60GB PS3 disappearing soon, no price cut for Europe

It looks like those wanting to get in on that $100 price cut for the 60GB PS3 had better act fast, as it seems that it's going to be a case of once they're gone they're gone. That's according to SCEE President David Reeves, who told GamesIndustry.biz that Sony would no longer be offering the 60GB PS3 in the US once the existing stock runs out -- something he expects to happen "by the end of July." What's more, Sony also revealed that the 60GB PS3 would not be getting a price cut in Europe, but would be getting a new bundle with two games and two controllers for no added cost -- still no word on an 80GB PS3 for Europe though.

Update: Turns out it was all a misunderstanding, and Sony is indeed going to keep the $499 60 gigger going in the US.

Read - GamesIndustry.biz, "No more 60GB PlayStation 3 in US after July, says Reeves"
Read - BBC News, "No price cut for Europe"

[Joseph @ Jul 13th 2007 11:21AM]

Sounds like they are having a fire sale. $599 for a base system after the 60GB sells out is just too much.

[andrew @ Jul 13th 2007 2:24PM]

The big reason Sony wants to Dump the 60GB SKU is that it contains the Emotion Engine chipset from the PS2, and the 80 GB SKU won't, it will be pure emulation. Therefore you won't be able to play all your old PS2 games on the new 80GB one. Better buy the 60 GB one now if you ever plan to dump your PS2 for the PS3 in the future. Plus, you can buy a replacement 160GB 2.5in SATA HDD from Newegg for $100.

[Dam @ Jul 13th 2007 1:57PM]

wow your a genius huh? cause a fire sale is when the company is going bankrupt or their about to be bankrupt so they sell everything really cheap.

[Dylan @ Jul 13th 2007 3:41PM]

This is one of two things from sony, either very cleaver or very stupid. Im inclined to go with the former however.

The PS3 has been static on store shelves, it has had a very simmilar startup to the original Xbox with slow sales to start due to its price above the rest of the competition. The pricecut intices in new customers who have been waiting a month or two for such a change in price. This in itself is a good move for any company, it makes the consumer feel like they "got one over" on the company as they have been "forced" to slash the price by consumers such as themselves refusing to buy at the launch price. It increases sales and is positive for the company, but even then there are still PS3's sitting around gathering dust, so how do you increase sales even more when you have already cut your price? Well, you use the oldest sales trick in the book "there in limited supply, if you dont buy now you may miss out".

Now for those of you who dont take my point i'll put it in a nutshell. By saying the console is in limited supply you increase sales, come the end of the stock sony can then say "Due to high demand for the 60GB SKU we have decided to keep it in production for the moment". The outcome? Sony sell their current stock as fast as possible and make the most money inthe shortest time. Restart production the second you sell out and you never lose out.

I may be wrong and sony may be idiots, but if they arent its a skillful lie, im just wondering how many times sony cancrywolf before people stop trusting them.

[Evan @ Jul 13th 2007 11:03PM]

Here is the reality. Sony is very smart. They aren't cutting the price of anything really. They will take their loss to get the 60 GB version out the door and replace it with... a console for 599 that costs them basically nothing more to make. The key word should be SALE, not price cut. The extra 20 GB of disk space is so inexpensive its ridiculous. Add to that Motorstorm, a Sony title that wasn't selling good in the first place and viola you have the perfect price cut that won't end up costing much at all.

It is genius, they are pulling a fast one on everyone! Now there are two groups of people that have an outdated PS3.

[Steve @ Jul 13th 2007 11:22AM]

=o

[Bachus @ Jul 13th 2007 11:22AM]

wait a second, is sony pulling a fast one on us? they claim a price cut, but then discontinue the discounted product? once all the 60gb are gone we'll just be left with another permanent $600 PS3 except this time it has a game and 20gb more, right?

[Mak @ Jul 13th 2007 11:23AM]

Very sweet Euro deal. It equates to bundling of £110 worth of goodies ($200).

And before the idiots try and tell me that the PS3 is more expensive in the UK, I will give them some math to chew over...

UK Price £425 Inc Tax & EU Import Duties
US Price $499 + Tax + other US taxes (both vary state to state, which I why it's never mentioned)

Take VAT off = £361
Take Eu duty off = £324
Take Motorstorm/Resistance/SixAxis price off = $234

"Like For Like" UK Price = $470 ( $30/£15 less)

[skadyster @ Jul 13th 2007 1:08PM]

Except you DO have to pay the extra taxes and such that those in the US don't. I think a better comparison would be to look at final costs for equal systems:
US = $499 + $160 for games and controllers + 5% sales tax (in general, you don't have to pay anything but sales tax in the US, and 5% is a common tax rate. Of course, if you buy through an online retailer you don't pay taxes at all.)
Total is ~$692
Using you starting number for the UK of 425 pounds, you get roughly $850.
So its still more expensive abroad. If the games bundled are what you want though, it doesn't seem like a terrible sale.

[alexhrose71 @ Jul 13th 2007 2:36PM]

No he is right, you should be comparing the pre-tax and duties UK price to the pre-tax and duties US price. Why should any electronics manufacturer have to absorb a european tarriff as part of their product cost and not pass it on to the consumer ? Sorry but if you have an issue with import tarrifs then that is something that needs to be taken up with european politicians.

Europe is a high tax and tarriff society, by choice. Don't blame foreign manufacturers for the resulting higher cost of living.

[ront @ Jul 13th 2007 4:42PM]

A store in Finland is starting sale of the 60GB units tmrw (July 14th) for 699euro packaged with Resistance and MotorStorm and extra controller.....but IMO, best place on earth to get these is still in HK!!!

[nobody important @ Jul 13th 2007 11:25AM]

Wow, what a shady move. I'm never buying another Sony product again, even if they do eventually solve their quality problems. Bunch of snakes.

[Tim Goldsmith @ Jul 13th 2007 11:30AM]

oh no, without your business, sony is finished. i guess it was a big mistake for them to make a move that you disapproved of :-(

[JD0321 @ Jul 13th 2007 11:35AM]

I think it's more than just him disapproving of the fake price cut.

[Jon @ Jul 13th 2007 12:22PM]

Never buy a SONY product again ? ... Guess you do not want to best HDTVs made , SXRD is amazing

[Emceay @ Jul 13th 2007 11:55AM]

Not to mention that his sentiments are shared among quite a few unspoken consumers.

[Emceay @ Jul 13th 2007 12:44PM]

From day one, blu-ray has only weighed against my decision. I barely collect regular lo-def DVDs as it is. Why would I spend an extra 300 on what should be a game system to be able to play the discs I'll never buy?
Not only that, but an extra 20GB should've only tacked on $10 to the lower end model, so that included game definitely isn't free.

[Techhead @ Jul 13th 2007 12:47PM]

Is everyone here either an idiot or a troll?

Read the Sony E3 transcript... the focus was clearly on the 80GB model, the 60gb discounted model was played down.

Nothing unusual here. If you want a PS3 for $100 less, then get in there quick...

[rachub @ Jul 13th 2007 12:53PM]

about the sxrd comment, JVC also makes lcos tvs which is what sxrd is.

[Emceay @ Jul 13th 2007 1:01PM]

Nah, no idiots or trolls.. Just people with an honest opinion that want to love Sony, but they're making it hard for us.

[jd @ Jul 13th 2007 1:13PM]

@TECHHEAD

No, the problem is when a price cut is announced, people expect a price cut. Traditionally an announced price cut on a console system means a permanant price reduction on a console that's gonna stay in production for some time to come (even years). All sony did was a clearance on a model they are gonna phase out in a month and announced it as a "Price cut on PS3!!!!!!" Then turn around and make the replacment model the exact same price as the original. All smoke and mirrors and a poor move by sony in my opinion. Also, it seems you have a history in this thread of calling anyone who doesn't agree with you a "troll"....whatever.

[Andrew @ Jul 14th 2007 11:13PM]

to the IDIOT saying no to blu ray:

Guess you like the idea of 10 DVDs for a single game, right? because i can tell you, there is more than 4.7 (and even 9.4) gigabytes being used on those GAME discs. I am so sock and tired of that "I dont want the extra cost of blu ray" argument.

if you dont want blu ray, go back to wolfenstein 3D with your 6 floppies. DVD was expensive too, you must not have wanted that either. you would have rather had to put in the 13 CDs to play GTA:SA right?

[triple x @ Jul 13th 2007 11:27AM]

i got mine yesterday.
overall im very impressed!!!! what other OS can i install??? i notice theres an option to partition for one. if you did, i guess the OS takes adavantage of all 8cores for a super dooper fast computer??
im not buying any games, i will just rent them.

[Techhead @ Jul 13th 2007 12:41PM]

Linux, Fedora, Gentoo, Yellowdog or Ubuntu.

Take your choice.

[Kris Burbidge @ Jul 13th 2007 11:27AM]

Right. Enjoy limited supply of 60GB PS3 until the end of July, then get screwed over when they make the new SKU $499 as soon as they run out. Excellent strategy, Sony. I'm going to go play Wii sports.

[ET @ Jul 13th 2007 11:34AM]

may be the current 60GB will never sell out, so this price cut is permanent.

[Segarsj @ Jul 13th 2007 1:03PM]

"On August 1st Sony will return to selling only 1 SKU of the PS3 in the U.S. (the 80GB version for $599)." - Joystiq

[Mile @ Jul 13th 2007 11:37AM]

I bet the red light on the controller is fake too!

[Jon @ Jul 13th 2007 11:48AM]

HAHA what a fake ass Price cut .. They just scammed everyone into buying a 80GB one for $599 ... thinking it was such a great deal because they are gettin 20 GB for FREE !! ... so the whole $499 price point is just a means to make that happen faster ..

[Javi0084 @ Jul 13th 2007 11:50AM]

Even with the "price cut" my local Target hasn't sold the 4 units that they've had for the past 3 or 4 months.

[Techhead @ Jul 13th 2007 12:41PM]

I smell a troll.

1. how do you know it's the same 4 units? Have you somehow marked all 4 of them?

2. Is your store different to all the others? as most stores are selling $499 PS3's is massive quantities since the price cut..

[Javi0084 @ Jul 13th 2007 12:47PM]

1. I shop there at least once a week and always stroll by the gaming department. The PS3 boxes even have a thin layer of dust and the section is always empty (no one there - everyone is at the Wii/360 section). Who knows, they might sell out every week and just keep stockin' em by the time I make it back there the following week, and somehow the boxes always have dust on them but I'm going to go ahead and assume that they are the same PS3 boxes from a few months back.

2.I can't remember the last time I saw a PS3 out of stock, no matter where I go, fake price cuts or not.

I smell a fan boy.

[jps @ Jul 13th 2007 2:14PM]

I smell a sitcom pilot.

The Troll and the Fanboy, coming soon to a Youtube near you.

[Britboyj27 @ Jul 13th 2007 11:52AM]

Clearly announced after Jack Trenton did his rounds on CNN and G4 to avoid answering "Why is Sony such a peice of shit? Are you really that concerned that Nintendo posted higher profits than your entire company, all divisions? No? This has nothing to do with that? Maybe it should."

Say goodnight Sony. After this debacle I'm very, very close to trading in my PS3 for an actual Blu-Ray player.

[Garrett @ Jul 13th 2007 12:21PM]

You do realize that blu-ray is a Sony technology? So you'd still be supporting Sony, so even if you don't support the PS3 end of things, you are still tossing your money at them.

I think I'm done with Sony products at this point

[Scott @ Jul 13th 2007 12:00PM]

Niiice. The one move Sony could have made to help their PS3 sales was doing a permanent price cut, and they can't even do that right. Microsoft may or may not be cutting 360 prices in the relatively near future, which would boost their already-significant lead over Sony in the next-gen department, and the Wii is already far cheaper and better-selling than either the 360 or PS3.

I had faith that Sony was going to pull ahead with this, especially considering the Wii's continual "sold out" status, but they just buried themselves with this announcement, at least for this year.

[JinKazama @ Jul 13th 2007 12:02PM]

For such a successful company Sony sure is run by a bunch of IDIOTS!!!!! Your showing at E3 was great, good games are in the pipeline, the price drop is pushing units...and you kill it all with this.

They probably could've gotten away with shaftin' us and sellin' off the 60gb PS3 and only having the 80 gb available and pulled a Nintendo saying..."production issues aren't allowin us to produce enough 60gb to meet demand." Now thanks to Oprah here that won't be happening.

How long you guys think this guy is keepin his job. He probably just cost these guys MILLIONS!

Woot good for us comsumers though! :-)

[daschupa @ Jul 13th 2007 12:04PM]

Frick and I just started to love Sony again. *cocks gun* all right, who told them they were making people happy?!?! You know how Sony hates that! *runs to grab a 60gig*

[tiuk @ Jul 13th 2007 12:06PM]

Wow, what a stupid move.

[Adam Daniel @ Jul 13th 2007 12:07PM]

Bachus: "once all the 60gb are gone we'll just be left with another permanent $600 PS3 except this time it has a game and 20gb more, right?"

You left out reduced backwards compatibility due to the removal of the emotion engine.

So Sony flushes out remaining sticks of a product that was not selling and that they could not afford to keep making, replaces it with a cheaper-to-make product with a key functional downgrade at the same old price, and receives widespread coverage calling it a major price cut. Quite a PR coup.

[jps @ Jul 13th 2007 2:06PM]

Very good point!

Someone needs to make a timeline of some sort showing the ups and downs PS3 pricing and bundles, and compare it to Nintendo (flat line) and Microsoft (waggly weird line with new SKUS randomly)

[Segarsj @ Jul 13th 2007 1:03PM]

Amen.

[tehpwnmstr @ Jul 13th 2007 12:07PM]

sweet sony put on the worlds most talked about blue light clearance special.

[Joseph @ Jul 13th 2007 12:15PM]

I would bet that after the 60GB's sell out at $599, the 80GB w/game will be priced at $599.

[Garrett @ Jul 13th 2007 12:18PM]

umm, the 60gb ones are selling for $499, the 80gb for $599 as it stands

[flo @ Jul 13th 2007 12:32PM]

You people are a bunch of numb nuts. A price cut is a price cut. You're getting the current system for $100 less. If Sony chooses to discontinue the 60gb model, then for $599 you're still getting more than you did before.
Stop whining about the price. Gadgets are expensive, and if you can't afford it you shouldn't be on gadget blogs in the first place.

[Michael Lomsky @ Jul 13th 2007 1:42PM]

You're off the point. Most of us bitching here WANT Sony to be good again, so we can go back to buying the great products they used to make. Their quality may have improved again back to what it was, but their consumer relations is still foundering.

I have plenty of money to buy one to go with the rest of my toys, but like so many others here, I'm annoyed by what I believe to be a insulting marketing ploy by Sony. Had they said something like "We're discontinuing the 60GB model, and lowering the prices on the ones already in the pipeline." Then, they would have appeared honest, and that would have not have annoyed all of us. Sony's on some well deserved shaky ground thanks to that rook-kit business, so they should err on the side of more honesty than less. IMHO, that would have the same sales boosting effect that this poor marketing decision was designed to generate.

[Deluxe @ Jul 13th 2007 12:49PM]

Lol, god you're all a bunch of whinging little pussies. Don't like it? Okay so what -- tell your grandma.

[loci @ Jul 13th 2007 3:09PM]

weirdo

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 13th 2007 12:49PM]

Ah yes, I remember another popular electronic device's 60 gig model being phased out in favor of a replacement 80 gig drive. Do you remember which one?