In spite of Xbox 360's upcoming price drop, expected to be officially announced during Monday's E3 keynote, Sony is insisting that they will not reduce the price of the PS3. Over recent weeks, executives from the company have continued reiterating the same mantra: Sony's new focus is on profitability, and reducing the price of the loss-leading PS3 is not on their agenda. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda told investors at a Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."
When Microsoft's price cut goes into effect, the cheapest PS3 model will be $100 more expensive than the Xbox 360. Will this lower ever-increasing PS3 sales? Or will the value proposition of the included Blu-ray drive, free access to PSN, and growing number of exclusives, maintain PS3's current momentum?
Yesterday, Microsoft surprised the games industry with a significant price cut in the European territories. Our own UK-based writer, Jem Alexander, noted that the price drop was "tempting." (However, he still hasn't given in to buying a 360!)
Strategy Analysts' principal analyst, David Mercer, commented on the situation. He believes that this will force Sony to play a price cut of its own in the territory: "Sony will be nervous that the PS3's recent sales surge may fizzle out now that the premium Xbox 360 undercuts the PS3 by £40, and the cheapest Xbox model is almost half the price of a PS3."
The PlayStation brand is exceedingly strong in Europe, and is one of the most crucial territories for Sony in this generation of the console war. We believe that Sony's not going to take Microsoft's price drop lightly.
Posted Oct 18th 2007 9:00PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
What's strange about this image? If you're Canadian, you may have noticed that you're paying the same as your American brethren. Sony is the first of the major three console makers to release a system in the territory that matches the American price. Traditionally, the US dollar has been much stronger than the Canadian. Thus, console manufacturers usually inflated the cost of Canadian consoles accordingly.
However, the Canadian dollar is now stronger than the US dollar. Shouldn't the inflation stop? Unfortunately, other console manufacturers haven't responded quite yet. The Nintendo Wii retails for $289 in Canada, $30 more than in the US. The Xbox 360 Elite retails for $499, $50 more than in the US.
Thanks to Sony for recognizing the changing global economy. They slashed the Canadian PS3 by $160 to account for the currency conversion. Now, Canadians -- go buy yourself a PS3.
Bet you didn't see this coming. We certainly didn't (that's sarcasm, by the way). SCEA have now confirmed that the 40GB PS3 will be coming to America for only $400 on November the 2nd. Not only that, but the 80GB model with have its price slashed from $600 to $500.
Of course, the 40GB will "suffer" the same "drawbacks" as it does in Europe and Japan. Namely, a lack of backwards compatability, fewer USB ports and no memory card readers. Expect a surge in the sales of the 80GB system. We're just confused as to why Sony is waiting until November 2nd to get this launched. It's almost been out for a week over in Europe.
[Update 1: Price-reduced 80GB systems are now available at GameStop. Also available at amazon.com] [Update 2: Images of the 40GB box have been uploaded. Check past the break.]
Posted Oct 16th 2007 2:45PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Take this as even further confirmation that the 40GB PS3 is coming. Scheduled to be in stock on 10/28, the new PS3 is ringing up at a nice $399.99. Add a Spider-man 3 Blu-ray disc, remove PS2 support, and you have one of the least surprising price drops ever. Sony won't "officially" announce this yet, of course -- there's just too many 60GB systems lying around.
Posted Oct 16th 2007 8:45AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
And the price drop is the cause. Since releasing the 40GB model and reducing the price of the 60GB one, sales have skyrocketed, besting even the Xbox 360. However, the PS3 was unable to trounce upon the sales leaders, Wii and DS.
With the recent surge in popularity of the PS3, games like Resistance have been climbing up the all formats chart. Insomniac's year-old FPS is now the eight best selling game in the territory.
Posted Oct 15th 2007 9:45AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Click for high-res image.
Just like before, the signs are becoming clear: the 40GB PS3 is making its way to America ... soon. Model 98006, or "PS3 40GB Spider-," can be found in the computer databases of Sony's store.Supposedly the system will be in stock on October 28th and will be on sale on November 2nd. We think everyone can make a pretty safe guess as to what movie will be bundled with the system based on the description. The system will retail for $400, as predicted by the internet community. We'll have to wait for Sony to provide confirmation -- which we don't think is too far away at this point.
Japan always have it slightly better, right? First the FFVII Crisis Core PSP, then the early DualShock 3 release and now Japan is getting the 40GB and a price drop on the 20GB (they still make those?) and 60GB models. So what's new? Europe is getting the same thing, right? Wrong - Japan is getting a new PS3 colour for the 40GB model as well as matching Dualshock 3 controllers. The new 40GB PS3s and controllers (all in Clear Black and Ceramic White) will be available on November 11th, about a month after the European release, and will sell for 39,980 yen (around 340 dollars or 240 euros). The Dualshock 3s will not be bundled with the console but will be available for 5,500 yen each (about 33 euros or 47 dollars).
In addition to this, effective October 17th the 20GB and 60GB models will be dropping price to 44,980 yen (about 384 dollars or 273 euros) and 54,980 yen (about 334 euros or 469 dollars) respectively. They will also be eligible for a free copy of Spider-Man 3 on Blu Ray for the first 200,000 purchasers, as will the 40GB once it is released. With price drops of about 5,000 yen across the board, and the inclusion of a new budget system, Sony really seem to be pushing forward through this holiday season.
If you're disappointed about not getting rumble until next year, or you just want a white controller, then don't fret. Most of this year's new games will have rumble out of the box so feel free to import the controllers from Japan.
"We're hearing Nov. 2 (for the U.S.)," said one industry source, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Immediately after SCEE's bizarre announcement of the 40GB system in European territories, many are awaiting SCEA''s announcement of the same. The 40GB system will retail for significantly less than current PS3 models, most likely dropping down to the $399 price point. However, it will lose 2 USB ports, memory card readers, and will also lose any support for PS2 games.
Gamestore Magazine reports that the 40GB PS3 will be available for purchase next week, October 10th, in Italy. There will be a choice of two systems: a basic 40GB for €399, or a bundle which includes two games and an extra controller for €499.
Either this is one rumor that simply refuses to die, or this is one of Sony's worst-kept secrets ever. The 40GB debacle seems to continue every day (in spite of Sony's denial of a "big bang" announcement) -- stay tuned for more.
The documents also reveal the new model will come packaged with the Spiderman 3 Blu-ray and has an "In Stock Date" of Oct. 28. However, the console's actual release date was not filled in, so we don't know exactly when it will be available to the public, but the newly rumored Nov. 16 release date is certainly possible.
At this point, we can't wait for Sony's supposed Oct. 12 "big bang" announcement to see if there are any more tricks up its sleeve.
The $399 PS3 "rumor" won't go away. And for good reason, too. The evidence clearly shows that something is going to happen ... soon. While most rumors from "industry insiders" we'll shrug off, this one from ars technica has caught our attention. Why? Well, ars technica is certainly far more reliable than some other rumor-mongering websites.
According to the report, a new $399 PS3 will be available on or before November 16th. This is part of the crucial holiday buying season, and a $399 PS3 will be far more attractive than the current $499 60GB model. In fact, some may argue it would be approximately 20% more attractive to the average consumer.
It won't be too long before we find out the truth. Stay tuned.
Posted Sep 28th 2007 3:15PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Wal-Mart Canada is having an "Anniversary Sale" and one of the more notable sale items is the 80GB PS3 bundle. DailyTech is reporting that the 80GB system is dropping to $550 CAD, which is the same as the current price of the 60GB. According to the report, many Wal-Mart stores are already out of their 60GB inventory, and only have 80GB systems left to sell.
Another price drop would fall in line with analyst expectations. With 60GB PS3s available only while supplies last, it'll be interesting to see what Sony will offer in its stead.
The rumors of Sony's mythical 40GB PS3 have been swirling aroundalmost as fast as Lyndsay Lohan ruining her career, but until now, we haven't had any hard proof of the former. A recent Sony FCC filing suggests a new PS3 model, designated CECHG01, is coming, despite the company's recent denials.
Unlike what previous stories suggested, it looks like Wi-Fi and USB ports will remain in this new model, but there wasn't any information on the size of its hard drive, which I'm sure the ladies are just dying to know.
If Sony can keep everything inside the PS3 that makes it so great, but drop the hard drive down a bit and hit the more consumer-friendly price tag of $399, it could find that audience who has been reluctant to join the Sony Army.
In a (not very) surprise revelation Sky, the British broadcasting supplier, has stated that they expect the fabled 40GB PS3 to be announced this week. They claim that this new model will lack several features of the 60GB/80GB such as backwards compatability (both hardware and software emulation) as well as USB ports. We're more inclined to believe that WiFi would be removed before USBs as some games will require them. Imagine if people lured into buying a new PS3 at a lower price weren't able to play games like Guitar Hero III, Rock Band or anything involving the PlayStation Eye.
The price is still rumoured to be at $399, which we've always said would make an excellent low-end price for the system. Elsewhere reports are coming in that the UK will be receiving this new SKU as well and that it will sell for £299. Though all of this information is still classified as heavily rumoured, CVG has been told by multiple sources that Sony will introduce the 40GB model in Great Britain (and, presumably, the rest of Europe) at this price, which makes it around the same price as an Xbox 360 Elite.
To cap off today's rumour-fest, Sony was touted to make these announcements at Tokyo Game Show (which didn't happen) or early this week. We'll let you know what happens.
Yesterday, Microsoft surprised the games industry with a significant price cut in the European territories. Our own UK-based writer, Jem Alexander, noted that the price drop was "tempting." (However, he still hasn't given in to buying a 360!)
Gamestore Magazine reports that the 40GB PS3 will be available for purchase next week, October 10th, in Italy. There will be a choice of two systems: a basic 40GB for €399, or a bundle which includes two games and an extra controller for €499.
The $399 PS3 "rumor" won't go away. And for good reason, too. The evidence clearly shows that something is going to happen ... soon. While most rumors from "industry insiders" we'll shrug off, this one from ars technica has caught our attention. Why? Well, ars technica is certainly far more reliable than some other rumor-mongering websites.
Wal-Mart Canada is having an "Anniversary Sale" and one of the more notable sale items is the 80GB PS3 bundle. DailyTech is reporting that the 80GB system is dropping to $550 CAD, which is the same as the current price of the 60GB. According to the report, many Wal-Mart stores are already out of their 60GB inventory, and only have 80GB systems left to sell.
In a (not very) surprise revelation Sky, the British broadcasting supplier, has stated that they expect the fabled 40GB PS3 to be announced this week. They claim that this new model will lack several features of the 60GB/80GB such as backwards compatability (both hardware and software emulation) as well as USB ports. We're more inclined to believe that WiFi would be removed before USBs as some games will require them. Imagine if people lured into buying a new PS3 at a lower price weren't able to play games like Guitar Hero III, Rock Band or anything involving the PlayStation Eye. 
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