Oh Konami, why are you so cruel?
After much wait, Konami finally released news on the Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition Playstation 3 bundle. And man, does it suck.
$599.99. For a 40GB PS3. You’ve got to be sh*tting me!
I’m not one who can’t handle a little overcharging for limited/collector’s edition stuff; I’ve overpaid before for import and/or limited edition games and consoles. And Konami claims this bundle will be extremely limited, and I take their word for it. But seriously, can’t you throw us a bone? Japan got the same bundle for 51,800 yen, which is like $500. And the bundle doesn’t really cost $600. You can only preorder it on the Konami website (starting May 19th), and I know that sales tax is going to be charged. That’s another $50. Shipping isn’t free; in fact “shipping costs are higher than normal on this item, due to product size”. So total, we’re talking closer to $700. The value cost:
$399.99 retail price for a 40GB PS3 (in black)
- 49.99 retail price for a SixAxis controller
+ 54.99 retail price for a DualShock 3 controller
+ 84.99 retail price for the limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 game (has a couple documentaries + soundtrack)
= $489.98
Basically, with out tax and shipping, you’re paying a $110 premium for the grey gunmetal PS3 and controller. Don’t forget the 40GB PS3 has ZERO backwards compatibility for PS2 games.
Compare this with the regular non-limited Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle, which includes an 80GB (which can play most PS2 games) for $499.99. It also has a (black) DualShock 3 controller, and the bundle includes the regular edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 (retails $59.99). I think before it was discontinued, the 80GB PS3 was sold in a bundle with MotorStorm for $499.99, so you save $5 by getting a DualShock instead of a SixAxis and much more hyped up game in the new bundle. You can also buy this regular bundle at any retailer, so free shipping and no tax with Amazon. I can still preorder the Limited Edition of the game at GameStop, so assuming I sell the regular game for $10 less than retail, I can still get Limited Edition for like $45 extra (with tax on the game).
~$700 for the super-limited edition bundle or ~$545 for the same thing + 40GB + PS2 backwards compatibility – grey color. The collector and MG3 uber-fan in me are battling with the cheap ass in me, and I think the cheap ass is winning…
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Chances are, your decision will be made for you because it’ll be sold out. I love the gunmetal gray, but this is the stupidest deal ever.
Backwards compatibility isn’t that important for me (my ps2 doesn’t work anymore, but I don’t really have any games I want to play). When I get a ps3, the first thing I’ll play will probably be FF7 for PSX. Lame, I know.
Kotaku also had an article on how the April NPD numbers showed a decline in PS3 and 360 sales. This is usually leads to price drops, so maybe there will be a price drop later this summer. Maybe they’ll release the next version of ps3. Crossing my fingers!
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