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The pink PS2 hits UK in November
It's a little late in the game for you to have to justify a PS2 to your ladyfriend, and it's way late in the game if your ladyfriend is of the ilk to want a PS2 of her very own. That said, as we all know well from Motorola and their best-selling RAZR, when you're late getting your new product out the door, the thing to do is release the old product in a new color. Enter the pink PS2. We're not yet entirely sure when (or if) it's hitting US shores, but it's launching on the 8th of November over in Old Blighty. Oh, and for our gamer pals across the pond: thanks to the Leipzig Games Convention, which kicked off today, you'll see a dip in price of that PS2 as well. It'll only set you back £94.99 and €129.99 now, which doesn't help us over in the States too much, but we can't complain as our PlayStation 2s still cost significantly less. Unfortunately that price dip won't help out your purchase of pink there, which is still going to go for £129.99 (bundled with SingStar Pop), and €159.99 otherwise.[Thanks, Steve]
PSA: Xbox 360 cost reduction != price cut
As a public service announcement, we thought we'd go over this old chestnut one more time. While Microsoft is undoubtedly trying to lower the cost of building an Xbox 360 (a cost that is estimated to be anywhere from $400 to $525 to $715 per unit), the attending assumption that Microsoft is looking to lower the retail price is either a misunderstanding or a misconception.The nice lads at Next Generation asked some analysts to, uh, analyze the likeliness of such an occurance. After carefully focusing their razor sharp acumen on the problem, said analysts returned the following conclusion: "not likely." To support their assertion, they pointed to a need to avoid further hardware losses and then to our own interview with Peter Moore in which he said, "We had a price drop ... when Sony announced their price. We obviously don't talk about price drops, and I can't think of any good reason right now that we would drop the price even further from the delta between what we're offering and what our competitor's are currently offering."The most likely scenario, according to Next Generation and sensible people everywhere, is a software bundle like the one that's rumored to include Project Gotham Racing 3, 1250 MS Points ($15.62), and 3 months of Xbox Live free. [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Surprise, surprise, no price cut expected
Next Generation more or less shot down yesterday's rumored price cut for the 360. Basically all they did was reiterate everything we said, only more elaborately and eloquently (we're still flattered though). Michael Pachter of Morgan Securities breaks it down old-school analyst style:" ... The company plans to sell 10 million Xbox 360 hardware units over the next year, so a price cut in November would likely impact 8 million of these, costing the company $800 million. At a software royalty profit of around $10 per unit, the company would have to sell 80 million incremental software units in order to be in the same place as without a price cut." ... Our model has Microsoft selling only around 60 million total units of software this fiscal year, so in order to break even on a price cut, they would have to sell 140 million pieces of software. Remember, we're talking about profitability for FY:07, not over the life of the 360."That's a lot of software. Next Gen even mentions Peter Moore's comments to Joystiq during E3: "We had a price drop ... when Sony announced their price."So, don't expect a price drop before next year. Do expect a software bundle instead.[Thanks, Thomas Crymes]
New price cut rumor? Put it on the pile...
"Xbox 360 to receive price cut by Christmas," that old chestnut that refuses to die, has reared its ugly head once again. This time the news comes from Taiwanese manufacturers who claim that Microsoft has negotiated a lower cost for 360 production and will reduce the retail price of 360s by US $100. According to these Taiwanese sources, cheaper components and a more refined production process could reduce overall production costs by 15-20%. Additionally, this would allow Microsoft to bundle the HD-DVD drive while staying under $399.Of course, Microsoft Taiwan has denied the rumor. And, it should be noted that cheaper production costs do not necessarily lead to cheaper retail prices. Not only that, but with the core system already being a full $200 cheaper than the low end PS3, Microsoft doesn't really need to lower its price.Who knows, it might actually be true, but don't hold your breath. The much ballyhooed PGR and Points bundle is much more likely.[Via OpenXBOX360]
PS2 price cut fails to impress [Update 2]
The reaction to yesterday's PS2 price cut has been one of disappointment on two levels:1) Sony could or should have brought the price down to $99. This comment from Resident Gamer is a typical example of this opinion: "So why is Sony being so picky about moving it to the $99 mark? Not like everyone doesn't have a PS2 already (he's got a point, Sony's sold over 100 million of 'em). But they need to make it so that anyone else who might be a new gamer can easily get into playing at a low cost and enjoy the large body of games PS2 has." Like we mentioned in our earlier post, the reason Sony didn't go for the symbolic "under $100" price point is most likely because of the PS3. With E3 just around the corner Sony will want all the attention to be on their next-gen effort, rather than on their console that was six years old last month (the PS2 was released in March, 2000 in Japan).
Sony's PlayStation 2 now only $129.99
Remember way back in October of the year 2000, when Sony introduced the PlayStation 2 for $299.99? Yeah, that was a long time ago, but if you still don't have one, don't feel like getting a 360 or waiting any longer for the PlayStation 3 -- whenever the hell that'll be released -- or just want another PS2 for around the house, you'll be pleased to know Sony once again dropped the price on the PS2. Now the diminutive console will run you $130, down twenty bucks since the console's standing price since its last cut about two years ago. They're still not gonna beat out Nintendo's ever-cost effective $99 GameCube, but hey, when it comes to games, we know for a lot of people it just ain't about the price.
