80GB PS3 SKU coming soon?

[Diamond.G]

pops and whistles, that's all I'm hearing, pops and whistles..

Are you referring to a secure way that Sony may/may not distribute DL'ed digital media?

Yes I am. I mean from a content providers prospective MS offers a mighty nice fence for my content to sit in. I could see Sony offering streamed movies that don't stay on your local store, but what kind of container can be used for H.264 (well other than BR ) other than MP4?

 

[Npl]

Okay. Standard 2.5" SATA drives, yes I know. What I was asking is how does the PS3 react if there is no drive at all in the system. We had a member post saying that they think sony should sell the system with no drive at all. So the logical thing to do (for someone whom doesn't have the system yet) is to ask what happens in that situation. J6P gets his shiny new PS3 with no Hard Drive home plugs it in and turns it on, what does he see?

I asked once what would happen, got no answer. Those snobs with a PS3 are to busy playing it seems
I guess you get the same as if you just used an unformatted drive(ie just inserted a new one). error messages if you try to do things that need a formatted HDD?

And for that matter does Sony institute some sort of quality level for those drives? You can get the same speed same cache same size drive and have varying transfer rates and seek times.

Put out a list of recommended drives with a possibly rebate-option (im sure eg. Seagate would be happy to get free advertisment), use other drives and you get a warning that it might not adhere to Sonys high standards. Or a performance test. Really, this problem already exists as you can change HDDs.

 

[Carl B]

A larger install base implies greater profitability. You can't make it that clear cut like that. If or when Sony thinks they're going to lose too much marketshare to be profitable in the long run, they will definitely cut prices to boost their install base. Maybe not right away, but they probably have to cut prices sooner or later.

"Implies" is the perfect word - too often people judge the worth of a business by its marketshare. Now that said though, obviously Sony would rather have more than less, and definitely there will be price drops. I just don't think that the later will come until they feel cashflow is firmly under their control and where they feel comfortable with.

 

[Diamond.G]

Put out a list of recommended drives with a possibly rebate-option (im sure eg. Seagate would be happy to get free advertisment), use other drives and you get a warning that it might not adhere to Sonys high standards. Or a performance test. Really, this problem already exists as you can change HDDs.

That is what I am thinking as well. So now developers can't truely rely on the performance of the HDD cause it may not perform as well as the one that came standard. (<- see that negative spin, now watch this)

Of course that is why Sony does provide a HDD as a standard item, so those that couldn't be bothered to look up the specs of the drive and find a suitable (yet larger) replacement don't have to. I commend them with that, one less thing for me as a consumer to have to worry about!

 

[DeanoC]

Okay. Standard 2.5" SATA drives, yes I know. What I was asking is how does the PS3 react if there is no drive at all in the system. We had a member post saying that they think sony should sell the system with no drive at all. So the logical thing to do (for someone whom doesn't have the system yet) is to ask what happens in that situation. J6P gets his shiny new PS3 with no Hard Drive home plugs it in and turns it on, what does he see?

AFAIK It won't boot, around the time it was decided that all SKUs would have a HD I remember somebody from Sony saying the OS now required the HD.

 

[Diamond.G]

AFAIK It won't boot, around the time it was decided that all SKUs would have a HD I remember somebody from Sony saying the OS now required the HD.

So that basically makes the idea NPL had a bad one then huh?

 

[whatever7]

My theory is they will discontinue the 20GB first, which is sold out anyway; offer the current 60GB at $600 with 50-70 dollars rebate; debute the 80GB (sans emotion engine) for $600. Once the old 60GB is sold out, the new 60GB with no EE and no WiFi will debute at $500.

And it will happen some time in the summer.

 

[Rangers]

If anything I bet they'll just slipstream this as the new 60GB, because cost will probably be the same.

Certainly no new sku.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So the logical thing to do (for someone whom doesn't have the system yet) is to ask what happens in that situation. J6P gets his shiny new PS3 with no Hard Drive home plugs it in and turns it on, what does he see?

The store ought not to sell J6P a PS3 sans HDD without making sure they're well informed. It's no different to selling games that require an HDD or EyeToy or other peripheral.

 

[Diamond.G]

The store ought not to sell J6P a PS3 sans HDD without making sure they're well informed. It's no different to selling games that require an HDD or EyeToy or other peripheral.

Just like how they used to badger me when I would buy HD-DVD's. Note: I haven't been told that in quite a long time.

 

[Crossbar]

My theory is they will discontinue the 20GB first, which is sold out anyway; offer the current 60GB at $600 with 50-70 dollars rebate; debute the 80GB (sans emotion engine) for $600. Once the old 60GB is sold out, the new 60GB with no EE and no WiFi will debute at $500.

And it will happen some time in the summer.

That is a scenario that sounds plausable in my ears and it might appear in Europe a couple of months later.

 

[TheChefO]

That is a scenario that sounds plausable in my ears and it might appear in Europe a couple of months later.

First time I noticed your sig -touche!

I'll see your sig and raise you my new sig.

/offtopic

 

[NERO]

Most of the folks on this thread seem to be unanimous in Sony eliminating the 20GB model but still having two skus. I am not decided in my guess work but whatever7 brought up something I hadn't heard of when mentioning

the new 60GB with no EE and no WiFi will debute at $500.

Is whatever7 suggesting to increase basics's hdd by 40GB, add 20GB to the premium and still keep a 100USD difference? This could be a fine idea I'm just curious as to what the members think about consumers continuing to pay a 100USD difference for skus that are even less different than before? (Or which one/two skus you guess Sony will get into in the long run?)

 

[Crossbar]

First time I noticed your sig -touche!

It's a little mean I know, but equally mean to you and Sony I think.

On topic:
@Nero, Sony may add something new to the 80 GB SKU as well. Maybe bundle the new EyeToy HD or something else that adds value.

 

[NERO]

@Nero, Sony may add something new to the 80 GB SKU as well. Maybe bundle the new EyeToy HD or something else that adds value.

Everything mentioned in this thread is a possibilty since we are just musing over are guessing/prediction skills but I respectfully disagree with the above. When it comes to profit, peripherals are where it's at. I highly doubt that Sony will at to the component cost of one of their skus when they can charge the hell out of consumers by packaging separately.

One of the helpful threads related to this discussion is the PS3 cost breakdown thread http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=35764&highlight=ps3+cost+breakdown
(I wonder if Isupply updates these breakdowns). The major differences were the wifi and hdd which accounted for ~15USD and 11USD respectively. I don't know how much the wifi has gone down in cost but most are in agreement that the HDD cost variance is close to nill (maybe even for the 80GB HDD). Who knows what Sony will do, but I'll guess that will phase out the 20GB and continue to sell the 60-100gb at 600USD until price cuts next year knock 100-150USD. They will only have one sku.

 

[Diamond.G]

Any word on if this "new" PS3 will support wireless n?

 

[NERO]

Any word on if this "new" PS3 will support wireless n?

This is the thing: The rumoured "new" PS3 is apparently the Euro premium version but with 80GB. That's it. From a marketing standpoint it looks better because there is a bit more space, but will the consumers care? I don't know though I doubt it will matter to many people.

 

[Todd33]

This is the thing: The rumoured "new" PS3 is apparently the Euro premium version but with 80GB. That's it. From a marketing standpoint it looks better because there is a bit more space, but will the consumers care? I don't know though I doubt it will matter to many people.

Sony sent a letter to the FCC so they can release a new SKU in the EU? The Internet rumor mill sure is funny.

 

[NERO]

Sony sent a letter to the FCC so they can release a new SKU in the EU? The Internet rumor mill sure is funny.

Yeah and they emailed the Vatican to request wifi removal! <zing>

 

[Crossbar]

Everything mentioned in this thread is a possibilty since we are just musing over are guessing/prediction skills but I respectfully disagree with the above. When it comes to profit, peripherals are where it's at. I highly doubt that Sony will at to the component cost of one of their skus when they can charge the hell out of consumers by packaging separately.

I agree that peripherals are usually a way to "charge the hell out" of the consumer, the HD camera may not be the best example, but it all depends on the perceived value to the consumer and the actual cost of that added feature. You could look at the build-in wifi as a bundled feature as well.

If the cost of the feature was $20 but the consumer perceive it as a value of $80, Sony can add the feature and charge an extra $50 still making money while the customer thinks he/she gets great value for the money.

What I was getting at in my post was that Sony might add new features to the 80 GB as differentiators since the the size of the HD would no longer be such a big differentiator and at the same time, they could change the price gap.

Who knows what Sony will do, but I'll guess that will phase out the 20GB and continue to sell the 60-100gb at 600USD until price cuts next year knock 100-150USD. They will only have one sku.

This fall I think Sony will have at least one "stripped down" SKU that will aim for the more price-conscious consumers.