Alby_da_Wolf on 15 January 2009
| ChichiriMuyo said: Sony is certainly not going to raise the price, but I have my doubts about a cut. If this topic would have been posted a month ago I'd consider it gospel, but with the continuing rise of the Yen (relative to other currencies) the only place Sony can afford to make a cut is in Japan. With FF13 not having a release date yet, there's no reason for them to cut in Japan in the spring, and even if it was enough to turn the tides Japan won't win them the world. Still, I'm not counting it out. Multiple reports suggest the parts of a PS3 cost ~$400 now meaning they are close to profitability and probably making money in Europe and on bundles. If they have the 32nm Cell and 45nm RSX in production now (allowing them to have units on shelves by Mar/Apr) they might be able to cut the costs enough to justify a price cut. |
I'm not so informed: are all Sony plants in Japan? If they have plants both in Japan and abroad they should be less damaged by strong Yen.
About costs, if they are ~$400, they are still far from profitability, resellers don't sell PS3 for nothing. Sony should be close to profitability in USA and profitable in EU if costs are ~$300 (not impossible, as some reports estimated costs to be ~$400 in January 2008, in 12 months they can drop by 25%, as mechanical parts drop less, but electronics, particularly IC's, drop more in that timespan).
