Why $400 Is The Right Price For The PlayStation 4

Forbes - Dave Thier asks a simple, but important question: Would you pay $400 for the as-yet-to-be-named PlayStation 4 from Sony?

Dave thinks it is, noting that “$400 is neither very expensive nor very cheap. It’s the same price as an iPad 2 and cheaper than a current-gen model. I think that people are more primed to spend money on electronics than they were in 2006. This could give people on the fence a more enticing entry point. Combine that with the fact that this is likely being built with off-the-shelf parts rather than obsessive boutique hardware, and it might even be worth it from the company’s perspective.”

[remanutd55]

i'm predicting a $449.99-$499.99 launch price.

[classic200]

After buying a console for $600 I would not mind a repeat of that price.

But that is not going to happen so i will go for $400, if its lower than that then I would be surprise because I dont want the Playstation to stoop low to wiiu level.

[Kingthrash360]

I was just about to say the same. P3 600 P4 400 = 200 $ discount .. also is just 50 $ more then wiiu delux. Not saying its cheap or that id agree but me being a hardcore gamer would buy at 400... thats cheaper than a iPad....

[stuna1]

Hell the 3g model of the Vita rang in at 300 bones! I'd expect the ps4 to ring in somewhere around $500 even.

[SkyGamer]

Am I the only one thinking that this next gen is a complete ripoff!? 1.6 ghz? Really? I know its 8 cores but the X360 had 3 cores and dual threads at 3.2 ghz and the cell at 1 ppc at 3.2 and their spe at 3.2. Not impressed. Ram is good but cpu sucks.

[guitarded77]

I kinda think it will be a bit higher too, but $400 would be perfect. I'll probably spend about $600 - $700 preordering PS4 and games/accessories, and the cheaper the price on the console, they more games I can get. I just hope the PS4 and XBOX don't come out within 6 months of each other... I cannot afford to double down, especially with so many great games coming for current gen systems. New gens are always expensive.

EDIT: If it is more, it won't be much more. Sony have said price is important to them, and they won't make the same mistake they did with PS3 and price PS4 out of the market.

[showtimefolks]

Because wiiu is $349 so both Sony and ms will try to stay in the same neighborhood

I don't mind spending anther $600 to be honest but I know I am in minority, if spending $600 means we are getting a system that actually moves the tech forward than I am all for it

My prediction though is $399-499 maybe it will have 2 SKU's one for $349-399 other $399-449

Also I hope we are not charged a $100 just for a bigger hard drive do it right like Sony did with its original ps3 60GB where along with bigger hard drive you also got few ther extra YSB ports etc, so make it worth buying the higher model

Also maybe it's just me but I hope Sony bundles KZ4 with the bundle at same price, now here me out they can get the franchise to more households and grow the Fanbse by millions granted if the game is good which is I hope it. Make it more like KZ2 gameplay wise

[NastyLeftHook0]

Model 1. standard model $400.00

Model 2. (bigger harddrive) (ps+) $500.00

[Sniperwithacause]

I disagree only due to the fact that I already have PS+. I wouldn't want to repay for it again(unless it adds on the months) just to have the larger hard drive.

[f789790]

I'm sure it will add to your months.

[PS4isKing_82]

If u have remaining time in your plus membership, any new plus funds add on top.
So lets say you have a month left in your current subscription, a free year will then add to your remaining month, giving you 13 months.

I found that out when Sony gave out a free month of plus over the hack thing 2 years ago and saw my expire date moved up by a month.

[platformmaster918]

Model 3. Bigger HDD, BC $500

[Conzul]

for $500 they should add hardware BC. Full BC @ 600

[Krew_92]

@Kratos_Kills

Sure Gaikai could help, but I know for a fact you would have to either 1. re-buy every single game, or 2. get a small worthless discount for a PS2 game you already own, and that program might never make it outside of Europe...

That wouldn't be true backwards compatibility.

[wishingW3L]

$500 model for BC with PS1, PS2 and PS3, please? ;(

[Conzul]

Nah mate $600 or more for that. Those would get sold out soooooooo fast though...man.

[Rockubot]

I think they should raise it up more higher like to $2000.00.

[Nitrowolf2]

Suppose that cup holder attachment is needed then.

On Topic:
I think $400 is a good price for a new console if it's truly next gen (which pretty much will be). Sony needs to play it smart though, to high and sales will struggle, to low and you may be selling at to high of a loss. I think no matter, both MS and Sony will sell at a loss for a while (normal for new devices)

[Seraphim]

Nah, just make it about $900 so all the PoS profiteers don't go out buying it at launch. Or sell it for $900 the first week then drop it to $500 shafting all those profiteers. Bwahahahahahahahaha!!

seriously though. Most people still don't have $200-300 for current gen consoles. For $2000 the PS4 best come inside a new 55" Bravia. :D In all seriousness. Like many others I paid $600+tax for my 60GB at launch. It was a tough pill to swallow and would again be a tough pill. Considering Blu Ray is cheaper, hard drives aren't too expensive, Memory is cheap, etc, etc I'd think $400 should be a pretty fair price out the gate. And if Sony wants to get the jump on next gen and grow a nice install base then having a reasonable price like $400 is an absolute must. I do have to agree with others though. I can easily see a nice package sold for $400 while a 500gb+ model is priced at $500.

[Krew_92]

I do not think the price should go higher than $450.

If this want anywhere near the price of the original I would just wait for the $450 price mark, which came within a year from the original PS3.

Like you said though, that was back then and the hardware they used back then is very cheap nowadays. So honestly we could see a console for $350 to $450. It's just like game development. It's expensive and takes a long time to make the first game, such as Killzone 2, but when you have the engine there and everything is finished making the second product is easier and faster.

[NastyLeftHook0]

I find it funny that Rockubot reported this article as lame.

I hope they stop making Playstations. #2

6d ago by Rockubot | View comment | Trolling

[stuna1]

People get your salt shakers filled for free! Because somebodys salty!!!

[ApolloTheBoss]

$400-$450. $500 max. I'm not paying more than that, I'm sorry.

[Conzul]

More for us then :-)

[clintagious650]

If people can buy phones for $400+ then i dont see why $400 to $500 would be even considered bad. Thats actually a fair price in my opinion.

[Conzul]

Indeed, and those lose relevance in 6-12 months anyway. This is playstation we're talking about here.

[givemeshelter]

many people see consoles as toys as for Smartphones to them they are devices they carry around with them all the time. You cannot compare the two

[Hicken]

What people need is education: sure, you might see a console as just a toy. But when it's one that'll last you 7-8 years and do much more than just play games, you should be looking at it as an investment. It may not be as necessary as a smartphone, but it'll definitely last longer.

[NateCole]

I compare them from an entertainment device and the console is way better.

[NateCole]

Dude. I bought my Note 2 unlocked international version for 730 USD.

I am buying the note 3 when it comes out in Nov this year.

So yes, as a hardcore gamer 600 USD is peanuts considering i will be using it for another 6 years.

[arbitor365]

i would much rather have it be $500. an extra $100 would go a long way, and I think it would be a worthy investment

[BlindMango]

FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS! Lol, nah but I think $399 is the sweet spot, for some reason it seems like a very attractive and "right" price to me, even though I would personally pay up too $600 when it releases, lol

[Sniperwithacause]

I would say 400.00 to 450.00. That way it won't break the bank when I buy a second controller and two or more games.

[Evil_Ryu]

I don't think Sony is financially stable enough to go lower then 400 for the PS4 and take that big of hit on each console but Microsoft on the other hand is a financial juggernaut and could bully Sony with a 299.99/349.99 price tag for the xbox 720.

[strigoi814]

i bet you..at this price there will be hundreds of haters to be asking for price drop..oh well this is a price tag, will have room to whine for sure..

[Krew_92]

Don't worry there will always be people complaining. Just look at what happened with the Vita.

People were crying in happiness when they announced the price, and not even a month after launch people were foaming from the mouth while screaming for a price drop.

[Skate-AK]

I'm good with $400. I will pay $500 if it has BC.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

No matter what price they set, a majority of people will bitch for a price drop IMMEDIATELY.

[BlackIceJoe]

I hope it is no less then 500 that way it will be a better system. I payed 600 and it has lasted a long time. Why would I want to pay less because if I did it would have cheaper parts at 400 over a 500 dollar one.

[Xer0_SiN]

the price is good, especially for the quality that we are going to get! gonna buy two, MAYBE three on launch; all about playing into the market >=).

[level 360]

Roughly I think this is how it would go...

$399.99 would be the base model with smallest capacity HDD.

$499.99 second version with mid-size HDD.. maybe some form of free non-game related DLC feature to go.

$599.99 third version with large capacity HDD.. maybe comes with discounted first PS4 game title intro with free in-game and non-game related DLC feature.

Retail and Web stores I believe will be the ones pushing for their own bundle deal offers.

[typeN8]

Its gonna be at least 500
I think the we should all realize this
Its the ps4 its sony and its gonna be a expensive at launch...just the way it works

Its gonna be a great console just expensive
Save your money's

[bangshi]

So you think it is going to cost the same as the launch PS3 despite there not being any ground-breaking newly researched technologies such as the Cell and Blu-ray?

Of which Blu-ray had a major shortage of materials due to being new and thus had a high cost to produce.

Now all these years on Blu-ray is dirt cheap in comparison, and the rest of the console is pretty much using off-the-shelf parts tweaked to get the best bang for buck out of them in a console unit.

The only costly thing in it is the memory, which isn't, I'd say, comparable to the cost of Cell + BR.

The only way it would be $500 is if they bundled in a gimmick like the WiiU.

If it wasn't for the Game Pad the WiiU would probably cost around 30-40% less.

[typeN8]

Watch and see
Its a new console
Yes it may have what you call off the shelf components
But its new tech to you and me and thats what were gonna pay for
It goes this way everytime a new console launches
If the wii u can launch at 400 the ps4 will be at least 5

Bangshi im with you on hoping for a cheaper out of pocket console
It would be great but from what ive seen in the past...just going off history
Its gonna be a spendy little bugger

[bangshi]

Incorrect, the Wii U launched at $299 and includes a Game Pad which is a major contributor to its cost, as above if it didn't have the Game Pad it could easily sell for around $200.

It matters not if the technology is new to the consumer.

A Ferrari could come out with a brand new $250k car but you won't see millions buying it because it isn't affordable.

There is absolutely no chance what-so-ever that the PS4 will cost the same as the PS3.

[tweet75]

$250 that way people will pick one up instead of a wii u at $349 and get a much better console

[givemeshelter]

It won't be $600-$700 again that's for sure. Sony won't make that mistake again.

[madjedi]

I don't see it releasing for below $450. The second sku with a bigger hdd is redundant, they will likely launch with a 750 or 1 tb hdd( old platter hard disc drive). You already have 320 - 500 gig skus atm, they launched with 20 and 60 gig hdds

It will likely have native ssd and usb 3.0 support, i don't want a below a 450 price simply because another 7-8 yr generation cycle is a given.

So i want these next gen consoles to be a little stronger, so that games continue to get better even in yr 8 of it's life cycle.

$20 says the ps4 has 4k resolution - 48 frames movie support, it is the perfect way to make the new high framerate format available to the home video market.

Assuming they don't release a stand alone player prior to the ps4.

[bangshi]

How is a 2nd SKU with larger drive redundant?

They just launched the super slim with a 12GB version, hell they actually launched three versions of the super slim!

[madjedi]

It's already going to have a 500 - 1tb drive(bare minimum 500 gig drive).

"They just launched the super slim with a 12GB version" This is either for casuals or people that intended to load it up with a massive hdd.

Fine sony can release another sku with a larger hdd, it's still redundant to me personally, because we are likely looking at a holiday 2014 launch for the ps4. Hdd get cheaper and increase in capacity as time goes on.

Digital downloading is getting more popular for some. Sony has every reason to toss a massive hdd (750 gig -1 tb) to encourage sales of it's digital media on the ps4.

I have a 750 gig hdd on my ps3, if you only have a original 120 or lower capacity hdd, a second sku might be beneficial to you to others it's not so important.

Hence my opinion a second high capacity sku is redundant, and it still remains so.

[NeoTribe]

They need to just make a complete beast and price it at 999.99. High spec parts and no whiny little kids on the network.

[Tzuno]

Cuz' it have a 4 in both? Hahahahhh!!!

[stage88]

Two models needed:

1. Massively powerful beast with BC. Bulked up specs
2. Cut down version focused on the casual market that will also compete with the Xbox 720

[gamefanatic007]

$399.99

[Krew_92]

It's funny because we're all throwing out numbers. We're all going to be wrong when it launches. I know I'm throwing out numbers too, but I just find it funny. I don't think we'll see more than one version like people are saying though. Again I might be wrong, I guess it's fun speculating.

[NateCole]

Personally I don't mind spending up to $800 for the PS4.

My original 60 giger has given me countless hours of great entertainment. The PS4 will be no exception.