PS3 Price drop and 40GB SKU confirmed *
- Thread starter scooby_dooby
- Start date
- Status
Yeah, I just read this elsewhere... and yeah, might as well have a thread on it to continue the fun from last week. 
IMO their sources seem to be an echo chamber of the original rumor itself, rather than anything new and with added credibility. Even were the console to actually drop in price though, the idea of no USB ports is ridiculous, which itself adds a vector for doubt on this.
IMO their sources seem to be an echo chamber of the original rumor itself, rather than anything new and with added credibility. Even were the console to actually drop in price though, the idea of no USB ports is ridiculous, which itself adds a vector for doubt on this.
Gradthrawn
Veteran
Adds a lot of doubt, in my opinion. It's completely ridiculous, like you said. Especially considering it eliminates one of their mainstream peripherals, EyePlay, which is aimed at the exact market this lower cost PS3 would be targeting. Doesn't make any sense at all. Does the PS3's Sing Star use USB mics or BT?
EDIT
Never mind, found the answer in the IGN Sing Star Blog. It uses USB mics. They're having technical difficulties getting 2 BT mics to work together. That means they would be eliminating the use of their 2 biggest mainstream applications with this rumored configuration that's aimed a more price conscience mainstream market. That's not to say that (apparently) dumb decisions haven't been made before, but this would take the cake.
Last edited by a moderator:
While I won't discount a possible cheaper SKU, that configuration at that price seems like a boneheaded move that makes no sense to me.
Considering the current 'Starter Pack' with two games, an extra controller (and USB ports...) is £399, £299 is still a sizable chunk of cash (~510+VAT) and I see neither the value proposition nor how they'll be able to attract a significant number of new customers.
Considering the current 'Starter Pack' with two games, an extra controller (and USB ports...) is £399, £299 is still a sizable chunk of cash (~510+VAT) and I see neither the value proposition nor how they'll be able to attract a significant number of new customers.
Because £300 is a lot less money that £425 and you don't get lumbered with games you don't want. Plus the pricetag sans extras is often the one that grabs people. A £300 is more likely to get people thinking about it, when they may consider the value of bundles and extras, rather than a £425 which evokes an immediate 'no thanks I'll keep moving'
djskribbles
Legend
a USB port doesn't cost much, right? a memory card reader is probably more and i would remove that if anything. USB is needed for the controller, ps2 adapters, steering wheels, older mics etc., it would be stupid to remove the USB ports.
Yeah, I just read this elsewhere... and yeah, might as well have a thread on it to continue the fun from last week.
IMO their sources seem to be an echo chamber of the original rumor itself, rather than anything new and with added credibility. Even were the console to actually drop in price though, the idea of no USB ports is ridiculous, which itself adds a vector for doubt on this.
The fact that it's from CVG should all the vector of doubt you need! I do go there fairly frequently, because there is sometimes some more UK-centric news than in other places, but I don't often put much stock in their rumours. Some of the headlines and main stories seem to deliberately provoke the fans of one system or another.
However if it IS true, it's not actually that great a deal. Consider that the extra controller and 2 games in the bundle currently available are, to the consumer, worth a similar amount, but with a 60gb, non-neutered PS3 and they could almost release the standard model and save confusion. Of course this brings us right back to value, one of the main arguments put forth for why the PS3 isn't selling as well as many expected is not because it isn't good value, but that it's simply too expensive, no matter what it has in it
Why wasn't the price drop announced during TGS? How is a TGS announcement less effective than a Halo timed announcement when they are just days apart?
I would utterly dimiss this rumor if it wasn't for the fact that Sony still insisting 11-13 million PS3 shipped for this fiscal year even though we six months in and only recently has Sony's userbase just about ate through the 5.5 million shipped during last fiscal year.
I would utterly dimiss this rumor if it wasn't for the fact that Sony still insisting 11-13 million PS3 shipped for this fiscal year even though we six months in and only recently has Sony's userbase just about ate through the 5.5 million shipped during last fiscal year.
To be fair to the CnVG rumour, the news of the lack of USB comes from Sky News rather than their publishing and retail sector informants. Thus I think it safe to say we have a rumour in two parts : 1) That there will be a £300 SKU with 40GB HDD. 2) That this SKU will lack USB. Part 2 is preposterous for all the above mentioned points, but point one makes a lot of sense, being something we are all expecting, and tying in with other rumours about manufacturers (FoxConn) working on producing a cheaper SKU. I'd say the likelihood of the cheaper SKU is very high, and the USB idea is just Sky not really knowing what they're talking about thinking some things are going to be stripped out to reduce costs, failing to understand that the PS3 has gone through lots of cost reduction already and a price drop is already 'paid for'.
Because presumably the price drop won't happen for 6+ weeks, and Sony don't want to damage current sales. Thus it's business as usual, 'we haven't got any price drops on the radar', keep people buying now, and spring the price drop at the last minute.
My point if we didn't see it during TGS then why this week during the Halo launch? Whats a 3-4 days announcement delay worth for a product that 6+ weeks out?
As it's not being announced now, we dunno when the price-drop is happening. Plus, if it does happen soon, TGS is for Japan. If this new SKU is EU only say, what's the point in going to Tokyo and saying 'We're producing a new cheaper SKU, but not for you guys!'??
SCC chip being replaced with something else. BC even more integrated (the much talk about RSX with build in GS). Cheaper Blue laser, die shrink, less energy = less cooling. If sony has been working as we know they can there are lots of good reasons why they could make a hefty price reduction without killing themselves. But i´m gonna play it negative this round (since postive has yielded nothing good so far in regards to my hopes for PS3) and say 299,- lolzor!
Well sad to say my 'price prediction' has been lousy. I was waiting for ages for PSP's price to drop and when it finally happened, it wasn't worth bothering with. And now the price has gone up again! Me expecting PS3 rto be £300 before Christmas means it'll probably get a cut of £40 next June.
I like it.
It isn't technically a "pricedrop", so the words denying a pricedrop aren't false. It's a new sku with a reduced featureset.
It will also likely have reduced availability until the BOM can be reduced to match.
A psuedo "paper launch" to control cost and losses but increase awareness/desire.
Car salesmen have used this technique for years to draw buyers to the lot and when they get there the "deals" are all sold out, but they happen to have a pretty good deal right over here for just a bit more money...
I could be way off, but it's probably the most cost effective way for them to operate in the current market.
It isn't technically a "pricedrop", so the words denying a pricedrop aren't false. It's a new sku with a reduced featureset.
It will also likely have reduced availability until the BOM can be reduced to match.
A psuedo "paper launch" to control cost and losses but increase awareness/desire.
Car salesmen have used this technique for years to draw buyers to the lot and when they get there the "deals" are all sold out, but they happen to have a pretty good deal right over here for just a bit more money...
I could be way off, but it's probably the most cost effective way for them to operate in the current market.
Well, here's the idea... the notion behind the theory would be that Sony has a new revision of the hardware ready (we know they've had 65nm Cells available for some time at least, and RSX could be on deck as well at this point); the 40GB SKU would be a way to introduce it into retail at a lower price point than the present 60/8GB units, with the 40GB/feature spread serving as a retail differentiator between the two.
The previous issue with lowering the 60/80GB prices was that the hard drive itself makes zero difference, and there were still a lot of 90nm components to work through. This is a manner in which both 90nm and 65nm units can exist in retail simultaneously, with the older more expensive 90nm units still being positioned at a premium to the newer, less expensive versions. Obviously, once 90nm stocks were fully worked through we would expect Sony's new premium PS3 to come on the scene with the new revision.
Now, personally I'm not 100% still in thinking this will happen, but it's a manner now that we can reconcile the dramatic price-drop with some real manufacturing-side drivers. Credit to Uttar for exploring this angle.
If they're going to raise awareness/desire they'd have to advertise it broadly, and if they're going to advertise it broadly they'd better have stock available.
Bait & Switch is both illegal and in general a tactic that has backfired more times than can be counted in the history of marketing.
"Car salesman" is hardly a comparison Sony would want associated with themselves, I think.
- Status
