A PS3 price cut: Too little too late?

They must cut the price by at least $200.

How is Sony going to make up for the lost money? Will they increase the price of games? Make users pay for online? What will they do? (Not Trolling....I'm actually asking this question....I'm curious)MADVLAD123

They will make up the loss in the fact that the price for parts is droping very rapidly since Blu-ray is selling well and they are starting to put the cell in other devices. People seem to forget the PS3 isn't the only device that uses these things so the money made off of the others will off set the losses of the PS3.

How is Sony going to make up for the lost money? Will they increase the price of games? Make users pay for online? What will they do? (Not Trolling....I'm actually asking this question....I'm curious)MADVLAD123

By lowering the price, they get a higher user base, ushering developers to work more with the system and ignore it's expensive shortcomings. It would also push BD farther than ever, and help them take back marketshare that they have undeniably lost. All this would, in theory, compensate at least somewhat for what they lost lowering the price and production, by at least a little. Their reputation with third party developers still exists, and TPs enjoy working with Sony, because Sony doesn't have a knack for forbidding adding online capabilities and putting them on waiting lists to make their games.

Thanks for the answers Gundamfan80 and Farzombiepigeon.

Of course it isn't too late; casuals usually don't chime in until 2-3yrs. after launch.  A price drop in the fall would be most welcome, and let's hope they stick to the one system theme.DementedDragon

Except this time around the casuals are chiming in right now, just not for the PS3.

Just let that piece of junk die on the vine and drag Sony down into hell with it. The PS3 is garbage-ware. No one cares about Blu-ray except DRM crazy execs wanting to sink their fangs into every media transaction possible. If they dropped the price down to $300 all it would do is make me laugh. JiveT

What about the people who wanna watch dvds in HD? 

$600- NO WAI!!!!!

$500-Wait until teh good gamez come out!

$400- where is the closest Best Buy???!!!! 

A $100 price drop would put it at $500...where the 20GB PS3 wasn't selling.Michael85

Its not that it wasn't selling. Its that at launch people wanted the 60 gig more so the stores stop ordering the 20 gig, so sony discontinued it as stores weren't ordering. I was just talking about this with the guys at best buy the other day because I thought the same thing.

Do you guys think that if Sony announced a price drop for the PS3 at E3 (which is very likely) that it would be too little too late? How much off the price does the PS3 need to start dominating?

 

Analysts throw in their opinion:

[QUOTE="BusinessWeek"]

"Despite growing anticipation that a $100 price cut for the PS3 is imminent this summer or early fall, we do not believe such a move would meaningfully improve stagnant PS3 sales and we are growing more concerned that a share shift away from Sony and Microsoft to Nintendo's Wii platform is incrementally negative of all 3rd-party publishers," Savner said.

He continued, "Based on our analysis, we conclude that a $100 price cut for the PS3 (we have dismissed a potential $50 cut as meaningless) would still leave the 'all-in' cost for a PS3 console and basic accoutrements 20-25% higher than the comparable Xbox 360, and does not even reflect the possibility that Microsoft could also lower its hardware prices. Further, an important driver of Sony hardware last cycle was exclusive games, such as Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, Sony does not have a similar advantage this cycle. Halo 3, a highly anticipated game release this year is a Microsoft-published game only for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto IV, by Take-Two's Rockstar unit, is being released on both the Sony and Xbox platforms."

the-very-best

What do you guys think?

I think you're a "little too late" for posting this. :P, it's never to late for a price cut, it would greatly benifit sales even if the 360 also got a price cut. 

360 will get a price cut first anyways....

I think that by the time the price drop will actually be implemented it will be too little too late

they'd have to drop the price right now to really get some steam up going PAST the holidays IMHO 

MS will then announce a price drop, big deal. P.S. MS actually makes money on each 360 sold right now, Sony is losing like $200.X360PS3AMD05

How do you know that? People were speculating MS would drop the price sometime early this year and instead they announced the Elite with an increased price of $480.

And while I'm pretty sure Sony will drop their price before the end of the year, MS probably won't considering they have Halo. 

PS3 needs at least a $200.00 price cut.

The 20gig $500.00 PS3 weren't flying off store shelves before it was discontinued (even in Japan where it had price cuts), so i think a $100.00 price cut wont make much of a difference.

PS3 needs at least a $200.00 price cut.

The 20gig $500.00 PS3 weren't flying off store shelves before it was discontinued , so i think a $100.00 price cut wont make much of a difference.  

 

 

Ryuhayabuza

The reason being is that 500 dollars to casuals is too high and for hardcore gamers, they want the best version offered...thus why it did not sell too hot.

What PS3 more badly needs are some killer Apps. All winning consoles HAve there killer apps. Ps one, PS2.

PS3 needs its MGS, Tekkens, GT

If i remember correctly (i may be wrong) the PS3 had a price cut in Japan and the retailers were allowed to sell the 60 gig PS3 for what ever price they wanted. However, the sales of the PS3 continue to decline. 

So pretty much, it's agreed that MAINLY 400 dollars is a sweet spot. Although, is it a sweet spot for the REST of hardcore gamers? Or is still too high for casuals? Personally, I think the future lineup of the PS3 will be great but they should have kept the two models. This way, one obviously for 300 and 400. Casuals don't care about if one is 20 gigs and the other being 60 gigs, hell, I doubt if they even know what a gigabyte is. I still think that even at 100 dollars, casuals will NOT bite. So in order to capture the rest of the market I say, bring back the 20 gig for casuals, and have a 200 dollar price drop.soulsofblayck

$400 is definitely not a sweet spot.

Sales of the PS2 really took off once the console hit $200. It was no looking back after that. $199 was the niche price for a video game console, at least it was back in 2001. Now? Based on the way the Wii is selling, I would guess it is $250. Even a $500 priced video game console is just too pricey for casuals and the mass market. I felt the Xbox 360 was a bit pricey at $399 even when it launched, and I REALLY feel that way about it now. The Elite is a much better bargain, but $480 is still a too expensive for a video game console and follow-up sales won't be strong. I think a lot of people on this board truly underestimate the power of a price point - it is the #1 thing buyers consider, unless you're a fanboy in which case price doesn't matter at all.

Once Microsoft lowers the Xbox 360 Premium price to $299, it will be interesting to see what happens. Obviously, sales will improve, but it's anybody's guess by how much.

needs more games before a price cut even makes sense.

http://www.vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=X360®3=All&align=1

PS3's selling fine for when it was released. 

[QUOTE="X360PS3AMD05"]MS will then announce a price drop, big deal. P.S. MS actually makes money on each 360 sold right now, Sony is losing like $200.the-very-best

How do you know that? People were speculating MS would drop the price sometime early this year and instead they announced the Elite with an increased price of $480.

And while I'm pretty sure Sony will drop their price before the end of the year, MS probably won't considering they have Halo.

actually with the release of halo, it would be the perfect time to drop the price of the 360. halo 3 is a guarantied system seller. if it's anything like it's predecessor, it will sell 2.38 million copies in 24 hours, maybe more being that it's the last of the trilogy. if ms drops the price to coincide with the halo 3 launch, more people will buy the console and the games because the price is lower and because of all the media hype. try to remember 2004 when halo 2 launched, it was in every media outlet and newspaper/news program because in 24 hours, it made more money than all the years blockbuster movies did in the time they were in theatres.

if ms drops the price by $50, the core (crappy as it is) will be the same price as the wii but it will have a library of well over 100 games, more than half of which are AA or higher. add to that the access to HD movies and games and the best online service for consoles and you have a great deal.

if ms were to drop the price by $100, the core would be cheaper than the wii and the premium would only be $50 more.

if and when ms drops the price of the 360 this holiday, they are pretty much guarantied to sells millions of consoles, just like last year. the wii was in short supply and the ps3 was way too expensive for the average gamer and parent were willing to spend for a game console. the 360 was $400 and had the GOTY and the most hyped game, Gears of War. ms may be able to repeat this success but with a lower priced console and a respected, award-winning franchise, they may be able to out sell the ps3 and the wii for two years straight.

honestly, even if sony cut the price of the ps3 by $200, it wont be able to catch up to the 360's sales this year for two reasons.

1) ms could lower the price to counter-act the ps3 price drop.(this may cause nintendo to lose its only selling point: price. yes that's its only selling point because most games for the wii are crappy mini-games made casuals and/or get postponed for months at a time.)

2) there are really no killer apps or games to speak of. the only games worth buying and playing are rfom and motorstorm, but they'll get old rather quick. most of the "saving grace" games have been postponed until sometime 2008 or have gone multiplat.

I dont think its the price thats the problem. The games for the ps3 are old and rehashed- there isn't any innovation and thats why the market is not biting. They should take a lesson from nintendo and try to make more innovative games instead and they might sell a bit more- but a price drop won't do much.sexy_luigi

Mario Party 8 = Innovative FTW 

Even with the price cut of $100 the most, a $500 console is still too expensive for a console. When the price of the PS3 is $299, then we'll start talking about the effects of PS3 price cut.

[QUOTE="sexy_luigi"]I dont think its the price thats the problem. The games for the ps3 are old and rehashed- there isn't any innovation and thats why the market is not biting. They should take a lesson from nintendo and try to make more innovative games instead and they might sell a bit more- but a price drop won't do much.iwo4life

Mario Party 8 = Innovative FTW

please tell me that was sarcasm because mario party 8 is a rehash of a rehash for 7 generations. the only thing new about it is the control that's used for it. 

Even with the price cut of $100 the most, a $500 console is still too expensive for a console. When the price of the PS3 is $299, then we'll start talking about the effects of PS3 price cut.

Zaistev_basic

but by that time, ms and nintendo would have already gained an insurmountable lead against them. sony screwed themselves with the original price of the console and no amount ofprice drops and cost cutting measures can help them if they contiune to lose exclusives to the competition on what seems like a monthly basis.

[QUOTE="Zaistev_basic"]

Even with the price cut of $100 the most, a $500 console is still too expensive for a console. When the price of the PS3 is $299, then we'll start talking about the effects of PS3 price cut.

latinrage69

but by that time, ms and nintendo would have already gained an insurmountable lead against them. sony screwed themselves with the original price of the console and no amount ofprice drops and cost cutting measures can help them if they contiune to lose exclusives to the competition on what seems like a monthly basis.

exactly, in other words, Sony won't easily price drop due to the operating cost to make one. Thus, a price cut will do nothing to PS3 sales because the competition has more leverage to drop the price.

Probably.. 100 dollars isn't enough to jump on board quite yet.

[QUOTE="latinrage69"][QUOTE="Zaistev_basic"]

Even with the price cut of $100 the most, a $500 console is still too expensive for a console. When the price of the PS3 is $299, then we'll start talking about the effects of PS3 price cut.

Zaistev_basic

but by that time, ms and nintendo would have already gained an insurmountable lead against them. sony screwed themselves with the original price of the console and no amount ofprice drops and cost cutting measures can help them if they contiune to lose exclusives to the competition on what seems like a monthly basis.

exactly, in other words, Sony won't easily price drop due to the operating cost to make one. Thus, a price cut will do nothing to PS3 sales because the competition has more leverage to drop the price.

bingo. i can pretty much say that sony lost this gen even before they launched the ps3. what killed them wasn't the delays but the price and the cocky answers/responces given to the consumer. example, krazy ken kutaragi once said that he wants people to work more in order to buy one. 

[QUOTE="iwo4life"]

[QUOTE="sexy_luigi"]I dont think its the price thats the problem. The games for the ps3 are old and rehashed- there isn't any innovation and thats why the market is not biting. They should take a lesson from nintendo and try to make more innovative games instead and they might sell a bit more- but a price drop won't do much.latinrage69

Mario Party 8 = Innovative FTW

please tell me that was sarcasm because mario party 8 is a rehash of a rehash for 7 generations. the only thing new about it is the control that's used for it.

It was total sarcasm. Nintendo is no more inovative than anyone else.

BTW.  Sony will drop the price around the release of Halo 3.  They won't announce it until it happens.  It will be $150.  MS won't drop the price because they wan't to milk the sales of Halo3 and they know it will move systems.  MS will drop the price after XMAS.  They are cocky and believe thier own viral marketing. 

I was given this info by some old man he said he was my relative but I never met him before.  He gave me this book entitled "Videogame Almanac" 

He also told me that some Lemmings and Sheep would log into Gamespots system wars and try and own me with generic crystal ball comments but would just get owned themselves.

They drop it to the price of the 360 and even then, I still wouldn't be interested. The problem is the lack of huge kill-apps in the near future. And the ones that are coming, none of them appeal to me except for FF13, and who knows when that's ever going to be released.

What the PS3 needs is not a pricedrop (okay, they need that too) but 2 or 3 HUGE exclusive games that would convince people to buy one.

[QUOTE="the-very-best"][QUOTE="X360PS3AMD05"]MS will then announce a price drop, big deal. P.S. MS actually makes money on each 360 sold right now, Sony is losing like $200.latinrage69

[QUOTE="latinrage69"][QUOTE="iwo4life"]

[QUOTE="sexy_luigi"]I dont think its the price thats the problem. The games for the ps3 are old and rehashed- there isn't any innovation and thats why the market is not biting. They should take a lesson from nintendo and try to make more innovative games instead and they might sell a bit more- but a price drop won't do much.iwo4life

Mario Party 8 = Innovative FTW

please tell me that was sarcasm because mario party 8 is a rehash of a rehash for 7 generations. the only thing new about it is the control that's used for it.

It was total sarcasm. Nintendo is no more inovative than anyone else.

oh thank god. *lets out huge sigh of relief*. i agree with your quote.

Assuming MS didn't make a price move, I think slashing the cost of the PS3 to $450 would be very effective. For $30 less than the Elite or $50, you get plenty of HDD space, Wifi, and a Blu-Ray player. Now, I know a lot of people will say that they don't care about that...but I think many people, for just a little more, would be willing to purchase a PS3 for that reason over a 360.

But, the problem is, if they announce it at E3 and wait until September to do it, then you know PS3 sales will dry up immediately in the meantime. So if you're going to announce one, it needs to be one of those, "As soon as this conference closes, the price will be $xxx." 

I dunno if a price cut will help much. I'm sure if sony cuts their price microsoft will follow suit and that will put them in the exact same situation: the most expensive console on the market.dupe576

It should cost more.  It has more features.  I think Sony however has the edge in cost reduction considering they are one of the largest manufacturers of electronics in the world with the ability to pretty much make all of the components inside the PS3, where MS is primarily a software company.  I wouldn't doubt if the PS3 is already $150 dollars cheaper to make since the initial launch.  

Assuming MS didn't make a price move, I think slashing the cost of the PS3 to $450 would be very effective. For $30 less than the Elite or $50, you get plenty of HDD space, Wifi, and a Blu-Ray player. Now, I know a lot of people will say that they don't care about that...but I think many people, for just a little more, would be willing to purchase a PS3 for that reason over a 360.

But, the problem is, if they announce it at E3 and wait until September to do it, then you know PS3 sales will dry up immediately in the meantime. So if you're going to announce one, it needs to be one of those, "As soon as this conference closes, the price will be $xxx."

Vampyronight

That's a good point. I think Uncharted, GTAIV, KZ and HS would be enough to push systems anyway so a price drop a few months before would be smart. 

Do you guys think that if Sony announced a price drop for the PS3 at E3 (which is very likely) that it would be too little too late? How much off the price does the PS3 need to start dominating?

 

Analysts throw in their opinion:

[QUOTE="BusinessWeek"]

"Despite growing anticipation that a $100 price cut for the PS3 is imminent this summer or early fall, we do not believe such a move would meaningfully improve stagnant PS3 sales and we are growing more concerned that a share shift away from Sony and Microsoft to Nintendo's Wii platform is incrementally negative of all 3rd-party publishers," Savner said.

He continued, "Based on our analysis, we conclude that a $100 price cut for the PS3 (we have dismissed a potential $50 cut as meaningless) would still leave the 'all-in' cost for a PS3 console and basic accoutrements 20-25% higher than the comparable Xbox 360, and does not even reflect the possibility that Microsoft could also lower its hardware prices. Further, an important driver of Sony hardware last cycle was exclusive games, such as Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, Sony does not have a similar advantage this cycle. Halo 3, a highly anticipated game release this year is a Microsoft-published game only for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto IV, by Take-Two's Rockstar unit, is being released on both the Sony and Xbox platforms."

the-very-best

What do you guys think?

No i don't think its to little to late at all, for a start, playstation isnt a brand people will dismiss because of its heavy price, i am, and know teres loads of other, that are just waiting to buy it for a price that suits them best.

Do you guys think that if Sony announced a price drop for the PS3 at E3 (which is very likely) that it would be too little too late? How much off the price does the PS3 need to start dominating?

 

Analysts throw in their opinion:

[QUOTE="BusinessWeek"]

"Despite growing anticipation that a $100 price cut for the PS3 is imminent this summer or early fall, we do not believe such a move would meaningfully improve stagnant PS3 sales and we are growing more concerned that a share shift away from Sony and Microsoft to Nintendo's Wii platform is incrementally negative of all 3rd-party publishers," Savner said.

He continued, "Based on our analysis, we conclude that a $100 price cut for the PS3 (we have dismissed a potential $50 cut as meaningless) would still leave the 'all-in' cost for a PS3 console and basic accoutrements 20-25% higher than the comparable Xbox 360, and does not even reflect the possibility that Microsoft could also lower its hardware prices. Further, an important driver of Sony hardware last cycle was exclusive games, such as Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, Sony does not have a similar advantage this cycle. Halo 3, a highly anticipated game release this year is a Microsoft-published game only for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto IV, by Take-Two's Rockstar unit, is being released on both the Sony and Xbox platforms."

the-very-best

What do you guys think?

The 3 points that will make me buy a PS3

USD 499,- / 65nm / Warhawk