The elephant in the room: PS3 price cut timing strategy (three scenarios)

[Groucho]

thx1139 said:

NJ5 said:

DMeisterJ said:
I just don't see Microsoft cutting prices below 199. How would they do that?

I can only imagine dropping the Arcade, then giving the 60 GB away for 199.

I don't think it'll be an early price cut in NA next year. Probably mid-late next year, which will be coupled with the EU drop or later than that.

I believe a JP drop will come very very soon though.

By dropping the Arcade to $150 of course... 2009 holiday will be four years after 360's launch, when the Core launched for $300. A halving of the price after 4 years doesn't seem too dramatic, especially when so many are considering the possibility of the PS3 halving its price after 2-3 years.

 

 

 Why people find this unlikely is beyond me.  Wasnt the PS2 $149 in NA 4 years after release. I suppose Sony was desparate.  I would expect that MS will drop prices and keep the Arcade 50% of the cheapest PS3 available next fall. MS really wont worry about any improvements the PS3 makes between March and August.

The price of memory dropped pretty severely during that period.  DVD drives also dropped considerably in price during that time.  The same trends have not occured this gen.  Chopping the price of the Arcade SKU to $149 would be suicidal for the MS games division, at the next stockholder meeting.

Technology doesn't progress in the same fashion from year to year.  You can't expect technology to behave as an older industry does, and get an accurate prediction based on history alone.