PS3 Price Cut Still a Possibility?

[tayb]

[citation][nom]Zoonie[/nom]I read an article months ago saying Sony stopped losing money on each console. Partially because of their move to the smaller die size. Is this not correct?[/citation]

No. It is not correct. They get pummeled for every console sold and aren't selling nearly enough games to make up for it which is why their games division was in the deep deep red last year despite the PS2 being a 100% pure profit machine.

 

[timaahhh]

I think the PS3 needs to get to $250 soon. I think the Wii is way over priced. I love Smash Brothers Brawl, Wii sports, and Mario Cart, but that is about all I like. I think the Wii needs to be closer to $150. I understand why they won't lower the price, but I think it launched $50 over priced. I think the price should have started at $199 and in this stage in its life be dropping down to $149.

 

[garydale]

I'm amazed that people buy the X-Box 360 which only lasts about a year before you need to get a new one. Compared to that, any price for the PS3 has to be a bargain.

As for Sony losing money on each PS3, who made that calculation? Typically the cost of assembling these things is small compared to the cost of the chip development.

 

[nao1120]

I think everyone forgets the fact that to be able to use every functionality of a Wii, you need to buy the nunchuk, and most like a second controller and a nunchuk, so your already at 400 There, so a 100 dollar price difference really doesn't matter.

Yes, wireless is expensive for the xbox 360, but who cares about wireless. Broadband will alway be more superior because of a constant connection without interference and most TV units and rooms that are new are built with a patch cable jack in mind. At least you should, which im sure would be cheaper than wasting money on wireless everything.

What it comes down to, Sony chose to be different using Blu-Ray in its next gen console. It still hasn't caught up to the real world that people can afford it compared to dvds, and look, the xbox 360 using a dvd format can still pump out with the same titles even on dvd/dual layers.

Granted xbox 360 had the attachment with a HD-DVD external drive, but it didn't take off, because no one cares.

Ultimately this console is great, and 399 is still a bargain for what it offers. But it won't compete when developers, and the fact dvd media is far cheaper. So it needs to reduce the cost to make sales elsewhere on games/media etc etc.

PS2 innovated with the dvd format, but going to bluray this round was a mistake until it was feesable, especially in todays ecomony

Nintendo and xbox 360 pricepoints are acceptable in my opinion.

 

[cracklint]

Had sony focused on making a gaming console for gamers, the would be winning the console war by now. But n-o-o-o-o-o-!, they were to worried about winning the hd format war. Had Sony kept their gaming console seperate from blu-ray, they could have a console with a 20 gig drive, no wifi nor media card slots for around 249. People can scream about it's a better value all they want, but the fact is that if 90% of the value to the customer is based on gaming, then you had better be damn good in that department. Gamers ultimately want a next gen console that is affordable and able to play the best games; that is where Sony fails, that is why they are last in the console war. I truly beleive Sony want's to lower the price of their console, but the can't because they would lose too much money. Yeah, the 360 doesn't have wifi, but you can still pick one up and start playing for 199. If you want multiplayer you can spend another $30 on the one month live & 20g harddrive deal. Say, what you will, but that is a lot cheaper than $399. Sony has added options to their console that many consumers just aren't willing to pay for. The Blu-ray functionality of the PS3 may have won the HD format for Sony, but may have cost them the console war.

 

[techtre2003]

Wait until holiday season, drop the price $20 and pack in God of War III.
I think that would move some units.

 

[solymnar]

PS3's selling points:
Backwards Compatible...gone.
Cheapest Blu-ray player...gone.
Large array of exclusive blockbuster games...hasn't happened.
Large market for people interested in buying and playing blu-ray movies...still hasn't happened.
Graphics and sound...better than wii without question but pretty much on par with xbox360
Online experience...still lagging behind xbox360

The problem with the PS3 is that it has no "must have" features for most people. Thus its marketability by comparison is pretty bad.

Its also a lower quality blu ray player than stand alones now and more expensive. So if you just want movies that's a better route.

Its audio/visual quality in games is effectively on par with Xbox360 but it still cost more and its behind on titles. So if you just want to game with "normal games" the xbox360 is a better route.

Neither has the innovation of the wii and both require an HD TV in order to truly be enjoyed. I agree the wii is over priced. But the price of a decent HD TV blows these consoles away. Its one of many reasons why wii is crushing them. Its targeting the lowest common denominator and doing it very well.

Its only been over the last 4 months that places have really started to have the wii regularly instock, ditto for the balance board. How does slashing their price help if they can't meet production needs? They do sorely need some more "must have" high profile titles imo. But console makers are already planning for the next generation as it is.

Getting back on topic. To be a competitve blu-ray player the PS3 would have to be priced near the lower quality stand alones. To be a competitve gaming system it would have to be priced near the xbox360, get back BC, and have a comparable game selection.

That's a tall order. Doable but unlikely.

 

[michaelahess]

I only paid $250 for my PS3, same as I paid for my Wii and PS2 back in the day. Just gotta know how to shop smartly.

 

[danimal_the_animal]

I'm not bragging...i PLAN my purchases....when something is coming out that i really like.....i save for it...then when it comes out i buy it.....i don't have ungodly amounts of money....

i do have all three systems, but i subscribe to gamefly.....this way i dont feel ripped of paying 50 bucks a game...when i get bored i send it back and get the next one in the queue...just like netflix.

i can afford these systems because i am financially responsible with my money and stick to my budget...though it kept me from upgrading my PC for a year.....


everybody has something they spend money on...some people spend buttloads of money on clothes...for me its gadgets....newegg is your friend

 

[Guest]

It's not the money issue for me... it's about them cutting features out of the PS3. What kind of gamer elects to have a machine that isn't all it could (and was meant) to be? Proof of concept is the inflated prices on used PS3 consoles on ebay that support the backward compatibility, etc.

 

[danimal_the_animal]

one thing you can do is use the PS3 as a personal computer

http/psubuntu.com/

and the cool thing is you can use a USB keyboard and mouse!!!!!

THAT is a cool feature if you need a PC also!

sure it's linux, but ubuntu is VERY user friendly!

 

[danimal_the_animal]

on another note you wont have to be jealous that a game you would really like to play is on another system....how many people here subscribe to gamefly?

 

[Guest]

$199.00 for the current PS3

Create another one that is true 1080p, put the latest and greatest blue-ray technology in it, make it backwards compatible with PS2 and PS1 titles, add all the media slots, put it in a new case that looks like a big dick and paint it gold and call it the PS3 Elite. Slap a $800.00 price tag on it and let all these moronic whinners who always say things like "I hate poor people. If you cannot afford it then F you!"

This is not about who can afford it. I can afford it but have refused to purchase it because sony is raping the game console market. I purchased a PS2 on it's release date for $300.00 and it's still running today. I refuse to purchase a PS3 simply because of their dirty, underhanded pricing strategy.

At this point in time I would rather spend money in a gaming PC. The PS3 offers nothing to the market. You can buy a 360 Pro for $189.00, I can get a $100.00 blue ray player that's better than what is in the PS3, I can play all the same games on another console or on the PC.

Sony is screwing up horrendously. I could run down to the store right now and purchase every PS3 on the shelf, turn around and throw every single one in the lake if I felt like it but I choose to use my dollars to prove to sony that they suck and will continue to suck as long as they take this sort of attitude to the consumer.

They have officially lost the console war and will always be in last place from this point forward. They had an incredible foothold with the PS2 and pissed it all away for nothing which is exactly where they are at today...with nothing.

 

[Guest]

You should all feel fortunate about the current price, we're paying AUD$699 (USD$485) for our PS3 consoles!

 

[Guest]

$199.00 for the current PS3

Create another one that is true 1080p, put the latest and greatest blue-ray technology in it, make it backwards compatible with PS2 and PS1 titles, add all the media slots, put it in a new case that looks like a big dick and paint it gold and call it the PS3 Elite. Slap a $800.00 price tag on it and let all these moronic whinners who always say things like "I hate poor people. If you cannot afford it then F you!"

This is not about who can afford it. I can afford it but have refused to purchase it because sony is raping the game console market. I purchased a PS2 on it's release date for $300.00 and it's still running today. I refuse to purchase a PS3 simply because of their dirty, underhanded pricing strategy.

At this point in time I would rather spend money in a gaming PC. The PS3 offers nothing to the market. You can buy a 360 Pro for $189.00, I can get a $100.00 blue ray player that's better than what is in the PS3, I can play all the same games on another console or on the PC.

Sony is screwing up horrendously. I could run down to the store right now and purchase every PS3 on the shelf, turn around and throw every single one in the lake if I felt like it but I choose to use my dollars to prove to sony that they suck and will continue to suck as long as they take this sort of attitude to the consumer.

They have officially lost the console war and will always be in last place from this point forward. They had an incredible foothold with the PS2 and pissed it all away for nothing which is exactly where they are at today...with nothing.

 

[antilycus]

not happening. If they drop the price within the next 2 years, they'll loose BILLIONS of dollars. If PS3 became the next Wii, guess what, same result. They still lose money on every system sold @ 400 bucks ( i think it was 20-30 dollars a system), if they drop it another 100 dollars and still cut off 20 bucks of the cost of manufacturing and sold 1 million units, they would lose $100,000,000 in one year. THey wont make that up in hardware or software sales. PS3 is doomed for it's entire existence. Expect PS4 to be just an updated PS3, much like Windows 7.

 

[andybird123]

[citation][nom]cracklint[/nom]The Blu-ray functionality of the PS3 may have won the HD format for Sony, but may have cost them the console war.[/citation]

And which do you think they'll make more money from in the long run, licencing blu ray and selling billions of players and discs, or selling a couple of million consoles and games?

best selling PS3 game: MotorStorm - 3.3 million copies and after that the top 10 list quickly drops of to 1 million
best selling DVD: 12.7 million copies and the rest of the top 10 list are over 10 million units each

HD TV is still pretty much leading edge rather than mass consumer technology (less than 5% of people I know have a HD setup)
as people's CRT TV's break and more people get HD tellys, people will also switch over to blu ray from DVD sony will make a killing

 

[Tindytim]

[citation][nom]Zoonie[/nom]I read an article months ago saying Sony stopped losing money on each console. Partially because of their move to the smaller die size. Is this not correct?[/citation]
Nope. They're losing less money. They're still losing ~$50 dollars per unit, unless there was a die shrink to 45nm in the last month.

I agree that $299 is a sweet spot.

 

[idisarmu]

[citation][nom]danimal_the_animal[/nom]one thing you can do is use the PS3 as a personal computerhttp/psubuntu.com/and the cool thing is you can use a USB keyboard and mouse!!!!!THAT is a cool feature if you need a PC also!sure it's Linux, but ubuntu is VERY user friendly![/citation]
ubuntu pretty much spoon feeds everything to you... it is a very easy linux distro... Windows is easier, yes- but ubuntu is really nice to do actual work with... and rhythmbox is REALLY REALLY good for music... much better than wmp11 imo.

 

[ditchman]

I have the original 60G model. I was suckered into buying it to put on Ebay. I ended up keeping it and I have been very happy with it. I use it on a 1080p/24fps TV and it looks great. What I don't understand from these comments is why people are saying it's a lower quality BR player. Mabye someone can explain that to me.

I do agree that it was a bad move by Sony to remove the PS2/1 compatability. That didn't make sense, but it did make me happy that I bought the model I did, even though I paid a premium for it.