Hypothetical Prediction: PS3 Slim+ $100 price cut, Oct release

[KBG29]

As disgusting as it is to think of people needing a price cut to justify their purchase, I will look past that and give my opinion.

Personally, I think the rumors going around right now about a price cut in front of the Madden launch is a great idea if they want go that route. Madden gets a lot of casual players talking about games, and if a PS3 price cut is the biggest news besides Madden it spreads the news fast. If fact I still think it is possible that the PS3 slim could release near that time. It falls right in line with when Kaz said the 45nm Cell would be ready. If that is the case we will know right away. Sony is not going to produce two models of PS3 with the 45nm tech in them. It will either be in the current case, or in the new slim case.

As to the amount of the cut. I believe a $100 cut is very possible if they are bringing the Slim model out. Just to run though the benefits again;

-smaller BD drive = money saved + less power
-smaller Cell = money saved + less heat + less power + less fans + smaller motherboard
-less power consumption = cheaper power supply
-smaller case = less material to produce + Lower shipping cost + More space for retail

So if the slim is true, $100 dollars is a very easy target. The amount of savings is massive when you consider every area it cuts costs.

Here are my sales predictions for both a cut in August and a cut in October.

First Week

August
Japan - 65k (If a FF demo can do that, a $100 should be able to easly)
America - 120K
Europe - 150K
Total - 235K

October
Japan - 80k
America - 160k
Europe - 200K
Total - 440K

Either way, I think the momentum into the holidays would be huge, and with the first and third party titles coming to PS3 this fall, it would make things very interesting.