| loves2splooge said: The PS3 introduced a new redesign AND introduced a much more impressive price cut and yet they can barely stay over 360 in Americas after 1 month (week of oct 3rd's sales figures are very close now). That is not a good sign. Worldwide, you'd think that the PS3 would catch up eventually but the MS has more options they can consider at this point to stay competitive. The 360 price cut doesn't even hold a candle to the PS3 price cut so MS has a lot more room to initiate further cuts. The entry cost for a PS3 is now $300, instead of $400 and you get 50% more HD space AND a slim redesign added bonus (80 to 120) whereas the entry cost for a 360 is still $300 (you just have double the hard drive space for that price now). And no the Arcade doesn't count because it's a very barebones system that's only good for offline. Sony really went all-out with this huge price cut and since their system costs more to make than a 360 (Blu-Ray, Wi-Fi, Cell processor is more expensive), we know Sony is bleeding much more than Microsoft is on their hardware. Heck MS might not even be bleeding at all on hardware anymore. Microsoft can easily counter with a $50 price cut if they really wanted to. In fact they should. It would take the wind out of the PS3's sails in Europe/Others, the swing region warzone. Whatever they do, MS is not just going to sit there while Sony eats away at their lead in Europe/Others. Japan is already lost (though they shouldn't give up on Japan. They improved quite a bit from last gen), America is already in the bag so you know Europe/Others will be a priority for them. That's where the race will be won or lost. With MS having deeper pockets and cheaper hardware, red inked Sony doesn't want to play the price slashing game with them. MS can eat the losses no problem whereas Sony's shareholders would be calling for their head if they bled the company further. Sony really made a big desperation move releasing a slim with 50% more HD space at $100 off. |
Red- It is the PS3's weakest market and the 360's strongest market. Many were expecting it to be below the 360 there by week 2... And it has done very well staying above 360 thus far.
Orange- Sony also still have a bunch of options.
Green- Yes it does count. It get's counted in sales so it also gets counted in "analysis". 360 entry price is $150.
Blue- They already did try counter with a pricecut, and it didn't work. The next 360 pricecut wont arrive until Natal launches. By that time PS3 manufacturing costs will likely be lower. Hey, guess what... We might even see another small PS3 pricecut or new SKU.
Pink- They dont need to play the price slashing game. They have huge momentum right now and will outsell the 360 by a LOT for the rest of the year. Going into next year Sony has it's biggest ip: Gran Turismo 5 and a LOAD of other big games that will increase hardware both slightly and by a lot. PS3 will consistantly outsell 360 until Natal launch, which is where we will see the next 360 pricecut.
