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PlayStation 3 to Sell For $399, Going Underground
Merrill Lynch Japan has conducted research that indicates that the PlayStation 3 will retail for $399. According to Gamespot's coverage of the paper, the unit will cost $494 to manufacture. Sony will thus be taking an almost $1 Billion loss in the first year of the PS3's lifespan. From the article: "It is normal for game companies to take a loss on hardware whenever a new console launches, since they typically focus on acquiring market share rather than generating a profit during the first year. During the second year and afterward, they can recover the losses with the savings that come from mass production and with licensing fees from publishers." Meanwhile, Press the Buttons is reporting on a Pro-G article in which SCEE Chief David Reeves states that "I feel proud that E3 went well from the presentations that they did...I feel very happy about that, but I told the troops: OK now we go underground. The PS3 goes underground until it comes out next year."
The price includes no hard drive and no Linux.
Sony recommends that you purchase the 10GB SonyDrive with MagicGate for $299 more. You can install SonyLinux, and only SonyLinux, for $49 on top of that.
You'll also need a television capable of HDMI in, which'll run you at least $1,000. Anything less will not be able to capture the level of reality that Sony brings you.
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Buy a computer! It'll do a lot more than a game console.
This is exactly what is going on, and no one else seems to have mentioned it. Everyone knows that the much touted Killzone demo was a complete fake, and in addition, recent articles have been surfacing that completely contradict some of the outlandish things Sony has been promising. Same thing happened before PS2 came out, but gamers ate up every word marketing said. This time around, people seem a bit more wary of Sony's claims. I haven't seen one damn thing that was REAL to get me excited about Sony's new console. I think Sony realizes this and is engaging in damage control as we speak. They simply don't have shit to show but instead of coming out and saying that, we get great PR spin like "Sony is taking the PS3 underground." The term nicely coincides with their disc demo magazine thing called Playstation Underground which simply enhances the marketability of what they're saying. I can just hear all the fanboys already. "COOOOOL! Underground! Sony Rules!" In reality Sony is just buying time until they can actually get something tangible ready that comes close to meeting some of the expectations they have fostered.
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"