PS3 Launch Details Released

[Devhux]

Sony has now officially announced the PS3 launch details. Here's a summary:

Release date: November 11th (Japan), November 17th (N. America/Europe/Austrailia)

Price: $499 for one with a 20GB HDD, $599 for one with a 60GB drive.

Controller: Modified dualshock with built-in motion sensor (Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, Back).

[Cubsfan]

Very expensive. I wonder if Microsoft will drop the price of the 360 right before the PS3 launch.

[Devhux]

Very expensive. I wonder if Microsoft will drop the price of the 360 right before the PS3 launch.

Pretty much what we expected considering it's a Blu-Ray player -- and yes, I do predict a price drop on the 360 -- especially since by then MS will be using a 65nm process for the CPU.

[Cubsfan]

Interesting... looks like they took out vibration.

http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/09-05-2006-2756.html

[CornMonkey]

haha, i find it incredibly amusing that sony reverted back to their standard controller design after all the flak they got over their initial banana controller design.

[Devhux]

Looks like the 20GB won't have memcard slots or HDMI output.

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/rele...f/060509ae.pdf

(Now, the memcard might be a proprietary card that they aren't discussing.... but the lack of HDMI on the lower-end version? Odd.)

[gear02]

Very expensive. I wonder if Microsoft will drop the price of the 360 right before the PS3 launch.

I doubt they'll drop the price after one year. They will, however, launch Halo 3 right at the PS3 launch date.

haha, i find it incredibly amusing that sony reverted back to their standard controller design after all the flak they got over their initial banana controller design.

Yeah I found that interesting too...hehehe. Funny how a 10 year controller design remains better than anything they can come up with.

I will say though that the 360 controller is pretty damn good...except for the stupid shoulder buttons.

[Cubsfan]

At any rate, it's a Wii for Me!

[InfiniteNothing]

Oh HOT! SACD. I love little perks. $600 for a blu-ray player. Nice. I may just buy this thing (along with a Wiiiiiiiiiiii). I'm not a Playstation fan (have never owned a playstation system) and I'm really excited about this.

[Airencracken]

At any rate, it's a Wii for Me!

So they release a PS3 and the SexBox 360 and me myself and I got a WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

Gonads and strife..

[MikeD]

Article and link...

CULVER CITY, Calif. - Putting an end to months of speculation, Sony Corp. executives on Monday announced a release date and a price for the upcoming PlayStation 3, but gamers will have to pay a hefty price to take advantage of its much-touted technological innovation.

Sony said its next-generation game console would be released in North America and Europe on Nov. 17, in time for the key holiday shopping period. They had previously announced it would be released in the fall, without giving a specific date. Gamers in Japan will get a head start; the PS3 is to be released there on Nov. 11.

The console will come in two versions, one with a 20-gigabyte hard drive for $499 and one with a 60-gigabyte drive, for $599. The 20-gigabyte version will retail for 59,800 yen in Japan and 499 euros in Europe.

The new price tag means that the cheapest PS3 will sell for $100 more than its current top-of-the-line rival, Microsoft's Xbox 360, which was released last fall. Nintendo is also planning a new game console, the Wii, but has not announced pricing or a release date.

Sony executives said the PS3's technological features will give it an edge over its rivals, touting such features as the console's speedy “Cell” processor, Blu-ray disk format for high-definition video and an online network that will include video chat and micropayments.

They also showed off new PS3 games, including a demonstration high-definition version of the racing game “Grand Turismo” and the sword fighting action game “Heavenly Sword," and a new motion-sensitive wireless controller.

“We’re really trying to push what this machine is capable of,” said Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios.

The presentation came just two days before the start of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, the video game industry’s largest annual conference.

Nintendo and Microsoft plan similar news conferences Tuesday. (MSNBC.com is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)

The Xbox 360 got an early start on the next-generation console wars and has sold 3.2 million units worldwide since it was released in November. But until recently, Microsoft has been unable to meet demand.

Sony officials said they would have 4 million PS3 units ready by the end of 2006 and another 6 million by March 31, 2007.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12688905/

[ArkiStan]

I know it's a little early to be worrying about this, but I'm curious. If I wanted to buy one at regular retail price (not off eBay) from a normal retailer as soon as it's released, how would I go about doing so? Will I need to camp out in front of some store? How about online? Will online retailer stores have a set date when they begin taking pre-orders? If so, will they be sold at regular MSRP?

[mcs328]

Ugh...I don't think I'll buy another console at those prices. it's Wii-diculous.

[eSDee]

I'll probably pick one up. I held off on the XBox and XBox 360, and since I have played my PS2 for so long I know it won't be a waste. I wonder if since it has bluetooth, if you can use standard bluetooth accessories like a keyboard/mouse. That would be sweet.

[MikeD]

I know it's a little early to be worrying about this, but I'm curious. If I wanted to buy one at regular retail price (not off eBay) from a normal retailer as soon as it's released, how would I go about doing so? Will I need to camp out in front of some store? How about online? Will online retailer stores have a set date when they begin taking pre-orders? If so, will they be sold at regular MSRP?

If it's like the XBox 360, you can pre-order. Stores will be hyping it up well in advance...

[VTGreg]

I know it's a little early to be worrying about this, but I'm curious. If I wanted to buy one at regular retail price (not off eBay) from a normal retailer as soon as it's released, how would I go about doing so? Will I need to camp out in front of some store? How about online? Will online retailer stores have a set date when they begin taking pre-orders? If so, will they be sold at regular MSRP?

EB Games along with a number of other retailers did pre-sales for the 360. I would assume they will do the same thing. Only some of the retailers (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc...) didn't do a pre-sale.

[Airencracken]

Watching the nintendo press conference right now.

Holy crap. The Wii looks awesome. The control scheme is just amazing.

[gear02]

After taking a look at this, I'm not that impressed. We'll see if it's good.

I am much more interested in the WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII than anything. If it works as well as it is advertised it would be amazingly cool to swing the controller to control Link's sword.

Watching the nintendo press conference right now.

Holy crap. The Wii looks awesome. The control scheme is just amazing.

SWEET! I'm definately going to preorder one now.

Did they explain what the F*CK they called it WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?

[Airencracken]

Does it matter what it's called? Did you wonder about the DS? I did, but it still rocks. They could call it the nintendo leporsy and it would still rule.

[ialsohaveadream]

Does it matter what it's called? Did you wonder about the DS? I did, but it still rocks. They could call it the nintendo leporsy and it would still rule.

Actually, I'd be much more willing to buy it if it were the Nintendo Leprosy. Kinda conjures up images of playing the system until your arms fall off.

[ArkiStan]

If it's like the XBox 360, you can pre-order. Stores will be hyping it up well in advance...

Is it usually one of those "pre-orders start at midnight!" things wher the servers get bombarded, things get really slow, after a couple crashes you're out of luck cause they were sold out in the first 30 seconds? How hard was it for the 360?