will that hit the UK then?

It'll get released the same as in Sweden, I guess.

November 17th.

cool,will they be as hard to get like the PSP was when it first came out?

Any thing like that is look at the XBOX 360 and the PS2 i was lucky i paid ?300 in the November 2000 because i was on waiting list i could of sold it for ?600 the next day but i didnt

does anyone wanna buy a ps2  .ill be camping out for one of these fuckers 

[TheRaven]

One of the key selling points is that it'll have blu-ray technology. That is one BIG reason for the high price I'm sure. Blu-ray is the latest media that will replace the DVD (or so Sony hopes). Blu-ray will have high-definition sound and video, each disc will be able to hold 20gb of data (some can already hold 60gb) unlike a dvd that can only hold about 8.4gb (dual-layer).

Sony is currently competing with HD-DVD (can't remember who makes it, Toshiba?) for control over the newest media (kinda like Beta vs. VHS). Microsoft backs HD-DVD while a lot of companies back Sony, plus Sony owns the rights to a ton of movies which gives them a bigger foothold. From what I've read the cheapest HD-DVD player on the market in the US is currently selling for around $500, just to put in perspective the high cost of the PS3.

Raven

[pilferk]

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23260

The ps3 stuff is toward the bottom....

Personally, I'm not impressed.  They've dropped some of the "coolness" factors, copied, in a half assed way, Nintendo's "motion sensor" stuff, and are charging even MORE than the premium 360 package ran. 

In addition, by the time Sony puts out the PS3, I would expect we'll see a 360 price drop of some sort.

So far, from a software stance, I've seen nothing very compelling on the PS3 so far.  I'm sure E3 might change that.

Right now, I'm on the "definitely not at launch" side of the fence.  If Sony can produces some compelling games at E3, I mgiht swing back to "eh, we'll see".  But they did nothing to compel me to buy their system at launch during yesterday's event....and, in fact, did just the opposite for me.

[lennonisgod]

so what can this thing do that the PS2 can't? i'm not up on technology...

On paper, the PS3 is 2x more powerful than the Xbox 360 and 15x more powerful than the Nintendo Revolution is predicted to be. It has a processing capacity of 2.18 TFLOPS, which is put into context when you realise that some of the fastest computers in existence can only do 36 Terraflops. It is said to be 35x more powerful than the PlayStation 2 is. Unfortunately, we have not seen any playable games, and so it's difficult to judge on anything other than the official specifications. Hopefully E3 2006 will give us a better idea of what to expect.

Like it says all thats on paper but i remember a certain thing called an Atari Jaguar and Commadore CD32 which were supposed to be all that on paper but were shite but i would be suprised is Sony fucked it up completely but saying that i was surprised when Sega ballsed up with the dreamcast

That's not really true at all.  The PS3 is not twice as powerful as the 360.  They each beat each other in different categories.  If it was true the games they are showing at E3 right now would look amazing.  Fact is, they don't.  They look about the same as the launch games for the 360 and some look a lot worse.  Sony may be fucked this time around, especially if the next Grand Theft Auto is a Microsoft exclusive, which is what a lot of people are saying.  We will see.  I may get a PS3 if they have great games but I'm more than happy with the 360.  Look at screen shots for Gears of War and tell me the PS3 all around is twice as powerful as the 360.  No Way.  Compare the specs again.  It really depends on who you ask.  Some say the 360 is better and some say the PS3.  It's all fucking bias anyway.  Too many fucking fanboys around.  It's not even about games anymore.

EDIT:
From 1up.com

Everyone knew that Sony would come out swinging eventually. Every Sony press conference is the same. Kaz, in all his wooden head glory hops on stage and goes through the motions like a depressed, used cars salesman. A few Powerpoint slides here, some graphics showing just how much more awesome their plastic box is to the other guys plastic box and then, just when you think it's all said and done, they drop their bombs.

And as expected, they dropped some bombs. Only this time, instead of going into the following day to see how the survivors are dealing with the wreckage, we're staring straight back at Sony and the damage they did to themselves. The bombs, for once, backfired. Damage was dealt, but for the most part, there was a severe, premature detonation.

The conference, for all intents and purposes, was a disaster. From an atrocious looking demo of Gran Turismo 4 running in high definition (Why did we need to watch this for 10 minutes?) to an almost pitiful Kaz Hirai almost begging for applause when showing off the original Ridge Racer running on a PSP ("It's Ridge Racer. . . RIDGE RACER!").

With the exception of the absolutely stunning Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer -- a title that I, even as a Metal Gear fan really wasn't interested in until that moment, everything was a dud. And yet, they managed to top themselves.

It would should have been the single moment in time where we could pinpoint exactly where Sony would continue their reign upon the console throne, we were thrown for a loop. We were punked.

Somewhere in Los Angeles, a smile crept slowly across the face of Microsoft's Peter Moore. No longer would the term "Tard Pack" be synonymous with Microsoft and his XBOX 360.

For now, Sony has managed to one up them. Presenting, The Playstation 3 Tard Pack. Yes, for only $499 dollars, you too can own a crippled Blu-Ray player, complete with a lack of much touted WiFi connectivity (Peace out wireless PSP interaction) and memory stick slots that would not only make way for a sort of open source "memory card" solution, but also the "Ultimate media center" angle goes out the window too.

As for the tilt-and-tumble addition to the Dual Shock -- Oh. While I'm thinking about information that Sony forgot to mention during their conference (Yet, did manage to slip into their official press release), the Dual Shock now lacks that which the name was coined after, being vibration. Regardless, I already had my word on that.

I will hand it Sony. They most certainly made sure that today, being Tuesday, will be very, very interesting. I'm a bit frightened that Reggie might burst onto stage tomorrow morning and drink the blood of slaughtered barn yard creatures, but regardless, Nintendo has to respond to this revelation. And as for Microsoft, well, they've quite frankly never looked better at this point

[lennonisgod]

Uh Oh for Sony.  At least it's not a 360 exclusive as of yet.

From Gamespot.com

E3 06: Microsoft jacks Grand Theft Auto for "day one"
In a surprise announcement at its pre-E3 press conference, Microsoft confirmed that the next Grand Theft Auto is coming to the Xbox 360 first in October of next year.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted May 9, 2006 12:37 pm PT

LOS ANGELES--In one of the most shocking announcements at E3, Microsoft revealed that it quite literally stole away some of Sony's audience. One of the PlayStation's most notoriously popular franchises, the Grand Theft Auto series, will now get a head start on the Xbox 360. Previous editions of GTA were released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in October, and were later ported to the Xbox. Now, it appears the roles may have been flip-flopped.

At today's Microsoft pre-E3 conference, Peter Moore pulled back his right shirt sleeve and revealed the familiar Halo 2 logo. Duping the audience into thinking that a new Halo was about to be announced, the Englishman then pulled back his left shirt sleeve, which revealed a tattoo that showed a Grand Theft Auto IV logo.

Grand Theft Auto IV will be available on October 16, 2007, in North America, and October 19 in Europe. At this point it's unclear if this means that it won't be appearing on the PlayStation 3 or any other console at the same time. No footage of the game was shown, nor was any subtitle or setting.

Moore did announce that Microsoft and Rockstar have signed an exclusive agreement to provide episodic content via Xbox Live, however he did not specifically limit the content to GTAIV.

[Drew]

LOS ANGELES--In one of the most shocking announcements at E3, Microsoft revealed that it quite literally stole away some of Sony's audience. One of the PlayStation's most notoriously popular franchises, the Grand Theft Auto series, will now get a head start on the Xbox 360. Previous editions of GTA were released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in October, and were later ported to the Xbox. Now, it appears the roles may have been flip-flopped.

Whooaaa! That sucks for Playstation players big time!!