paying $300 for a 360 slim isnt worth it,

paying $300 for a PS3 slim is worth it why, simple it has a built in blu ray player

I've had a Ps3 for 2 years, guess how many Blu-ray movies i have watched? Its completely unnecessary for me, if every game for PS3 was playable on it, i would easily have bough a model without blu-ray if it was cheaper than with. Since if you wanna watch HD movies you just stream them from your PC, blu-ray  (for movies) is a dying format.

Being a bit of a devils advocate here, and stating the contrary. I must ask a very obvious question that isn't getting asked by anyone else in this thread. Am I the only who thinks that perhaps the whole era of the price wars ran its coarse. Yes there was a race to the lowest price point to sway the late adopters who wouldn't shell out large amounts of money for a game console. However that sweet spot was hit ages ago, and it is hard to imagine anyone sitting on that fence today. I mean do we think there is a hoard of gamers that have been living under a rock somewhere waiting for a very low price point that has been around for ages.

I think that is why Microsoft unveiled a shiny new model, and a new gimmick for their press conference. Price is no longer a major motivator for this generation. That card has already been played all the way out. There is nothing to be gained on the low end price front anymore. What is going to sell consumers on a console now is the novelty and quality of what is on the table. Not how much it will cost. Bottom line what is going to move consoles now is features, and the games.

Microsoft is betting on a new presentation to sell their console. Not on undercutting on the price front. They did that, and yeah it worked. However if your going to draw out a generation that is a strategy that must eventually slam into the hard wall, of there being nothing left to cut or streamline.

Just my thoughts, but this kind of thinking about the price points is over a year removed from the reality.

Leo J what is your source?

Being a bit of a devils advocate here, and stating the contrary. I must ask a very obvious question that isn't getting asked by anyone else in this thread. Am I the only who thinks that perhaps the whole era of the price wars ran its coarse. Yes there was a race to the lowest price point to sway the late adopters who wouldn't shell out large amounts of money for a game console. However that sweet spot was hit ages ago, and it is hard to imagine anyone sitting on that fence today. I mean do we think there is a hoard of gamers that have been living under a rock somewhere waiting for a very low price point that has been around for ages.

I think that is why Microsoft unveiled a shiny new model, and a new gimmick for their press conference. Price is no longer a major motivator for this generation. That card has already been played all the way out. There is nothing to be gained on the low end price front anymore. What is going to sell consumers on a console now is the novelty and quality of what is on the table. Not how much it will cost. Bottom line what is going to move consoles now is features, and the games.

Microsoft is betting on a new presentation to sell their console. Not on undercutting on the price front. They did that, and yeah it worked. However if your going to draw out a generation that is a strategy that must eventually slam into the hard wall, of there being nothing left to cut or streamline.

Just my thoughts, but this kind of thinking about the price points is over a year removed from the reality.

I don't understand the commotion about wireless with consoles.

ETHERNET IS INFINITELY BETTER!

I've had a Ps3 for 2 years, guess how many Blu-ray movies i have watched? Its completely unnecessary for me, if every game for PS3 was playable on it, i would easily have bough a model without blu-ray if it was cheaper than with. Since if you wanna watch HD movies you just stream them from your PC, blu-ray  (for movies) is a dying format.

This is an excellent post and food for thought.

Basically I agree. One could roughly say that last gen's famous $200 sweet spot for mass market is $300 in this gen, and the end of last gen price point of $149 aimed at the casual users could now be $200 or $250.

But, there's now an additional factor. The motion controls. With the Move and Kinect rumoured to cost $80-$150 as an additonal cost on top of the console itself price could become a factor again, especially for the more casual consumers.

I don't think a PS3 & Move bundle at $349 sounds like an attractive price to families and soccer moms (and it might get over $400 if you want two controllers).

The X360 Arcade drop from $199 to $149 is important because it will possibly let the X360 Arcade Kinect bundle cost $249 which I think could be maximum for casuals that are interested in Kinectimals and Kinect Adventures.

But for the traditional gamers who aren't interested in motion controls, yes, price wars don't mean much in this gen anymore.