PS3 Fanboy

Video game retailer GameStop recently held a conference call to discuss its corporate earnings. In it, GameStop noted that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are bound for a price cut some time this year. They're predicting a $50 price cut for both machines (the PS3 would start at $349 if this prediction comes true). However, GameDaily notes that "they did not get that information from the manufacturers, however; it's merely the retailer's educated guess."

Price drops are a regularity in the industry, and we think the PS3 is due for one this year as well. An increasingly attractive software lineup coupled with a price drop is certain to boost Sony's install base.

Ars Technica has their very own mole, who they say is very good at what he does. Looks like he dug up some interesting stuff on Sony's plan for the holiday season. The rumor is as follows: the 80GB PS3 falls to $499.99, and a brand new 40GB PS3 is offered at $399.99.

Analysts have predicted the 80GB price drop before. As for this 40GB model, we've had a few tip offs that it might be in the works. In addition, the mole adds that Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray may be packed in with one or both of the bundles, and the PS2 drops to $99.99. Of course, these are merely rumors, so don't hold your breath while waiting for lower priced PS3s. We expect to find out more at Tokyo Game Show.

[via Digg]

It's time once again to look into the future. That's right, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, all the way to the year 2008! And what does he see? He says that we should "expect a price cut no later than April, likely to $399 for the 80Gb model" of the PS3.

This would be a $100 price drop on top of the already slashed $499 price he predicted for the holiday season. Pachter believes that Sony's recent IPO announcement, will enable Sony to drop prices even further for early next year. And hopefully, just in time for Metal Gear Solid 4.

[via Joystiq]

We can't say we didn't expect it, let alone haven't heard it before and probably had some report on it a while back. Once again, those number-crunching-guessing analysts are setting up consumers for one of two things: an expected result or disappointment. There are no pleasant surprises anymore, huh? Anyway, Wedbush Morgan's own Michael Pachter and simExchange's Jesse Divnich came out of the forest to proclaim the 60GB model PS3 will vanish by the holidays and the 80GB model will fully replace it -- price and all. Yep, they sense Sony will lower the 80GB model to $499 and keep it there.

Other sales boosts, the two say, could come in the form of more software bundles and Jesse Divnich is "confident that through the coming months, Sony will make the correct decisions to prevent the gap between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 to widen." Pachter chimes in also with the idea that in early 2008, Sony may be prepared to cut the price of their console again. We don't think we'll see another $100 price drop, but if one does happen, we bet it'd be about $50. That's our analysis, what's yours?

During a conference call detailing their second quarter earnings, GameStop executives confirmed that PS3 sales have increased by two-fold since the price cut. Not only that, they mentioned that the PS3's increased sell-through rate has held steady in the weeks since the price cut and that they expect the sales to continue doing well with the release of high-profile PS3 games coming out soon.

Hopefully those 60GB PS3s won't run out anytime soon, because consumers sure seem to dig that $499 price point. Even with games like Warhawk and Heavenly Sword coming out, it's not hard to see the PS3's sales go south again if the price jumped back up to $599.

So have you picked up a PS3 since the price cut?

[Via N4G]

Everybody's favorite analyst, Michael Pachter, has weighed in once again on his favorite topic -- PlayStation 3 price drops. According to Pachter, it is unlikely that Sony will drop the price of the PS3 again this year even though higher-than-previous console costs will constrain new console growth by approximately 10% compared to last cycle. He does feel that Sony will look at dropping the price early next year though, just in time to spur sales of the console for major hitters like Metal Gear Solid 4 and GTA IV.

The PlayStation 3 wasn't the only console that got love though, Pachter also said that he thinks it's likely that Sony will drop the price of the PlayStation 2 before this holiday season in order to further propel sells of the Energizer of videogame consoles. The PS3's diminutive daddy continues to sell at a fantastic rate and a price cut down to $99 would help maintain or even increase the sales rate of the 'last-gen' console. Continued strong sales of the PlayStation 2 would also help prop up Sony's game devision while the PS3 continues it's slow ramp-up towards profitability.

The chief marketing analyst for Japanese analysts group Enterbrain, has stated that he believes Sony Japan will follow SCEA's lead and will introduce the 80GB PS3 in Japan as well as slash the price of the current 60GB model. He feels that Sony Japan is unlikely to go the Sony Europe route and merely introduce a new bundle, but will slash the price and bring out a new SKU in response to struggling PS3 sales.

While Hot Shots Golf 5 has helped boost the sales of the PS3 by over 200% in the Land of the Rising Sun, the sales still pale in comparison to the Wii and it seems likely that Sony Japan will need to slash prices to help keep the sales spike going. Hopefully they'll take notice of the sales generated by titles like Hot Shots 5 and Ninja Gaiden: Sigma as well and realize that as important as the price of the console is, available and attractive games are really what sells a system.

[Via N4G]

Bill Gardner, CEO of Eidos Interactive, recently said that the PlayStation 3 is not, in fact, an overpriced piece of hardware, but could be sold to the mass market if a simple US $100 price drop came to fruition. We've already had one "price cut" but Gardner thinks that's not enough. "I don't think [the price cut] is enough to reach the mass consumer, but I think it is enough to get it moving again." He thinks another price cut will really start the Sony train rolling and we're not disagreeing. Lower prices generally help sell things. Unless it's that generic Wal*Mart brand soda ... that stuff is so disgusting, they need to pay you to drink it.

Gardner also says the PS3 is a good bargain for what you get -- an HD movie player as well as a game machine (among countless other uses). He offers us a challenge: "Go buy an HD or a Blu-ray player. Go ahead. Tell me what it costs you. Then take a look at the PS3." As long as it's a Blu-ray player, we agree completely. But those sinking HD DVD players are getting moderately cheap -- you just won't get to play as many movies on them.

[Update: fixed title ... damn type-happy fingers love that E]

In a recent Reuters interview, Sony president Ryoji Chubachi said, "we've announced the price cut in the US and have no additional plans beyond that at this time." Um, okay. They DID just announce the PS3 price cut two weeks ago. Dropping the price again so soon would be quite silly (at least, from a business standpoint).

Or, and this is just a crazy theory of ours, maybe he is pre-announcing another price cut, by way of saying there isn't one, when it's already planned, right around the upcoming holiday season. Stranger things have happened, but looking back at all the price cut denials before the announcement of the $100 price cut before E3 certainly makes it seem all the more plausible.

[Via GamesDigest]

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.

MaxConsole.net is reporting that they have received news of a new bundle for the European region. The "PlayStation Starter Pack" will allegedly contain a 60GB PS3, Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm and two controllers for the "no-changes-there" price of €600. Those hoping for a price drop may be disappointed. Technically. Though if you think about it, you're essentially getting the 60GB and controller for €430, after deducting the price of the games and extra controllers.

Sounds like an ok deal to us, though it doesn't help the people who just can't afford that sort of money. It might push a few fencesitters over the edge, though. We'll keep you updated with SCEE's planned announcements as and when they happen. Price information aside, we're hoping for some juicy PSN news. We've heard rumblings.

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]

It already looks like the price drop for the PlayStation 3 is having an effect on sales. After official confirmation of the price drop, sales at Amazon.com for the 60GB PS3 have spiked by 2800% and have overtaken the Wii and Guitar Hero: Rock the 80s as the best selling item in the Video Game category.

While it's hard to judge the success of the price cut in only one day, it's interesting to see how many people are snapping up the new $499 PS3. A price cut of $100 is not insignificant but the PS3 is still the most expensive console, and industry watchers were curious to see just how many people would be moved to purchase the console after a 'mere' 17% price drop.

Judging from the early evidence though, the answer is 'a lot.'

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!]

Over at Cheap Ass Gamer there is a forum regular by the name of Speedy1961 who regularly posts early pre-release leaks of ads from Circuity City, Target and Best Buy. He's been doing it a long time and appears to be extremely reliable. And he just released the information on the Circuit City ad for the week following E3 and guess what appears? The oft rumored 100 dollar price cut on the PS3.

People have been calling for a price cut since immediately after last year's E3 and their voices have reached a deafening crescendo recently, so it is by no means a big surprise that Sony would drop the price. Unfortunately, this is still going to be filed under the 'Rumor' category because of the lack of hard evidence. Some supposed scans have shown up on the net, but they're a bit dubious. Also there is confusion over whether or not this is a permanent price cut. It seems absolutely insane that it wouldn't be; a temporary price cut (one week) would just aggravate things. We'll find out next week for sure though!