Sony makes it pretty clear: no PS3 price drops this holiday season

There's no doubt that Microsoft's Xbox 360 will have the price advantage this holiday season, and if you were hoping to see a bona fide price cut following Sony's introduction of the $399.99 80GB PlayStation 3, you'll probably be waiting 'til late 2009. Speaking at the Gamer 3.0 conference in London this week, Sony's own Ray Maguire was quoted as saying that the pressure for a price drop from consumers was always there, but given that it "has a business to run" and shareholders to please, it probably won't be decreasing the PS3's price before the end of 2008. He also stated that "at the moment, there's a market place for the PS3," and that "the price of the console [won't] be an issue at all." In all honesty, he's probably right -- after all, this will be the first holiday season where Blu-ray isn't competing with some other physical HD format, and c'mon, you know you'll pay a premium to dabble in Life with PlayStation.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

[iEye @ Oct 29th 2008 4:11AM]

I'm not buying this...

[Zomgrotfl @ Oct 29th 2008 4:15AM]

You would if it was glossy white, $999, lacked Blu-ray and had an Apple logo on it.

[iEye @ Oct 29th 2008 4:25AM]

My comment has a double meaning...

you chose the wrong one....

[Ayman @ Oct 29th 2008 5:11AM]

thats not what your name nor your Avatar says....
all what was missing that the PS3 plays Pacman

[phrogg @ Oct 29th 2008 5:14AM]

@zomgrotfl

That has got to be the most pointless, abstract, and ultimately un-necessary references to an Apple product i've seen come across the comments in a long time.

Congratulations, you're a douche.

[Pavelz @ Oct 29th 2008 7:00PM]

He's a funny douche though.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 29th 2008 6:19AM]

@Zomgrotfl
Actually you got it wrong.. his parents would buy it for him.. 12 year olds don't make enough money to buy shiny stuff..

[tom @ Oct 29th 2008 8:46AM]

+1 iEye
I am not buying one either. Sony doesn't wanna admit a price cut coming up, so they won't cannabalize the sales as consumers do not want to wait.

[CosterMonger @ Oct 29th 2008 9:59AM]

It would be smarter to just tell the consumer nothing.
Saying no, and then doing a price drop, is confusing.
We know one thing about Sony, they say something the do the exact opposite.
I'm not buying this either: Sony "no price drops" when Microsoft has a $199 "arcade" version (mind you I wouldn't buy the "arcade" version, and I'm not buying a PS3 because I already have one (for MGS4).

If they are not going to lower the price: then I expect to see 3 greatest hits games included into the $399 price for admission

[iEye @ Oct 29th 2008 4:36PM]

"I'm not buying this"

-I am not going to purchase said item

or

-I am not convinced of the truth surrounding these released statements....

must I explain it?

[phinn @ Oct 30th 2008 12:47AM]

Yea it sucks there is no price cut but PS3 is honestly a good deal. The new 80 gig model with tons of features, a huge game library coming out this fall...SOCOM (with headset), LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, FarCry 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc... Blu-ray support is the obviously choice (especially with most Blu-rays under $20 on Amazon), Playstation Home coming very soon, Life with Playstation, etc. I can see a compelling reason to buy it. Not to mention the Xbox 360 may be $100 cheaper for the hard drive model but when you need things like Xbox Live ($50 per year) and something like a $80 Wi-Fi adapter for most people just to get online the price is minimized quickly. I'm happy as hell with mine.

[Mike @ Oct 29th 2008 4:14AM]

I don's see a problem. The PS3 is by far and away the best value, the best functionality, and the best games this season. Why short change yourself or your kids and get something inferior?

Clearly Sony had to say something, as there may be many people sat waiting for a price cut that's not coming.

[Mark @ Oct 29th 2008 4:53AM]

There is a problem however. Even if you don't see it!

Problem 1) Games... the quantity & quality of games of Xbox360 is much better, so is the Wii's despite it's inferior processing and Graphics power.

Problem 2) Sale figures... If you've ever been to Joystiq and seen the Japanese figures you'll know that ever since both consoles came out Wii has been selling 3 times more every week, with the exception of 2 weeks when Metal Gear Solid 4 came out. The figures these last few weeks are more shocking when Wii sells in the 25,000 region, PS3 in the 5,000 to 8,000 region and even the PS2 is selling more than it's younger brother.

Not figures you'd expect as Holidays are approaching and top notch games (dead space, Far Cry 2, Mirror's Edge) nearing release for X360 and PS3.

Problem 3) PRICE ITSELF. And all you get more is Blu Ray and HD storage, which although nice, they're not why someone buys a games machine to begin with (not for the jump in price anyway). You can have all the features in the world, if they don't translate to fun they're next to useless. Just look a the Wii's dominance if you think power and large storage are what drives the games industry.

Ultimately it's about good games versus price.

[From My Cube @ Oct 29th 2008 6:02AM]

OR it could be that there bottom line took a massive hit...lower revenue is not helped by lower console prices.....


Sony is going on the fact that people will buy one this holiday season regardless if its $50.00 less

[Aaron @ Oct 29th 2008 7:00AM]

@ Mark

You wouldn't know anything about the quality of the PS3's game library now, would you? I'm sure as shit that you don't own one.

Not to mention, the quality of the software over the PSN easily matches or surpasses that of what is offered on XBOX Live. In fact, many games on the PSN would never be possible on LIVE due to MS's stingy ways of limiting the size of software, where they should be taking the "other way around" approach.

Your argument is basically "the PS3 has no games", but masked as a stealth trolling attempt in the form of clever "analysis". l stopped reading your comment after you ignorantly stated that the Wii's game library surpasses the PS3's. I guess you think a ton of shovelware and shitty motion gimmick party games = quality gaming.

[Silverfrog @ Oct 29th 2008 7:31AM]

I have to agree with Aaron here.

Mark, it's obvious you don't do your homework before making biased remarks, such as the one you just made. Here are just a few EXCLUSIVE PS3 games out this year that are good:

Metal Gear Solid 4
Little Big Planet
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Resistance 2

The Wii can't touch that and neither can Xbox360.

[Flashpoint @ Oct 29th 2008 8:23AM]

I agree with MARK


PS1 and PS2 actually made compelling reasons to go out and buy a PS wherin PS3 has not.

PS1 had a list of Singletrac games like Twisted Metal and Warhawk as well as others like MK3.
PS2 had a bunch of games that looked alot better than PS1 and now PS3 has no major games worth purchasing it for.

XBOX360 has more original A+ titles: Gears, Halo, etc that haven't been ported.
XBOX360 is cheaper


Now that the HDDVD format war with Blu Ray has ended, the only reason you buy a PS3 once you own a 360 is simply to watch Blu Rays that are $25 a pop. Or you take the cheap way out and watch regular DVD's. This after all is not the economy for disposable income.

[WickedEast @ Oct 29th 2008 11:05AM]

C'mon. That "PS3 has no good games" argument is as old as your great grandmother's underarm. It may be true six months after the PS3's initial release but now, the PS3 library is at least as good as the Xbox 360's (and yes, even if the 360 has the much-hyped Halo).

[SKI @ Oct 29th 2008 11:21AM]

I agree with Mark

Metal Gear Solid 4 I didn't like the first 3 that much, plus I hear there are too many cut scenes. Plus this will probably be ported ala Twin Snakes
Little Big Planet The ONLY reason so far, and who would buy a system for 1 game?
Motorstorm Pacific Rift Racing games suck especially sims
Resistance 2 First one was mediocre and this one doesn't sound much better

"l stopped reading your comment after you ignorantly stated that the Wii's game library surpasses the PS3's. I guess you think a ton of shovelware and shitty motion gimmick party games = quality gaming."

Is this irony or is he just considered stupid.

[mark @ Oct 29th 2008 11:51AM]

@aaron

While I totally agree that what is available online for PS3 is arguable better than what Live is giving... Also I have all 3 consoles although I'm more of a PC gamer.

Mine wasn't a PS3 has no games statement like fanboys may interpret it but a purely objective comparison of facts. Facts that sales figures can back up!

Fact... 360 & Wii ARE selling more (beat that)

Fact... 360 & Wii ARE Cheaper (beat that)

Fact... while PS3 does have quality games, and more on the way: The quantity of these exclusive AAA games can be counted by anyone who can count up to 10

Uncharted
Little Big Planet
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Resistance 2 (and 1... why not)
Ratchet & Clank
GT4

and Metal Gear Solid 4 is good looking but it's more like a bloody collection of non-interactive movie sequences than a game ... which only pleases the fans!

But X360 does have more AAA exclusives than that
Gears
Orange Box
Halo 3
Mass Effect
Forza 4
Huxley
Splinter cell Conviction

and upcoming
Fable 2
Gears
Alan Wake
Banjo Kazooie

(and many more which I can't care to mention in completion here) but just count them up and do the math. Also most games that come on both systems are superior on the cheaper 360.

The Wii is in a class that's difficult to compare, but the list of first party exclusives is staggering, FUN and in high demand as sales figures demonstrate.

To settle my main point tho... If you compare price versus games quality & quantity (that translate into fun) PS3 comes last (even though it has games one wouldn't want to miss).

[alexmueller @ Oct 29th 2008 12:05PM]

Stop your bitchin, buy the system you want to play and shut up about it.

[Silverfrog @ Oct 29th 2008 12:14PM]

re: SKI/mark

Yes, many gamers buy systems for 1 game. People did it with Halo and they do it for Metal Gear Solid as we speak. Little Big Planet will do it as well. Many gaming publications are touting it as a must have and that it is the one of the best games ever made. Yes, that will sell systems.

Mark, I don't know what kind of apples-to-oranges comparison you're attempting here, but much of your list came out well over 1 year ago. I listed games that were all released in 2008. And Orange Box is not exclusive--it's also on PC and Mac. yes, I like Orange Box, but I really don't count it. Next, you list Huxley--a game that isn't even out yet and is also not exclusive as it's also going to be released on PC. Same for Splinter Cell Conviction.

My list contained AAA, must-have, exlusive games that are ONLY on PS3. SKI, your dislike of racing games does not mean that Motorstorm is not good.

[TeddyLikesComputahs! @ Oct 29th 2008 4:18AM]

i'd get it just for the blu-ray

[Patriks7 @ Oct 29th 2008 6:15AM]

But God said its a bag of hurt!

[eric f. @ Oct 29th 2008 7:32AM]

I bought it for BluRay. And there are actually more good games for the PS3 this season than I can afford to buy.

[CosterMonger @ Oct 29th 2008 10:04AM]

@Patriks7,
me thinks Jobs thinks he is above god, after all he has the fasted growing religion ever.

[Keith Laird @ Oct 29th 2008 4:19AM]

Price is fine as it is. Sure we all want cheaper stuff, but that does not mean it's gonna happen. PS3 is already unbelivable value for money, as it is..

Here in the UK, I don't think they are having too many problems selling them, I know 6 collegues in the last month that picked up PS3's all but one of the "defecting" from the white side, and once they see what on offer (as opposed to what Microsoft brainwashed them into thinking what was on offer), they can't understand why they didin't buy earlier.

[Ayman @ Oct 29th 2008 4:29AM]

This is good news for all current the PS3.. the value stays up... unlike other x-consoles, $199 and their games are the same price as the PS3 $60 thats approax 1/3 the price of the game.... sorry i drift away...

[Ayman @ Oct 29th 2008 4:30AM]

Sorry meant to say "This is good news for all current PS3 owners"

[melloncollie @ Oct 29th 2008 9:05AM]

How is this good or bad for current PS3 owners?
Why the hell would you care if you already bought one?

[Erik Lehman @ Oct 29th 2008 4:36AM]

$399.99 is cheap compared to the price for a PS3 in Sweden, where you have to pay at least $500 (from 3999 SEK and up).

[Ryback @ Oct 29th 2008 4:45AM]

It's because the US version is less volty.

[Temple @ Oct 29th 2008 10:06AM]

Isn't VAT in Sweden 25% for general goods, US prices doesn't include sales tax (its usually only around ~5% either way).

[Krystian @ Oct 29th 2008 4:43AM]

Pleasing the shareholders!? 100% BS. What kinds of financial data is Sony going to pull when they read back their holiday sales figures and notice that Wii and Xbox 360 are selling like mad while they are off in a distant third. I would like to see what shareholders are thinking then.

[Phil @ Oct 29th 2008 4:57AM]

But what if PS3 is still selling well 5 - 6 years from now just like PS2?

Furthermore, PS4 will obviously be on the market and selling.

It's a marathon not a sprint.

Put it this way: Nintendo : 100m gold medal winner.
Microsoft: 800m gold medal winner.
Sony : 1,500m gold medal winner.

My point? It dos'nt matter where you make the sales in a product's lifecycle, just as long as you make 'em.

[giuliop @ Oct 29th 2008 6:18AM]

@Phil

How about:
Nintendo: 100m gold medal winner.
Nintendo: 800m gold medal winner.
Nintendo: 1,500m gold medal winner.

The PS2 has always sold well, and sales soared only when prices were slashed. The Nintendo Wii has sold wonderfully from the start, and it doesn't need any price cut. Sony had better cut prices now and try to catch up with Nintendo's lead before they end up, to put it in your terms, breathless.

@Krystian
I agree. Talking about "pleasing the shareholders" is always BS; the majority of the shareholders can't do anything, and the value of shares is not dependent on real financial data (see current economy situation).

[Phil @ Oct 29th 2008 7:18AM]

@giuliop

Yep, the PS2 has always sold well. But the PS3 is matching it's sales if you compare the two at the same point in their respective lifecycles.

[giuliop @ Oct 29th 2008 8:13AM]

@Phil

Not true. The PS2 sold about 40 million units in 2 years and a half (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2664337.stm); according to VGChartz, the PS3 is currently at 16.22 million in 2 years (save a fortnight); that's a third of the PS2 sales.

I very much doubt that the PS3 is going to sell twice as much as it sold in two years in the next six months; in fact, I'd bet that with no price slash, sales will be at roughly 20 million in another six months, i.e. half of those of the PS2 in comparable lifecycles.

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 29th 2008 10:07AM]

@giuliop:

Yep, that's how to spread fud... let's pull out information from two different sources instead of pulling it from one. VGChartz offers this little thing called comparison charts:
http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=®3=All&weeks=156

It's only a few mil under the PS2 at the same point during launch, but it's still above the 360 at the same point. The end of this Christmas season will dictate if Sony drops the price this spring.

[Phil @ Oct 29th 2008 11:22AM]

@giuliop

Nope, you're completely wrong.

Link: http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=®3=All&weeks=156

Not much of a difference there if you ask me.

PS3 is selling comparatively well to PS2. Furthermore, it is doing better than XBox360 as far as days on the market are concerned..

I repeat, sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not.

[WickedEast @ Oct 29th 2008 11:26AM]

Why do people keep comparing the freakin' Wii with the PS3 and Xbox 360??? Wii sales more, Wii is the best, Wii wins all medals. Sure whatever. But they are not even catering to the same crowd of gamers. Just look at the top games for the respective systems for christ's sake and it should be obvious their *main* target audiences are quite different. PS3 and Xbox 360 are direct competitors, but not the Wii.

[giuliop @ Oct 29th 2008 11:56AM]

@Andir3.0

Yeah, let's look dumbly at lines on the screen and jump to random conclusions. Is that your way of spreading FUD?

Because:

a) If you looked at the chart you linked (as wrong as it may be), you would see that those "few millions" are actually 50% more.

b) If you would have used that "little thing" called Google, you would have found that the BBC news were based on a two Sony press releases: one for September 2002 and the other from January 2003.

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/2002/index_e.html
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/2003/index_e.html

While VGChartz is probably an accurate source of projected information, official data is clearly more reliable. That said, I took VGChartz's current data because updated official data is not available; other sources confirm that data.

[giuliop @ Oct 29th 2008 12:13PM]

@Phil

Please do not repeat other's people posts, especially when they're useless.

"I repeat, sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."

So you think that while the PS3 is lagging behind the other consoles (PS2 and Wii), at a certain point not only it would match their numbers, but actually sell much more, and end up beating PS2 sales?
You realise that that would mean 20 millions consoles a year, steady for 7 years, starting about now? And that neither the Wii, probably the fastest-selling console of all time, nor the PS2, the best-selling one, haven't made that numbers?

All I can say is "LOL".

[Phil @ Oct 29th 2008 12:51PM]

@giuliop

Nope. Not at all. I simply used the same source without looking. Also, please refrain from sounding somewhat disrespectful.

All I'm saying is that Playstation 3 is'nt doing badly at all.

Wii is a phenomenon. Both PS3 and XBox360 sales look bad in comparison. But that does not mean that they are doing 'badly'.

"So you think that while the PS3 is lagging behind the other consoles (PS2 and Wii), at a certain point not only it would match their numbers, but actually sell much more, and end up beating PS2 sales?"

Who knows? Like I said, and will repeat for a third time: Sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not.

See you in 6 years.

[Ogo @ Oct 29th 2008 3:06PM]

@ WickedEast

I am with you. I do not own a game system and I am not a gamer, with that said my mom would NEVER buy a 360 or ps3 but she owns a Wii. PS3 and 360 are for gamers and the Wii is not, however it seems that having a lot of non-gamers buying your hardware and games is better for business than focusing on gamers. If you factor in all the older people, women and non-gamers that own Wii, most would not buy the other systems.

[giuliop @ Oct 30th 2008 7:03AM]

@Phil

"Who knows? Like I said, and will repeat for a third time: Sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."

Sorry for sounding "somewhat disrespectful" again, but you're repeating the same thing again and again without understanding the implications; you're just stopping there.

To sell better over its lifetime, the PS3 has to match and beat Wii's numbers, which is, in your own words, "a phenomenon". Either the PS3 becomes "a better phenomenon" and sells more than the Wii, or it loses the "marathon", because its position is, right now, at a great disadvantage.

There is no need to wait 6 years. If the PS3 keeps on selling at this pace in the near future, it will never, ever reach the others. The probability is already very low; the more time passes, the lesser the probability. If Sony doesn't cut prices soon and the PS3 doesn't become a "phenomenon" overnight, it will soon need to sell 25 million consoles a year, then 30, 35, and so on, with the probability of "winning" ever decreasing and equalling that of the world exploding now, in this precise moment. Did it explode?

Of course, we could wait 5 years and 11 months and then you could say, "Who knows? Maybe the PS3 will sell 60 million units in this last month."; I think this "kind of reasoning" more than deserves a "highly disrespectful" insult.

[Xionic @ Oct 29th 2008 4:50AM]

The Wii is naturally going to sell like mad this holiday season and with the new price point & marketing push for the Xbox it will no doubt sell like mad as well. The PS3 on the other hand will be collecting dust on the self as its rivals gain even more of a market share.

[WickedEast @ Oct 29th 2008 11:31AM]

Frustrated that you can't afford a PS3? Ask your dad for one for Christmas.

[AlDeezy @ Oct 29th 2008 4:51AM]

Same Shit different day! =[

[ajc @ Oct 29th 2008 5:10AM]

translation: "we can sell all the PS3 we can make between now and Christmas at the current price.".