| colonelstubbs said: I dont expect a price cut, but boy, do they need one |
I think that we must view the Playstation 3 under 2 lights when we talk about them needing a price cut:
- The Fanboy View: The Playstation 3 needs a cut, ASAP. It's getting hammered by the 360 and obliterated by the 360. Developers will pidgeonhole the PS3 as the lean-to when announcing new 360-focused HD games. A major $100 price cut would do wonders for sales.
- The Business View: The Playstation 3 is almost making money right now, selling a decent bit of software, but Sony is getting hurt financially. A price cut would negate whatever advantages they will achieve soon (which is making money on the PS3 through HW and SW sales).
You can't cut prices, from a CEO/business view to remain competitive, if the product winds up hurting you in the end. It's a tough thing to think that Sony may not cut the price until late 09, and then have a smaller drop than we want, but the PS3 is in, financially, a 'good' position to at least begin to earn some money back this year - which would be destroyed by a price cut.
Furthermore, what is a price cut really going to do? If the PS3 marketshare continues to dwindle, it's not like developers are going to flock away from the PS3 any more than they have - The PS3 is still (and would be, even with a price cut) the last resort console for exclusives. But even if they lose more marketshare, they are still going to be a very viable console for multi-platform games, which plays to the PS3's favor - Even if they don't sell many consoles, their software lineup can still be good via 1st parties, and lots of multi-plat 3rd party games.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
