If they don't cut the price they will not even keep it close, they will be a distant 3rd console. That would hurt their brand name a lot I expect. Even if the games division has to sell off some of their studios or IP to cover the cost, even very important property, I expect they will cut prices prior to the next holiday season as without that the PS4 will be starting from a weak position being the successor to last gens lemon.

smallflyingtaco, it didn't hurt the Wii(gamecube coming in last)

What is driving the Wii I do not think has much at all to do with the cube.  The entire Wii strategy is not about carrying over last gens legacy but about building something new and different.  Nintendo was in poor shape brand wise, so re-imaging themselves cost little.  If Sony wants to go that way they will need a new way of thinking about gaming, new IPs and a console that starts out of the box in the or near the consumer price range.  They will also probably alienate some of their current faithful and if they are just going to basically copy the Wii they will not be moving into virgin territory but having to fight it out for space there.  If they have something completely new and different and even broader than the Wii for the public then your plan might work great sales wise even from a really weak position.

smallflyingtaco said: If they don't cut the price they will not even keep it close, they will be a distant 3rd console. That would hurt their brand name a lot I expect. Even if the games division has to sell off some of their studios or IP to cover the cost, even very important property, I expect they will cut prices prior to the next holiday season as without that the PS4 will be starting from a weak position being the successor to last gens lemon.

 

Actually why coming third this generation would hurt PS name badly ?

That's still millions of fanbase and tons of established IP and as shown currently even dedicated fanboys switch sides when they are shown games they want on other cheaper system (look at all those ps2 owners choosing x360 instead of ps3)

Zlejedi said: smallflyingtaco said: If they don't cut the price they will not even keep it close, they will be a distant 3rd console. That would hurt their brand name a lot I expect. Even if the games division has to sell off some of their studios or IP to cover the cost, even very important property, I expect they will cut prices prior to the next holiday season as without that the PS4 will be starting from a weak position being the successor to last gens lemon.   Actually why coming third this generation would hurt PS name badly ? That's still millions of fanbase and tons of established IP and as shown currently even dedicated fanboys switch sides when they are shown games they want on other cheaper system (look at all those ps2 owners choosing x360 instead of ps3)

We are caught in a bit of a chicken-egg problem here.  PS3 is losing so why does that mean next gen it will hinder them.  Well I am assuming that switching is part of Sony's current problem and has as much, if not more, to do with Sony blowing it as it does with MS doing a good job.  You may disagree with that but if so then either it is random or it is purely a matter of how much effort and money your willing to spend then that does not favor Sony.  If it is the first then tomorrow Casio could start putting games on their calculators and win, if it is the latter then MS has more resources and will eventually dominate this market.  As I said I think winning is a bonus to your prospect next gen.  It is not everything but it gives you a big bonus with a library and a sense of security on early adopters that their investment is safe in that they will get most all of the 3rd party games.  Sony spent 10 years building up that image around Playstation.  A distant third loss may make keeping the 3rd party assumption impossible and even if it does it will mean a lot of people will feel the same way about Xbox at the end of this gen. 

Didn't Sony say that they should start to make money off the PS3 in 2009 and then they said once they start making money off it they'll have a price cut, so that's why a 2009 price cut looks good.

Since launch, taking the currency exchance into account, the PS3 has had a 40% price cut in the U.S.

If the U.S. and Euro keep dropping as they have for the past 3 months, Sony will not be able to provide a price cut other then for Japan.

because I need to get one or I'm officially forced to skip this generation

better question to you kirby. Why do you care?

So when sony cuts price next year I expect a thread made day after day after day "why didn't you think sony would drop price"

Max King of the Wild said: better question to you kirby. Why do you care? So when sony cuts price next year I expect a thread made day after day after day "why didn't you think sony would drop price"

I'm just interested in the general opinion here.