PS3 price cut may be on the way very soon, says analyst
By Laura June 
posted Feb 25th 2009 2:24PM
posted Feb 25th 2009 2:24PM
Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco, says that a major price cut on the Playstation 3 could be on the way in the near, near future (like, in the next few days). Hickey claims that the price slash needs to be at least $100 to get the retail juice moving again, and that, failing that, Sony should expect to see its sales on the console continue to decline. We've heard predictions of a coming price reduction already (sure, they were from Microsoft, but whatever), and this wouldn't be a huge surprise, though we'll just have to wait and see. Hickey also speculates that Sony could hack the Blu-ray out of the PS3 in order to make that price cut doable, but that seems slightly wild to us. Then again, stranger things have happened.
[Via Joystiq]
[Via Joystiq]
hurry hurry. i need a blu-ray player.
ya right hack the blu-ray out. pffft off.
speak for your own... i am in europe... i must wait 100 more years to get one
These so called "analysts" are a bunch of monkeys...
Remember when they said that there was going to be a price cut on the 1st gen iPhone?
then what happens... no more
Don't listen to these idiots... this is like saying there will be a price drop on 2008 model cars...
NO SHITE SHERLOCK
The analyst is an uninformed twit. Since the GAMES are on Blu-ray discs, taking the Blu-ray drive out of the console and replacing it with a DVD drive will not work.
The Blu-ray decoding is done in software, so removing Blu-ray playback will NOT reduce the price of the console, with the possible exception of not having to pay the Blu-ray royalties.
No no no no no. It's Engadget's Laura who has things screwed up.
She states "Hickey also speculates that Sony could hack the Blu-ray out of the PS3 in order to make that price cut doable, but that seems slightly wild to us."
When you read the actual story, Hickey says 'We are also hearing continued speculation that Sony is working on a non-Blu-ray PS3 console, which could enable them to make the aforementioned hardware price reduction.'
So Hickey isn't speculating. He is simply saying that he is hearing speculation. There's a difference.
And while I would agree that it doesn't sound like a plausible solution for Sony, they currently do offer the full version of at least one disc-based game via download: Burnout Paradise.
If they did this they'd have to give it atleast a 500gb hard drive as standard.
you guys havent read the full article to understand what he is saying. The original article states that "there are rumors of sony working on a blurayless ps3, but in doing so, previous ps3 software would not work." so he understands what he is saying, he's just passing the message to the reader what rumors are going on. he assumes that a blurayless ps3 would mean they would put future games on a dvd... thats all its saying.
It would make sense and also seem like a thing that Sony would do to cut to costs of the PS3. Look what they did to cut costs between the Gen1 and Gen2 PS3s. The first PS3 that came out had full hardware support for the PS2 games, when they revised it, they left out the EmotionEngine and relyed on software support for PS2 emulation. I dont expect them to stop selling the Blu-Ray PS3's, i just think that they will release a model that is DVD based only and offer a Blu-Ray addon drive similar to what Microsoft did with the HD-DVD drive, not only to boost additional sales, but also to produce more PS3's with the cheaper drive. I mean most PS3 games rarely exceed the size of a Dual Layer DVD and most developers aren't utilizing the full 25GB, not to mention licensing costs for the Blu-Ray, that deters a lot of developers to seek out other consoles or stick to PC coding.
got one at christmas :-/ ill live
Microsoft should pre-empt with a $50 Xbox 360 price cut. They would be practically giving them away but they would have presence in many, many homes.
dude there is no point in M$ selling consoles at prices they do not make profits on even if they gain market share, we all know what market share did for Sony this gen.
They can't get rid of the blu ray - the games themselves are on blu ray discs!
The no-Blu-Ray idea is a joke.
Considering Dell's been selling them for $319 with free shipping, and Best Buy has them right now for $399 with a free $50 BB gift card and the Guitar Hero (with guitar) of your choice for free, I don't think it will be long.
its probably not a joke. this ANALyst is probably just an idiot.
I got mine on Dell's site during their Christmas special, I knew someone was going to sell it cheap so I kept watching the black Friday sale site and it eventually showed up! I think it was $100 off with a free copy of Far Cry 2 to boot. Still a better deal then I'd get in real life even with the price cut.
headline rewrite:
sony is about to do something they should have done 2 f-ing years ago, analyst might be wrong because sony's marketing team is getting dumber by the second
I don't think they will take the blu-ray put, then they'll wont be able to play PS3 games...which are blu-ray discs
LOL
So...how will you play PS3 games on a blu-rayless PS3? Since you know...that...umm...PS3 games are Blu-ray...
That analyst is epic fail.
Exactly what I was thinking. All I use my PS3 for is the blu-ray, and I'm sure that I am not the only one.
Hey, I heard they may just do without that optical drive thing entirely.
They can do the 12 hour download thing with the blu-ray-less PS3. Sounds kinda crazy but it could happen. Also, they could do what we've been doing with computers for years and that's swapping CD's, but in this case, DVD's. Sounds pretty inconvenient to save a hundred bucks.
DUh....you hook it up to the new blue ray attachment for the new blue rayless PS3. Don't worry the attachment is completely optional (unless you want to play games or watch movies on the PS3) and it will only cost $99.
Hes not completely off base in the fact that you have to INSTALL a lot of PS3 games to play them. If you start shipping games on DVD that you have to install to the HD just like their BR counter parts where does the problem come in? The problem is the existing games and retail channels. Are you telling me that retailers are going to want to stock BR and DVD copies of games? They hardly even stocked the DVD version of computer software when it was available on DVD or CD and they certainly are not going to put both sets of disks in one box. On top of that considering you have used games in secondary markets, if they are BR games they are going to only be good on the older PS3s or the new BR models. I don't see them pulling the BR drive just like MS wasn't going to put a HD-DVD drive in an elite or put games out on HD-DVD format, its just way to confusing and hard to manage once the system is out in the wild.
Since most of the games out right now for PS3 are on blu-ray discs, I highly doubt they'll be removing the drive.
nice. you win. you know more than that ass-turd analyst.
It's the natural progression of every piece of electronics ever made.
"Hickey also speculates that Sony could hack the Blu-ray out of the PS3 in order to make that price cut doable, but that seems slightly wild to us."
Taking a system and removing the ability to actually play the physical game disks seems to make complete sense! (sarcasm). This Hickey has lost any credibility he may have had... if he had any. I mean seriously?! "Hey kids, buy the PS3. You can't play any games on it, that you'd find in the store... though you can play titles you download from the PSN... and you can't play any Blu-ray movies... but hey... RIIIIIIDDDDGE RACER!!!!"
Interesting news, but...
No blu-ray, means no games.... every PS3 game is on a blu-ray disc.
Not at all true, however most are.
Which ones are on DVDs or CDs?
I wish they would hurry up with either a quieter or "slim" version. Out of everything in my room (including laptop on a cooler and a desktop running 24/7 (server)) the PS3 is the loudest.
You've never used an Xbox 360 then. I thought my console was perfectly fine until one of my friends brought his PS3 over. You can barely hear that thing without putting your ear next to the case. My Xbox is heard across the room with the insanely loud disk drive.
i concur i personally find the shape of the ps3 to be horrid. my 360 elite looks pretty though.
Maybe I'm just too sensitive then :p But what can you expect, when my house is right next to a small forest and hardly any cars go by the whole day? :p
Best I can tell, some PS3s are way louder than others. Mine's almost silent, but one time when running folding@home, it cranked up and sounded like a gas-turbine. I was scared.
I've been looking through some of the annual reports of Sony this week for my MA, and I can't see a price cut coming soon. Sony haven't achieved cost reduction in the same manner as they have with the PS2. I saw an interview late last year, with Sony echoing this. Sony are still making a large operating margin loss, and the shareholders deserve some cash.
How the hell is Sony going to hack the Blu-Ray player out of the drive when the Ps3 games themselves are on Blu-Ray discs?
What about the idea that Sony is hoping to bank on games and such in order to make up the (even further) lost dough on the Ps3 itself?
No suprise, consider ps3 cost double than typical blu-ray player out there. Maybe PS3 can add solid drive upgrade?
Yeah maybe double an RCA or Insignia. It is priced fairly with comparable Blu Ray players. Oh it is also a gaming system...
Yeah, you can't remove the blu-ray out of the PS3. I beleive ALL the disc games are on Blu-Ray discs. Who ever said that obviously doesn't know about the PS3 & if they are the same that talked about the price cut then I wouldn't hold my breath. I would love to see a price cut, though. I need another blu-ray player. ; )
Oh look, a still expensive console that doesn't play "LEFT 4 DEAD."
Do not want.
You slick, slick bastard.
Hey look a console that doesn't play Uncharted 1 & 2, God of War 3, Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, Ratchet and Clank, Resistence 1 & 2, Flower, Motorstorm 1 & 2 etc. etc.
So what I can't play L4D , its not really a 360 exclusive because my Nvidea card and Core 2 can handle it great. All the games I listed are AAA Exclusives, 360 really has no actual exclusives. The few console exclusive they had usually go to ps3, they are in fact only timed exclusives such as Bioshock, Lost Planet, Mass Effect (announced)
so yeah I think i just nuked your point.
I don't own a 360. I don't own any consoles actually. I play L4D on the PC via Steam. I don't understand paying for an internet connection and then paying AGAIN to play your game. Xbox live? What the crap is that about?
I'm addicted to L4D at the moment and I wouldn't buy any console that doesn't have it. I didn't expect everyone to feel the same way, but if you haven't played L4D yet you should check it out!!!!
LOL, seriousl denial? Or are you stuck in 2007? have you actually seen the 2008 and 2009 lineup of PS3 titles, it blows the 360 lineup out the water by a very large margin...
Clearly you are a mindless Microbot...
How about this as food for thought... the PS3 is still outselling the 360 thou.,
21.3mPS3 in 2.5 years is better than 28m 360's in 3.5 years...
20m PSN accounts is far better than 9m Xbox Live Gold accounts.
(before the brainwashed Microbots question than last number, they need to look here: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/161658.asp )
Haven't "analysts" been saying this for over a year/two years now? I'll wait 'til Sony themselves, money-grubbing pigs that they are, actually declare it.
£200 is the max i will pay for any games console....especially one with so few worthy games
Enjoy playing a PS2, while we enjoy playing our hard earned PS3.
£200 is the max i will pay for any games console
So you're in for £400?
Unless Sony plans on dropping the price to $199, don't bother. Just admit that you failed this generation. You took a gamble on Blu-ray, and it turns out that cost you your video game division.
I think what they took a gamble on is people buying a 600 dollar system (at launch). I have a PS3, but I did not spend no where near 600 for it. It was arrogant to assume that the masses would drop that kind of dough.
No need for 199. 299, and I'll take one. I've been highly looking forward to playing Tekken 6 and GT5, in addition to Warhawk. I just need to get the price in my range.
There was really no clear-cut winner this generation. All the 3 consoles are vastly different and special in their own ways. Comparing a Wii to a PS3 is like comparing an EEE pc to an alienware.
I could picture Microsoft dropping the 360 by $50 for each sku. Imagine a 60gb 360 with 2 bundled games at the same price as a wii! Even the core now with 256mb built in would steal the market at $150. This depends on how far the down the cost to produce is.
I'd rather they cut new games down to $40-$50, but I guess people are still buying at $60.
http://news.cnet.com/next-big-ps3-price-cut-set-for-april/ is a month old and included a caption at the bottom stating Sony called and smashed any price cut rumors, but you all know how that goes.
A price reduction would have been a smart decision before christmas time...sony ftl
LOL- all that money spent on bribing their way to HD-format victory; now the chickens are coming home to roost. For ten years I've always had multiple consoles in the house and screw brand loyalty if a game was good on one or the other, but I've found myself sticking to Xbox360 since I haven't found ONE compelling reason to get a PS3, especially given the price. I play my netflix bluray discs on my HTPC, and all my friends are on Xbox Live.
Add to that, Grand Theft Auto 4: Lost & The Damned expansion came out -exclusively- for Xbox360, after Microsoft bribed rockstar $50 million. Looks like MS learned something from Sony.
"I haven't found ONE compelling reason to get a PS3, especially given the price"
Are you going to keep your console for 5 years? An Xbox account is $50/year. If you use your system for just 5 years (which is conservative), that's $250. The cost of ownership for the life of the systems comes out about even. In the long run, the PS3 gives you more product for the money. But that requires you to think long term.
buying a bag of crap would be cheaper in the long run too. my $25 for a 13 month prepaid xbox live card is well worth the privilege of playing games online with my friends. if sony's not charging for online multiplayer access, it's because they can't- NO ONE IS ON THERE. good job mixing apples and oranges, genius. well played. off ya go.
"it's because they can't"
are you an idiot.? just before i get you to understand i want to know if you have psychological difficulties i am saying that because your not a kid (according to your 10 years of every console nonsense) yet are a fanboy? if so forget about this comment.
why cant they?
- lackluster console sales? well PS sold more consoles in its first year than Xbox even at almost double the cost.
- lackluster online? where do you think M$ got that 50 million bribe for GTA IV lost and Damned from?
- nobody is on there? and you know this how? is it the opinion of one of 'all' those "ONLINE" friends you have?
if they hack off $100 from the ps3, i will be on my way to the store to get one. if they hack of the blu-ray however, i will be buying it to destroy it too make a video to put on youtube ;) but i will still never give up my 360 and pc for a ps3. i wouldnt get it for the quality of the games, I would get it for the games that are only on it (mgs4, little big planet, resistance...)
circuit city had them for 319 for 80 gig? and maybe the 160? not sure. last time i looked they had a shit load of them in my area
It wouldn't be a bad idea for Sony to remove the bluray drive and create sort of a playstation 2.5. basically you'd have a playstation 2 with the ability to play downloadable games and online video rentals. Considering that PS2 sales are still comparably high. It would be a step backward, but the way the economy is now it might make sense. I don't know how much money they'd actually save considering that they removed the RSX chip from the recent models.
^ I'd pay extra for a PS3 just so I *wouldn't* have to deal with Tiger for a cheaper price. Good job spambot. Off ya go
I was at an EBGames considering buying a PS3 and couldn't justify the cost. The manager told me that if cost is what I was holding out for, then I should wait a little longer...that a Sony rep had been in and was hinting (didn't confirm definitively) that the PS3 was about to get a $100 discount.
"Hacking out" the Blu-Ray wont happen. But conceivably it could be done by creating an "Arcade" type SKU that can just play games available for download on the PS store. Strangely that would be tempting for for -- along with assurance from Sony that eventually i'd be able to download every game -- because most games i want to play on the PS3 are in fact downloadable Indy games; and Burnout Paradise.
Yes lets take out one of the main selling points of the unit and sell it for less! This will work great?!
@ Aaron
like how the Wii uses a DVD drive and DVD discs but doesn't play DVD movies (without homebrew cannel)
They cant cut out the Blu-Ray because their games are made on Blu-ray discs
yeh i know what we'll do. We'll take the blu ray player out of the ps3 so no new customers can play any of our games!
Which dumb fcuking journo thought that one up!
A price cut would be welcome news indeed, I've been looking at buying one as a blu-ray player first and game console second since I got my 40 inch LCD TV. But the price point has been keeping me away since I can get all the titles I want on my 360 and I can hook my laptop up to my tv and play blu-ray movies that way.
Why not remove a couple of Cell processors too, and drive the price down even further!
hurry please! I have waited so long and can't justify the money after I already bought a 360 and a Wii .
I doubt that even by limiting the PS3 to no Blu-Ray playback would lower Sony's costs... I mean, the Blu-Ray drive is EXPENSIVE to begin with. Sony wanted to throw everything into the PS3 and they're realizing that it's wildly expensive to do so. That's not going to change in the short term. They're also realizing that some people just want to game and don't care about Blu-Ray, Wi-Fi, media center capabilities, etc... Sony is going to have to take another bite of shit sandwich to stay in the game this gen. Better to take a bite of the shit sandwich than have to eat the entire thing by folding, so a price cut soon is absolutely necessary.
I forgot to mention... The Blu-Ray drive is necessary to include because without it, how will you be able to play the PS3's back catalog of games? Oh wait... You won't be able to, unless they make them available through the PlayStation Store. I can imagine it now, 3 days to download Uncharted or Resistance. No thanks.
I would like to see a slim PS3 with limited BC with PS2 games. I could careless Blu ray, but I know they have to have it to called a PS3 to play ps3 games.
OMG how many people does it take to point out that PS3 games are on Blu-Rays? Seriously, when you are the 10th person to post the exact same comment don't you feel like an idiot inside? Or by saying the same thing do you feel like you are part of the in-crowd?
eventually...
They can do the 12 hour download thing with the blu-ray-less PS3. Sounds kinda crazy but it could happen. Also, they could do what we've been doing with computers for years and that's swapping CD's, but in this case, DVD's. Sounds pretty inconvenient to save a hundred bucks.
The price cust is on the UK website, £40 off the 40 GB version, so yours for £249...
Ships mid march!
also speculative HD DVD will come back... this seems like a publicity stunt to get readers commenting...
"ahh its working its working"
-black dude with shampoo in hotel fully dressed commercial
The analyst forgot to mention a few other things. In order to make the cost of the PS3 competitive, Sony has also decided to remove the PS3's wireless capabilities and its HDMI port. As a further cost saving effort, the size of the Hard Drive will be reduced to 20 GB and Sony Online will now cost $99 a year. They thought about putting in a different processor, but they are saving that for next month's price reduction strategy.
im no so bothered about a $100 usd price cut, i got my ps3 the december before last for £50 due to a catalogue price error (grattan), mine was shipped before they realised, my sister got 10 of them for £50 each!
Honestly, while it seems like a dramatic change, is a BD-less PS3 any crazier than Microsoft saying that it can skip BD and encourage users to download HD movies over the internet?
While it may seem somewhat crazy at this point in time, you know it will happen. Sony could make a deal with the software houses to distribute all of their games online through the console, and avoid dealing with BD disk licensing fees, manufacturing, etc. I wonder if Sony could realize any warranty savings as well by reducing key moving parts?
I hope this is true because now that i think about it the PS3 is really expensive for a console on the current market. unless im wrong i believe the PS3 is $100 more expensive than even the Elite 360.. sure im biased when i say its the best gaming console and a good investment but still $100 more than the competition is a little ridiculous sony..maybe they should drop it like $110 to $290 just to finally beat the 360 at something
Entry cost to play 360 games: $200
Entry cost to play PS3 games: $400
Say what you will about how limited the Arcade SKU is, but dammit that's an impressive number. By making high-end systems exclusively, you look like you're priced out of the market no matter how much value you cram into that $400 purchase.
Brilliant! First remove the chip that makes the PS3 backward compatible with the PS2, then remove the the Blu Ray drive that makes it compatible with the current gen of PS3 games and remove the retailer and go download only... They really need to get their act together!
I just hope I have more time with my PS3 before they come out with a sexier thinner and less expensive model because after that I'll be left with the fat or as the DS children say, phat one.
Wow
Bottom line ,ps3 is worth $399. State of the economy will allow $199 Xbox to prevail.
yea how the hell would they cut the blu-ray out, they literally cant, lol
I need one.
Anyone already predict "same price; +20GB bump in HDD" yet?
Looks like a $100 discount will get most people interested enough to even consider buying the PS3. What's Sony waiting for? Don't they take feedback from customers?
That price drop they had a few weeks ago for 329$ wasn't bad if they hit 299$ I'd buy one.
And if they dropped the Blu-Ray, there would be no point in buying it because thats the
exotic part about the PS3...NEW Technology plus Backwards Compatibility.
Drop it to 299$ it would start selling, Blu-Ray would take off and we could progress the
world's technology, but that would make too much sense so it probably wont happen.
I bet if you wait 7 years the PS3 could be found for less than $199 and it will still be state of the art, at least according to Sony.
I'm sure that most of you have figured out why the PS3 will have a 10year life cycle. Its pretty obvious. Basically it will take Sony that long to get the PS3's manufacturing costs low enough to actually make a profit. Everytime they reduce the price, it will extend the life cycle of the PS3. At this rate Sony will be selling the PS3 for 20 years and the PS2 will still be outselling it. I think its a flaw in their long term strategy to be willing to support any technology that long.
a $100 price cut??? WTF is wrong with these analysts? It's already $299 just go buy it from http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644604396
why don't they spend less time speculating and use a freaking search button.. If you're too cheap to buy a ps3/bluray player for $299, then go buy a POS crapbox for $399.. and then go buy you a bluray player plus pay your $35 yearly microsoft fees to play online.. Are you people REALLY THIS STUPID???
This is probably why America is in the situation (our economy) it's in now.. There's too many stupid people that beleive everything the media puts out there wether it's the tv/radio/internet.. The media says ps3 is too expensive yet you can buy it cheaper than the xbox and you get more for your money..
Will there be a price drop for the 160 GB PS3?