PS3 Fanboy

The PlayStation 3 price rollercoaster reaches another peak today as Game Informer puts the rumour out there that a new 40GB SKU is on the cards. The price? $399. We've also heard ourselves that this has been in the planning stages for a number of months. When asked for confirmation, Dave Karraker stonewalled us with the following statement: "We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated."

It's clear, then, that we won't be seeing any new price drops or SKUs hit the market until the 60GB PS3s are sold out. Once that happens, as Pachter said, we'll see the 80GB system drop down to the price of $499. If not, we'll see a new 40GB SKU come in at a price of $399. There's no reason why both of these things couldn't happen, but we're not convinced that's the case.

Since the rollercoaster started, we've been saying that the problem Sony is facing is that people can't afford the PS3, not that they won't buy it. A $399 ticket to the PS3 party would be excellent, especially if it were to start before the Christmas buzz hits. However, all this price craziness is making things confusing for potential buyers who keep up to date with PS3 news. Once the mainstream have bought out all of the 60GB models (All 2 to 3 million of them; It could take a while) we'll see something happen.

Will they? Won't they? This is worse than Ross and Rachel. Ah, the 90s. Simpler times. Since Thursday, we've been questioning whether the 80GB PS3 will drop to $499 once the 60GB version sells out. We're fairly comfortable with our prediction that it will and Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan, agrees.

Pachter states that "the Sony entry level price of $499 is here to stay" and that "there are presently 2 – 3 million 60Gb PS3s produced and not yet sold." This number constitutes up 75% of PS3s in the hands of consumers right now, so the idea of that many selling out before the end of the month, as Reeves suggested, is ridiculous. Pachter's reasoning for why he expects the 80GB model to drop in price is similar to most people's. The 80GB PS3 should cost Sony as much, if not less, to produce than the 60GB model thanks to removal of the Emotion Engine (which, at this point, is the PS3's equivalent of the appendix). Not to mention that Motorstorm is included in the 80GB box, so removing the game will allow the bundle to drop in price by at least $50.

Pachter ends his report by saying that he expects "the $499 price point to be maintained until early next year, when the 80Gb model will likely be cut again to $399." We're not so sure about this ourselves, but we'd definitely like to see it happen.

We know an announcement is coming from SCEE this Thursday that is "related to the US price cut", but SmartHouse News claim that they already have the scoop. Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia has reportedly confirmed that PAL regions will be seeing a price cut of "as much as 17%".

While this is potentially great news, and 17% would bring the PS3 down to a much friendlier price of £350 in the UK (making it the cheapest Blu Ray player available), we're not going to hold our collective breath. One way or the other, we'll know on Thursday.

[Via NeoGAF]

Has the price cut already been put into effect? Potentially, yes. One of our readers has let us know that he was able to get his hands on a 60GB PS3 for no more than $499.99 at a Target today. In our attempts to verify this we called the store he bought it from. They confirmed that the 60GB PS3 was, indeed, in the shop's system at the price of $499.99. Whether this is an error on the individual shop's part, with the price drop being put into effect early, we weren't sure.

We are currently in the process of calling more stores nationwide, to see how isolated this event really is. We will update this post as and when we get more information. If true, then this is an excellent start for what promises to be an excellent E3. Already Microsoft's keynote is overshadowed by Killzone 2. A pricedrop by Sony before the event even starts only adds to the pressure.

[UPDATE 1] A Kansas Target has the 60GB PS3 in its computer at $599

[UPDATE 2] Another tipster has told us that today they sold two at Circuit City at $499. Confused, the manager called it in and got a confirmation that it was correct. We are in the process of verifying this.

[UPDATE 3] A Target store in Rancho Cucamonga in California has confirmed that the 60GB PS3 is in their system for $499. It looks like there's no pattern to which stores are and aren't offering the price cut.

[Thanks Nathan and Alexander!]

Michael L. Savner, an analyst for the Bank of America, has made it clear that he sees Sony's current position as a lose-lose scenario. While the rumoured $100 price drop would be welcome, Savner argues that it could be too little too late. The Xbox 360 would still be cheaper and the drop in price would not be enough to get the fence-sitters to topple over into Sony's camp. To top it off, Savner argues, the PS3 exclusives library is looking thin in comparison to the 360's. With GTA IV and Devil May Cry 4 becoming next-gen neutral, there's nothing drawing people to the PS3 that they can't get elsewhere. We at PS3 Fanboy believe that the recent Sony Gamer's Day says otherwise.

Savner goes on to say that a $150 to $200 dollar price drop would make the system much more attractive, having it fly off the shelves. The downside would be that Sony's earnings would drop dramatically as they're already losing money on the system with every sale at the current price. We're glad we have these analysts to tell us these things. There's no way we would have come up with that on our own. Drop the price, sell some consoles, lose some money - it's genius, really.

The crux is, Sony is going to lose out either way. What it needs are strong, system selling titles. Some sort of marketing for Blu-Ray might help, as well. As the BD drive is what makes the console so expensive in the first place, it makes sense that Sony should take the time to explain to their consumers how great a piece of technology it is. Sell Blu-Ray, sell the PS3. Kind of like 'save the cheerleader, save the world', but less apocalyptic.

Read the full analysis over at GameDaily.com and let us know what you think.

Amazon.co.uk seem to enjoy dropping Sony's prices, even after an official price cut. Well they've done it again. For this week only you can order a 60GB PS3 from Amazon.co.uk for only £389.99. That's a saving of 35 quid. Very nice, indeed!

Does this price cut fall below your PFPT (Personal Financial Pain Threshold)? £390 does feel a lot less than £425. You've got to love Amazon for giving us a clear time limit before the deal ends. If that doesn't push the impulse buyers into parting with their cash, I don't know what will. Will you be taking advantage of the offer? Let us know.


[Via PS3 Forums]