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Sony: Xbox 360 is too expensive

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Dela @ Jan 10, 2009 04:41 | 208 comments

Sony's marketing team has taken aim at Microsoft's Xbox 360 console in a recent press release, branding the console as too expensive and hyping the PlayStation 3 (PS3) as the best offer for your money. Specifically, Sony targeted the Xbox 360 Arcade unit, which it valued as $199. The press release claims that to get all the features of a standard 80GB PS3 model (at $399) for the Xbox 360 Arcade, you would need to spend between $449 and $499.

Sony cites the price of a Wi-Fi adapter (at $100), hard drive ($100 - $150) and an Xbox Live Gold Membership at $50 per year. Adding these to the price of an Arcade model would indeed push your overall expenditure to over $400, but interestingly, the press release did not show comparisons to the Xbox 360 Pro with a 60GB hard drive ($299) or the Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive ($399).

Adding a Wi-Fi adapter to an Xbox 360 will cost you either way, but such a purchase depends on whether you actually require Wi-Fi, or if your setup will allow easy cable connection. Additionally, the press release claims that you will lose living room space with the Xbox 360 console when you start to buy add-ons, thus you, "add clutter to the entertainment center."

The HD DVD add-on might apply here, but that is now obsolete. The Wi-Fi add-on is very small and clips right on to the back of the Xbox 360 console. All other peripherals from controllers to cables are similar in both systems. The Wii did not escape criticism either, with the press release claiming, "the Wii's lack of enhanced features comes at the expense of a comprehensive entertainment solution."

The truth is really that whether or not the Xbox 360 will turn out more expensive than a PS3 console depends entirely on the customer that buys it, and whether they need or want a Wi-Fi add-on, a Gold membership, a hard drive (if they didn't get a model with one already, as the "choice" is the reason for the Arcade model's existence) or a defunct HD DVD add-on.

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Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 20, 2009 16:55)

Originally posted by creaky:
Sam - I can't see any of your posts having been deleted either.

Sometimes I write a post out and it dose not take it...then again sometimes someone(raises hand) forgets to hit post >>

Comment by: Morreale (Jan 20, 2009 21:00)

Originally posted by sammorris:
Morreale: There's nothing to stop you putting Linux on a 360,

Well voiding the warranty does, and with it's dark history I'd rather keep it...

PS3 you just install the OtherOs and install+boot your Linux distro of choice; Gentoo, Ubuntu, Fedora or Yellow Dog.

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Comment by: sammorris (Jan 20, 2009 21:04)

Good thing they're cheap enough to just buy another then :P

Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
http://www.scan.co.uk http://www.aria.co.uk http://www.newegg.com http://www.ncixus.com
My systems: http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/2255 - updated 05Jan08 Skype me: Ratmanscoop

Comment by: Morreale (Jan 20, 2009 21:07)

Bringing my total to like $700 lol

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Comment by: sammorris (Jan 20, 2009 22:37)

300+300 = 700. I see.

Comment by: Morreale (Jan 20, 2009 23:27)

And a Wifi Adapter...

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Comment by: sammorris (Jan 20, 2009 23:32)

Well, technically, if you did replace the system you could just get an arcade which are only $200. The official adapter being $87, that'd be $587, assuming the console even broke in the first place. With the new revisions, who knows? Not to mention the four free games you got, which would be worth what, $150? 550 versus 587 doesn't seem too raw a deal, especially considering this all relies on the fact that the xbox will actually break in the first place.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 00:10)

Originally posted by sammorris:
Well, technically, if you did replace the system you could just get an arcade which are only $200. The official adapter being $87, that'd be $587, assuming the console even broke in the first place. With the new revisions, who knows? Not to mention the four free games you got, which would be worth what, $150? 550 versus 587 doesn't seem too raw a deal, especially considering this all relies on the fact that the xbox will actually break in the first place.

I'd put 200 more into one and leave it offline, chip it save some cash then have the other for all the online crap MS offers.

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 21, 2009 00:15)

Been there done that :)

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 00:17)

Originally posted by sammorris:
Been there done that :)

And from the smilie I see things are still working well :X

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 21, 2009 00:18)

Give it time, we only carried out the procedure three days ago...

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 00:24)

Originally posted by sammorris:
Give it time, we only carried out the procedure three days ago...

I hope it survives its operation well and has a long life!!

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 21, 2009 00:25)

Until the DVD drive finally gives out I suppose... :S It wasn't in perfect health before, but hey, we bought it before Christmas 06...

Comment by: Gnawnivek (Jan 21, 2009 15:40)

You guys/gals still going the math thing... While it kinda make sense, but it doesn't really matter anymore. What bothers me more is that MS never redesign the Xbox 360 (adding a HDMI port is not really a redesign). Shouldn't there be a slimmer, cooler (maybe not cooler, but definitely something "improved"?) by now? By that i mean, something "sexy" (like Apple products) w/o red rings problems, bigger/better hdd upgrade options and build in WiFi? I guess we'll never see that day do we? Well, with that, at least now you can compare with the PS3's prices and what not.

So many dvds, not enough times...

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 21, 2009 15:51)

The 360 is built to a price, and it shows. They've only just got the heat down enough for it to run properly full size, let alone shrunk. The same goes for the PS3, it uses too much power, and therefore produces too much heat to be shrunk down. The old PS2 slim used 40W and went slim when it dropped to about 25. Even the new xbox 360 uses 140W and the PS3 170W.

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 15:56)

Originally posted by sammorris:
The 360 is built to a price, and it shows. They've only just got the heat down enough for it to run properly full size, let alone shrunk. The same goes for the PS3, it uses too much power, and therefore produces too much heat to be shrunk down. The old PS2 slim used 40W and went slim when it dropped to about 25. Even the new xbox 360 uses 140W and the PS3 170W.

Well putting the DVD drive below the board and adding more vents/ducts to the CPU/GPU to improve heat dispensation is a start.....

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: Gnawnivek (Jan 21, 2009 15:59)

Originally posted by sammorris:
The 360 is built to a price, and it shows. They've only just got the heat down enough for it to run properly full size, let alone shrunk. The same goes for the PS3, it uses too much power, and therefore produces too much heat to be shrunk down. The old PS2 slim used 40W and went slim when it dropped to about 25. Even the new xbox 360 uses 140W and the PS3 170W.

Okay, maybe not slim then... Yeah, i heard about those slim desktops, they have air circulation problems. Yeah, it would be funny if the Xbox is actually slimmed down and the power brick is still the same size, lol. This i don't get, why the damn power brick has to be so big? It doesn't bother me much since it's on the back of the TV and stuffs, but still, people do move around their Xbox.

So many dvds, not enough times...

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 16:02)

Originally posted by Gnawnivek:

Originally posted by sammorris:
The 360 is built to a price, and it shows. They've only just got the heat down enough for it to run properly full size, let alone shrunk. The same goes for the PS3, it uses too much power, and therefore produces too much heat to be shrunk down. The old PS2 slim used 40W and went slim when it dropped to about 25. Even the new xbox 360 uses 140W and the PS3 170W.
Okay, maybe not slim then... Yeah, i heard about those slim desktops, they have air circulation problems. Yeah, it would be funny if the Xbox is actually slimmed down and the power brick is still the same size, lol. This i don't get, why the damn power brick has to be so big? It doesn't bother me much since it's on the back of the TV and stuffs, but still, people do move around their Xbox.

Because it requires as much power if not more than a laptop.

I'd rather have a 360 thats the size of a VHS/DVD/DVR with plenty of room for cooling that what they are now.

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 21, 2009 16:03)

Because the xbox uses so much power, the power brick needs to be that size. The bricks for things like phone chargers use a twentieth of the power that the xbox does. Even laptop chargers use half as much, hence why they're twice the size. Think about how big a PC power supply inside is - it's exactly the same device inside. The PS3 puts it inside, which is primarily why the console is larger than xbox.
Fortunately, reduced heat (i.e size) is from reduced power - and reduced power means a smaller power brick.
Zippy: You've presumably seen the mods where people put xbox 360s in tower PC cases, or add LED fans in the top panel?

Comment by: ZippyDSM (Jan 21, 2009 16:09)

Originally posted by sammorris:
Because the xbox uses so much power, the power brick needs to be that size. The bricks for things like phone chargers use a twentieth of the power that the xbox does. Even laptop chargers use half as much, hence why they're twice the size. Think about how big a PC power supply inside is - it's exactly the same device inside. The PS3 puts it inside, which is primarily why the console is larger than xbox.
Fortunately, reduced heat (i.e size) is from reduced power - and reduced power means a smaller power brick.
Zippy: You've presumably seen the mods where people put xbox 360s in tower PC cases, or add LED fans in the top panel?

I have seen some.

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

Comment by: Jemborg (Jan 22, 2009 03:32)

Originally posted by Morreale:
...You have to pay for rechargeable batteries either way. It just adds on top...

Any better? :)

Well, look at it this way Morreale, I have a number of devices in my place that I use long-life rechargeable batteries in already. eg Camera, torches etc. It only makes sense because it's more convenient and far cheaper. Most modern people are adopting NiMh because of it's cost effectiveness and it's greener (I'd be willing to bet you do too).

Ergo, it didn't add anything to the top. (And it's actually more versatile because more devices benefit from that arrangement anyway.) Regardless, I don't know where you are but I assume that a 4pack of NiMh batteries would cost only about $8 in the states.

In conclusion, at the very least, it doesn't make the 360 any more expensive than the PS3. So it's an utterly pissweak argument to keep bringing up.

Regards anyway.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

Comment by: Morreale (Jan 22, 2009 05:19)

Just did a quick search, 4-pack (I'd have 2 controllers at least) of Duracell NiMh batteries without a charger is $30+tax... That's enough for me...

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Comment by: Jemborg (Jan 22, 2009 05:57)

Originally posted by Morreale:
Just did a quick search, 4-pack (I'd have 2 controllers at least) of Duracell NiMh batteries without a charger is $30+tax... That's enough for me...

Haha, you would pick one the most expensive brands wouldn't you? Perhaps that's why you own a iMac.

You pay for the advertising and hype... Become shop-smart and try a different brand and stop being so obtuse. AfterDawn is a great site precisely because it makes one more aware of the options available to users (like Hackintoshes for instance), amongst other things.

I use Powertech 2400mAh batteries, about $16 here in Oz and our dollar is worth about half of the States'. They're perfectly serviceable, 1000 recharges. Oh yeah, the fast charger (PowerTech Plus) was about $35AUS.

EDIT: I just occurred to me you said: "I've never had a controller die on me when I'm playing, and when the battery is low I just grab my other controller off of the USB and put the dead one on. No problems." So you had to buy a second controller just to achieve the kind of continuous wireless playing myself and others on this thread get by just swapping over a pair of NiMh! ROFL.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

Comment by: sammorris (Jan 22, 2009 12:51)

Haha, that is quite funny actually. It didn't occur to me you can't just swap the batteries in an instant when they go flat.
Also, I can buy a NimH battery pack with the batteries, including a play and charge cable too, for £7 off ebay. Given the £130 price differential between the two consoles, that's a lot of wireless battery packs.

Comment by: mark1970 (Mar 17, 2010 16:22)

spam edited by ddp