Is the PlayStation 3 Worth $600

With November 11 vastly approaching video gamers around the world are holding their breath for the release of Sony's PlayStation 3. Thanks to having excellent connections here in Philadelphia, a longtime friend of mine by the name of Daniel allowed me to test the highly anticipated gamming system and the new Tekken 6 game for myself. Now before I get too deep I must say I am a vivid video game player, but after demonstrating the PlayStation 3 for myself I must say I am unimpressed and no the PlayStation 3 is not worth the hefty price tag of $600.

As Daniel outlined all the features of the system I found myself drawing a mental picture of what a UFO spaceship would look like under the hood. First, unlike the 2005 release of Microsoft's Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 will come in two colors. The first is the black to be released November 11 and the white in early March of 2007. Next, the PlayStation 3 will be available in two different versions, which are the "basic", and the "premium" versions. What makes them different is that the basic version only comes with a 20 GB hard drive when the premium has a 60 GB hard drive along with, Wi-Fi connectivity, HDMI output and a multiple flash memory. Thus far the PlayStation 3 sounds a lot like my Mac Book OS X but it doesn't stop there. It also comes equipped with one GB Ethernet port, a 2.0 USB, a 2.0 EDR Bluetooth, CD, DVD, SACD and MB/s blu-ray Are you lost now? You should be because when it comes down to it all, all we want to do is play a freaking videogame.

The only 2 things the PlayStation 3 offers that is of some relevance is that is comes with backward compatibility with the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and every PS1 & PS2 game that observes it's respective systems TRC (technical requirements checklist) That is about thirty percent of all PS1 & PS2 games. Sony argues that is by accident but after reading an article in Game Informer I discovered that the games for the PlayStation 3 will be in the price range of $60-$100, for a game! The second is the Wi-Fi connectivity and Ethernet port to enable gaming with other users. Again I say in the long run the PlayStation 3 is not worth $600 and here is why. First, most households today already have at least one PC and or laptop that plays DVD's, and CD's. According to a report put out by sound scan in July with the release of Apple's iPod in 2003, CD sales have plummeted 60%, so I don't feel the need to want to put a CD in my PlayStation 3.

If I want to listen music while I play since the game system comes with a USB I can connect my iPod nano to it. Second, Sony incorporated a MB/s Blu-ray disc, which is supposed to replace DVD's. The movies for the Blu-ray are about $55 and only about fifty titles are currently available. It seems to me that Sony took my laptop, DVD player, all the previous PlayStation systems and threw them into a big steaming pot and cooked up the PlayStation 3. As a gamer the only thing I want out of a system is real-life graphics, that aren't better than Microsoft's Xbox 360, impeccable loading speed, a big memory and the ability to play other gamers across the world. For me the problem lies with all the other junk that come along with this system that I am not going to use but I am paying for. The only thing the PlayStation 3 can't do is type a term paper and download music (yet). Personally when it comes down to it the point is gamming systems should be kept simple. Put in one disc & play and kept at a price which is affordable to the masses, $300, and even that sounds a little steep for something that is reinvented every two or three years.

The PlayStation 3 has too much technology in a gamming system. I am not going to watch a DVD on my system, I am not going to play a CD on my gamming system nor am I going to spend $55 on a Blu-ray movie disc. With the price of the system which is $600, $60-$100 for a game then an extra controller (because it comes with only one) the price jumps to a little under $800. Even if you only buy three games you'll spend $1,000. That seems a little extreme for something you'll play about three times a week. $800-$1,000 plays my rent, car payment and insurance.

No the PlayStation 3 is not worth $600. It was a very diverse selection of games, pixel perfect graphics and everything else to drive up the price but I fear parents and gamers will stand in line for hours on November 10th to purchase the PlayStation 3 only to get home and realize they were better off the Microsoft's Xbox 360. That is the system I am staying with. Sony, no