I want to buy a PS3. I think?

August 23, 2013 8:02 PM

How much will PlayStation 3s come down in price after the PlayStation 4 comes out?

After a little over two years the cheapo $100 Blu-ray player I bought seems to be dying. It struggles with any mildly scuffed/scratched disc (mostly what I get from Netflix) and then reboots when it can't figure out how to play it. So I'm in the market for a new Blu-ray player. I know things are leaning towards streaming/downloads, but Netflix's Blu-ray catalog is still much larger than the streaming one and most streaming still doesn't look as pretty anyway. I also haven't really played video games much in the past 10 years or so and there are a few I'd like to try out. So I think I'm in the market for a PS3. I know the PS4 is coming out soon so I expect prices will drop on PS3s, but by how much? Will a new PS3 drop to the price for a used one now? I've been burned on used hardware in the past so I'm a bit wary of that route.

posted by fishmasta to Shopping (16 answers total)

These people predict up to a 64% drop. That seems optimistic to me, and this is very different than the PS2 -> PS3 changeover, so who knows how accurate that is.

What I do recommend is getting a bundle; they're usually very good deals and if you don't like the game it came with, you can get some good money selling a new, unopened copy.

Also, not sure if you're aware but the PS3 can play Netflix streaming stuff as well.
posted by griphus at 8:13 PM on August 23, 2013

The PS3 GTA 5 500 gb bundle is coming out in September for $270. Subtracting the $60 game it's bundled with the PS3 would be $210 (if you didn't want that particular game you might be able to sell it for around $50ish without much trouble). I don't expect it'd be much cheaper than that in the short term. The 250 gb model might be cheaper than that once PS4 comes out, but I don't really know what price that would be.
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:13 PM on August 23, 2013

I've been burned on used hardware in the past so I'm a bit wary of that route.

If you're adamant on this then yes, wait. The price WILL drop. Probably a pretty large amount too. I bet the base model will go below $200 at some stores. And if you can wait til black friday i bet some best buy/walmart/frys type places will be absolutely shoveling them out the door to clear inventory.

I was going to mention how cheap used ones can be, but wait til november when some place drops a crazy $150 deal or something.
posted by emptythought at 8:39 PM on August 23, 2013

Also I would recommend against buying a used one, specifically if you're planning to play Blu-rays with it. The Blu-ray drive is the thing that tends to break down.
posted by griphus at 8:49 PM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

You have to keep in mind that Sony is not dropping support for the PS3 immediately - it (along with many third party publishers) is going to keep pushing it as a AAA platform and releasing new PS3 games for quite some time until the PS4 finds an install base (Gran Turismo 6 is coming out exclusively for the PS3 soon, for example). So I wouldn't expect an immediate price drop just because of the PS4 release. I think your best bet would be to try and find a good discount during the sales later this year.

Also, one thing to keep in mind is that you can easily switch out or upgrade the hard drive in any PS3 with a standard 2.5" hard drive and a hard drive caddy sold by Sony. So if you get a very good deal on a model with low storage capacity (like the 12GB model that was recently released) don't pass it up.
posted by fearthehat at 9:02 PM on August 23, 2013

Response by poster: Emptythought: I hadn't "thought" (hehe... Sorry. I'll see myself out...) of that but waiting until black Friday is certainly reasonable. I'm in no rush and I've put up with it for months anyway. As long as I can buy an online deal and not have to camp in a parking lot for $30 bucks off.

Griphus: Thanks for the heads up on the Blu-ray issue. Is it that bad? Specifically, will the cheaper model PS3s that Sony will release (like the PS2s before them) be more prone to failure? Or should I be looking for a current model PS3 before Sony redesigns again for the lower market?
posted by fishmasta at 9:07 PM on August 23, 2013

There's a new price drop this week. $199 for the cheapest model, which will likely hold until early next year (not counting the odd Black Friday deal).
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:54 PM on August 23, 2013

The 12GB model doesn't come with a drive caddy/mounting bracket thingie, so you have to source one yourself if you go that route. It does have the space in the case and the necessary connector, just not the metal frame you screw the drive into before sticking it in the slot. I would not recommend trying to live with 12GB of space unless you don't plan on playing games with it.

Any of the others are upgradeable with nothing more than a bare 2.5" drive and a screwdriver, though.
posted by wierdo at 11:35 PM on August 23, 2013

2nding avoid the 12GB model...any amount of games will fill that up pretty quick...for example, the latest bioshock:infinite came with a free copy of the original, which turned out to be a download that clocked in at 12GB.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:33 AM on August 24, 2013

I'd expect the PS3 to cost around $150-175 within a year of the PS4 launch, if not less. But yeah, if you can find one around $200 now, that's about as good as it's going to get for a little while, not including retailer discounts like sales. I agree that if you're planning to game with it, you need a much larger hard drive than 12gb, but then don't forget to factor the upgrade cost in, as well as extra controllers if you plan to play local multiplayer, an HDMI cable if your TV supports that and you don't already have one, etc., etc. The actual cost of investing in a new console is always significantly higher than the base price.

I bought mine for $300, but with add-ons and initial games, it probably came to about $450-500. I'd expect the real cost of the PS3 to be around $300-350 for the next year or so. It might come down a bit after that, but without Sony creating something like a slim less-featured PS3, I don't see the price dropping too much more than that in the next two years.
posted by Errant at 4:39 AM on August 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

...will the cheaper model PS3s that Sony will release (like the PS2s before them) be more prone to failure?

You know, I'm not really sure. Technically they should be able to source cheaper parts that are more reliable just because that is how it tends to work, but who the hell knows.

If I were you, I'd play it safe and buy a new, current-make model (but not the 12 GB like everyone says) new after the price drop.

...an HDMI cable if your TV supports that and you don't already have one...

Don't spend more than, like, five bucks on this (via Amazon/Monoprice.)
posted by griphus at 5:00 AM on August 24, 2013

I'll nth the advice against going used. Also, further advice: get PS+ from day one and you'll VERY quickly find yourself with far more content than anyone has any use for. Plus the auto backups are quite useful.

Also, play Dark Souls/Demon's Souls if you think you have the chops for it.
posted by GoingToShopping at 7:31 AM on August 24, 2013

Response by poster: I ended up going with the GTA5 bundle haveanicesummer suggested. $270 on Amazon plus sales tax minus about $90 in Amazon gift certificates added up to around $200 total for a PS3 with a decent sized hard drive plus a game (I played one of the GTA games (3? I think?) before for a short while and enjoyed, so if they keep the same general style it'll be good. If not, I can sell). From what I'm hearing I don't think it'll get much cheaper than that in the next year or so.

Thanks to all for your input.
posted by fishmasta at 10:54 AM on August 24, 2013

also, for saving $$$, Gamestop used games are awesome...I can't remember when I spent as much as $20 on a game...lots of great ones for 15 or less (always cheaper than amazon)...I think Fallout 3 (AWESOME!!!) and Fallout New Vegas (ALSO AWESOME!!) (from the makers of Skyrim, which is a must-own masterpiece) are around 5 bucks, ditto Lost Planet and the Resistance series. Other great games for cheap are Katamari Forever and the BioShock series (as I mentioned earlier, the third (BS Infinite) has the first one on the disc so you can save a few bucks there)...Oh, and games on the PlayStation (download) Market are pretty much always more expensive than you can find them at Gamestop, even when they're on sale...of course they have a bunch that you just cant get in stores like WipEout HD (again, AWESOME!!). Hope that helps save some $.
posted by sexyrobot at 5:00 PM on August 24, 2013

Or should I be looking for a current model PS3 before Sony redesigns again for the lower market?

The PS3 has already been redesigned twice. I doubt they'll do it again.
posted by zsazsa at 9:15 PM on August 24, 2013

Do not give gamestop your money. They suck as a company, and you can also save so much. Go buy the same games for 1/2 the price(or sometimes LESS) on ebay. Ebay buyer protection will get you your money back if the games EVER don't work, are scratched, etc. It's nearly a "is there a problem? ok" no questions asked type scenario. Your word is taken as probably true instead of false until proven true.

I think i only own one game i've paid more than $10 for. You can get the vast majority of good, especially older PS3 games for about $9-13

Whereas they cost $17-30 at gamestop. And games that still cost basically the new price at gamestop are $35-40 on ebay compared to $50-60 + tax.

I've gone to gamestop, looked at a game, and gone home and bought three for the same price i would have paid there.
posted by emptythought at 11:37 AM on August 25, 2013