Why a PS3 Price Cut is Not Likely to Change a Thing for Sony
Most likely the PS3 will get a price cut very soon. It is the common sense thing to do if you are Sony.
So the question really shouldn't be when? Rather it should be, will the price cut even matter?
For three years now the PS3 has been unable to sustain any momentum that it has gathered from time to time. While there are many contributing factors for Sony's tough outing this generation, the one main factor everyone agrees on is price.
So here we are amidst rumors that a PS3 price drop is imminent. The buzz has been there for a while, but now the slight hum is a pounding noise. Game developers have started to speak out publicly for a PS3 price cut. Sony has been firm and unflinching in denying all rumors.
Price cut or not the PS3 would still be the highest priced of the 3 consoles. And to the parents of eager kids everywhere, the lower price Wii and 360 are a more appropriate choice given the economic conditions that every family is starting to face.
Sure the PS3's cheapest model is a better value than the Xbox 360's basic model. But to most consumers this is unknown. We gamers at times tend to forget that not all consumers know the latest gaming news. The average consumer just doesn't understand the value argument.
Finally the PS3's target demographic is an older audience. Which is shrinking year by year. The target demographic for the Wii and 360 is younger and continues to grow larger each year.
It may be too late for Sony to catch up in the console war. However, by no means should anyone say they are finished. Sony will keep supporting the PS3 for years to come. The price will keep falling.
There will be sales increases as the price goes lower and lower over the years. The other two systems though are so far ahead of the PS3 in terms of pricing that I question if Sony's price cut will work, or if it is already too late. Feel free to share your thoughts below!
Sony cannot afford a price change. They lose $50 on every console currently. If they drop the price $100 they will go from losting 11% to 33% and I doubt they are willing to do this. I believe that they will drop the price when they release a new console but there is no word of when or if this will happen.
Sony needs to redesign the console to cut down on costs but they believe in doing so they will stoop to Microsoft's and Nintendo's level with a cheap product. The problem is that Sony needs to concentrate on their warranty and firmware rather than worrying about a price cut.
A price cut doesn't help if the console doesn't work. Of course, maybe they are trying to break all of the consoles with their 2.6 firmware so they can make their $50 plus back. I wouldn't put it past them. See the link below. It talks about why Sony will never drop the price.
The thing that most people forget or refuse to see is that the PS3 has already sold aproximately 21 million consoles while the 360 has sold 29 (according to vgchartz) the gap isn't that wide for a console aimed at the older gamers, that's had one less year on the market and is a lot more expensive.
Even if PS3 is in third place it is far from a failure mainly because the gap between both consoles is so slim. If we look at past console history we can see that the Gamecube sold 21.74 million during it's lifetime, Xbox sold 24, PS2 has sold 120 and Dreamcast sold only 10 by those numbers we can see the "huge success" of the PS2 and the "failure" of the Dreamcast but the 2nd and 3rd places were not considered a failure and it's the same with the Xbox 360 and PS3.
It's very easy to paint a gloomy picture for Sony and the PS3 because of it's price but little by little it's getting into the minds of consumers with games like Little Big Planet and Killzone 2. Sure it doesn't have the momentum (I hate that word, I feel like people are slinging PS3s over buildings or something) that the Wii has but it's selling steadily and when the AAA titles come out it even surprises everyone and outsells the 360.
One last thing to remember is that the PS3 is lagging in sales mostly in the Us and England but in Japan and the rest of Europe the Ps3 is in second place and in the grand scheme of things they may be the markets that tip the scales in Sony's favor.
But then again everyone hates the underdog until they start to root for him.
The thing I hate is that all these news articles contradict each other, theres some that say "The PS3 needs a price cut", and thens theres these ones which say it wont change a thing, WTF is the point?, There is no point to constantly posting about the PS3 needing a price cut, if a business is loosing money on something then why would they make it cheaper?, These articles need to be removed, and the idiots who write them are just that 'idiots'.
It seems I am one of the few that thinks the (current) price of the PS3 is right... Because if you look what the system can offer compared to xBox360 and Wii. (I'm not gonna name them becuase they have been named so many times already)
You pay 400€ for it, but it is a system that can last for years, just like my PS2, which i still use since I'm a huge Gran Turismo fan. If the console can live for 8 years, it means the console has cost me 50€ each year... You can't say that is much for such a high level of entertainment!
after two years now i really use the system as a media center. with all that functions integrated in the system i think the prize is ok.
The gap between sold systems of the xbox and the ps3 isn't really that high and if you compare the two systems i think the ps3 is the better system if you want a media station with game ability out of the box.
but you have to say that every technical system needs to get cheaper after some time because standards are raising.
i think it's not a console "war" like it was with older consoles. we have 3 strong opponents with enough money behind. so it's more some kind of fanboy fight. otherwise the most expensive console wouldn't be selling more than 20 million times.
1st: i think the ps3 price is right atm for $400 you get a hole alot of stuff right out the box.
2nd: the gap is there because the 360 came out a year later. AND no 1 thinks of RE-BUYS. the 360 sell count is so high because the 360 had a really high break down rate. so people just buy a new 360. MS said there self that there rebuy is 23%.
3rd:if they do have a price cut you will see sell jump over 500% this year.droping there price down to $300 and $400 will be great.(but i dont think they need it) and the game line-up is great(really dont feel like naming all the games)
4th: the gap is only 8mil ps3 sells 10-11mil in last year. so think what a price cut will do. people want the ps3 there just waiting for a price cut.
I am not a fanboy or anything. I am Brazilian and I love videogames.
In 2007, during the Wii hype, I travelled to the US and after going to 10 stores (yes, 10 stores) I found it and bought it.
This year in January, I travelled to the US again, this time to buy a PS3. Firstly because I love videogamens and specially God of War. Secondly because of the blu-ray system.
Well, weīve been to several Circuit Cityīs, selling their inventory with 10% discount, trying to buy a PS3 cheaper. We couldnīt find it. Everyrime we got near the Costumer service, no PS3, no Wii, no DS, but every model of XBOX360 was available, cheaper than a PS3 and with 10% off.
Really, itīs insane to say that PS3 is a failure. We canīt forget that Wii and Xbox have piracy on their side, so they sell more consoles. In Brazil itīs normal to do that. Usually, the console only sells if it is possible to unlock and play backups.
The PS3 surprised me in every possible way as an entertainment system. Watch movies, photos, play games with an amazing quality. And I am thrilled about that.
i completely agree with what lgmarques said above:
Really, itīs insane to say that PS3 is a failure. We canīt forget that Wii and Xbox have piracy on their side, so they sell more consoles. In Brazil itīs normal to do that. Usually, the console only sells if it is possible to unlock and play backups.
This is not just a phenomenon that 'works' in Brazil. It is the same thing all over the world. Whenever i go to check for any games at the local retailers or electronic suppliers, if i ponder too long before any gaming console or ask for some advice on a console, the sales dude shows and begins his speech about the merits of the PS3 v/s Xbox 360 v/s Wii.
HOWEVER, it almost ALWAYS ends with the fact that i can get the Xbox360 and Wii modified and play game backups for very very cheap, compared to the unhackable PS3. This is really all it comes down to, people! I'm not saying that we ALL root for piracy, but in the poor global economic conditions, i think spending less for the same multiplatform games on the the XBox360, isn't something that has never been considered. In fact, all the Xbox360's are sold out in all local retailer shops where i live! It's all just PS3 and Wii on the shelves.
Resident Evil 5 apparently caused all the hasty sales and people are just not willing to spend on a PS3 + original bluray RE5 game, rather than a cheap xbox360 arcade + pirated copy of RE5. The graphics are same and it plays exactly the same. On another note, i have both consoles; PS3 bought last November and Xbox360 bought about a week ago
In the local currency (rupees) the RE5 costs 2500 and for my modified xbox arcade, it's only 150! I'm not saying piracy is good, but it does make a huge difference for those without the means, who would otherwise only be able to buy one original game every two or three months or so.
I have to stress on one thing though. Now that i have both the PS3 and the xbox360: The PS3 is sooo much better quality in terms of the hardware itself, parts used, very advanced technology (with bluray and HDMI 1.3, while the xbox360 has only HDMI 1.2), quality of image and far superior graphics (especially for exclusive games, yes Killzone2 is simply like a game from the future, like i would only expect on xbox720. It's that good! and it surpasses anything i have seen on the xbox360, like halo3 or Gears of war2).
So, to make it a simple decision: if you play endless hours a day and don't have the means to buy all your original games, get an xbox360. However, you will definitely be missing out on the futuristic graphics that exist only on PS3's exclusive games, like Littlebigplanet, motorstorm2, killzone2, and all the superb lineup of upcoming games on the PS3 only.
if you play reasonably, like a few hours a day and want QUALITY gaming above all, then definitely get a PS3.
if you own an xbox and can compare to a PS3 (without even switching any of them on), you will know what i mean, when i say the PS3 is years ahead in terms of the hardware refinement and the expertise Sony has showcased into this truly amazing piece of tech!
Futuristic graphics??!? (^^see above) I'm a PS3 fan also but come on!!!! this is simply bs! Little Big Planet Graphics?? WTF?
Watch every Graphics comparation for multiplatform and even compare exclusives and see that XBOX 360 and PS3 are actually on par or (utlist until now) PS3 was slightly inferior!
YES I'm not afraid to say it until now PS3 was inferior graphics wise! Only KILLZONE 2 and maybe from this point onward the PS3 will eventually surpass the XBOX! but FUTURISTIC?!?!?! COME ON!!! That made your post totally worthless (even if you did make some good points - PS3 is way better value than any console!)
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@sharks FUTURISTIC?!?!?! 