[quote name='HumanSnatcher']That article is 6 months old. Things can change drasticly in 6 months time. More importantly, why ask a question to which you know full well what the answer is?[/quote]
As of right now, there are very few TVs in the the US that take a 1080p signal. There are plenty of TVs that up sample 1080i signals to 1080p internally, and then display them as such, but it's not the same thing. Of course, in 6 months there WILL be plenty more.
As for the price point, there are a couple things to remember when comparing the PS3 price to the 360 eBay shennanigans. First of all, the 360 was the lone new console on the market at the time, and the first of the 'next-gen' of gaming. Second, there was a shortage. Some people do really stupid things when there is a shortage that they wouldn't normally do. Third, at the time, the 360 had zero competition. Even it's shittiest games still looked quite a bit better than Xbox or PS2 games. Sony however, will have both the 360 and Wii to compete with, and by Novemember 360 games will be pretty much on their second generation and will be looking very good. I haven't seen the video of the PS3 trailers that were shown last night yet, but unless they look substantially better, I don't know how many people are going to pay $100-200 more for the PS3, especially as from what I've seen none of the launch titles are blowing too much wind up ANYBODIES skirt (sure MGS4 and FFXXXXIIII, but you know those at least a year out, probably 18 months to 2 years). Also, a comparison to the PS2 launch I don't think it valid in some respects. I don't think the demand for a 'cheap' Blu-Ray player is as high now, or will be in 6 months, as demand was for a 'cheap' DVD player was back when the PS3 launched. And like I've said, for the majority of people, a Blu-Ray player will mean needing a new TV to enjoy it. That's starting to be an expensive proposition for a lot of people.
In the end, PS3 just had to show up to win Japan, and they will, even with all the problems I talked about. It's just how it is, although I think depending on the Wii's price point and launch titles, Nintendo might take a lot of Sony's launch winds away and may hurt them long term in Japan (i.e. taking some of their market share, if only >5%). In the US however, I see it being much tighter. Your average consumer has no brand loyalty and unless the PS3s games look $200 better than 360 games, I think they are going to have problems with the high end market, while cheap asses and people that like alternative type games go with the Wii. The only people I see definitely sticking with the PS3 are JRPG fans.
What really gets me is that if the $500 PS3 indeed does not have HDMI, what the
is the point of it? As to my knowledge, it is not possible to get 1080p over component cables because A) it requires too much bandwidth, and B) that copyright holders aren't going to allow it because they think it's another in the many 'analog loopholes' to pirate the software. So, for $500 I get a PS3 that won't play my games at max resolution, and the Blu-Ray player is basically
ing useless? Sounds great to me. And I say the Blu-Ray player is useless because even if Sony would let games over component cables at 1080p, there is no way in hell Hollywood is going to follow suit. Blu-Ray discs from Sony might not downsample to 480p, but that doesn't mean Blu-Ray discs from every other studio won't. And lets assume it's just 720p they downsample to. What the
is the point of 1080p Blu-Rays if you watch them at 720p unless you want to pay $600 for a game system. At least the 'core' 360 has the same function as a premium. This is like 2 seperate consoles in my mind (the $500 PS3 v. the $600 PS3 that is).