Sony to "refine" PS3's price!

[dnpmakkah]

CEO says there is "no question" consumers want cost dropped (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25821)

Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer has said he is aware that consumers would like the cost of PS3 to be lower - confirming that the company is working to "refine" how much it can afford to drop the console's price.

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times Stringer said, "While people have not bought as many PlayStation 3s as it looks, it is no different from PS2 and PS1 in terms of percentage of sales."

However, he conceded, "I think that the public would like the cost to be lower, there’s no question about that."

When asked by how much Sony could afford to cut the price the CEO replied, "That’s what we’re studying at the moment; that’s what we’re trying to refine."The interviewer then asked if Sony will "come up with an answer by Christmas" - and Stringer answered, "Yes, of course."

He went on to observe that PS2 is "selling gangbusters", and that introducing a PSP price cut sent sales of the handheld "into an upward spiral".

"So I think PlayStation 3’s travails are usually solved by time. And it will have an instant gratification environment, not only in life but in the press as well as everything else. It’s a good story right now, 'Will PlayStation 3 get to Christmas?' And the answer is, of course it will get to Christmas."

According to Stringer, gamers who have already bought a PS3 are happy with the experience it offers - despite the fact the console's full potential has yet to be exploited.

"It takes a long time for producers, and more time because of the cost factor, to embrace the full bandwidth of PlayStation 3," he said.

"It’s only using 20 per cent of it right now. And producers will always wait to see how it’s going, and once they use the full bandwidth the games experience is stunning.

"And their games will get better," Stringer added, observing that "20 or 30" titles are due out this summer. "So I don't worry about that at all." I hope it hasn't been posted. I got it from Duk of teamxbox.

[LiquidEagle]

Very good. Although we all knew they were working on a price cut, it's great to see Stringer talk about these kinds of things candidly and it gives me a great deal of respect for him as somebody who isn't... completely blind :laugh:

[Diresu]

So basically I was right with my prediction. Very good move from Sony though.

[dnpmakkah]

A price drop is smart and needed. The fact that it could happen in time for the Christmas rush is only going to help the PS3 and it's marketing department now the question is how much? It has to be something that will entice buyers as well as being decent for Sony's bottom line.

[Nameless]

Not a good business move to openly talk about price cuts, because it will make potential buyers take a wait and see approach... It's a good move for consumers that Sony is openly honest about an upcoming price slash.

[Diresu]

Not a good business move to openly talk about price cuts, because it will make potential buyers take a wait and see approach... It's a good move for consumers that Sony is openly honest about an upcoming price slash.

Its already a wait and see approach. If you ask me it will have a reverse effect because if they know it will fall within their price range soon, they might consider saving instead of buying an alternative. It would have been a bad move if it was selling well, but its not.

[LiquidEagle]

Its already a wait and see approach. If you ask me it will have a reverse effect because if they know it will fall within their price range soon, they might consider saving instead of buying an alternative. It would have been a bad move if it was selling well, but its not.

Agreed.

[Nameless]

^ Well if you listen to Sony the PS3 is selling faster than the PS2 from a historical perspective... I guess it depends on what you define as "selling well"...

[LiquidEagle]

^ Well if you listen to Sony the PS3 is selling faster than the PS2 from a historical perspective... I guess it depends on what you define as "selling well"...

Well I think we can all agree that it could be selling better ;)

[gibmonster]

^ Well if you listen to Sony the PS3 is selling faster than the PS2 from a historical perspective... I guess it depends on what you define as "selling well"...


True. Taking many factors into account

[Diresu]

^ Well if you listen to Sony the PS3 is selling faster than the PS2 from a historical perspective... I guess it depends on what you define as "selling well"...

To me, selling well would be keeping up with the 360. Selling decent would be selling over 100k , right now its barely 80 and not going up. Thats selling badly. PS1/PS2 comparison is irrelevant, market is much bigger now.

[Viper]

Stringer needs to fire the PR department and speak for Sony himself. he manages to keep his feet on the floor and not in his mouth. props for him.....again.

I also just read him praising Wii and saying a good strategy would be to complement the Wii instead of competing directly against it.

This guy knows what he's doing and the PS division needs to heed his advice closer.

[Diresu]

Stringer needs to fire the PR department and speak for Sony himself. he manages to keep his feet on the floor and not in his mouth. props for him.....again.

I also just read him praising Wii and saying a good strategy would be to complement the Wii instead of competing directly against it.

This guy knows what he's doing and the PS division needs to heed his advice closer.

Yea. He is the chairman and CEO of SCEA isn't he? So I think he already got that power. Smart guy though and he seems to know where they need to go.

I am curious as where Phil Disappeared to though.

[curryking1]

Phil is the software man, not the hardware man, E3 we will see him a lot lol. Stringer is the everything-to-do-with-Sony man.

[Segitz]

Wait... he doesnt confirm nor deny a price cut at all...

He says, they will come up with an answer (of how much they can lower it, which can be $0 or $200, depending on lowered costs), not with a price cut.

I couldnt care less, I got my PS3 already and I cannot complain a bit (actually I hate the EU PSN but thats a minor)

[Applefiend]

360 and PS3 price drops for christmas, next gen for the masses. Mark my words. Oh yeah.

[Leedogg]

I only see a $100 price drop happening, anymore and I would be surprised.

[Bsack]

I only see a $100 price drop happening, anymore and I would be surprised.

agreed, but even a $100 price cut could nudge me into buying one.

[PSXBatou]

agreed, but even a $100 price cut could nudge me into buying one.

I think there are a whole lot of PS2 owners that are holding out for even a $100 price drop to make the jump to the PS3. Considering that the majority of the current PS2 owners are loyal to the PlayStation brand i highly doubt they will go elsewhere, most are waiting for the right price or software to make them take the plunge.

[Segitz]

I think there are a whole lot of PS2 owners that are holding out for even a $100 price drop to make the jump to the PS3. Considering that the majority of the current PS2 owners are loyal to the PlayStation brand i highly doubt they will go elsewhere, most are waiting for the right price or software to make them take the plunge.

Ya, you also need to keep in mind, that most PS2s were sold after the price cut, 18 months into the PS2s life. A price cut to $450 would be the sweet spot for now (considering it shouldnt make too much of a dent into Sonys pocket). Thats still triple of what the PS2 costs now yet low enough to gather not just the hardcore... (compared to cellphones, pcs and other electronic "fun" devices it is rather cheap to what it can do imho).

Also the guys and girls that bought a PS2 since 2005/07 wont be the ones that'll be getting a PS3 this XMas (maybe those Singstar fanatics, but not the rest :D).

[rpgamer_2k5]

The PS3 is probably going to see a decline in manufacturing costs, and by that time we'll see a price drop.

[jaxmkii]

some how i get the feeling that if Sony drops PS3s price 100usd MS will drop 360s the same amount.

[PSXBatou]

some how i get the feeling that if Sony drops PS3s price 100usd MS will drop 360s the same amount.

You mean MS will do a "me too", thats so unlike them, its not like they added HDMI and a bigger H.. oh wait.. :ghey:

[jaxmkii]

lol^

[dnpmakkah]

Sony should wait until Black Friday right after Thanksgiving and lower the price down to $400 but only for the holiday rush. They should market the hell out of this 'temporary' price cut then come the new year go back to selling the console at $500.00.

Sure you take a hit but at least you get hardware out there and hope software can combat the loss. Well thats my dream for moving consoles.

[yoshaw]

Local prices edge at USD700 down here. Freakin official Sony ones at that.

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[section]

Local price for basic PS3 package is still 864 US dollars here so you shouldn't be that worried there, mate :) I paid 699€ for mine which would be about 930 USD.

[Sephiroth_VII]

983.44 here, so we come out on top :cry2:

[yoshaw]

^Sorry to hear both yer ordeals. Jeez, that is a bigger n worse rip off than here in the MidEast. I mean wow. 983USD? Daaaaaaymn! I'm waiting for the price to go even 600 here. Otherwise gonna have to ask my bro in Minnesota to get me tax free PS3 from his airforce base. Sucker already got one of his own, friggin tax free :cry2:

[cpiasminc]

983.44 here, so we come out on top :cry2:
It's about the same in India as well. About $985.22 US with current exchange rates. A large part of that cost, though, isn't really Sony's doing. It's actually largely the import company's added cost.

It's also rather astonishing when put into the perspective that we're talking about a country where you can eat out and pay something like ~$0.60 for dinner, and ~$1400 USD will get you a year of college tuition.

[Sephiroth_VII]

^The price I listed is the official RRP.

[Viper]

It's about the same in India as well. About $985.22 US with current exchange rates. A large part of that cost, though, isn't really Sony's doing. It's actually largely the import company's added cost.

It's also rather astonishing when put into the perspective that we're talking about a country where you can eat out and pay something like ~$0.60 for dinner, and ~$1400 USD will get you a year of college tuition.

I've talked with some friends of mine in India that have pointed out that same thing. So many local things are cheap with US money but imports will cut your balls off.

[cpiasminc]

^The price I listed is the official RRP.
So is the one I mentioned. PS3 and 360 are both legally available in India and that's the market retail price. The thing is that they don't have a direct import path, so they have to go through third party import distributors like Reddington or someone similar... there are premiums and taxes associated with that, so it's not a big surprise that the Xbox360 costs something like $550 USD over there, even though the actual companies are probably getting back the same revenues per sale.

[Sephiroth_VII]

Madness!!! I suddenly appreciate living in Denmark.

[Bsack]

I think there are a whole lot of PS2 owners that are holding out for even a $100 price drop to make the jump to the PS3. Considering that the majority of the current PS2 owners are loyal to the PlayStation brand i highly doubt they will go elsewhere, most are waiting for the right price or software to make them take the plunge.

I'm a gamer I don't show loyalty to any system. I was merely waiting on a decent price for the system. to show loyalty would be stupid because you would be missing out on many fun experiences.

[Domination]

some how i get the feeling that if Sony drops PS3s price 100usd MS will drop 360s the same amount.

They're going to do more than that, I'm anticipating. I'm betting that they'll bundle Halo3 and probably Forza 2 with it. But at the sametime, I doubt a price cut will be Sony's only strategy this Christmas to combat the others; one obvious reason is everything is scheduled to fall into place on the second half of this year, but before Christmas. Right now, they're getting themselves ready, but I believe E3 will reveal a little more to thier stragety although I doubt it'll reveal all of it.

[gozirah]

It's always the same thing about price cut speculation. New announcements offering maybe's multiplied by more maybe's does not make it any more certain.

Now, onto speculation: I was thinking though that price cut may make most sense after the Fall wave of software, right before Christmas. There is supposedly lots of stock on shelves, so it seems like they need to be cleared out before any new shipments reflecting hardware streamlining can arrive. (It seems x360 has the same issue. How can the 65 nm show up, if there are still lots of early models still out there.) Fall software and holiday shopping will both drive sales on their own, so a price drop seems like it would make the most sense along with a new wave of production.

[CreativeWriter]

Maybe it's my own personal FUD, but I think a price cut should have happened already. I know the economics are rough, but I worry about the small install-base. Will 3rd party devs bail, will more exclusives jump ship? It looks difficult for PS3 to catch Wii, even by the end of 08, and 360 by 09... I'd feel a lot better about things if PS3 was more competitive in Japan. I'm not sure we'll see real market movement until PS3 is at 399 USD, which is probably two price drops away (Christmas 08?). Will PS3 be facing a $129 Wii and $249 360 then? I get the feeling that Nintendo could go to $129 tomorrow and not blink. Anything under 150 is almost an impulse buy for parents. Scary stuff for PS3 fans... Someone tell me I'm wrong and everything is fine.

[OmniCloud]

Maybe it's my own personal FUD, but I think a price cut should have happened already. I know the economics are rough, but I worry about the small install-base. Will 3rd party devs bail, will more exclusives jump ship? It looks difficult for PS3 to catch Wii, even by the end of 08, and 360 by 09... I'd feel a lot better about things if PS3 was more competitive in Japan. I'm not sure we'll see real market movement until PS3 is at 399 USD, which is probably two price drops away (Christmas 08?). Will PS3 be facing a $129 Wii and $249 360 then? I get the feeling that Nintendo could go to $129 tomorrow and not blink. Anything under 150 is almost an impulse buy for parents. Scary stuff for PS3 fans... Someone tell me I'm wrong and everything is fine. Your wrong simply because PS2 is still selling out most other home platforms with no signs of slowing down.

Wii pretty much zoomed passed the "waiting" period it takes for a new system to get compelling software and mass market price because of Nintendo's strategy.

X360 is roughly in the same boat as PS3-only it's going on 2 years instead of 1 like Sony's console.

What's hot today is not hot tomorrow. What's appealing in one territory is laughed at in another. Its not really a game of catch-up, but it's how each console does year end and year out. Wait... its too early to tell anything...

[Domination]

Maybe it's my own personal FUD, but I think a price cut should have happened already. I know the economics are rough, but I worry about the small install-base. Will 3rd party devs bail, will more exclusives jump ship? It looks difficult for PS3 to catch Wii, even by the end of 08, and 360 by 09... I'd feel a lot better about things if PS3 was more competitive in Japan. I'm not sure we'll see real market movement until PS3 is at 399 USD, which is probably two price drops away (Christmas 08?). Will PS3 be facing a $129 Wii and $249 360 then? I get the feeling that Nintendo could go to $129 tomorrow and not blink. Anything under 150 is almost an impulse buy for parents. Scary stuff for PS3 fans... Someone tell me I'm wrong and everything is fine.

As far as Nintendo, I'd say you're wrong. I don't see a $129 price at all. If anything, I see somewhere around $200 at the very least.

For the PS3, I believe its condition looks unbalanced now because it's just starting to establish itself. But when I see something like the PS2 continueously outselling the 360, I have to wonder about the type of impact it's having on the industry. This is a console that's been on the market for almost two years now, and even at $300 (less in other areas) does it still perform under its expected mark. Now, will the PS3 catch up to the others in a few years? I have no valid or estimated information I can share with you on that, but what I do know is it's not about catching up to the competiton's total install base or shipped numbers at the end of the year; it's about catching them on a weekly bases. This is where I believe they'll have the better chance at catching the others since it is within their control.

[Fredag]

I paid 917$.

600$ is already like a major price cut. Go buy one, it's worth it! :)

[wotter]

Good new.
The lower the price is, the more people will enjoy it.

[masteratt]

I think if by Christmas, if possible Sony can cut the price (even if it's not major) and start shipping 80GB models, I'll be happy.

[Z]

a site is already 'reporting' a Christmas price cut...this will not end well.
online idiots.

[OmniCloud]

I'd say wait until you can drop the price to $450...

$450 will go a long way IMO...won't need another cut for a few years...