Sony Open to Considering PS3 Price Cuts

njkid1 writes with word that Sony is considering dropping the PS3's price. The Mercury news reports that Sony Senior Vice President Takao Yuhara has admitted they are investigating whether to drop the PlayStation 3 in price around the world, despite statements previously made that the 'lower' PS3 price in Japan is hurting Sony's bottom line. Profits for the company slipped some five percent in the October-December period, and the shortfall expected through March could be even worse than previously predicted. The article points out the possibly risky nature of a price cut for such an expensive item so early in its lifespan, and notes the stiff competition from the Xbox 360 and the Wii.

Comments

Mod parent up. And read this :)

[Fross]

This is absolutely correct, and the parent's parent is as exactly woefully mistaken as Coke wanted them to be.

Coke did not go from Coke to New Coke and then go "oh noes, we are losing all the profits" and change back to Coke Classic for the consumer - that's exactly what they wanted to happen, to have people think - to think they had "won" and got old Coke back. Coke won, and they didn't get old Coke back.

The change in formula the parent refers to is a simple one - replacing sugar with corn syrup. A slight change in taste, but a much cheaper product, saving Coke somewhere around a cent a can - a HUGE amount of money. They couldn't just foist this on people, as it did taste slightly different, and people would notice the change, and complain.

So, they changed the formula of Coke to new Coke (I'm not sure whether New Coke had corn syrup or sugar in it), then waited a few years for all the Coke to disappear, for people to forget what it was exactly like... then brought in Coke Classic, aka Old Coke but Cheaper. Consumers get to feel like the won and get their "old" product back, Coke gets to gloat smugly and quietly and rake in the profits. And credit to them, it was a brave and amazigly shrewd bit of business.

I don't think this has anything to do with the original thread anymore, but it's a good thing to know :)

More Zonk flamebait

[SpeedyRich]

You mean Sony will reduce the price of a consumable product?

Who'd've thought it? I mean, I imagined the price of the PS3 staying the same forever. Oh yes.

Hello, Zonk, how's you doin', you XBox fanboy you.

Here's the real news: PS3 has sold out. It will continue to sell out. Myself and bunch of likeminded European will lap it up.

The only halfdecent 360 RPG sold less copies than the most recent Dreamcast title. LOL. The Japanese continue to eat up the PS3; the Europeans will quickly do so.

And then the world won't give two hoots what happens in the US - let M$oft have it.