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PS3 Assembly Starts End of September, Most High-End
GameDailyBiz is reporting that Sony has announced further details on the PS3 assembly process. Final assembly will apparently begin at the end of this month, with some 400K units planned for the November 17th launch. They're promising another 800,000 units by the end of the year. From that article: "Although Sony will have shipped only 2.4 million units worldwide in 2006 (as opposed to their initial forecast of 4 million), the company still believes it will hit its goal of 6 million shipped through next March. Sony said that monthly PS3 production will be ramped up to 1.2 million units in January when the Blu-ray laser supplies are expected to improve." Gamespot has further analysis, stating that the split will be about 80/20, favoring the higher-end model over the lower-end model. That is, most of the units at launch should be the $600 model with the HDMI port.
I'm guessing more in the range of $700-$800 because retailers will probably force bundled packages on us like they did with the XBOX 360 when it came out. And more likely so since this will be coming out right at the start of the holiday shopping season. It's going to be on many peoples shopping lists and people will pay those prices because someone on their list will be wanting one.
Sure, and the next thing you'll tell me is that Duke Nukem Forever will be ready for Christmas.
Oh wait, they're planning on selling out, touting how it's a huge success even with the high price, and will happily ignore the lack of good launch titles.
Doesn't sound like they're really trying to match demand; just hype it to death. Which is good for people planning on selling on eBay, I suppose. At least seeing the system sell for $700 won't seem like such a huge profit this time around.
If Wikipedia is right and by the end of 2006 only ten percent of American's TVs are expected to be HDTVs, wouldn't it be wiser to switch those numbers around and have 20% high end, 80% "low" end? Is Japan's HDTV adaption rate really that much more than the US'? Am I missing something about what the $600 version offers that makes it much more interesting than the $500 besides the HDMI port?
Demented But Determined.
I am sure that the slashbots will turn this into a negative somehow..
This is not a suprise, Sony did this with the PS2 and guess what... it worked for them.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
<More Dead Horse Beating>
I can't help but wonder if their sales are going to suffer after their Root Kit shenanigans
</More Dead Horse Beating>
Oh god, that woman is John Romero!
I had a small fortune on me right now. I'd pre-order so many of them and make a GIANT killing on E-bay. Every pay attention on launch date how many PS3's instantly get put up even before they're bought. I expect these people that do this to easily pull in double they paid for each console.
The premium version also boasts a larger hard-drive.
The 80/20 convention is still probably the right idea, since it's the early adopters that are most willing to buy a console at launch. They're probably much more likely to own an HDTV, over the general public. Furthermore, even if they don't have an HDTV, the mindset of an early adopter is to "future-proof" themselves and get the console with the most features, even if they may not use them all yet. It may be costly to upgrade later. And finally, there's the general fanboy opinion that the core version of any console is the "sucky one" and anyone who got suckered into buying is a "n00b". So there's that to consider as well.
In fact, one of the complaints with the 360 launch is that there were too many Core systems created, instead of Premium ones. People were very much willing to fork over the extra $100 for the Premium one (especially since it had an HD and the Core did not), but were forced to get the Core. It's never a good thing when you force your customers to spend less than they want to.
-- jchenx
I'm not too fond about Manufacturing processes for Electronic Equipment other than lighting products. Does anyone have any experience of their company being able to successfully ship out so many units with in a one month deadline?
If so, what was the projected returned products and the actual returned products?
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
Timeline of Doom
I remember that in previous PS3 threads whenever someone would say the PS3 cost $600, someone would always post and say "nuh-uh, most gamers will only need the $500 version!"
Well, it looks like most gamers will be stuck with the $600 version, need it or not!
Although it's probably actually a good move for launch. They can't possibly meet demand with only 500,000 PS3s at launch, so charging as much as possible makes sense.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
What's with those numbers, 400K at launch and 800K more by the end of 06? How does that add up to 2.4 million out of the promised 4 million? Oh splitting the markets makes it sound better.
Assuming that the disparity of 1 million units accounts for the Japanese market(since the European launch has been delayed), they've managed to allude nicely so that it almost looks like they haven't completely failed their build plan. Perhaps they're hoping the price difference will keep store shelves stocked this season instead of doing it the way that benefits consumers.
Explode?...
Uh oh.
Either someone has their numbers wrong, or Sony is planning to have an extra 100K units available by the end of November. Either way, this means there will be even less units than recently stated, which was also less units than previously promised.
Sony should just hurry up and use a shotgun on their foot instead of a pistol. At least, if they are shipping more units in November but after launch, this is better than the 360, where they didn't send out additional shipments for a few weeks after initial release.
There's nothing like a tight supply to get the ebay vultures circling. I suspect the actual cost for the first few thousand units will be in the $1200-1500 range. Sadly, there are enough people out there who will feed the ebay scum.
Can you imagine what a Tickle Me Elmo would go for today (ex if it had happend in 2006 vs 1996), give then hype that surrounded it back then combined with the insane market that is ebay?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
10% of every televisions... was an HDTV = 10% of all televisions... were HDTVs.
If you think I'm not going to try and rape some moron-with-too-much-money early adopter for $10k+ on eBay for the bundle I pay $800 for at retail, you're kidding yourself. I'm putting a nice downpayment on a new car with my PS3. It's certainly not something I'd buy for the games.
I already have a Nintendo DS for that.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I have a feeling that Sony is planning something big for the upcoming TGS06 which is 11 days, that will hopefully garner them some support.
A price cut (even down to 550USD and 450USD respectively would give them a better shot at hitting the 360) or anouncing that games will only cost 50USD would be nice, hell might even make me buy one at launch.
The main thing they need to do is announce some STRONG launch titles from a major franchise like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, or Metal Gear. To most GAMErs the GAMEs sell the Consoles.
So, will each one be for MASSIVE DAMAGE? Or will Sony have to flip him over with the $600 first?
No, because "most gamers" won't buy their PS3 at launch (Because even if they wanted to there wouldn't be enough PS3s). I certainly won't buy one until the first (or most likely the second) round of slashing the price down to more sane values.
Although it's probably actually a good move for launch. They can't possibly meet demand with only 500,000 PS3s at launch, so charging as much as possible makes sense.
It just makes sense. I've yet to meet even one person who's happy that he got a 360 Core at launch but I've seen lots of people with Core systems complain that they couldn't get the Premium version.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
I distinctly remember a system that launched with about three games available, at a suggested retail price of $300 (or was it $400? something like that...). Supply was so scarce they sold on ebay for anywhere from $500-$2000. It's amazing what a launch right before christmas will do for you.
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
So building how many in 2 short months? Wonder what the build quality of PS3s will be like.... reckon they'll make it to *just* outside their 1 year gaurantee like so many PS2s did before dying?
You don't seem to fully understand. Either PS3 will output games in HD over composite cables, compatible with all HDTVs. It's only the DRM involved in blu-ray discs that (artificially) requires HDMI for playback without downsampling.
So, both PS3s are high-def machines requiring an HDTV to get the most out of. The HDMI port is irrelevant to gamers and only of interest to videophiles (of course, there's some crossover between those groups).
[blockquote]
Sorry, it's really a haves vs have-nots kind of hate. Instead of the company setting their intended price, and letting random chance settle in for those to try and get the "hot" holiday item, most of the supply will likely be intercepted via greased palmes and back room deals. Or people buying 10 or 20 of them for the sole purpose of scalping them on ebay.
PS3 doesn't affect me, 'cause I'm not a gamer, nor is anyone in my family. It's the lack of respect and consideration for your fellow man that drives me ins[/blockquote]
I stopped reading here.
Don't delude yourself into thinking anything you say will affect anyone.
Don't you ever fucking compete with us. We will fucking crush you.