Sony: No PS3 price cut this Christmas

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 29th October 2008
Comments (25) Stumble
Sony: No PS3 price cut this Christmas

Sony has confirmed that there'll be no price cut for the PlayStation 3 this Christmas.

Sony has again confirmed that it will not be offering a price cut on the PlayStation 3 this Christmas as it is still trying to maximise profits and is concerned that a price cut is not in the interest of its share holders.

Speaking to Videogamer, Sony Computer Entertainment executive Ray Maguire said that the company must seek to do the right thing for shareholders first and therefore there is definitely not going to be a price cut this year, meaning the PlayStation 3 will remain the most expensive console on the market.

"Well the pressure comes from the consumers obviously and so therefore there's always pressure on price," admitted Macguire, "but you know we have a business to run, and we have to make sure we're doing the right thing for the shareholders as well."

"At the moment there's a marketplace for PS3 and I think for this particular Christmas, with the kind of quality of games we're seeing coming out this Christmas, I don't think the price of the console is going to be an issue at all."

As Kotaku points out though, with most games being multi-platform these days there's a good chance that consumers will be shopping on price this season, especially with the credit crunch and all. With the Xbox 360 proving the cheapest of all the consoles, Sony may be facing an uphill struggle this holiday season.

Tell us what you think of the different consoles and which you think is the most tempting offer, in the forums.
Quote Blood 29th October 2008, 10:18
I was holding out for a price cut. Looks like I definately wont be buying one this side of the year.
Tekken 6 was the only game I was buying it for anyway, looks like ill be picking up a 30 quid ps2 and all the Tekken games to get me through the winter :)
Quote liratheal 29th October 2008, 10:21
Why on earth would they confirm there's going to be a price cut in the next few months, and lose sales at the higher price?

That said, I would be quite willing to believe that there won't be one.
Quote Enforcer 29th October 2008, 10:34
I like this quote

"Well the pressure comes from the consumers obviously and so therefore there's always pressure on price," admitted Macguire, "but you know we have a business to run, and we have to make sure we're doing the right thing for the shareholders as well

I think Sony forgot that we are the Shareholders , we make or break the market. I don't see this as being a good thing, it means that Wii and the 360 are gonna being selling alot more. Maybe one day Sony will figure out how the game really works.
Quote ChaosDefinesOrder 29th October 2008, 10:36
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enforcer
Maybe one day Sony will figure out how the game really works.

...and then develop their own proprietary version of it...
Quote badders 29th October 2008, 10:38
Every time Sony Flatly deny something, it happens.

I wonder what would happen if they said that "Time travel is definitely impossible". Some geezer would probably instantly pop out from the future, shouting "Sony LIES!"
Quote Arkanrais 29th October 2008, 11:07
screw time travel. 'Arkanrais will definitely not have his own harem by weeks end" is what I'm waiting for.
Quote Florian 29th October 2008, 11:20
The price difference isn't as significant in the US, with the 60GB Xbox 360 holiday bundle at $299 and the 80GB PS3 at $399, but as usual, Sony is really screwing Europe. Charging €399 for the PS3 while the 60GB 360 sells for €199 is just ridiculous.
Quote sandys 29th October 2008, 11:25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enforcer
I like this quote

"Well the pressure comes from the consumers obviously and so therefore there's always pressure on price," admitted Macguire, "but you know we have a business to run, and we have to make sure we're doing the right thing for the shareholders as well

I think Sony forgot that we are the Shareholders , we make or break the market. I don't see this as being a good thing, it means that Wii and the 360 are gonna being selling alot more. Maybe one day Sony will figure out how the game really works.

I think they have already figured out how the game works, they sell as much PS3 hardware as MS does with 360 pretty much (when MS hasn't just had a price cut or big release) and at 2-3 times the price, why would you cut it? sales have hardly slowed down despite no real big exclusive releases?

At launch what was it 5-6 million 360s in the wild, whats the global difference now almost 2 years on 5-6 million? its having no more trouble selling than 360, the 360s new pricing will make it a difficult thing for Sony to win on numbers this Christmas though so I'd expect a new price or at least some good bundling to come out.
Quote Sathy 29th October 2008, 12:58
Could the reason for not doing price cuts on the PS3 might be the160gb model that, according to some gaming sites / Amazon is being released in Europe soon?
Quote Lepermessiah 29th October 2008, 12:59
ps3 going down, lol, seriously though, they need price cuts and more exclusives to turn it around.
Quote Xir 29th October 2008, 13:11
...even the Wii is more expensive than the (entry level) 360...how did that happen?
Quote salesman 29th October 2008, 13:11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florian
The price difference isn't as significant in the US, with the 60GB Xbox 360 holiday bundle at $299 and the 80GB PS3 at $399, but as usual, Sony is really screwing Europe. Charging €399 for the PS3 while the 60GB 360 sells for €199 is just ridiculous.

I thought the 80 gig was $499 and the 40 gig was $399 for the PS3
Quote _DTM2000_ 29th October 2008, 14:10
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChaosDefinesOrder
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enforcer
Maybe one day Sony will figure out how the game really works.

...and then develop their own proprietary version of it...

...which contains a DRM rootkit...
Quote talladega 29th October 2008, 15:37
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandys
I think they have already figured out how the game works, they sell as much PS3 hardware as MS does with 360 pretty much (when MS hasn't just had a price cut or big release) and at 2-3 times the price, why would you cut it? sales have hardly slowed down despite no real big exclusive releases?

At launch what was it 5-6 million 360s in the wild, whats the global difference now almost 2 years on 5-6 million? its having no more trouble selling than 360, the 360s new pricing will make it a difficult thing for Sony to win on numbers this Christmas though so I'd expect a new price or at least some good bundling to come out.

Exactly. Since the 360 price cut this year. PS3 sales has stayed the same. They have not dropped at all. 360 sales have gone up. In Europe they have now gone back down to being less than PS3 again while being more than £100 cheaper. In the US the 360 is still ahead of the PS3, but not by a whole lot. In Japan they are just about even with 360 slightly nudging ahead for now.

I say PS3 is doing just fine at a super high price with 'no games'.


As far as the gap between the two. WHen it was first released it was about 6M. That gap quickly grew to almost 10M because the sales of the PS3 were horrible. That gap has been reduced to 5.5M now.
Quote devdevil85 29th October 2008, 16:20
Quote:
Originally Posted by salesman
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florian
The price difference isn't as significant in the US, with the 60GB Xbox 360 holiday bundle at $299 and the 80GB PS3 at $399, but as usual, Sony is really screwing Europe. Charging €399 for the PS3 while the 60GB 360 sells for €199 is just ridiculous.

I thought the 80 gig was $499 and the 40 gig was $399 for the PS3
In the US the 80GB is $399. The 80GB replaced the 40GB model, but the 40GB SKU prices were dropped to $360 and should be sold out by now. The 160GB SKU bundled w/ Uncharted & Pain will be $499.
Quote Bursar 29th October 2008, 16:43
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enforcer
I think Sony forgot that we are the Shareholders , we make or break the market. I don't see this as being a good thing, it means that Wii and the 360 are gonna being selling alot more. Maybe one day Sony will figure out how the game really works.
No, unless you own shares, you're not a shareholder. You might be a stakeholder though...

Sony has taken quite a beating due the economic downturn. The volatile exchange rates play havoc with their profit margins. It's all very well saying we made 15 bazillion dollars this year, but if the exchange rates plummet then ther actual earnings are way less when converted back to Yen.

Just look at what has happened between the $ and the £ over the last couple of months. Was about $1.96 = £1. It's now about $1.50 = £1.
Quote docodine 29th October 2008, 16:54
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bursar

Just look at what has happened between the $ and the £ over the last couple of months. Was about $1.96 = £1. It's now about $1.50 = £1.


Yeah, screw the dollar going up. I didn't have to whip out a calculator for a good while..
Quote BlackMage23 29th October 2008, 19:21
gota love Sony's thinking: Shareholders first, customers second.

but if they don't have any customers then where does that leave the shareholders?
Quote devdevil85 29th October 2008, 19:56
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackMage23
gota love Sony's thinking: Shareholders first, customers second.

but if they don't have any customers then where does that leave the shareholders?
That's the funny thing is that they DO have customers. This is evident when you hear news about PS3 continuing to sell more than 360 in Q2 of this year, and when you see the total sales #'s:

360 = 21.1 million
PS3 = 16.84 million

Sony would love to drop the price and get a bunch of people buying their product, but what makes economic/financial sense right now for them? As long as sales are meeting expectations why price drop? Sony is in this for the long-term, not the short-term. Heck, the PS3 isn't even 2 years old yet....Not to say that a price drop isn't needed in certain areas like Europe.

Also, why would Sony tell everyone there will be a price drop this Xmas? NOBODY would buy it until then. A price drop will come when we least expect it.....
Quote talladega 29th October 2008, 22:59
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
That's the funny thing is that they DO have customers. This is evident when you hear news about PS3 continuing to sell more than 360 in Q2 of this year, and when you see the total sales #'s:

360 = 21.1 million
PS3 = 16.84 million

Sony would love to drop the price and get a bunch of people buying their product, but what makes economic/financial sense right now for them? As long as sales are meeting expectations why price drop? Sony is in this for the long-term, not the short-term. Heck, the PS3 isn't even 2 years old yet....Not to say that a price drop isn't needed in certain areas like Europe.

Also, why would Sony tell everyone there will be a price drop this Xmas? NOBODY would buy it until then. A price drop will come when we least expect it.....

December 26th!

people would sure be pissed.
Quote devdevil85 30th October 2008, 01:23
Quote:
Originally Posted by talladega
December 26th!

people would sure be pissed.
You can always take it back if buy it brick 'n' mortar I would guess (idk if you opened it up and actually used it, but who knows).....Either way, you've proven that you are willing to buy one at the current price, right? But yes, I would be annoyed...very very annoyed since money is something I don't have a lot of right now....

Luckily for me, I was able to get the 80GB MGS4 bundle right before it sold out here where I live and I haven't been any happier. I was able to get BC, the extra USB slots and the media card readers and I got MGS4. So right now I'm trying to play through MGS3, 1 & then 2 and God of War 1 & 2. I never owned a PS2 last gen since I had my PC and a bunch of amazing games (first game was Max Payne when it debuted) to keep me occupied. I'm actually using that same PC to write this message.....

talledega, my PSN ID is DevDevil87....we should play some LBP sometime...I'm not on a lot, but enough to get almost level 3 so far....
Quote notatoad 30th October 2008, 03:01
if there is a price drop before christmas i'll be pissed. i bought one a couple weeks ago on the suspicion that there were't any price drops coming. i hope they just keep increasing the value by releasing firmware updates rather than lowering the price.
Quote talladega 30th October 2008, 06:49
I dont have LBP YET, didnt know when it was being re-released. You got Socom: Confrontation? Its amazing. Its frustrating right now cuz they are having lots of server troubles for some stupid reason. Once they get those sorted it'll be even more amazing. Even how it is now, its still awesome. Just some bugs to work out and such. Dont listen to the very few reviews that are out now. They are correct about the server problems but hopefully they will re-review it once fixed (some have said they will do it, but others just seem to be haters). Graphics are amazing. Im not sure how most of the reviewers can say they graphics are not good. I personally think its better graphics than COD4. Way more detailed maps. They are simply stunning. Heat waves. Dust blowing around. Birds, rats, bats (you can even shoot them and see them blow up). Your shells land on the ground and will move if you walk over them. If you shoot them they go flying. Character and gun models rock. And the sound is maybe the best i've ever heard in a shooter.

And if you dont like that type of game the headset itself is amazing as well. Amazing clarity. I have mine just sitting in the charging dock and then I set the output of voice chat to my speakers so I can use my full ear covering headphones and the headset at the same time. Works great.


ummmm ya. Add me if ya want. Not sure when I'll get LBP though.

BTW I got the 60GB PS3 :D Got it last summer after the price drop and got another $25 off and a free game (they messed up on the checkout and gave the game for free).


oh and last week LBP sold 165K even though it wasnt released. Some stores leaked it. ;)
Quote devdevil85 30th October 2008, 14:10
Quote:
Originally Posted by talladega
I dont have LBP YET, didnt know when it was being re-released. You got Socom: Confrontation? Its amazing. Its frustrating right now cuz they are having lots of server troubles for some stupid reason. Once they get those sorted it'll be even more amazing. Even how it is now, its still awesome. Just some bugs to work out and such. Dont listen to the very few reviews that are out now. They are correct about the server problems but hopefully they will re-review it once fixed (some have said they will do it, but others just seem to be haters). Graphics are amazing. Im not sure how most of the reviewers can say they graphics are not good. I personally think its better graphics than COD4. Way more detailed maps. They are simply stunning. Heat waves. Dust blowing around. Birds, rats, bats (you can even shoot them and see them blow up). Your shells land on the ground and will move if you walk over them. If you shoot them they go flying. Character and gun models rock. And the sound is maybe the best i've ever heard in a shooter.

And if you dont like that type of game the headset itself is amazing as well. Amazing clarity. I have mine just sitting in the charging dock and then I set the output of voice chat to my speakers so I can use my full ear covering headphones and the headset at the same time. Works great.


ummmm ya. Add me if ya want. Not sure when I'll get LBP though.

BTW I got the 60GB PS3 :D Got it last summer after the price drop and got another $25 off and a free game (they messed up on the checkout and gave the game for free).


oh and last week LBP sold 165K even though it wasnt released. Some stores leaked it. ;)
Cool man. My cousin is playing it alongside COD4 and what I can tell he loves it. I'll add you once I get a chance. I won't be home for a couple days, but once I'm able to I'll add you (PSN ID: talledaga ,right?)
Quote talladega 30th October 2008, 16:25
talladega-3-
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