Now that the PS3 has flopped as a game machine

[diogen]

...and they have a uniform broadcast standard that makes this possible in Europe.

Europe is more standard obedient.
They had a universal cell phone system (GSM) and using SMS when in NA people were wondering what the letters are for on the keys and some 3 systems were used.
They are upgrading their satellite system to DVB-S2 that is incompatible with Dish's TurboFEC.

Until this analog-digital stuff is sorted out, I don't think a PS3 with a tuner will show up in NA. Just watch how CableCard capable computers are selling and what they cost...

Diogen.

 

[meStevo]

FYI this DVR functionality is rumored to cost another $140 and not expected to come to the US market.

Article Detail - PlayStation 3 News - QJ.NET

Anyway, the Official PlayStation Magazine or OPM recently did a rough estimate for PlayTV's pricing. According to the publication, all of the components (Freeview receiver, PVR, and Sling Box) will cost between 60 GBP (US$ 121.21) to 100 GBP (US$ 201.97) when purchased separately.

The good news here is that OPM is saying PlayTV might be priced for just 70 GBP or roughly around US$ 141.37. This is really a neat price considering all the features that the service has. Just to remind you, PlayTV is actually a twin-channel DVB-T tuner accessory that comes with a digital video recorder software.

 

[meStevo]

Seems to me like the true "budget" demographic is still a year away from buying a next-gen console... they probably just got a PS2 last year.

/shrug, it's been sub $200 since 2004, it's just got longevity.

* US$299.99 (October 26, 2000, release date) (CAD$449.99)
* US$199.99 (May 14, 2002) (CAD$299.99)
* US$179.99 (May 13, 2003, "temporary" pricing) (CAD$249.99)[2]
* US$179.99 (August 18, 2003, official pricing)[3]
* US$149.99 (May 11, 2004) (CAD$179.99)
* US$129.99 (April 20, 2006) (CAD$139.99)

PlayStation 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It'll be Sony's #1 console for Xmas for sure.

 

[bsk116]

Exactly.

For a parent buying for their children asking for a 360/PS3, here are their entry options and what they'll be looking at when considering the purchase

$280 Xbox 360 Arcade
- 5 arcade games that don't involve cutting people's heads off, that are games THEY KNOW as 'old people who used to play pong back in the day' (Uno, Pac-Man + Boom-Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2)

$400 Playstation 3
- Comes with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-Ray

For Sony to compete with the Arcade box, it'd take a $300 PS3 with Ratched bundled in. Perhaps next holiday season something like that would be economicly feasible.

I throw a lot of stuff out there for debate, but from a mass market perspective, Sony is still missing the mark here. It's not like this SKU has been a surprise either considering it's been leaked for months.

IMO what all of this really means, is Sony is forefiting a 3rd holiday season in the 'budget' demographic. I don't know how big this demographic is, but think it is safe to assume it is critical for mass market success. They didn't participate in the first year, the second year they had a surplus of consoles at the initial launch price, and year 3 they've rearranged SKUs to cater to lower high-end purchasers but still have nothing for the parents looking to buy a new console for their kids.

I never liked the core offering, it was just kinda 'there'. This one has a lot more rhyme and reason to it.

In this comparison, does the 360 have a hard drive and what size hard drive does the ps3 have? Could this account for the 120.00 diff?

 

[meStevo]

In this comparison, does the 360 have a hard drive and what size hard drive does the ps3 have? Could this account for the 120.00 diff?

I am not sure that would matter for that consumer, a hard drive for them is something that fails in their personal computer once every 4 years.

If it did, then they would be comparing the PS3 to the Xbox 360 Pro, that comes with 20gb HDD and 2 Games (Forza and Marvel Ultimate Alliance) for $350.

Again, a game machine that comes with... games.

 

[navychop]

The U.S. has a standard for OTA- ATSC. There are many ATSC chips out there. Should be simple to produce a USB ATSC tuner and write the firmware to support it and some DVR functions. EPG data could come from many places, such as TVGuide. But I suspect they might want to charge a few bucks a month for that via their online system.

Similar functionality has been available for PCs for years. I have ATI HD Wonder cards at home and work.