Kevin Caseyon the true cost of a PS3
I THINK I need a second life. That way I can get another job and possibly afford a PlayStation 3. It's not just the €650 console itself. I also need an extra controller (€50), cables (€60) and new games (€60 each), and I have to buy movies in the new Blu-ray format (another €60 each).
But before I walk out of the shop nearly €900 lighter, maybe I should pick up a home theatre and HD TV (upwards of €1,200) - and, of course, I need broadband (if I can get it) to use the console's internet features. A couch I already have, but that pesky mortgage will just have to take a back seat this month.
As I set this bag of swag - more than two grand if you include the telly - down on the counter, I realise that I could buy Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii for less than the price of a PS3 on its own.
Ken Kutaragi, Sony's "father of the PlayStation", doesn't accept criticism of the PS3's price. Comparing PS3 with its competitors, he says, is like comparing a posh restaurant with a cafeteria.
His gourmet PS3 is "underpriced", he contends, as it has a feast of features. He envisions the PS3 as a Trojan horse to "unload media content" to all points of the home.
Insert the word "Sony" between "unload" and "media" and you have the recipe for a one-box-to-rule-them-all masterplan.
Rumours are rife that PS3 sales are slow, with nothing like the frenzy that surrounded the launch of the Wii. Nintendo's family-friendly console has, arguably, the most gaming appeal, focusing on fantasy and playability rather than simulated reality and multimedia.
Already vastly popular, the Xbox 360 is expandable to HD DVD, Blu-ray's biggest competitor. Some of the 360's game titles, such as the Halo series, are also considered superior, and its internet capabilities are hugely popular. And, like its Sony rival, the 360 also can store music and photos.
However, the PS3 does contain the most powerful computer chip ever to enter a home. The mother of all motherboards is 300 times more powerful than a PS2 and more powerful even than advanced gaming PCs. PS3's graphics potential is way out in front.
Following a series of setbacks for Sony in the past year, it is relying on brand identity to deliver sales of PS3. With stores overstocked, however, the urge among retailers to discount is strong this Easter (Argos has already knocked €20 off its price). Sony could end up with a lot of stock in reserve and a damaged brand. If Blu-ray bombs, they'll really have shot themselves in the foot.
The "one box" ambition has long been a goal of some console companies, which want to control access to all the digital media you own. So, as you shed your wedge for a glorified, glorious toy, bear in mind that owning a console usually ends up more expensive than buying one.
Have a quick read of the "help wanted" ads while the kids play.
