Read Sony's Lips: There's No PS3 Price Cut Coming Options

[PS3Scene]

Read Sony's Lips: There's No PS3 Price Cut Coming Posted by XanTium | 30-3-2009 23:01 EST

From washingtonpost.com: [QUOTE] Sony has issued its strongest statement yet to the growing chorus of gamers, publishers and analysts calling for a price cut on the PS3: "We do not have plans for a PS3 price drop, and any rumors to that effect are false and are the result of speculation." That's the statement the company gave Joystiq today, in an effort to squash buzz that the price drop was coming tomorrow. It's a bit different from the standard "we don't comment on speculation" response, and even clearer than the "we're focused on long-term profitability" line that Sony (NYSE: SNE) has been using in every interview. [/QUOTE] Full Story: washingtonpost.com

[Zod5000]

Whats the point in dropping the price? They'll do it to be competive against the 360, but microsoft is in a much better position to cut prices than sony.

I think sony almost breaks even at 400 dollars? If they drop it to 300 they'll lose 100 bucks a console.

Its also a good bet microsoft would just lower there price in turn. I could see a 149 arcade/199 pro, to keep it 100 bones less than the ps3.

So I can't really see them cutting it. I suppose they'd sell a few more units a 300.. but when customers are looking at the shelf, the 360 would still be cheaper.

Sony has to know microsoft would immediately counter, nullify most of the effect a price cut would have. Sony is in trouble if they do, in trouble if they don't I suppose. It's a lose lose situation. They either have to go back to losses on every console (and no even guaranteeing a substation increase in sales), or leave it the way it is and continute with the low sales numbers.

[chronno]

PS2 Price cut coming April 1st ... April fools, they're cutting the PS3 price.

[HotKnife420]

Whats the point in dropping the price? They'll do it to be competive against the 360, but microsoft is in a much better position to cut prices than sony.

I think sony almost breaks even at 400 dollars? If they drop it to 300 they'll lose 100 bucks a console.

Its also a good bet microsoft would just lower there price in turn. I could see a 149 arcade/199 pro, to keep it 100 bones less than the ps3.

So I can't really see them cutting it. I suppose they'd sell a few more units a 300.. but when customers are looking at the shelf, the 360 would still be cheaper.

Sony has to know microsoft would immediately counter, nullify most of the effect a price cut would have. Sony is in trouble if they do, in trouble if they don't I suppose. It's a lose lose situation. They either have to go back to losses on every console (and no even guaranteeing a substation increase in sales), or leave it the way it is and continute with the low sales numbers.

Actually, at nearly every price drop, it's competition drops price as well. Either way, a price drop DOES, in fact, guarantee a spike in sales. Sony's been operating on a loss so far, so since they're breaking even right now, taking a small loss again wouldn't hurt, but they don't have any blockbuster exclusives dropping right now (tho it'd give many a chance to catch up on the latest). Still, I think it's coming soon.

[Ranger72]

I understand that the PS3 is a far more advanced console than the 360 but if Sony does not lower the price soon they may as well pack up and go home.


I love my PS3. I play it twice as much as my 360 but if Sony wants to even have a slight chance of holding its own against the cheaper 360 they need to lower the price.

[Chancer]

I don't think it is a question of holding it's own against the 360. More like fulfilling Sony's expectations .
The PS3 is doing better at this point in it's life in a direct worldwide comparison of sales. What I mean is it has sold more than two thirds of the 360 total numbers at two thirds of the time on the market.
The real issue is what Sony expected to do sales wise.
At present it is more than holding it's own against the 360 when the complete picture is viewed. Question is ..Is that enough?

[xrkahn76]

Coming from the owner of a newer game franchise, Nintendo is the only one making a profit from systems. Ms and Sony have been walking that thin line between loss and breaking even. This is one of the reasons we see new motherboard types, and other upgrades to the system, as they are revising not only for function but for cost. The only way we will see a price drop on PS3 is when they come up with a cheaper revision that will allow them to make more profit per unit, and even then, why would they drop it unless they had to, i.e. competition price drop or big hit release. Honestly, and you can check the numbers, PS2 is what is keeping sony alive, as they are still selling 50,000 to 80,000 units a month. This is also why there is no longer backwards compatibility, as well as the cost to do it.

[xboxjason]

I love how Microsoft and Sony are always disregarding the Wii. That is exactly where they want to be at, yet they're always comparing against themselves. So I'm guessing they have already accepted 2nd and 3rd place for the time being...


If the economy continues the way it is, I bet overall these console's longevity will be higher than the last generation. Perhaps that is the main reason Sony is keeping the PS3 price the same, since no other next gen console is going to come along anytime soon.

[NineT9mustang]

Sony is only concentrating on making money right now, not marketshare...

So no, I dont see a pricecut coming, and neither do I think it needs to come...especially when they will be here for another 5+ years...

[Elemino]

It's a lose lose situation.

It's a win - win situation for consumers. That reason alone is why competition is good for the consumer.

I love how Microsoft and Sony are always disregarding the Wii.

MS doesn't have to compare themselves to anyone, they have the best scheme/scam going. Over 8 Millions users paying to get online! No one sells hardware with the expectations of making money. That's where the software comes in, but MS has been the only company so far that has come up with a way to charge people just for using their product after it has been purchased. There are a lot of fools out there, and yes I'm one of them.

This post has been edited by Elemino: Apr 5 2009, 06:33 PM

[Zod5000]

I can understand why Microsoft/Sony don't compare themselves to the Wii. The wii is a lastgen console with innovative controllers. The Wii's power isn't much different than a ps2 or an xbox 1. The Xbox 1 even had limited HD ability in games.

Wii's business model was aimed directly at non-hardcore gamers. Which can be shown by the low attachement numbers (IE alot of people who buy it are content to only play wiisports).

I think the hard part for Nintendo, is when the Wii2 comes out, to get people to upgrade to it. If people don't give a crap about game quality/picture quality (or even HD gaming), why are they going to want to upgrade?

So Ninendo owns this generation, I think the customer base might be tough to retap.

It sounds like the nextgen will be coming out around 2012, which gives the ps3 only another 2-3 years to tap a profit. I wonder if they'd up cutting off the ps3 (like MS did the xbox1) to stop the bleeding when the nextgen comes out.

[throwingks]

^ The Wii attach rate is better than the PS3 last I looked. Admittedly, a long time ago though.

Sony cannot cut off the PS3 when PS4 comes out. They already promised they would support it for >10 years.

Nintendo has always turned a profit on every piece of hardware sold. If customers continue to buy Wii or Wii2, they still turn a profit. Customers will continue to buy their 1st party games, and customers will continue to buy their 3rd party shovelware. As much as "hardcare" (I hate that term) gamers think the Gamecube was a failure, it too turned an enormous profit for Nintendo.

I am not trying to be mean, but I disagree with your entire post. If someone buys a Wii, that is money not spent on Microsoft or Sony. They are in direct competition whether they admit it or not.

Edit:

No one sells hardware with the expectations of making money.

Nintendo does.

This post has been edited by throwingks: Apr 6 2009, 03:35 AM

[Elemino]

As much as "hardcare" (I hate that term) gamers think the Gamecube was a failure, it too turned an enormous profit for Nintendo.

My memory of game cube is completely different. I remember Nintendo struggling very hard to move GC's off the shelf. I remember them announcing they temporarily shut down the factories due to lack of demand, and for a while weren't doing any better than Nokia's nGage. If it turned a profit for each console sold, great, but the fact it wasn't selling like they wanted meant they weren't making the money they expected.

I personally would be all for Nintendo's return to the coveted game console. A third console for "hardcore" gamers would be pretty interesting. Best of all, I bet they could pull it off while simultaneously supporting the wii. Also, it would force Sony's hand at shaping up or shipping out for the next gen. I bet you wouldn't see as many unforseen mistakes (like they were never warned about a $600 console).

[throwingks]

No, it definitely didn't sell well. As far as market share was concerned, the GC was an absolute flop. They lost a ton of 3rd party devs because of how poorly it sold.

But, Nintendo still turned a profit.

Their business model is different than Microsoft and Sony. Sony and Microsoft want to make money in the long term. Nintendo wants to make money always. At one point in time, Nintendo was worth more than all of Sony (Games, Movies, Music, Hardware, etc.) combined.

[Elemino]

At one point in time, Nintendo was worth more than all of Sony (Games, Movies, Music, Hardware, etc.) combined.

I know this is completely off topic, but thats a bold statement to make. Do you have anything to backup that statement?

I don't think the public fully realizes just how big of a company Sony is. They pretty much own the movie and music industry in addition to all of the consumer and business products they sell. They are a world wide entity that has dabled in pretty much anything electronic from tiny radio/mp3 players to HD cameras used at sporting events to the jumbotrons used in some stadiums. I know Nintendo plays a very large part in every gamer's history (if he knows it or not), but to say they were worth more than all of Sony is quite a statement.