Microsoft expects PS3 price drop 'in the next couple of months'

by Randy Nelson { Jan 7th 2009 at 1:53PM }

Now that the PS3 costs less to make, shouldn't Sony be passing on its savings to you? That's what Xbox 360 product manager, Aaron Greenberg, expects will happen via a price cut before summer.

Speaking to Edge Online, Greenberg said that, "We [Microsoft] absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months," adding, "We're frankly surprised it's taken this long." Sony isn't surprised; it's poised to turn a profit on the system for the first time ... in the next couple of months. SCEI president Kaz Hirai very much wants this to happen -- no doubt even more so given the fine mess Sony currently sees itself in -- but the pleasing of stockholders just might have to take back seat to making sure PS3 stands a fighting chance with consumers.

Tags: microsoft, price-cut, ps3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Obie @ Jan 7th 2009 1:57PM

Make it a nice $299 and I will happily buy first bluray player....err PS3.

Cash @ Jan 7th 2009 2:16PM

I seriously thought about picking up a PS3 with my collection of Christmas gift cards, but the only exclusive game I have any interest in playing is Hard Rain. Every other game I plan on picking up in the next year is either available on or exclusive to the 360, so there really wasn't enough incentive for me to drop 400 bucks just to play one game, no matter how great that game looks.

If Sony drops that price down 100 bucks, then we'll talk. Till then, I'll probably use those GC's on a new receiver, which should all be on sale pretty soon to make room for all the models being rolled out at CES as we speak.

Hyams @ Jan 7th 2009 2:21PM

Well, clearly you're not very interested in Heavy Rain either, cos you got the name wrong. XD

Night Elve @ Jan 7th 2009 2:23PM

That's because Hard Rain is the Heave Rain's sequel.

Duh!

baby sea tuna @ Jan 7th 2009 2:23PM

Maybe he's just a big Christian Slater fan.

Night Elve @ Jan 7th 2009 2:24PM

Heavy*

Night Elve hides and shrug!

Tez @ Jan 7th 2009 2:28PM

Jump through a hoop or two and you can get one at SonyStyle for $250.

Henry @ Jan 7th 2009 2:29PM

The third in the series is called "Fuck, I'm not going out in that!"

Zertoss @ Jan 7th 2009 2:41PM

Yeah, I can't wait for that Chocolate Rain.

Dirty @ Jan 7th 2009 2:42PM

Dont forget the prequel... The carwash.

Dirty @ Jan 7th 2009 2:48PM

followed by.... Just enough to get the car dirty.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2009 2:51PM

With a water softener, that hard rain won't gum up the disk drive with nasty mineral deposits. Call your local Culligan dealer for more details.

Hyams @ Jan 7th 2009 2:54PM

[INSERT WATER RELATED PUN JOKE HERE]

Haggard @ Jan 7th 2009 3:12PM

This thread brought a trickle of humour to my day

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 7th 2009 3:14PM

dig dug-
how is widening the console gap lead to 8 million considered getting desperate?

if by any definition sony would be the company in the desperate position regarding the ps3 and psp.

i guess dig missed all the times sony talked about nintendo and microsoft as if they were not even on the same page as them.

1 thing for certain if the ps3 price doesnt drop in 2009 sony will be in a very bad position that would be very hard to overcome.

sony hasnt announced the price drop for the reason you are explaining. because they want us to buy a ps3 now.

isnt it wrong for sony to not announce the price drop to us so we can save money if we want to??
why is this MS fault... lol..
ms is only letting us know what is going to happen, well that is if sony wants to compete with the 360 moving forward.

Hyams @ Jan 7th 2009 3:15PM

You killed our string of bad 'water' jokes! =(

Dirty @ Jan 7th 2009 3:18PM

Way to rain on our parade bub.

Slaziman @ Jan 7th 2009 3:28PM

Heavy Rain looks boring.

God of War 3

Henry @ Jan 7th 2009 3:30PM

That latest God of War video really 'wet' my appetite.

PS3LosesFilmAt11 @ Jan 7th 2009 3:43PM

Shall we reflect for a moment?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R98qC0fd_1w

Snowblind @ Jan 7th 2009 3:49PM

Wow Dig, are you just totally blind to anything negative Sony does, or do you only see these things when it's Nintendo or Microsoft involved?

Like was said, Sony were very arrogant in the early stages of the PS3, out right refusing to consider either of their competitives as serious competiton, which is why they didn't bother securing any exclusives or anything along those lines. They thought everyone still considered them console king and would continue to do so, no matter what they did.

As of right now, they're in no posistion to be talking trash about either the Xbox or the Wii, but simply take a look back and you'll see that Sony has made just as many wild claims like this about the 360.

R @ Jan 7th 2009 4:07PM

DigDug, your seriously in denial. During the period of time when the 360 was out but not the PS3, Sony did almost nothing but insult the 360/MS. Called it the "Xbox 1.5", said the idea of multiple SKU's was bad, said rumble was "last gen," etc,etc.

This isnt even an insulting comment, lots of people are predicting a price drop this spring.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 7th 2009 4:10PM

r & snowblind-
yes digdug is that blind....
1 example:
he feels that the United States did nothing for Europe in ww2 and that it was made up in hollywood.
id like to see him say that to a U.S. ww2 vet, the old man would probably still take down the digdug.

very funny human the dig dug is.
i really feel he believes the things he says.

Duke @ Jan 7th 2009 4:13PM

Guys, just look at Dig Dug's prior posts. The guys a total tool.

Obie @ Jan 7th 2009 4:19PM

My inbox! Why God WHYYYYY!??

Dirty @ Jan 7th 2009 4:33PM

You've just received a torrential downpour of email.

Zertoss @ Jan 7th 2009 4:38PM

We're just making waves in your inbox.

Hyams @ Jan 7th 2009 4:47PM

We're flooding your inbox with "X replied to your comment on Joystiq!"

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 7th 2009 5:05PM

sk8monroe81

Why would you imply that MS is saying this because they want everyone to save money who is considering buying a PS3? They are obviously doing it to make people hesitate if they were considering purchasing a PS3. It's nothing new for their business tactics but Sony and Nintendo are no better.

My real question is why is Mr.Greenberg even talking about the PS3 when he should be worried about catching up the Wii. If a $199.99 console, more games, HD graphics and better online hasn't turned the tide then nothing ever will.

I think he would be smarter to focus on catching the Wii than giving back handed statements about a PS3 price drop. I guess they have given up on winning this generation and are more concerned about keeping ahead of the PS3. The silver lining for Sony is they have sold more consoles in the same point in it's lifetime than MS did 360's with a higher price & competetion.

XkawsX @ Jan 7th 2009 5:22PM

You Xbox fanboys are funny pretending that you only want the PS3 for Blu Ray movies. If that was the case you guys can go buy a blu ray player for $250. Stop faking like the PS3 doesn't have games you want to play just because you can't afford one right now.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 7th 2009 5:27PM

johnny-
they didnt say it to save us money, just to make us think about not buying a ps3 yet.
saving money is the only reason we would listen to this and not buy a ps3 today right?
we should guess that bc isnt coming back.

yeah it was funny when dig dug made it sound like this was an MS only practice, when 4 years ago sony was writing MS off and their 360.
maybe they should have thought it out better and not been so arrogant about it too. any chance MS gets to prove sony wrong i feel they now will do so. any chance they can take away any momentum from sony they will try also.

heck sony tries to take away 360 momemntum as much as ms does. example taking off all sony owned movies from 360netflix service at release around the holiday sales rush, only to see them back on now.
u think netflix gave them more money for the movies.. no.
funny how at the same time sony released a tv commercial showing the dark knight on blu ray and their video rental service....

you dont consider the 4th quarter 2008 360 sales a turn around and improvement?
the 360 is profiting so why do u consider it doing so poorly?
i do see a pattern of pro-ps3 fans now trying to compare the 360 to the wii, as their 360 vs. ps3 arguments are pretty much now void and squashed.

the ps3 is the only console not generating a profit this gen?
if the ps3 eventually turns a profit and still ends in last place, that would still be an accomplishment.

is it really about winning?
or making a profit?

if you make a profit you have already won.

u bring up the fact that sony sold more ps3 in the first 2 years than the 360 did in their first 2 years..
why dont u add that the 360 has sold more consoles in the 4th quarter 2008 than ps3 and continues to outsell the ps3 NOW.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 7th 2009 5:32PM

hawx- the discounted blu ray players are slow loading, not all can update their firmware, and you do not get all the extra things that comes in a ps3.
doesnt have all the audio/video options that the ps3 does.
the ps3 is the best blu ray player for the dollar.

why cant u understand that??
not every ps3 purchase is for games...

remember also that last year blu ray players were $ 500 - $ 1000, so the ps3 was the best bet then too.

Cash @ Jan 7th 2009 7:03PM

Or I was just coming off a 14 hour graveyard shift at the ER, and I was just a wee bit sleep deprived. Sorry bout that, Heavy Rain, my bad.

Although it's pretty obvious you all knew exactly which game I was talking about, so please continue feigning confusion, and I'll pretend to be all sheepish and embarrassed.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2009 7:07PM

There's a ... flood ... of posts under this comment.

hvnlysoldr @ Jan 7th 2009 7:20PM

I for one welcome our new watery overlords. Oh and it's not technically price fixing yet.

Obie @ Jan 7th 2009 8:07PM

I hate replies [/francis]

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 7th 2009 8:12PM

sk8monroe81

"example taking off all sony owned movies from 360netflix service at release around the holiday sales rush, only to see them back on now."

That conspiracy theory has already been dispelled by everyone except hardcore 360 fanboys with a chip on their shoulder. It was a liscencing issue with Colombia Pictures and Netflix. They have to have liscenses for each type of device they allow to stream movies from. Each deal with each individual content provider is different.

"you dont consider the 4th quarter 2008 360 sales a turn around and improvement?"

I never said that.

the 360 is profiting so why do u consider it doing so poorly?

I never said the 360 was doing poorly at all and it is has NOT turned a profit on hardware. From everything I have read and seen they still aren't making money off the hardware. When you write off all your losses in one financial quarter, pretend that amount of losses is all the extended warranty has cost you and merge divisions to make one division appear to be more profitable I can understand why you would drink that kool-aid and actually believe what your told.

Eve Balmer was recently quoted as saying the 360 is a funny project because it doesn't turn a profit.

"i do see a pattern of pro-ps3 fans now trying to compare the 360 to the wii, as their 360 vs. ps3 arguments are pretty much now void and squashed."

It's not really a pattern so much as it's reality. The reality of the situation is that Microsoft has belittled Nintendo and said that the Wii is a child's toy and that it's not directly competing. Remember when MS touted that they were the best selling "HD" console a few months back? Selective statistics, misleading the public and downplaying your competition that's beating you are classic MS tactics. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a statement saying the Zune was the best selling MP3 player of all time ... with a radio tuner built in.

It's not about a pro-Sony sentiment so much as it's about MS being in denial about this console generation.

"u bring up the fact that sony sold more ps3 in the first 2 years than the 360 did in their first 2 years..
why dont u add that the 360 has sold more consoles in the 4th quarter 2008 than ps3 and continues to outsell the ps3 NOW."

Your absolutely right that MS has sold more in Q4 08. I never disputed that at all. My point was that you shouldn't be so excited when your selling worse than both competitors at the same time in their life cycles. In the case of the Wii they are getting thouroughly dominated with a price drop, HD graphics, better online, better games AND a year head start. It's obvious to me the reason they focus on Sony to make themselves look better. Can't you understand this?

MS pulled out all the stops and lowered their introductory console lower than the Wii and it's still being outsold. So, it makes perfect sense to me that they only want to talk about the PS3. I say to that - yes you have sold more consoles. But, the silver lining for Sony is that they have sold more console in the same time in their lifespan's with 2 competitors, higher price and a 1 year time disadvantage. Not only should MS be ahead of Sony but they should also be at least within 500K of Nintendo.

The PS3 had outsold the 360 world wide the entire year until the price drop of the 360. MS could lower the cost of entry more out of desperation and to maintain a lead but it stands to reason that a PS3 price drop will give it a similar affect the 360 saw. Also, MS executives have stated there will not be a price drop for many more years.

Again you derailed my comment and added your own anecdotes. Can you give me an answer why MS has waived the white flag when it comes to the Wii? On top of that my original point still stands that he needs to worry more about 1. his own product and 2. who is ahead of him.

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 7th 2009 9:00PM

johnny so netflix was able to secure licenses with every other major movie studio except for 1 owned by sony corp.?
it seemed fishy to me....

consoles rarely turn a profit, you sell the consoles so people buy the games and accessories.
has been that way forever.
ms has the highest attach ratio this gen.
ms software sales have made a profit for ms gaming division.
its not about whether the software or hardware divisions made money individually, but how the entire entity did.
that is what matters to ms, sony, nintendo, and shareholders.
it only matters if x companies gaming division profited or not.
sony may profit from their software sales, but that probably wont help recover the high losses incured to the sony gaming division as a whole.

i agree with you comments now and it looked like you agreed with mine 2.

why would ms want to say how great nintendo is doing?
that doesnt make ms look any better.
have u taken 1 business class at a higher education level?
i know you are much smarter than that from the little i know about you.

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 7th 2009 10:40PM

sk8monroe81

Again I didn't say Microsoft needed to praise Nintendo or tell everyone how hard they are getting pwned by them. My point was and still is that Microsoft should be more concerned with doing everything possible to catch Nintendo as opposed to worrying about what Sony is doing. If your always looking back you can never go forward.

If I was MS I would be a little worried that they "blew their load to quick" - so to speak. It helped them move allot of console and especially with Wii holiday shortages probably caused some people to just get a 360. But one most wonder if further price drops will even have a similar effect. The Wii and PS3 can still introduce a price drop and unless MS drops the Arcade down to $150 they can't compete with that. They went all out and it paid off in the short term but they are not thinking about the bigger picture.

It (360 price cut) makes me wonder a little about the image of the brand and would worry me that it would cannibalize sales of their more profitable console SKUs. Why would any mass market consumer buy an elite or Pro model when they can get an Arcade SKU?

Again your adding your own conjecture and deductions into my post's. I never said MS had to talk about Nintendo. I simply said it's foolish for them to publicly call the Wii a child's toy & say they are not competing against the Wii. It seems they are waiving the white flag and their only focus is beating Sony.

Even by many 360 fans accounts the hardware is shitty and cheap. Now they have backed themselves into a pricing corner and aren't in a position to match it's competitors future price drops. There will be allot of people very skeptical of purchasing their next console at launch. Not only will it be because of the hardware's durability but also because everyone should know that when the others launch (presumably a year or two later) the "720" will see a huge price drop. I could be wrong about all of this but I think they are sacrificing long terms viability for short term gain.

The tortoise beats the hair!

sk8monroe81 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:09AM

k premature ejactulation was a great analogy... lol..
funny...
yeah anybody that really says the 360 tech or console in general is better than the ps3, aside from maybe a few things is an xbot. software and games is another story though. the funny thing I see as many or more, especially better ps3 exclusives coming out in 2009 than 360 ones. thats really all sony needed to do. im sure it will start to show soon. if what sony is saying is true about maybe starting to turn a profit, a few years after console release is not unusual, especially with such a new technology, cost, and gamble.
i have said before if all 3 companies profit in the end none of the 3 lost and that may be the first time in history every console available provided a profit.
which i prefer since we all seem to love our system of choice, if not both, or all 3, and funny PC doesnt come up into many game discussions outside of WOW too..

i bet it feels good for them to defeat sony in some way?
since they failed last time. i dont think that sony or ms thought that nintendo was really a contender this gen.
the funny thing is that people that dont usually game like it, casual gamers which is entertainment and it is funny to always see so many people bash the console and the fans of the wii as if it not an entertainment gaming console designed for human enjoyment.
i see the media also spin the ps3 vs. 360 stuff too though its not just ms....
a $ 150 arcade already.. lol.. it is possible.. wonder what sony would drop the ps2 price to or keep it at $ 100- $ 120 and probably still sell some of them...
only sony won last gen which was bad IMO.
dreamcast was loved by many.
some people really enjoyed some xbox games and online.
even gamecube.
in the end the companies were the root of their own demise.

player66 @ Jan 7th 2009 2:00PM

...says the Microsoft product manager.

Haggard @ Jan 7th 2009 2:00PM

And who'd know better than a company that don't have anything to do with it?

Fx.Dr @ Jan 7th 2009 2:16PM

Here's how I read the headline:

"Fx.Dr expects Lamborghini price drop 'in the next couple of months'"

You heard it here first, folks. Make it so, Lambo!

Zertoss @ Jan 7th 2009 2:21PM

Mom expects canned sardine price drop 'in the next couple of months'.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2009 2:55PM

But that would be bad for Mom as it would play hell with the robot oil industry.

colinbell @ Jan 7th 2009 2:04PM

hmmm...
360 price has dropped by $100 in 3 years, PS3 price dropped by $100 within its 1st year. maybe they should stop speculating on other consoles and come out with some facts about their own - like the exact defect rate on the 360, ot the proportion of 360 users who actually have Gold accounts and use online.

Cash @ Jan 7th 2009 2:09PM

Or, they could continue doing what they are doing, which is turning a profit despite the defect warranty costs, something Sony would undoubtedly like to do themselves.

*rolls eyes* @ Sony fanboi. Yeesh.

Duke @ Jan 7th 2009 2:23PM

As always, Colin is sooooooooooo desperate for a fanboy argument. Seriously, you just went down the rrod/defect route in a thread that had no connection to it whatsoever. How bout this, every story you can just type rrod and then we can promptly ignore it and move on.