Kutaragi on PS3: it's too cheap

Lest you thought Sony had managed to put the issue of Playstation 3 pricing behind them with defenses earlier this week by Kaz Hirai and Phil Harrison, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Ken Kutaragi has now weighed in with his verdict. Kutaragi has reportedly stated that the pricing of the PS3 is "probably too cheap," and he likens the console to a fine dining experience, saying that it's nonsense "to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant." Based on what he calls the PS3's "amazing experience," he says "we believe price is not a problem." Meanwhile, Microsoft has responded to the PS3's pricing with a suggestion that you can eat at both the cafeteria and the fine restaurant by picking up both an Xbox 360 and a Wii. As Xbox head Peter Moore told Reuters, it makes good economic sense to "buy an Xbox and ... buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3." Of course, if you're really hardcore and well-heeled, you'll pick up both of those, and grab a PS3 for dessert.

Read: Kutaragi
Read: Moore

[Steve C. @ May 12th 2006 9:21AM]

I just looked up Kutaragi in my Japanese-English dictionary. Though the translation isn't perfect, it seems that it means "arrogant."

[Semi @ May 12th 2006 9:25AM]

how can you have us price of $499 and europe price of $499 (For the lower end PS3)

by current exchange rate 499 dollars is 387 euros.
should be 399 euros for the lower end.

if they say the lower end is �499 for UK then i'm getting my ps3 from america

but i'd still say that it is cheap for what it offers,

[lolersticks @ May 12th 2006 9:29AM]

***BBBBBRRRRIIIINNNGGG***

"Hello? Shenanigans? Yeah, it's me again."

[Tsunamii @ May 12th 2006 9:31AM]

Ken Kutaragi forgot the first rule of holes. When your in one, stop digging.

[Chunk @ May 12th 2006 9:34AM]

Dumbass.

[Paul @ May 12th 2006 9:35AM]

The xbox 360 costs $299-$399 correct? This is without the HD-DVD drive, and it has been said that they will be selling it for $200, so.... I dont see how people are confused, you add that to the cost of the xbox, and you have the same price as the PS3... $499-$599, give PS3 a break... If you want to get a system on the cheap, buy PS2, xbox, or get a revolution.

[kirinle @ Oct 10th 2006 10:37AM]

High 5 dude, lots of these gamers hate Asian products. Look at PS3 style and compare XBOX. Which console look better? Last thing, they can't do the math. Bunch of hater, what's in PS3 is too damn cheap for $599. Even PS3 cost $999, I still buy 1 over XBOX. Don't hate PS3, just hater MS can't make console better than Sony.

[Paul @ May 12th 2006 9:39AM]

Just found a link to the engadget post on the price of the HD-DVD drive for the xbox.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/09/hands-on-with-the-xbox-360-hd-dvd-drive/

[Thill @ May 12th 2006 9:40AM]

Very smart response from Microsoft (and I am sure that Nintendo is not to upset about it either)..
It will be even more interesting if the Wii sold for $200 and Microsoft dropped the price of their console by $50..

That means it would be cheaper to buy a premium 360 console and a Wii than it would be to buy the premium PS3..

Speaking of resturants, I think Sony may have bitten off more than it can chew with its pricing scheme...

Time will tell...

[Tsunamii @ May 12th 2006 9:40AM]

Paul, I read $100 for the drive. Even with them being close in price they have lost in terms as to what people perceive. The perception that it is a higher priced machine will make it all the way to Mom & Dad for next Christmas and that is a loss no matter how much you say they are the same price...

[ty @ May 12th 2006 9:41AM]

Bottom line is that PS3 will sell out in the launch window and suppllies will be scarce for a while. With this pricing, most of the revenue goes back to Sony rather than retailers.

There are lots of people who will spend 600+ USD on a gaming/av/linux system. If you cant afford it or cant convince mommy to buy it then too bad..wait for PSthree.

[Fuzz @ May 12th 2006 9:44AM]

It's sorta like this Steakhouse in my city. It thinks it's much better than it is, so it overcharges for the same crap you can get at The Keg.

[Geir E @ May 12th 2006 9:45AM]

This sounds like soccermums congression. Whining about differences that in the whole doesn't mean much. Some pennies differes the beasts - but still not a extreme difference.

The price differences between subtile differences in the TV sets you're running it on is much larger, and I bet if someone wants hd experience they put so much into the complete setup that paying up for the ps3 which have a blu-ray drive isn't much of a pocket bleed.

[IK @ May 12th 2006 9:47AM]

As long as the launch price for the PS3 is under $700CAD, it will do fine. If you remember, the PS2's launch price was c$600, and after it sold out, stolen ones were $800 and japanese ones $1000+. After 8 months, when things will have calmed down, the price will gradually lower to $350, then $300, just as the PS2 did. My intention was actually to buy a Nintendo Wii, then buy a PS3 when the price is below $400.

* all prices are in Canadian Dollar ($1US=$1.13CAD)

[nabil @ May 12th 2006 9:50AM]

people will buy it no matter what they price it at, but they'll complain more about how expensive it is. same as with the psp. i definitely bought one, but i dont like that it was expensive, or the fact that, you know, it sucks.

[kbs @ May 12th 2006 9:51AM]

i think #5 is off the mark. we don't have a standard yet like back when ps2 or xbox came out with dvd's. its still a toss up if hd-dvd or bludisk will pan out. so why pay for something that hasn't been standardized yet?
its like getting a head unit with minidisk... was hot at the time... but gone now...

[James Varghese @ May 12th 2006 9:56AM]

Paul,
I think that what a lot of Sony apologists are forgetting when comparing the premium Xbox 360 w/ HD-DVD to the price of the lower end PS3 is that with the 360, the HD DVD player is an OPTION! With the PS3, you are forced to pay for it. And don't say that you want to make an apples to apples comparison because the majority of the system buying families out there are not clamoring for BR or a HD-DVD drive. They just want a game machine...and the premium XBox 360 game portion costs $399.

[Thill @ May 12th 2006 9:57AM]

#5..

Paul, the pricing for the HD-DVD drive has not been announced yet (I have heard anywhere from $100-200), but who knows...

I still do not see the major advantage of Sony having Blu-Ray players at this point in time:
- Blu-Ray has not won the format battle. As it stands right now, they are behind HD-DVD in coming to market and on pricing (Blu-Ray hardware is about twice as much as HD-DVD hardware, and the discs themselves are more expensive.
- If Blu-Ray losses the format war, that means people are paying a premium price for a player now, that will be obsolete in the future.
- The majority (I think the number is 90%) of folks do not even have an HDTV, or one that will support HDMI/HDCP (HDCP will be utilized down the road). So, this is not a big advantage.
- Game developers do not need 25GB-50GB discs to produce a game. A DVD is more than adequate. Maybe in the future, but probably not in the next couple years.
- This is still yet to be determined, but it goes without saying that games that are produced on Blu-Ray discs will cost more (especially from 3rd party developers).
- Even if BluRay clearly wins the format war, most folks will just buy a dedicated Blu-Ray player anyway when they cost about $50-100.

There is no doubt that Sony has placed their chips on the table and has gambled the future of the PS3 on Blu-Ray. Lets be honest, its not about Wifi, or bluetooth wireless controllers , or the Cell processor, or even the games (I think everyone by now, including (360 and PS3 fanboys), gets the fact that there will be little differnce in graphics between the consoles. It is about Blu-Ray.. That is the reason why the console has been delayed and the reason why the PS3 has such a premium price...

[kirinle @ Oct 10th 2006 10:36AM]

Man BD will win no matter what. When PS3 launch, XBOX and HD-DVD won't have a chance to catch it.

[hj @ May 12th 2006 9:59AM]

It's time for people to wake up when it comes to next-gen format. First it's not garunteed that blu-ray will win so I don't know why anyone would want to gamble with the ps3 based on that factor which all the sony fanboys have been doing.
Secondly it's time for all you geeks to step out of geekdom for a few seconds. It's too soon for a new format. blu-ray and hddvd don't offer anywhere near the advantage over dvd did as dvd did over vhs, not to mention you have to get a new TV to take full advantage of the new formats true potential. All that for a little bit better picture quality? No thanks. Face the facts the next format won't be mainstream for 4-5 years and by then we'll all be getting our movies from iTunes, lol.
Sony shot themselves in the foot by including the blu-ray drive. By trying to shove blu-ray through wiht the ps3 they've over priced it to the point where nobody wants it. They should have done what microsoft is doing and offer a optional dirt cheap blu-ray drive seperatly.

I'm curious to see the xbox 360 sales this week at major retailers, to see if theres been a spike in sales now that the ps3 is priced out of everyones budget.

[Jared Dilg @ May 12th 2006 9:59AM]

I like Ty's idea; wait for the PSThree.

[Phace @ May 12th 2006 10:01AM]

The cool thing is that you don't need to buy the HD-DVD. Sony is cramming Blu-ray down everyone's throats. Microsoft is much wiser in this regard- they are not pushing a format AND a gaming system... just the gaming system, with an optional (and seemingly reasonably priced) HD media capability as an add-on.

Rock on.

[Bob @ May 12th 2006 10:03AM]

Given the choice between having both a Honda Accord and a Mazda Miata or just having 1 Porsche Cayman, I'd take the Porsche.

[The1 @ May 12th 2006 10:10AM]

Does Sony require it's employees to do an annual drug test?

[blogomania @ May 12th 2006 10:10AM]

#12 what ru talking about? The price of consoles at launch is never affected by supply and demand at major retailers. It's set by the companies who produce those products. The ps2 was $300 at launch and the price never changed until sony lowered the price a few years later.

#13 people will buy it no matter the price? You're a fucking MORON! Want to know one huge reason the DS is outselling the psp 7:1 PRICE JACKASS!!!

PS3 is DOA

[Jeff @ May 12th 2006 10:14AM]

'it's nonsense "to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant."'

True... but then again, McDonald's does a hell of a lot more business than Nobu.

If their goal is to be a profitable niche player, then that's all well and good. But most of us thought the PS3 was supposed to be a mainstream system. It's probably news to Sony's board of directors if that's not the case.

I'm gonna buy a PS3 but that analogy from Kutaragi is just completely inappropriate.

[len @ May 12th 2006 10:15AM]

Inferior equipment at a more expensive price... hey, it worked for Apple! All they need to do is appeal to hipster elitism, and they will pay out the nose for it. It looks like that strategy is already in effect.

[David @ May 12th 2006 10:15AM]

I think the war has already been won and it's HD. Much like apples I, in all of it's products, HD has been tagged on to just about everything, even Audio. The average consumer hears Hi Definition and doesn't understand it is just a term that can also describe Blue Ray, because of it's specs, BlueRay to me is Higher Defintion.

Will the average mom and dad understand that? Absolutley not. Will the average consumer understand that? Absolutley not. If Sony were smart they would re-name their products BlueRay HD or HD-Blueray. This would cause the consumer to ask the salesperson what the difference is with HD and Blueray HD or HD-Blueray. If the Salesperson has to explain BlueRay it's a form of steering the consumer and it's not an easy task steering a consumer in this information age.

Sonys marketing is all wrong. A succesful product begins with hype which is usually in the form of advertising in media and in print. I have not seen one commercial on television telling the consumer how superior blueray technology is to plain old HD and how blueray will work with the current high definition tv's everyone just bought.

Imagine the consumer who just paid 5000 for a plasma television to watch their sports and favorite tv programs, movies in HD. They are going to hate blueray because they will feel that term will date their current equipment.

BlueRay will meet with resistance. What we have here is definitley the argument that buried Betamax which was more expensive and of higher quality. The consumer didn't get it back then and they aren't going to get it now.

I have already considered the possibility of an xbox 360 if the price goes down to 299.00 with the hard drive and if the new games are priced @ 49.99; There is no doubt the Wii has a place in my home at any price under 299.00

Nintendo won the E3 battle; I just watched their press conference and sonys afterward. My goodness did Sony bomb at their conference, it was as cold as NEW TECHNOLOGY CAN GET. Nintendo execs actually played on stage and got the crowd more involved. Wii is the unofficial winner.

I have yet to see microsofts press conference; not sure i need to see it. I saw fight night 3 at toys r us and I'm in love with it, However, I cannot identify with microsoft system nor it's software due to it's price, the battle would be over if 299.00 core systems were easy to find and if games were 49.99

[Rocky @ May 12th 2006 10:16AM]

Kutaragi has got a point - if something exudes in quality, people should pay more for it.

However, the PS3 doesn't seem to suggest that it is any better than the 360 imo. Hideo Kojima - arguably one of Sony's biggest supporters for making the MGS series exclusive - had even suggested that MGS4 can run on the 360.

Also, Sony have to cut costs somewhere to reduce their losses....expect this to be down to the electronic components inside. Sony have a terrible reputation with PS1 and PS2 - particularly the laser issue. I can't see things being any different with the Blu-Ray drive tbh.

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Kutaragi - in case you reading this - if you are going to make wild statements like that, make sure you support it with a product that deserves it :(

[will @ May 12th 2006 10:16AM]

Love how people knock on the PS3.. don't like it, don't talk about it. The XBOX360 HD-DVD drive will be $100. The XBOX360 is a great sports and FPS system. the Wii is great for innovate GAMEPLAY (although nearly all the games I've seen have mediocre graphics, save Red Steel and a few others, even though I'm a Nintendo fan). The PS3 is trying to be the penultimate system in your living room (internet, gaming, movies, storage, media, connectivity, etc). XBOX360 is trying the same thing in a slightly different route. PS1 and PS2 were seen as the "everyman"s systems, hence their popularity. THe XBOX was the "man"'s system and "high-tech man's" system. Now, the PS3 will still keep its "everyman" but will be also for the stylish, modern, graphics-monster powerhouse for the person who wants the best of the best, cutting-edge. Yeah, it comes at a price, but for $600 you are getting a BD-DVD and HDMI... people, BD-DVD and HDMI! The cheapest BD-DVD player that will come out first is about $1000! And contrary to what others have said, I know a LOT of people that bought the PS2 for the games AND DVD player.

All said, if you want the XBOX360, get it. If you want the PS3, get it. If not. GROW UP!

[jon @ May 12th 2006 10:17AM]

The advantage that 360 users have is Consumer Choice. I have the choice to wait on the sidelines of this format war...or to Jump in as an early adopter. And also...By this Christmas there will be 10 million people that have 360's already. Every christmas theres a new budget for gifts...so a $100-$200 purchase of an HD-DVD this Christmas for me is very realistic. If I see things going south for HD-DVD I could always sell the add on and not have a total loss. If you buy a PS3...you are just screwed if Blu-Ray fails.

People have had way too much confidence in Blu-Ray. I have been watching High Def movie trailers on my 360...lets say the CARS trailer...which is the best looking one. The trailer looks amazing, but so does the Standard DVD of The Incredibles. I am an early adopter...and I am not so overwhelmed by the improvement in visuals that I'm willing to take a several hundred dollar gamble just yet.

Most people are not early adopters. This is a real problem for Sony that has centered it's PS3 strategy around Blu-Ray.

Lets not forget PC adoption of then next HD format. The PC market was saturated with DVD-Roms far before most people had them in their living rooms. The PC market is very important to the adoption of next gen drives. PC purchasers are very cost concious. HD-DVD is clearly going to be far cheaper. Cheaper to purchase...and cheaper media. Also Windows Media Center is really hot right now. Most new computers ship with WMC. Almost all Windows Vista computers will ship with WMC. So a user only needs one HD-DVD drive in their PC and can play movies using the 360 as a Media Center Connector. That way the best of both worls is had.

Also...will the 360 external drive be able to be used on a normal PC? I guarantee you that the hacking community will immediately work on creating drivers for the Drive to allow it to work with PC. If so...PC users will flock to the external drive as an inexpensive entry into HD-DVD. This would leave Sony completely unable to respond with such a huge price difference.

Blu-Ray and Sony are in serious trouble if Blu-Ray fails.

[james @ May 12th 2006 10:19AM]

People were screaming about the 360's price when it first came out, and still are. I guess sony could drop the price if they pulled the blu ray drive out.

Quit whining about the pricing of the system when you're still willing to pay 60 bucks for a single game.

[Necrocide @ Aug 1st 2007 8:00PM]

$600(£300) is cheap and is the same price as a british Xbox 360 plus $60(£30) for a game is what we pay for current gen

[mfkilla @ May 12th 2006 10:20AM]

Fact of the matter is, PS3 is in trouble with a price that high. Ken Kutaragi needs to get his head out of his ass and realize it. Arrogance...

btw, ds is not outselling psp 7:1. Get your facts right.

[Loban @ May 12th 2006 10:22AM]

Given all the new technology in the PS3, $600 may very well be "too cheap", but that's not why everyone is complaining. In the end, people still see the PS3 as a gaming machine. What if I don't need HD output or a blu-ray drive?? You could easily make a strictly gaming machine with all the graphical capabilities for MUCH less than $600. And the games don't even need blu-ray discs anyway for God's sake. It's like they're trying to justify the sky-high price by saying it's an "entertainment device" when all we really want it for is games. The PSP is falling victim to the same thing. It's being touted as a portable entertainment device and that makes it fairly expensive. The DS does stricly games, and it does them way better and it's killing the PSP.

I hate "all inclusive" devices that try to do too many things and hence cost more because of it.

[[e-mail] @ May 12th 2006 10:23AM]

Sony is pushing both the PS3 and Blu-ray at the same time. Blu-ray would be no where if not for the ps3. This is exactly what will bring Blu-ray to be a standard in a few years. The price doesn't matter at all. The ps3 could be $1000 USD and still sell millions, thus expanding and directly promoting Blu-ray. It's obvious, those of you that complain at the price arent the target audience, yet. So those of you, please. Shut the hell up.

Now on the Xbox360, you complain that the $500-$600 USD price for the ps3 is expansive, well guess what, an Xbox360 package with HD-DVD will cost MORE than the PS3's $500-$600 USD price.

Don't get me wrong, the Xbox360 is nice, but OVER $200
for the HD-DVD external duel USB drive is nonsence.
If I had just one question for microsoft's 360 it would be: WHY THE HELL DOES A 20GB HDD COST $100 PLUS TAX??????

[Ed @ May 12th 2006 10:23AM]

There's little question that the initial shipments of the PS3 will fly off of the shelves. Rabid gamers will want, and get theirs....that accounts for TOPS, 5 million consoles. The problem for SONY is this. They want to sell 100+ million of these things to get BD-ROM in the door. Somebody should call Mr Kutaragi and ask him what in the hell he's been smoking...'cause at these price points, there ain't no way, no how, that they'll even crack 25 million in the first 3 years. Bottom line is this, if SONY wasn't engaging in the BD-ROM trojan, the console would be comparably priced to the 360, and SONY would be assured of retaining their market share in the video game world, but BECAUSE of this asinine decision to peddle the BD-ROM upon us...they have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

[[e-mail] @ May 12th 2006 10:26AM]

If You complain that a new system requires DI-DEF well then, TOO DAMN BAD! YOU CANNOT improve graphics without improving the resolution, otherwise the graphics wont look different at all. The only console for you is the Wii, have fun with that

[Jason @ May 12th 2006 10:27AM]

Everyone is missing a key factor between this generation and the last... when the PS2 came out it was NEXT GEN! And people flocked to buy them... When XBOX came out the following year it was NEXT GEN too and a little better... came with the built in hard drive, network card, and the promise of Xbox Live yet it was THE SAME price as the PS2...

Now the PS3 comes along... a year after the 360 and it is nearly twice as much as the 360 and has pretty much the same GAME tech as the 360... as far as games go there will really be no noticable difference between the two...

It is yet to be seen if people will bypass the 360 to get a PS3 for nearly twice as much... but we will find out in November!

[zenprime @ May 12th 2006 10:28AM]

This whole case of sticker shook is making me think this is Sony's version of "Wii"

[nabil @ May 12th 2006 10:33AM]

blogomania: i didn't say everyone will buy it. i said PEOPLE will buy it. no doubt the DS is priced better and is the biggest reason for its success, however, you're honestly telling me that even if sony priced the ps3 at $1000, nobody would go out an buy it? that's bullshit.

[Paul Cosgrove @ May 12th 2006 10:35AM]

Is it just me, or is this Kutaragi's equivalent of "you'll get what I give you and you'll f*cking like it, biatch"?

[blogomania @ May 12th 2006 10:40AM]

#34 it's about MARKETSHARE YOU IDIOT! Oh yea some people will buy it for 1k, some people will buy it for 2k, but IN TERMS OF MARKETSHARE XBOX 360 AND WII ARE GOING TO CLEAN HOUSE BECAUSE THE BS3 IS A RIPOFF!!!!

[blogomania @ May 12th 2006 10:41AM]

whoops I ment #35. Sorry 34.

[The Mole @ May 12th 2006 10:41AM]

Hey everybody, just wait until the Xbox 360 comes out with a new Premium package in October/November. They'll probably throw in the HD-DVD player in at the $400 price point and move the current premium package down to $300. I'm guessing they'll drop the core package. After all, the 360 being out for a year would make it ripe for a price cut and that would throw a huge wrench into the whole "well if you add $200 to the price of the 360 for HD-DVD, then it's the same price". Sony is banking on that arguement and in the end I don't think it'll fly. Microsoft wants to be a better value for the consumer. If nothing else I expect a $100 price drop by the end of the year.

[Eric @ May 12th 2006 10:44AM]

unknown555525:

HD-DVD/BluRay is not required to have Hi-Def content. They just allow you to store more data on a disc (25-50G) than DVD(9G). Haven't you wondered how the X360 has been able to display Hi-Def gaming content with the "old and busted" DVD format?

Would Final Fantasy XIII span 3 DVDs? Probably, because they cram those things full with hours and hours of pre-rendered video (which takes up a lot of space). But in regards to that, since the Final Fantasy games are completely linear, swapping discs is trivial.

Hi-Def in realtime graphics has less to do with disc space and more to do with the strength of the video processor. Sure you need higher resolution resources, but thousands of textures can be stored in the same amount of space as a 1 minute video.

[nemi @ May 12th 2006 10:47AM]

#16 , you are wrong on developer storage requirements.

Gran Turismo 4 fills a dual layer DVD-9 disc with maps, models, textures and music.

It doesn't take a degree to work out that during the life time of the PS3 there will be games (including the GT series) that will / can take advantage of the additional storage space of BlueRay.

Think big textures maps, think high poly count models, think more music tracks to lsiten to while playing, think more video cut scenes, think more in game sound effects.

A huige leap in storage may not be inovative , but it can be put to evolutionary and inovative uses.

It is also nice to see that the PS3 has a HD one EVERY model. I am assuming an area can be used as a cahse (as in the original xbox) for any files that need ot be accessed faster than the BluRay discs allows for.


I susspect the Xbox360 answer will be that games needing the extra space will MANDATE network link and a hard drive and stream the extra data and store on your HD.

[blogomania @ May 12th 2006 10:47AM]

I remember ff7 was on 4 CD's. Disk swapping is no big deal.

[Magnuslee @ May 12th 2006 10:49AM]

Wow

Mr Kutaragi is arrogant. I will note that the price is high and as a true gamer I will pay for the high-end system, but Mr Kutaragi doesn't need to be saying anything so insulting.

Blue-Ray, HD-DVD, who cares I want it all but please note the casual gamer can't buy this system and a lot of the American based parents just will not shell out that kind of cash when Sony has been known to put out a device that you will have to replace in two to three years. Give me a five year warrenty and maybe I'd be a Sony Fan-Boy, but for now I'm just a gamer.

Oh by the way I'm not promoting anything you X-Box or 360 Fan-Boys are pushing. I just hate so see big business tell me how to percive things.

[nabil @ May 12th 2006 10:50AM]

blogomania: calm down dude. and its 36, not 35, douchebag.