Reuters: Sony Sees Easing of PS3 Price Pressure

Recent strong sales of higher-priced PlayStation 3 models may be an indication that Sony Corp does not need to cut prices of the flagship video game console soon, a U.S. executive said on Thursday.

When Sony lowered U.S. prices of the PlayStation 3 last November, it was surprised to see that consumers bought as many $500 models as $400 models, said Scott Steinberg, vice president of product marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America.

[ruibing]

They should concentrate on reducing the cost of their SKUs, bring out a new one to replace 80GB (news of that already in recent FCC filing), and release the DS3 for North America before they attempt another price cut. I think Hirai was right that there's no point in a price cut without the software to back it up, so they should wait for at least MGS4, KZ2, or LBP before doing so.

[Blankman]

yea drop the price with gta4 or mgs4 maybe 50 off for GTA4 and another 50 for mgs4 and guaranteed sony will take this yr from 360. 360 gratest momentum and system selling game for this yr will be GTA4 sony needs to make sure potential MGS4 purchasers wnt be buying 360's

[nicholascage24]

rather than a price drop .

The demise of HD DVD has increased BD player sales by 700% in UK and that includes the ps3 along with Samsung's BD1400.

SONY will still take this year without a price drop. Given SONY's lineup there is no way other consoles could even rival that.

Just make sure SONY that there are no unnecessary Delays

[LastDance]

You know every1 talks about price dropping and stuff. But i think as a company you have to be careful not to pricedrop at the wrong time.... say if there's a massive increase in the sales of your system.. then days later you price drop. How many people got stiffed over paying more.
if it were me id be so angry.

[poopface1]

I dont think they want or need to drop the price now. Blue ray has officialy won the format war and PS3 is one of the cheapest blueray players(with console included). If sony kees cutting the price now many other manufactures of blueray players will probaly have to cut their prices too, and i dont think they wanna right now when business is gonna start picking up. I wouldent mind it tho, as long as it gets cheaper around MGS4 time ima get me one too.

[heroman711]

its cuz ps3 is awesome. 10 million sold !!!!!!!

[nicholascage24]

as of december 31st,2007

so ps3 might have reached 11 million by now .

EDIT :- dont even look at that Crap chart

[cmrbe]

Otherwise they would lose their chance of emulating the PS2. Yes its selling but its still not at an affordable price to the mass consumer. They need to drop to 300 this year. I would be very disappointed if they don't.

[EZCheez]

Companies who get comfortable in the front seat don't stay there for long.

Sony needs to do everything in their power to get more consoles in homes, and if they can afford a price drop, then they should do it. Even $50 would be great. Not every price drop has to be $100. They've got to find a way to keep this momentum going, and if Home isn't coming out anytime soon (who knows), a price drop would really help.

[Fux4Bux]

Still should drop it to $299 when GTA4 or Home comes out and have a big promotional thing. Blu-ray has won so they're guaranteed royalties from that and can take bigger risks. Beating MS currently. Just need to start chipping away at Nintendo's illegitimate lead.

[BWS1982]

could you define "illegitmate lead"?

[Premonition]

My prediction- Sony drops the 40gig SKU by 50 to go with the big titles like MGS4 and GTA4, and still wont announce the new SKU till about early summer, then come early fall, drop the price by another 50 with big games like Resistance 2 and Killzone 2, making the Ps3 40 gig officially 299 and the new unannounced SKU betweent 399-449.

[name]

Quick, everyone stop buying PS3's so sony'll drop the price.

[cmrbe]

That is a funny logic. I agree with EZChess. Sony should lower the price if they can afford it. With all the reports of manufacturing cost reduction as well as blu winning. I am pretty sure they can afford too. From my perspective. A mainstream(affordable price) and the return of the heavy hitters this year will start the mass migration of the PS2 crowd to the PS3. So its crucial that the lower the price this year if they want to emulate the PS2.

[ICUP]

l hope SONY would cut 50.00 off 1 or 2 week before GTA 4 drop and market the sh!t out of the game on PS3, and another 50.00 before holiday or Black Friday.

[360_Rules]

Yeah you can be sure MS is going to have one this year. The new 65nm GPU is going to cost less and be more reliable at the same time.

[v1c1ous]

sony was FORCED to drop price to appeal to the customers. now that they are finally getting the numbers they want, there is no incentive to drop price.

you can all be wishful thinkers or have lots of desires, but do not forget Sony is a company. and a company survives for profit. and if i can sell 100 units of something at $500, while my opponents sell 120 at $400, i don't have to worry about matching that price.

sony makes more money with more expensive SKUs. they will drop price when its absolutely necessary, or when they feel they need to stay ahead of competition.

why do you think 360 hasn't seen a major price drop? they are selling in 3rd place, but the difference b/w 3rd and 2nd is miniscule to these companies.

[tethered]

They might drop the 40GB to $299 just because Blu-ray has won.
Just imagine the sales of PS3's if they do it.

It they look at it as a way to get the general population into HD they very well could to it.

It would effect the sales of HDTV's as a result, which they have a vested interest in.

[deeznuts]

The first logical post in this thread, and you get all disagrees. Amazing. Sounds like a lot of broke gamers hoping for a price drop. It's reality people, Sony won't lower the price if its selling fine at current prices.

This isn't the Benevolent Sony Corporation. They need to recoup R&D, initial losses, etc. Just a few months ago everyone was talking about how much their game division was losing per quarter. You don't bleed money and then drop prices as soon as you can. That's a horrible business strategy.

[tethered]

@ deeznuts

I have played poker with you on PSN.
I have two PS3's a Xbox 360 and a PSP. I'm not broke.

This was my point:

If it benefits Sony in the overall scheme, I could see them lowering the cost of the PS3 again to $299 to really flood the market with Blu-ray players (PS3's) really quickly (lets say around April 29th or so) ;)

By doing so they would really spur the HD market and the movie sales and rentals they would get with Blu-ray, and the sales they get from HDTV's and surround sound system sales could very well offset the cost break.

I'm not saying they would actually do it, but I think we have to look at the big picture here because Sony is a lot bigger than just being the maker of the PS3.

[SUP3R]

You made complete sense in your post and everyone disagrees.
The uneconomical thinking of many on this site amazes me.

[chaosatom333]

they should instead use that money to promote lots and lots of ads

[DarkHero]

actually there is an incentive; MS's price cut or boost of sales with gta4.

They should lower the price or introduce a bigger sku on the launch of mgs4.

[v1c1ous]

but i wouldn't hold my breath. every company gauges the other and sees if it can survive the hit.

when smash brothers is released in US, we will see if sony/MS can survive the hit

[longduckdong]

now I get no deal because 360 isn't being made anymore says Amazon

[Maddens Raiders]

long duck?

[360_Rules]

And you believe that? The 360 is going to get a big shipment of new 360s this March. I bet you that the 360 outsells the PS3 by March or April.

[nicholascage24]

keep dreaming cuz dreams are Now your only hope.

In UK last week Blu Ray player sales jumped by 700% and that includes a significant amount of ps3s too.

In March/april GT5 prologue will be coming out and even despite being a demo that game is huge. Plus GTA 4 will improve ps3 sales too. Haze could also come out at that time so keep dreaming in YOUR FANTASYLAND

[Snukadaman]

pot...please meet mr kettle..aka nasim aka nicholascage24

and honestly nasim..if unreal tournament didnt sell as much as you claimed those long months ago...how in the hell will haze be any different.

[nicholascage24]

http://www.t3.com/news/blu-...

theres the link for you.

ya thats right just 7 fold or 700% . Some of those players were obviously PS3. expect more carnage in the coming weeks and expect 2x/3x ps3 sales all over too.

UT3 will sell atleast 1.5million on PS3 in europe a place where x360 doesnt exist anymore. All multiplat games sell more on ps3 in europe and japan.

in europe over 40% of x360s were already traded in for either ps3 or wii . expect that to deplete to 80% when Gears/KZ2/R2 come out.

KZ2/R2 will sell 5 million in europe alone this year not to even mention about Na --where they would sell another 5 million each

[Snukadaman]

On your little link...seven fold means seven times over last weeks sales not 700%...but nice try with that...anyways...we shall see next week on this with the uk sales charts. ohh and inurmom and myself are 2 different people...your still under the impression that people make more then one account...please by all means inform the moderators too check i.p.'s...I insist. also this is the gamer zone..such comments like sunkatard is prohibited correct?

[Maddens Raiders]

but I've already got two, so maybe I'll consider a future purchase for the upstairs den.

[Sovannah Phum]

dang dude, what do you need more than 1 ps3 for? are you having one fold all the time? much props if you do!

[Maddens Raiders]

my 20G Folds all the time (over 275 WU's) unless someone comes over to play WarHawk or Motorstorm or just wants to screw around with it. My 60G does most of the heavy lifting.

[cmrbe]

At least you didn't buy 1 for backup like fristknight did because he feared the PROD. Sad really. People buying 2 because its so unreliable.

[tethered]

@ Maddens Raiders

I now have two also.
I bought a 40 GB for the family room last week as a Blu-ray player and its awesome!

Now I just need to get my wife into games and we could play against each other online. I would love that.
Maybe someday.

[Anything but Cute]

Maybe they forgot about the terrible ass beatdown they took in the United States last year?

Now is not the time to get comfortable. If they have any momentum or any software advantage, they have to milk it for all it's worth.

Anyway, I think when XBOX 360 cuts the price, they will have no choice but to respond.

[Danja]

I don't think Sony is getting comfortable..besides they haven't reclaimed they're thrown yet...but I think Sony should chop $50 off the PS3 soon..and with the Blu Ray effect in full swing they won't lose a dime off the PS3...

[cmrbe]

Sony will outsell the x360 this year no doubt but they must drop the price if they want their sales to skyrocket like the PS2 did in its second year. From my observation. The second year of a console is the most crucial year as it sets the tone for later years. Two factors pushed the PS2 to where it is at the moment. Mainstream affordable price and return of the PS1 classic franchise in its second year. These two factors started the migration of the PS1 crowd to the PS2 and will do the same for PS2-PS3 migration if Sony play their cards well.

[Tyrael]

I would really like another price cut, but 400 for a blu ray player and a game console, is a seriously good deal considering the outcome of the format war.

[Engineer]

I really hope they don't pull what a lot of people have been saying here. Two 50 dollar price cuts in one summer and I'll have to admit that Sony is quite the evil company.

They would start everyone thinking that it will slowly get cheaper and cheaper so just wait and don't buy one. (At least John Q. Taxpayer would think so).

[bootsielon]

This isn't the time to feel "comfortable" and "satisfied", this is a freaking console war with very aggressive competition. Sony is at a disadvantage with GTAIV, so they better make the best offer they can make when compared to Microshaft's, an offer nobody should be able to refuse. $299 for the currently available model would sweeten the deal, considering that they're breaking even right now and that they're changing more parts as we speak, it should be possible for Sony.

[agent864]

Around May is when the up to $600 / $1200 tax rebate checks start going out. I wonder if there will be a price war then to attract those dollars.

well we better have some major announcements from Sony between now and then, hopefully either a new model, a price drop, Home, or all of the above. I think it depends on how long the legs are for the blu-ray win. Feb / March sales should see those fence sitters start buying blu, how many of those players will be PS3s, seeing that it is the most recommended player. Will it last to April / May, not sure.

[ikiru3385]

I'm thinking that Sony will wait till around end of March or beginning of April to either drop price or introduce another sku that comes with DS3 and one game. Makes it more bang for your buck when GTA4 and GT5 comes around.

[BWS1982]

this is a time that with the victory of Blu, it might be in their interest (financially) to actually use that fact to NOT drop prices. Here's why: they don't have any threats (except I guess digital downloads, maybe), with HD-DVD gone they have no threats to the market share. No threats means no risks are needed (risk being cutting prices) to compete, they have the court to themselves.

Winning the war may mean they have free reign over pricing as far as HD formats are concerned (MS and the PS3 as a game system are something else). Why drop prices when the competitor threw in the towel?

[dork0783]

I need the best of both WORLDS!

[ikiru3385]

@BWS1982

I understand what you're saying, but having a price drop or sku introduction will spur sales. The competitor for format war has thrown in the towel but the console war competition is still ahead.

[BWS1982]

which is why in parenthesis I put that MS and gaming is something else. I guess I was just speaking from a marketing standpoint solely from HD formats, not from games. As just a BD player, Sony doesn't have to be so cut throat now; as gaming is concerned, it's just as pivotal as ever though, you're right.

[InYourMom]

if MS starts getting agressive with their pricing. I assume they will since Blu-ray has won and the 360 does not provide that feature. Right now the perceived value is in Sony's favor. MS needs to change that quickly.

[BrianC6234]

What Sony should realize is there are gamers who will pay whatever they have to but even more are cheap. I had no problem paying $599 for the 60GB PS3. That doesn't mean they can keep the price high. They need to drop the price of the cheaper model by the end of the year. Each time they drop the price they'll get more gamers who will buy a PS3. They're waiting. As soon as they can make a new model and save money on the cost they should do it and pass the savings on. That will help the PS3 catch up with Nintendo and Microsoft. Most gamers want a PS3. Some just won't pay what it's worth.

[heyheyhey]

true

i know many people on-standby waiting for one more price drop to get a PS3

[ikiru3385]

bubbles for ya BWS1982. good points.