PS3 Price-drop

abetarrush

With sales of only 400k compared to 8M XB360 and just under 2M Wii sales, would ye say the PS3's price will be cut?

I remember it happened when the original Xbox didnt sell enough

Anyone know much about this????

steviec

It's completely sold out everywhere its released. There's no reason to cut prices until supply starts matching demand, and it's hard to know when that'll be.

I reckon there will be a price cut within a year though.

SouperComputer

I'm pretty sure if 4Mil PS3's were available at release they would have been able to sell them in the US alone. Only 400,000 were sold becuase only 400,000 were released

The xbox price wasnt reduced because sales volumes were low as such, but thet were below expectations. Sales and interest for the PS3 has been above expectations, so I dont forsee a price drop until Q2 2007 at the earliest.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

abetarrush

Yeah, I mean its not out over here til March, but I have read online Sony are a little concerned about recent sales

I was thinkin more along the lines of a decent price-cut by next christmas

Creamy Goodness

they are creating a hype, them saying they are concerned about sales has got you talking about it and that's enough. the more hype behind their console the better it is for them.

i can't see how if they are making like 150-200 euro loss (read that here somewhere on boards) on each console how they are going to drop the price

Karmafaerie

It depends on when, and by how much the 360 drops it's price.
It's recently gotten to the stage where M$ are making a profit on sales of the 360 console.
A lot quicker than either M$ or $ony thought.
When the price for the 360 is dropped, probably just after Christmas, or in March at the launch of the PS3, M$ may take a gamble and really lower the price.

If this happens, then $ony will have little choice but to drop the price or they'd risk pricing themselves out of the market.

Basically, there's no need for $ony to drop the price at the moment, and they'll wait to see how things go before doing so.

ambro25

Sony wants to be careful that the RRP doesn't offset the hype no matter how good or high.

IMHO, there's a level at which punters just 'unhook' from the hype, simply because they've made their mind up not to spend that much money on a new system yet - period.

Going by a lot of pro and semi-pro games forums (EDGE springs to mind), there seems to be a hell of a lot of seasoned gamers (usually first adopters and who Sony really needs this time around, more than ever), who've decided to enjoy 360 until PS3 comes down in price and/or a killer app is released, because they don't actually see any reason to switch or buy both in terms of quality/content.

Can't say I can fault their logic, either - IMHO again, these production problems may yet turn out to be what caused Sony to "lose the race" this time around. If they can't get the installed user base quick enough, considering how much it costs to make an AAA games on PS3...

User45701

Well personly the only good games i have played on the play station series where
Gran Turismo (1st one)
Burnout 3 (Cant remember its full name)

im not a big fan of the ps3 and i wouldn't care that much if it failed because to me it always feels like sony just think grafix are important i mean the ps3 does not seem that amazing and new like

Mass Effect on X-box (and i prey pc later on)
Supreme commander on the PC
Wii in general

Every console is offering someone amazing and new that has not been done before
Sony offer the same as before with better grafix and also some of the bigger games will come out on the PC and x-box as well.

I just do not understand what the play station could possibly offer a gamer besides grafix and "oh wow - a blue ray dvd player" which is not relay that great, i don't think that blue ray will increase my film enjoyment, ill only take a interest in blue ray when i can have massive sized data discs for my PC data storage.

projectmayhem

abetarrush wrote:

With sales of only 400k compared to 8M XB360 and just under 2M Wii sales, would ye say the PS3's price will be cut?

I remember it happened when the original Xbox didnt sell enough

Anyone know much about this????

seriously misleading figures there matey.

360 is out over a year (and has sold less in that year then the original xbox) and compared to the Wii, there is an incredibly lower number of stock available to sell. sales of only 400k means they sold pretty much every single one they made, which means they sold more then enough on that shipment.

price drop? keep dreaming, sony are looking at a 100% sales tally right now

ambro25

projectmayhem wrote:

seriously misleading figures there matey.

No, I don't think they are.

Misrepresentative is more appropriate, because they are not factually wrong, but considering the stock "problems" of Sony, these figures are a snapshot which doesn't really represent the PS3 sell-through rate.

If Sony a number of PS3 to sell comparable to 360 a year ago, then the figures would be representative - so what is needed is the amount of 360s sold globally within the first month or so of release. Someone Google it please.

projectmayhem wrote:

(and has sold less in that year then the original xbox)

I think you'll find (in due course) that will be just as true for sales of PS3s vs sales of PS2s over the same period - put it down to the amount of people (average Joes) "already equipped" who don't buy a second console just yet but will wait for Xmas 07

projectmayhem wrote:

sales of only 400k means they sold pretty much every single one they made, which means they sold more then enough on that shipment.

Don't forget that's 400k units globally.

The dynamic here is no different from the recent release of the Wii. It's the latest/greatest and every early adopter must have it - brand/games/etc. do not matter so much.

What will be interesting is (well, of most interest to me, as a very long-standing industry observer):

(i) whether PS3 achieves sell-through in March (say, same numbers of PS3s and Wiis sold on respective opening week-end, i.e. break the 100k units threshold) at close to or over double the price of the Wii?

and (it will be difficult to gauge this),

(ii) what effect people who bought a 360 this Xmas since PS3 was unavailable will have on PS3 sales (if any)?

projectmayhem wrote:

price drop? keep dreaming, sony are looking at a 100% sales tally right now

I wouldn't be quite so categorical - it's a long retail slog until Xmas 07, and both 360 and Wii can already drop their unit RRP (not that they'd want to of course, but a profitable hardware means they can if their respective marketing depts think it's needed to counter PS3 launch).

projectmayhem

ambro25 wrote:

I think you'll find (in due course) that will be just as true for sales of PS3s vs sales of PS2s over the same period - put it down to the amount of people (average Joes) "already equipped" who don't buy a second console just yet but will wait for Xmas 07

yes but the figures won't represent the quantity of ps2's in year one versus the quantities of ps3's in year one. afaik microsoft is pretty much on target as far as production goes

ambro25 wrote:

Don't forget that's 400k units globally.

The dynamic here is no different from the recent release of the Wii. It's the latest/greatest and every early adopter must have it - brand/games/etc. do not matter so much.

the difference between the Wii and the PS3 is that "global" sales completely disregards the fact that Europe doesn't exist in PS3land yet

ambro25 wrote:

(i) whether PS3 achieves sell-through in March (say, same numbers of PS3s and Wiis sold on respective opening week-end, i.e. break the 100k units threshold) at close to or over double the price of the Wii?

despite the months of time to produce consoles, i would doubt sony will have large numbers available from day 1 in europe, so the pandemonium will ensue and they'll sell every last machine they make for a little while. hopefully europe will be spared the ebay types...

where i work, one of the "big guns" described march as "our 2nd christmas".

ambro25 wrote:

(ii) what effect people who bought a 360 this Xmas since PS3 was unavailable will have on PS3 sales (if any)?

it will have an effect, but i also know quite a few people aren't buying 360's because they want to save for the ps3. 360 is cleaning up this christmas with all the great offers available, and a proper AAA title (gears of war), but anyone who wants a ps3 will still want one after christmas. the playstation brand is too strong for any other console to step in the way.

ambro25 wrote:

I wouldn't be quite so categorical - it's a long retail slog until Xmas 07, and both 360 and Wii can already drop their unit RRP (not that they'd want to of course, but a profitable hardware means they can if their respective marketing depts think it's needed to counter PS3 launch).

i would be surprised if nintendo drop their price. they don't have to, at all. the 360 will drop, not by much, but an incremental drop in hardware means the core system is a lot more tempting, and by march they'll have quite a few top games available at cheap prices. but again, if you want a ps3, a cheap 360 and games probably wont steer you away

Vegeta

projectmayhem wrote:

it will have an effect, but i also know quite a few people aren't buying 360's because they want to save for the ps3. 360 is cleaning up this christmas with all the great offers available, and a proper AAA title (gears of war), but anyone who wants a ps3 will still want one after christmas. the playstation brand is too strong for any other console to step in the way.

i would be surprised if nintendo drop their price. they don't have to, at all. the 360 will drop, not by much, but an incremental drop in hardware means the core system is a lot more tempting, and by march they'll have quite a few top games available at cheap prices. but again, if you want a ps3, a cheap 360 and games probably wont steer you away

I was, up until very recently, of the same opinion. Then I went to America on a shopping holiday with the biggest 15 year old Sony fanboy ever, he played a PS3 in best buy and nearly broke in to tears (well not really but you could see the disappointment on his face) because it was such a let down for him.

Now he's trying to get a Wii, that's not to say he wont get a PS3 but it certainly wont be in March becuase he doesn't have the funds.

I couldn't believe he jumped ships. He has never owned a Nintendo or MS console. He grew up with the Sony, he's only 15 and has been playing playstation all his gaming life. I was amazed really. I have been trying to tell him to be more open lately and not to blindly follow the Sony, MS or Nintendo branding. Basically to become an educated customer.

I think he finally realised that a blue ray player was worth piss all to him as he has a 21 inch sdtv, HDMI cables and HDTVs don't grow on trees.

PS3 will sell out in March, no doubt.

lee_baby_simms

Where are all sonys exclusives going?

http://www.tech2.com/india/news/ps3/mgs-4-not-a-ps3-exclusive-anymore/3338/0

Riesen_Meal

If this is true, I defo wont buy a ps3 (when I could actually afford one!)

super_furry

If the Xbox 360 and PS3 were the same price, I'd be tempted to go for the PS3. However, I was able to buy a 360 with two joypads and four top games for €500. A similar PS3 package here will cost closer to €900.

EasyBoy1974

Talk of a price drop could be very premature if the console retains it's "European Vaporware" status until September...

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36431

"Sony's head of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison recently told Official PlayStation Magazine that he wouldn't like to make any definitive statements about the March roll-out for PS3.

CVG also claimed that a source has spoken of a PS3 delay as far back as September 2007, pointing at further component shortages.

Fortunately SCEE boss David Reeves specifically told GamesIndustry.biz: "We're still on schedule to launch PS3 in March throughout the PAL territories. All speculation otherwise is without foundation." - Don't expect the rumours to stop anytime soon though."

qwertplaywert

Vegeta wrote:

I think he finally realised that a blue ray player was worth piss all to him as he has a 21 inch sdtv, HDMI cables and HDTVs don't grow on trees.

.

well,hes right...........
most people [the non most being rich] 14 and 15 year olds[im in that bracket] cant afford to pay A:600 euro for a games console that to get full statifaction out of you need to buy a B:hd tv that costs bout 700 or 800 for very basic models
........and im not even going into the price of the games........

this 2 type method is good,but there should be 3..........
those 2,and one which doesnt contain hd specs or blu ray crap.......therefore lowering price

projectmayhem

EasyBoy1974 wrote:

"Sony's head of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison recently told Official PlayStation Magazine that he wouldn't like to make any definitive statements about the March roll-out for PS3.

that was about 2 months ago

qwertplaywert wrote:

well,hes right...........
most people [the non most being rich] 14 and 15 year olds[im in that bracket] cant afford to pay A:600 euro for a games console that to get full statifaction out of you need to buy a B:hd tv that costs bout 700 or 800 for very basic models
........and im not even going into the price of the games........

yes, but all 3 companies (sony, ms and nintendo) all recognise the fact that the vast majority of gamers are aged 18 to 35. this is the age bracket that's young, grew up with games (so it's not weird to play a game on a given evening rather then watching a film etc.) and have a lot of disposable cash to spend on games, consoles and tv's.

14 year olds are no longer the target market. most AAA system-selling titles come with a 16+ age certification for the most part, and even kid-friendly Wii only has adults in their adverts, clearing showing where they're aiming their system.

gaming is an expensive hobby, always has been, but now the figures are higher, but so is our average income.

qwertplaywert wrote:

this 2 type method is good,but there should be 3..........
those 2,and one which doesnt contain hd specs or blu ray crap.......therefore lowering price

taking out HD from the ps3 or 360 removes the "future proof" aspect. tv sales are mostly HD format now, and in 2010 apparently we all "have" to switch to HD television.

blu-ray is sony's re-attempt to have a proprietary format for movies and games. soon we'll have disk swapping in the 360, already making dvd look old, something ps3 won't have to deal with.

lee_baby_simms wrote:

Where are all sonys exclusives going?

http://www.tech2.com/india/news/ps3/mgs-4-not-a-ps3-exclusive-anymore/3338/0

nowhere

abetarrush

"Konami has no plans to bring Metal Gear Solid 4 to the Xbox 360 at this time,"

Doesnt say never


Its senseless to make games for a console with so little installed units

I think the Wii will be a big contender as its sold like mad this Xmas, and preorders for after christmas are as high as ever. So, if loads of people have a Wii, developers are likely to wanna make games for the Wii, and since its the weakest graphically of the 7th gen consoles, it'd cost less, meaning more profit made
IMHO

steviec

MGS2 wasn't exclusive to the PS2 either, just all the PS2 owners were on to the next big thing by the time xbox owners got it. I'd expect the same with MGS4.

With regards to value for money, I've noticed a few things.

The PS3 is completely region free - making games a lot cheaper for us Europeans and our perpetual rip off prices. I know people just love to pretend Blu Ray makes games cost €120 each, but go to a site like videogamesplus.ca and you can buy brand new PS3 games right now for €45 and they'll be compatible with your Euro console. You get this with some 360 games but not all of them, and you don't get it with any Wii games. In general, for anyone who buys online(and you really, really should), the PS3 will have the cheapest games.

Now, sticking with dollars so we can compare like with like, as Euro details aren't announced but we can assume they'll be similar (and you can buy online anyway ), here's some accessory prices:

PS3 controller(includes rechargeable battery as standard) : $50
Xbox 360 controller(contains single use AAs) : $50
Wiimote + Nunchuck(also only contains AAs) : $60

Aside from joypads, for everything from Hard Drives to Memory Cards to Keyboards to Headsets, the PS3 is designed to be as open as possible and accept just about anything, which should save more money. The others aren't nearly so flexible(they are in some ways but nowhere near as much).

Then there's the online store.
Some examples so far:
Lumines, a full PSP game ported to Xbox Live Arcade : $22 for everything
Gripshift, a full PSP game ported to PS3 online store : $10 for everything

PS1 games on PS3 (well, PSP till the firmware update) : $6 each
N64 games on Wii : $10 each

Already own the original PS1 game? Just pop it in the drive. Already own the original N64 game? You've still gotta pay up.

Then there's the Linux OS, Sony have been talking about supporting homebrew and user created content. Only time will tell where that goes, hopefully they've learnt from their mistakes with the PSP.

If you then consider you're getting wifi, blu ray, 60 gig hard drive out of the box (yes I know a choice of a cheaper pack without them would be nice) then it's not such bad value at all. You're also saving the yearly xbox live subscription fee, but I do think the subscription is well worth it so we'll have to see how a free service stacks up.

All in all though, if you've got your console, 4 controllers, a dozen or so games, a few downloadables, possibly some homebrew, some other accessories you might want like a webcam, headset or keyboard, maybe an upgraded hard drive, a couple of years down the line you've probably spent a fair bit less on your PS3 than a 360 owner with an equivalent set up.

Royale with Cheese

steviec wrote:

PS3 controller(includes rechargeable battery as standard) : $50
Xbox 360 controller(contains single use AAs) : $50
Wiimote + Nunchuck(also only contains AAs) : $60

Good point. The xbox controllers are really €70 if you want to get a rechargable battery which they really should have come with. You don't have to buy the rechargable battery seperately for a phone or an mp3 player.

However I'd shy away from the ps3 controller if you want to highlight the console's strong points. It's far too light, the triggers that have replaced the r2 and l2 buttons are fairly crap and it's still got the fairly useless analogue sticks from the previous designs.

Vegeta

steviec wrote:

The PS3 is completely region free - making games a lot cheaper for us Europeans and our perpetual rip off prices. I know people just love to pretend Blu Ray makes games cost €120 each, but go to a site like videogamesplus.ca and you can buy brand new PS3 games right now for €45 and they'll be compatible with your Euro console. You get this with some 360 games but not all of them, and you don't get it with any Wii games. In general, for anyone who buys online(and you really, really should), the PS3 will have the cheapest games.

Cool i knew Sony games were going to be region free but when did all the other publishers agree to this.

If you then consider you're getting wifi, blu ray, 60 gig hard drive out of the box (yes I know a choice of a cheaper pack without them would be nice) then it's not such bad value at all. You're also saving the yearly xbox live subscription fee, but I do think the subscription is well worth it so we'll have to see how a free service stacks up.

Same as above, I knew Sony said their games were going to be free online but couldn't speek for other game manufacturers


Both these things would be strong selling points for Sony for the informed shopper but I thought it was a very limited region free and free online play.

Still wouldn't make me buy a PS3 but hope its true as it may be good for competition

skywalker

projectmayhem wrote:

and in 2010 apparently we all "have" to switch to HD television.

I think you mean digital rather than high def mate.

skywalker

Forced bundles and high retail price putting consumers off, claims tracking firm

joebhoy1916

I was told the price wont be dropping for awhile yet.

ambro25

projectmayhem wrote:

yes but the figures won't represent the quantity of ps2's in year one versus the quantities of ps3's in year one.

Why not?
90% of (say) 5 million produced PS2 sold in 6 months is just as representative as
90% of (say) 2 million produced PS3 sold in 6 months or
90% of (say) 5 million produced PS3 sold in 6 months... it's the percentage and speed of the take up rate which matters, we all know the pure numbers is a sucker's game as Sony (i) can't produce PS3s as fast as it was producing PS2s at respective launch times and (ii) will easily achieve 100% of a million unit regardless.

the difference between the Wii and the PS3 is that "global" sales completely disregards the fact that Europe doesn't exist in PS3land yet

Well, in my post, global means just that: global. It's Sony's decision to postpone Europe and slash prices in japan, but it doesn't detract that all PS3 produced are being sold in JP and US as soon as they trickle down the retail chain. Whether you sell 2m units in JP and 2m in US instead of 1m in JP, 2m in US and 1m in Europe makes no difference at all.

it will have an effect, but i also know quite a few people aren't buying 360's because they want to save for the ps3. 360 is cleaning up this christmas with all the great offers available, and a proper AAA title (gears of war), but anyone who wants a ps3 will still want one after christmas. the playstation brand is too strong for any other console to step in the way.

And again, I know a lot of very dedicated gamers who were PS2 early adopters but who will not be PS3 early adopters because this time around, 360 is a serious contender to PS3 pre-release (whereas Xbox 1 only turned out to be a worthy contender well after the PS2 release).

As I have posted - it'll be interesting to witness which way the balance goes. My €s aren't on Sony (they haven't been for a while, mind).

i would be surprised if nintendo drop their price. they don't have to, at all. the 360 will drop, not by much, but an incremental drop in hardware means the core system is a lot more tempting, and by march they'll have quite a few top games available at cheap prices. but again, if you want a ps3, a cheap 360 and games probably wont steer you away

We both know that. My point was that neither Ninty nor M$ are haemorraging €s on each unit sale, but Sony is (and possibly only because of Blu-Ray and their ulterior motive for puching it... and if BL wins the "format war" good for them, and if it doesn't my €s sez that's what will have cost Sony the console race this generation).

If PS3 is as successful as you predict, then (again as per my posts - I didn't state they will, only that they could) a possible option for Ninty & M$ is a cut down on price: they can reduce to no profit/unit cost only, but Sony might then have to slash prices further and lose even more per unit. At such a loss-making game, Ninty and M$ current balance sheets (compared to that of Sony) are plenty good-looking enough to outlast Sony twice over.

steviec wrote:

The PS3 is completely region free

Correct. So are the 360 and to the best of my knowledge, the Wii.

steviec wrote:

- making games a lot cheaper for us Europeans and our perpetual rip off prices.

Incorrect. Firstly, Sony don't have a say (only a recommendation) as to whether a game is region free or not - it's the publisher's decision, whether they region-code the disc or not (same as 360).

Next, Sony don't have a say (only a recommendation) as to how much publishers sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers etc.

You can buy games cheaper online only because there's much less overheads for the online retailer (e.g. brick-&-mortar + staffers). Not because the game and/or the console is region free.

Oh, just a thought - you might wanta ask Lik-Sang about this whole region-free malarkey as well, where PS3 is concerned...

joebhoy1916 wrote:

I was told the price wont be dropping for awhile yet.

Who by?

qwertplaywert

skywalker wrote:

I think you mean digital rather than high def mate.

and thiers no date for irelands switchover.........but the british one is occuring from 07 to 13 and ulster is 13 i think....

wayne040576

qwertplaywert wrote:

and thiers no date for irelands switchover.........but the british one is occuring from 07 to 13 and ulster is 13 i think....

RTE are doing some digital tests at the moment. You can pick up the signal with a freeview box in some areas.

steviec

ambro25 wrote:

Incorrect. Firstly, Sony don't have a say (only a recommendation) as to whether a game is region free or not - it's the publisher's decision, whether they region-code the disc or not (same as 360).

Next, Sony don't have a say (only a recommendation) as to how much publishers sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers etc.

You can buy games cheaper online only because there's much less overheads for the online retailer (e.g. brick-&-mortar + staffers). Not because the game and/or the console is region free.

Oh, just a thought - you might wanta ask Lik-Sang about this whole region-free malarkey as well, where PS3 is concerned...

Nope the PS3 has been repeatedly confirmed as region free. What you just described was the 360 - Microsoft have allowed games to be region free but it depends on the publisher. The PS3 has no region locking for games. It does have region locking for Blu Ray movies and any PS2 games you run on it.

And the cheaper online thing is true - I pointed to a site where right now today you can go and buy brand new American PS3 games for €45 and they will work on your European console. And that didn't even require shopping around, just the first site I thought of checking. You can spin it however you like but anybody who knows where to shop online will get their PS3 games cheaper than Wii games and cheaper than any region locked 360 game.

Vegeta

steviec wrote:

Nope the PS3 has been repeatedly confirmed as region free. What you just described was the 360 - Microsoft have allowed games to be region free but it depends on the publisher. The PS3 has no region locking for games. It does have region locking for Blu Ray movies and any PS2 games you run on it.

Seriously man do you have a link for this because that really interests me. if it is indeed as good as you say it will be the first thing about the PS3 to impress me.

I had repeatedly heard Sony games will be region free but heard nothing from other publishers

McDermotX

For the moment the PS3 is region-free.....there is no territory lock-out in the conventional sense, but it will ultimately be down the publishers, they may introduce it/they may not. All titles up to now are Region-free.......I'm currently playing RR7, Resistance, MotorStorm on my Jap system (RR7 and Resistance are US versions).
Policies can change over time, so its too short-sighted to say games will always remain free but early signs are encouraging.
There is a small matter of "territory determination" which may raise its head more often. Resistance displays no blood when played on a Jap system, regardless of which version of the game you have (US or Jap) and vice-versa, either version played on a US system will display blood.
It also doesn't matter what country setup you have in the system settings....the game knows which system its running on !
It can be worked around by having a save file of the Jap version of the game running on a US system, which when copied to a Jap system allows it display the blood with no issues.
No big deal, but something that early adopters should be aware of. Whether or not, publishers will use this as a form of Region-lock is hard to know.
Blu-ray Region playback is in force, but the US and Japan both feature Region A anyway. Even then most of the back catalogue BD titles in stores over here are region-free, though new titles will be locked.
DVD Region lock is in place, so US is R1 and Jap is R2 (but only NTSC, R2 PAL will not playback - although people are reporting it working under Linux is you choose to install it)
PS1/PS2 titles are region locked to the territory, but I'm sure people are working on a way around this.
On the plus side, there are no problems downloading the PS1 games for PSP from the Store......downloaded Tekken2 from the US store last night.

ambro25

steviec wrote:

Nope the PS3 has been repeatedly confirmed as region free. What you just described was the 360 - Microsoft have allowed games to be region free but it depends on the publisher. The PS3 has no region locking for games. It does have region locking for Blu Ray movies and any PS2 games you run on it.

You did not understood my point: region locking is not in hardware on the 360 or the PS3 (dunno about the Wii), but the software can be region-locked.

That's how some games are region free and some are not on 360, and why all games are region free on PS3 at the moment (because God knows the thing needs its few launch titles, considering how it's doing at retail), but might not stay so.

steviec wrote:

And the cheaper online thing is true - (etc.)

Of course it is true! It's been that way for years. Again you did not understand my point: online is always going to be cheaper when *as a business* online retailers have less overheads to offset, and therefore can make the same margin (or more) with a lower price than high street RRP.

However, I'm interested to learn why-

steviec wrote:

anybody who knows where to shop online will get their PS3 games cheaper than Wii games and cheaper than any region locked 360 game.

thebman

Just posting to say the Wii is region locked including Virtual Console games. Europe gets the what was the PAL version at the time the game was released.

Ri_Nollaig

the wii is NOT region free
and play-asia is the way to go to get cheap region free games for the ps3 and 360 gears for 35eur and resistance for 45eur but anything outside of the eu and greater then 22eur could face import duty...

id imagine sony will leave the ps3 up to publishers to decide region as long as ms does the same
also in a slightly related matter hddvd has no region locking while blu ray does

Skud

komplett have the ps3 up on pre order... 629.99

http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=324725

j4vier

but komplett will charge u the cc straight away dont they?or will they charge it when they ship it?
its risky considerin they did the same with the wii and many ppl were dissapointed

AceCard Jones

j4vier wrote:

its risky considerin they did the same with the wii and many ppl were dissapointed

That's the only reason I haven't booked it with them as well as all my other bookings.If anyone thought that the Wii launch was crazy god love us all this March.

steviec

ambro25 wrote:

You did not understood my point: region locking is not in hardware on the 360 or the PS3 (dunno about the Wii), but the software can be region-locked.

That's how some games are region free and some are not on 360, and why all games are region free on PS3 at the moment (because God knows the thing needs its few launch titles, considering how it's doing at retail), but might not stay so.



Of course it is true! It's been that way for years. Again you did not understand my point: online is always going to be cheaper when *as a business* online retailers have less overheads to offset, and therefore can make the same margin (or more) with a lower price than high street RRP.

However, I'm interested to learn why-

Sony have said software isn't region locked and none of the software has been region locked. Sure it's possible for publishers to region lock their software at some point in the future, but it's possible on PSP too and two years later it hasn't happened so there's no real reason to expect different.

And my point about the games being cheaper is that Asian and American games are much cheaper than European ones. So PS3 owners can buy Asian or American games much cheaper than Wii owners can buy European games or 360 owners can buy region locked games. Some 360 games aren't region locked and people are already taking advantage of that situation.