Posts with tag price
You'd be foolish not to buy WipEout HD at $20
European price cut leaked by SCEAu Managing Director?
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]
GDC 07: UK retailers didn't want the 20GB
Some UK residents have felt angered by Sony's pricing scheme in the PAL territories. At £425 (~$820 US), European users are paying quite a lot to get a chance to PLAY B3YOND. One reason for the price hike? The government-imposed VAT, which makes up for up to 20% of the cost. "The money doesn't go to Sony," Harrison reminded.While the availability of a 20GB model would have certainly alleviated some financial pressures on European buyers, it simply wasn't possible: retailers said they only wanted 60GB versions. Considering the numerous retail schemes that have popped up in Europe, color me unsurprised.
PlayStation 3 game prices revealed from Best Buy
That's right boys and girls, Best Buy Canada is touting bold game prices on their website. For the ripe price of $74.99, these jokers don't come cheap. But if you thought the next-generation of gaming was going to cost you anything less than an arm or a leg, you might as well dust off your cartridges.Does this really come as a surprise though? With a console as steep as the PlayStation 3, it'd be naive to think the games would be bargain-priced. As much as I'd like to say "Keep your eyes out for an amended page" or be wary of the current costs, we may be kidding ourselves thinking that next-gen games are going to be anything cheaper than 75 bucks a pop.
Denmark says: quit yer whinin', USA!
Whoa! According to an article at DigitalBattle, Denmark really must be annoyed at the American complaints about the PS3. Reservations for the system are costing the American equivalent of $854 and $683, depending on which SKU you choose. The lower costing SKU is the same price as the initial price of the PS2 in Denmark. Something's rotten in the state of Denmark, indeed.Games are also not spared. 360 games go for $80 and PS3 titles are rumored to extend past $100. Ouch, guys. Ouch. No more hating the USA release price. We have no place to complain, do we?
[Kudos to Armin for this tidbit!]
The future-proof risk takers talk total potential
Here's some more quote cud to chew on, this time from CEO Howard Stringer. The big boss has admitted that they're taking a pretty big gamble with the price of the new console, but if the full potential is realized then the console will essentially be "future-proof" while kickin' around for years to come.The "total potential" is the key point to that issue. The only way we're going to see the full potential lived up in the console is if third-party developers can push the hardware as far as they can (and how about some more innovation while we're at it?). Of course the more complicated the system becomes, the harder that's going to be. But once that happens, fans might be echoing his sentiments of the competition: "I don't think anyone will be worried about Nintendo or Xbox's cheaper price." We'll see!
The price ceiling for PS3 games is under construction
Nothing in life is free and if 'Fun' had a price, then recent videogames are out to bankrupt you. I mean what with the cheaper medium of CDs and all, who can blame them for charging upwards of 60 bucks for a single game? Okay, sarcasm aside, there's probably a small army of people out there who are ready to hear something official about the pricing of the PlayStation 3's titles.Our favorite talking bobble head Kaz Hirai is at the presses again spreading the gospel. This time he's finally said something about the game pricing of the next-gen console. "I think it would be a bit of a stretch to think that we could suddenly turn around and say 'PS3 games now $99.99,'" he said to PSM. "So, if it becomes a bit higher than fifty-nine bucks don't ding me, but, again, as I said, I don't expect it to be a hundred bucks."
So it's a "stretch", but we shouldn't expect a three-figure price point for those nifty new Blu-ray games... yet. Actually when you get down to it, what he's saying is that the titles won't be less than $59 or more than $100, while keeping their distance from the latter. They've got such an uphill battle with just the price of the console that I really don't think Sony would have the cojones to push the games to, say, $69.99 or more. Then again, Sony likes to surprise us. But seriously, how much are YOU willing to pay for next-gen games?
Reminder: Vote on Blu-ray and the PS3!
Here's a friendly reminder to check out the poll asking "What do you think about the PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray?" We have had over a thousand people cast their thoughts. Can you guess what the popular choice is?The results may surprise you (or at least a certain audience). Visit the link to see the results up to this point and vote if you haven't already done so. We'll be closing the poll at the end of this week, so hop to it. Another reminder: it's not quite scientifically indicative yet... but we're working on it.
Phil Harrison speaks on reactions and controllers
It's been a month since the ubergeek gathering at E3, but people are still interested in collecting the opinions of Sony's showing. One such interview tries to pry into the mind of Phil Harrison in an attempt to find out his thoughts on the public's reaction to the show and the controller.When asked why he thought people came out of the press conference less enthused than last year, he said "I guess, um, when something is new and exciting and heard for the first time, that elicits a certain reaction emotionally." Yeah, $600 tends to evoke that kind of emotional reaction. Mr. Harrison spoke about how people are reacting to the console and how the "PlayStation 3 is kind of laid out for everybody to see."
From Blu-ray to the controller, there are a lot of people who see these parts laid out and call them controversial. On the heels of the latter, he says "... what I think we've done quite cleverly is combine this industry-standard controller with the motion-sensing technology." No one is going to argue with that. What everyone really wants to know is how they're going to implement it. Check out the interview for more answers.
PS3 pricing approaching danger zone?
[insert Top Gun joke here]
Effectu has posed the most obvious of questions. Will the pricing of the PS3 ultimately doom the console to failure? It's true that a console's worth is mostly defined by its games, which has proven to equal great success for the company in the past. So is something like a high price tag going to be the flaw in Sony's armor?
More growing concerns over PS3 hardware?
It's not hard to connect the dots or figure out how all this started, but Sony's flagship console (the newest version at least) has started to become the system everyone loves to rail on.
Take this latest article for example. According to the author's source, Sony is having some major problems with their hardware before manufacturing has even started. We're not talking malfunctions or anything either. Apparently the specs are not very pretty.
For starters, the Cell processor has some major disparity in the memory performance. Speaking in terms of local memory, which is very crucial, the Cell can only Read 16MB/s while its Write speed is 4GB/s! The picture from the slide speaks for itself ("no this isn't a typo..."). So what does all this mean? Here's what the author had to say: "Someone screwed up so badly it looks like it will relegate the console to second place behind the 360." Keep in mind where this is coming from, and make up your own decision after reading it with a critical eye.
[Thanks, Joe]
The salvation or scourge of Sony?
Here's another great article outlining the perspective of the PlayStation 3 being Sony's saving grace or big stink.Ever since E3, critics and fans alike have been a little edgy about the company's strategy for the next-gen console. But we've said it before and it's worth mentioning again: the PS3 is poised to become Sony's cornerstone for their consumer electronics market. It's a do-or-die scenario for them.
The write-up mentions that certain analysts are placing the total cost of the system at $715 or more. This means that by the end of year, Sony could lose $1 billion, just on the hardware. But they want gamers to want this system. If they can heckle the console into people's homes, Blu-ray is in. But these are still gamers we're talking about, and some of them may not be too keen on all the bells and whistles; just the games.
Europeans to get steeper next-gen prices
Sorry European gamers, it looks like you'll be getting the short end of the stick yet again.Atari has dropped the skinny about the pricing of some next-gen titles slated for Europe, and it doesn't look pretty. These higher costs probably won't bode well with gamers, but it wouldn't be a shocker to see similar price hikes all around the market. So just how much will Europeans have to pay?
Sonic the Hedgehog on PS3 will be available for around 68 euros (that translates to about $87!). World Snooker Championship 2007 is even higher at 73.99 euros, or almost $95. If you thought that the console alone was going to run you up a pretty penny, then you better keep saving because it looks like the games are going to be a steep investment too.
The great PlayStation 3 gamble
Here's a very interesting analysis of why Sony has to take the PS3 to the bank, or go down in flames trying. With Sony having been king of the games industry for so long, they are having to pay heavy to keep that position. Yes, they are behind a year. And yes, the price of the console is causing some unrest.Even so, the success of the console will dictate a huge direction for the company for several reasons.
The most basic economical concept they're dealing with is loss and profit. Sony will be spending millions of dollars trying to market and sell this system at a price that will hurt them in the beginning, but hopefully pull them through later. Should the PS3 take off with consumers, it will enable Sony to produce Blu-ray components and the Cell chip with greater efficiency. This is a huge step because the PlayStation 3 is also their entry into the next-gen DVD war. And with the Cell processor poised to be the cornerstone for other Sony consumer electronics, the success of this upcoming console is a do-or-die scenario.
Clearly it is not all about the games anymore.
Research firm says PS3 prices may be damaging
There's not a whole lot you can say about Sony and the PS3 prices that hasn't already been said since E3. Gamers know it's expensive, and we also know why.But ABI Research has come out saying that they believe this pricing scheme could ultimately hurt them, and possibly even knock the company from its cozy throne in the video game market. "Sony's console pricing strategy is fraught with risk, and may ultimately jeopardize its market leadership position," they concluded.
They beg to differ, though. With Blu-ray being the coup de grâce, gamers are going to need to ask themselves if they're willing to pay so much for the next-gen media player. The PlayStation 3 isn't just a gaming console, and the price reflects that. Whether this move is good or bad for Sony has yet to be seen. We'll know soon enough.
