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Sony Drops PS2 Price to $129
Conradq writes "Effective immediately, consumers can purchase the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $129.99. Previously the console was priced at $149. The company opted for a subtle reduction in price ahead of this years E3, instead of a more dramatic $99 drop."
But Mario and Tony's Black Van Emporium has been selling these suckers for $50 a pop. Sure, you can't take it back for service, but at that price, you just buy a new one when the old one breaks.
What I would like to see is Free as in Speech PS2s. Downloadable over the net, and fully compatible with all existing home appliances and operating systems.
Is that so much to ask?
With the GameCube already below that price, and with all the next gen consoles coming out right now, staying above $100.00 is stupid. It's too much money for a platform that is going to be abandoned within a year. We've already seen a dramatic drop in current-gen sales as everyone is waiting for their next-gen console of choice.
Considering how old the PS2 is now, and how little life it has left in it, this just serves as further proof that Sony is out of touch with the US market. It bodes ill for what they will end up doing with the PS3. Nothing will kill Sony faster than a next-gen console that retails at the core package for $400-500 (and probably considerably more for the Ultimate pack that includes such peripherals as game pads, the power cord and maybe a drive to read the discs.)
Actually, anyone really serious about picking up a PS2 nowadays need only hold out until the PS3 release, and the resulting flooding of the used PS2 market.
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Looking back at the PS2 over the past six years it is staggering just how good Sony is.
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Sony and the PS2 has a chance of hitting 115-120 million by the time the system goes out of production in the next few years. The PS2 will most likely sell more units starting this year until the system goes out of production in the next few years than either the GameCube or Xbox did over their entire lifetimes.
The PS2 is a technological masterpiece. The PS2 hardware was pretty much finalized back in 1997 and just look at the new God of War 2 footage from GDC:
http://youtube.com/results?search=god+of+war+2&se
No wonder Sony's six year old console has been outselling Microsoft's new console by a wide margin in all three regions and this is before the price drop.
You figured out the meaning, right? Let it go.
With the GameCube already below that price, and with all the next gen consoles coming out right now, staying above $100.00 is stupid.
Even with all the other platforms coming out PS2 STILL outsells all the other consoles even at the more expensive $150 price point? Remember, Sony can drop the price of PS2 again at the drop of a hat, but you can never go back UP in price.
While it would be nice if the PS2 dropped to $99, there's no reason for Sony to cut that price if they are still selling like crazy. Might as well maximize that profit while you can!
Do you think when the PS3 comes out the same will happen on Ebay like it did when the Xbox360 came out? Remember the thousands of auctions where people were willing to pay thousands for an Xbox360? I wonder if the next time a next-gen console comes out if the same thing will happen. I've heard plenty of people saying they plan to pre-order 2 or 3 PS3s in hopes to double or triple their money on Ebay. I guess we'll see.
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That's a shame. I'd actually buy one for $50. Guess I'll be waiting to see used prices after the PS3 comes out.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
I think those with complaints about the price are just thinking about what they would spend. The right price is what people will pay for it. And I guarantee someone paid $149 for a new PS2 console yesterday. In fact, thousands probably did. So $129 is just the new price that Sony thinks will spur MORE sales. I think anyone who has waited this long for a PS2 should thank the 101 million other people who bought them before today because that is why the price is where its at today. Its good for the industry to have this price reduction.
And about the PS3, it would be great if it came out at $299, but its not likely because the components will probably cost more like $375 at first, so the right price is again what people will pay for it (which will be set by where Sony decides to price it anyways...) Now lets step back and be honest for a minute, if the PS3 came out at $199 would you jump up and down and get excited and run out and buy one or would you just say '$199! It must be crap!' I think this is the connundrum Nintendo is in after the last console round. Part of me wants to see the Revolution come in at $299 just so people won't complain that its price is an indicator that its no good.
I'd be happy if Microsoft at least responded by shipping more $149.99 systems.
AFAIK if you want a new Xbox (at least in the U.S.), you have to buy the $179.99 Forza bundle. (Which is a complete rip-off considering you can get Forza for less than $30 on its own)
A lot of other people will probably have their own reasons... even if the PS3 is PS2-compat, you can use the second PS2 for a networked multiplayer stuff you're used to, or whatever.
Since the price of the PS2 will likely drop to $99 or less, there's a certain saturation point for sellback, too... if everyone is selling and no one is buying (since they either already have a PS3 or PS2), then you will get almost nothing for trading it in, thus slowing trade-ins.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
They're sitting back and raking in profits. People keep buying them, even at $149.
Considering how old the PS2 is now, and how little life it has left in it, this just serves as further proof that Sony is out of touch with the US market.
Considering sales, and the similar situation they had when the PSOne came out, it's clear that they're well in touch with the US market. PS2 is still outselling the Xbox360, and there's no reason to expect that it will stop any time between now and when the 360 exits the market.
The day the 360 came out, the original Xbox was dead. A big 'Fuck You' to everybody who purchased one in the last two years, simply because Microsoft was too stupid to figure out how to make a profit on the hardware over the long term. Buy a Microsoft console, and you get an average of 3 years of service out of the platform. Buy a Sony console and get an average of 10 years... You think parents don't see that when they buy a console for their kids?
In a related note: God of War is a cheap "Greatest Hits" Game now. I picked it up last week with Devil May Cry 3 for $15 each. This is the kind of progress I like to see.
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Yes Price drops in USA but not in rip off UK. As usual Sony continues to keep UK and Europe out in the cold.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4927950.stm
Staggered launch with almost a year behind for PSP in the UK
Root Kits.
and now we get 2nd service on price differences..
I hope they fail miserably with Blu Ray
I seem to remember a day when game systems (among other things technological) would drop in price according to when the seller chose, not by decree of the manufacturer. What on earth happened? How are Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo and other manufacturers allowed to prevent retailers from determining their own pricing?