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[DynamiteCop!]

I'm seeing this divergence in logic quite a bit in the fanboy fodder around here seeking to have an edge against the Series X and its $499.99 price point, which is only feature matched by the equal in cost PlayStation 5 itself.

There was a $499.99 PS3 at the time in 2006, that was always a thing and yet the focus was $599.99 and nothing else. The most anachronous bit of logic in the situation is that neither the $499/$599 PS3's were a paper launch, whereas for the PS5 the DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. It appears the system only exists to get that price out there and fuel price wars rather than have actual available stock that people can purchase.

I don't remember anyone in 2005 saying the Xbox 360 was $299.99 because that's what the 360 Core cost, on the contrary it was $399.99 because that was the actual feature complete Xbox 360 cost.

The shifting perspective for any kind of gain in ground is quite hilarious, we see you.

 

[ToadMan]

Sony loves you. That’s why.

 

[PropellerEar]

I'm seeing this divergence in logic quite a bit in the fanboy fodder around here seeking to have an edge against the Series X and its $499.99 price point, which is only feature matched by the equal in cost PlayStation 5 itself.

There was a $499.99 PS3 at the time in 2006, that was always a thing and yet the focus was $599.99 and nothing else. The most anachronous bit of logic in the situation is that neither the $499/$599 PS3's were a paper launch, whereas for the PS5 the DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. It appears the system only exists to get that price out there and fuel price wars rather than have actual available stock that people can purchase.

I don't remember anyone in 2005 saying the Xbox 360 was $299.99 because that's what the 360 Core cost, on the contrary it was $399.99 because that was the actual feature complete Xbox 360 cost.

The shifting perspective for any kind of gain in ground is quite hilarious, we see you.

Can you expand on your view on XSS pricing too?

 

[DaleinCalgary]

The core 360 was even more gimped than the SSD in the XSS. I never considered it a full console but a UNO machine.

 

[AV]

... the DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. The DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. It appears the system only exists to get that price out there and fuel price wars rather than have actual available stock that people can purchase.

It's all sold out. All of it, both sides.

Yeah, yeah, this local Target has four, this website had three for ten seconds. For all intents and purposes, they're all gone.

 

[Iced Arcade]

the PS3 was a mixture of multiple things that caused its price to be so high.

- The Cell. new tech made by a partnership between Sony, IBM and Toshiba.
- The blue laser diode for Blu Ray was completely new/expensive to the market.
- The GPU was last minute and cost a lot to buy from Nvidia.

 

[SentientStone]

China!

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

PS5 Digitals are like unicorns in the wild, seemingly impossible to find. Pretty obvious Sony are holding back production on that until profit margins on PS5 are good enough to encourage using some of that to cover any incurred losses on PS5 Digital units.

 

[Boglin]

Can you expand on your view on XSS pricing too?

Xbox Series S doesn't exist

 

[Endless Fluff]

There was a $499.99 PS3 at the time in 2006, that was always a thing and yet the focus was $599.99 and nothing else.

Most likely because the 499€ PS3 never existed in Europe, we didn't get that one. We got a gimped (no emotion engine/PS2 BC) 599€ PS3, that's it.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

Can you expand on your view on XSS pricing too?

It's a completely different piece of hardware intended to tackle a different display segment and sector of the market. It's like an RTX 2060 versus a 2080, they're a completely different product.

 

[Tesseract]

 

[Yoboman]

Its $399 because you can buy one for $399

 

[Rien]

PS5 Digitals are like unicorns in the wild, seemingly impossible to find. Pretty obvious Sony are holding back production on that until profit margins on PS5 are good enough to encourage using some of that to cover any incurred losses on PS5 Digital units.

even if you buy one there is a change a disc edition is inside

 

[reinking]

I have not been seeing a lot of "PS5 $399." Maybe I have not been paying attention.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

Its $399 because you can buy one for $399

You can't buy a PlayStation 5 for $399.99.

 

[PropellerEar]

Xbox Series S doesn't exist

 

[-Arcadia-]

I think the Digital PS5 is a fine choice, and it’s the one I made. I’ve downloaded most of my games this generation, because:

1: I don’t find today’s games all that memorable or replayable in most cases
2: I’m not that worried about prices and reselling, when even Digital crashes down to a few dollars
3: My time is valuable. I’d rather press a few buttons, than drive down to the store and negotiate with Wal-Mart to actually have an employee in electronics, to open the game case

PS3 was indeed a mistake, outside of Europe. It was a $499 console. That got you a full, feature-complete system (some USBs maybe got removed?). I don’t understand why history sees it as a $599 one. Maybe the initial E3 press conference, and all the meming?

 

[onQ123]

$399 $499 don't matter PS5 in 4 sweep

 

[Wandering Leopard]

I'm curious, where are you getting the data that the DE was a paper launch? The DE is the better long-term money maker and generations last 5-7 years.

And a couple of likely reasons the PS3 cost so much was because of the nVidia contract and more exotic components.

 

[killatopak]

Starts at $399.

same deal with other electronics such as iphones with a marketed starting price and less known prices for higher storage models.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

I'm curious, where are you getting the data that the DE was a paper launch? The DE is the better long-term money maker and generations last 5-7 years.

The DE is a paper launch. It's a tiny fraction of the stock which was released.

 

[Yoshi]

For players who only play digital versions, the PS5 Digital is not an inferior product. The 499 PS3 and the 299 Xbox 360 were inferior products.

 

[Yoboman]

You can't buy a PlayStation 5 for $399.99.

You better tell all those retailers they messed up their pricing!

https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/playstation-5/consoles/products/playstation-5-digital-edition/11108141.html?condition=New

Truly living up to your Member Series S title

 

[Portugeezer]

The five hundred and ninteny nine US dollars was mostly a meme. Used to emphasise the ridiculous cost of a PS3 SKU.

I think the DE is interesting when comparing performance per cost. There is a lot of value there.

But no doubt, most people want a disc version.

 

[yurqqa]

Because they learned the lesson.

 

[HeresJohnny]

The PS5 is $499. The PS5 with missing features is $399. Anyone saying otherwise is pretty disingenuous imo.

 

[Cherrypepsi]

The 599$ original PS3 had a very complex board, from left to right you find the
- PS2 Emotion Engine (yes the first PS3s had this chipset on board for BC)
- The NVIDIA Graphics chip (RSX)
- The Cell CPU
And it had a bluray drive, which was setting a new standard aswell

if you compare that to the single SOC of the PS4 and PS5, it seems clear where the price came from

 

[DynamiteCop!]

You better tell all those retailers they messed up their pricing!

https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/playstation-5/consoles/products/playstation-5-digital-edition/11108141.html?condition=New

Truly living up to your Member Series S title

That is not the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 5 is $499.99.

That is an inferior model which is not feature matched to the competition.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

PS3 was $600 due to BR drive. At the time BR players were $1000.

Many of the early adopters werent even gamers. They were AV enthusiasts. There were big threads in AV forums where people were going to get a P3 to watch BR movies than buy a $1000 player. And as a bonus you get gaming functionality.

This time, there is no fancy optical drive innovation. You could probably get a 4k player for $200 now.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

You can't buy a PlayStation 5 for $399.99.

You can't buy a Playstation 5 for $499 either

 

[DynamiteCop!]

PS3 was $600 due to BR drive. At the time BR players were $1000.

Many of the early adopters werent even gamers. They were AV enthusiasts. There were big threads in AV forums where people were going to get a P3 to watch BR movies than buy a $1000 player. And as a bonus you get gaming functionality.

This time, there is no fancy optical drive innovation. You could probably get a 4k player for $200 now.

The $500 PlayStation 3 had a Blu-Ray drive.

 

[killatopak]

The PS5 is $499. The PS5 with missing features is $399. Anyone saying otherwise is pretty disingenuous imo.

Again comparing it with iphone models. It’s still an Iphone 12 even if they have those fancy pro camera or not no matter which model you buy.

 

[RokkanStoned]

It's due to the gaming audience being far more Sony-friendly now. Back then it was all about taking down Sony, which is why "$599" has been regurgitated, despite it launching with a $499 model as well.
Just look at the old threads, the "Sony is done" and all that kinda shit. PS3 era was a tough time for Sony fans, at least until the later part of the generation.
That's all. I wouldn't say I've seen $399 regarding PS5 as you'd see (and still see) "$599" regarding PS3.

A big problem is the console zealots, though they are also kinda the fun of participating in online forums. PS3 launching at $599 was a big console war on various forums on the net, while for me it was like "oh, expensive, but I'll buy it as I like Sony games and it's backwards compatible and plays blu-rays". I paid what was probably the equivalent of around $700 at the time. Honestly, probably a bad choice if I had even considered Xbox 360 and all the news regarding it. However, Motorstorm was the game that really cemented the purchase for me. Probably one of the best launch games and really gave a sense of a next-gen leap. Better than the PS4 and PS5 launch games at least. (though I guess PS2, SNES, N65 and Switch are probably still kings in regards to launch games)

Just look at the Xbox One vs PS4 early generation as well. People are heavily invested in consoles, like they are with football teams. It's the fanaticism which is both amusing and fun, but also destructive as well. A part of the internet, I suppose, though it predates it with schoolyard arguments of SNES vs Genesis, N64 vs PS1.

 

[Airbus Jr]

You can't buy a PlayStation 5 for $399.99.

Digital Edition is $399?

 

[kruis]

That is not the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 5 is $499.99.

That is an inferior model which is not feature matched to the competition.

Stop trolling, this is just sad.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

Digital Edition is $399?

The Digital Edition is not "the PlayStation 5".

 

[Panajev2001a]

I'm seeing this divergence in logic quite a bit in the fanboy fodder around here seeking to have an edge against the Series X and its $499.99 price point, which is only feature matched by the equal in cost PlayStation 5 itself.

There was a $499.99 PS3 at the time in 2006, that was always a thing and yet the focus was $599.99 and nothing else. The most anachronous bit of logic in the situation is that neither the $499/$599 PS3's were a paper launch, whereas for the PS5 the DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. It appears the system only exists to get that price out there and fuel price wars rather than have actual available stock that people can purchase.

I don't remember anyone in 2005 saying the Xbox 360 was $299.99 because that's what the 360 Core cost, on the contrary it was $399.99 because that was the actual feature complete Xbox 360 cost.

The shifting perspective for any kind of gain in ground is quite hilarious, we see you.

PS3 fans from 2006 being likely hounded by the 2006 equivalent of you are travelling forward in time to say “how do you like ‘em apples?”.

Seriously though, for good or bad reasons, the common sense opinion of the time judged the 20 GB PS3 like they judge the XSS now... not the “real” console and thus when one thought PS3 they thought $599 and when they think Next Generation Xbox they think $499.

 

[Bryank75]

Suddenly? It took 13 years....

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Bluray Driver

 

[Chukhopops]

I'm curious, where are you getting the data that the DE was a paper launch? The DE is the better long-term money maker and generations last 5-7 years.

For Sony yeah, of course it is.

I'm really curious how many people will actually buy the DE as it seems to be a very bad deal. A lot (if not all) of Sony's first party is strong SP games that you can easily find in the second hand market very quickly.

Where I live, there is around €18 difference in price between the PS Store and supermarkets, so if you buy more than 5 or 6 games you're better using the physical one, and that's only for Day 1 launch games. You can still buy digital if you want but you don't have to. I don't think anyone expects to buy less than that over the generation so it seems a bit short-sighted.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The $500 PlayStation 3 had a Blu-Ray drive.

Big subsidies. Sony was losing $200-300 per unit. With PS5, who knows what their profits are but I doubt they are losing the same amount as PS3.

 

[cormack12]

I hope some of you get paid for this shit

 

[killatopak]

The Digital Edition is not "the PlayStation 5".

So the Xbox One All Digital is not an Xbox One.

brilliant.

 

[Airbus Jr]

The Digital Edition is not "the PlayStation 5".

 

[HeresJohnny]

Again comparing it with iphone models. It’s still an Iphone 12 even if they have those fancy pro camera or not no matter which model you buy.

That's not an accurate comparison imo. The PS5 without a disc drive relies on the internet to function. It would be more akin to an iPhone 12 model that only worked fully in the same prefix your phone number is in. It limits the usage of the device and makes it contingent on factors other than the physical performance of the machine itself.

 

[scydrex]

I'm seeing this divergence in logic quite a bit in the fanboy fodder around here seeking to have an edge against the Series X and its $499.99 price point, which is only feature matched by the equal in cost PlayStation 5 itself.

There was a $499.99 PS3 at the time in 2006, that was always a thing and yet the focus was $599.99 and nothing else. The most anachronous bit of logic in the situation is that neither the $499/$599 PS3's were a paper launch, whereas for the PS5 the DE version is absolutely a paper launch and a gross minority of the console stock. It appears the system only exists to get that price out there and fuel price wars rather than have actual available stock that people can purchase.

I don't remember anyone in 2005 saying the Xbox 360 was $299.99 because that's what the 360 Core cost, on the contrary it was $399.99 because that was the actual feature complete Xbox 360 cost.

The shifting perspective for any kind of gain in ground is quite hilarious, we see you.

To me it was $400 and $600. Those basic versions didn't existe to me. A blue disc player back then was more than $1000. Expensive cell. HDMI, Wifi and media card reader. Plus ps1 and ps2 chips or hardware level compatibility.

 

[Nickolaidas]

The Digital Edition is not "the PlayStation 5".

 

[Yoshi]

You can't buy a Playstation 5 for $499 either

599 is still not easy.

 

[GHG]

PS5 Digitals are like unicorns in the wild, seemingly impossible to find. Pretty obvious Sony are holding back production on that until profit margins on PS5 are good enough to encourage using some of that to cover any incurred losses on PS5 Digital units.

Demand for the digital edition is lower than the demand for the physical edition at this stage.

Many budget conscious consumers will still opt for the physical edition even with the larger initial outlay because of the belief that they will save more money in the long run due to being able to resell/trade in games and there bring more flexibility for physical game prices.