Analyst calls for PS3 price cut, Sony says no thanks

by Alan Tsang on Oct 8th 2008 3:20PM

Jesse Divnich, an analyst at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, is calling for a pre-holiday price cut for the PlayStation 3. Divnich feels this is the only way the PS3 will remain competitive this holiday season, in light of the recent Xbox 360 price drop which placed the cheapest configuration of Microsoft's console below the $200 mark. The analyst predicts even more doom and gloom for our beloved console. "If September hardware sales fall below our estimate (under 200,000 units), it could be an indication that the Xbox 360 price cut played a bigger role on hindering PS3 sales than what we originally expected." In terms of software, Divnich expects Gears of War 2, a 360 exclusive, to be the top dog during the shopping season. What about Sony's exclusives, you may ask? "The $399 price point is simply too steep to entice the casual and mainstream markets, regardless of how great Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet may be."

Sony's Patrick Seybold of corporate communications immediately issued a response, denying that any price cut will take place in the remainder of 2008. "As previously discussed we aren't making any price moves this holiday season ... With PS3 titles for this [holiday season] including Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift to name but a few of our multiple exclusives, combined with PlayStation Home and increasing multimedia features for the hardware, we expect to have continued momentum going into and beyond this holiday season."

How do you guys feel about Sony's unwillingness to drop the price of their console? Most of us realize that you are definitely getting your money's worth with the $399 price tag, but does the mainstream consumer know?

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Tags: playstation-3, ps3, sony

Reader Comments (182)

I think the $200 difference will be big jump for the casual gamer, that they will probably not make. It would be nice if Sony dropped the price atleast $50.

I had no problem with Sony's price point when it I paid $600 for my system. Sony has experience in the game industry and knows what they were doing, people need to quit complaining that they can't afford a PS3 as it isn't Sony's duty to make it affordable for everyone, they need to be able to make money to continue to function.

Who said I was complaining? I have a PS3 already and I paid $600 too. I was talking about the casual gamer or those that are thinking about buying a console for the first time. It would make their decision easier if there wan't a $200 difference in systems. I believe the PS3 is worth every penny I paid for it, but not everyone know what the PS3 is capable. So, the PS3 will lose on alot of possible sales cause of the price difference. $50 per console will not hurt Sony in the long run and will make that money up in software sales.

"people need to quit complaining that they can't afford a PS3 as it isn't Sony's duty to make it affordable for everyone."

I thought that was one of the main plans of selling products.

If you weren't complaining then Zaphod wasn't talking about you.

Then why reply to my post, instead of replying to the thread? It wouldn't be a bad idea to drop the price of the PS3 instead increasing the hdd. It would sell more consoles which will increase the sales of software and accessories. If they don't drop the price, I believe the PS3 will not out sell the 360. This is my opinion which I am entitled to.

Sorry man, didn't mean to reply to ur post, just the whole thread.

@Jorge: Screw casual gamers. The last thing Sony needs is the dismal attach rate that the Wii has. Simple fact, casual gamers don't buy games. I'm willing to bet money that 4 out of 10 Wii owners don't own even one extra game, they're still playing Wii sports.

also... Arnon,
Sony doesn't have a duty to make products affordable to anyone, they have a duty to make a profit for their shareholders. Sony is merely selling the system at what they believe will make the biggest profit, if they lower the cost too much (yes enabling more people to buy it), they may still take a loss. I am not sure of what Sony's numbers are but I trust that they are selling a system at a price point that works.
I am just tired of people complaining as if Sony has it in for them, that Sony is making them pay more money for a system as if they have a right to pay what they want to pay...

Popfrogs said... Screw casual gamers. The last thing Sony needs is the dismal attach rate that the Wii has.

Popfrogs: The Wii has sold a LOT more software then the PS3. The hardcore audience isn't enough to carry Sony through this generation. They NEED the bigger, more casual audience that made the PS2 so successful.

I don't agree. The $400 price point is more than fair right now. If anything, I wish they'd go back to a single SKU.

People don't care about COST, what they care about is VALUE.

PS3 is by far and away the best VALUE, it may not be the cheapest at face value, but scratch the surface, and it's the best value by a long mile.

@Dartmerc: Yeah, true, and that X360 doesn't even have a HDD.. And I expect the BluRay Addon for the X360 to be a little higher in price, lets say.. $170-$200.
The $200 dollars X360 Arcade is just to fool people into getting it for the price.. without really getting the value you want, especially with the economy, making people often go for the cheapest solutions..
Also, you have to buy the HDD from Microsoft, unlike the PS3 which you could replace it for a really bigger and cheaper per GB price..

I think Sony will wait until all their big games are on shelves and then make a decision to drop the price in December based on how well the PS3 performed in October and November.

If they include a super decent extra incentives like two controllers and a GOOD game (no racing bullshit), yes 399 would be fine.

but sure 50 bucks sounds alright too.

PS3s are selling good without the price-cuts anyway.

M$ are so stupid that they will make 360 cost $150 by the end of '09.

Uhm.. Lowering the price of your product when you can isn't stupid, in fact I'm pretty sure it's the exact opposite of stupid. I think they call it smart business decision or something like that..

Lower prices get people to buy things..

Hahah yeah cause that worked for the GameCube and Dreamcast against the PS2, right? The 360 is in trouble and putting the arcade unit in the bargain bin was out of desperation. They have no choice.

@Nipgrip

Hmm... I somehow don't think this is the same kind of situation as with the Gamecube and Dreamcast vs PS2. The difference is that no one was buying those 2 consoles, more people have 360s in the world than PS3s so I doubt MS were having any troubles to begin with, let alone nearly all multiplatform games are made for the 360 first then ported to the PS3, I think that in itself is a sure sign that the 360 isn't struggling with support.

That is the default answer from sony, even if they are planning a pricecut. Remember the last price cut? They were like "No we are not cutting the price of the playstation" - the week after we get a price cut.

Its only Natural for Sony to say there isn't going to be a price cut, to say anything to the contary would lead to a drop in sales as people wait for the price cut!

Its basic business sense. Get them to buy it now at the higher rate and then drop the price later.

Whether they will drop the price or not will really come down to one thing - sales. If sales start to drop off, they'll more than likely cut the price.

i feel exactly the same way. wonder how much of a drop itll be(if it does occur?)

i think they have to know how to get a ps3... Right now if you go to sonystyle site you can get a 150$ credit on purchases 300 or over if you signup their sonystyle card... approval is instantaneous so you can walk away with an 80GB ps3 w/ free shipping for ~280 or so(tax included). It is a pretty sweet deal. I do think they may need to decrease price a little bit but i think they are betting on those 3 games will drive enough demand in the holiday season and perhaps a price cut after the fiscal year.

you DO know that there is a credit freeze of sorts right now right???

even people with 650+ scores are getting turned down for new lines of credit

Thanks shase for helping to the credit crisis to get worse. People that can't afford a PS3 shouldn't be opening up new lines of credit.

Increased media features, what are they?

new codecs? something else? I'm intrigued

Blu-ray playback comes to mind

I was wondering the same thing. Will we finally get a Flash player from this century so we can watch Hulu and other streaming video sites?

Sony doesn't need a price cut right now. What they need to do is advertise the great exclusives, the free online the blu-ray and other multimedia playing capabilities so that more people understand that the cost of the PS3 may be higher than the other systems but that you also get a lot in return.

Absolutely! PS3's marketing team should be purged, they have really dropped the ball on getting word out about all the different capabilities of the system. I've not heard one commercial talk about FREE online play either, which is a very big deal for some people.

Sony needs to hire whatever ad agency that Target is using...the ads might be annoying to some, but at least Target has presence. Sony's presence is almost non-existent in the media.

you're right. i just got my second ps3( the new 80g no b/c) and it came with a dvd explaining the features of the ps3. my brother in law watched it and fell n love with the ps3 . a few weeks later, he got one . the free online is what he loves about it, now the kids can play online and use the eye camera . sony should give away these dvd's at retailers to help promote the ps3's features.

who cares if they sell one in the whole month or whatever we already got our ps3's are are happy with them so i could care less.

I think sony should stick to their guns...granted the 360 is cheaper..but with all the extra functionality the ps3 delivers, its hard not to recognise (what shopkeepers need to do is push the thing)..granted a LOT of 360's will be sold this Xmas,but how many will be dead by new year? WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
I know...and a lot of you know...the PS3 WILL dominate (in the long run) battles and wars spring to mind ;)

I think the price cut can wait, but I think they should reintroduce a SKU (if not all) with backwards compatibility. I know a few people that want this (Yes I know they should have picked up the MGS bundle, but they didn't listen)

Really it is from Sony Rights to not cut out really with the great services like online and store and Home and great exclusives that XBOX360 won't dream of, SONY and PS3 are The BEST!!

I agree with Radek. The average consumer does not know what the possibilities are for the PS3. I see it everyday and it gets me pissed because if you get a $300 360 and you want Live in three years that 360 will cost more than the PS3.

Exactly. Microsoft is pretty smart about nickel and dime-ing you. That $200 360 is missing a lot of things they will want to buy after the fact such as a hard drive and xBox live. Plus it does not have ANY backwards compatibility for xBox games.

You're right on the BC

Link is:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm

Sony has a quality product with great features and great software. There is no need right now. You know to me if you see the Xbox 360 so low even lower than the Wii it makes it look cheap like 1 in 3 might brake down on you. Also you may wonder if there are extra hidden fees? Hummm?

Of course they are going to say that no price cut is coming. Do you know what would happen to their current sales if they said, "We'll be cutting it soon." They'd drop. Besides, PS3 is well worth the cost, Sony just needs to do more/better advertising that shows that fact.

Sony need to make clear the fact that when you buy a Playstation you're getting a hard drive, wireless, wireless controller and free online gaming.

The cheapest 360 looks very nice and cheap when it sits there on the shelf but the fact it's so stripped down and limited mean it costs the initial saving to get it up to speed.

Also you have to remember that the Xbox is only a 256mb HD, and the PS3 is 80gb. Thats a huge difference. So for another $100 or so you can get a bigger HD on the box. People just need to educate themselves before they make a purchase and they will see that the PS3 is a way better deal with Bluray expecially.

To the casual consumer though, they don't care.. if they can afford it, they'll buy it.. and then they'll start adding on to it later. It's just how the world works really.

I'd say it's safe to state that's about how "half" the world works, as some people who don't have enough money will just save their money until they've acquired enough to buy what they want.. Last xmas I didn't buy an xbox 360 with my 400 washingtons I got from my grandma just because I could afford to spend them. What I did do was upgrade my pc with money I saved for awhile. but the point is- some people will spend their money compulsively, and some people aren't so compulsive, it's probably a product of a person's development (one's tendency to spend compulsively). -it may seem difficult to understand to some.

$199.00 IS FOR A BARE BONES 360 AND BY THE TIME YOU ADD ALL THE M$ ACCESSORIES YOU'LL END UP PAYING $399.00 AND STILL WON'T HAVE SOME FEATURES THE PS3 HAS TO OFFER!!!

Thank you GAME-HERO

M$ is just trying to scam uneducated people and I feel sorry for the kids & parents that fall for it.

$199 is also what the PS2 cost 2 years after it's release.

some people just want to y'know, GAME.

although $399 is a pretty sweet deal for a blu-ray player these days.

GAME-HERO: "$199.00 IS FOR A BARE BONES 360 AND BY THE TIME YOU ADD ALL THE M$ ACCESSORIES YOU'LL END UP PAYING $399.00 AND STILL WON'T HAVE SOME FEATURES THE PS3 HAS TO OFFER!!!"

At least XBOX 360 owners don't have to pay for a lot of stuff thats non-essential to gaming. WiFi, Blu-Ray, even the HDD isn't needed to play. The Arcade comes with a 256MB card, plenty of space to save all your game progress. Just saying....

When it comes to this my thinking was always everything isn't for everybody. If you can't afford or don't want to pay for one at this price point then it's simply not for you.

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Analyst calls for PS3 price cut, Sony says no thanks

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