PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) > Articles
bids
21
21
PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3)
Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday
Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday
GameDaly - September 20, 2007
Submitted by Just_Ben (112) at 2:44AM PST on September 21, 2007
Quotes: "I think about PS3 pricing every single day. It is that important a factor ... But I am not planning any immediate pricing action now" and "Going aggressive only on price without being able to back it up with content doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me" ..
Pachter added: "I would not rule out a PS2 price cut, but it looks like we can put the PS3 cut to bed until some time early next year."
Discussion - Submit a comment
bids
2Animate posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 12:19PM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday@Just_Ben,
The most significant quote in this article to me is:
"... and he told Reuters that SCE may acquire more developers to help spur demand for the console."[ Oracle ] [ Level 26 ] [ Rank: 241 ]bids
1Just_Ben posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 10:39AM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday@Laoldar,
After thinking deeper in to it, a price cut (in NA) lower than 549$ for the 80Gig is one of the worst things Sony could do right know. They have no software to back it up (already said), but worse, customer could think "Well if it come down so fast, I wait, it will come way down soon rather than later". Sony wouldn't have anything left to get momentum if the good titles arrive (begin of 2008). How good a price cut and a price cut with software backup works can be seen by PS3 and 360 in NA. The 360 has a really small price cut, but it keeps outpacing the PS3 caused by 3 Major and some Minor hits to back it up.
And on the Dollar thing: I totally agree.[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 112 ]bids
7Laoldar posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 10:03AM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday@jameseyryan,
Maybe now with this statement by Hirai people will stop acting like the PS3 price is the only thing holding it back. You can't expect to sell a major new console without having any of your key franchises on it. I wonder whether it's a sign of development problems, or just plain hubris on Sony's part, that they didn't have something to release in its first year (FF, GTA, SOCOM, GT, MGS, a non PSP-port Tekken...). They should have had developers working on these new titles before the PS3 launched and now they're far behind.
It'll be interesting to see if their big titles will come out in time to save the PS3 from being a distant third place.
I think this is probably the worst time to buy dollars. The US is slumping into a recession soon, they have deficits across the board (fiscal, trade, personal savings) and a democratic government won't change anything. Especially if the Fed continues to lower rates in a futile attempt to avoid the asset bubble popping, there will be less interest in the dollar. Parity won't happen :)
[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 182 ]bids
3Just_Ben posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 4:55AM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday@jameseyryan,
Sorry, but the production cost of the PS3 80 gig (or the European version) should be somewhere between 450-520$. They selling the PS3 in Japan with a big big loss.[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 112 ]bids
3jameseyryan posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 4:23AM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing Everyday@Just_Ben,
Very true. What I would say though is that I was in Japan in June and bought a ps3 for the equivalent of €350. Convert that to Dollars now and you get ~$250. (Although it was the 20GB model) If they have brought down the price of production in the mean time then they could probably sell the 80GB version for the same without counting the cost of importing to US.
Unless their method of importing is gettin individual people to bring it over in their luggage one by one then theoretically they should be able to sell the console for no more than $300-$350 to be generous. But, with a lack of content there is still no motivation to buy for the content. When they get more games, a price drop is a lot more effective. What happens if the price is as low as it can go and they find themselves in trouble? They have nowhere to go.
So at the moment price isn't really a problem, it's just all of the game delays we keep hearing about. They knew how important this christmas was going to be as they had planned GTA4 and MGS4 coming soon enough but now they have no major console shifting titles coming out while 360 has Halo 3 and Wii has Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. So this isn't quite as quick a fix as dropping price, they need more big games which will take time.
The one thing I will say is expect sony to catch up next year with the 2 games mentioned above and GT5. To follow up on Just_Ben's economic insight, as long as their isn't a recession and the everyday person still has money in their pocket, we could see the dawning of a multi-console-home age over time.
Oh and also, this is likely a good time to buy dollars. As far as it effects me here in Europe, if over time (and possibly with the help of a democratic government) the dollar reaches close to parity with the Euro (currently at €1 = $1.40), there is a ~40% gain there to be had.[ Elite ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 225 ]bids
3Just_Ben posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 3:25AM PST on September 21, 2007. RE: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing EverydayI want to add a personal opinion. I think a PS3 price drop (in the U.S) became more unlikely because of the recent development of the currency. The Dollar is falling, caused by a lower federal funds rate. That should make imports to the US (like gaming devices) more costly.[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 112 ]bids
21Just_Ben posted on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) at 2:44AM PST on September 21, 2007. Article: Hirai: I Think About PS3 Pricing EverydayQuotes: "I think about PS3 pricing every single day. It is that important a factor ... But I am not planning any immediate pricing action now" and "Going aggressive only on price without being able to back it up with content doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me" .. Pachter added: "I would not rule out a PS2 price cut, but it looks like we can put the PS3 cut to bed until some time early next year."[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 112 ]
About Us - The simExchange is the video game stock market and the source
for video game sales forecasts.
1
The quote after that is relativating that sentence. Only if it fits. But yeah thats quite interesting. Well I had to cut the thing under 250 characters somehow.