Will PS3 have a successful year in 2009?

[amirnetz]

NightDragon83 said:
Unfortunately (and please don't flame me for this because its the truth) Sony is definitely going to have to cut prices prolly within the next 3-6 months in order to stay competitive in the console race. Why?

Two words: Blu Ray!

When it was released 2 years ago, the most appealing aspect of the PS3 was that it was a cutting edge console AND also played high-def Blu-Ray discs for almost half of what most stand-alone players were going for at their debut (around the $1000 mark).

Fast forward to today and standalone Blu-Ray players are selling for much much cheaper... some stores have them for $199 for Black Friday. And as prices drop for the stand-alone players, that takes away potential buyers of a PS3, who now are figuring "why spend $399 for a game system with Blu-Ray when i can just get the Blu-Ray player (which is what i really want) for half that?"

 

 You have the right information, but you are interpeting it wrongly.

BR players are indeed getting to the $150 price point. You can pick up one next Friday for $128. This indeed devalue the PS3 BR capabilities. All this is true.

However, what it really means is that the PS3 is ending its role in pushing BR to the market. BR is inexpensive enough to survive on its own, standalone. No need for the PS3 subsidy anymore.

That means that the pressure to lower prices is now only related to the gaming market and not to the BR market. And again, the economic circumstances makes it very unlikely that Sony could afford such a move.