@ Ck

I agree with Dark Requiem, why are you so sure that they will immidiately decrease the price of the higher SKU when the lower is phased out when this wasn't the case with the 20/60GB PS3? I'm not saying that it wont happen but how can you be so bullish in your opinion when Sony has shown recent, contradictory behaviour on the same console?

It's an interesting idea, but it's pretty much shitting on the people who got their consoles at launch, a vast majority of which are Sony fans who won't want to keep trading in for bigger and bigger versions of what they already bought.

The people who bought a 20GB PS3 with no bells and whistles at $500 got the shaft. If the 80GB PS3 sells for $500 they basically got scammed out of a better system because they wanted the system at launch instead of waiting a year.

@WiteoutKing: That's always the case with a new console -- when you buy at launch, you're paying extra to be in the door early. Every system comes down in price -- if it's not successful, sometimes unsettlingly quickly.

And I'm not sure this is a bad idea on Sony's part -- from all accounts, a fair number of XBox 360 Premium owners went out and bought the Elite. Periodic upgrades aren't out of the question for the hardcore -- after all, we spend more on games over time than we do on the console, which is really just a device we use to enjoy our libraries.

 Clever? They just told the world they were cutting the price and now they are taking it away. After everyone gets pumped about a price cut they are going to go out and find that there is only a 600 dollar model. And seriously I don't like motorstorm and can care less about another 20 gigs, meaning spending an extra 100 bucks on that is stupid. Personally they should have phased them out at their existing price. And when you tell people who don't know better that the cheap version is old and being replaced who is going to want to buy it? After everyone saying the price cut woudln't help and Konami saying it wasn't enough, they are jumping out saying it wasn't real. Granted it's good from a business perspective they are making a profit already, and to me that means they are expecting to be in last place. This is Nintendo's strategy they formed with the Gamecube, make a profitable system so it can still make you money while your in last place, except they'll have a high price still. Don't want to sound like a Sony basher here, but in my opinion this is the worst thing they could have said ever. In fact I almost feel they did it to push M$ into a price cut, to hurt them financially.

I think it's telling that the 20GB model isn't still around and being offered for $399. It seems clear that the additional HD space is where savings can be realized at this point, and the other components have not come down in price enough to permit a real price cut yet.

What happens if the 60GB model doesn't sell out as quickly as the purported "July Plan" indicates? Will it stay at $499 or drop further? It doesn't seem Sony can lower its price without lowering the 80GB model as well. But if it doesn't clear out quickly, then PS3 shelves will just be loaded with TWO expensive, stagnating models. There's still a 2 million unit discrepancy between what Sony has said they've shipped into retail and what the best available info says has sold.

On the other hand, the PS3 60GB model's pricing is now looking very attractive next to the 360 Elite -- I haven't gotten off the fence yet, but I want HDMI and Wi-Fi, and if the game library was more competitive the PS3 would be the obvious choice for me.

My gosh this thread has gone off the deep end... Anyway, I'll weigh in with my own thoughts.

When I first saw these comments from Sony, it felt like a 'bait and switch'.  They're clearing out the old PS3s and once they're sold out the only option you'll have left is a bundled deal for $599 (but it's comes with a larger hard drive and game that you may or may not want)!

While Sony may eventually bring out a system only package, they have not announced it.  So there's no guarantee of that.  Everything here along those lines is just speculation.  With new bundles and no price drops in Europe, it looks like Sony is reluctant to drop the price in the future and may try bundling things together at the current prices.

Just my two cents.  (And I'm not a Jew. :P )

The overall impression here is that Sony really can't afford to sell the PS3 for less than US$599 retail. They're sacrificing sales of an existing successful Teen-rated title, Motorstorm, to help move the system, which is a good move and doesn't add much in terms of real manufacturing cost. But if the 60GB model is just being cleared out at $499, it appears that Sony is swallowing a further loss on those already-built consoles just to get them out of the warehouse. They're not saving anything beyond ongoing storage costs.

I would guess that the PS3 manufacturing cost actually HAS come down since launch, but apparently not enough to facilitate a price drop. The best outcome here is some market share growth for the PS3 -- but if this attempt to clear stock backfires and the systems still don't sell, it could end up looking REALLY bad this holiday season. And even if Sony sells all 2 million 60GB models on hand at the clearance price, they still won't be ahead of the 360 or the Wii.

If this is all true, it looks like one step forward... one step back.

I don't know what's worse, MS carrying three SKUs, one of which shouldn't exist (the Core) or Sony playing musical price points.

I know one thing, I don't like either strategy one bit.

Sony simply can't afford to miss their profit estimates, even if it means sacrificing PS3 sales. The market would absolutely demolish Sony if they fell short of their profit goals. On the other hand, shareholders won't revolt if they miss their PS3 target.

for the love of god, sony, microsoft, 1 SKU please...