PlayStation 3

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

By HANS GREIMEL - Associated Press Writer

 

TOKYO(AP) Sony Corp. said Friday it will lower the price of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console, heating up the competition in the next-generation gaming war against rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.

 

The announcement comes just days after Microsoft Corp. announced that it would roll out an external high definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 in an effort to match the PlayStation 3, which is due to be released later this year with its own Blu-ray DVD technology.

 

Sony will cut the price of its basic PlayStation 3 model in Japan to 47,600 yen ($410), from an originally planned 59,800 yen ($515). That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as the combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for 49,600 yen ($427).

 

The price cut affects the basic PlayStation 3 model, which comes with a 20 gigabyte hard drive. Another upscale version of the PlayStation 3 will have a 60 gigabyte hard drive, but Sony is leaving its pricing to retailers.

 

The announcement could give the PlayStation 3 a badly needed boost in Sony's home market.

 

The launch of the product, initially planned for earlier this year, has been postponed twice. Earlier this month, Sony said it would delay the European release by four months until March.

 

The PlayStation 3 will hit stores in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the United States on Nov. 17, but Sony now expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of 4 million as originally planned.

 

 

Well, I guess Sony saw the light. Even if I could have afforded it, I had serious reservations about shelling out $500 for the PS3.

[KingPK 0]

This may seem like a good move, but if Sony can't even hit their target of initial shipment of 2 million systems, they are going to take even MORE of a loss on every system sold.

 

This reeks of desperation. So much for "$500 is a bargain" I guess.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I'm surprised with the huge drop in the initial shipment. Even at $500+, it was gonna sell more than 2 million.

[KingPK 0]

I just noticed that this only affects the basic 20 gig model, of which there will be far fewer produced I'm willing to wager (especially now that they only expect to actually produce half of the initial shipment), so people will probably be forced to get the premium package anyway.

[ZGangsta 0]

Jesus they're going to go soooooo broke on this.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Why is there a 60GB add-on. What can you save on a console to fill 20GB without modding it.

[A Happy Medium 0]

I have a feeling that Sony may actually lose this generation to Microsoft and a rejuvenated Nintendo. Based on price and the fact that Wii and the 360 will be out before PS3.

[Guest Hotbutter Spoontoaster]

The Wii won't be out before the PS3. November 19th for that.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

The price cut? Only in Japan.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

The price cut? Only in Japan.

 

Yeah, in my rush to get the word out I didn't pay attention to the "Japan only so far" part of the article. That's going to be interesting if Sony doesn't drop the price here to match the price drop in Japan. I would LOVE to hear the justification if that happens.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

The price cut? Only in Japan.

 

Yeah, in my rush to get the word out I didn't pay attention to the "Japan only so far" part of the article. That's going to be interesting if Sony doesn't drop the price here to match the price drop in Japan. I would LOVE to hear the justification if that happens.

 

Because they consider Japan their home market, and they're only getting 100,000 of them. The US is getting something like 400,000, so Sony feels like they have to make it up to the Japanese.

[Scroby 0]

Do you think Sony did this because they got scared a bit or because Sony actually listened to it's fans and made the basic model cheaper?

 

Even though Sony dropped the price on the basic model, Sony is still screwing themselves.

 

1. The price cut is only for Japan and it'll only affect that market.

 

2. Its for their un-upgradeable basic unit, people are still going to want to get the better PS3 unit with more features.

 

3. This is most likely going to turn more of Sony U.S. hardcore fans off. Makes Sony seem like their catering to their Japen fan base.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Either way, it's going to bite them in the ass.

 

At the full price, fans may not buy it. They still lose money per console. At the price cut, fans stand a better chance of buying it, but they lose even more per console.

 

I can't see it reaching the US.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Me personally Scroby, I'd say #3 might really bite them in the ass. When the average American consumer finds out about this, they're going to wonder why they have to pay almost $100 more for the same hardware Japan is getting. If Sony says they're protecting their market, I for one say, "Well, you're already killing Microsoft, and to a lesser extent Nintendo, in Japan! Seeing as how you've already lost the initiative in the US, how about currying a little favor over here and cutting the price a bit?" But they won't listen to me and I can't afford to get one at either price point so I'm mainly just being an argumentative asshole.

[Cartman 0]

After the first full year of the PS3 being out I can't wait to see people comparing the number of units sold of all three systems and saying "But it doesn't make any sense, before launch everyone I know balked at the price and went for a Wii instead".

[bobobrazil1984 0]

so no news on a US price drop?

[AndrewTS 0]

I doubt that. The Wii is being sold at a much lower price than the US SKU, too (although sans Wii Sports).

[10 Pounds 0]

More news from TGS, it appears that PS3 will also have a "virtual console". In addition to PS1 and PS2 titles, there's also a possibility of having Genesis and Turbografix games.

 

There goes all the crazy eBay prices on old PS1 RPGs.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Me personally Scroby, I'd say #3 might really bite them in the ass. When the average American consumer finds out about this, they're going to wonder why they have to pay almost $100 more for the same hardware Japan is getting.

 

The average consumer will not know and probably won't care how much things cost in Japan. When have you ever heard an AVERAGE CONSUMER even have the faintest awareness of how much thigns cost in Japan?

 

hmm, maybe now is the time for me to pawn off my original release version of FF7 at a ridiculous price before the sony virtual console thing gets too well known.

[naiwf 0]

I ended up re-reading that like 4 times to see where it mentioned a US price cut. Until the better model drops to ~$400 I can't justify the cost. It doesn't really bother me if I don't end up getting it for 2 years since the first year or two worth of games tend to suck anyway, and the good ones will be in the "hits" collection for half the initial price by that time.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I think it would be very wise to wait on buying the PS3, no matter what the price. If there's not a significant amount of faulty systems with this new technology, it would be a miracle. And let the game gallery grow.

[SamoaRowe 0]

The past four years of owning a PS2 has not made me want a PS3. Honestly, I'm just not that impressed with PS2 titles the way I thought I would be, with a few exceptions along the way. So even if PS3 does drop in price, I'm not going to pick one up, maybe even ever.

[Rendclaw 0]

I think it would be very wise to wait on buying the PS3, no matter what the price. If there's not a significant amount of faulty systems with this new technology, it would be a miracle. And let the game gallery grow.

 

My thoughts exactly. There is no overwhleming reason to grab a PS3 the microsecond they hit the shelf, should be extremely fortunate enough to be able to get one on release day.

 

BTW Leena, what movie is your sig from? Its fairly hot.

[Scroby 0]

I might still get one just so I can sell it on Ebay for double.......but the thought of me not selling it for double worries me. Then again I need a new paper weight.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

BTW Leena, what movie is your sig from? Its fairly hot.

 

That would be The Girl Next Door. Mediocre-to-bad movie, but Elisha sure is nice to look at for a couple of hours.

[slimm44 0]

I'm getting one just to sell on ebay

[haws bah gawd 0]

So am I Slimm. Despite the risks of buying a launch console, I can guarantee one would at least double their investment on Ebay within the first couple days of the launch, if not make even more. I've been telling customers in Gamestop that if they are smart, they will buy one for the sole purpose of reselling it on Ebay. You can buy another one later, once the bugs are worked out.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

That's what my friend did with the 360. Had his brother hang out in line with him to get two of the package deals CostCo was offering. Put the second one up on eBay which eventually ended up covering what he spent. Must have been nice to in effect get a free 360 at launch. Asshole. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Only issue with that is that almost EVERYONE I talk to and see on the internet has the exact same idea fter hearing about the 360 fiascos. Seriously, i've heard the ebay plan from everybody. If there's too many of them available on ebay than the final prices will come down. but i guess if the demand is more than the actual physical units in existence you could still make a pretty profit.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I'm sure people will still make a profit, but hoping for double what you spent may be a bit much. There's going to be the few dopes who'll buy it for $2000, though.