ejamer

What's so bad about saying that Jade Raymond is hot? Fact of the matter: she is. She also seems to be talented and driven, judging by her current career. None of us puny commenters can talk about her in any other context beyond appearance and job title, because that's pretty much all we know about her. (I bet posting inappropriate comments about how Bobby Kotick is lick-alicious wouldn't get me banned... This is sexism at it's worst!)

Also, isn't it stupid to restrict commenters to discussing the company when Ubisoft Toronto is clearly given second billing to Ms Raymond from the title and opening paragraph. Whatever.

It took 8 pages before someone got the right idea, and even then they didn't quite do it right... ;)

1. Chandalier -- hang this just above the milk bottles.
2. Banana -- sitting nicely on the chandalier.
3. Monkey -- climbs up the tower to catch the banana, but topples the bottles in the process.

Plus there is a built in backup plan... if the monkey reaches the banana without knocking over all bottles, then you can write elephant, followed by mouse. The elephant will panic, slip on the banana peel when trying to run from the mouse, and crash into the tower with a ferocious impact.

Either way, Maxwell just needs to sit back and show off his sexy rooster hat, picking up the girl and ensuring she's safely out of the way of all the chaos going on. Pretty sweet, no?

(this was supposed to be a reply to Heavytoka's comment)

Wow... so what was the combined final cost of those three consoles?

I'm not saying that PS3 is a waste of money, but buying one just to store in your closet as a possible backup? Seems like there might be better ways to use $400... but then again, if a backup PS3 "just in case" counts as an impulse purchase for you then maybe not.

Do others really think the situation is that different? I don't. Sales for PS3 aren't bad worldwide unless you are comparing them to the Wii juggernaut.

Sony cares more about about profit margins than price cuts at this stage, and from a business perspective that makes a lot of sense. Lowering hardware prices won't increase their market share enough to make up for losses with licensing fees and game sales*, so why not take advantage of selling at higher margins while they can?

Unless you work for Sony and have some inside knowledge, then we'll just have to wait and see... but I'd place a friendly bet right now that PS3 Slim launches at a premium price-point while PS3 Fat systems continue to sell as bundle packages until the current supply is close to being exhausted.



*At least, not quickly enough to make it a viable strategy at the moment.

LOL @ everyone who thinks PS3 Slim will come with a lower price.

Didn't you read about PSPGo pricing? Sony will charge a premium for the new hardware because they know they can milk early adopters for more profit, and it will also make the (still too high for most consumers) $400 price-point for regular PS3 consoles look good in comparison.

PS3 Slim starts at $500, brings in good profits on lower sales, and helps push sales of regular units until the supply chain is clear and PS3 Slim can be introduced at the "bargain" price of $400 with a game or two bundled in!

Will this strategy work? Of course not... but it's not going to put Sony is a worse position than they are now and will ensure they maximize profits on each sale.

PR aside, this sounds like exactly the same argument that Valve gave: Sucker Punch is familiar with a platform, and sticks to it because cross-platform development isn't as important as creating awesome games to play. Nothing wrong with that!

(So where are all the sad, irrational fanboys who were posting about how Valve sucks because of console exclusivity? Hmmm... makes you wonder.)

Although I agree with your sentiment, I'm pretty sure that Sony has a large group of "loyal customers" (aka fanboys) who will pay a premium to get the latest Sony-branded gadget early on. They probably plan on getting the most profit per unit early on by selling to those early adopters, and then dropping the price when sales fall below expectations.

Pachter's comments about the pricing for PSP Go being a total rip-off didn't sound that far fetched to me. Then again, maybe it's just giving the current supply chain a chance to sell through instead of leaving all that old PSP hardware on shelves.

Me too! I'd love a PSP Go, but my price limit for a portable system is in the $150-170 range. Maybe in a year or two -- although given Sony's aversion to price cuts that's probably not realistic either.

Get over yourself. The paradigm shift is happening right now, even if the self-defined "core gamers" refuse to admit they are a small niche in a big market. (The good news: there are still more than enough companies willing to pander to that niche, because they know there is profit available there.)