It was this statement that confused me.
It made me believe you expected Sony to lower the price of the PS3 in response to another price drop of the 360 and not the other way around.
Prediction Poll: How many PS3's will be sold?
- Thread starter TheChefO
- Start date
It was this statement that confused me.
It made me believe you expected Sony to lower the price of the PS3 in response to another price drop of the 360 and not the other way around.
I actually think MS is looking at their own sales and not really worrying about Sony's price. They saw their August numbers hit 276,000 in the US and they will be monitoring what happens in September and October. If they jump to 400,000 or so, I think they will hold fast at $349 no matter what Sony does. They might bundle some games though.
If they don't gain enough traction from Halo 3 at the new price point (almost inconceivable IMO) they will probably lower to $299 before the Thanksgiving shopping begins.
That's what I would do if I ran a successful manufacturing company. Wait a minute... I do.
I don't think MS is in that position ...yet.
Nintendo obviously is as they are selling everything they can make, thus, cutting price would do nothing but hurt their bottom line.
MS on the other hand is still battling with Sony for userbase and mindshare. They have momentum on their side and they have a strong lineup. If I ran the ship, I'd jump into mainstream with the core ($200-250) and push the premium to $300.
Such actions would essentially kill ps3 off in the region before it can get it's legs under it and ensures it will be kept as a nitch product for the duration of the gen in this market.
Across the rest of the world they are in a no win situation in Japan and the majority of the EU. In these regions, pricing has been inefective up to this point, so I would scale it back (no price drops for a good while) and be more aggressive on developer support for games which interest these regions.
They are connected at the hip IMO. One will dictate a response from the other at this point in the race. How much or little is a variable, but a reaction will happen in short order.
They are both connected at the hip with the market that is how I see it.
You know the consumers don´t just base their purchase on the price, all of these companies will spend huge amounts on marketing as well, they will try to create an image of good value matching the price point they are going for.
MS have already set the sails with the multi million marketing of Halo3 and more will follow.
Indeed and good point on marketing.
It was the one thing I thought might (just might) save them from their crazy high msrp at launch. They were once masters at creating hype and thought they might be able to overcome the highprice, but so far, they have been lacking. Lucky for them, nobody has taken their seat of elite yet as MS and N have both been lackluster as well in marketing IMO.
Price isn't the only factor you are correct for sure on that point. I look at price as an inhibitor. If it is low enough, it opens the doors to mass success (Wii, ps2, ps1) but it is still up to the console makers to market the machine correctly and provide games that people desire. If it is too high, the sway mark for convincing people is difficult/impossible to reach.
Maybe someone should tell Sony that the current price is too high for Europe too, seeing how they've decided against a price cut here. The PS3 costs ~$850 where I live.
It's bundled with two games (Motor Storm and Resistance, iirc). The same package could very well show up in America--at the $599 price point again. There's no better time to get folks to spend more than Christmas, after all.
You should never think about European products in terms of the value of the dollar. The dollar/euro conversion rate is at a record high ... 1 euro gets you 1.4 dollars, these days.
Having said that, don't take no mention of a price cut at TGS to mean anything definitive. First of all, TGS is about Japan, and a price-cut for Japan is less likely as it is already quite low.
Also, if they are planning a price-cut, say, in the month before Christmas, then they would never announce it a month early, quite simply because that has a negative impact on retailers.
Having said that, don't take no mention of a price cut at TGS to mean anything definitive. First of all, TGS is about Japan, and a price-cut for Japan is less likely as it is already quite low.
Also, if they are planning a price-cut, say, in the month before Christmas, then they would never announce it a month early, quite simply because that has a negative impact on retailers.
From today's keynote, PS2 is over 120 million units now and growing
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070920/hirai.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070920/hirai.htm
Reconsideration of my views. PS3 apparently gets many exclusive announcements right now from TGS. A great deal of them look incredible. Also the reintroduction of rumble. If it is indeed a new vibration technology that would definetely be a plus. If Sony chooses to make a major price cut for Christmas PS3 is bound for a big jump in sales.
The only thing they have to do is handle things the right way.
What? Can I have a link, you must be watching a different TGS than me? Torino Game Show? Toronto Game Show? Tulsa Game Show? The one in Tokyo is very "meh" for Sony for now - Home delayed, Dualshock 3 delayed outside Japan, not even new FFXIII footage - and not a single new game announced during the keynote.
But when have Sony unveiled a whole stack of new games at TGS? They were never going to wait until now to show a host of brand new games.
TGS may have been 'meh' for you, but for PS3 owners its a comforting reminder of the number of games that are definately coming now, and in particular during the first half of 2008.
I think his point was, if nothing new was shown, how can anyone have a different opinion of the games after the show than they had before the show.
I expect Sony will attempt to do a value-add by including games in the box as they are in EU. Doing so will help get boxes in homes and won't hurt their bottomline any worse than they are currently experiencing.
Speaking of value per dollar: Watch out for the US economy. We are on shaky ground right now and it might stall upcoming gaming sales.
Well said. Can't wait to get my PS3 soon now! I'm very excited indeed.
Thanks mate.
Wow I thought you already had one given all your posts on GT!
I got mine a month ago and will get Heavenly Sword later this week. Plus you've got Pro Evo 7 next month, Uncharted in December and hopefully (!) Prologue aswell.
There were new footages for XIII and VS XIII ("for PLAYSTATION 3 Only" shown at the end of both) in the closed theater but no media at this point.
http://www.famitsu.com/event/tgs/2007/1210654_1603.html
Amazingly, some keep buying them.
I'd be interested to know how many ps2's are being bought at this point for replacing dead ones.
Even that market should be drying up soon as putting $130 into a ps2 could be money spent on a next gen console.
Curious also is this shipped or sold?
30 million in one year is a lot of old consoles at this point.
As told at the GC conference, there are emerging markets such as Russia and Middle East where PS2 is still growing.
Well then you were wrong to equate 'announcements' to 'games' then weren't you?
No need to aplogise. Just buy a PS3, and maybe you'll feel a lil less 'meh'.
Besides, I'm looking forward to Motorstorm 2; the first game is awesome.
