Sony Rejects PS3 Price Cuts 187
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.
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Its my toy (Score:5, Insightful)
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Which would prove that the current price is way too much (Most people always thought that, I know, but still some fanboys kept saying things like "if you want the best you have to pay the price" and that sort of shit).
Disclaimer: You can call me a fanboy myself
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Re:Counter-Headline: (Score:4, Interesting)
I was/am a big Sony fan-boy because of the library of games the Playstation has always sported... I'm an RPG addict, and the Playstation enabled my addiction to no end. But after the wonderful Sony root-kit adventure and the current $600 price tag, I don't think I'll be buying a PS3 any time soon. Let's not forget to mention that Next-Gen game prices have all gone up another $10. All in all they basically priced me out of the market and I am refusing to save up for one.
The only Next-Gen system I own right now is the Nintendo Wii. Why? The controls are incredibly innovative (much like the DS, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it). The price tag was ONLY $250 and current games are still set at the $44.99-49.99 price... Oh yeah, and let's not forget Zelda and the Twilight Princess... All in all this spells one happy Wii gamer who will be waiting until those PS3 systems drop in price, and up-coming RPG releases become Best Seller titles and the prices drop to $19.99 - 29.99
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You spend $50 on a title you end up disliking? Too bad. You can't return it or resell it. You can if it's a console game, however.
If I want to play an old SNES game, not only is my system still running (outliving 2 generations of computers), but I can buy another one for a handful of change if my old one breaks down.
If I want to play any of my old DOS (or even some old Windows games) they often won't run on my current version of Windows (XP) and almost DEFINITELY won'
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It's all about multiplayer (and always has been for me.)
I suppose you're refering to Online multiplayer, and not local. There are a number of good to great local multiplayer games for the Wii already. I have a Wii60 and I do use LIVE quite abit, however local multiplayer for the Wii kicks the 360's ass 10 times over.
Also, if it's "all about multiplayer" why did you get the Wii for Zelda?
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Why have karma if you don't blow it sometimes.
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when you know you're wrong... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:when you know you're wrong... (Score:5, Funny)
Wow, that's a big link. (Score:2, Funny)
It's the right move (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It's the right move (Score:5, Insightful)
Take a look at Nintendo (who everyone seems enamored with at the moment), and remember what happened when they had the last round of price cuts on their handheld
Look. Suck it up. Price cuts WILL happen at some point. If you want to wait for whenever that will be, then wait. If you don't, then don't. I agree that once the games start rolling this Summer and Fall things will start looking up, and I also wouldn't be surprised by a price drop before the holidays.
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-----BEGIN SARCASM SIGNED MESSAGE-----
But Sony has no reason at all to cut prices. After all, the demand for the 60GB model is so freakin' huge [slashdot.org] that they need to drop the 20GB model. When you have such a hi
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please, anyone can make a list of those ps3-seller games? I mean, I am sure that next year we will see some action, maybe a new god of war or a final fantasy, but this year? what has been announced this year that will make the masses run to buy a ps3?
my point is, i think sony is going to suck it up for at least a year, and i fear they start to rush developers to take out games not as good as they could have been, and that's bad news for
Re:It's the right move (Score:5, Informative)
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:It's the right move (PS3 new games) (Score:3, Insightful)
Metal Gear Solid 4
Killzone
Heavenly Sword
FF13 (despite recent headlines, 13 and 13vs are still PS3 exclusive for now)
Lair
Afrika
LittleBigPlanet
Home
Other than Heavenly Sword and FF13 (which will be ported, they announced it), I don't sense any anticipation to speak of for the rest of that list.
Going to be a cold winter at Sony HQ.
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Link please?
I won't be holding my breath while you try to find it. Perhaps you should while you're looking though. It would be one less troll around...
Here's why FF-XIII will be on PS3:
Japanese Console sales as of 4/1/2007:
PS3: 880,000 (Growing at 16.8k/month)
X360: 380,000 (Growing at 3.8k/month)
The Final Fantasy series typically sells as well in Japan as in the US. The only way the Final Fantasy series goes multi-platform with 13 is if the PS3 completely flop
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There are no links that say FF13 will be ported.... Maybe there will be a spinoff of the DS or the Wii or something, but they'll be "ports" in the same way that you can get Oblivion for your cellphone. Even that, however, hasn't been confirmed.
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I've googled, and there is nothing but rumors, mostly based on speculation from fan sites, but occasionally based on poor translations.
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If you can't provide a link, you're full of crap. End of story.
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Now, to show I'm a good sport, I will promise to actually buy FF XIII when it comes out on the Wii, since I know you like the game producer (Square Enix, right?), and to show my support of them.
I will also promise to buy a PS3 in 2009 when I buy a 40 or more inch HDTV (with proper HDMI cables), as most of America will do at that time. I'll be glad to pay $225 for the PS3 then, and $300 for the HDTV, while you most likely have shelled
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I never said anything about any price cuts. I have no doubt a price cut will come eventually.
News flash, everybody else expects people who make extraordinary claims to provide their own evidence.
You have to actually have some authority to "give lessons". Being an arrogant, obnoxious twit doesn't put you above anybody.
(Heh. "Somethi
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Or maybe you think that your little circle of friends (and Xbox Live buddies) are somehow representative of everybody?
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I probably have more PS2 titles than I have Wii titles, and much more of either than I have any xBox titles.
I used to own Sony shares until just after E3, when I realized they had made a very bad series of decisions. And I have in the past owned MSFT stock.
However, I'm not biased a
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Because they found it unnecessary and only wanted to provide a way for the player to get "himself" in the game? Because it's easier to make a carricature of yourself from cartoony parts than a realistic representation because the latter will be held to a much higher standard and just a slightly different nose can ruin the illusion?
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Who track such things? Why would this be important? How do we count wireless attachments? Multiplayer network games? Are those considered attachments too? What if they come out
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I know this is a matter of opinion, but the controller was a factor.
With multi-platform games last generation, my first choice was the GameCube for the wavebird, and second was the PS2 for the superior controller over Xbox. Other people prefer the Xbox controller over the Playstation controller. I'll pick a better controller
Agree, still selling well at the moment (Score:2)
I think Sony is holding off on any price move until Microsoft looks like it's doing something similar. Instead the most recent move from Microsoft is releasing an even more expensive version of the 360, so that the gap to get a console and a Blu-Ray player at the same tim
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Amazon may not be where most people buy gaming consoles.
Older data (Score:2)
The Wii is beating both handily, to the extent they can provide stock... I'm a little surprised Nintento has had such a long term problem with supply, but I think they just did not realize how popular it would be.
Very popular... (Score:2)
Contending with Xbox Lineup (Score:2)
But that assumes they can beat Xbox's game line-up. I'm pretty much played through all the good games on the xbox (a rather short list so far), and I am clamoring for the fall line-up they have announced for fall 07:
Xbox has a pretty awesome lineup for Q3 and Q4 2007. (if they all are released as expected) IMO, Sony cannot wait till late '07 to start putting out descent titl
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Hey, why wait for a Sony price cut? EBgames/Gamestop is offering a $100 PS3 for the trade-in of a PS2 (an extra controller and a 8MB card). Probably because GS makes a killing on used systems/games and the PS2 is out selling the PS3. Though, even with a $100 trade-in credit, I still wouldn't buy a PS3 for $500. Sure, it's not a price cut, but the PS3 does have some backwards compatibility with PS2, so it might be the kicker for some.
Then aga
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My eyes! (Score:4, Insightful)
Of the 134 words in the summary, 24 were not part of a link. I'd post something constructive, the I could bare to rear more than 10 words of the summary (and we all know the golden rule about reading TFA). Sheesh!
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Actually, I did. I have mild Dyslexia and consequentially a very difficult time with interchanging words. I'm often blind to it without rereading something 10 times or more.
Zonkism (Score:2)
Frankly, it's embarrassing.
Re:Zonkism (Score:4)
Basically, it's digg with less content.
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Don't most people have to "bare" in order to "rear" anyways?
Driving co. into the ground? (Score:2, Insightful)
Seriously, is Sony intentionally driving itself into the ground? (and no, I'm not trolling)
It's a known fact that consoles don't bring in revenue, it's in-house games and accessories and licensing fees. If the PS3 price were even remotely close to the XBox 360, I could see Sony not cutting the price on grounds of competitive pricing; that's clearly not the case. I can't see sales ticking up significantly through the first price drop, unless there's something I'm missing.
Re:Driving co. into the ground? (Score:4, Insightful)
They're bleeding on PS3 right now, so should they bleed more? I guess someone crunched some numbers and came to the same conclusion you did.
Putting on my tinfoil hat, I'd say these rumors of price drops that simply will NOT die are a combination of 1 part wishful thinking, 1 part wanting to make existing owners panic, and 1 part of helping to stifle sales as consumers who are on the fence about pricing would most certainly not want to buy if they anticipate a drop.
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So even if they are shipped, that doesn't mean Sony is completely in the clear.
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I have no idea if Sony are doing the right thing, but people who thing the
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Right now it's safest for Sony to keep the price high while component/manufacturing costs decrease so as to diminish their losses. Even if they are selling slowly, they are still selling. If they decreased the cost, certainly they would sell faster but they might
Re: Price is only one of the problems... (Score:2)
Sony has a 2 pronged problem. Too expensive, and lack of compelling exclusives. If they Dropped the price $200 and had a $39
Wow (Score:4, Insightful)
Is there any demand, whatsoever?
Hell - demand for HDTVs isn't even all that high.
Regardless, I can watch HD movies via Comcast on demand, download them via XBox 360, or to a PC.
I have no problem at all getting HD content onto my screen.
Why should (most)people care about plastic discs anymore?
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Is there any demand, whatsoever?"
Yes! I have a demand for the blu-ray drives; get down to the sub-$400 price point. Hurry!
Personally, I'll be buying regular, old-fashioned, highly copyable, widescreen (if available) DVD5/DVD9 movies and shows until they stop making them, or when either one, or both, of the HD "standards" becomes:
1) easily copyable
2) an actual standard
3) priced nicely
4) there is no number 4
5) guaranteed to play on any supposedly compatible drive. is tha
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stop wasting my internets! You think tube trucks grow on trees?!?
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Bandwidth?
I don't have HDDVD or Blu-ray. Every HD source I've seen so far is seriously over-quantized. Cable, satellite, downloads (legal and otherwise) all look like crap (in ascending order of crapitude).
It seems to me that the powers that be decided that more lines means more room for loss. HD in practice seems to be mostly a wash.
I've got an ATSC tuner coming in tomorrow. Hopefully that means Lost and Heroes in actual HD.
It appears that over-t
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Sucks you dont have broadband.
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You should have your vision checked.
-Peter
Re:Wow, or HD and Blu-Ray not clicking (Score:1)
Is there any demand, whatsoever?
Hell - demand for HDTVs isn't even all that high.
Actually, even the tech pages at the Wall Street Journal [wsj.com] admit that most people shouldn't buy HD-DVD or Blu-Ray yet, as it will be at least a year before anyone really has a need for either, and noone can predict what will happen. But you're correct about HDTV - demand won't really kick in until 2009, when everyone will start buying them (since they won't sell non-HDTV-capable sets in the US
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since my TV is 720p/1080i, I do fine with component... even upscaling my old standard DVDs... (some of which look absolutely horrible......) And since the c
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In fact, most places I went in mid to late January (early Feb too) had either an equal part 60GB/20GB ratio, or had one less 20 or at the most 2. I guess it was coincidence... Now of course, everywhere I go is all 60GB... so the supplies of t
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You won't see ANY compression artifacts on blu-ray, even in fast-moving scenes. This is enough to get me off DVD... It really makes DVD look like VHS. Maybe those buying superbit won't care but everyone else will.
in regards to the post (Score:2, Funny)
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Market competition? (Score:3, Informative)
Naturally no announced price cut... (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't tell the public that a poorly selling, expensive product is going to be $100 cheaper next month unless you want even lower sales for the next month. Lower sales for that month means even lower numbers of customers looking to buy software for the machine.
The announcement of the PS3 price cut will come the same day as the PS3 price cut (see PSP price cut as an example).
PS3 currently selling better than the 360 (Score:4, Interesting)
Generally you have the right idea but PS3 sales are actually not all that bad - it's currently at a higher sales rank [eproductwars.com] than the 360 on Amazon, and has been since March 23rd when Amazon finally was able to keep stock around.
I think you are right about the day of announcement of the PS3 price cut, but would further predict that it will come the day after the day Microsoft announces a 360 price cut, which will of course be same day Microsoft also cuts prices. Sony and Microsoft are waiting til one does a cut before the other one, and both are enjoying higher profits (and unknoably lower sales) as a result.
Sales rank is meaningless! (Score:2)
Wii: 259,000
XBox 360: 199,000
PS3: 130,000
reuters link [reuters.co.uk]
Also, Japaneese numbers have been released pretty constantly and the year to date sales for the PS3 and Wii are:
Wii: 1,173,7
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At the moment... (Score:2, Interesting)
If Microsoft somehow purchases the Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drives for 360 expansion, I believe Sony would be taking a swift kick in the nuts. I do
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Related news: Layoffs at Sony (Score:3, Interesting)
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If anything it probably has something to do with how well God of War and God of War II did. My guess is that the US development team showed up the rest of the entertainment division so badly, that everyone not involved in those two games look like dead weight both figuratively and on the books.
As Slashdot's (only?) Sony fan ... (Score:3, Informative)
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
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On the other hand again its ridiculous to say that the graphical output of a 360 in HD is a half-generati
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The tilt sensors in the PS3 controller are a nice touch and I'd like to see some games make better use of it. Tony Hawks uses the tilt sensors for balancing on grinds / manuals. It feels like a really natural way to do it and for m
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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.
If $600 is no big deal for you when buying a game console, and you read Slashdot, I'm guessing you are a well-payed techie with lots of free spending money, and your friends are too. Sony needs people outside of this niche. I've read lots of forum posts from people who want to buy a PS3 but are waiting for more games and a price drop. I'm thinking they could sell a lot more at $400, but I don't think they can afford to sell them at this price, even 6 months from now.
Better luck next round, Sony.
not a rejection? (Score:2)
In the UK prices dropped £25 ($50) as a special offer for the Easter holidays. However despite these holidays ending the price remains reduced as stores are trying to clear stockrooms filled with PS3 units. Consoles have very tight margins compared to games but take up huge amounts of space. Stores can't sell the consoles at the current price, the longer they ha
In related news, Sony fired game developers (Score:1)
Which is kind of a shame, in that they have the better internal machine, even if they have very very few fun games that are designed for it.
I'll just be having fun downloading the final version of Opera for free to use on my Wii, and playing Super Mario Paper Cut
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Yeah, it's like Sega had the ability to look into the past... [siliconera.com]
Cartmanland Strategy (Score:3, Interesting)
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This article means nothing. (Score:2)
However how could it be untrue? Well Sony could be thinking about a price drop (If they have a brain in their head they are considering it, hell all companies are considering when not if they will cut prices). However any producer of goods knows this fact, NEVER let them know their's a price drop coming. Why would I buy a 360 today for 400 dollars when I c
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If those people were rational, they would already have a sore feeling in their ass for the lubeless fucking they've gotten from Sony.
I don't think that the price will be staying where it is for "a few years". I don't think they can survive that way. Microsoft will be making a price drop within that time and at that point they will truly have no c
PS3 is less expensive than an XBox 360 (Score:2, Insightful)
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PS3 is NOT less expensive than an X-Box 360 (Score:2)
That wouldn't make it comparable, it only serves to make the PS3
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Ok, I need a mode of transportation to work. I need to use it to transport groceries. I live in America where the maximum posted speed limit is 75 mph. Which is a better solution?
You're right, someone who wants just the base features has the right to choose that. And it is a nice f
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I'm not ignoring what you are saying, I'm just disagreeing with your assuptions. If you are buying a Video game console you are generally buying it for the purpose of playing video games (PS3 being a potential exception since Blu-Ray players are inflated in price currently). So if you want to bu
Re:Suggesting a price cut right now is retarded (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't news. But several other things are also true. Among them:
Sony completely fucking blew the PS3 launch. There are simply not enough games that people actually want, and the price is astronomical so many people decided to wait for more games to be released. But the result of that is that there are less PS3s sold. Developers want to make games for consoles that people actually own, so they will be less inclined to make PS3 games. This won't result in many games being cancelled, but it will result in less games being exclusive to the PS3 - the installed base is less than any other console for which people are still making/selling games, so making a PS3 exclusive is guaranteeing that your profits will be reduced. Since there are less games, and less exclusives (which have traditionally been strong selling points - for example zillions of people bought the PS2 just for Tekken Tag, Gran Turismo, or a Final Fantasy title) this means that less people will want to buy the system.
If you can't sell games, you're not going to make the money.
Also keep in mind that Nintendo makes money when they sell game consoles. They don't lose it. So even if they sold less units they still wouldn't be losing money on consoles. This is why there's room in the industry for first place, second place, and Nintendo. But if Nintendo takes first or second place, I think there's distinctly less room left...
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Thank you! I'm not sure how insightful that actually makes me, but your comment still made my day, and it's only 10 AM :)
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I still wouldn't buy one.