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Kaz Hirai talks PSP, denies redesign
Nintendo fans have Reggie. We have Kaz. There's no real new info in his interview with Gamespot, but it's always interesting when a Sony exec goes on the record about the system. Here are some bullet points summarizing what he said: Sony is still "hard at work" on Connect. (Note: It was originally supposed to come out in March.) PSone downloads will come "close" to the PS3 launch. "Obviously, we certainly are not going to have 1,200 titles come out at once. You also need to realize that some of the games just don't translate well onto a PSP environment, games that require the use of the two analog sticks, for example." No plans for a PSP price drop OR redesign. Sony is "happy" with PSP; it is their "fastest-growing product."
$149 PSP coming soon? CNN reports
The Sony warehouses are slowly filling up with stockpiles of "finished gaming hardware." Could it be the PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3? P.J. McNealy from American Technology Research thinks it's the PSP. "[The PSP] has lost momentum. Nintendo has had a great run since it launched the DS Lite and Sony needs to regain some ground." Due to the recent sales boost of DS Lite, and the commercial success of major DS software releases, the analyst expects that Sony will drop the price of the PSP to a mere $149, $50 less than what it is right now.According to McNealy, this can give Sony a major advantage. Nintendo is unlikely to drop the DS's price from $129 due to its inability to meet demand. Sony's PSP comes with additional functionality, such as the ability to view movies, that will appear to make it a much greater value to consumers. For the full report, visit CNN.[Thanks, steve!]
Universal announces impending HD DVD price drop
In what may turn out to be a small, final boost for the HD DVD camp prior to the impending arrival of Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player that's definitely NOT been delayed, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that it will eventually knock five bucks off of each HD DVD disc that it sells. That's right, if you were holding out on buying that Toshiba HD-A1 until movies dropped below $30, now may be your time to strike, as titles that were formerly $34.95 will soon retail for $29.95 (though you'll probably be able to find them cheaper), with hybrid HD DVDs from the studio going for $35. Unfortunately (for HD DVD proponents, at least), the price drops won't go into effect until August 8th, at which point this format war will have already spilled over into the marketplace.[Via Digital Media Thoughts]
Samsung is expecting a 10% drop in LCD prices
We all know that prices of top-tier electronics drop with time, but it can be hard to predict how and when without Martha Stewart type info. Samsung has gone on record saying that they expect the prices of LCDs to drop 10% during the 2nd quarter of the year. An independent analyst has forecasted the industry's average LCD price to fall nearly 14% this quarter, which would make that 3% more then the first quarter. This may be music to your ears, but not to the manufacturers of these sets. Oh no. They are expecting to report operating losses due to this price drop and the increases of competition. Cheaper prices. We're not complaining though. [update: fixed spelling issues]
Rumor: 360 wireless gaming receiver $20; wheel $130; headset $60; camera $40; Halo and Forza faceplates $20 [update 1]
Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below: 360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20 Wireless racing wheel: $130 Wireless headset: $60 Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40 New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each 256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]See also: 360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB? (Comment from epobirs) Use 360 wireless peripherals with a PC Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 event Joystiq / Engadget podcasts from Day One and Day Two of E3 2006
GameCube price drop: Nintendo preps retailer [update 1]
GameSpot reports that a GameCube price drop could be in the works. According to an EB Games employee, Nintendo has sent posters that include blank, GameCube-branded "New Low Price" stickers to the retailer. The posters are to be used within the next marketing period (May 1–23) in the event of a price change. The employee confirmed that Sony sent similar materials prior to the PS2 price drop last month.The GameCube currently retails for $99.99. We suspect that by the end of the month that price could fall to $79.99.[Update: changed "GameStop" to "GameSpot"]
2nd Bone episode price slashed to $12.99
Telltale Games have announced the second episode in their ongoing Bone series, Bone Act 2: The Great Cow Race, will carry a new, more attractive price point of $12.99, an impressive 35% drop from the first offering's $19.99 price. Telltale CEO Dan Connors defines their competition saying, "We will expand the audience for games enormously by setting a price that competes directly with DVDs, music CDs, books and cable television." They've already discussed other aspects they've sought to improve upon from the initial episode, including the oft-criticized length. In blunt terms, Telltale's sophomore effort hopes to deliver more game for less money. They are clear to specify this only applies to the upcoming Bone episodes: "As of today, the company is lowering all episodes in the Bone series distributed through its digital download channel to the new lower price of $12.99 each in line with the new structure." Either this price might not apply to the forthcoming episodic Sam and Max game or, more likely, Telltale has simply avoided making any promises for a product that isn't ready to ship yet. Bone Act 2: The Great Cow Race will be available later this month.
SCEA: PSP price drop to $199 on March 22nd; EyeToy, GPS, and PSone game-download support coming later
As noted in our earlier story on the PS3's worldwide launch in November, the PSP will drop in price to $199 in the U.S. on March 22nd.According to an official PR announcement from SCEA, this basic package with PSP, AC adaptor, and battery will also retail for $229.99 CND (for our friends up north).Highlights include classic PSone games for download onto Memory Sticks, web browser compatibility with Flash, a silver USB EyeToy camera for video and voice-over-IP chat in September, and GPS support for games like Hot Shots Golf as well. Europe will get their basic PSPs for 199 Euros on the same date, while Japan will get a new white SKU on April 15th.See also: PS3 worldwide in November PSP-specific page from IGN; second IGN page with other pricing info New PSP Value Packs revealed [with bundled games for Europe] Rumor: New PSP to get a built-in camera and 4GB of flash
