Sony Germany: Pre-order a PS3, get a launch title free

[Titanio]

Picked this up on GAF..It seems SCE Germany is running an official promotion whereby if you pre-order a PS3 during July, you'll receive a launch title free of charge. Some retailers started running the promotion, and it wasn't clear if it was actually something organised by Sony, but that has been confirmed now. Amazon.de has it on their front page, and Saturn and MediaMarkt fliers can be seen here and here.

The games you can choose from are:

# Eye of Judgement
# Formula 1 2006
# Genji 2
# Resistance: Fall of Man
# MotorStorm
# SingStar
# Lair

I'm not sure if the suggestion is that all of these are going to be launch titles, but Amazon notes that if a game isn't at launch, you'll be able to get it as soon as it becomes available.

It's a pretty sweet deal, and helps take the edge off the price a bit - and it's more surprising that it's a general Sony promotion there. But the interesting thing is that apparently the same deal has now appeared in Australia . Toys 'R Us in Australia have it, as per this report. It'd be nice if this ends up being offered everywhere..

 

[Moonblade]

Nice

If I can get this promotion in belgium too, it might push me over the edge of hesitation.

Go mediamarkt! \0/

 

[slider]

Official eh? It's sort of at odds with the line a while ago: where (I think) Sony had said the weren't endorsing pre-orders before the TGS.

Just wanna hear something concrete about pre-ordering in the UK.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The only place I've seen preordering in the UK is Play, who do a forced bundle of Formula 1, Singstar and Warhawk, for £550. Odd bundle I think, as not everyone is going to want Singstar.

An included game would be very nice, knocking a relative $60ish off the price tag, and probably a quite cheap way to add value to the system.

 

[PiNkY]

Nice

If I can get this promotion in belgium too, it might push me over the edge of hesitation.

Go mediamarkt! \0/

Well you could always take a small trip across the border...

 

[vazel]

This would certainly make the high price tag slightly more bearable.

 

[Acert93]

Why would Sony-Germany do this?

If they are projecting the ability to sell all their PS3 consoles at launch then why is there a need for such bundles?

 

[slider]

The only place I've seen preordering in the UK is Play, who do a forced bundle of Formula 1, Singstar and Warhawk, for £550. Odd bundle I think, as not everyone is going to want Singstar.

Yeah, I'd seen the Play offer but avoided it because of, as you note, the odd collection of games.

Bundles aren't exactly uncommon. Decent(ish) selection of 1st and 2nd party games I think - I hope it spreads to these shores, can't see why it wouldn't.

 

[Titanio]

Official eh? It's sort of at odds with the line a while ago: where (I think) Sony had said the weren't endorsing pre-orders before the TGS.

Just wanna hear something concrete about pre-ordering in the UK.

It's definitely official, the amazon.de blurb even says it's in conjunction with Sony Germany (and I guess that's why all the games on offer are Sony first party titles). Also, apparently all preorders in Germany are being registered with Sony (presumably so they can regulate shipments, prevent multiple preorders from one person etc.) - you get a little booklet from Sony, supposedly, when you preorder, and a voucher for your game.

In NZ and Aus, they've started preorders after talks with Sony. I don't know when the rest of the world will start, but I can't imagine it'll be very long. I really really hope this promotion is more general..

Why would Sony-Germany do this?

If they are projecting the ability to sell all their PS3 consoles at launch then why is there a need for such bundles?

Where this is available, I guess it helps defuse some of concerns about price. Despite the confidence of execs, I don't think Sony is stupid, I think they know they have a job to do in terms of selling the system and cushioning the high price. I think it generates positive buzz also amongst those who have preordered, and gets them talking about the great deal they got, which helps spread that positive thinking outward to more people. From Sony's POV, it incentivises early preordering (you have to preorder in July to get your game), which would help with their planning.

They did throw a free UMD movie in with the first million PSPs or so also..a free game is always nicer though

All that said, it still remains to be seen on what scale this will be offered. I kind of have my doubts Sony Germany could do this autonomously, though. I think it's likely to be part of a wider strategy on SCEE's part, and I'm not sure why they'd just single out Germany for this. But maybe that's my hopeful side..

 

[[maven]]

This would certainly make the high price tag slightly more bearable.

Not bearable enough for me, considering the available launch games.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Where this is available, I guess it helps defuse some of concerns about price. Despite the confidence of execs, I don't think Sony is stupid, I think they know they have a job to do in terms of selling the system and cushioning the high price.

Although funnily enough, the places where this has least result has to be the EU and Australia where we're used to higher prices. In the US and Japan, there's more resistance to the price, and there the bundled game would be more effective.

 

[Titanio]

Although funnily enough, the places where this has least result has to be the EU and Australia where we're used to higher prices.

It's still expensive, though. Yes, we're used to paying more, but still.

Hopefully such a deal will also make it to the US and Japan (moreover in the rest of Europe too!).

 

[patsu]

Although funnily enough, the places where this has least result has to be the EU and Australia where we're used to higher prices. In the US and Japan, there's more resistance to the price, and there the bundled game would be more effective.

Yes, if SCEA does a pre-order with a free game, I will jump on it right away. I will choose Lair or Resistance: Fall of Man or both

 

[Acert93]

Where this is available, I guess it helps defuse some of concerns about price. Despite the confidence of execs, I don't think Sony is stupid, I think they know they have a job to do in terms of selling the system and cushioning the high price.

Well the angle fans have been taking is this is a great deal and demand is high enough among the enthusiests with money that such moves are uneccesary.

Bottomline is companies don't bundle unless there is a lack of demand. If Sony was confident they would sell units there would be no need to bundle additional software -- which, mind you, hurts profits.

I am all for bundling a game with hardware, but this seems to be a conession on Sony's part that the console is too expensive. If they felt confident in selling every unit they were getting out the door there would be absolutely no need to give away $60 software. It all comes down to supply and demand. The time, it would seem to do such bundles would be Fall 2007 when your target customer is looking for more value. I would think, and have predicted so, that Sony should have no problem selling their 6M units. With a mere 4M units world wide this fall outages should be outrageous and across the board. Tossing in extra software to entice extra sales seems to indicate someone at the top is not quite confident in sales--which strikes me odd because I think Sony could sell 6M units worldwide in Nov-Dec at $700--no problem. Something is not adding up.

 

[Titanio]

Well the angle fans have been taking is this is a great deal and demand is high enough among the enthusiests with money that such moves are uneccesary.

I think it would sell without the bundling, but I think this is about PR. Beyond those who are getting the PS3 anyway, there's concern about the pricing. Like I said, a deal like this would get people talking to their friends about how they got a free game with it etc., and not so much defuse concern among those actually buying the system, but defuse the arguments of those looking in and thinking how horrible it all is. I think it just boils down to good PR, and having positive things being said about it, and perhaps evoke maybe a little more envy in those who aren't taking the plunge so soon.

To be honest, though, whatever their reasoning is, I just hope they're thinking the same with regards to the rest of the territories. If that means them being spooked about demand, so be it

 

[patsu]

Bottomline is companies don't bundle unless there is a lack of demand. If Sony was confident they would sell units there would be no need to bundle additional software -- which, mind you, hurts profits.

Yes it would be a good thing to do. It will also provide valuable data for Sony.

The other benefit is price management. Say if (in case) Sony need to drop the price quickly after launch (without the game), the first wave of people won't scream.

EDIT: Oh... if my memory is correct, Ken, Phil and Kaz already mentioned that they will bundle some sort of content with PS3 sales many months ago. Not sure if they were refering to Blu-ray movies.

 

[Moonblade]

Although funnily enough, the places where this has least result has to be the EU and Australia where we're used to higher prices. In the US and Japan, there's more resistance to the price, and there the bundled game would be more effective.

Indeed, very strange. Maybe SCEA and SCEJ will follow after all. Or perhaps pre-orders in NA and Japan already reached a very positive limit.
Are all these bundled PS3 games first party?

 

[RobertR1]

When that's your stellar lineup, you'd be giving one away free also......

 

[patsu]

Where this is available, I guess it helps defuse some of concerns about price. Despite the confidence of execs, I don't think Sony is stupid, I think they know they have a job to do in terms of selling the system and cushioning the high price. I think it generates positive buzz also amongst those who have preordered, and gets them talking about the great deal they got, which helps spread that positive thinking outward to more people. From Sony's POV, it incentivises early preordering (you have to preorder in July to get your game), which would help with their planning.

They did throw a free UMD movie in with the first million PSPs or so also..a free game is always nicer though

All that said, it still remains to be seen on what scale this will be offered. I kind of have my doubts Sony Germany could do this autonomously, though. I think it's likely to be part of a wider strategy on SCEE's part, and I'm not sure why they'd just single out Germany for this. But maybe that's my hopeful side..

I think the pre-ordering will also help Sony to forecast its allocation better across geography. And you may be right, this could be a platform for Sony to work with its resellers to generate momentum for the launch (I hope !).

 

[Rolf N]

<...>
I'm not sure if the suggestion is that all of these are going to be launch titles, but Amazon notes that if a game isn't at launch, you'll be able to get it as soon as it becomes available.

A "Saturn" clerk told me that there is no firm guarantee that the game you select will be available, but that in this case there'd be an option to change your mind and select another game.

Some shops run fixed bundles, but AFAICT the official Sony preorder program is meant to let the customer choose a game, from that list you posted.

There are special preorder ~booklets, printed by Sony, used by all stores that take part in the program, so it is in fact an organized move, not just one store jumping the gun.

The really interesting tidbit is that Germany was basically in total disorder on Friday, when the preorder program kicked off, because the German team had a soccer world cup match in the afternoon ... quite seriously, everything was understaffed, and what little staff they had wasn't exactly motivated.