With rumblings that a slim PS3 is going to be announced for $300 imminent, part of me is considering whether it will be the time to jump back in. For longtime readers of my game blog, I actually bought a PS3 back when Metal Gear Solid 4 was initially released. After having Hideo Kojima sign my copy of the game, I was sad once I got home since I couldn’t even play it. I ended up buying a PS3 with a deal that allowed me to buy a 40 GB PS3 for $400 and receive a $100 Best Buy gift card, netting things out to about $300 for the 40 GB model. So now if the PS3 slim goes for $300, this isn’t exactly a much cheaper price than I had bought it for last summer.
But have times changed? There are rumors that this slim will have software backwards compatibility, 160 GB, 4 USB ports, and a Dualshock controller. It’s definitely an upgrade over my brief time with the 40 GB and its lack of backwards compatibility, only 2 USB ports, and a SixAxis controller. And with the 360 Elite rumored to drop to $299.99 and the PS3 much cheaper to manufacture these days, this lends some credibility to a PS3 selling for $300 to try to catch up with the 360′s lead. Yet, have there been enough games released between then and now to warrant the new purchase?
I went ahead and compiled a list of titles exclusive to the system that I am interested in playing, and here is what I would consider:
LittleBigPlanet
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Killzone 2
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Resistance 2
Valkyria Chronicles
Resistance: Fall of Man
inFAMOUS
Heavenly Sword
for the immediate future:
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Do any of these titles really stand out for me? I like Ratchet & Clank and Ninja Gaiden, but these Ninja Gaiden Sigma games are just rehashes of the original ones I’ve played on the Xbox/360 already, and Ratchet & Clank is not really enough to buy a new console over. People seem to love Uncharted, but when I played it I was bored since it seemed like Tomb Raider. And Killzone 2 may be a good game, but with Halo 3 ODST and Modern Warfare 2 coming out around the corner, will Killzone 2 even matter then? Valkyria Chronicles may be the only major title I’m interested in! I guess based on this list, I can afford to wait until next year, giving the PS3 a chance to get more interesting exclusive titles and perhaps drop in price again or bundle in games.
How about the rest of you? Is $300 the magic PS3 price point? And what about those of you that have neither the 360 or PS3 yet? If they’re both going for $300, which is better? PS3′s wi-fi & Blu-Ray, or 360′s Live and Netflix integration?
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August 14, 2009 at 11:29 pm
SmA
I purchased a PS3 a few weeks after its release.
I justified the purchase because I convinced myself that I would eventually need a bluray player in the near future anyway.
After more than a year, I got my 360. Within one month of owning my 360, I had already bought and played more games on it than I had on the PS3 for a whole year.
PS3 is indeed a hardware marvel, but that’s it. I was never able to ENJOY the games on it other than Metal Gear and Drake’s Fortune. $600 to enjoy 2 games.
The only reason I’m keeping the PS3 is so I can play God of War when it’s released. I’m having doubts it’ll be any good cause of all the hype.
August 15, 2009 at 8:39 am
Jason
Yeah if I would ever get a console it would be xbox (probably before end of year) just for Live and to keep in touch with you guys lol.
August 17, 2009 at 4:19 am
cmfl3x
I’m always tempted to pick up a PS3…but everytime I am about to get one, I decide to hold off and ultimately feel great about my decision in the end. There just aren’t enough must-have games and it’d be too tough for me to split my already limited multiplayer time. I wish Blockbuster still rented game systems :P
August 17, 2009 at 7:57 am
espion4ge
thanks for your inputs guys. it pretty much echoes what I’ve constantly felt and i think i will hold off again. maybe at the $200 pricepoint it’ll be time to reconsider haha
the hardware behind the PS3 is attractive, but in the end, the games on the 360 more than deliver. the funny thing for me is, i don’t even care about the blu-ray on the ps3, so that makes my reason for purchasing it even less strong. i’ll just go back to playing halo, gears of war, and left 4 dead and be happy with it.
August 17, 2009 at 11:08 am
Henry
Yea I think I’m going to go with the Xbox 360 in a few months, even if there’s a PS3 price drop. Even outside of you guys, most people out here prefer the 360.
August 17, 2009 at 4:20 pm
eeyore
There’s a chinese saying about how wealth exists in 3 generations: a generation to create, a generation to enjoy, and a generation to squander. It’s funny how both nintendo and sony seem to have gone through that cycle.
August 18, 2009 at 8:12 am
espion4ge
I was just thinking about it some more, and it seems like the 3 consoles have really generated their niche and userbase:
Wii
- families and casual gamers
- HDtv not important
- Wii Sports-like games, Pokemon, and Mario are most important
- music games sell like crazy on this system
Xbox 360
- core gamer
- FPS and online games sell like crazy on this system due to 360 controller being preferred for FPS games, and Live/parties/etc. easily allowing friends & clans to play games together
- primary JRPG console (crazy, huh?)
- outside of fighting games, the 360 version is generally preferred for any multiplatform release
PS3
- “somewhere in-between casual & core” gamer with disposable income
- Blu-ray is important
- playing online with friends not so important (or else you’d be playing on the 360)
- fighting games tend to sell best on this system due to PS3 controller
seems like it’s possible for all three to co-exist, depending on what you’re looking for. i guess for me, now that i have arcade sticks on the 360 and I don’t care about Blu-ray, there’s honestly no point for me to buy a PS3!
August 18, 2009 at 8:22 am
LargeLobster
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_018W014436760001P?adCell=W2
looks like the rumors are true – preorder at kmart for 299. still not gonna do it… with platform exclusive titles becoming less prevalent and after getting burned by HDDVD, there’s really nothing Sony has to offer me that Xbox doesn’t already offer.
October 19, 2009 at 8:01 am
At $300, I’m passing on a PS3 – but what about at $200? « Leveling Down
[...] time. I simply don’t have time to play all the games on both the 360 and PS3 and that was the conclusion I reached when the PS3 slim [...]