PS3 Pricepoint Revealed

[edotherocket 0]

PS3 estimated to launch at $399 - will cost $494 to produce

 

The first estimations of PS3's price and production costs have now surfaced, putting the expected US retail price at $399 and the manufacturing cost at a whopping $494 per console. Ouch.

 

PS3 will cost 54,000 yen ($494 approx) to produce as of Spring 2006, pricing individual components such as the Cell chip and the Blu-Ray disc drive at 11,000 yen ($101) apiece, according to predictions by financial management firm Merrill Lynch Japan Securities.

 

Given Xbox 360's widely expected $299 price tag, Merrill Lynch Japan predicts that Sony will try to sell its PS3 at $399 in the US, which will cause the company to lose almost $100 per machine.

 

Microsoft on the other hand is predicted to lose around $75 per Xbox 360 sold, with the machine thought to cost approximately $375 to make.

 

This puts Microsoft in a very good position. It has a console of comparable ability to PS3 launching first and with a cheaper price tag, with further potential to drop the console's price to coincide with PS3's (and Halo 3's, let's not forget) launch.

 

This is potentially a very damaging situation for Sony who, according to yet more startling words of wonder from figurehead Ken Kutaragi, expects customers to "work more hours" to afford this luxurious piece of equipment.

 

Kutaragi suggested that Sony may not even want to mark the console down as much as is being predicted. "Whether consumers think a product is expensive or cheap all depends on the balance between its appeal and price," he commented to Japanese publication Toyo Keizai.

 

"Our ideal [situation] is for consumers to think to themselves, 'OK, I'll work more hours and buy it,'" Kutaragi optimistically hypothesises. "We want people to feel that they want it, no matter what."

 

While many of you may think Kutaragi is being overly hopeful, he has more stunning logic to back up his claims.

 

"When Nintendo was selling its 16-bit machine at around 12,500 yen ($115), we sold the first PlayStation at 39,800 yen ($365)," he said. "The press was saying that it was expensive, but it was a huge hit."

 

However, some would be quick to point out that defeating ageing hardware at a higher price is a tad easier than beating a comparable console... especially when that console launches earlier, at a cheaper price and can do pretty much everything yours can.

 

Source: gamesradar.com

 

 

Kutaragi's "work more hours" comment made me laugh. The man is certainly confident.

[Anya 0]

Don't people remember 1999? This is the same stuff that was said about PS2.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

They'll still sell out of systems...because they never produce enough of them...

[razazteca 0]

People will buy it as a Blu-Ray video player thinking they will be saving money on a dvd player. It worked for the PS2 and will work for the PS3.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Except most of your average people won't be interested in a Blu-Ray player just yet, Sony got lucky the first time, because the PS2 was released in the middle of the first major home video format change.

[AndrewTS 0]

People calling for the death of Blu-Ray forget that several other companies besides Sony helped develop it, and movie studios have pledged support for it.

 

I think that ultimately HD-DVD will win, though.

 

Supposedly the PS3 was going to support both, but HD-DVD support is out now, last I heard.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'll just have my parents buy it for Christmas, like practically every other system I've gotten. The only one I ever actually bought myself was the N64.

[MrRant 0]

People calling for the death of Blu-Ray forget that several other companies besides Sony helped develop it, and movie studios have pledged support for it. 

 

I think that ultimately HD-DVD will win, though.

 

Supposedly the PS3 was going to support both, but HD-DVD support is out now, last I heard.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Actually they are working on a compromise as they all remember the Beta vs. VHS issues.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Well the PS3 can still play standard DVDs. One thing I like about the X360 is that its been rumored to be able to "evolve".. whatever that means. I read it in the latest EGM, which compares all the consoles together, and really the PS3 is like... too much. They'll probably still have the superior game library and all, but I'm looking more forward towards getting an X360, since it'll be backwards compatible with SOME games (and best part, it's also rumored that if you own the Xbox version, you can download a patch to upgrade some of the games to look nicer on the 360, which is VERY nice).

 

The question now is, who the hell knows any better than to buy a Sony system at launch, especially for $100 more? Also, I'm not surprised at Kutaragi's comment about working more hours for it; after all, this is coming from a country where they have like 50-60 hour school weeks.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

So...they will lose $100 for every system they sell....am I the only one who thinks that is horribly stupid?

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Blue-Ray will get killed by an outrage of customers and Netflix style shops in that it can barely take any kind of scratch. The extremely super high amount of storage is offset by terrible reliability.

 

Imagine subscribing to Netflix and finding that 4 out of 5 of your discs won't play because the last person was just a little bit more rough with the disc than it would have liked. There's your Blue-Ray future.

[AndrewTS 0]

I'm like, totally stoked that you can surf the internet with a PS3, just like a computer! It'd be something completely unique and new to the console business.

 

Wait, console? No, the PS3 shall not be besmirched with that ugly "console" label. It's a comprehensive entertainment electronics system!

[The Metal Maniac 0]

So...they will lose $100 for every system they sell....am I the only one who thinks that is horribly stupid?

 

If I'm not mistaken, the goal for the company is to make the money back on games, which actually do have a profit margin. But, by selling the system for as cheap as they can get away with, it makes people more likely to buy the system, which in turn means they'll buy games.

[AndrewTS 0]

So...they will lose $100 for every system they sell....am I the only one who thinks that is horribly stupid?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Microsoft is has been doing the exact same thing with the X-Box and likely will be doing it with the 360 as well.

 

IIRC, they'll be losing approximately $75 on the 360 at the planned price point, so they'd be a little ahead of Sony.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Nintendo was, I believe, making money on every Gamecube sold from day one. If they weren't, they sure as heck weren't losing $100 per console. I figure they'll probably be selling the Revolution for under $250 since it really doesn't look like it will have anything that would push the cost up like a hard drive, a high def capable optical drive, etc.

 

Honestly, I could see people buying PS3s for the Blu-Ray DVD player capability since they will probably be a couple hundred bucks cheaper than stand alone Blu-Ray players, and this will probably help Blu-Ray beat HD-DVD unless Microsoft sticks that in the 360..

[Jericholic82 0]

I'll just have my parents buy it for Christmas, like practically every other system I've gotten.  The only one I ever actually bought myself was the N64.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOl just like me, though now being 22 I doubt my parents will be dropping 400 bones on a xmas gift . Better start saving up.

 

 

GOOD LAWD THATS A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY!!!!!

[Art Sandusky 0]

And I thought $200 for a Super Nintendo was only a little high.

[Red Baron 0]

Hopefully they don't get nailed with reliability issues and complaints like the PS2 did, and if so...many people are gonna be pissed.

[Silence 0]

Hopefully they don't get nailed with reliability issues and complaints like the PS2 did, and if so...many people are gonna be pissed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

After all the hell I've had to go through with my PS2 twice, if the same things plague the PS3, I'm certainly not buying one.

[{''({o..o})''} 0]

*still running a launch PS2 that I've cleaned once*

[SuperJerk 0]

Honestly, I could see people buying PS3s for the Blu-Ray DVD player capability since they will probably be a couple hundred bucks cheaper than stand alone Blu-Ray players, and this will probably help Blu-Ray beat HD-DVD unless Microsoft sticks that in the 360..

 

Let's hope playing Blu-Ray disks on the PS3 doesn't have the same effect on the machine that playing DVDs on the PS2 does.

[MrRant 0]

I can't believe how many people missed the "They are working on a compromise" post...

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

I guess I just got lucky because in however long the PS2 has been out (5 years now?) I just now recently got rid of it because my cousin gave me a slimline one. The reader eye finally gave out. However, it played games and DVDs for all that time and never gave me a problem (except for a broken cooling fan that was my fault).

 

That being said, I'm looking forward to the PS3. I have all 3 systems and it looks like I can get rid of the Gamecube here in a few months when the Revolution is finalized. The 360 is on my list, but that $400 for the 3 is mighty steep. I'll probably be able to swing it though.

[AndrewTS 0]

*still running a launch PS2 that I've cleaned once*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well, aren't you special?

 

The slimlines are overrated, BTW. You've probably heard of the issues with it--you get a built-in network adapter, but no cooling fan.

 

I have it on my entertainment center on the bottom shelf--about 4 inches off the floor.

 

If you play a game for more than about a half hour, just about every time suddenly the machine starts making loud noises as it plays the game. No problems otherwise, but it gets really annoying.

 

I miss the on/off switch, and having to hold the reset button in to put it out of standby and to put it back in standby every time you want to play the game/remove the disc is annoying, too.

 

I wish EBs/Gamestops would sell refurbed (original model) PS2s with the flip tops already installed. It's not like there's many good games that you can play online with the PS2 anyway.

[SuperJerk 0]

I can't believe how many people missed the "They are working on a compromise" post...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/626/626719p1.html

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

*still running a launch PS2 that I've cleaned once*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Mine works fine, and I got it about six months after they were released.

 

When's the PS3 supposed to come out?...

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

*still running a launch PS2 that I've cleaned once*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Mine works fine, and I got it about six months after they were released.

 

When's the PS3 supposed to come out?...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Spring '06 is what I've heard...Haven't heard an exact date. Just look for the release date of Halo 3 it'll be the same day *laughs at Bill Gate's vindictiveness*.