Shadow1980 said:
I never added my own two cents, but here goes.
I think we'll see a price cut this year, with one either being announced during (or just before) E3, at Gamescom, or some time in late October/early November. In any case, I doubt we won't see one this year, for two main reasons:
1) Except for the Wii, no system released from the 16-bit era to the present had gone more than two years without a price cut. The PS2 received its first price price cut in May 2002, 19 months after launch, and that was the latest price cut for a PlayStation system.
2) Sales will not grow without a price cut. Again, except for the Wii, no system has ever experienced significant sales growth without the benefit of a price cut (and the Wii's growth may be an artifact caused by supply issues in 2007). Even if the PS4 doesn't "need" a price cut, it won't sell much better than it's been selling until it has a lower price. Only so many people will be willing to spend $400 on a console, and reducing the price means broadening the market to more price-conscious consumers. Also, if any system didn't "need" a price cut, it was the PS2, yet it got one anyway, which caused sales to spike.
Simple historical precedent suggests a price cut some time this year, and that's enough for me. When this year likely depends on how it sells over the next several months. |
I agree that a price cut if in the horizon this year. I guess that biggest question is will the price cut be during E3 or right before autumn? Both scenarios have their ups and downs. For E3, you get the benefit of announcing the price cut during the biggest, if not one of the biggest, game conferences. The downside is that you're cutting the price right before summer, a time where sales are traditionally low. If you cut the price right before autumn, you benefit from the traditionally higher sales in September and October. You can also ride that momentum into November and December and sell huge numbers. The problem is that sales will go down, especially during the summer until the fall.
