PS3 to get another price cut by year's end?

It looks like we could soon be in for a good old fashioned price war, with talk of yet another PS3 price cut already spreading just days after the last one became official. What's more, this latest rumor appears to be based on more than just idle speculation, coming instead from Capcom's Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe, who told Reuters that the price "is likely to be cut again towards the end of the year," adding that he expects the PS3's installed base to "grow gradually." While there's no indication of just how big a price cut it'd be, any further drop would certainly put a crimp in Microsoft's rumored plans for a significant price cut of its own, though we doubt too many other people will be complaining.

[TheGuy @ Jul 12th 2007 3:58PM]

My guess is Sony will have a $50 price cut ready to counter Microsoft's 360 price cut, which they'll likely announce for the holidays.

[pigfister @ Jul 12th 2007 4:39PM]

you do know that the new north american 80gig ps3 has the emoting engine removed and now is not fully supportive of ps2 and ps1 games and since the removal of this hardware costs less than the 60gig model.

here is the uk "working" (if it loads) games list.

http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc/bcGames.htm;ZSESSIONID=GWRGvT8V001kZvRhx9C4wQTL4LX3dMHyFs0z1yny3yCyTvYMpWpy!1531875105?locale=en_GB



David Reeves, President of SCEE. “Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games. Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3

http://www.scee.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=4331&NewsAreaID=2

and he is true to his word as most titles are still glitchy or don't work at all, and no patches are coming for us in the uk so good luck america!

[gibber9583 @ Jul 12th 2007 4:52PM]

Who wants to play PS1/PS2 on their Ps3's anyway?

I dont play any Xbox games on my Xbox360...


If they do add another price cut, that would be enough to pull me over to the dark side...sort of, it would just be a secondary system :-)

[Secura @ Jul 12th 2007 5:02PM]

I always play PS1/PS2 games on my PS3. It's one of my favorite features.

[gibber9583 @ Jul 12th 2007 5:16PM]

I guarantee you are a minority. And with halfway decent PS3 games coming out finally, those games should certainly be removed from your playlist.

[JB @ Jul 12th 2007 5:30PM]

@gibber9583

I am sure I am not alone in playing more last generation titles on my current gen consoles (360, Wii, PS3) than anything else. These titles include games that I have not previously played before getting the console.

In fact, I probably would not have purchased the current consoles if they were not (sufficiently) backward compatible.

[Max Fun @ Jul 13th 2007 2:05AM]

I don't care about the lack of Emotion Engine, because I still have my PS2. Plus, the list of compatible games on the PS3 emulation is so much longer than the 360 one, when MS first enabled it, and I'm sure it will just get better, so I'm not too bothered.

[Eric @ Jul 12th 2007 4:00PM]

Finally, they've figured out people won't pay $600 for a console.

[Fatima @ Jul 12th 2007 4:22PM]

No they always knew that dumnut. People payed $600 cuz it was a great blu-ray players. BD players were $1000. Now they are $500-600. So Since ps3 had Blu diode laser, the prices have come down and sony can cut the price of ps3.
Gradually all the people with ps2, will buy PS3 when its like $400. It will be a gradual increase, not a decrease like 360.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 12th 2007 4:02PM]

I bet it will all depend on the market's reaction to the $100 price drop we just had.

More than likely they are under heavy pressure to lower prices even further until sales are up, so game publishers can make some money.

[ph30nix @ Jul 12th 2007 4:14PM]

considering that Amazon's cut had a 2,500% increase in sales, I'd say the reaction was amazing...

I'd still like to hold out on that $400 mark

[catfish @ Jul 12th 2007 5:04PM]

2,500% of nothing is still nothing

[Ireland @ Jul 12th 2007 8:41PM]

@ catfish?

I'd hardly call 4 million sold "nothing", considering it's only been available worldwide since the 23rd of March (less that 4 months). And most of that 4 million is the more expensive $600/€600 version.

The price is now $499 on Amazon with a free game (Motorstorm), free bluetooth remote, and 6 free BD rentals. That's a good deal, considering it has a Blu-ray drive and all. Now if this kind of deal hits Europe soon--rumors are it will--and the price comes down even more by Christmas, I think that 4 million could quite conceivably become 10,000 by new years day 2008.

[Ireland @ Jul 12th 2007 8:46PM]

LOL, I meant 10,000,000 (not ten thousand). I wish to God you Engadgeters would add that digg-like-edit-feature I been asking for for months now.

[Rex @ Jul 12th 2007 4:04PM]

it'll get cheaper when standalone blu-ray players start to get cheaper..

[andy @ Jul 12th 2007 4:06PM]

Yay for price wars.


Hey, do you know who wins a price war?..... ME.

(and you too of course).



Now, let's stop talking about price cuts and actually have a few.

[Zeus the God @ Jul 12th 2007 4:10PM]

And it still costs them more to make it than they're selling it for. Lol.

I may buy one though... I'm just not going above 500 dollars to get one... Not worth it.

[Eric @ Jul 12th 2007 4:22PM]

I have both a 360 and a PS3 and I think the PS3 is totally worth it. Even though I have many more games on the 360 than PS3, I think the whole PS3 experience is so much smoother and cleaner than the 360.

Example: I recently played my 360 for the 1st time in some months & it crashed twice on the same level. That, plus remembering how I save before any doorway in Oblivion in fear of crashes made me realize my PS3 has never once crashed/frozen/etc.

That being said, I'm totally looking forward to Bioshock & Mass Effect this fall/winter.

[Tyk @ Jul 12th 2007 4:15PM]

The $100 price drop is appropriate right now.. it will bring in more adopters at a loss they are willing to absorb. The incremental cost of dropping it a few dollars more is not worth it to them at this point.

Once the 60gb inventory is cleared out... around xmas maybe.. the 80gb version will drop to maybe $450 (no game) and another version (100 to 120 gb) will be available. It will be bundled with a game for $550... Sony has a lot of good first party games, so, they can do this.

I dont see the price dropping below $450 for 2007.. it will always be more expensive than the 360. MS will drop the price of the Elite to $420, Premium to $350 and Core to $250 to try and win Wii customers.

[K_G @ Jul 12th 2007 4:20PM]

When they've cleared out the backlog of 60GB units, I can see some breathless accouncement in November or December about how the 80GB unit, now minus the motorstorm pack in, is now $500..Without the expense of the EE chip, they can afford a drop to that level, given the difference between a 60GB and 80GB drive, at a OEM level, is probably $6-8...probably even less in 4 months time.

[Tim @ Jul 12th 2007 4:34PM]

As you say, the difference between a 60GB & 80GB drive is less than $10 and I doubt the EE chip removal saves more than a few bucks. It's all those things (drive prices, EE, diodes, etc.) coming together at a lower price to help lower the price. What also helps Sony is the high # of 1st party games they get to keep a higher % of the revenue.

[pigfister @ Jul 12th 2007 4:43PM]

oh yes and Americans think they are getting a deal when its a re-release with the cheaper hardware(80 model) being sold for $100 more, who would be dumb enough to purchase one of them?

[K_G @ Jul 13th 2007 3:07AM]

That's the beauty of a pack in, esp for a relatively recent game...that you can fiddle with the mental price in the consumers mind without fiddling with the actual hardware price...consumers will be pricing it the PS3 at $550 plus a $50 dollar game (yeah, I know its a list price of 60 but since its forced on consumers, they aren't going to value it as much as if they, say had the choice of any game they could pick on their own).

Although the value/hard drive size debate is fairly specious on the PS3, given that you could easily get a retail 160-250 GB hard drive for $50-60 after rebates and just slap it in the PS3...it is not a special hardware format like the 360.

[Neebs @ Jul 12th 2007 4:27PM]

Everybody wins a price drop.

[Ty @ Jul 12th 2007 4:37PM]

I almost think it's worth the $600 price tag but if I can get it for $400-450 that is just bonus. I'm going to wait til Thanksgiving time when GTA IV is out and perhaps the final price cut for the year is in.

[injate @ Jul 12th 2007 4:41PM]

It maybe just an idle comment...but...Speculation from an important person is not fact. He might have insider info, he might not so Don't count on it people. If what he said is true then good; But it's also possible he said it in hopes of swaying people from buying 360s when they have their price cut (when in reality what he said is false). He and Sony could be close buddies if you catch my drift ($$$), they are both Japanese.

[JD3 @ Jul 12th 2007 4:52PM]

I doubt there will be another price drop less than 6 months after this sku realignment. No, I don't consider introducing a larger HDD at the same upper level price point a price drop. Anway, all last Fall leading up to Xmas everyone was saying there would be a price drop for 360, never happened. I don't see a reason for Sony to react this way especially since they tout their system is a premium compared to the 360. If they drop again it shows fear.

[Brent @ Jul 12th 2007 5:00PM]

If I was in the market for a PS3 (I'm not, I already have a 60GB), I would be snatching up a 60GB ASAP before they stop making them. Plus, right now Amazon has a sweet deal going on...60GB + BD Remote + 6 BD's for $500...no tax in most states. HAAAWWWWT.

[AlanS17 @ Jul 12th 2007 5:07PM]

Well the PS3 already comes with 5 free BD movies with a mail-in rebate. The extra remote and additional BD movie are really all you're getting extra.

I suppose that's still not a bad thing, though. If I were buying a PS3 today, it would likely be there. However, I'm gonna wait til they start packaging it with the new rumble controller.

Oh, and to keep things on topic... I was expecting the first price cut, but I highly doubt a second one before Christmas.

[Ben Carufel @ Jul 12th 2007 5:59PM]

Yeah, I ordered mine from Amazon last night. Figured it was about time to jump on the deal.

Now I just have to wait for Gran Turismo: Prologue and Gran Turismo 5 to see if we'll have full force feedback compatibility with the Logitech G25. If they all work together happily, I'll order the game(s) and the G25 and replace my PS2/Gran Turismo 4/Driving Force Pro setup.

[knows math @ Jul 12th 2007 5:30PM]

And yea, we all know that Amazon hasnt sold a single PS3....what a retard. Try saying something smarter than that next time.

[Mike @ Jul 12th 2007 5:11PM]

PS3 price drop @ black friday, is what I'd put my money on.

[Matt @ Jul 12th 2007 5:57PM]

Maybe he just wants a price cut, and is hoping that starting a rumor will force them to?

[Comacozi @ Jul 12th 2007 5:58PM]

but will it run doom?

[Constable Odo @ Jul 12th 2007 6:35PM]

I basically only want a PS3 for one game. Gran Turismo 5/HD. I'll wait for the PS3 to go to $500. I wish they had Need For Speed Pro Street on PS3 also.

[Ckamc @ Jul 12th 2007 8:00PM]

When are they going to roll out the 65nm units?

One they do 65nm I am in.

I agree with many of you, the lower blueray costs to produce the easier it is for sony to reduce the price on PS3.

[engadget @ Jul 12th 2007 8:06PM]

Looks like I'll be holding off tell Christmas for my PS3 Purchase.

[Azizi @ Jul 12th 2007 8:42PM]

the wii is still better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8bngWtLDY

what would be interesting is if in the next generation, the two meld: a console that offers the graphics of the xbox360/ps3 with the controller capability of the wii. hmmm......

[sendeth @ Jul 13th 2007 9:37AM]

price cuts, wonderful (sarcasm)....i didn't buy a ps3 because i heard the online play was crap. online games account for 90% of the games i play. if ps3 had a live type of service, i would have bought one long ago, despite the price.

[Beefthing @ Jul 13th 2007 10:51AM]

LMAO, read this article here at dailytech

http://www.dailytech.com/No+More+60GB+PS3+Consoles+in+US+Once+Sold+Out+Says+SCEE+Boss/article8039.htm