Sadly, I already have to put my Wii Health Workout fun on hold for a bit. It came to my attention that a WONDERFUL infection was on my back that needed to get removed. I know… how do I not know there was an infection. 1.) I don’t really look at my back. 2.) It didn’t start hurting until this weekend.
I went to the doctor, they cut me open, and now I have a hole in my back filled with cotton and I’m drugged up on plenty of goodness! I’ll have to wait until I’ve healed up 100%, but I didn’t get an estimate on how long that would be. So, I hope you kids have fun, cus I’m not moving too much for the next week or two. Joy…
So, I didn’t update yesterday. I have a good reason for it! I was busy and plus I didn’t wanna start playing and get sweaty as my parents wanted to go out to dinner last night, but didn’t tell me when. But I’m still down a pound! So no complaints.
On a side note, I am doing better at not snacking throughout the day, so that’ll help with getting my eating under control. Now to just get some better food in the house.
Sony earlier this week introduced a long rumored (and constantly denied) price-cut for their PlayStation 3 PLAYSTATION 3 video game console. The once priced system of US$500 and US$600 (for the 20GB and 60GB models respectively) has dropped in price to… US$500 and US$600.
Sony’s recent “drop” in price for their 60GB model (US$600 to US$500) was a very clever marketing tactic that many consumers fell for. In a sense, Sony has not dropped the price of their systems at all, but instead upgraded the hardware of their systems. The 20GB model (originally priced at US$500) is no longer available. The $600 price point has been replaced with a system that has an 80GB hard drive.
There’s several problems with this move that bothers me. Obviously, the first being that this isn’t a price drop. This is similar to when Apple introduces upgrades across the board to their computers. The price structure doesn’t change, but usually faster processors, more RAM, and larger hard drives are added to the systems. You don’t see Apple announcing a “price drop” every time they do this.
The other thing that’s troublesome with this “drop”: it was all a ruse. Not even a week after the “price drop”, Sony has now confirmed that the 60GB model will no longer be available as well, leaving only the US$600 80GB model. We’re back to where we began; being left with only an expensive gaming console. Sadly, the $100 “drop” suckered in quite a few people. Amazon saw the amount of PS3’s purchased jump over 2500% after the “drop” went into effect. They essentially fooled the public into buying out their inventory of a system that will be obsolete soon.
There are also, still, two glaring problem as well. The first being the system is too expensive. Using the argument that the PS3 is the cheapest available Blu-Ray system is null. I was able to find the Samsung BD-P1000 (although discontinued but still available) for US$370 and many others for $450 or less. Let’s not forget when the competition is priced at $250 and $400, what is going to look like a more viable option, especially to a parent or one with a low income (such as my unemployed ass)?
Second, and the most important: games. Being a gamer, what I enjoy is how well a game plays, not its graphics. At this point, only 30% of households in the US have an HDTV, which means the graphics of the PS3 won’t do any good for over two-thirds of the US still with a Standard Definition television. If graphics were a concern, then I’d be complaining about how the graphics in Final Fantasy VI for the GBA are outdated. But I don’t because the gameplay is what I’m there for. With E3 out of the way and the Tokyo Game Show coming up, hopefully Sony will be able to overcome that hurdle. Too bad they can’t recover from that first one.
Now, I’m not saying the other systems don’t have a few issues that need to worked out, but Sony just seems to keep making one stupid decision after another. Will I buy a PS3? Eventually, but as long as the PS3 is going to cost me a month of rent and utilities, it’ll have to wait. Although the PS3 is huge, it’s not big enough for me to live in.
UPDATE: Looks like Sony didn’t even wait a day to play the Confirm/Deny/Confirm game again. Supposedly, there was a little miscommunication as to the fate of the 60GB model PS3. The 60GB model is going to be around for a little bit longer. … maybe… Kaz Hirai is now saying that the 60GB model is “no longer in production”. To me, that sounds like it’s being discontinued. Anyone else at Sony want to chime in? Still have about 10 hours in the day.
Oh… and rumor has it that Microsoft is in fact dropping the price of all Xbox 360 consoles by $100. Well, that can’t be too bad Sony, right? Oh…
