In a word: yes.
Here's why:
1. Millions of game fans have been waiting for this price drop to happen for years. They will buy one. I am one of them.
2. Blu-Ray. And the term 'Critical Mass'. While not the seeming phenomenon that was and is DVD, Blu-Ray has all the potential to replace/unseat it. Why? DVD's are practically free. There's not as much profit in them as there used to be. Like a first rate movie at the dollar theater, they've had their run. When they show up at $2-$3 in the aisles of Big Lots it's a good indicator. (I recently picked up an entire season of Smallville for $6. That's new, not previously viewed.) In fact, they're giving away DVD's (+ shipping and handling of course) on cereal boxes. Blu-Ray discs can be priced higher because they offer more. And they have come down in price just as DVDs have, which helped fuel DVD's further saturation. Plus, HD is way better quality than DVD. (unless it's a bad transfer--and there are some stinker transfers out there.) Sooner or later, Blu-Rays will reach a critical mass, most likely with the help of the Slim PS3 just as the PS2 helped promote the adoption of the DVD format. Also, Blu-Rays can be resold secondhand, and retain a certain value. Can you resell your digital downloads yet? (I don't own any except for a few songs & albums from Itunes)
3. PS3 vs. Xbox 360 - The Elite is now $299. The PS3 Slim is $299. The PS3 has Blu-Ray. The 360 doesn't. See #2.
4. Don't get me wrong. I own a 360 and have respected it every day that's it's played games, HD-DVD's that I bought for less than $4 each new on Ebay, and hasn't RROD'd on me (it's the Falcon motherboard). But PS3 vs. Elite is an obvious choice: get the PS3. If you really want to play a 360 game, buy an Arcade for $199. If you absolutely need a hard drive (and if you're not gaming online or playing old Xbox titles, you don't), buy a 20GB for cheap or pick up a Pro while they're blowing them out the door for $249. But at the same price, even the Elite 360 loses some of its luster w/o wifi and w/o Blu-Ray.
5. Exclusives. Again, 360 has some awesome ones. All of which are playable on my $159 used Arcade model and $29 off of Ebay 20GB hard drive. (A: I'm cheap, and B: I'm poor) Even a used PS3 goes for less than a new Wii now. That's w/HD games and HD movies. And...Exclusives.
6. PS2 compatibility for under $399. Huh? (Slim PS3 $299 + $99 PS2 = $398.) Curse you Sony, you've managed to get us to cough up close to $400 bucks again!
7. Pity. Let's face it--Sony's handling of the PS3 has been up to this point, pathetic. But there's a lot of people still rooting for them, and a lot of folks hatin' on MS, even for mere philosophical reasons which we won't get into. Healthy competition spurs innovation and brings the price of things down. So throw two pennies in old Sony's hat. God knows Nintendo and MS have enough money.
8. We Americans love things for under $300 bucks. Especially if they are cool. The Slim, like the looks or not, does cool things like plays PS3 games & Blu-Ray movies. That makes it cool.
9. No matter what anyone online thinks or says, it all comes down to who's buying what. I think a lot of people are going to buy a PS3 Slim this fall and Christmas. It may just be a gut feeling. Microsoft may do better than anyone anticipates. But still, call it just a hunch, my bets are that Sony will end up on top in sales this coming season.
No matter who wins, a strong three way fight can only be good for gamers.
