If the PS3 Slim is legit and releases at $299 - What will it do for sales?

[Bitmap Frogs]

makingmusic476 said:

1.  Of course it's desperation.  Everyone knows they need to do something.  This something could be a game changer, however.

2. Outside of further price drops, yes.  Through various channels, I'm hearing that GT5 will make it out this year WW, and FFXIII should (through less accurate sources, but it makes sense from a logical standpoint) be hitting Japan at the end of the year as well.  These two things combined with a theoretical slim ps3 at $299 would be one hell of a combination, and if this can't help the ps3, then... hell, I can't think of any such favorable situation for a past struggling console to compare this too.  Halo 2's launch has nothing on this.

3. If they were only a publisher, Killzone 2's release would bear more significance.  Even making the liberal assumptions that they make ~$40 USD per copy of the game sold and that they shipped 1.5 million copies before the quarter was over, that would've only netter them $60 million in revenue.  Meanwhile, they would've lost $40 (maybe 45-50 after shipping, etc.) per ps3 on over 2 million sold in the same quarter, plus spent a good bit on R&D for the new PSP/PS3.

And yes, their losses on the surface make a $299 ps3 seem less likely, but keep in mind a number of things:

• Sony has projected that they'll ship 13 million ps3s this FY, a 30% increase YoY, despite being down YoY thus far.  A price cut explains this.
  
• They've projected similar losses to those from this past FY, despite theoretical gains from cost cutting measures (like the ps3 slim).  A price cut explains this.
  
• They have big plans for the PSN, given Stringer's recent comments.  They plan to bring it to more platforms, with the ps3 as the ultimate hub.  Hell, they even combined Vaio and Walkman with SCE under Kaz Hirai's control, in a new division called "Networked Devices".  They've obviously got something in mind for all of this, and the ps3 is at the center of it all.  They probably plan to offset any losses incurred by the price cut with gains in other areas as a result of the price cut.  Combining SCE with two other profitable divisions also helps them to muddy the financial waters, helping to hide losses from a price cut from shareholders.

 

You are overlooking the fact the market has changed. This isn't 2002 anymore, in 2009 the game to own is Wii Sports.

The closest sibling to t he ps3 in the market is the 360 and as powerful as Halo 3 is it didn't do that much. Remember Halo 3 was released shortly after a pricecut as well.