I think the relative value of Blu-Ray is quickly increasing among consumers. And when a consumer if faced with buying either a Xbox360 and a standalone Blu-Ray player, or just getting a PS3, the purchase price of a PS3 seems (and is) very low. And who would want two boxes, each with their separate power cable, under their TV when they can get away with just having one?

Definitely more demand for a $300 PS3. The only problem is that a $300 PS3 is not right around the corner (as in this week), whereas a gimped $200 360 (that still plays virtually all 360 games) or a HDD enabled $300 360 is.

I still don't believe we'll see a $300 PS3 this year. Not until the next major hardware revision is ready (production cost reduction) or SCE backpedals on its commitment to return to profitability.

It's already been pointed out that the 360 is now a 3 year old platform and has been way overdue for another series of price reductions. The original price drops were only so modest largely in part to help offset the $1+bn repair bill for defective consoles.

Had it not been for the RRoD, I believe we could have seen what will soon be the current price structuring ($200/300/400) as early as last year. Or MS simply would have generated more profits on hardware rather than taking losses, which is probably more likely.

But the soon to be introduced $199 price for the Arcade is essentially the mass market breaking point for the platform. It hits critical mass this season or it never will. While a $199 w/ HDD would be the real deal, resulting in a $150 Arcade, assuming the SKU isn't simply dropped, it probably won't happen until the platform is on the verge of being replaced.

The issue is that you can't always argue price, because every console has an entirely different economic strategy.

Would a $300 PS3 sell better than a $300 X360? Absolutely! It has the brand name recognition, and good hardware like the Blu-Ray to make it a strong value buy.

But at the same time, Microsoft took the cheaper, less costly route of no Blu-Ray, and less expensive components (like Nintendo has) so their consoles could be far more competitive in the pricing wars.

What good is it to argue how well a $200 PS3 would do if it isn't going to come for years in the future? Right now, the PS3 is possibly going to break even at $400 soon, while the Xbox 360 is profitable at the $200 basic model. Do you understand how big of a difference that is concerning cost of manufacture?

It's something you have to look at...Value vs. Price. That's why certain consoles do the best - Wii has sold very well in the US due to price, and opinion that it's a great family console. PS2 sold well because it had all the games + DVD playback, and was affordable, and so on.

And I think when you get down to the lower prices, you have to look at ratios of cost vs. eachother. Right now, the X360's Arcade (in the US) is about $120 cheaper than the PS3 at $400, or 30% cheaper. If it was a $200 X360 vs. $300 PS3 (which I doubt will happen for very long), it's 33.3% cheaper. Not only this, you have to look at the % of people that can afford that price difference - The cheaper you get with your console, your going to find more people willing to pay $200, but not $300....Versus people paying $300, and willing to pay $400 for the "better" console.

@mrstickball

Do you expect the 360 to take off like a rocket on a consistent and regular basis after this price drop to $199?

Or do you think it´ll only take off in the beginning and then get back "to normal pre- price cut period"?

Really I just am excited to see if $200 "sweet spot" is really as sweet as analyst say it is...

The wii obviously doesn't need to be that low priced to sell like hotcakes...but I'd love to see how much faster HD consoles will come off the shelves this holiday season..

@ mr stickball ur post was also very imformative, u deserve a gift voucher also

@mrstickball , i'm not getting your point ?

@ kowenicki well i wud disagree on the point regarding hd consoles r a little dry at the mo, but theres some gems out for both later this year, most of them being on...................

ps they rang for work then changed thier mind so a free day off 2day with full pay, thats 3 days on the trot now.

regarding the price ppl av raised sopme good points we will have to check back jan09 to se results flooding in, i predict it will be moderator hel in here wen results are in, heck i might apply for mod status later on.

oh il chuck in a gift voucher for kowenicki also as he only lives 2miless from me