I guess in the end it’s going to come down to the games, as always. I had a PSP, sold it even though it’s better tech than my DS. The DS just had the games I wanted to play. So if this has got killer games, then I’ll look at it. After the price drops.
They’ve also incorporated the motion detection stuff in the controller. Unless I’m playing DDR, I’m not looking for a workout when I play. Not sure how it’s going to work on the Revolution, really not sure on the PS3.
What was the launch price of the Xbox 360?
I, personally, have always been one to wait a year or so for things to shake out before buying new stuff.
I bought a PS2 launch day. Though the launch titles weren’t good at least I had my PS games and could buy DVDs until games I wanted to play came out. At $300 it seemed like a good bit of convergence.
But I don’t want Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD.) I don’t have the equipment for it, probably won’t any time soon (I’ll probably be on analog TV antenna until the FCC takes it away from me) and, let’s face it, just how many polygons do you really need to play a game that’s actually a game and not just eye candy? And you’re talking to a guy who uses a PS2 to play 8-bit NES games. I am not going to go out and replace a couple thousand dollars of DVDs with the exact same thing on Blu-Ray either.
Same as it is now. $300 for the core pack (but you have to add $40 to that for a memory card if you want to actually save your game or use Xbox live) and $400 for the premium pack which includes a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller instead of wired, headset for Xbox Live, remote control, and a few other minor things I’m probably forgetting.
The hard drive sells for $100 all by itself, and there’s lots of game demos and stuff you can download if you have it instead of the memory card.
Wiiiiiiiii… 
I think I’m going to wait a few years for a PS3.
If you’re serious, drop me an email if you would.
Well, that definitely counts me out for a PS3.
I’m really looking forward to the Revolution/Wii, though. And the new Zelda game looks sweet.
New and cutting edge stuff is great, and there’s no doubt that I love me some video gaming, but I don’t get the point of spending full retail on a potentially buggy box. Wait a year or two, pick up the “fixed” version at the bottom of the bidding war price and know that there will be a plethora of used games on the market for cheap. I don’t get the “I must absolutely have this the day it becomes available” mentality. You get what seems to me to be very little extra bang for a whole lot of extra buck.
That’s not entirely true. That was the MSRP for the 360, but one was generally hard pressed at launch to find a unit for those prices rather than a “bundle” with 2 mediocre-to-craptacular racing games, and some similarly unremarkable RPG for ~$600.
That said, if I can find a PS3 “premium” (or whatever) model for $600, I’ll probably get it. Hell, I paid that much for a PS2 at launch. However, if my only options are $800 bundles, I’ll probably wait a few months.
(Unless maybe one of the bundled games is DoA Beach Volleyball 2. :o )
What, does Sony think they’re Apple now? 
Five hundred bucks? Five hundred?
And remember, that’s just for starters. If the system wears out, breaks down, or otherwise stops working, which is absolutely inevitable, you’re out the cost of a fresh system. Expect the games to cost a premium, especially the megahot titles everyone has to have (since they have so much better graphics and stuff). And peripherals. Did I mention peripherals? A fairly reliable PS2 controller…not a fancy joystick, not a wheel, just your basic ordinary standard-issue controller…still costs about $25. How much do you think a PS3 one is going to set you back? (And if you think you’ll never going to need a Codebreaker, think again.)
I’m not even going to touch the subject of imports.
Listen, I have a plethora of PS2 games, I think it’s probably the greatest system ever, and dollar for dollar, it’s barely even with the Dreamcast. And there is absolutely no freaking way I’m shelling out many more hundreds for this system which I have no idea yet of whether it’s any improvement over the PS2.
Forget it. I know I’ve continued pouring money into this habit long after I said I’d stop, but a man’s gotta draw the line somewhere. Maybe six or seven years from now when I can get it for $200 used. And there are great games. Lots of them. (Might have to clear up some more space in my room, too…)
Cluricaun - Agreed. Agreed 110%. Maybe even 220%. I was there. Huge waiting lists, nationwide mall vigils, all for a $300 system that I ended up not seeing in one single blasted retail outlet. FOR A WHOLE YEAR. The first production of that system, guaranteed to eventually break down. You think they’d know better by now.
And now Nintendo kinda hit them hard with the Wii press conference. No pricing yet though.
A lot of people scolded me a year ago when I said the price was going to be $500. “No, they’ll lower the price. You’re jumping the gun. Stop worrying so much.” I would have loved to be proven wrong.
I’m afraid they’ve lost me too, unless the price drops a couple of years after it comes out. I certainly won’t be spending that kind of money. And I wouldn’t want the lesser one anyway! It’s a pity because I now have played every Final Fantasy I could get my hands on, own Advent Children and Spirits Within, and am a huge FF fan. Whatever will I do now? 
I think Nintendo will announce the Wii pricing after Microsoft’s keynote.
That said, the descriptions of the Wii games I’ve been reading sound really cool. Nintendo FTW!
$500, you have GOT to be freakin’ kidding me…
sorry, Sony, it’s been a fun ride, but this is where i get off, i’ll keep playing my PS2, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube until they die
sheesh, for around $500 i could get a frikkin’ Mac Mini, a far more useful and practical use of $500
A lot of you seem to be whoring out over the Wii. Are all of you Gamecube fans, or does the Wii look that promising? I haven’t been a fan on Nintendo since the dissapointing N64, which had some GREAT games, but they were few and far between. The Gamecube lost me off the bat with the terrible controllers and the general lack of quality games.
Whoring out? Nice.
No, I don’t own a Gamecube, I have a PS2. Bought my N64 second hand. I have a DS, but I bought and sold off my PSP first. The games for the Wii just look better, and the pricing is much more reasonable. I don’t care about the fanciest graphics or the most polygons. Gameplay is the king. If the PS3 has a few games I can’t live without, I may end up getting one. Same with the Wii. For the DS, it was Mario Kart and the New Mario Brothers game.
But the games would have to be really really good to make me spend $600 on a console.
Start/Keep playing FFXI? It should be around for at least a few years longer.
I’ve been playing my Gamecube for the past 3 years and have only been playing the “highly rated” or “good” games that have come out for it.
I bought it because I liked the games and the price was right.
I’m with everyone else in saying the pricetags on these new systems are really reaching.
My solution (that I need your help with): I’ll probably buy an XBOX or a PS2 and play all the good games for them that already exsist. The cores are cheap now and so are the games at the used places. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing Halo, GrandTheftAuto, and the other classics so they’ll all be new to me.
So, for the XBOX and PS2, what are the system exclusive top 5 must have titles for each? (This should keep me busy for a while until prices come down on the new systems.)