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Sony Runs Out of 60GB PS3s
Next Generation has word from Sony that they've shipped all of their 60GB PlayStation 3s. They don't have any more in the warehouses; retailers still have ample stocks, though. From the article: "Once all of the remaining 60GB PS3s have been snapped up for $499 apiece, the only option left open to consumers will be to purchase the 80GB model, which currently retails for $100 more at $599. It has long been rumored that once all 60GB PS3 stock dries up, the 80GB will be subject to a price cut, but SCEA has failed to be drawn on the matter to date. 'We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated,' the company has said."
they kick ass. Time for a nice Frosty Piss!!!
Many PS3 fans pitch the "won't talk about it until then" as proof that there will be a cut -- some suggest an 80GB unbundled for $449. Hard to say. A lot of people are arguing that Sony will definitely cut to $500 once the 60s are gone, but it's hard to say; I mean, you wouldn't expect them to have a PR stunt with a decapitated goat, but they did. So who can predict what madness Sony's sales people will think of? I'm sort of skeptical about a cut, just because the holiday season tends to boost sales, and they may not need a cut to keep systems moving.
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I remember people trying to claim that Sony wouldn't run through their supply until middle of 2008. So much for that claim.
Shouldn't be surprising. Sony just released the online game of the year with Warhawk. People are going nuts over this game. And Lair, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet and Clank, Gran Turismo Prologue are all coming over the next few months. Sony's first party line up is absolutely insane.
Looks like those 110 or so million PS2 owners are starting to make their move to HD/1080p next gen gaming on the PS3.
A week later an auditor is fired for not noticing that a majority of those shipments went to "warehouse corporation".
It's fairly likely that once the 60Gb is history that a "barebones" 80Gb model will replace it at the same price or possibly lower closer to Christmas. I'd expect they'll also revamp the "bundle" too in some way, e.g. throw Heavenly Sword or Lair into it to make it more up to date.
Microsoft has flunked out of both Japan and Europe in sales. England is the only country where the 360 is still showing any meaningful sales.
That pretty much just leaves Microsoft surviving off of US Xbox owners - which guarantees the 360 a last place finish this gen. Leaving Sony and Nintendo to battle it out this gen.
You will probably see an X pattern for the PS3 vs Wii sales as the waggle hype dies off and more and more people upgrade to sub-1000 dollar 1080p sets. Even 7 years after the PS2 was released it is still selling at some 200k a month or so in the US.
It should be obvious where all of those former PS2 users are going to end up over the next five years.
Here and here. Regardless, if you dry up on producing machines, I'm sure you'll eventually sell them.
import system.cool.Sig;
They managed to sell both of them?
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the 80GB model isn't getting a price cut, even when the 60GBs are gone. Sony has a pretty good lineup coming up, and they stand to lose a lot in the short term if people buy reduced-price PS3s but only one or two games.
On the other hand, they might want to get Blu-ray players into as many homes as possible, given the recent adoption of HD-DVD by many film studios- even if it means absorbing a big short-term loss. They know PS3s will move once their AAA titles start coming out, so there isn't much motivation for a price cut now, game-wise.
Overall, I think the PS3 is just too speculative for most consumers. The price in and of itself isn't the major concern, (people will spend hundreds of dollars on home entertainment) but rather questions like "Will Blu-ray become the de-facto HD format?", "How many price cuts will occur between now and when the games I want are released?", and even "Are AAA titles eventually going to be ported to 360 or PC?"
Looking at the price difference between 60GB and 80GB 2.5" HDDs, the $100 more for the larger disk strikes me as very close to theft.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Is it just me or does this look like a 'panic buy' tactic? There's still no way I'm shelling out £350+ even for the 60GB model.
Sonny boy, the battle is over.
When you say:
"That pretty much just leaves Microsoft surviving off of US Xbox owners - which guarantees the 360 a last place finish this gen. Leaving Sony and Nintendo to battle it out this gen."
You're ignoring reality. XBox360 has a lead over the PS3 (and growing), and the Wii is blowing both away.
The only battle at this point is for last. Nintendo won this generation. Sony and MS are scratching their heads, can't quite figure it. But it's over. The only thing left is how much the PS3 has set back Sony and whether they can make a run at Microsoft.
But please... this perception that Sony is about to take off should have died 6 months ago. It's embarrassing to keep repeating it.
i expect to see a new low-end model hit the shelves in the next couple of months. i'm guessing a $450 20gb model. it doesn't make sense to slash the 60gb prices and just discontinue it. they had to sell them off, and who would dole out $500 when they know a cheaper model is just around the corner. as whack as sony seems, i think they just may know what they are doing. with the hd wars leaning in favor of blu-ray, i think the ps3 is gonna start to make a huge comeback in the console war
FOXTROT UNIFORM CHARLIE KILO
Also as a reminder for those sitting on the fence, I believe this will be the last model with hardware support for PS/PS2 titles. The 80GB and on have software emulation.
I ran out and bought a used 20g PS3 at gamestop for $370. After all the 20g and 60gs are gone, you'll be forced to use emulation to play ps1 and ps2 games. I don't really feel like spending $100 more so I have the disk space to download emulators, so I went ahead and bought a ps3 and a USB wireless nic.
Yeah, the 360 and the Wii have more/better games, but between my roommates and I, we only needed a ps3 to finish out our collection...
Brand loyalty isn't so bad, I think you are lashing against the Rabbid Fanboyism though which is (I agree) quite dumb. Brand Loyalty however could get people to cross platforms and "blur the lines" of Fanboy-hood.
Let's say you really like Final Fantasy... Which system should you buy? Some would say the PS2 and others the DS.
When those comments were made at E3 Live was still a closed system. MS announced their Xbox Live Silver Program which allows 3rd party companies to maintain, manage and update from their own servers rather than from MS. When asked if that would allow a company like Epic to allow PC to 360 maps and level editors it was stated that that was indeed one of the reasons for the new service.
I've read these reports over the last couple of days. I have been waiting and delaying the idea of getting a PS3 because lack of compelling games and my own lack of HDTV to play it on. With this news, I was beginning to worry about spending the cash now to pick up a 60GB unit with the included Emotion Engine (EE) hardware support for true backwards compatibility. I have a lot of PS1 and PS2 games I want to make sure work properly.
Then it occurred to me... I already have a machine which works with my regular old TV set and plays all my PS1 and PS2 games perfectly: my PS2. And if I want a wireless control with missing rumble action... well, I already have a 3rd party wireless controller with that (lack of) feature.
Realizing that Sony has a good chance of coming in a distant third for this generation's console race and that software studios are focusing on Xbox360 and Wii (with those systems' easier development tools) there really is no point to bothering with PS3. All the 'good' games are coming out on Xbox360 anyway. The stomach pangs of losing out on the hardware EE support simply went away with the realization that PS3 is already finished in the market. I'll simply keep my PS2 for awhile longer at no additional cost.
{ - Generic Guy - }
Halo 3 comes out on Sept. 25th and historically when a huge, potentially system-selling games come out competitors do something to combat the hype. My guess is that Sony will either drop the price, make some kind of software bundle or do both.
So the current street price of an 80Gbyte hard drive in one-off quantities is $41 (http://www.newegg.com/) - one would imagine that in quantity, they'd be a lot less. So even if SONY are getting their 60Gbyte drives for $0, it's really hard to justify the price difference.
At the Target store I work at, we've had the same 4 60GB PS3's in stock since April. We've sold 2 in that time span.
Seriously. This smells so badly of Sony marketing that I think it needs looking into.
I could be totally wrong. But a brand-new account that reads like astro-turf. This is exactly the type of embarrassing PR technique Sony is quickly becoming known for.
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
I don't know how much money you make, but you seem to be mistaking fanboyism for something I like to call "a budget". Not everyone can afford to spend $599 on a PS3, $499 on a 360, and $300 on a Wii. That's $1400 freaking dollars - I can feed and house my family for almost two months on that. Not to mention the cost getting games for each of those systems. A few years ago when I was a student I would be lucky to even buy *ONE* of these systems, considering the $299 Wii price is my food for 3 months. No, most people can only afford one game system. So, whichever one you chose (if you can get any at all), you're stuck with it, for at least 2-3 years.