• MudMan@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    The PS3 is absolutely not the most expensive console on launch, either adjusted for inflation or not. The CD-i and the 3DO both were $700 at launch and the 20GB model of the PS3 started at 499$, just like the Xbox One, which many people have memory holed because the 60GB 599$ made such a stir for being expensive.

    The launch lineup was relatively weak out of the gate, though, that much is true, although a bit exaggerated. There are some underrated games in that early batch, just no proper system seller. It was a bit better in Europe where at least CoD 3, Oblivion and a bunch of third party games were available soon after launch.

    • Count Regal Inkwell@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I don’t think CD-i and 3DO should be counted for this.

      The 3DO had a weird business model and the price point was considering it didn’t sell at a loss like most consoles do – It didn’t catch on because it was a weird interstitial thing that was more powerful than the then-popular SNES/Mega Drive but leagues less powerful than the (already announced, already on the way) PS1 and Saturn.

      And the CD-i? That one didn’t even intend to be a games console at first. Philips was trying to make a ~multimedia machine~ out of a belief that those 90s interactive encyclopedia/activity center CD-Roms that were popular on PC were the future of consumer media. It was priced like a high-end media player, because that’s what they meant for it to be. They only pivoted to games at the ass-end of its lifecycle in hopes of salvaging the unmitigated disaster that had turned out to be. And when they did, they did so with a redesigned model that had a lot of the high-end features removed to “console-ize” their multimedia player, making it much cheaper.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Hey, they were both advertised alongside the rest of the gen 5 consoles, they absolutely count.

        But hey, if you’re gonna be that guy AND ignore the post-PS3 consoles that all launched at higher prices, how about the Neo Geo? Because that launched at $650 in 1991 money.

        The point is that no, the PS3 does not hold “have the dubious honor of most expensive console at launch” by any definition of that concept.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        The base model of the 360 shipped with no hard drive at all, it used memory cards. I know because that was the SKU I got until I bought an add-on drive. The 20GB one was the big one. Nobody thought the 20GB PS3 compared unfavorably to the base Xbox SKU.

        I mean, you’re right that people fixated on the 60GB model in that the $600 tag was a psychological barrier, but it certainly wasn’t the most expensive console at launch, mainstream or not. It takes a bit of cherry picking to argue that the Neo Geo wasn’t mainstream or that the absolutely existing 20GB model (also the SKU I got) doesn’t count.

        Ultimately, price was a factor and the PS3 launch was weak, but it wasn’t a disaster and it wasn’t as overpriced as people make it out to be, as you said.