Sony seems to be making a habit of putting its foot in its mouth lately. The company's European VP recently said consumers won't mind the PlayStation 3's four-month delay in Europe, and now Sony's Australian Managing Director Michael Ephraim has suggested that both Microsoft's $299-399 Xbox 360 and Nintendo's upcoming $249 Wii have their prices set too high. In reference to the Wii, Ephraim said the price of the upcoming Nintendo console plus the equivalent of $50 worth of accessories (taking into account differences in U.S. and Australian pricing) will be "a lot to fork out." As for the Xbox 360, Ephraim called it "pricey," adding that Microsoft's content offering for the console is "still not broad enough." Sony believes the PlayStation 3's $499-599 price tag will offer good value considering the console's built-in Blu-ray drive, Cell processor, and features like HDMI output capability.

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All I can say is lol@Sony.

hahahahaha thats great

im glad i have an xbox360, there was a small small small timeframe where i debated a choice between the 360 and the ps3, but that was thrown out the window in a fit of laughter

Trying to defend the price of the PS3 is just insanity. There's alot more functionality with a PC and you can get a freakin' PC for the price of a PS3.

No one can possibly be surprised their exec's are trying to talk their own product up when shining poor light on another companies can they?
It's what companies do, much like any trash talking that goes on between rivals when a market is involved.

The ultimate example would be the pollies around election time.

Xy, but its stupid to target something like price, when the ps3 is so overinflated its not funny

if they were targeting performance, or hdmi then fine but still

Heh yeah I agree that was one of the more silly things he could have commented on but nothing sony does surprises me anymore, they seem to have abandoned reason for madness!

I am a blonde female and even I can do the math!

I imagine I'm not the only person who's gonna pick up a Wii at launch then wait a year or two to pick up a ps3 on the cheap. May as well let the spoilt rich kids (i.e. Bj) and the fanboys buy all the first shipments so I can pick up a superior revision down teh track at a cheaper price.

im with ct

thats pretty much exactly how its going to go down (cept ill get a 360 rather than a ps3)

wii is going to get my cash, coz its physically the cheapest!

yeah im getting a wii day 1. seriously lol at ps3 being considered cheap though. i just downright refuse to spend like $700 or $800 on a console.

IF They could prove there was an extra $300-$400 dollars worth of value in the PS3 I'd be interested but at the moment I just can't see it, even being overly generous in the math.

Also, blue ray drive doesn't really count as a bonus feature or selling point since I can't actually get any blue ray media. I was quite happy to fork out the $400 for my ps2 back in 2k2 because at the time you'd be looking at $200 for a cheap no-name brand DVD player, and there was DVD movies EVERYWHERE.

I hate to be the word of dissent, but I can kind of see their point in both of those "stupid" comments.

For the price thing, he really should have been saying explicitly 'value for money'. Paying AU$650 for a turbo-charged X-Box? It's not presenting anything really new. And $400 for a Gamecube with a new controller does seem a little excessive. The PS3 has so much horsepower, its ridiculous, as well as new technology in Blu-Ray etc.

However, saying that, people don't usually buy solely on value for money, so Sony better really show off the goods soon.

Disclaimer: I am a Nintendo fanboy, and have a Wii on pre-order.



To de-rail slightly, I'm a little confused by the next-gens. Everyone on the internet seems to be buzzing about the Wii (most people say they're going to buy one), but Nintendo still hasn't got the third-party support. If they can't get some quality non-Mario games, the console is going to give up the ghost? What's going on?

Clearly the general public seem to disagree with this tool - I was in EB Games preordering a Wii on Sunday - in the few minutes I was waiting in line, I saw three brand new XBox 360s walk out the door!

In fairness to Sony though all their console launches have always been ridiculously high. The PSX launched at AUD800, and so did the PS2. PS3 will be no different I can imagine.

To be fair he was comparing the Wii and 360 prices to the PS2 current prices. If you read the original article you get a better idea of where Michael was coming from, but still - as the comments say you have to think he is playing down features now and pushing price, while come March it will be all about features and bugger the price!

I really hope both the Wii and PS3 live up to their respective owners claims. Both have a bad track record in that respect (i.e. hyping features then underdelivering from Nintendo/Sony), but then so did Microsoft - I mean does 360 feel next gen, or just 'now'?

Anyhow, truthfully right now you just have a bunch of virgin consoles getting (or about to have) their first taste of life. It won't be until a year or a bit down the track that we get to see who really knows how to fuc.... do it, and for that you need third party involvement, and first and third experience.

My concern is that everyone will want to play nice, and we will see lowest common denominator ports for every third party game out there. That is where the return on investment is, and that is where the industry is moving. So in that respect having one next gen console coming out above the rest could be a good thing - but who knows which one it will be....

i'm getting a Wii at launch. If they quickly port linux mplayer to PS3 and make a HiDef xbmc equivalent media player out of it, i'll get the PS3, otherwise it'll be xbox360.

whats so good about the poo-ray disc anyway? Is it really worth paying an extra couple of hundred bucks for?

I think not.

I'd rather save the $ buy a Wii and spend the cash on beer and sluts.

You can get a Wii and a xbox360 for less money than the decked out ps3...