PS3ver

i've got a fever - and the only cure... is more Sony.

i posted yesterday about how Sony had me on a roller coaster ride right? well there were more ups and downs today as well.

first a Sony rep came out and said that last night's claim of the 60GB models disappearing after they're all sold was false, that production would continue on them. good news for me.

then a few hours later, ANOTHER Sony rep (this would be the third Sony rep to comment on it so far) said no, wait, the first story, that's the right one. the 60GB model was reduced in price essentially to liquidate it, and once it's all gone, it's gone for good. it will be replaced by the 80GB model and after the 60GBs are gone, only THEN will we let the consumer know what our next console deal is.

amazing.

so i've got some serious thinking to do. do i buy a PS3 now with the price cut but with no games (won't be any games i want for at least a month or two) or do i wait and hope there's another deal around the holidays?

one thing that i didn't touch on last night (maybe because i didn't know at the time, i can't remember) is the fact that the 60GB models have an "emotion engine" inside them that allows backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2 games - almost 90% of all the titles from 2 generations of PlayStations are able to be played on the PS3.

with the new 80GB model - and most likely for every model after it - the emotion engine is gone to save on some of the cost of production. in its place will be software emulation sort of like Xbox 360 does with their backwards compatibility - thing is, it will NEVER cover anywhere near 90% of all the past games AND it won't cover what it does as well as the emotion engine does.

and i need my backwards compatibility.

why? because i hope to get rid of my PS2 for good once i have my PS3. who needs all these consoles lying around - i don't have the room! plus i've got something special in mind for my PS2 and it involves me getting rid of it... so i NEED my near-perfect backwards compatibility.

last night i said that the 60GB model might be sold out as early as the end of the month. new reports say that's a little exaggerated, saying that the 60GB will be around for at least a few more months.

HOWEVER, in comes Amazon.

see, when the $100 price drop (or liquidation as i now think of it as) happened earlier this week, all the major players - Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon, etc. - started having deals on it. and Amazon's deal is the sweetest. i'd get the PS3 console, a $25 Sony blu-ray player remote for the PS3, and a free blu-ray movie (sadly the movie is Resident Evil 2, but oh well) AND no tax no shipping for $500.

PLUS, there's a deal out there where if you buy a PS3 (from any place, not only Amazon) you get 5 free blu-ray discs (you have to pick from a list, and the list isn't SUPER great, but there's a few on there that are winners).

problem? the Amazon deal ends this Sunday.

now, i could take my chance with it and hope that there's a better deal in the next month or two... but there probably won't be. a $25 first-party remote and a free blu-ray disc isn't so bad. and with the 5 other blu-rays i'll be getting, maybe i'll try to resell the discs somewhere else, recoup some of the $500 i spent on a console that there's no games out (yet) to buy for it.

my PS3 will be a future investment.

i'm trying to further convince myself i need it because i'm in the gaming business and thus should have all the platforms... well, excluding the Wii (for now - i'll get it eventually). i'm even breaking down and getting a PSP this holiday season. reason? the games are finally there... and while the games aren't there quite yet for the PS3, i think i need to jump on this for the emotion engine and the savings.

i'm such a fanboy. damn you Sony.

- kawitchate