Soundwave said:
sc94597 said:
Why would the PS4 get a price-cut? It's currently selling fine without one, and Sony's actually making a profit. As for XBO, I think it largely depends on whether or not its sales will go back down for XBO.
Anyway, it doesn't even matter if the competition gets price-cuts. What matters is whether or not Nintendo reduces the price enough so that on the non-linear demand curve the quantity demanded increases at a much larger rate due to a high elasticity of demand (consumers respond quickly to price changes.) A lot of people are currently waiting for a price-cut to bite the bullet for the Wii U. Just because, let's say, an Xbox One gets another pricecut does not change the fact that said consumer wants a Wii U (a very different product from an XBO.) Said XBO/PS4 owner likely already has one of those consoles and therefore a price-cut has less potential consumers to rack in than it does for the Wii U.
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By that logic though Sony never should've dropped the price of the PS2 ... ever. They obviously did to make sure Nintendo and MS could not gain on them.
$349.99 PS4 this holiday with a new game bundled I think it very likely. MS will drop another $50 too.
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Sony shouldn't have dropped the price of the PS2 in certain instances if their goal was to maximize short-term profits. Back then they cared much more about marketshare though, and controlling the living room, so different priorities than today. Today, their video game console business is one of their only profitable markets. I doubt they'll screw that up, so if there is a price-cut it will have to be because a portion of the PS4's hardware has become cheaper to manufacturer.
But of course, you are assuming the demand curves are linear (that $50 from $400 to $350 is the same as $50 from $300 to $250 in the change of quantity demanded.) Demand curves are almost never linear. A price drop of $50 from $400 is going to tend to be different from a $50 price drop from $300. And that is assuming each console has similar demand curves, they without a doubt don't.