Utterly pointless PS3 buying ...

[WhiteCrow]

Seen in Farnborough yesterday, someone was in GAME after a PS3.

The manager tried to sell him a pack with games included, but the man said "I can only afford the PS3, I've got no money for the games".

What WAS the point of buying it then?

[Pip Madeley]

He'd always be able to use the Blu-Ray drive, or the Internet capabilities.

I noticed at the London launch they were giving away free HDTVs to everyone who'd queued up, at a cost to Sony of 250,000. I would've probably thought about getting one, hehe.

[WhiteCrow]

I spoke to the manager of GAME today who said at least 6 people said they couldn't afford to buy any game for it for at least 6 weeks...

[Phillip Culley]

I would assume, however, that the people buying straight away are ensuring they have the system ready, as it's very likely to be difficult to obtain if they wait a week or two.

If they have to wait as long as 6 weeks, then it's still likely the games will be easily available, however less likely a PS3 will be available.

Well, that's how things were over here....

[WhiteCrow]

It seems to be shifting very slowly over here - GAME said they sold quite a few, but weren't anywhere close to selling out.

They say so far it seems to be the Wii which is really flying off the shelves and seems to so far be the most popular of formats.

Time will tell. I'm always one of these people who waits about 6 months for these things to fight amongst themselves before chosing a platform as I've been stung before over this.

[Rob McCow]

At 350 a pop, the PS3 is ridiculously over-priced. They may still win the console war, but only through the sheer bloody-mindedness of their strong branding.

We saw an advert for PS3 today, set in some Spanish Villa or something where a man with a hand-grenade blew up a suitcase full of money. It was utterly unrelated to any PS3 games or anything in any way. I presume they used it because all the PS3 launch titles are utter rubbish.

[Dirk Gently]

I saw that advert & thought, "what the hell has that got to do with anything?" It's totally bizarre!

[Alex]

Sony must be disappointed by this, I always thought pre-orders meant that the first batch of a new console to hit the country always sold out these days in advance.

I didn't even know the PS3 had been launched yet either, I knew it was soon, but when I was in woolworths yesterday and saw the boxes, I presumed they were just display boxes for the machine, certainly there wasn't the mass overpromoting going on as there was with the X-Box 360 and Wii when they came out.

Personally I hope the Wii wins out. Nintendo have always managed to make more fun, quirky games, and if they continue to sell well and the console builds up a decent back catalogue, I might consider getting one one day, once they've gotten a little cheaper anyhow.

[cullsoft]

On the whole, the playstaion commercials have left me feeling "what the rum & raisin?!?!?", and done little to suggest that the PS3 is looking like Sony's equivalent to Sega's Dreamcast (i.e. going to kill them in the console market). On the other hand, the Wii adverts at least give you a strong idea of what the Wii's about (i.e. jumping around the room waving a bit of plastic in the air and having a great laugh at any age both in multi- and single-player ways).

Okay, I sound a tad biased there, but I really do feel Sony are buying planning rights for building their own grave here. The PS3 seems to offer little over the other consoles, aside from the extra gubbins that make it cost twice as much to produce as the RRP (lots of help that'll do to repay the millions I gather they've spent in time and R&D in making them). Plus I get the impression that the PS2 still has a strong place in the market and people will maintain a focus on that rather than the PS3, whereas the Wii at least offers "something different" - something which I've always liked about Nintendo (e.g. the DS's touchscreen style of gaming, the Gameboy's success in portability over other portable consoles, the Gamecube's handy size for bringing along to parties for multiplayer fun...).

[Pip Madeley]

Is it worth buying a brand new PS2 for seventy notes?

I've not had a console since the Mega Drive... I'm a little out of practice.

[cullsoft]

Is it worth buying a brand new PS2 for seventy notes?

I've not had a console since the Mega Drive... I'm a little out of practice.

I'm inclined to say yes. The PS2 has managed to survive well over the years, and for all its faults it has a wide and more than acceptable range of games - including some rehashes or compilations of Mega Drive era games that may bring back fond memories. While it's far from being my favourite console, this aspect does make it the one I've found myself playing far more often than others over the past couple of years.

Only thing I'd be wary of is it's "model number"... I've got a first-gen one that I bought from an old housemate, and it shows at times when it takes half an hour of resetting and/or reinserting the disc before I get it to load some games at all! However, if it's a new one this shouldn't be a problem, as I'd be very much surprised if any as old as those (or even any of the original non-slimline shape) are still available brand new.

[Pip Madeley]

Intriguing, thanks for that. The cost of games going down has made me seriously think about it... maybe I'll put it on my birthday list.

[cullsoft]

There's an awesomely large arsenal of games in the "4 for 20" ranges and such down at Game and Gamestation stores... including plenty of recommendable titles from throughout it's lifetime. Looking for any particular styles you enjoy? I could pop round there and look for a few ideas for reccomendations, if you like.

[WhiteCrow]

Intriguing, thanks for that. The cost of games going down has made me seriously think about it... maybe I'll put it on my birthday list.

There's some great stuff you can get on it too - the EyeToy allows you to play some games via the Camera, and the gameshow Buzz is a superb party game which we're obsessed with in this house.

Although the SingStar games caused disagreements over Christmas.

[Pip Madeley]

There's an awesomely large arsenal of games in the "4 for 20" ranges and such down at Game and Gamestation stores... including plenty of recommendable titles from throughout it's lifetime. Looking for any particular styles you enjoy? I could pop round there and look for a few ideas for reccomendations, if you like.

I'll be popping into town tomorrow so I'll take a look myself, cheers

For the moment I might see if I can get hold of one of these Mega Drive emulator thingies so I can play Sonic The Hedgehog on my PC... anyone know where I can find such a thing?