Does The PS3 Need a Price Drop?

As we've seen from the recent generation of gaming, game players have become a fickle bunch of people. This has started fanboy wars that stalk many message boards, industry changes such as EA's debacle with Battlefield: Bad Company (which they still pulled off by offering the same thing in a "Gold Edition" of the game...but that's a whole other issue) and possibly shifts in pricing and market structure as we've seen with retailers and companies trying to find that "Golden Balance" of making the sale while also earning the cash. With E3 right around the corner, this begs the question, does the PS3 need a price drop?

[Solid_Dawg]

No

[sonarus]

They don't NEED a price drop but it would definitely help them out.

What sony needs right now is to get 80GB model in stock to increase their sales. They also need to start shipping consoles with dual shock. They need to swallow the losses from 6 axis and melt the thing for parts or something but shipping PS3 with sixaxis at this point is simply outrageous. If they are serious about online, they need to start bundling headsets with their big online games. Or have a high end PS3 with headset bundled in.

As is even with 100 dollars less assuming dualshock is included PS3 still stands the better system due to blu ray, free online and wi fi. They need to do a better job at showing this to the public.

[gamesR4fun]

Its Sony if anyone can make thing smaller better and cheaper its them...
Id b surprised if they dont drop b4 next year with the release of the new 'slim' lol

[ajeben809]

...stupid article

[mikeslemonade]

A price drop in September would be the best, or even to coincide with Madden 09 which EA is trying to warm up to Sony a little bit. It would be complimented by the natural holiday surge in sales.

A price drop now is almost useless and does not benefit Sony at all. 80gb bundle can't be found in stores still. The best thing they can do right now is pack in a greatest hits game and a dualshock 3 with the 40gb bundle.

[Fox01]

The PS3 doesn't "need" a price drop, but it will be nice if it did drop in price, in order to attract even more buyers.
I know a lot of people that want a PS3, but can't afford it.

[flOw]

Nuff said.

[MNicholas]

So, yes, a price-cut would probably make a big difference if sony wants to catch the Wii.

[unsunghero28]

I don't think it needs a price drop exactly, but a price drop would stimulate sales. Sony is a business, so they can do whatever they want as long as when all is said and done they have made a profit.

Why must we go through this tedious dance every single year?

@ 2.2
No no, I did read it. I just think that the entire discussion is pointless.

[Solid_Dawg]

what he said

[VampHuntD]

You and the author agree actually, but the article explains why it isn't needed.

[QueefyB]

does a ferrari need a price drop

[unsunghero28]

Good comparison, albeit somewhat inflammatory.

[Solid_Snake666]

they make a nice comparason

[theKiller]

sony doesnt need a price drop if they want to keep the sales at this pace but if they want a ps2 like sales then yes they do! thats just my opinion!

as for 360 well.... a price drop or not will not change anything in this console war! ps3 is the winner 360 is the last

[QueefyB]

does a cow need chicken nuggets

[unsunghero28]

Not so good a comparison. Because it doesn't make sense.

[QueefyB]

does an xbot need intelligence

[unsunghero28]

Now you're just asking for people to come after you.

[Solid_Snake666]

cuz xbox sucks

[QueefyB]

so the answer is no the playstation 3 will continue to outsell the 300 dollar washing machine without a price cut

[Solid_Dawg]

i like the way u "convey" your idea

[unsunghero28]

That's the sound you make when you hurl rocks at a beehive.

[morganfell]

He is conveying correctly. Finesse and tact hasn't worked very well on some of these nimwits. Facetiousness, humor, the use of allusions or metaphors, all has fallen on deaf ears. At times such as those you wade in with a 42 bat.

The operations doesn't require a laser scalpel. Instead it needs a Black and Decker table saw.

Price cuts. Look who is cutting the price and you will see who is worried because their sales are slumping.

[Ogrekiller]

In fact, everything in this world should get a price drop.

[unsunghero28]

Bubbles for being right.

[Bnet343]

even better, everything should be free :)

[StrboyM]

i have one already.. HuRhUr

[nbsmatambo]

still selling like hotcakes..

[Bnet343]

I am pretty sure it's not selling like hotcakes. That would be the Wii's case.

[PopEmUp]

sell with the PS3 Price tag I wonder that hotcake will turn into lol

[Chris_GTR1]

yes. everyone that says no is a sony fanboy btw. it makes no sence at all to say no. Q does ps3 need price drop? A: NO keep it at 400 forever!

[she00win99]

to the buyers, yes, but to sony , no because ps3 are selling great right now..

[Meresin]

This could really go either way. Given that they're losing a good chunk of money on every console sold, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony held off on a price drop until they get their production costs much lower. It doesn't make a lot of sense for them to move an extra million consoles this year if it will cost them $100,000,000 to do it. However, next year, they could easily cut that in half by reducing production costs.

O'course, there's always the software angle. If they move an extra million units, they get more Blu-ray players into more homes, and they get an extra million PS3 users buying games. The question is this: can they sell enough Blu-ray movies and PS3 games to make up the additional cost of a price cut, along with the already huge write-off they're taking on every console sold? I'm inclined to think not, but it doesn't matter to me either way. I already own one, and I know it was worth the $400 I paid for it. :D

[Pedobear]

A price drop would do any console good. But the question is could they afford to do so right now?

[almanay]

the answer is no

[Jdoki]

I don't think the PS3 needs a price cut right now. Blu-Ray is gaining traction; the exclusive games will keep sales healthy; and Sony really need to be looking towards profitability rather than market share (although it looks like they are doing fine in that respect too)

If Sony are serious about pushing the console for 10 years it really needs space it's price cuts sensibly to drive growth when it needs it. It also sends the message to MS that Sony are confident enough in their product that they don't need to counter the 360 price drops.

[B-Rein]

Not at all, and there are many reaosns why

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Well,a price cut wouldnt hurt.But i think 399$ for the 40GB is still a hell of a good deal considering all you get with it like..

bluray,bluetooth,Built in wifi,standard HDD,Upgradeable Hard drive,Movie player,CD player,HDMI 1.3,5.1 Dolby,Internet browser,folding@Home,Free PSN,Now you got the XMB and trophy stuff to.
and with a 0.2% chance of it "bricking" on you.I think it's well worth the price.

[azmanmanz]

@Canadianguy.
That why i love my PS3 so much....

[mistertwoturbo]

They don't exactly NEED a price drop. But we'll see how that theory goes one the price drop kicks in for the 360. If the sales of the 360 surges a huge amount that actually causes the loss of PS3 sales. Then Yes. Sony needs to react.

[ItisI]

rather than market share (although it looks like they are doing fine in that respect too)

Which numbers are you looking at.Because the PS3 is not looking good in the market share at the moment or hadn't you noticed.

[Jdoki]

Fine compared to PS2's dominance? No, you are right.

Fine compared to matching or exceeding the 360's growth at similar points in time since release? Yeah, they are doing OK considering they have a higher priced machine which is (sort of) underperforming in multi-plats, with the unexpected success of the Wii, and a direct competitor in MS that seems to have raised their game.

We can not expect Sony to dominate as it has done in the past. The market has changed far too much for that to happen again.

[mrbiggut1975]

.... I would love for PS3 to have a price drop. I was a die hard PS2 player, owned over 100 games at one time, I was devastated when my wife came home with an Xbox 360 because "it was more affordable". None the less my 360 has been good to me but you can never have enough sytems and with a significant price drop I can finally get my PS3.

[BoneMagnus]

If 360s start flying off shelves, Sony may be more likely to have a price drop sooner rather than later.

Sony depends on brand loyalty, but with gas prices where they are and the perception of a bad economy, price may become a bigger motivation.

However, on the radio, I heard that one industry that did not suffer during the Great Depression was the entertainment industry - Hollywood. People want to be entertained during hard times to forget their woes - same was true for the Roman Coliseum - remember Gladiator?

[TheExodus]

In NA it seems lack of BC has more to do with how poorly the PS3 is performing against the 360 than price. In the long run I think Sony would be better off discontinuing the current 40GB and cutting the price of the 80GB SKU to $399 which is likely what they intend to do once they've trimmed production cost of the 80GB SKU down to $399.

[Gamingisfornerds]

I have bought exactly ONE game for my PS3...second hand (F1:CE). They really need to get more exclusives out, atleast for me anyway.

Multiplatform games I will get for the 360 because of the controller and Xbox Live and because they often have the edge over the PS3 counterpart (though that finally seems to be coming to an end).

If Sony wants to make money, they have to sell games. They have to make me want to buy games on the PS3 and for that...they need to get those exclusives out!

[TheExodus]

Not really. I bought my PS3 4 weeks ago & have already purchased 24 games for it, so Sony doesn't really need to convince you to buy anything ;)

[Gamingisfornerds]

Fair enough! :p

[TheExodus]

3 disagrees? I'm not sure how you guys knew that I would be making a late run to Best Buy last night to pick up a copy of Grid which makes it 25 games in the last 4 weeks, but you guys are good :)

[SL1M DADDY]

The PS3 doesn't NEED a price cut, it is selling better than its direct competition at the moment so why would it NEED a price cut?

If it did get one, it would sell faster, sure, but does it need to? No, it does not.

[ReBurn]

It may be selling better, but it is still behind its direct competitors in total units sold. So it has the lowest market penetration of the 3 main consoles. If the 360 price cut is actually permanent and not some sell-off gimmick like the 60GB PS3 price cut was (which is what prompted me to buy a PS3) then the PS3 is going to need a price cut.

[juuken]

No.

They don't need a pricecut. Even though it would help in some ways, they are not that desperate for a pricecut. Profitability is important right now for Sony and I have no doubt in my mind they'll deliver.

Sony! You better make sure Killzone 2 kicks plenty of ass! :3

[media73]

Yes off a tall building. Wish i never bought mine, oh but then again bluray..

[chrisnick]

am i the only one that saw that ps3 exclusive list?...SHEESH!!!!!....crap... im gonna be broke as all hell.

[DFresh]

Price I don't think is an issue anymore.
PS3 is like a Ferrari only the best and the best things always cost more money than others.
I mean you already get 1080P gaming, free online, a blu-ray player built in, exclusive games that already stretch boundaries, free services(Home/Qore), free updates, etc.
How much more do people want?
I didn't complain I went out got a job and bought my own PS3 by myself.
Ofcourse I got mine when Sony had their first price drop in August of 2007 for $500.
I own the 60GB and still happy with it been playing none stop since August 31st to now.
9 months and going...

[ForROME]

This is a market, of, market share, they dont need a price drop, they have to drop the price. Its not about well maybe we should its about you better. Stay competetive get those machines in houses at whatever it takes

[CViper]

So true.

The PS3 manages to hold its own perfectly fine with the lower priced competition, excluding the wii and other hand helds of course. Why on earth would sony drop the price of their Game system, Bluray Player, Wifi, HDD, Bluetooth, hardware when it is out selling the 360 worldwide? They will drop the price when it makes financial sense. Not just to combat Microsoft's desperate moves.

Someone riddle me that.

The software solution will improve when more developers start seeing what trophies have done for sales of Super Stardust.

[Denzelio]

Why does everyone keep expecting! price cuts for the PS3. Only the console continually in last place week by week in console sales will get the price drop, a price drop doesn't even mean it will save that system from being in last place.
Aslong as the company is continually satisfied with it's sales then it will not lower the price for years!. Just because a console is the highest price doesn't mean it cannot sell better then those which are not.
Keeping the price at its highest for aslong as possible will leave the company with the higest proffits, so a price drop is usually a last option or just to try and bring back a sales surge.