Slashdot Mirror
Possible PS2 Price Portent Pondered
Londovir writes "Could Nintendo soon be sharing shelf space at the $99 rack? According to an article on IGN.com, an internal source at Target claims to have received printed fliers with the Playstation 2 listed at $99. If you remember from an earlier story from September, it was an advance newspaper ad from Target (again), as well as a leaked scan of a Wal-Mart ad, that told the world about the GameCube's price before it happened. Given how the GameCube is outselling the PS2 & XBox - would a price drop so low be so unexpected? One last tidbit to contemplate: Sony is ready to roll the manufacturing plants for their smaller 90 nanometer PS2 CPU. Maybe that price drop isn't so unbelievable after all..."
Will it include the network adapter still?
I doubt they'll feel screwed. They did get to own and use a PS2 for a year (or more?) before the price dropped so low. It's not like those people are just receiving delivery on their PS2s today.
--
RumorsDaily
1. Even if they give them away for free, I don't think I'll play on a console : I'm used to playing with a mouse + used to switch between work & play for 5 minutes of fun between hours of stress. So I'll play on my PC for quite some time to come.
Each type of system(console/PC) is strong at different types of games. RPGs and FPSs are usually best in the realm of the PC. Sports games on the other hand, I always find to be much more playable on a console. Different strokes for different folks and all that.
2. Folks who bought a PS2 at $499 must really feel screwed now. And they say Apple has large profit margins !
Not really. I got my PS2 the day they dropped to $199. I think I have had it for nearly 1.5 - 2 years now and have definitely gotten my $100 price premium out of it. On a side note, any techie who feels screwed b/c of technology price drops must never sleep a wink. Prices continually drop on computer equipment, so as long as you feel that you/b> got a good deal that is all that matters.
It's hard to see how Microsoft can get the XBox to profitability. The original game plan was that decreasing electronics costs would eventually make the XBox profitable at the original price point. But Nintendo and Sony aren't letting Microsoft maintain that price point. They've pushed the price of game consoles down from around $300 to $100. Microsoft was losing money on every unit at $300; it's worse now.
The only way Microsoft can make money with the XBox is if they achieve market dominance and pricing power. That's not happening. They've found themselves in price competition against larger competitors with lower costs, an unusual position for Microsoft.
Microsoft is trying to design a lower-priced XBox 2, which might bail them out of this hole. But that's still some time away.
If Sony does this (somehow I doubt it, although a drop to $150 wouldn't be unexpected), MS has got to drop. Imagine picking up what's essentially a computer in a box for $99.
:)
To be honest, as a geek, Xbox has become my favorite plaything. The games have started to get very good (I've been playing Panzer Dragoon and Voodoo Vince pretty much non-stop) and, when you're ready to hack the system, all the parts are there. I actually have two: one legitimate one I use on Xbox Live and another I've sacrificed for hacking. Hard drive, Intel processor, networking, nice video: card all for $100? I'll pick up another.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
Actually I think you need to get out more. I've been away from the PC and the TV for the last 8 days... LMFAO, you accuse me of not getting out enough because I don't know the latest price of a particular games console.
Somebody invited me to this 8player XBOX Halo party. It was horrible. Besides the fact I had never seen an XBOX before, my assumptions were all proved right. I played for about 30 minutes trying very hard to get used to those silly thumb pad things for rotation, but it just doesn't work. Even though I use a mouse for all PC games, I would even prefer a trackball over these weird thumb pad things on the XBOX. I seriously bet I could learn to use a trackball a lot better then the thing they come with.
That isn't even mentioning the fact that the graphics sucked compared to games I'm used to (like RTCW:ET), the 4player split screen thing was like using a 9" monitor. 8players is a LOT? I seriously dont understand what these people (friends of friends) were thinking. 64 players is a lot. 24-32 is decent. 8? what ever, 8 means 4v4 which is below the minimum for a fun game really. Don't forget the lack of buttons for binding more actions then there are buttons. When playing RTCW:ET Every single one of my keyboard buttons does something. Granted most of them are quickchat binds, still a lot of other keys are actions, guns, movement, etc.
To sum it all up, I would never even bother to get an XBOX, even if somebody gave it to me for free. The gaming experience for me just plain sucks compared to PCs. I doubt PS2 or GameCube are any different.
Morphing Software
Of course Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, F-Zero, Zelda, Soul Calibur etc. are not for adults are they?
I know the gamecube has a reputation for being a kiddie system, but it simply is not the case. I can remember clearly at launch and for the several months afterward that there were no 'kiddie' games. In fact, a quick look at the PS2 lineup will find hundreds of kiddie games, many of them worthless.
If you still think its kiddie, go pick up Resident Evil 4 for GameCube (the new one coming out soon) and tell me you aint scared.
GCN selling at $99 is putting it as a temporary loss. Nintendo is not losing too much money to make it a dangerous thing, in fact, they could make it profitable again in the next manufacturing round.
.18 micron process and that can be dramatically improved now.
.09 micron console so easily. Microsoft OTOH has not been able to make the Xbox much cheaper, they were supposed to show an "Xbox-lite" smaller console this year at E3, but the event came and went without any sign of it. Still, Sony and Microsoft may need to follow suit, if only to keep sales strong.
The GCN was designed from the very beginning as a low-price machine. The ATI and IBM chips are very well integrated and have a lot of room for costs reduction. At the time of launch, they were still made using a
Many regarded the GCN's production halt as a sign of weakness, but this has been a normal move since the first NES. I can certainly see a more integrated GCN motherboard (can the thing be even better? It's already incredibly tiny and simple), maybe even putting everything on one die, just what ultimately happened with the SNES. Slashing costs even further is possible because the TSOP technology used is far chesper now than in 2000 when the GCN's spec was frozen.
For Nintendo, this is something they had planned for so long and it's finally paying off. But Sony and Microsoft have much more to lose if their price point got to that low level.
Sony just launched the SCPH-50000 model a few months ago, so I don't think they can roll out a
This Christmas season suddenly seems a lot more interesting and leaves me wondering about the next one... Historically these price drops happen only when the next consoles are around the corner, which is definitely not the case here.
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!
64 players is a lot. 24-32 is decent.
How do you expect to fit 32 players into a room in a single-family residence? How do you expect to have players' parents approve of disconnecting their consoles and TVs and LANning up? Oh, you mean Internet play? Many areas are still not wired for residential high-speed Internet access, and satellite still has too much latency for real-time gaming. (Civ and Tetrinet are turn based so they don't count.) Even in areas wired for broadband, most minor children's allowances are not large enough to afford upwards of $400 per year for broadband.
Will I retire or break 10K?
How in the PS2 now? Almost 3 years old (In the US). Based on previous game consoles, that means the PS2 is nearing the average lifetime of a console (which is about 3~5 years).
Regardless of sales and the numbers game, Sony is under pressure to continue the impression that they're dominating the market. The gaming industry may be big business, but as it is the gaming industry is a harsh, demanding market with little room for failures or mistakes. (Sega being the biggest example) If Sony was to lose footing due to the PS2's weak hardware (expansions don't really count) and fails to bring the PS3 out in time to compete, Sony will be in huge trouble.
Christmas will be here in less than 3 months. What more can I say?
Like This?