And Sony remains to be intriguingly controversial as ever. With blow after blow coming its way, the company stands its ground and proves itself resilient against whatever negative news that may come its way.



Recently, criticisms came out regarding a released comparison fact sheet from Sony, which critics claimed to be a "slanted, heavily-spun size-up" comparison of the next-gen consoles. In the fact sheet, the US$499 20 GB hard drive-equipped PS3 is pitted against the US$ 299 Xbox 360 core unit, and the US$ 249 Nintendo Wii. At first blush, the immediate conclusion is that the PS3 clearly is the most expensive console.



Or is it, really?



According to the fact sheet, not necessarily so. The implication of the fact sheet is that the Xbox 360, after purchasing all the "necessary" add-ons, would actually amount to US$ 698. The breakdown is as follows: US$ 100 hard drive; US$ 199 HD DVD drive; US$ 150 wireless controller; US$ 50 12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscription. On the other hand, the 20 GB PS3 and Nintendo Wii sit comfortably at their respective MSRPs of US$ 499 and US$ 249, with all the comparable expenses already accounted for.



Well, the Xbox 360 comparison did raise a lot of eyebrows. However, SCEA senior director of corporate communications David Karraker was quick to clarify that when they say "required" add-ons, it didn't necessarily mean everything had to be purchased before you can make your console work. Instead, what it actually meant was that, "If you want to attempt to come close to the performance of the US$ 499 PlayStation 3 by using your Xbox 360, Core or Premium, you could only do that through expensive add-ons -- that is what our chart is demonstrating."



Now don't that give you a lot to think about?

I guess we didn't remember the past, did we?



PS2 System $299.99

Multiplayer Adapter $29.99

Network Adapter $39.99

Memory Unit (8 Meg) $24.99



Total to equal an Xbox: $395



Xbox System $299.99

DVD Remote $29.99



Total: $330



Even if the "More Powerful" system is "Cheaper" it really didn't matter. The System with the bigger lead (in this case the PS2) won the battle. History is repeating and this time Sony is scared. (or else why waste time with this garbage)



-V

covering your asses again,



you don't need to purchase all that to make it have near performance of the ps3, the HD-DVD drive isnt necessary, and isnt even used to play games, it comes with one controller just like the ps3 will so including another controller is worthless.



While we are at it maybe we should say that the ps3 will need some "necessary" stuff to be like the 360, such as component cables (costs extra), and a new controller once your first one runs its battery and wont take charge anymore, because sony decides to put in a non user replaceable battery. If we are goign to get harsh on one console sony, you have to get harsh on everyone, including all your screwups.



And why be harsh to the wii, i mean you only stole their design for the controller.... SAD sad sony...

fanboy reply.

sigh..



If sony STOLE the WII controller design then the ps3 would come with a PSWiimote. it doesn't. so f off.

whatever sony fanboys, go play with your square, circle, x, and triangle controller. LOL

all hail genesis and snes!

with all the crap you have to add is crazy. Can we say SEGA! PS3 is all the crap in one box, one simple , yet powerful box.

Core System 299.99

Wireless Controller 39.99

XBOX Live

Core System 299.99

Wireless Controller 39.99

XBOX Live 49.99

20 Gig Hard Drive 99.99

Wireless Network 99.99

Charge Kit 19.99

Wireless Controller

that`s a fact, you said. LOL. Again, another reason why is it all about the games....... just that!



Anyway SONY SUXS BALLZ!!! It`s so stupid!!!

the point is that they said required for performance and in order for the 360 to equal the performance of the PS3 as a game machine it needs none of that. It doesn't even need a memory card. Also lets not forget that it has a HD Windows Media Center Extender build in so there is an added value for people and it has come in handy with even emulators comming out for it and browser software. Let's not forget XNA express as you can't quantify user made content and I think once things start rolling you'll see allot of that stuff.

At this point, Bluray aint as close to HD-DVD then everyone actually thought it would be.... HD-DVD and Bluray should not be even listed in the 'list' because you dont need either to play video games...



In the playing video games aspect, then Xbox 360 is clearly cheaper with its 399.99, plus 1 year os xbox live, 449.99.... While PS3 is still 499.99..... Now go cry...

Wireless Controller 39.99 (not required, already comes with a controller)

XBOX Live 49.99 (not required)

20 Gig Hard Drive 99.99 (not required)

Wireless Network 99.99 (you can still go wired)

Charge Kit 19.99 (not necessary, comes with corded controller)

Wireless Controller 49.99 (not required, why listed twice?)

No High Def Drive, yet later might be 199.99 (who needs this?)

If you want a cool system, cooler 29.99 (and this?)



^Those are not necessary. MS give you the option or the choice to buy them incase you need them. The only thing that may be necessary is a mem card and the Live (we still don't know what Sony online will be like!).



BTW, "out of the box", what about the component or HDMI cable?

Bobby hows the short bus to school treating you?



More players and Videos sold is true, but remember right now its an EXTREMELY immature market. If you remember RDRAM vs DDR2; RD was released earlier and had better sales, then DDR2 came back and dominated the market.



As far as more companies supporting HD vs BR? Well sorry bud but you couldnt be more wrong.



BR:

20th Century Fox

Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Electronic Arts

MGM Studios

Paramount Pictures

Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Walt Disney Company

Vivendi Universal Games

Warner Bros.

Apple Computer Corp.

Dell, Inc.

Hewlett Packard Company

Hitachi, Ltd.

LG Electronics Inc.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Panasonic (Matsu*****a Electric)

Pioneer Corporation

Royal Philips Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Sharp Corporation

Sony Corporation

TDK Corporation

Thomson

Twentieth Century Fox

Walt Disney Pictures and Television



HD:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment

New Line Cinema

Paramount Pictures

The Walt Disney Company

Universal Studios

Warner Bros.

Memory-Tech Corporation

NEC Corporation

Sanyo Electric Co.



This list goes on a lot longer, in the end though companies backing BluRay are more than HD, thats NOT saying that those companies supporting bluray will ignore the other format, these are business' and of course will develop both untill one wins. What you have to realize is this:



PS3 is not going to flop regardless of its price, its going to sell out and be in huge demand, so what right? Well sony "forces" you to have a blueray with your ps3, so by selling 4million ps3 units they just got 4million bluray devices into the market, now why would those 4million people go buy a HD-DVD player for the same cost of their ps3? They wont... Now MS didnt include HD-DVD as mandatory so its an option, so for every 360 sold they will be lucky to sell 20% of their current system sales in HD-DVD addons at 199.99. Unless they bundle in the near future.



Seems to me like BluRay will have quite the userbase.

heh, this is a first. i don't think i've ever heard the ps3 called a "value" system before.

this whole core system+hdd+wire less controller=$450 arguement is bunk, because no one buys them seperate when they can get them in the premium system with a headset and high-def cables for $400.



the hd-dvd drive is pointless, because if you wait a year or so you will be able to buy a single player that can play both blu-ray and hd-dvd, and we still have no real idea if sony's "free" on-line system will be as good as microsoft's.

Im sorry everyone you hang out with is dirt poor then...



Target market for PS3 is 20-30 years of age. If your 20+ and your going to buy a next gen gaming console, you can find the funds no problem. If you 17yrs of age and working minimum wage and rely on mummy and daddy to buy ur games then of course 600 is too much.

You dont HAVE to buy the HD DVDV add on.



The 20gb hard drive comes with the premium package.



Its basically saying, To get the 360 to have as many features (that Some WONT USE) as the PS3, it would cost more. Stupid comparison.

447$+199$+ 646$ Ignorant

Your a moron, 90% of consumers never use 50% of the features of tech products they buy. Your avg PC ships with a DVD burner, of which MOST people dont use. Digital Cameras come with so many MP that are not needed for your standard 4x6 picture.



So no your right you dont need the HD-DVD add on, but in a year from now when games require more space youll have 2 options:

Option 1: Buy the 2+ DVD version and change discs when required.



Option 2: Buy a HD-DVD add-on then buy the HD-DVD version of the game that I GUARANTEE will be released.



So you may not need it now, but im damn dure youll need it in the future. And dont tell me your 20GB or even 100GB HD is gona hold HD games, cos it wont. Portable media isnt going anywhere for a very long time.

I cant believe people are still trying to compare the 360 to the PS3, or even the Wii, Ok first of all the 360 is the only one that is actually out on the market, it is the only one that is being played, so you cant compare it to something that doesnt even exist. And secondly you shouldnt even talk about the PS3's price because its not even for sale yet, and you cant say its online is free because its not even online!!, In fact it doesnt even plan on being online for the first year. Now other the other end of the spectrum is the Wii, hmmm yeah this is very inovative and new, but its definetly not impressive, yeah i can wave a controller around the room and wow my friends but graphicly its not much better than the Game Cube. If you want a kick ass machine that is backed by an impressive company then you should really think about buying a 360, and going online, because that my friends is what its all about!

wake up, motorstorm and resistance look like *****

Yes! I know, I wanted to buy one from costco in my area (Seattle) But They didnt get stock untill about a week later it was released so I waited at Target for awhile. This, my friend, is a true value package, I forgot ALL about it, Thank you my friend.

But Im pretty sure Costco will have a "value pack" PS3, cept it'll just cost less than actually BUYING it at target, wallmart, ect.

whats all this "have too", "must" and "required". The thing with the 360 is there OPTIONAL!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!! say it with me now OP-TION-AL!!!!! Get it? Good! Sony have aimed in one direction and microsoft in another, you'll buy which ever console you want to play your games on, i.e. halo+360, gran turismo+ps3 and so on. They are both great consoles!!!!!

it makes me sad how defensive 360 FANBOYS are both system are great but if your have the money and more out of your system then you get the ps3. the comparison between the 2 console is right so stop making a huge deal of it.

Hey, Sony why not add a wireless wheel, a wireless headset, and a vision cam. I mean those are "required" too right. Hey look Xbox 360 is $950 and our beloved PS3 is still only $599. Cmon.... Obviously, PS3 fans will be like "Yes, GO Sony!" but let's try to do this a little differently.



How come Sony doesn't say a HDMI or an HD cable is required. (Not in the core PS3, don't know about the premium PS3) I mean if BR is required then so is the HDMI cable right, otherwise it defeats the purpose of BluRay.



"Oh crap, forgot about that one. Good Call" - Sony



How many people have HDTVs and How many of those with HDTV will use a console other than for playing games. Well let's do the math: about 10% of people have HDTVs (I'm being nice). And out of those 10%, maybe 25% will actually use it for movies on a PS3 (Remember HD-DVD and BR movies are $20 more than DVDs, so yea...) Let's say Sony sells 500,000 for launch which with no doubt will happen. 500,000*0.1*0.25= 12500 BR users Hmmm, not an instant 500,000 people base with BR is it?. Same will happen with the HD-DVD addon for 360. So boom 2 points in one: 1. PS3 won't help out BR that much 2. HD-DVD is not required and very few will buy it. Since the majority won't buy the HD-DVD addon, we can easily take out HD-DVD out of the equation because WE CAN. Too bad I can't rip out the BR drive out of the PS3 cause its integrated. So, $599 no matter what.



Hey Sony, PS3 core system once bought will not have WiFi support.... No matter what. Its just not there. 360 people at least buy one, but PS3 core people can't. So why did I bring this up, because no one will buy the PS3 core system . Its crap. Lets just use the PS3 premium system. So don't flamed me for using the Premium system just to make the price sound higher. (Same applies to Xbox 360 core system)



Any idiot knows that add-ons separately are always more expensive than bundles. So let's use Premium Xbox 360 and Premium PS3 as I mentioned why in the previous paragraph).



Premium Xbox 360 ($400)

Wifi Adapter ($100)

12 month XBL ($50)

TOTAL: $550



Premium PS3 ($600)

HD cable ($40) - if not included in the box

-------or---------------

HDMI cable ($100) - if not included in the box

TOTAL: $700



Hmmm...... Then again, 360's Live is better because only cheese in a mouse trap is free. Cmon, seriously, how will sony maintain PS3's Online gaming.... You have to maintain the servers somehow which means you got to pay people. Sony is already losing money which is a first for them and don't plan on losing more just to make you happy.

One of three things will happen (TAKE MY WORD):

1. They make you pay down the road (Not directly, but separately for games) so there is no lag.

2. They'll copy Microsoft and have two subscription types. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX PEOPLE. They said that the Store, Downloads, Friend Chat is ALL GOING to be free. Well yea, you can do same with 360 (Silver membership - $0) BUT GAMES ONLINE, they never mentioned anything about the GAMES. (I smell something Gold along the lines - paid subscription).

3. IT WILL BE FREE - but lag happens. (Take economics - OPPORTUNITY COST) You always sacrifice something for something else. It's a given.



So maybe I should take out XBL out of the equation too for now.



New Totals:

Xbox 360 - $500

PS3 - $700



PS3 fanboys don't flame me because you know as well as I do, its all part of Marketing. I mean. For god's sake, the comparisons came directly from SONY. (no bias right?). Obviously, they need a way to justify PS3's price over 360's. This is the only route they could take. (Pretty low eh?) But then again, why should I get flamed right. This is a 360 site and why in a world would a PS3 fanboy read this. Only one reason I can think of: Justify PS3 and defend it? Jealous maybe?

So wow a 10$ HDMI cable is not included, boo hoo, I ready have two, get em online dweebs, lol.

"Requires users to buy" is reffering in this case to optional equipment that when comparing it to a similar product a user is REQUIRED to buy. The word requires in this case is used to say "If you want youre 360 to compete with PS3 you MUST buy these things as a REQUIREMENT" You misread what they were trying to say. Don't worry I misread it to.

and if you WANT HD-DVD games then you have to go somewhere else. and if you WANT superior graphics you have to go somehwere else. and if you WANT to have HDD caching you have to go somewhere else. So for those of you that don't want these things buy an XBOX 360, the console for people that don't WANT anything.

check out



www.gamesindustry.biz



they have an article on how they will be "replacing" the controllers that have batteries die out "if and when" though they say the batteries should last for many years.



Thats good, I like new controllers every few years, im ok with that.



You don't like new controllers? Oh, well I can sell you some old NES controllers that should be right up your alley, and they still work.

"Any idiot" knows that HDMI cables do not cost $100... unless you like getting ripped off by Monster



You're not getting flamed by a PS3 fanboy, but by a normal, rational person.



And "will", the comparsion is not right and you know it. They compared the Core + HDD + 1 year XBL + wireless controller to Premium PS3 for Christ's sake! Who would buy all that after a Core? Who would buy a Core in the first place? Like the guy above me said, buying the Premium comes with all those things, taking $100 off that total Sony gave. Just be quiet

HALO 3 is the most anticipated game for XBOX 360. In order for you to appreciate that game FULLY you need to subscribe for XBL gold. so again why would you take out XBL in your equation? That's the REMAINING bragging rights of every XBOX 360 owner...remember?



PS3 online is FREE..same as PC. And that's not gonna change. Who's jealous? When we can play FREE online.

You DO need the HDD, sorry dude I had my 360 for a week without it and it was hell, I could'nt do anything, I sure the hell was'nt going to buy a $60 mem card just to into Xbox live!!!



1. you can't update without HDD

2. you can't download!



As for commponent cables I sure the hell didn't get any.



This is what I paid for after I got the core ( Huge ass mistake!!)



1 360 core $512 Cnd

1 HDD $130 Cnd

1 Wireless controles $60 Cnd

1 year sub for Xbox live $80 Cnd



$782.00 and thats without any game!!

@ Somewhere



Main you didn't read my last paragraph or comepletely missed my point:



"Hmmm...... Then again, 360's Live is better because only cheese in a mouse trap is free. Cmon, seriously, how will sony maintain PS3's Online gaming.... You have to maintain the servers somehow which means you got to pay people. Sony is already losing money which is a first for them and don't plan on losing more just to make you happy.

One of three things will happen (TAKE MY WORD):

1. They make you pay down the road (Not directly, but separately for games) so there is no lag.

2. They'll copy Microsoft and have two subscription types. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX PEOPLE. They said that the Store, Downloads, Friend Chat is ALL GOING to be free. Well yea, you can do same with 360 (Silver membership - {COMMENT_BODY}) BUT GAMES ONLINE, they never mentioned anything about the GAMES. (I smell something Gold along the lines - paid subscription).

3. IT WILL BE FREE - but lag happens. (Take economics - OPPORTUNITY COST) You always sacrifice something for something else. It's a given." -cerberus414



The two will cancel each other out. Rofl. Remember my words. Sony or Developers WILL CHARGE MONEY FOR ONLINE GAMING.

Does anyone realize sony never publicly released the specs for their GPU, Microsoft did, xbox 360, 500 million polygons per/sec, how fast is the playstation 3 GPU, anyone knows, send me a link or something, please send me a reliable source like nvidia, not word of mouth, please.

nobody wants it, but that is what some people got and they are happy with it. the core system is like a last generation setup (wired controller, memory card, no harddrive, etc, like playstation 2) but with next gen graphics and gameplay.

Yeah the DVD games will cost the same, but at this moment Sony doesn't have the guts to tell everybody the price of their blu-ray games. They are waiting for the launch day to hit the poor bastards who buy the system with a tag of $80.00, $90.00 or even $100.00 bucks because "is new technology" and everybody wants it. And don't come here with stupid comments , becuse what I'm saying real, in less that a month the PS3 launches, and the price for this games is not revelaed yet.

Its not .99. I meant to say 59.99

"costing over $80"

These no comment thingies suck cuz they don't register half of my words.

blu ray is superior because of 1080p support... also movie image quality is up to the studio who remasters it... it has nothing to do with the format used (other than the fact that hd-dvd does not support progressive scan at 1920x1080)

@cerberus414



About PRICING, it would still be $60 for most of the games and $70 for AA games. If they are going to raise the price, then that would be 3 yrs from now or more in my opinion. If they going to raise it, it will only be $5 more...so you are looking around $65 for regular games and $75 for AA games down the road. If you think about it that's a 50GB Blu-Ray which plays 1080p compare to your DVD9.



About ONLINE, WOW, Final Fantasy Online, EverQuest, City of Villains etc. are all MMORPG. MMORPG is not FREE where did you get that idea...IDIOT? I never said that MMORPG is FREE...you did...not me. Except for GUILD WARS...they might release a MMORPG free online but i doubt that it will happen. But other than that all genres like SPORTS, FPS, Fighting, Adventure, etc. are all free and don't need subscription.



How about EXCLUSIVES games? Where are the exclusive games for XBOX 360? most of the AA games that are supposed to be exclusive are coming out on PC and PS3 too. All that's left are GOW, Bioshock, and HALO and they are all FPS, where's the variety of that? FPS won't save XBOX 360 alone. Blue Dragon is the only RPG worth mentioning. And without the support of Japanese developers they will never dominate the gaming industy...and that's a FACT!

Three types of games sell in japan the most, action, sports, and rpgs, xbox 360 has lost odyssey, infinite undiscovery and more rpgs coming exclusively, xbox 360 also have third party games, winning eleven soccer from konami, that game sold a million units on playstation 2 in japan alone. Dead rising, Lost planet and resident evil 5 from capcom, and more games that we have not seen yet, I don't know if xbox 360 can sell more hardware than playstation 3, but if xbox 360 keeps coming out with more games to appeal to the japanese market then they may have a chance, some people may laugh at that idea, but I think that because of the high price of the playstation 3, it is possible.

well i save 100 dollars over the ps3 to simply not get the hd dvd drive. hell thats the only thing that costs and arm or leg. Don't forget that XBox live PS doesn't compare w/ the unorganized laggy POS online capabilities.

" blu ray is superior because of 1080p support... also movie image quality is up to the studio who remasters it... it has nothing to do with the format used (other than the fact that hd-dvd does not support progressive scan at 1920x1080)"



the 360 now supports 1920x1080 from the fall update i now enjoy the 1080p gamming

the 360 is next gen you ps3 fanboys are thick i bought a games console unlike sony m$ concentrate on gamin first not a gay battle of who can put the most ***** in the console. sony's plan 1: blue ray 2:compete agenst xbox live 3:release movies for blue ray last but not least 4: put games on the GAMES CONSOLE!!!! note the words games console m$ plan 1:get games on the console 2:xbox live and community 3: dvd and media.i want to play games on my games console not watch movies and if i wan to watch hd-dvd's i will buy the addon next gen is about games not media and wifi bluetooth and the 360 has a move advanced cpu than the ps3 think of Assassin's Creed on the 360 has better ai than the ps3 cus the 360 can be easily be developed for ps3 has more cores 7 vs 3 but one is reserved for os another for the developers and the other for the games so 5 vs 3. 3 good vs 5 bad the larger the number is not all ways good

ok the 360 dose not need the hdd to play on xbl you could buy the memory card the hdd is for more storage and for backwards compatibly for the xbox games eg halo2 if you dont have the hdd you can ask m$ for a disk that allows you to play the xbox games.ok $250 for 5 years you ps3 fanboy