Best time to buy a PS3?

[Alien Mole]

First of all, I know you lot aren't psychic. I fault you for this - a little - but as long as you let me pick your brain that doesn't mean we can't get along.

That was a joke. Now that the ice is broken I'd like to get to the crux of the matter: I'd like to own a PS3 by early-ish July. However, I can't really gauge what's on the horizon as I've been out of the console biz since... well, more or less since I bought a Wii, which was about a year after the damned thing's launch in Europe. Still, I'm wondering what the smartest time to buy one is, (I don't know the market at all, nor can I even begin to predict it) and if anyone has any other tips. It's a lot of money, so I might as well make it count.

There tends to be a bit of a sales period right around the beginning of July if I'm not mistaken. I could hold off until then but I have no idea if console prices get more attractive around that time. Maybe they've already started and I haven't noticed because they're just that underwhelming. Could someone tell me whether the summer sales could have any effect, and - if so - what to expect? Any other tips for when to buy it and where to be it from?
I'm in Europe, by the way, so I'm wondering specifically about that market - amazon.de, mainly, as they seem to have the best prices so far.

The best deal I've found so far is a 320GB PS3 + Move Starter Kit for 300 euros (which converts to 300 dollars for these purposes) - without the starter kit it's 290. (I can get LA Noire added to either version for 20 euros) This is on amazon.de, by the way. I can't gauge how good this deal is - meh, good, amazing? Clue me in here. What should I be looking for in a deal? I'd like to try Move, but it's certainly not something I -must- have. Pounce on it, or bide my time?

Too tired to be concise and many more questions but I'll stop here. Thanks for any help!

TLDR: Looking for best value-for-money PS3 in Europe. Unsure about timing, retailer, bundle. Any tips welcome. Many thanks.

 

[Motiv_]

I'd get the 320 gigabyte without Move, but that's solely because I'm not interested in it. All in all I think it's a pretty good deal, at least one of the better ones you're going to get during the non-holiday season.

 

[LetalisK]

Why exactly do you want a PS3? I ask because, depending on what you're primarily using it for, you may be making a huge mistake.

 

[Alien Mole]

I'd get the 320 gigabyte without Move, but that's solely because I'm not interested in it. All in all I think it's a pretty good deal, at least one of the better ones you're going to get during the non-holiday season.

When you say non-holiday season, that means only the +- November-January period has a significant improvement in good deals and bundles, correct? Little point in seeing what early July brings?

Why exactly do you want a PS3? I ask because, depending on what you're primarily using it for, you may be making a huge mistake.

The (console) exclusives, and Blu-ray capabilities. I have a decent gaming PC and I'm upgrading around Jan; I'd like to play ME3 in its full glory but before that there's fairly little that interests me. I have a lot of time before that, however (summer and next semester being a half one for me) so since I'm in between signficant others too (aah, the summer lull) I figured I'd catch up on my PS3 backlog so as not to bore myself senseless. Valkyria Chronicles, Bayonetta, God of War (never played any of them), ICO etc. (Never played any of them), Metal Gear Solid 4 (and the remakes) Final Fantasy XIII, Star Ocean, the WWE games (I like the camp and cathartic potential). All those games are dirt cheap by now so the console seems to be the important initial investment and it seems unlikely to drop in price soon, near as I could tell. (But I'm not sure of this - it's why I'm asking you guys (gals?)

What kind of motivation would make it a mistake, in your eyes?

EDIT: Also wondering about warranty. I think the PS3 comes with a standard 1-year warranty. Amazon.de doesn't mention it, but the minimum warranty in Belgium (and, I believe, the rest of the EU,) is two years. If I'd buy it in a brick-and-mortar store I would explicitly have two years; this might not be the case for Amazon.de. How much is an extra year of warranty worth, financially?

 

[Entropyutd]

Unless you buy in January during the sales, then I don't see any real reason not to buy the cheapest you can find right now.
My argument is the next generation of consoles is almost upon us, and they are only going to get cheaper. So there really is no ideal time.

Find a bundle that appeals to you, check out the games release schedule and buy when it suits you.

 

[LetalisK]

Why exactly do you want a PS3? I ask because, depending on what you're primarily using it for, you may be making a huge mistake.

The (console) exclusives, and Blu-ray capabilities. I have a decent gaming PC and I'm upgrading around Jan; I'd like to play ME3 in its full glory but before that there's fairly little that interests me. I have a lot of time before that, however (summer and next semester being a half one for me) so since I'm in between signficant others too (aah, the summer lull) I figured I'd catch up on my PS3 backlog so as not to bore myself senseless. Valkyria Chronicles, Bayonetta, God of War (never played any of them), ICO etc. (Never played any of them), Metal Gear Solid 4 (and the remakes) Final Fantasy XIII, Star Ocean, the WWE games (I like the camp and cathartic potential). All those games are dirt cheap by now so the console seems to be the important initial investment and it seems unlikely to drop in price soon, near as I could tell. (But I'm not sure of this - it's why I'm asking you guys (gals?)

What kind of motivation would make it a mistake, in your eyes?

I was mainly concerned about online gaming. If it's not a major reason you're getting it, then you shouldn't have a big problem with the PS3.

 

[Motiv_]

I'd get the 320 gigabyte without Move, but that's solely because I'm not interested in it. All in all I think it's a pretty good deal, at least one of the better ones you're going to get during the non-holiday season.

When you say non-holiday season, that means only the +- November-January period has a significant improvement in good deals and bundles, correct? Little point in seeing what early July brings?

Precisely. Usually the PS3 only drops in price during the Black Friday/Christmas/New Year sales, in my experience.

 

[Alien Mole]

]I was mainly concerned about online gaming. If it's not a major reason you're getting it, then you shouldn't have a big problem with the PS3.

Blimey, no. If I want to have massive online parties I'll use my PC. It's the damned exclusives I'm missing. Add Vanquish to the list too, by the way. Is the online that bad, though?

Precisely. Usually the PS3 only drops in price during the Black Friday/Christmas/New Year sales, in my experience.

Eh, I'll be upgrading my PC then to play Mass Effect in style. I would've done that now but there are no PC games I want to play on the horizon so I figured I'd put what I'd save by waiting and having more powerful hardware come 2012 into a PS3.
Also: new model announced; no BC but minor power & weight savings. Worth waiting, or will it be more expensive, d'you think?

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Motiv_]

]I was mainly concerned about online gaming. If it's not a major reason you're getting it, then you shouldn't have a big problem with the PS3.

Blimey, no. If I want to have massive online parties I'll use my PC. It's the damned exclusives I'm missing. Add Vanquish to the list too, by the way. Is the online that bad, though?

Precisely. Usually the PS3 only drops in price during the Black Friday/Christmas/New Year sales, in my experience.

Eh, I'll be upgrading my PC then to play Mass Effect in style. I would've done that now but there are no PC games I want to play on the horizon so I figured I'd put what I'd save by waiting and having more powerful hardware come 2012 into a PS3.
Also: new model announced; no BC but minor power & weight savings. Worth waiting, or will it be more expensive, d'you think?

Thanks for all the help so far.

If you're not interested in playing old PS2 games, I think it'd be a good deal if it didn't cost any more. But keep in mind you're going to be missing out on a lot of old classics.

 

[Alien Mole]

If you're not interested in playing old PS2 games, I think it'd be a good deal if it didn't cost any more. But keep in mind you're going to be missing out on a lot of old classics.

Well, it's not like the big black box is backwards compatible now, so I don't see how there'd be much of a difference there. Plus, the few PS2 games I still have lying around that I'd really want to play seem to work fine in emulation. (Just to stress: nothing illegal involved there. I actually own a PS2 and own the games, so no worries, mods.) I told myself I'd hold of buying a PS3 until they re-implement backwards compatibility, but there seems to be less and less point.

 

[bakan]

Maybe wait a bit more and they'll give concrete details on the new new model they wanna sell

 

[thecatsme0w]

We got ours (similar stats to the one you posted) for under 200 dollars Canadian right in late November. It came with 2 games Prince of Persia and some stupid driving game. I'm not a huge console gamer so it mostly lives in my fiance's room.

 

[Motiv_]

If you're not interested in playing old PS2 games, I think it'd be a good deal if it didn't cost any more. But keep in mind you're going to be missing out on a lot of old classics.

Well, it's not like the big black box is backwards compatible now, so I don't see how there'd be much of a difference there. Plus, the few PS2 games I still have lying around that I'd really want to play seem to work fine in emulation. (Just to stress: nothing illegal involved there. I actually own a PS2 and own the games, so no worries, mods.) I told myself I'd hold of buying a PS3 until they re-implement backwards compatibility, but there seems to be less and less point.

Well then. If the new model is the same price, or you feel that the increase in price is worth it, then get that. Otherwise it'd be cheaper just to get the original one.

 

[Alien Mole]

BAM!

i.e. I pulled the trigger. The thing should be here just as my exams finish, and I've ordered SvR 2011 to come with it (from Amazon.de, but it said English language support so I should be fine.)

Got FFXIII and Valkyria Chronicles on the way as well, and I'll pick up some other games from summer sales and whatnot. Any good console-excluvie co-op games you'd suggest? Disc-based or PSN, I don't mind much.

Now to get me a new monitor too... but that'll be another topic! Thanks for the input, y'all!