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Dell Adamo gets $500 price drop, whole new lease on life
After no small amount of external pressure, Dell has finally managed to do some major damage on the Adamo's number one drawback: the price. The starting mark for the 1.2GHz machine has been slashed from $1,999 to $1,499, while the high-end model with SSD and a 1.4GHz processor is down to $2,299. Still not in the same general galaxy as most consumer-aimed Dell products, but quite a lot closer to the realm of possibility.[Via LogicBUY]
Sony's Stringer dismisses PS3 price-cutting threats by noisy Activision CEO
We can attest that Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony, is a pretty nice guy. But all the PS3 price-cut chatter from industry analysts and gaming execs seems to have the man riled as he tries to keep Sony afloat. Responding directly to Robert Kotick's threat to stop developing Activision titles on the PS3 (and PSP) due to the console's relative high price, Stringer told Reuters, "He likes to make a lot of noise. He's putting pressure on me and I'm putting pressure on him. That's the nature of business." When asked about the logic of not cutting prices, Howard said, "I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make -- how's that for logic." True, until the 45nm Cell processor launches allowing for a cheaper, cooler running slim PS3 later this year, right Howie... wink, wink?[Via GameDaily]
Tecmo Koei CEO to Sony: "please cut the price" of the PS3
Activision's CEO has already gone public with his complaints about the price of the PS3, and it looks he's not alone among industry bigwigs with a bone to pick with Sony, with the CEO of the newly formed Tecmo Koei now coming out and echoing his concerns. Speaking with CVG, Tecmo Koei's Kenji Matsubara says that whenever he speaks about the issue with Sony reps, he asks them to "please cut the price" of the PS3, adding that "from a publisher's point of view we would welcome a price cut for PS3 and we are waiting, definitely." He doesn't quite go so far as pull an Activision and threaten to ditch support for the console if Sony doesn't drop the price, however, although it seems safe to assume that these complains will only grow louder -- at least until Sony actually does cut the price of the PS3, that is. [Via gamesindustry.biz]
Activision threatens to drop Sony if Sony doesn't drop PS3 and PSP prices
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says he sees the number of games bought per console slowing if the price on the PlayStation 3 doesn't go down, and that his company (the largest independent game developer in the world, thanks in part to that sweet, sweet Blizzard cash) might consider dropping the PS3 and PSP in 2010 or 2011 if things don't improve. He says Activision paid $500 million in royalties to Sony last year, but the Xbox 360 and Wii are cheaper to develop for and offer a better return on investment. Still, with 23 million PS3s out there in the world, we'd think it'd be difficult to ignore the console entirely -- especially for cross platform titles like the upcoming Modern Warfare 2, where a majority of the work takes place in content development and gameplay mechanics. Of course, with games like Guitar Hero, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk now demanding the purchase of peripherals along with the game itself, Activision itself could certainly be doing more to make gaming cheaper on consumers... but we suppose that's another conversation entirely.[Via Joystiq]
Sony timing its PS3 price cut to roll with Madden, homework?
Sony showed us a lot of things at this year's E3 -- some expected, some rather less-so -- but they didn't show us the primary thing shareholders and fans were hoping for: a price cut. That most expensive of gaming consoles still retains its lead in the brutal MSRP wars, but a Sterne Agee analyst indicates that Sony is just biding its time. According to the always accurate "industry sources," the PS3 will receive a $100 drop sometime in the middle of August, just in time for the launch of Madden NFL 10. That would also coincide with back to school shopping, apparently a popular time for buying consoles by parents who want to give their kids every chance in the world to fail thanks to spending too much time robbing graves in Uncharted.
Clarion MiND price falls nearly 50 percent, makes beeline for cereal boxes
Hey, industry -- are you seeing this? People just aren't that into MIDs, sorry! Nary eight months after Clarion's Atom-powered MiND MID went on sale for the not-at-all-seductive price of $649.99, the evidently undesirable device has dropped to around $350. Right now on Amazon, the red and white units are priced at $342.83 and $360.87, respectively, while the black version is still holding its value just a wee bit better. Unfortunately, something tells us this thing is on the REDFLY plan, which should put it within a cheap plastic bag in your Frosted Flakes by the year's end.[Via Pocketables]
Intel further slashes SSD prices, ups production of 1.8-inch drives
Intel just cut a big chunk out of the MSRP on some of its SSDs a few months back, but it looks like it's already back for another go 'round, and it's also taking the opportunity to up the production on some of the models intended for netbooks and ultraportable laptops. The price cuts come to Intel's recently-fixed X25-M series of drives, with the 160GB drive dropping $100 (bringing its retail price down to $630), while the 80GB model dips a further $50 to $320, or close to half of what it originally cost when it launched back in December. What's more, while they aren't getting any cheaper just yet, Intel will reportedly be making more of its 80GB and 160GB 1.8-inch drives, which have apparently been in short supply since launching last year.
Creative's cheap Zen MX even bores paid product models
Well what do you know... Creative's still in business and pumping out yet another variation of its Zen media player. The Zen MX features the same played design that Creative's been pushing since 2007 including a 2.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixel display, and SDHC expansion. However, as Creative's new low-end Zen, the MX is stripped of all but its most basic codecs -- MP3, DRM'd WMA, JPG pics, Audible 4, and Creative's own CMV video format are all that remain. The result is 8GB and 16GB Zen MX players hitting Japan (and presumably elsewhere) on May 5th for ¥9,800 (about $102) and ¥13,800 (about $144), respectively. Oh, and Creative also cut the price of its 32GB/16GB/8GB Zen X-Fi players. A move that would usually indicate an attempt to clear out inventory as the company prepares for a new flag-ship product. However, given the global economic situation and Creative's own internal meltdown, let's just say we're not too hopeful.
HP Firebird 802 gaming rig gets $500 price drop
Well, it's only been available for a few short months but HP has already seen fit to give its flagship Firebird 802 gaming desktop a fairly sizable price drop -- $500, to be specific. That includes a $150 cut to the $1,799 base price and a $350 instant rebate that brings the price down to a pretty darn reasonable $1,299, questionable keyboards aside. For those that haven't been pricing gaming rigs lately, that'll get you a Core 2 Quad 9400 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S graphics cards (with 512MB of DDR3 memory on each card). Of course, any price drop of this size also invariably bring of the question "why?" and, in the case, the reasons are still a bit hazy. While HP discontinuing the line outright seems to almost certainly be out of the question, a slight revision does seem at least possible, if not necessarily imminent -- although, any way you shake it, $500 off is $500 off, so we're not complaining.[Thanks, Ali]
Nintendo president squashes talk of Wii price cuts
Incredible as it sounds, it looks like Nintendo isn't planning on slashing the price of the console it can still barely keep on store shelves. That word comes straight from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who's attempting to clamp down on recent speculation that a Wii price cut could be in the offing, which seemed at least a tad more plausible considering that the manufacturing costs for the console have supposedly dropped significantly since its launch. According to Iwata, rather than trying to drive up sales numbers even further with a price cut, Nintendo will instead be putting "more energy and time into making better entertainment so that our products are going to remain in the top position in our customer's wish lists" -- and now with Disc Dog, in the top position in our hearts.
Analyst suspects Wii manufacturing costs are down 45%
This obviously isn't the sort of thing that Nintendo is going to come out and confirm itself, but analyst Koya Tabata of Credit Suisse has apparently determined, or at least guessed, that Nintendo has managed to drastically reduce the manufacturing costs of the Wii since its launch. Specifically, Tabata says that manufacturing costs are down a full 45%, which would of course also mean that Nintendo's margins on the console have increased proportionally, and that the chances for a price cut are now better than ever, especially in light of the newly cheapened PS2. According to Tabata, however, any price cut would likely first arise in emerging markets, with a drop 'round these parts anything but a sure thing.[Via Joystiq]
Publishers push Sony for PS3 price cut
In one of the least surprising stories you're likely to read today, publishers seem to agree that their lives would be a lot better if Sony could knock a couple hundred bones off the price of the PS3. That's the word from Bloomberg today, who nabbed quotes from the likes of EA Sports' Peter Moore, who admitted, "Sony obviously still has a ways to go with their pricing," and Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot, who added, "Anytime a console manufacturer reduces the price, software publishers benefit."We'd love to make a snide comment here about EA and Ubisoft having nothing to lose from a PS3 price cut, but SCEA marketing boss Peter Dille beat us to it, commenting, "Everybody in the development community would love for the PS3 to be free, so they could just sell razor blades."We can empathize with both sides, but it does seem to us that Sony needs to do something big to get back in the game. What do you think?[Via CVG]
Analyst: PS3 price cut could happen very soon
According to Janco analyst Mike Hickey, Sony could be set to announce a new, lower price point for the PS3 in the next few days. He says Sony needs to slash $100 off the price of the console to "effectively restart unit velocity at retail." He sees this cut taking effect in "April or by June at the latest." Without the cut, he predicts PS3 sales will continue to steadily decline.There's also speculation regarding a potential Blu-ray-less PS3, which would "enable them to make the aforementioned hardware price reduction," though that sounds kind of ridiculous. Without all of that Blu-ray goodness, how are you supposed to play any software on the thing? It's not like people will go running out to buy a cheaper PS3 that will only play PS2, PSOne and PSN games, after all.[Via Yahoo Tech]
Sony's VAIO P priced at 300 on Amazon's UK site
Now we're talking. We don't exactly what's going on in the UK, but this VAIO P for £300 (about $442) makes us seriously want to jet on over. The last time we saw one of these babies priced, we were looking at a steep £1,368.99 (or around $2,017) -- though that was for the kitted out 128GB SSD version with 3G broadband on-board. Still, we'll happily take this 60GB HDD / 2GB RAM iteration at this price, since it actually hits that sweet spot we were hoping to find the first time around. The only question is whether or not this isn't just some kind of nasty glitch in the Matrix -- it does seem unlikely we'll see price fluctuations this wide. Any word Sony? We'll be reaching for our credit cards and international waybills while we wait.Update: If it seems to good to be true, it probably is, right? Right. The price is now back to the astronomical figure of £740 ($1,090). Drat.[Thanks, Varuna]
VUDU price dramatically slashed to $99* for the holidays
We know it's a touch late to be ordering up a gift for unwrapping on the 25th, but this one just might be worth the IOU you'll likely be forced to give. VUDU's movie set-top-box, which typically goes for $299, is now priced at just $99 for a limited time. Of course, VUDU forces you to purchase $50 in movie credits along with it (thus the asterisk being applicable here), but it's not like you're just going to buy this and never watch anything, right? There's also a bundle that includes a Wireless Kit at 50% off (now just $49), making the grand total for a VUDU, $50 in movie credits and a Wireless Kit only $198. Let's just say now is about the time to buy if you've been holding off on a VUDU -- we hear those HDX titles are mighty tasty![Thanks, Rob]
Olevia's BD-100 Blu-ray player dropping to $149.99 at Target
Missed your opportunity to score a low-cost Blu-ray player on Black Friday? Worried senseless about how you're ever going to get a BD deck for that special someone at a price you can stomach? Chill, please -- you're making us all anxious around here. As you can see above, Target is planning to slash the price on the Olevia BD-100 starting Sunday to a totally delicious $149.99. Granted, the cut is slated to be for "a limited time" only, but that's all the time you need to get in, right?
IZ3D's 22-inch 3D LCD monitor finally hits the B&M scene
It's mildly amusing that up until now, your only option when buying IZ3D's 22-inch 3D LCD monitor was to buy it on a decidedly 2D website. At long last, the recently cheapened (now $399) display has hit the brick and mortar realm, with both Fry's Electronics and Micro Center agreeing to carry it. The move is just one more in the inevitable push to get 3D in the home, and we have all ideas that it'll be joined by a number of others after CES '09 is all wrapped up. Feel free to drop by one of the aforesaid retailers to check this thing out in person, but we'll warn you, those frightened by 3D glasses need not apply. Full release (including specs) is after the break.
Lenovo drops IdeaPad S10 pricing across the board
A mere two days after launching a large capacity version of its multi-hued IdeaPad S10 netbook, Lenovo's gone and chopped prices through and through, with specialty-color netbooks that used to retail for $439 landing at $359, and the boring black or white models retailing for $349, down from $399. Large capacity versions, with their fancy 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drives go for $399 and $409 now, respectively. That's a savings of $50 or $80 for all you math whizzes out there, which is great but Lenovo is certainly not the only one to be pushing down netbook price points to what one might call "recession levels."[Via LogicBUY]
Walmart pushing Lionsgate Blu-ray Discs for $10 a pop
Generally, we wouldn't bother covering that Wally World was moving Blu-ray Discs at a discount -- after all, isn't that store like the low price leader or something? But this just reeks of something different. This just reeks of change, and we certainly hope it's a sign of things to come. With Black Friday far behind us, Walmart has seen fit to start selling a few Lionsgate (read: non-sucky) BDs for $10 each, and the news comes just days after one reporter questioned when Blu-ray software would fall more in line with the hardware in terms of dollars. Really, every other retailer out there has to pay attention to this should Walmart start to drastically undercut the rest in terms of BD pricing, so here's hoping the store puts even more at the $10 level, and soon.[Thanks, Joel]
iZ3D's 22-inch 3D monitor stoops to $399
iZ3D's been doing the whole "3D monitor" thing for years now, with its first baby -- a 17-incher -- ringing up at $1,499 back in 2005. In the latter part of last year, you may recall that a 22-inch version emerged for $999, and now that 3D is all the rage, it's making a second push to clear out all that dusty inventory by lowering the price in dramatic fashion. As of this month, the MSRP on the switchable 3D / 2D display is just $399, and that includes three pairs of passive linear polarized glasses, all the power and video cables you need and gratis membership in the firm's "upcoming 3D gaming league." Oh, and if you're feeling fancy, you can snag a custom-painted model from Smooth Creations at $549 apiece. So, any takers yet? Or are we holding out for free-after-rebate?[Image courtesy of ICEAV]
