Source GameDaily

Hirai:

"I think about PS3 pricing every single day. It is that important a factor ... But I am not planning any immediate pricing action now,"

"Going aggressive only on price without being able to back it up with content doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me,"

On topic of SCE may acquire more developers:

 

"We wouldn't buy a company just because we can," he said. "Talks of an acquisition would emerge only when a company already has tight relations with us, its corporate culture is compatible with ours, its employees are working closely with us, and it can churn out strong software titles."

 

Patcher:

"I'm really not sure what they're thinking," he commented. "Hirai said no cut this year when asked the direct question, so I think the PS3 cut is unlikely until Spring. It now looks like the delay of Home and the lack of any killer games this year made them reconsider whether a price cut in 2007 would have much impact."

 

Pachter added, "I would not rule out a PS2 price cut, but it looks like we can put the PS3 cut to bed until some time early next year."

 

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My Opinion: It realy looks like there will be no drop before next year. Maybe the 80 gig gets a little cheaper, but it sure doesn't look like that. Caused by the falling $ a price drop in USA gets more and more unlikley for me.

 

"We wouldn't buy a company just because we can," he said. "Talks of an acquisition would emerge only when a company already has tight relations with us, its corporate culture is compatible with ours, its employees are working closely with us, and it can churn out strong software titles."

I'm glad he said this. Sometimes fanboys think that buying a developer is some kind of magic cure for all problems. Acquiring a develepor does not make sense in a lot of situtations, despite the popularity of that developers games.

Good that they think about but if they dont drop the price it isnt useful....

On the other hand Patchers says no price cut....thats about as good a confirmation for price cut as we can get...

I would bet on november.....

I think Hirai is on the right track...

I don't think anything Sony can do on price will really help it this Xmas. Like he said, you have to have the content to back it up, and although they do have some good stuff coming out, the kind of people that will buy that stuff won't care as much about price (Generality not everyone)...

Their development purchase logic is exactly as expected. Culture is important, working closely is important, and they have to bring something good to the table.

Patcher is usually off the wall but he is definately right in this case. KZ2 and MGS4 timeframe would probably be the best time for a price cut as it may spur demand for the console and a price cut would enhance it.

Diomedes1976 said: Good that they think about but if they dont drop the price it isnt useful.... On the other hand Patchers says no price cut....thats about as good a confirmation for price cut as we can get... I would bet on november.....

It's kind of tricky, though.  "No price cut" doesn't mean "we won't introduce a 40GB model at $399", right?

Hirai has a point, though -- why be very aggressive on price this holiday if their content is insufficient?  There just aren't enough reasons to buy a PS3 yet, so if they drop the price they'll just be hurting themselves more and sales won't increase enough. 

I agree with Hirai's thinking, although if the 60 GB models run out before Christmas I think it may impact them negatively...only having a $600 bundle on the market isn't that great.

TheBigFatJ said: It's kind of tricky, though. "No price cut" doesn't mean "we won't introduce a 40GB model at $399", right? Hirai has a point, though -- why be very aggressive on price this holiday if their content is insufficient? There just aren't enough reasons to buy a PS3 yet, so if they drop the price they'll just be hurting themselves more and sales won't increase enough.

After thinking about it, a pricecut before christmas (in NA) could hurt them double. First it would look desprate, and customers might begin to think: If it falls so fast in price, I might wait, the next cut could't be so far away. And they wouldn't have something to get the momentum going if the AAA hits. They would have nothing left to move consoles. How good a pricecut and good titles works again just a price cut can be seen by the numbers of this summer. Microsoft is doing much better with a lower cut.

 

Ken Kutaragi's poor leadership and even poorer design choices have left Kaz Hirai holding the bag. It will be extremely difficult for the PS3 to fulfill all the grandeous proclamations that were made prior to launch. The systems overall design is what makes dropping the price so difficult. As I've said many times before, pricing will haunt the PS3 for the entire generation and will be one of the principal reasons that Sony finishes last this time around.

Poor design, LMFAO. 360 finish ahead of PS3 what are you smoking.

Hus said: Poor design, LMFAO. 360 finish ahead of PS3 what are you smoking.

Please read.  He said, '[poor] design choices'.  There's little arguing against the PS3 having had many poor engineering design choices, starting with the Cell.  The PS3 costs way too much -- a console with a $800+ cost attached to it has had some poor design choices.  This is why Sony is in a tough spot.