Want to play HD movies for just $500 more? PS3 seems cheap
by Nick Doerr 
{ Aug 15th 2006 at 8:30AM }
An article at PS3news.ca has a very interesting bit, thanks to a Microsoft representative who slipped a bit of info to the poster. The Microsoft rep said "the HD drive is expected to sell at 500 dollars." Are... you kidding? That's hilariously steep, but the rep decided to qualify the price point with: "Well, the Blu-ray players are going for a thousand, and other HD-DVD players are going for half that, so that's going to be the price point." So, who here wants to spend up to $1000 on an XBox360 (higher SKU, wireless adaptor and supposed HD drive price)? No one? Great. PS3 is now $400 cheaper if this is the truth. Now, sure, the HD drive isn't mandatory but the Blu-ray is standard on the PS3, but it's the principle of the matter.Did anybody really plan to get the HD add-on for their 360's anyway? This really does beg the questions of add-ons. Should gaming companies keep a lower-priced core system and have a ton of accessories that can make your box into a multimedia deity, or should they try to package it all in at once and have a "lower" price, assuming you wanted every little thing from the start? If the price point turns out to be truth, XBox fanboys shouldn't be allowed to mock the PS3's price, especially if they planned to watch HD movies.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andir2.0 @ Aug 15th 2006 9:04AM
Over on Engadget they listed the add-on at $200. Which still puts the XBox360+HD over the PS3.
I stand by Sony on this one. Most people complain that they are getting force fed a media format and stand by those claims with bogus drive speed claims. Yes, the DVD drive in the 360 is faster on sinlge layer disks. What happens when we go beyond that 4G barrier? The read speed drops well below the PS3 BluRay. Besides, I wouldn't buy the PS3 for a movie player anyway. I think BluRay has benefits for gaming that far outweigh the movie industry influence.
All the debate over drive speed is pointless anyway with a built in hard drive cache... but people conveniently forget to mention that. I wonder why?
Cary @ Aug 15th 2006 10:52AM
You managed to make a point and than admonish it one paragraph later. Must've failed debate class, huh?
Heres my point:
X360(Premium)+HDDVD(rumored price $200)=Same price as PS3, NOT Over!
As much as I dislike Sony, the PS3 isn't going to kill them. I think it will hurt them pretty bad. But the will spin it into their favor.
Marketing Genius'
Cage @ Aug 15th 2006 1:14PM
We have yet to see the QUALITY of the drive...
Peabods @ Aug 15th 2006 3:03PM
$500 huh. Is this site the only one you read? You must not have any real new info on the PS3 to make up information about the 360 drive being $500 when everyone and their grandmother knowing it will cost around $200, and then once again trying to use that to justify the extreme cost of the PS3. Man I hate this crap.
bub @ Aug 15th 2006 3:42PM
$200, ay? Funny, now an Xbox360 that can actually play hi-def movies costs more than a $500 ps3 that has it built in (oh, yeah, upscaled backwards compatibility with ps2 and ps1 titles).
The 360 STILL doesn't look good. Of course, I'm not really into FPS's...
el moco @ Aug 15th 2006 4:29PM
ha!!! seems like there are more Xbox360 fanboys here than PS3 fanboys!!! to be honest, the hd era begins when I decide to watch movies in HD. i'm glad the 360 don't have a hd-dvd drive in it, and i predict sony will slit it's throat this fall, with the Wii mopping up.....
alijah green @ Aug 15th 2006 4:46PM
THE XBOX360 IS DOING ALL THE WORK THAT A STANDALONE PLAYER WOULD THEREFORE I GUESS IT WOULD BE LESS THAN 200. BUT LETS WAIT FOR ANNOUNCEMENT OK. NICE TRY ON THE PR FOR SONY BUT THEY ARE DEAD.
verik @ Aug 15th 2006 5:34PM
This is fake news. The whole point of the 360 drive is that the 360 is handling the playback, all the drive has to be is a transport and eye. This saves on production costs for the unit.
I chalk this one up to overzealous ps3 fans. You've been had.
Fan @ Aug 15th 2006 7:50PM
Does anyone know if the HD DVD drive has HDMI? If not then why is not everyone complaining about this?
Also I would rather buy a thought through complete package then a "me too" add on that looks terrible. Im getting a 360 because of the games, like Alan Wake and Gears of War, Im not getting it to use it something it was not ment to do.
The 360 is a terrible media device, use it for games only.
sputnik @ Aug 15th 2006 7:56PM
I'm definately getting the drive if it's $200 or below. Now that we know that HD-DVD has the visual edge as long as Blu-Ray movies are encoded in MPEG-2. Also 400 titles slated for HD-DVD by Christmas as opposed o 200 titles for Blu-Ray.
MS chose not to cram their format down my throat...and one year later I will reward them by gladly purchasing the add-on when it represents clear value to me and when I can afford it.
boots @ Aug 16th 2006 12:02AM
Sputnik:
It's foolish to assume Sony will remain with their arms crossed when it comes to codecs for Blu-ray to compete against HD-DVD. Oh, and 400 titles by Christmas? Please point out where did you see that, thank you.
Oh, and sputnik... Sony is not forcing a format down our throats. There's a choice: You buy a PS3, or you don't! It's that simple.
Interestingly enough, you are complaining about a system you have no plans to buy.
SuicideNinja @ Aug 16th 2006 11:24AM
I love how logic dictates that everyone wants their game console to be a HD/BR movie player. It's not automatically more expensive if people don't care.
"Did anybody really plan to get the HD add-on for their 360's anyway?"
Nope.
And if Sony would *gasp* give consumers a choice, I wouldn't get the Bluray player either.
When the time comes for HD movies, you essentially HAVE to buy a stand alone player if you want a decent one. If I need a screw driver, I want a screw driver, not a swiss army knife. *Looks at my PSP*
Bluray doesn't seem to be an Amazon consumer favorite: www.thedvdwars.com. Bluray vs HD-DVD is seeming to become corporations vs consumers. The latter seems to back the familiar name.
At least Bluray movies are cheaper on average...but I'm assuming that's because they don't sell as well at the moment.
We'll see how the next couple of years unfold, and we'll see how these new formats do.
Fan @ Aug 16th 2006 2:06PM
I love it how everyone just negleckts that blu-ray will be used for gaming. Its just a disc drive with more space not a device whos sole intent is movies.
Even Microsoft is thinking about releasing games on HD DVD according to this:
http://www.xboxic.com/news/1437
So please lets cut the blu-ray = movies only fud. Its there to benefit games as well.
Adam @ Aug 16th 2006 11:06PM
PS3Fanboy thinks add-ons are pointless? Hello PS2 HDD!
Sponge @ Aug 17th 2006 8:35AM
No Fan, the HD DVD add-on will only play movies.
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2006/08/16/536859.aspx
Go somewhere official for news.
verik @ Aug 17th 2006 2:11PM
I don't want to play movies on my xbox360 or my PS3 (when it comes out). They are loud. The PS3 will be loud (with that processor, you better believe it). These games consoles are basically full on computers and it takes a lot of cooling to chill them out.
That means a lot of noise I don't want to hear during the important quiet moments of my film.