More Rumors about PS3 Price Drop

[manufan15]

Meaningful -- as in it'll mean Sony would finally bow to ubiquitous suggestions, predictions and occasional threats that see the PlayStation 3 being lowered in price please please oh please. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia is the latest to join the frugal chorus, telling Industry Gamers, "We continue to believe a $100 price cut on PS3 will occur around the launch of EA's Madden NFL 2010, which is scheduled for release on 8/18."

Agee claims to have encountered similar sentiment at a recent GameStop executive meeting, overhearing talk of a "highly likely" and "meaningful" near-term price drop even over the clinking of diamond-encrusted chalices and relentless pre-order thrusting.

It's Sony's decision, ultimately, but if it's alright with you, we'd rather just get this price drop over with. A lower price means more people get in on the fun ... especially when they also get to stop reading these things.

Meh, rumors like this have been ciruclating for awhile, but I found it interesting that it's been heard in a Gamestop meeting...

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/19/analyst-gamestop-expects-meaningful-ps3-price-cut-soon/

 

[Bio]

Activision is also threatening to stop supporting PS3 if there is no price drop. They say that PS3's install base won't grow as well as other consoles due to the current price hurdle.

Blu-Ray Player prices are also going to drop. I'm wondering if Sony is going to drop the price once other BD players drop in price.

I'd say based on all this pressure from the press, we are going to see a cheaper PS3 by the end of the year. And I'm pretty sure it would be a decision Sony didn't originally want.

 

[manufan15]

I don't know, chances are that Activision are just bluffing to try to convince Sony into a price cut. But then again, maybe they aren't...

I think Sony has to introduce a price cut by the end of the year, and hopefully it'll benefit them in the long run.

 

[Master Foot]

I don't think that it will happen this year at all. Maybe they will buckle under the pressure and cut it for the holiday season but since they are apparently not making much cash on the console it then it may not be possible. What they should have done is make it cheaper from the beginning and then make profit from PS3 accessories. Unfortunately PS3 will continue to get ports of 360 games.

 

[manufan15]

I don't think that it will happen this year at all. Maybe they will buckle under the pressure and cut it for the holiday season but since they are apparently not making much cash on the console it then it may not be possible. What they should have done is make it cheaper from the beginning and then make profit from PS3 accessories. Unfortunately PS3 will continue to get ports of 360 games.

It's called the PS3 Slim and it's real. It's cheaper to make so they can sell it for less. Unknown release date so far though, I would guess later this year.

And there have been quite a few games that are multiplatform but have been developed specifically for PS3. IMO, Sony's exclusive lineup cannot be competed with. And in most cases, multiplatform games look and play exactly the same on both PS3 and 360. (With some exceptions of course)

 

[Bio]

PS3 Slim is inevitable. All PS products re-release with a smaller, more efficient version (as well as Tretton saying it will continue with PS3). The issue is that people are already talking about it. Usually a slim version doesn't release this soon after launch.

 

[manufan15]

Yeah, it's rumored to drop this fall but as we all know these types of rumors are rarely correct.

I hope that Sony annouces it at TGS and they put it into effect soon after. It just frustrates me (and everyone else) that they're being so stubborn about this. They have an absolutely fantastic lineup of exclusives and multiplatform games, but the hardware is just too expensive for some.

 

[Bio]

Sony has good reason to keep their mouths shut. They didn't even say anything about the last "price drop" (which was actually just introducing a cheaper SKU). They actually denied it weeks before it released.

If Sony tells us when they drop the price it would stunt/reduce PS3 sales. The moment people find out a target window or a date is the moment people start holding off for the price drop instead of buying the PS3 at its current price.

I don't think that it will happen this year at all. Maybe they will buckle under the pressure and cut it for the holiday season but since they are apparently not making much cash on the console it then it may not be possible. What they should have done is make it cheaper from the beginning and then make profit from PS3 accessories. Unfortunately PS3 will continue to get ports of 360 games.

Profit from what? For what a PS3 has under the hood, it has always been cheap. PS3 with a price matching it's actual hardware would make it at around $800 at launch.

The only thing Sony should have done from the start was get rid of the backwards compatability since people didn't care enough about it. That would have significantly reduced the launch price.

On the port side of things, more games are leading on PS3 and porting to 360, so it might just be a more level rate in the future. Also, if PS3 continues to dish out great exclusives, the multiplatform situation won't be much of a problem. And besides, the differences between console versions are nearly always negligible and aren't worth claiming as a big issue.

 

[SensesFail]

Sony has good reason to keep their mouths shut. They didn't even say anything about the last "price drop" (which was actually just introducing a cheaper SKU). They actually denied it weeks before it released.

If Sony tells us when they drop the price it would stunt/reduce PS3 sales. The moment people find out a target window or a date is the moment people start holding off for the price drop instead of buying the PS3 at its current price.



Profit from what? For what a PS3 has under the hood, it has always been cheap. PS3 with a price matching it's actual hardware would make it at around $800 at launch.

The only thing Sony should have done from the start was get rid of the backwards compatability since people didn't care enough about it. That would have significantly reduced the launch price.

On the port side of things, more games are leading on PS3 and porting to 360, so it might just be a more level rate in the future. Also, if PS3 continues to dish out great exclusives, the multiplatform situation won't be much of a problem. And besides, the differences between console versions are nearly always negligible and aren't worth claiming as a big issue.

he's right.
all consoles typically take a hit at launch its not until around year 3 that the tech gets cheap enough the company can actually turn a profit. i do believe sony is still losing money on each ps3 but dont quote me..

 

[did4411]

umm y r we talking about ps3 when it claerly saids WIIchat.com im confused



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[Splash_King]

Because this is a Playstation 3 forum... ?

 

[Sterculius]

from what i heard, there is a ps3 slim and there will be a price drop but sony does not want to confirm any of it until around or after the holiday season. mainly because they're going to let the stock of the current models dry up before putting the new ones out, and if they tell people now and confirm it and everything, they're afraid that people will just stop buying ps3's and wait until the new, cheaper model shows up.

at least that's just what i read/heard. but yeah, i don't know what sony can do to keep sales strong if the price drop isn't an actuality. there's really good samsung blu-ray players selling around my area (at walmart specifically) for more than 250-300 less than a ps3. so there goes one selling point for the ps3, and for me (opinion alert!) all the good games on PS3 can also be found on the 360, so they don't have the exclusivity thing going for them either. a price-cut is pretty much their only option to stay in the game, no pun intended.

 

[Bio]

he's right.
all consoles typically take a hit at launch its not until around year 3 that the tech gets cheap enough the company can actually turn a profit. i do believe sony is still losing money on each ps3 but dont quote me..

Sony currently sells the 40GB PS3s at a deficit. Only by about $40, though...which is a far cry from the $300 deficit for each 60GB PS3 back in 2006 at launch.

This wouldn't mesh well with a price cut...unless the price cut will be a slim version SKU that costs less to manufacture.

so there goes one selling point for the ps3, and for me (opinion alert!) all the good games on PS3 can also be found on the 360, so they don't have the exclusivity thing going for them either. a price-cut is pretty much their only option to stay in the game, no pun intended.

I would argue that they do have exclusivity going for them. I could name-drop PS3 exclusives until I'm blue in the face because the catalogue is that large. I guess they just don't happen to be in your taste. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

What Sony fails at is marketing these incredible (or promising if not released yet) exclusives...so the average gamer only knows about a fraction of them.

 

[manufan15]

Yeah, I am pretty disappointed about Sony's marketing attempt. The only commercial I ever remember seeing for the PS3 was that one with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, LittleBigPlanet, and Metal Gear Solid 4 (3 great exclusives). But other than that, they've pretty much failed.

Bio's right, the average gamer probably rarely heard about games like Motorstorm 1 & 2, Infamous, Valkyria Chronicles, Warhawk, maybe even Ratchet and Clank or Uncharted. And these are all fantastic exclusives.

It's sad, if Sony tried to market like Apple, think how many more titles they'd sell...

umm y r we talking about ps3 when it claerly saids WIIchat.com im confused

Umm mybe cuz were in da section that saids ps3 in WIIchat.com??

 

[Bio]

Either Sony has a bunch of idiots for marketers, or they can't afford doing it to the extent necessary. I'm going with the latter.

I don't work at a game store, but many times I'll perfect playing the PS3 exclusive demos at the game stores just so onlookers can be aware of the games and what they can offer the player. I would find that so many people didn't know what Uncharted is (one guy was like "Is this some Indiana Jones game?"), but became instantly intrigued by it after watching me play it. My gameplay got one guy to get Uncharted and a PS3 during that same walk-in, and I don't even work at the store.