The rumor, as predicted by analysts, is that the 40GB SKU would intro at $399 and the 80GB unit would drop to $499. The 60GB unit, with the more expensive to produce hardware based emulation, would be completely removed. They've already stopped production on this unit, so this is a given.
The reasoning for the $100 difference is the same as before, more hard drive space and the Motorstorm game bundled, not just hard drive space.
The only factor that would cause an eBay price to be higher than MSRP is low retail availability. Anyone that wants a PS3 can find one in the store, thus the eBay price is slightly less than retail, just like everything else on eBay that can be found reliably on the shelf. Only if there were supply problems would the PS3's eBay price actually be higher than retail.
The 360 sales spike is because of the price drop. Any influence Madden 08 and Bioshock had is minimal compared to the effect the price drop had.
The PS3 didn't get this much of a sales surge in their price drop because I think the $499 price is still too much to swallow, and the library is too shallow. But, people are still buying relatively good amounts of PS3s at high prices and few games worth mention. If the PS3 intro's a $399 SKU as is rumored, and if games keep flowing in as planned, all bets are going to be off.
Slashdot Mirror
The rumor, as predicted by analysts, is that the 40GB SKU would intro at $399 and the 80GB unit would drop to $499. The 60GB unit, with the more expensive to produce hardware based emulation, would be completely removed. They've already stopped production on this unit, so this is a given. The reasoning for the $100 difference is the same as before, more hard drive space and the Motorstorm game bundled, not just hard drive space. The only factor that would cause an eBay price to be higher than MSRP is low retail availability. Anyone that wants a PS3 can find one in the store, thus the eBay price is slightly less than retail, just like everything else on eBay that can be found reliably on the shelf. Only if there were supply problems would the PS3's eBay price actually be higher than retail.
The 360 sales spike is because of the price drop. Any influence Madden 08 and Bioshock had is minimal compared to the effect the price drop had. The PS3 didn't get this much of a sales surge in their price drop because I think the $499 price is still too much to swallow, and the library is too shallow. But, people are still buying relatively good amounts of PS3s at high prices and few games worth mention. If the PS3 intro's a $399 SKU as is rumored, and if games keep flowing in as planned, all bets are going to be off.
Nintendo Wii - Finally servicing the demands of pr0n gamers.