Yup November is the month but I forgot the actual date.

Here is a headline for you all...

PS3 to be free online...maybe

How is that news? We've known it would offer basic services for free (Like game matching, and the like) while having some sort of pay for content system.

After glancing through this long thread, I thought I'd throw up this old sneak preview of the Playstation 3!
This must be the original model

Maybe someone will find this useful~
http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2001/01/15/

That wasn't even funny, GTFO.

lol yeah it was, you douche. That website is like 4 years old. It was great back then and it's still great now.

Every next generation system should come with rubber ducky technology. :megaman:

I seriously see the underlying message in this (i know, im a genius).

I mean doesn't everyone else miss the time when game machines were just for games, without all the extra useless hassle?

I know, it's been said like a million times over, but when was the last time you used your PS2 to play movies?

It stands as funny. But i never knew it was 4 years old, talk about foresight..!

yesterday, actually. been using it for 5 years now...

Same here. I really don't see the problem considering DVD playback was pretty much a gimmie with the PS2 being all of the required hardware and software for DVD playback was in the box to support gaming.

PS3 is pretty much the same situation. I don't see anything being added to the box that would not be used for the gaming aspect of the system. Personally I think it is stupid not to include things such as DVD playback and web browsing when the hardware is already there to support it.

I can understand the blu-ray capabilities being necessary, but web browsing? Don't you already have a computer for that? And I don't think Web Browsing is natively supported by the PS3 hardware. The ability to go online for online gameplay, yes, but actually browsing web sites online? Takes more work there, and is definitely not necessary. At least not in my opinion.

What exactly does web browsing require in terms of hardware? Just a NIC which is including in the box for online play and some type of storage medium for the software. It's just a simple matter of adding the browser software to the hard drive which is also supplied for gaming use as well. TCP/IP protocol software is already there for online play and adding web browsing support to the package is trivial. Hell, I bet the online game matching will be a web browser interface so I could even use that as an argument and say web browsing is present to support gaming on the machine.

And yes I do have a computer, but I imagine it would be very nice to pull up for example, a GameFAQs page, once and a while from a browser dashboard from your TV rather than having to go to your computer.

I imagine they'd also set up the pay-to-play downloadable content in browser-style windows so you can possibly preview them on a PC prior to purchasing the game.

Touche...

Even though web browsing can be done, it's not like you would do casual web browsing on it. Well, you could, but it might be hard to actually read anything on the TV screen with you sitting so far away. At least, the distance between my couch and TV is pretty far. Hot links to common gaming web sites maybe (GameFAQs, Sony's Page, and whatever else you might be visiting), but not casual surfing.

There are people out there who actually have their computers in rooms away from their televisions? Insanity.

I bet more people do their console gaming in rooms that lack a computer. I'm not one of them, but I still think being able to pull up webpages instantly on the same screen is far more convenient and a worthwhile feature. Like we've already discussed, the hardware and software framework for web browsing is already there to support gaming on the machine, why not take it a bit further?

True, very true, but let's remember, when the costs rocket sky-high (as is the case here) some "extra abilities" just aren't justified any more, nor do they seem attractive.

Old news but i gotta say it, HOW ABOUT ADD-ONs that I choose to purchase to enhance my use of the console for everything that is NOT gaming . In other words, leave what's nessecery for the gaming intact, but spare me the useless junk that i would otherwise call "luxuries".

I need to stress that i'm not talking about the insanely high abilities of the Cell or the raw power of the Reality Synth. Those all add to the gaming abilities.

Hmm, now that i mentioned it, i think i don't know what i meant in the first place, but you get what i mean, no?

Because those 'add-ons' would fail miserably. The PS3 (Much like any console) is built like a computer anyway. The only real difference is the inclusion of the HD as a standard. It opens up worlds of possibilities.

Sony needs to be more clear on their definition on standard.

Microsoft considers the Premium Xbox 360 Pack to be the 'standard'. That is the normal retail X360. And by their definition, every Xbox 360 comes with a HDD. The CORE Pack is their value pack and is not considered the standard, so they can get away with that small technicality but not including a HDD.

Sony is talking much like MS did when the concerns about HDD inclusion were rising. Sony already has a PSP and a PSP Value Pack, two seperate SKUs on sale. There is no telling what they have in mind for PS3 so far.

There is nothing in the PS3 that is adding to costs that is not being used by games. That's what I've been getting at here. It's a trivial matter in cost and effort to add Blu-Ray movie playback when all of the required hardware and software is already there for FMV playback in games. We've already gone over web browsing. The Cell and RSX are obviously in there to support gaming. Every console need an OS, so why not just use Linux and while at it offer more applications with it besides basic hardware to software translation especially considering Linux is opensource.

How much clearer do they need to be? They've already announced the two packages the PS3 will be available in as well as exactly what is different in each package. Unlike with Microsoft, the difference in the two packages don't have a major effect on the capabilities of the system.

Looks like preorders are starting to be taken now by some of the big retailers such as PLAY.COM here in the UK, £550 is ridiculous seeing as I only paid £250 for my Xbox 360.

Isn't that ridiculously expensive? 500 to 1050 something is a HUGE leap, what the hell is the reason? i thought preorders should edge on $100-200 difference max, which is still silly, but somewhat explainable given the peace of mind it offers. Or not.

Besides as far as i know some shops in KSA were forbidden from selling the PS2 at launch for higher than the release price + Shipping which they had to provide evidence of (They call it price control). Shouldn't there be an authority that stops such outrageous exploitation? I mean personal sales through auctions are one thing, but this is official rip-off at its best.!

CryHavoc - that is the real Euro price. For some reason Sony decided to just switch the $ sign to a Euro sign for the lucky Europeans.

Us British always get the short end of the stick, Sony could easily sell it for £300, roughly after exchange the same price it will retail for in the US. I suppose its the harsher edge of having a strong pound against a weak dollar.

I bought my Xbox 360 for £250, if the Wii retails for lets say £199 (just under $400) all together that comes to £250 + £199 = £449.

That means I could buy a 360 and Wii and still have £101 left to spend on games.

That just shows the falicy in Sony's pricing. Not even shitty marketing ploys employed by Sony such as spray painting 'PS3' on all of the worlds walls will save them this time.

Was the PS2 priced with a simple replacement of a $ with a Euro or Pound sign?

I think it's related to market differences, we get the same kind of pricing tendency here in Canada, our price are always higher than US prices all over the board (except local stuff, like electricity for example), on everything that's available in both Canada and the US...

For example, last time I checked the Xbox360, it was about 25% pricier in Canada (after currency conversion) than just 100 km south, in the US. Same for HDTVs, same for cars :shh:, same for revenu taxes, hehe... God bless America! ...who?