If the recently rumored $100 price cut for the PS3 turns out to be true, it will end the era of one of the most controversial pricing moves in the history of consumer electronics.The writing was on the wall early on, with former SCE President Ken Kutaragi hinting way back in July 2005 that he hoped gamers would "work more hours to buy [a PS3]." When the price was officially announced at Sony's E3 2006 press conference the first wave of ridicule was practically immediate. Kutaragi's comment that the price was "too cheap" for what consumers were getting just stoked the fires, leading at least one Joystiq blogger to call the company "out of touch." Hey, $599 is pretty cheap if the thing is made of uranium.
Yet by launch time there were some signs that the high price wasn't really a deterrent. Despite some launch window reviews saying the system "just isn't worth it yet," the initial stock of PS3s sold out to mobs of fans who waited in the November cold to drop up to six Benjamins on a game console. Many of those who managed to get one of the limited initial allotment put them up on eBay, where some fetched ridiculously inflated prices. Maybe $600 was a bargain after all.
The holiday magic wore off quickly, though. First the online demand began to wane. Then reports that some stores had stockpiles of systems began the filter in. Early sales numbers in North America were decent, if not dominant, but the PS3 lagged in comparison to the competition throughout early 2007. The news was even worse in Japan, where the Wii routinely outsold the Xbox 360 and PS3 by large margins. Some at Sony hoped the delayed European launch would bring better sales numbers for the electronics giant, but initial enthusiasm was tempered when British sales dropped precipitously just one week after the early fanfare.
With sales lagging, the calls for a price drop came fast and furious from analysts, developers, consumers and, um, more analysts. Despite reports that Sony was already selling the hardware at a heavy loss, rumors persisted that better laser supplies or streamlined production could lead to a lower MSRP (indeed, Sony's production problems just recently ended).
Officially, Sony maintained for a while that there was no pressure to drop the system's price and that they had no plans to make an adjustment. Game Informer even got SCEA chief Jack Tretton on the record saying that PS3 price cuts would not be as soon or as drastic as the PS2's.
But the bluster soon gave way to realism. First came word from Sony President Ryoji Chubachi that a price drop was a "possibility." Then came a comment from Sony CEO Howard Stringer that the company was looking to "refine" the price. In the news business, that's what we like to call a trial balloon.
If the PS3 price drop does come on July 15, the system will have spent 236 days at its initial price. For historical comparison, the PS2 took 565 days to drop from $299 to $199, while the original PlayStation took 250 days and the original Xbox took 181 days to make similar drops. The GameCube took 176 days to drop from $199 to $149 while the Dreamcast took 245 days to likewise fall. On July 15, the Xbox 360 will have gone 600 days without a price drop in North America.
If the rumors are true, Michael Pachter gets the clairvoyance award for his May prediction of a "summer" drop. Goldman Sachs' March call for an October drop would fare less well.
What about the rest of the world? The price in Japan was slashed before the system even launched, and an unnamed "senior executive" said back in January that more cuts could be coming. Europe recently saw a smaller price cut from at least one retailer and some say an official reduction will come within the year. Others say it's just inevitable. And they're right. If there's one thing you can count on with technology, it's that the price will always be lower at some future date.
[Special thanks to Matt Matthews for some research help.]
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(Page 1) Reader Comments
Just a bargain that nobody wanted.
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so when was the last time you ever played a online multiplayer console game with wifi?
even if i had wifi i would still want a nice long cord. i think wifi has serious limitations when it comes to console gaming.
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Fortunately we can get a mortgage. A mortgage for a console sounds a little silly though.
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don't laugh when the ps3 launched and nobody would buy them. best was running a special finance promotion to buy the damn things. they had a whole stack of them at a table with credit aps.
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By that time, I'm going to be looking forward to the next generation. If Sony is really serious about this 10 year thing, I don't think this slow start will really matter to that. But a slow start means they are going to have to really try hard to get something interesting to be exclusive to make the console worth buying, especially since they don't "buy" exclusivity.
The PS3 isn't dead in this race. It just looks like the tortoise... an old tortoise with two broken legs.
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Still..$500 smackers. No game? HD cables even? A remote? I mean, If you're gonna sell me on Blu ray, you better throw in a damn remote.
Any word of when this will benefit us Brits? the exchange rate hit over 2:1, so we're now paying >$850 Vs. your 'knockdown' $500
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Anyway, $499 is still too expensive to move a lot of units. MS will respond and the 360 will start to look like a bargain. The 3 year warranty only sweetens the deal, and removes any consumer concern for the quality of the product. If you somehow think it raises concern, then your brain is wired backwards. The average consumer will always look at a long warranty as a good thing.
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I think there's a lot of pent-up demand for the PS3 (me included), but I just don't think a hundred bucks off will do the trick. I hope I'm wrong though!
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Still will not get one!!
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Madden 08 (lets hope it;s good people) will run @30 fps on the PS3 and 60fps on the 360!!!
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http://www.bluraysavings.com/
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This gen, it is $250, $400, and $600. They each have significantly different controllers and are built around different gaming experiences, though the PS3 and 360 are awfully similar.
Plenty of people want a PS3. Every time they drop the price, more people will get one. But to be quite honest, $400 is too high for a console. $300 is pushing it. $250 is probably the sweet spot. $200 and it is go time. But $500 to 600 really is out of the price range of most people. It isn't that people can't afford it, it is just that they won't pay that much money for something that plays games with better graphics than their PS2.
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You do realize that by believing Sony's PR line of the PS3 being a "10 year console" that they will basically be skipping an entire generation of hardware don't you? That's a pretty risky bet. Imagine if they had done that last gen postponing the PS3 for 3-4 more years. Would that put them in good market position against the Xbox 3? They would've basically have bowed out while the 360 ate up sales. Meanwhile sure, the PS2 would be selling relatively well and pulling a profit, but in a year from now it would have lost most exclusives and would be getting a lot of ports from the 360. Not exactly anything to brag about.
Now imagine in 3-5 year srom now when MS releases the Xbox 3. It will outperform the PS3 in EVERY area making the PS3 look like exactly what it is- last gen. Sony then has another PS2 on their hands. The PS3 MAY be down to $150ish by then making it a good bargain, but the Wii will be competing for the casual market (if it doesn't OWN the casual market by then) and will be priced still considerably less than the PS3. Meanwhile the Xbox 3 comes in (along with the next iteration of the Nintendo console) and picks up the hardcore market. Only this time Sony will offer up NO competition... This logic only works on backwards day.
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Even with inflation, $300 is not that much of a leap. Pricey sure, but not by much. It would be like a 360 in terms of price.
Wait, did they not try this with another console? Oh yea, the Neo Geo was $599 US. It failed horribly.
Offer anyone a $600 gaming system then or now, even in the future. They will laugh at you. End of line.
I was live during the PS2 thing, nobody once said it would fail. In fact, it sold and had sales like the Wii did. The key is the PS2 and PS1 is more Wii like than you realize. The Wii is doing the same stuff, it has the price and the games people want. They are not going to please everyone, no, but they do have the majority. That is what counts.
Oh, and here is the thing. No matter if you give a dev all the processing power in the world, 8 months to 3 years is not going to give you better AI. That involves mostly coding too, and with that short of a time, you are just left with "duck, shoot, duck, shoot."
End of line!
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I honestly play all of my games with the wireless connection. I have absolutley no problem playing/hosting matches in Gears of War or any other XBOX Live staple. I download torrents all the time using my laptop and I consistly hit my max download/upload speeds using wireless (650 kB/sec down 55-60 kB/sec upload). Not sure how you have your router set up so that may be a personal issue. I have 2 laptops, a computer, PSP, DS, Xbox 360 all needing internet so wires running all through my house is not an attractive option. I'm sure other people will support my claims that wireless actually does work.
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People forget that everything that is happening to Sony has happened before. History repeats. They said Sony was late launching the PS2 against a console with great games - the Dreamcast - and that the PS2 was doomed to fail.
Sony was criticized because the price of the PS2 was too high and it was doomed to fail.
Sony was criticized for putting an unnecessary piece of equipment into the PS2 that wasn't needed and it only drove up production costs - the DVD drive - and they were doomed to fail.
It was difficult to program games for the PS2 - and they were doomed to fail.
Sony was said to be competing with themselves because the PS1 was selling well. 61% of PS1 sales occurred after the PS2 had launched in Japan and they were doomed to fail.
Yet in the end the PS2 outlasted, outsold, and outprofitted (made up word) all the competition.
The Cell is hard to program for but the results by tenacious devs will yield AI and physics backed by hardware not available on other systems. I own a 360 and it will be the king this fall. But the handwriting is on the wall. By next spring the PS3 will begin to yield better fruit and the sprint capability of the 360 will become evident in a marathon race.
GRAW 2 on the PS3 looks quite noticeably better, has 14 additional maps, 8 more weapons, and an additional MP mode versus what is on the 360. And it's a port. By next spring more shortcomings of the 360 will be evident. Rockstar has already lamented the limited space on conventional DVDs and the lack of a dedicated HDD has caused many a dev to pull out their hair.
You can be childish and laugh the PS3 off or you can be more objective and start to see that Sony is in this for the long haul. They will trail the rest of the year while quietly picking up steam and by early next year MS will be looking over their shoulder as Sony starts bearing down on them. The format wars are pretty much over and even HD-DVD's former big backer, Paramount, has swung to the Sony camp.
The handwriting isn't on the wall yet but they are breaking out the hammer and chisel. Most people are celebrating in the forthcoming wave championed by HALO3. But once that party is over Sony will start to hit their stride with developers having had hardware for over a year.
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As long as your close enough to a good signal/have a half decent router, wireless is fast enough. The wireless g standard is 54mb/s, most people have a 6 or 8mb/s connection speed. As long as your wireless isn't flaky (mine never has been unless I'm out in the back yard) then the difference between wireless and wired doesn't really matter unless you're sending large files over lan.
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I must say though I disagree with some of it, that is definitely the best defense I've ever read about the ps3. Bravo.
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dude please, just let it go.. don't try to guess the future just to be a fanboy..
let's just leave it right there.. people have loved the ps2, not only for the hardware but mostly for the games.. do you think sony has no idea what games are coming? if you did a bit or research they have some amazing ideas... great games for most people, singstar, mgs4, eye judgement, the agency, that right there targets 70% of gamers,
sony unlike m$ has more experience in what will sell, so even if xbox3 like you call it would come out next year with 2 cells, they still have to beat sony's ideas which is what counts..
anyhow, we can go back and forward but i have seen the previews and read all about the games coming.. trust me bro, sony is not as simple as fanboys make it to be,
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I'm sure it'll spike up sales, but is that a sign of things to come if it was to be the normal price? I doubt it.
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YES YOU ARE WRONG! there is NO pent up demand for the PS3 as it has no good games and doesn't look to have any in the near future and Blu Ray sux.
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The PS2 was talked about and failing was brought up, in part due to difficulty in programming as well hardware production issues that were unable to meet needs - sound familiar? They had a horrendous launch lineup. Meanwhile a few years later the Gamecube produced a launch that was stellar by all standards. You can't judge by the first year in this business. Things turn around in mere months.
Since my second job is game development - we are working on a PC title using a prominent next gen engine - I will tell you that hardware can make a difference in AI programming to the devs that want to take that route and not simply rely on the routines that are there with either the engine license and tools or 3rd party software. But it is up to the devs. If they don't want to spend the time then you do get simplistic AI. But if you take the time, work can pay off and having dedicated hardware assists immensely.
I am sure Sony would love to have another PS2 success story on their hands. With the attempt to avoid a class action suit, MS set themselves back seriously today in their goal to make the Xbox division profitable. 1 billion to 1.3 billion is a low end estimate designed to protect MS stock and calm shareholders.
Frankly despite the cost MS failed to go far enough as there are hordes of gamers that were forced to purchase a retailer warranty early on, which now means except for 6 States their money was spent for naught. (only 6 states specify warranties provided by retailers that are like coverage of service to manufacturers warranties must run consecutively rather than concurrently) Also, despite the claims of Peter Moore, disc scratching is an issue as is drive failure and those persons have also been excluded.
I look at my 360 and if I were to add a HDMI port by purchasing an elite would it be any value? There are no games that need it currently and HDMI is presently only for movies. With MS having lost the format wars why pay for an Elite or an HD-DVD Drive? Even with the 120GB HDD, that price coupled to the 360 Premium I have buys me a PS3.
If I want the play and charge kit that is more money. The Sony cable is a standard USB cable with the reduced USB plug utilized for interfacing with common electronic devices such as cameras. I can drop any large SATA drive into my PS3 as well. If I want 500 GB I can have it or I can just hook up an external HDD as I currently do. What wireless headset works with the PS3? Any bluetooth. Keyboard and mouse? Any bluetooth. Once you really begin to evalute costs, the price point picture between Sony and MS adjusts quite a bit. But if you can't be objective and only want to wave a fanboy flag you will never see it.
MS should be careful. The vocal opinions from Rockstar concerning no HDD usage allowed in 360 development and only standard DVD capacity are legitimate cannon sized shots across the pay attention bow. At current speed of innovation the 360 won't make it to the end of it's needed life without being severly out gunned on those two issues alone.
Most analysts have stated the format war is over and Blu-ray has won but it will be up to 2 years until the public fully steps that way. With prices falling on Blu-ray devices left and right, with the PS3 in Europe being responsible for major increases in Blu-ray movie sales there is a prediction to be had there. No one needs to spell it out either. Microsoft will be eating serious humble pie when they go to make their next console and have to license Blu-ray technology.
I would never have thought a few months ago that Blu-ray would have become so prominent and actually win the war but the security imbedded in Blu-ray won over studios left and right.
Sony has made some huge errors. I don't think hardware choice was one. The PS3 feels like a next gen machine when you turn it on and use it. And it has the horses under the hood that mean after the PS4 premiers it will still be a viable machine. But the Sony PR department is a nightmare. Ken Kutaragi started off by stepping on the collective Sony crank and it has been downhill since. Neither Kaz Hirai at last years award winner for worst corporate E3 presentation ever nor loud mouth Jack Tretton (yes that is real time footage) have done anything to bolster the Sony image.
Also moronic moves such as goats and Three-speech (is there really a difference) have assisted Sony's suicidal PR campaign. The first thing Sony must continue to do is talk to their public. Recent clam ups by Peters Moore and Holmdahl have made MS the new Sony.
MS is going to have to come clean with the public and it is going to cost them more than 1.3 billion. Recent whisperings that the problem is an inherent motherboard design flaw could cost MS a good deal more. Sony on their part has to pressure 3rd party devs to take proper care in porting multiplatform games where the PS3 is not the primary SKU. It can be done with some code rewrites. When you see GRAW2 on the PS3 you will understand.
The PS4 is already in the planning stage and discussions that Sony will not be ready to step up in 4-5 years are ridiculous. Especially when one considers that with the boost of winning the format war, they will leave this new generation much more profitable than MS. Sony has locked in Blockbuster in the US and is set to begin offering movie downloads shortly after the new Playstation Store is shown at E3.
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" well the 20gb and the 60gb PS3s are the same price, which would you prefer for your gamer son mam??"
"ummmm the first one"
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well dude.. you're pretty much quoting a lot of what haters have said.. yes as much as doesn't seem to like the ps3, even they found a way to work with it.
the same was said about the ps2, it was hard to program, now it's a joke, just beacause ubi said it's not good look at naughty dog, or insomniac and see if they think the hardware sucks?
the information that you have gathered about the cell is wrong, don't believe what you have read in fanboys sites... research it and then come back
the blu ray's speed thou slightly slower, it's constant, thou a 12x is faster, this speed is RARELY achieved, running slower than bluray at most points of the dvd,
the cell runs with so much harmony with itself that you have no idea what you're talking about, even the ram, thou assigned to either the cell or the rsx graphics they can still use eash other rams if programmed to do so, so even thou is assigned it can also be shared, anyhow..
even the cell inventors are still finding new things about it so for you to come here and try to say that you know how it works and how bad is for the ps3 sounds not only fanboish, but to me it seems like an attempt of denial the the 360 is better, dude because the 360 has more games right now, not necessarely good, the 360 has the lead, but is not gonna last, anyhow, just wait a few days, make sure you watch e3 and that will clear some things up for you
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