I think a week or 2 before GTAIV would be the best time for a price cut. This would make all the people unsure which console to buy for GTAIV, sway more towards the PS3.
You see this is the kind of damage constant price cutting can do. Everyone who heard this rumor didn't buy a PS3. Their expectation is for a price cut because Sony has conditioned the consumer to expect price cuts. The more price cuts you do, the more these types of rumors get spread. Now there are people who will just hold off buying a PS3 for an indeterminate period of time because they will believe the rumor might be true, despite how poor the source of the information is.
Notice you never hear this kind of talk when it comes to Nintendo. Because the consumer knows that Nintendo is unlikely to drop prices. Therefor a rumor like this will probably not pass the smell test to the consumer.
| rukusa said: Straight from exgen wordpress: "Financially, the price cut makes sense, consoles have historically been sold at a loss until the tail end of their lifetime. The only consoles not sold at a loss are the Sega Saturn(sold at the price to manufacture) and the Nintendo Wii(sold at a $100 profit for Nintendo). Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony make most of its money off of game licensing, not the actual console. For every game released, they developer must pay $10,000 worth of licensing fees to Sony(its traditionally been $20,000 for all 3 companies, but this was another cut Sony made to encourage developers recently). They also make a bulk of their profit from peripherals, like memory cards and controllers. Still, I personally think it may be a bit too early for another price cut." |
The fact that they are using the "all consoles are sold at a loss at first" myth (a few did, it is only since last gen that it is common as we only have 3 contenders, 2 of which used the strategy) combined with the "$100 profit on the Wii" which is getting there but I doubt is there yet (Wii has much more hardware than GC in a smaller form factor, just look at the price difference of similarly specced laptops as opposed to non-size optimized desktops) and add in a complete lack of understanding of how licensing fees work and their credibility is very low.
That doesn't mean it won't happen but I would like to see some more credible sources for the rumor.
Also, if it does happen it will be a good thing as I might only have to wait 8 months before being able to buy a gimped PS3 at $100 (well, £100 as I am in the UK) if they keep dropping the price $100 every 4-5 months. 
More seriously, it would help PS3 sales (unless the buying public sees the move as an act of desperation) and thus would hurt 360 sales until it got a price drop of its own but the Wii is unlikely to get one as it would be less affected (the Wii market is either totally uninterested by the PS3 (casuals) or interested in both and willing to consider buying both as they get cheaper (hardcore)).
| Lord N said: I'm rather skeptical about this, although considering the moves Sony has pulled in the last few months, the possibility is still there. It would be something else if Sony had a $300 PS3 before MS had a $300 360. |
Indeed it would be, seeing as MS had a $300 360 at launch more than 2 years ago. 
"I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it"
| FishyJoe said: You see this is the kind of damage constant price cutting can do. Everyone who heard this rumor didn't buy a PS3. |
They didn't buy a 360 either, so not sure if it hurts in the end.
That's not the point. You don't want your product to be a commodity like a dell computer where the consumer expects a price drop every time component prices are lowered. That is a low margin business.
Instead you want the consumer to buy your product on its merits, not the price of it's components, like a Wii. That way you can maintain higher profit margins.
| leo-j said: This is going to be crucial, if ps3 indeed is $299.99 by march or earlier, wii will no longer sell. The ps3 sales would destroy wii and 360 sales. - prediction. |
Joel, what you fail to realize is that there are more people who want the Wii than who want the PS3. Regardless of price point.
I can't see the price coming down that quickly. Maybe a $50 price cut to match the one expected for the 360, but a $100 one seems a little too far fetched. Has any other console ever come down $200 in price in what amounts to a little over a year?
| FishyJoe said: That's not the point. You don't want your product to be a commodity like a dell computer where the consumer expects a price drop every time component prices are lowered. That is a low margin business. Instead you want the consumer to buy your product on its merits, not the price of it's components, like a Wii. That way you can maintain higher profit margins. |
Ahh, I see where you are coming from, but Sony’s “product” is its games, not the console (and those are staying $60). If they could make it for free and give it away, I am sure they would.
About Us |
Terms of Use |
Privacy Policy |
Advertise |
Staff |
Contact
Display As Desktop
Display As Mobile
© 2006-2026 VGChartz Ltd. All rights reserved.
