Sony: PlayStation 3 price drop

[Shifty Geezer]

If you want a PS3 for other games though, it's bad value. I'm not keen on racers, and don't care for Motorstorm. I'd play Resistance if it were in there, but wouldn't be keen to go buy it. Give me a £300 PS3 and I can buy my own games that fit my own tastes.

 

[pipo]

Give me a £300 PS3 and I can buy my own games that fit my own tastes.

And we have a winner!

For me it's still a 599 Euro console with must haves that are still in development.

It's a good deal if you were on the fence though.

 

[Arwin]

Wow, that interview on gameindustry.biz with David Reeves is pretty amazing. He seems to be very insightful, and very focussed on the cultural differences between the regions.

I would have expected a price drop in Europe anyway, but apparently the console is selling well enough, and besides, if you now get 2 games and 2 controllers for 599, in consumer retail value, even if those games were 30 euro each (which they really should be considered to be, as both games have sold over a million) that would still be 489 without the games.

He says about as many strange things as really sharp things. I'm quite surprised, really.

Pretty sure that the price itself will be down before Christmas though. I guess that's what they are planning for. Anyway, these are the two games almost everyone bought, and they're worth the money imho. Great stuff.

I agree with you Shifty, but Motorstorm is the game you give to your guests, even if you don't like it yourself. It looks ace, and the sixaxis tilt steering is amazingly good and draws everyone in, big or small, old or young. It has a certain 'wii' factor. And in the meantime, you do still have that second controller.

 

[RobertR1]

If you want a PS3 for other games though, it's bad value. I'm not keen on racers, and don't care for Motorstorm. I'd play Resistance if it were in there, but wouldn't be keen to go buy it. Give me a £300 PS3 and I can buy my own games that fit my own tastes.

Maybe the clue train will kick in and they'll realize it's the price of entry, not the sum of features and components that are holding back the consumer.

Let's face it. Motorstorm and Resistance are getting old now. It's like being excited about getting PGR3 when you buy the MS wireless wheels. I much rather they keep the game and charge me less! Also, if you're this late into the game, get a used copy. You can likely get both for the price of one.

Ofcourse, melicach consumer based math isnt' the same as Sony profits and losses. Sony would lose a lot less money keeping the price current and adding a new controller and 2 games vs. selling it for 425#.

 

[pipo]

Wow, that interview on gameindustry.biz with David Reeves is pretty amazing.

...

He says about as many strange things as really sharp things. I'm quite surprised, really.

Have you seen Tretton's: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26700

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at an E3 roundtable, SCEA president Jack Tretton addressed the issue of some games looking better on the 360 than they do on the PS3.

...

"At some point, what’s the point of porting it over to another platform if it is not going to look as good on a platform that is more expensive? Why waste any money in development doing that?â€￾

Not very clever if you ask me. He might as well say: 'Don't bother porting guys'.

I'd take a look in the mirror first if I was in his shoes. On top of that, he should be happy with all the support he gets.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Let's face it. Motorstorm and Resistance are getting old now.

I can't see why that would bother people. Is by comparison to modern titles they look long in the tooth, then sure, people may be less enthusiastic. But they're still top-draw titles for PS3 and there isn't much competition for them either. Seem like good packins if all you want to target are the 'hardcore' gamers.

Heck, I'm still excited for Rogue Galaxy on PS2, and that's been out for like 18 months!

 

[RobertR1]

I can't see why that would bother people. Is by comparison to modern titles they look long in the tooth, then sure, people may be less enthusiastic. But they're still top-draw titles for PS3 and there isn't much competition for them either. Seem like good packins if all you want to target are the 'hardcore' gamers.

Heck, I'm still excited for Rogue Galaxy on PS2, and that's been out for like 18 months!

That's mainly the case due to how pitiful the PS3 libraby has been to date. They're "in demand" by default. Now that Liar, Warhawk and other actually desireables games are on their way out, the focus and anticipation will shift towards such titles.

Again, keep the games and lower the price of entry and you're bound to sell a lot more units. Ofcourse that might effect the bottom line much more, which is exactly what this is about. Adding value to the consumer but being very careful with the bottom line per unit.

 

[Arwin]

Have you seen Tretton's: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26700

Not very clever if you ask me. He might as well say: 'Don't bother porting guys'.

It's a little more complicated than that of course. Sure, the question is stupid, because the way I see it, publishers are pretty much thinking stuff like 'how much money can we spend on PS3 development to get more out of this title on another platform'. Making that title look the best it can on that platform obviously doesn't have to be their first priority.

However, Tretton's point of view is very understandable also of course. For PS3 it may well be better to have titles not come to the PS3 at over titles coming over looking sub-par. The question is whether the developers have tried to make use of Sony's developer support such as the PSSG project, or whether they really haven't been interested much in doing so, ported the code to the PPU/RSX as plainly as they could, maybe experimenting with one or two fragments of SPU code.

I'd take a look in the mirror first if I was in his shoes. On top of that, he should be happy with all the support he gets.

What you're saying is a mirror of what he's saying, and I think both comments are a little extreme.

As far as knocking MotorStorm, it's still a 12 player multiplayer online game with graphics and physics, with sixaxis support and multiple routes with different terrains which suit very different types of vehicles.

 

[djskribbles]

That's mainly the case due to how pitiful the PS3 libraby has been to date. They're "in demand" by default. Now that Liar, Warhawk and other actually desireables games are on their way out, the focus and anticipation will shift towards such titles.

Again, keep the games and lower the price of entry and you're bound to sell a lot more units. Ofcourse that might effect the bottom line much more, which is exactly what this is about. Adding value to the consumer but being very careful with the bottom line per unit.

rarely do you see consoles being bundled with new highly anticipated titles; you usually see consoles being bundled with older popular titles. look at how long the 360 was bundled with GRAW... heck, i think you can still find this bundle in stores.

 

[pipo]

What you're saying is a mirror of what he's saying, and I think both comments are a little extreme.

Probably. My point is, what would the PS3 store shelves look like without those ports right now?

They were late and didn't have the right tools, so they're not the leading platform in a lot of cases. Who's fault is that?

Considering the installed base I would change my tune. This sounds like the Sony of last year.

 

[RobertR1]

After thinking more about this, I have to wonder about the temporary price drop. It seems very much out of desperation. The "we need to ship this many units by then!" coming back to bite them.

What does that mean?

In any volume based business, you have to produce a certain amount of units to keep the train moving even if you're taking losses. So with 60GB US units being produced and stock piling with low sales for months now, they had no choice but to dump their inventory. The 60GB SKU is now being replaced by a 80GB sku for the same price. However without the EE hardware unit and likely some other cost savings, the loss per unit is less than selling the existing 60GB at $599. However, selling even a revised 60GB unit at $499 continously puts the loss per unit above the margin set by the old 60GB SKU being that was being sold for $599. Thus you price drop is temporary only to clear inventory.

 

[Arwin]

Probably. My point is, what would the PS3 store shelves look like without those ports right now?

They were late and didn't have the right tools, so they're not the leading platform in a lot of cases. Who's fault is that?

Fair enough. Just asking if that's all of it, or that Microsoft was right in assuming that being out of the gate sooner, they'd benefit from their multiplatform titles receiving more attention because multiplatform games would have their largest install base on the 360. It's not unlike some games still being better on the PS2 at that point in time.

Considering the installed base I would change my tune. This sounds like the Sony of last year.

I'm not to worried, still. But I do agree that he'd have been better off by pointing to the quality of their upcoming first party titles and assuring that things would start to look better in the multiplatform area now that developers are starting to get to grips with the hardware, design their engines more with the PS3 in mind in advance or even lead on the PS3, and so on.

 

[Vic]

If you want a PS3 for other games though, it's bad value. I'm not keen on racers, and don't care for Motorstorm. I'd play Resistance if it were in there, but wouldn't be keen to go buy it. Give me a £300 PS3 and I can buy my own games that fit my own tastes.

I totally agree.

If they put it at £300, it'll fly off the shelves in Europe.

Or they could give us the chance to include Heavenly Sword and Unchartered in our starter packs when they're released .

 

[Arwin]

I totally agree.

If they put it at £300, it'll fly off the shelves in Europe.

Or they could give us the chance to include Heavenly Sword and Unchartered in our starter packs when they're released .

By the way, you do have some level of choice in games in the U.K. - it's not just Motorstorm and Resistance, you can also pick Ridge Racer 7, Formula 1 or eh Genji.

 

[Vic]

By the way, you do have some level of choice in games in the U.K. - it's not just Motorstorm and Resistance, you can also pick Ridge Racer 7, Formula 1 or eh Genji.

Great...nah its nice they've done that, but throw in all first-party games as and when they are released and I'm a convert.

 

[pipo]

Just asking if that's all of it, or that Microsoft was right in assuming that being out of the gate sooner, they'd benefit from their multiplatform titles receiving more attention because multiplatform games would have their largest install base on the 360.

Dunno if that's the case for most of the ports. It probably helped in some cases.

But I do agree that he'd have been better off by pointing to the quality of their upcoming first party titles...

Exactly. There's some outstanding stuff coming.

 

[one]

After thinking more about this, I have to wonder about the temporary price drop. It seems very much out of desperation. The "we need to ship this many units by then!" coming back to bite them.

What does that mean?

In any volume based business, you have to produce a certain amount of units to keep the train moving even if you're taking losses. So with 60GB US units being produced and stock piling with low sales for months now, they had no choice but to dump their inventory. The 60GB SKU is now being replaced by a 80GB sku for the same price. However without the EE hardware unit and likely some other cost savings, the loss per unit is less than selling the existing 60GB at $599. However, selling even a revised 60GB unit at $499 continously puts the loss per unit above the margin set by the old 60GB SKU being that was being sold for $599. Thus you price drop is temporary only to clear inventory.

Apparently it was profitable already, so it's matter of when that the 80GB model can be priced at $499 without a loss as long as the inventory is successfully cleared, the 80GB model is cheaper than the 60GB model with EE after all.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=afgq3TkNyH_g&refer=asia

Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Price, Aims to Double Sales (Update4)

By Michael White

July 9 (Bloomberg)

...

Clearing up the trouble made PlayStation 3 profitable several months ago, giving the company room to cut prices, analyst Doherty said. Microsoft still loses money on each Xbox 360 it sells, he said.

``Any price cut they try to make puts them more into the red,'' Doherty said.

 

[Vic]

Apparently it was profitable already, so it's matter of when that the 80GB model can be priced at $499 without a loss as long as the inventory is successfully cleared, the 80GB model is cheaper than the 60GB model with EE after all.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=afgq3TkNyH_g&refer=asia

How did Sony make it profitable so quick?

And how come MS is still making a loss? Is that including the $1bn set aside in the last financial year? I knew MS hadnt been making a profit for several months as some people were suggesting, but I thought by now they would be in the black.

 

[Evildeus]

500€ in Switzerland if you want
http://www.toppreise.ch/index.php?a=95584&SID=21056ec73e54db1c13fc50951508ea8b

 

[gokickrocks]

Clearing up the trouble made PlayStation 3 profitable several months ago, giving the company room to cut prices, analyst Doherty said. Microsoft still loses money on each Xbox 360 it sells, he said.

``Any price cut they try to make puts them more into the red,'' Doherty said.

isnt that the same doherty that said bd+ wont be breached for 10 years?