Sony Rejects PS3 Price Cuts

Despite hopeful comments by analysts, Sony has gone on the record (again) saying that it has no plans to cut the PS3's pricetag any time soon. Next Generation reports: "'PS3 prices and shipment plans for the future should be determined by market trends and competition. Sony currently doesn't have any specific plan to cut the PlayStation 3's price.' Analysts believe a price cut is inevitable, as the company struggles to catch Microsoft's early lead with Xbox 360, and the $250 Wii continues to sell as many as can be produced. However, Sony's plan has generally been to hold tight and hope that demand for Blu-ray drives will increase, by the end of this year." Relatedly, the company has outlined releases for the second quarter of this year on the PS2, PS3, and PSP systems.

Market competition?

[Aeron65432]

They claim that "PS3 prices and shipment plans for the future should be determined by market trends and competition." There is no competition for who can sell the PS3, so they can arbitrarily price it wherever they want. This is a simple supply-demand curve, and they have put the price level where supply far exceeds demand, and anyone who has been to a Gamestop, Target, etc. can tell you this. I asked an employee at Target if he had any Wiis and he laughed a bit and said "No, but I've got plenty of PS3s.

As Slashdot's (only?) Sony fan ...

[asc99c]

I've gone for the full 1080p setup over the last few months, which includes a PS3. Last weekend we had a few people round and spent a bit of time playing Gran Turismo HD and Motorstorm. Two of the guys have 360s and were pretty impressed by the jump in graphics quality. GT plays properly in 1080p, and although Motorstorm only runs at 720p, it is really breathtaking. I can't fairly comment on Xbox360 quality because I've never seen one hooked up properly - the PS3 looks rubbish connected through SCART or component at 576i resolution, and for Xbox360 that's the only setup I've seen. So my unfair comment is that really the Xbox360 is half a generation behind Sony/Nintendo. Other consoles that have tried the same thing have started well and kind of fizzled out once the competition got going.

I know a few people thinking about getting a PS3, and it's not really the price issue that's holding them back but the content. Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto are two of the big games people are waiting for. Also a lot of places are still price gouging - the games seem to be £35 online but £50 on the high street. Some decently priced Blu-Ray movies would also be good. I found Tesco are selling them for £13 now, but most retailers are still around the £25 mark. Unfortunately I can't find Casino Royale or Planet Earth in stock anywhere :(

Re:Driving co. into the ground?

[barjam]

The Wii is being sold at a tidy profit.

Re:It's the right move

[cxreg]

please, anyone can make a list of those ps3-seller games?

Exclusive material that people are very excited for, most if not all of which is expected this year:

Motorstorm (already out)
Metal Gear Solid 4
Killzone
Heavenly Sword
FF13 (despite recent headlines, 13 and 13vs are still PS3 exclusive for now)
Lair
Afrika
LittleBigPlanet
Home

And others coming down the line, like the next Gran Turismo and Tekken games

And there's games such as GTA4, Assassin's Creed, Katamari 3. People talk about a lack of exclusivity as if it's no longer available on the first platform. That's just stupid. The fact that a game is going to be available elsewhere doesn't mean it's not going to sell tremendously well on the PS3, and many people will buy one just to play their favorite franchise because it's what they're familiar with. Not to mention that it IS a better machine, and there's a good chance that multiplatform games will look nicer on the PS3. This has happened already with Oblivion.

Re:Wow, or HD and Blu-Ray not clicking

[Detritus]

The FCC is mandating digital TV, not High Definition TV. I saw a cheap SDTV (14" CRT, digital, 480i) at a local big box store for $125. That meets the FCC's mandate and will allow you to watch all over-the-air programming, it just down-converts HD to SD.