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Sony Firm On PS3 Pricing
Reuters has some last minute discussion on the high price of the PS3, as well as their plans for shipping 2 million units by December. From the article: "'We are very comfortable with the pricing we have announced and have gotten tremendous support from retailers for that price point,' Hirai said on the sidelines of the Dow Jones VentureWire Consumer Technology Conference. 'So it is full steam ahead with the pricing of $499 and $599.'"
Ok, I'm sure I can find the details online, but I've got a quickie question for those that will be buying the PS3 next week.
What is going to entice you to but the PS3 Premium, as opposed to the Basic? The basic will have the HDMI port, a 20gig drive (versus 60 right?) etc... etc...
So what exactly will you be 'getting' that you just have to have for an extra $100?
think before you write, it'll save me moderator points.
Here's the deal: If something changes, it's newsworthy. If nothing changes, there is no story.
*yawn*
Let me know when the price drops $100-200 in a few years. That's the news I'm waiting to hear.
They could have charged more for it (let's say $800) and they would still sell out the first batch of consoles. Then they could drop the price to something resonable 3-6 months later. Now the money is going to all the people selling them on ebay rather than Sony.
Didn't the xbox drop by $100 only 6 months after launch?
In Europe the XBox was initially overpriced and it was hurting sales so they cut the price a couple of months later; this pissed off most of the people who already purchased a XBox so they were forced to give people coupons for games (IIRC everyone who paid the initial price got 2 game coupons). The fact is that if you cut your price too often, or by too much, you're only going to upset the customers who already bought your system.
Personally, I believe the best strategy is to reduce the price $50 (or add a pack-in game) every 12 months; then even people who buy the system the day before the price drop/pack-in will not be that offended. The problem (with the PS3) is that at $500/$600 it will take 6 years at that rate before the average consumer will be willing to purchase your product; in that time Nintendo could release the Super Wii Advance that is 4 times as powerful as your system for $200.
Fabulous new mobile phone, lots of bells and whistles = people happily pay $500
. If the hardware costs more than that, I expect the carrier to subsidize it as consideration for my decision to enter a service contract with them.
Personally, I would never pay more than about $300 for a mobile phone, and that's only if it's an all-in-one wonder like a Treo with built-in PDA/internet/bluetooth/flashlight/screwdriver/etc
Fabulous new video iPod, lots of nice features = people giddily pay $500
The current top-of-the-line iPod model (5G 80GB) sells for only $350.
Fabulous new game console, nex-gen features = people freak out, say $500 is way way too much.
There's no point in comparing a game console to a mobile phone or an MP3 player, though. That's an apples-to-figs-to-coconuts comparison.
For a meaningful, Braeburn-to-Red-Delicious-type comparison, one has to evaluate the PS3 in the context of other game consoles. No game console with a entry price above $300 has ever been a success--EVER.