I wanted to take a wing at what I think Sony's plans are with their marketing strategy for this product.

The Ipod Strategy

Ipod has, since inception, lived off of it's name and it's level of satisfaction. Ipod is the most expensive, most reliable, most specialized, but not necessarily the most user-friendly piece of equipment out there. Ipod keeps their product selling by introducing qualities before the competitors and constantly uprgrading their product, but not their price. Instead of changing the price they toss the old product and replace it with new and shiny for the same price. The $250 I put down for my 30GB Black Movie-playing Ipod one year ago still retails for the same and Ipod still seems to keep it's sales going. Ipod's strategy seems to be: You know who we are, you know you can trust us, you are paying for that trust. Another strategy is to keep two of each of their product, one slightly better than the other, for people with different needs. This happens to be another strategy that works well, a smaller product for someone with a two-thousand song collection versus a person with a two-thousand song and one-hundred movie clip collection the larger model will more likely appeal to. Variety and trust is what 'The Ipod Strategy' seems to be all about, at least in this writer's opinion.

Sony's PS3 'Strategy'

Playstation 3 (PS3) has been the end of many bad jokes lately but, I can tell you, the PS3 is more of a specialized product than the others out there. In the work-world specialization is much more highly paid for than a general practitioner; Ear nose and throat doctor versus Family Doctor. What you are paying for in their price for the system is specialization. The Playstation 3 specialized in being a media maniac's dream system, it comes with everything you need to make your High-definition media center shine, it makes your 7.1 surround sound speaker system roar with excitement and run chills through your bones. So we have to pay for that specialization, just like the Ipod, and the fact that we're paying for the trust that sony instills in its product. That trust and that specialization are coming out of our pocket like a broken air-conditioning system on a hot summer day. At the end of the day who does Sony disappoint? The people who already own Microsoft's also great, Xbox 360 (I'll cover their strategy later, I think). I feel Sony's only problem was not offering people enough reason to draw those people away from their other system to raise an eyebrow, and maybe a couple hundred dollars, to this new system. Sony's marketing strategy was way too inclined towards it's Sony fanbase that it cost them a slow first year.

Product Strategy

Sony has also followed the Ipod strategy in the sense that, it's product line features two products. Originally the 20GB 'Core' product, missing way too many important features, and the 60GB Premium. Priced at $499, for the 20GB model, and $599, for the 60GB model, Sony had the idea that they could offer the people interested in hardcore gaming the larger model and those interested in media capabilities the smaller one. The 20GB was replaced, price and all, with the banishing 60GB model and the 60GB model, price and all, with the 80GB value package. This is also following Ipods strategy of, replace the old and dusty with the new and shiny. Also the replacement of the controller will more than likely be more of the same, improvements while replacing the old product.

My Predictions

I predict few, but many, things. First, I predict Sony will introduce a third product for the more casual gamer, something very price efficient and keep it on the market as the 'budget' PS3. I also predict after the 60GB model goes bye-bye the 80GB will drop to $499 and a better, and shinier, PS3 will replace the $599 price tag keeping the Ipod strategy intact. I also predict that this push will sell many systems keeping a fresh feel to the PS3. I also believe the upcoming games will help move a ton of games as well as the new PS3 controller, don't even ask me why.

Thanks for your time :)