It's a matter of time before this change hits the US Price Drops of PS3 in Japan It seems that the PS3 is not only stalling here in the states but, back in Japan as well. Kotaku is reporting that PS3s are stacking up on shelves. Retailers are taking matters into their own hands and offering temporary price cuts of up to 10,000 yen ($82). I wonder how long till we see similar measures taken here in the US. One, thing is clear something needs to happen soon to jump start lagging sales. As much as I hate to say this, it's starting to feel like the Dreamcast all over again. On personal note, I must say Kotaku.com is one of my daily must read game blogs. Nobody else brings you news from the Japanese gaming world as they do. I'll be honest I had no idea the Wii was going to do so well.. They are outselling the ps3 4to1 I think? Is it true that they are still hard to find even after the holidays?
I don't really see how Sony can cut the price when they're already losing 200-300 bucks per unit sold.
ps3 is going to need to pump out some games soon if they are planning to compete in this gen of gaming.
Ummm, your not RC Cola so your video game post does not count. If they cut the price in the US, I would get it just for the Blue Ray player. 5th Element is on Blue Ray, so that's awesome.
Not cutting the price may be the same as accepting 3rd place in this generation of gaming consoles. Pick your poison. If they cut the price, it's possible the additional loss could be made up in increased game sales. The next round of game releases better be outstanding or Sony may as well fall on their sword. If the games releases are great AND Sony cuts the price, it could set the PS3 on fire for a while.
The Fifth Element also looks like ass on Blu-ray. It's arguably the most disappointing BD transfer thus far(although House of Flying Daggers is reportedly the worst).
My uncle tried to get a Wii at Best Buy and they said people are still lining up at 4 A.M. to get one...crazy stuff. Looks like Sony overestimated the ability for Blu-ray to sell a console at an insane price...
What is the fastest amount of time a console has dropped its price? Including 32X, Jaguar, 3D0, etc...
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I waited about a year and a half for the PS2 price to drop before I bought one. It didn't drop, but about three months after I bought mine they lowered the price $50 or so.
Jap or USA? I guess Jap since thats what we are talking about here. ALSO... The xbox360's are sitting on Jap shelves too and selling for like 8cents. Seriously... Which leaves the Wii. Personally I dont want to play Madden in 480p and struggle to play defense with a damn remote. Tennis looks fun though. BTW chowyun, you are one of my PSN buds. I am razcan. Anyhoo...
I think like ~2.5 to 1 worldwide (if I did my math right). Both still have to go through some launch issues (Nintendo meeting demand, Sony launching in Europe), so those numbers don't really mean much...unless you want to say that those two things cancel out or something. Same time as the US basically. Maybe a week longer. I can see them cutting the price about that much by the end of the year. If they take out the PS2 chipset, that will save them at least $40 or so. They can start making Cell (and RSX?) on 65nm in the middle of the year, which can dramatically reduce costs on those two components (as well as reducing costs for other components such as the PSU, the motherboard, cooling, etc.). Another ~12 months of production for blue laser diodes doesn't hurt either (probably the most expensive component in the PS3 due to how immature the tech is). Now being able to do something and actually doing it are two different things... FWIW, I think Howard Stringer said something about the PS3 breaking even by the end of the year...not that he's the greatest source for PS3 info (he apparently screwed up the European launch date). As chow_yun_fat, depends on where and stuff like that (official or just retailers' choice). I think the Xbox dropped $100 about 6 months after it launched in the US (to match the PS2's price drop). I think the Xbox might have had a quicker drop in Europe, but that was because they set the price too high initially. Not too sure about Japan. I think their market is a little different anyway. The PS3 might be the only system to get a price drop before it ever came out though (20% drop in Japan before release). edit: Wikipedia is great for price drops on the Xbox: Europe (prices include tax) * 479€ (Launch Price (Ireland) (March 14, 2002), * 299€ (Launch Price (Rest of Europe) and Ireland April 2, 2002) Japan * ¥34,800 JPY (February 2, 2002, Launch Price) * ¥24,800 JPY (May 22, 2002)
The PS3 is just bad marketing. The system costs way too much. That being said, Sony is still selling the ps2 a pretty good clip along side the PS3 so I don't think they jumped the shark. Once the PS3 price drops a few hundred bucks, it will start selling like hot cakes.
Doesn't Japan have some sort of 'open pricing' situation in Japan, though? The retailers have a lot of say in the matter. Very different situation from the US.
