Why are PS3's sitting on shelves? Well, duh... [update 1]

by Nick Doerr { Jan 9th 2007 at 1:30PM }

With the age of blogs and instantaneous news upon us, we want our information brief, quick, and to the point. Fast. Instantly, even. So when news pops up of any system, not just the PS3, sitting on shelves, it's so easy to aim our crosshairs at the news and say "har, har, failure... headshot, checkmate, doomsday" etc, etc. Well, here's a pretty good way to look at the reasoning behind why PS3's are sitting on shelves in some areas (still can't find any).

First off, the holiday shortages, wrought by blue laser diode production issues as well as the large amount of eBay hunters trying to snag huge profits (and some did). There simply weren't many to go around from November 17th to December 17th. What does this portend? Well, most holiday shopping is done between those times and since the PS3 was difficult to come by, many shoppers settled for the other systems. Namely, the 360 (since the Wii was also hard to find, but not due to actual shortages).

Secondly, after the holidays (we mean Christmas), PS3 production was ramped up. This would normally be good, but since the holidays just ended, people are recouping their funds, paying off that debt from holiday shopping, you know? Even if they see a PS3, they've no reason to slap down $600 or $500 for one -- there's no holiday to buy it for. It's also an irrational personal purchase at the time. January and February are historically slow sales months -- there's a reason hardly any games come out during this time.

Third, and most regrettable, is the severe lack of games for now. Since launch, there's been practically nothing on the PS3 front, hell, even the PS2 front is lacking in titles (but there are still a few goodies on the horizon!). Sony's probably going to pull out all the stops for the European launch. Tons of new titles all at once.

Hopefully this incites a little debate over why PS3's are sitting on some store shelves, but in all honestly, I truly believe these are the reasons why. It isn't because "Sony sucks" or "the PS3 is expensive" (partly true, but this reason is directly correlated to the time of year -- post-holiday), it's the reasons above. The next holiday season, when all systems are in ample supply, we'll see how that goes. Maybe it'll be different. Maybe not.

[update: Apparently the picture came from Kotaku, but we didn't get it from there. Whatever, credit is credit.]

Tags: Playstation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andir2.0 @ Jan 9th 2007 1:52PM

Well, I don't know if it matters or not, but you know that warning when you do a backup stating that copy-protected files may not be recovered? That includes save games. Some retard at EA figured it would be a good idea to copy-protect the Need For Speed:Carbon saves so you can't copy them to a USB drive for backup and needless to say I'm working up the ambition to redo all those races (I was one race from career completion waiting to finish that one race for all gold challenges and my Rhino unlock..grr!)

Anyone out there that has NFS:Carbon (the only game I've seen do this) make sure your done playing it before you reformat! Stupid EA.

More on topic though...I think if you do find supply (I haven't seen another one in this area recently) it's probably a combination of your theory and the fact that Sony is shipping TONS of them to the US in what I would consider to be a groundbreaking achievement as far as production of high end electronic equipment is concerned. (Notice how I noted "high end production" so the Wiitards can't come back on me... oh, here they come...)

alienclay @ Jan 9th 2007 1:55PM

the ones who wern't thinking this were the ones who want to kick sony for no good reason.

we'll see how things shake out in 9-18 months

Regrezz @ Jan 9th 2007 2:17PM

Personally, I think it is great the Sony is now getting the product out to stores in such high quantities. Now the whole world (at least north america) can enjoy the crunchy-chewy goodness that is the PS3.

But seriously, the PS3 is not the only system I see on store shelves. I have been seeing the Wii in excess supply almost since it has come out and as always tons of 360's on the shelves.

Is this to say all systems are failures? Is the PC going to retake the gaming market? Are flying monkeys going to steal my SIXAXIS?

No, but I agree money is tight this time of year, and unless someone got an IOU for the PS3 it probably has to wait a month or so.

Now that we have PS3's we just need PS3 games to play on them. Yes I love FFXII but cannot wait until Oblivion ships.

alienclay @ Jan 9th 2007 2:31PM

thanks for the warning, i was planing on upgrading my harddrive soon to a larger one to get ahead of stuff like this. i wonder if my downloaded games will take one off my "5 system" limit.
they should make the saves link to the specific ps3 serial number so you can move that file around but only use it on the originating ps3.

and nickyD, thanks for putting out what many an opposing wii60 fanboy would neglect to think in their blind sony bashing.

OrganicShadow @ Jan 9th 2007 2:31PM

Couldn't have said it better myself. I live in Houston Texas and cannot find a single unit-- not even a 20gb.

Friday I saw 2 60gb units at a local Target and as I called my friend to tell him I noticed the people standing next to me were already on their cellphones asking whoever was on the line if they wanted them to pick an "extra" one up for them.(as if you can buy more than one unit at a time...) Swung by Target yesterday after work(no, it's not walmart) and they were gone. I did however see several games out of stock plus a few empty slots for games about to release like Sonic.

Sure, this is Houston, but there are still a lot of people that don't even know the SIXAXIS has motion control, or that the online is free, or that there are a ton of good games planned for it. Sony needs to rework the way they are marketing the PS3 so that the average consumer can see the full picture.

-UPDATE THE DAMN KIOSKS REGULARLY- with demos that feature motion control. Hell, even throw in some demos that only the kiosks get like a small tech demo of Warhawk.
-Alter the kiosks to allow consumers to try out the motion control. Most people I see in Gamestops don't even notice the Wii until they overhear someone giving their ID to the clerks to get the Wiimote. A lot of people may find out that PS3 has motion control but won't really give a crap if they can't try it, but CAN try the Wiimote...
-Move away from the minimalistic PS3 commercials and actually SAY what is going on, like "motion control in SIXAXIS" or something. Some people find them too artsy and abstract.
-Try and push the multimedia center features more. I would even go as far as putting PS3 adverts in the multimedia sections of retail outlets so they know that PS3 is one of their options.
-Finally, put videos on the PS3 kiosks that explain, advertise, and sell consumers on ALL of the PS3's features. The unplayable Wii units at Target just play videos explaining the Wii in a comprehensive manner. A lot of consumers may need this hand-holding.

poseidon @ Jan 9th 2007 2:32PM

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070108-8574.html

ArsTechnica has a good article on the topic. They took a local survey of a bunch of stores in that area.

I think clearly the PS3 is way too expensive for most people now that the hardcore fans already have theirs. And it's starting to show that a solid year of being shat on by the media, blogs, fans and not-so fans has had a huge effect on PS3 brand.

Not to mention a really crappy set of games compared to the 360 and Wii...a crappy controller...and the true fallout of not having Rumble starting to pan out (ie. no forcefeedback steering wheels for PS3). Oh and I forgot to mention the problem with Blu-Ray movies and 720p or the issue with games playing at 1080i or 1080p if the are designed for 720p.

With all of the above Sony has put off all sorts of potential customers.

JudasBarron @ Jan 9th 2007 2:41PM

Well, I can't afford one. I'm getting a Wii when I can afford it and a 360! I call Wal-Mart, Gamestop, and Target constantly and either the Wii's that came in are gone or they don't know how many more/when they'll be coming in. Considering the 360 is goin to get some decent ports of PS3 titles, I'm in NO rush to save up and spend th SIX plus!

KingKaid @ Jan 9th 2007 3:02PM

I must say good points, but in all fairness your second reason is pretty flimsy. Over a year ago when the 360 launched there was 0 on the shelves until feb/march. And while it is $100 cheaper than the PS3, it is still a lot of cash to shell out.

I think the reason is pretty simple, as you said there are practically no good games out for it, and there are very few out in the near future. That is reason enough not to slap down a good chunk of change.

Meep UK @ Jan 9th 2007 3:12PM

@6
Actually at the moment the 360 is the lead development platform for multiformat games (call of duty 3, Tony Hawks 8) and appears it will be unless the PS3 out sells it so it is the PS3 getting the naff ports and not vice versa.

Also because the multiformat games at the moment are just ports they will not take full advantage of the PS3 though they will be of the 360 thus decreasingthe PS3's power advantage to Joe Public. Only 1st and 2nd party games (and the odd exclusive) will use the whole power of the machine but will they be worth the extra money the PS3 costs you over the 360? That is the question.

jsn @ Jan 9th 2007 3:32PM

It's dishonest of the editor to shrug off the high price of the PS3 as if it's not a big reason for them selling poorly. It is a huge reason, combined with lack of production and poor game lineup, for the console not selling well. When your primary audience is teenagers who rely on their parents to provide them with things like this and their parents say things like "he wants a ps3, but they're just too expensive", (I've been told this specifically at least 15 times), you can't pretend that price doesn't matter.

To make matters worse, the kids that were hyped for a ps3, are losing interest as well because they see the games that are out there and they aren't stupid. They know that there isn't a single game available today to justify dropping $600+ for the system. As the weeks go by with no new good games on the market, their interest wanes. It's made even worse when their friends are talking about the cool Wii or 360 games they just got.

Sony SCREWED UP from day 1 on this console. Is it technically a good system? of course... Could they have done just as well with other, less difficult to get hardware? ABSOLUTELY. They were oblivious to the market they were playing in and as of today they are playing from last place. They will continue to play from that position for quite a while too.

Gnizmo @ Jan 9th 2007 3:42PM

"(since the Wii was also hard to find, but not due to actual shortages)."

I hate to nit pick you arguement since it was an interesting read, but what do you mean by this? The demand was greater than the supply so some people did not get one. That seems like an "actual shortage."

SuicideNinja @ Jan 9th 2007 3:51PM

"have been seeing the Wii in excess supply almost since it has come out and as always tons of 360's on the shelves. "

Your area should trade with my area. All I can find is PS3's, but I don't want one yet.

The obvious counter-argument (which can easily be countered) is that Xbox 360's at this time last year were still hard to come by. However, I don't believe they produced as many as Sony is respectively.

ndoerr @ Jan 9th 2007 4:12PM

@ Gnizmo -- you're right, "(since the Wii was also hard to find, but not due to actual shortages)" sounds sort of ambiguous. What I meant by "actual shortages" was in the production side of things -- there was no shortage in the production of Wii's, unlike the initial month after the PS3's launch. I hope that makes more sense!

Pulse @ Jan 9th 2007 5:09PM

Some of my mates are talking about 360, doesnt mean I'm gonna be the next fool to run out and buy it, that statement needs to die already, you buy what you like, not what your mates like, if thats the case, then you're just a follower.

If I don't want 360 or Wii, no matter what mates say, I won't buy them, and visa versa.

I am already expecting a few titles I enjoyed on PS2 to show thier faces soon, and then that will be enough pursuasion to buy. I never buy what my mates buy, I always buy the opposite, gives me more to argue and discuss about.

While American's are no where near short on supply, we English are demanding we get ours FOR CHRIST SAKE, IF THE AMERICANS DONT WANT IT, SEND THEM OVER HERE, WE'LL MAKE BETTER USE OF EM! Why do we have to wait till March while some Americans have it right there infront of them and don't want or need it, don't you realise there are people in this country squelling out for one SONY! Damn you, lol.

seedaripper @ Jan 9th 2007 5:13PM

12. #9

Bravo!!! Best response yet!!

Also to some of the other responders, Toys r Us, Microcenter and a few other places had $100 off specials for the Premium, bring the price to $299, half that of the 60 gig PS3 version. Add to that the $40 off coupon at CC and I got the HD DVD addon (IMO better than Blu-ray) for $149 which would put the total at $450, $150-$200 cheaper (add $60 for an HDMI cable for the lacking PS3) and that is a huge difference. I know about 10 people who took advantage of these deals and were able to spend the $150-200 saved for Gears of War AND the 360 Force Feedback (another thing Sony PS3 can't do) steering wheel. Considering these were Sony loyalists, this is a loss for Sony.

I don't see any discounts for PS3, why? $600 worth of reasons why! Sorry POS3 fan boys, you don't have much to hope for until next holiday, that's if Sony can compete with the 360 price drop (which it can't, and Microsoft is already profitable as it currently stands!)! Oh, did I mention lack of games?!

Posted at 3:47PM on Jan 9th 2007 by Paul R 0 stars

i think you wandered into the wrong site mate...
or are you just a nasty bit of trolling baiting scum?...
methinks the latter my friend...

FattyX @ Jan 9th 2007 5:24PM

360's were still hot at this time when it came out, till like February they were still hard to find anywhere you went......

kdo @ Jan 9th 2007 5:29PM

nice post nick. i think it makes a lot of sense. i just get so tired of reading all of these ridiculous posts from folks bashing sony and predicting all sorts of doom and gloom. the PS2 is still the biggest seller out there game wise. so when it comes time for all of these ps2 owners to jump on to the next-gen bandwagon, do we really think that they're all going to just go to a different console just because the PS3 is too expensive? i personally think that they'll see the backwards compatibility as an asset to the PS3 and equate it as definite value. but the point is, making crazy predictions at this point is rather baseless. we won't know much until a year from now.

with the growth of videogame industry as it is, i truly believe that there's room for more than one "winner". as an owner of all 3 next-gen consoles, i'm starting to truly buy-in to the marketing put down by nintendo that the Wii isn't competing against the 360 and the PS3, rather it exists in a different sub-segment of videogaming than the other two. why? because the best games for the Wii won't relate well to being really good games on the PS3 and 360 (and vice-versa).

its going to be a very slow january and february for all of the consoles, but there are going to be some killer games coming out for all 3 this year. so lets give it a year and see how things go.

kdo @ Jan 9th 2007 5:35PM

FattyX said: "360's were still hot at this time when it came out, till like February they were still hard to find anywhere you went......"

there's a reason for that. microsoft was having serious production issues for several months that severely affected the number of consoles they could produce. the reason why it was hard to find them on shelves until March '06 wasn't because of high demand, but because of extremely low supply. there was demand for it, but it wasn't as big as you think.

Sony did have production issues, but they seem to have gotten past them already.

DC @ Jan 9th 2007 7:08PM

Thing is, at this point whatever Sony does, it'll be seen in a negative way by people who just love to bash Sony. If these people stumble into a Walmart and see no PS3's on the shelf, they run home and jump online to talk about how Sony sucks because it can't produce enough units to meet the demand. If these same people see PS3s in-stock at Walmart, then they run home and jump online and talk about how no one is buying the PS3 and so they suck...

Around here I don't see the PS3 in stock at places like Best Buy, but I do see them in stock at Walmart. And I think this has to do with the price and the respective customer base. I actually bought mine at Walmart and the checkout lady was all freaked out because I was spending 'so much money'... Spending $600 in a Best Buy is nothing, though...

Adam @ Jan 9th 2007 7:34PM

So Nick, why was the Xbox 360 still hard to find after Christmas last year?

elfgirl @ Jan 9th 2007 7:34PM

@ 3
Where have you seen the Wii? I love PS3 and Xbox, but I dont have my Wii yet! WHERE!

NeverSage @ Jan 9th 2007 7:36PM

I don't know why the rest of America isn't buying PS3s but I can tell you my reason. Too expensive. I think the PS3 is an amazing system and I would love to have it. I don't care what system I play my games on, I just want to play good games. But right now I just keep hoping that all the good PS3 games will be released on the 360, which I can afford that. I just don't understand the $200 premium. I guess it's the blu-ray? But I just want to play games :(

Ray @ Jan 9th 2007 7:54PM

Valid reasons in the post. Last year, even the 360 with it's production problems, was easy for me to find and buy one in January. Once the holiday season ends, the demand for systems just seems to die down dramatically. 2 weeks before Xmas, I couldn't find a Wii or PS3, yet just one week later I found both. Now, just last week, Toys r us had 9 Wii and 6 PS3s.

Now if both systems could just have more than 1-2 good games, we all would be set

LaughingTarget @ Jan 9th 2007 9:37PM

Xbox 360 scarcity until March isn't a valid comparison. Microsoft hit the 1 million unit sales by March in the US.

However, the 1 million units shipped before the units are easily found should worry Sony some. The image of it doesn't bode well. By limiting shipments through March, Microsoft managed to build the image that the Xbox 360 was so popular that it just couldn't stay on shelves. Most consumers have no clue about production issues and such, they just know the 360 was hard to find until March and the PS3 is a common item in late December. Image-wise, Sony has taken a huge hit while in reality, there isn't any difference between the 360 and PS3.

However, we can postulate that the PS3 won't sell any better or worse than the 360 on a worldwide scale since both systems reached market surplus around the 1 million mark. This may be the best alternative as now we will see the exlusives ramping up to try and pull consumers from the other camp. There was little reason to build an awesome PS2 game, and the overall percentage of quality PS2 titles suffered (yes, I know the PS2 had most of the good games, but you had to dig through disproportionately more junk to find them than on the other systems). I'd like to see a console round where I know that exclusives have a good chance at being AAA and I could do well by avoiding anything that is cross-platform.

fda @ Jan 9th 2007 9:39PM

Actually, in my area last year they had enough bulk of xbox 360's in my local walmarts at this time of the year that they had them sitting outside of the cases waiting to be stolen. Ive seen 2 PS3's in my entire area so far since its release.

Also in further rebuttal to your argument SuicideNinja, the 360 had a poor launch line up followed by almost a full year of crap games to warrant its poor sales, so far its only sold close to 7.5-8 mil consoles and shipped 2 million more than that. The PS3 and Wii will have an easy time catching up once the market reaches saturation for stock to be common (Jan and Feb are the poor months of the year so think by march or so for things to pick back up).

If numbers are of any worth, the production of both PS3 and Wii are working at least double to triple capacity of that of the 360's(especially with MS's artificial low output at launch).

In other words, think of it this way. 360 came out with shit for poor stock and games, and got dissed till just recently. Wii is all the buzz but good games will be like looking for a tadpole in a mino farm, after a while it has a good possibility of just collecting dust like the GC. Ps3 is at the middle ground between the two, alot of wanted games coming out in March(2 months) and 98% BC so you can play all the good games that are still coming out for the ps2. Yeah its expensive, but personally i think its worth it once it comes march. The 360 will be worth it for me probably this fall when it gets a price cut, and wii thats my wait and see.

The Natural @ Jan 10th 2007 1:35AM

"the PS2 is still the biggest seller out there game wise. so when it comes time for all of these ps2 owners to jump on to the next-gen bandwagon, do we really think that they're all going to just go to a different console just because the PS3 is too expensive?"

Um....yes. If the average consumer believes that a product is too expensive they usual DON'T buy it...Will they get a 360 or Wii instead? I dunno, but they sure as hell won't be giving sony thier money.

Joseph @ Jan 10th 2007 2:16AM

ps3 demand is low
Wii demand is high

,,!,,(-_-),,!,,
gay sony FTL

Bandit @ Jan 10th 2007 2:57AM

I bought a 60G PS3 & returned it a week later. The biggest reasons were:

1) Sony's online service can not even be compared to Microsoft's. It is horrible joke(just a web browser), add to that there is no headset bundled with the system & you will enjoy many a quiet nights while playing multiplayer in RFOM.

2) No HDMI cable included, the graphics look bad with the packed in cable. How can you tout blueray & not include a high def cable? What's the point?

3) I got an HDMI cable, graphics still do not look as good as the 360(yes I have a 1080p LCD).

4) By using bluetooth for the controller, it resynchronizes while your playing a game like RFOM causing you to turn in circles.

5) NO GAMES WORTH BUYING, RFOM is the best available but pales in comparison to Gears of War. Don't get me wrong, I liked it - but not $700 worth(game+system).

6) It is HOT. Anyone else notice how hot the system gets? Way hotter than the 360. I worried how long the system would last with that kind of heat being generated. I had the system well ventilated in an open space.

7) Did I mention no games now or in the foreseeable future?

8) Controller does not feel right, no rumble either. Uses stupid USB cable for charging, cable is too short. Six Axis use has no real substance yet unlike the Wii.

There's more, but when all is said and done I couldn't justify paying MORE for a system that was inferior to the Xbox 360. I had to return it.

This is the first time I will not have ALL the systems(I even had a 3DO back in the day). SONY needs to do something quick! I've enjoyed the Playstation brand through out the years, but the path they have chosen is way off this time out.

BTW - I left my Tekken Dark Resurrection on the hard drive as a present for the person who buys my "Open Box Item". =]

PS3FAN @ Jan 10th 2007 4:21AM

I live in Los Angeles and I still cant find a single PS3. Before Christmas I saw stacks of X-BOX 360's in a local Best Buy store while everyone was hunting for a PS3. Looks like those "allegedy" available PS3's just sitting there will have company. LOL. But to each his own. All systems have their ups and downs. It's only fair to compare them in an even time frame. We'll see by the end of the year how each system sold. Good luck to all!

hoos30 @ Jan 10th 2007 8:24AM

They're starting to pile up in the stores in my area too (DC), although I think its as much to do with Sony really ramping up production as it is waning demand. I mean, a week and a half ago there were none, and now they're everywhere. Demand can't change that fast.

I played the Motorstorm demo and it seemed like it could be a lot of fun, but I CANNOT BELIEVE Sony didn't bite the bullet and pay Immersion for the rumble. This game is an off road racer with wicked (though a tad bit overdone) crashes, and I can't feel a thing. It just doesn't feel right.

Ray @ Jan 10th 2007 8:44AM

31.I bought a PS3 and have a 360. Unfortunately, I have a HDTV that only accepts 480P and 1080i. So my 360 plays games in 1080i while my PS3 plays in 480P. How does that make the PS3 "The True High Definition"??? The Motorstorm demo looks like crap, all jagged edges.

WHy is it like that? My PS3 says onscreen that output is set to 1080i thru the HDMI cable

cpb @ Jan 10th 2007 9:52AM

yeah, the ps3 isnt selling well because it's now past the holiday season. That's the same reason why the wii isnt selling well either, and you can find a wiis stacked up almost everywhere.... oh wait....

Robert @ Jan 10th 2007 10:11AM

Its as simple as this. We have just witnessed the tides change and the the new flagship system of the console wars is the 360. Its really that plain and simple. Many may not want to believe it but have certainly felt it.

Smoked @ Jan 10th 2007 12:44PM

I'd be curious to see a comparison of the total numbers shipped state side by the first of the year for the PS3 and 360. I had been a Sony guy for 3-4 years with the PS2. I followed everything online on the PS3 and 360 starting in Spring 05. I followed the availability of the 360 to get an idea of how things would be for the PS3. The first day I was every able to walk into my local CC or BB and be able to purchase a 360 was the middle of April and a Friday. By that point, I was tired of waiting for the PS3 and I was totally bummed with the PS online capabilities. I got the 360 that day and have loved it since. It almost seems like being a Dallas Cowboys fan and all the sudden switching to the Washington Redskins. I say 4 PS3s at my local BB on 1/3 , Wednesday, at night. But to be fair I had to wonder about that being due to higher supply or a lack of demand. Wish we had the numbers to be fair. But that's 3 months ahead on casually walking in to buy one. Strange.

lol @ Jan 11th 2007 10:55AM

Don't listen to bandit. He is an Xbox fanboy, he's always spewing bullshit. I remember last year when he said that it would be impossible for a PS3 to display at 1080p. Besides, after all he said, he is a dipshit for still buying a PS3 in spite of his own advice (but not exclusively for that bandit, don't get your hopes up).

By the way, I have a PS3 and it's awesome. The online service, while it doesn't have a "Gamerscore" which is a gimmick in the end, works great. It may have a little lag, but so does LIVE on Xbox and Xbox 360, so why should I have to pay 50 bucks a year? You also get the benefit of having a 60 gig HDD, and it is WiFi enabled. You can surf the net, and do a lot of stuff you can't do on 360. Want media? If you are a media whore, just install Linux. You can do everything the 360 can do and even more by doing that. And by the way, did I mention it is backwards compatible with more (great) games than the Wii and Xbox 360 combined with their current line-ups and those of their preceding systems? Oh, I also forgot it comes with a "free" second generation Blu-ray movie player. And by the way, Blu-ray is catching up to DVD on sales in the states, and it has 96% market-share in Japan. With LG's dual-format player coming out, which plays all of Blu-ray's bells and whistles (but not HD-DVDs, just the movie), it'll be the last nail in HD-DVDs coffin.

vanquish 41 @ Jan 11th 2007 12:51PM

Just went to local walmart and saw 3 ps3 sitting behind glass....no wii was available....this time last year had i have seen the 360 sitting there it would have been a purchase.. why are the fanboys not buying em?

chris @ Jan 12th 2007 6:38PM

I don't buy this line of logic for two reasons...

If the reason PS3's are sitting on shelves is the "post-holiday" slump, how do you explain the sold out Wii (with a much larger amount of shipped units than PS3)? and how do you rationalize the 360 last January/Febuary when you STILL couldn't get one.

I attribute the slow sales to three things:

1. Lack of any system selling games. Resistance is the only compelling game out there.

2. High price

3. Cheaper.more plentiful competition with currently better games and features.

stewart @ Jan 12th 2007 11:44PM

The following is honest comments from own of both 360 and PS3 - take them for what they are worth.

Well I own both the XBox 360 with HD DVD drive and 20G PS3, last two holidays ( Thanksgiving and Christmas ), the 360 was not used at all - but the PS3 was used.

Well for me what sets the PS3 is Blu-ray format, combine this with my brand new Sony 46in XBR, this is so much better than the 360 HD-DVD - no wonder that 56 new Blu-Ray titles are coming out vs the merely only 13 HD DVD titles.

Well on the heat issue, both the 360 and PS3 will over heat if place in cabinet without good circulation. In fact the 360 Overheated just playing oblivion.

PS3 has several advantages over 360 in my opinion.
1. Unit, Power supply, and hi definetion player all
in one one.
2. Comes with hi definition player
3. Includes HDMI connector, don't complain it doesn't included the cable - the main thing is that it includes the connector. Having the cable would raise the price any more.
4. PS3 sound reproduction is better than 360.
5. 1080p is available - with HDMI, not possible with 360 - because 1080p is not supported on Component cables.
6. So far PS3 has not ate a game disk. My Tiger woods 360 game disk no longer works because of drive on 360. HD DVD drive even includes a warning.
7. Hard drive on PS3 is easy replacable and upgradable - no big deal if I have 20G, I can place a 120G drive purchase from Newegg in it. Try that on a 360.
8. Can installed alternate OS on it - even has option to do it. Expect Microsoft to ever allow it.

Advantages of 360.
1. I can connect to VGA monitor with it
2. I can connect to Media Center with it
3. I would obmit the online system is better currently - especialy the free downloadable game demos - but then agian - I pay for the service.
4. I can use RF remote on it.( Harmony works on it )

I originally got my 360, because I read that I can create my own programs for it - but I basically didn't do it because of cost for something that I would likely not spend much time with it.

I was deeply surpirse that the HD DVD drive did not include a HDMI cable. It would be really interesting to compare the quality between HD DVD and Blu-Ray if they did include HDMI. Right now - its not even a contest, Blu-Ray blows HD DVD away and UI issues are not an issue if using Sony's PS3 Remote.

Game selection on PS3 is currently lower than 360, but then again - what was 360's game selection like a year ago. I have no problems with PS3 HD selection - as long as your use a high enough quality HDMI cable - it works beutiful on both my 46 in 1080p and my 720p Projector.

As for Wii - personaly I don't want near my 46in LCD - I not taking a chance with this baby with someone throwing a controller at it. Plus to be honest for me the game seletion is not appealing - but then again I enjoy HD movies more than games lately. How it would be quite nice on my projector, it wouldn't hurt a wall if controller is slung into it too much.

Well that is my take on it. Believe it or now - but it my experience with the consoles.

As for sales - Sony should come out with $300 Blu-Ray only system and shortly after that HD DVD will this years Betamax ( likely will happen anyway - because of lack of studio support ).

James Dehnert @ Jan 14th 2007 3:06PM

I was in the mall yesterday and all 3 game stored has PS3's in stock. While I briefly flirted with the idea of picking up one I resisted the temptation for the following reasons.

1) I'm still pissed about the root kit fiasco
2) lack of games (though resistance looks cool)
3) $600!!
4) Sony can be kinda arrogant

These are all personal issues. if they get down to $400 for the 60 Gig I'd start to consider purchasing one, and new games will help too. I'm also partial to Mice and Keyboards myself (i'm old) and most of the games we have on the Xbox, Xbox 360 and PS2 leave me cold.

Time will tell, but one of the best selling points for me is Blue Ray. On that fron't i'm still waiting o see who wind the war before I put down my $$.

In the mean time. if your shopping for a PS3, call information and ask for the various game shops in Santa Rosa California. I'm sure they will be happy to sell you a PS3.

Smoked @ Jan 15th 2007 9:52AM

To add to my recent comment on the PS3 sitting on shelfs, I was at my local EB Games store with some friends. Bought a couple PSP games. Asked about the Wii and the boxes on the wall were empty and for show. Asked about the PS3. He said they aren't selling and they keep getting restocked. He said he had more than the needed or wanted. Of course, you still can't find a Wii for anything. So the fanboy flame wars go on. Post holiday "sales slump" is BS. The 360 "sales slump" didn't start until May 06. I guess that was a long holiday season that year. I'm still waiting to see if the PS3 is a game machine or a HD movie machine. What game does someone just have to have that they can't get on their 360? Next Christmas will surely be the most telling in the next-gen wars. It should be better for PS3. The 360 will likely ride on Halo3 hype. Sony better get their heads out of their "proprietary" butts. Please PS3, make me want to buy you.

John What @ Jan 25th 2007 7:43AM

Well this is bad news for Sony and PS3. First Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto IV are going to Xbox 360. And so is Virtua Fighter 5. And a rumor saying that kingdom hearts 3 will go to the Wii. Can you say ouch. Sony is with there Blu-Ray anyways. And there where a crop load of PS3's at my local Walmart and none of them got sold don't even clear the shelves. But today I saw the manager of that Walmart have all the PS3 off the shelves and so where all the X3 Blu-Ray disk. A do to this Walmart being small I asked the manager what was going on and she said that Sony wanted them all back and that's all she knows. And that's all I know. Sorry.

Brent @ Jan 28th 2007 9:10PM

Actually I think Sony has a better engineered product so they don't have to change their assembly lines like MS did around this time last year, which means they are shipping and producing a ton of em. Dont forget europe gets 1million at launch in March. How many people have heard of PS3's frying or dying? I remember doom and gloom xbox360 stories a few weeks after launch and still hear them now!

hongthay @ Feb 18th 2007 11:08PM

I was working at a Gamestop in Las Vegas last year at this time. We did not fill all of our Xbox 360 Preorders until March. We had no systems to sell to the public. We got our first shipment in November, then one before Christmas, a shipment in January and nothing in February. Sony has done much better with supply and meeting pre-orders. And in addition, we also had approximately a 65% failure rate on launch 360s that had to be replaces from each shipment. I got a launch 360. And wanted to get a launch PS3. I live in Thailand now, and they have not launched here. Imports are going for over a 1,000 US if you are lucky enough to find one. I want a PS3 for the online play. Xbox Live doesn't work in Thailand, well unless you want to wait an hour in game lobbies, but the PS3 online does. Cannot wait to get a PS3.

Can't believe the Wii is already modified to play copied games. They are already selling modified Wii's and copied games for it.