PS3 Price Cut for the U.S. - Plus 40GB Version

WRXWagon2112 · Post by **WRXWagon2112** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:30 pm

We've heard this news before but for the European and Asian markets. Now it's official for the U.S. - the 80GB top-of-the-line PS3 has been cut by $100 to $499. They've also introduced a 40GB version for $399 (though without the PS2 compatibility).

CNNMoney.com wrote:Sony slashes PS3 price
Japanese gaming company also introduces a cheaper 40-gigabyte model of the high-end video game machine for $399.
October 18 2007: 12:16 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sony on Thursday cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console in the U.S. and announced an even cheaper model that will arrive before the holiday shopping season.

The top-line PlayStation model, with an 80 gigabyte hard drive, now costs $499, down from $599. That effectively eliminates the lower-end model, which has a 60-gigabyte drive and has sold for $499.

A new low-end model with a 40-gigabyte drive will go on sale Nov. 2 for $399.

Unlike the other PlayStation 3 models, the new one won't be able to play games made for the PlayStation 2. In a statement, Sony (Charts) said this was due to a more extensive lineup of games of the PlayStation 3.

The U.S. launch of the 40-gigabyte model was widely expected, since Sony has already announced it for Japan and Europe. It narrows the price gap with competing game consoles, but the PlayStation is still the most expensive.

Microsoft Corp.'s (Charts, Fortune 500) Xbox 360 costs $350 and Nintendo Corp.'s (Charts) Wii costs $250. The PlayStation 3 has been trailing them both in U.S. sales, and the Wii has been a breakout hit for Nintendo, with more than 9 million units shipped. Sony has sold 5 million PlayStation 3s since they went on sale in November last year.

--Alan

chicken n waffles · Post by **chicken n waffles** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:52 pm

won't help. sony shot itself in both feet by launching it at a ridiculous price point as compared to other systems, and the lack of follow through with decent games has buried it. ps3 is a wonderful study of poor marketing strategy.

Post by **Sabre** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:06 pm

^^^ True! It's a great system and I would love to own one (mostly for the blu-ray player), but they really burned people bad.

Have they gotten online play straightened out yet?

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:14 pm

Sabre wrote:Have they gotten online play straightened out yet?

they're making improvements but it's no XBL.

Libra Monkee · Post by **Libra Monkee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:47 pm

Still not swayed to get a PS3 or a 360. Sony needz moar content so I can justify spending that much. The 360 is made by M$ and as such, doesn't work.

Post by **Sabre** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:00 pm

Libra Monkee wrote:Still not swayed to get a PS3 or a 360. Sony needz moar content so I can justify spending that much. The 360 is made by M$ and as such, doesn't work.

Zing! Exactly my thoughts... I'm usually open minded about stuff, but I know the PS3's processors are just nuts and the graphics/sound it will produce will prevail.

Libra Monkee · Post by **Libra Monkee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:12 pm

Moving to Nerd Stuff.

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:25 pm

the 360 works for months at a time!

actually, mine has worked for a 11 months now with only 1 hiccup.

WRXWagon2112 · Post by **WRXWagon2112** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:56 am

For those looking for a deal on a PS3, may I suggest the old 20GB model? Now for $379.99...

Plus:

EB Games website wrote:Receive 5 Free Blu Ray High Definition movies by mail when you buy a Sony PlayStation 3 between July 1, 2007 and January 31, 2008. Click here for details and mail-in form.

Features wrote:CPU:
# Cell Broadband Engine
# GPU: RSX
# Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
# HDD: 2.5" Serial ATA (20GB)
# Input/Output: USB 2.0x4

Communication:
# Ethernet: (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
# Bluetooth: 2.0 (EDR)
# Wireless Controller Bluetooth (Up to 7)

AV Output:
# Screen Size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
# HDMI: HDMI out - (x1/HDMI)
# Analog: AV MULTI OUT x1
# Digital Audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x1
# Disc Drive: Blu-Ray/DVD/CD "read only"

--Alan

sirwilliam · Post by **sirwilliam** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:32 am

I would say just spend the extra 25 bux to have HDMI v1.3 and some tweaks to the system over the old model. $400 is a good deal on the PS3 from a Blue Ray player standpoint. Might have to pick one up.

Post by **ElZorro** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:47 am

sirwilliam wrote:I would say just spend the extra 25 bux to have HDMI v1.3 and some tweaks to the system over the old model. $400 is a good deal on the PS3 from a Blue Ray player standpoint. Might have to pick one up.

The problem is the $399 version doesn't have PS2 compatibility. With the PS3 a little short on great titles it doesn't hurt to be able to reach back and play some oldies-but-goodies.

sirwilliam · Post by **sirwilliam** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:09 am

ElZorro wrote:
sirwilliam wrote:I would say just spend the extra 25 bux to have HDMI v1.3 and some tweaks to the system over the old model. $400 is a good deal on the PS3 from a Blue Ray player standpoint. Might have to pick one up.
The problem is the $399 version doesn't have PS2 compatibility. With the PS3 a little short on great titles it doesn't hurt to be able to reach back and play some oldies-but-goodies.

That is why I said from the Blue Ray player standpoint.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:48 am

I'm going back tot he land of PC gaming. I'm sick of consoles.

sirwilliam · Post by **sirwilliam** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:49 am

Cereb Daithi wrote:I'm going back tot he land of PC gaming. I'm sick of consoles.

I heart my Wii!

Post by **ElZorro** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:53 am

Cereb Daithi wrote:I'm going back tot he land of PC gaming. I'm sick of consoles.

I'll second that. I could buy 6-8 new games for my PC for the cost of a PS3... that'd keep me busy until the PS4/XBOX720/Wiii comes out.

chicken n waffles · Post by **chicken n waffles** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:57 am

Cereb Daithi wrote:I'm going back tot he land of PC gaming. I'm sick of consoles.

motion fourthed

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:48 am

ElZorro wrote:I'll second that. I could buy 6-8 new games for my PC for the cost of a PS3... that'd keep me busy until the PS4/XBOX720/Wiii comes out.

my PC won't play current games with a damn and I don't have a 47" monitor for my PC.

to each his own: the current console generation is keeping my game fix sated.

Post by **ElZorro** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:06 am

Mr Kleen wrote:
ElZorro wrote:I'll second that. I could buy 6-8 new games for my PC for the cost of a PS3... that'd keep me busy until the PS4/XBOX720/Wiii comes out.
my PC won't play current games with a damn

Mine doesn't either, thats why I usually end up with some bargain bin classics.

Even cheaper and just as entertaining!

Post by **complacent** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:10 pm

Mr Kleen wrote:
ElZorro wrote:I'll second that. I could buy 6-8 new games for my PC for the cost of a PS3... that'd keep me busy until the PS4/XBOX720/Wiii comes out.
my PC won't play current games with a damn and I don't have a 47" monitor for my PC. to each his own: the current console generation is keeping my game fix sated.

Agreed. Happi with teh Wii so far. But I also dual boot my macs so I can join in on some portal/hl2/doom3/etc whenever I feel compelled to do so.

Libra Monkee · Post by **Libra Monkee** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:31 pm

Cereb Daithi wrote:I'm going back tot he land of PC gaming. I'm sick of consoles.

I find myself slowly eeking back that way too. The 360 is too unreliable, the PS3 costs too much not to have any games worth playing, and the Wii is fun, when you've got other people, as there have been only three or four single player "experiences" worth my attention. Everything requires at least two people to get any real enjoyment out of it.

So right now I'm pretty much sticking with my PS2 and whatever games I can scrounge up on the PC.

WRXWagon2112 · Post by **WRXWagon2112** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:11 am

This just in, a price cut boosts PS3 sales! Really? Ya think?

Washington Post.com article

Article wrote:Price Cut Boosts PlayStation 3 Sales

By GARY GENTILE
The Associated Press
Thursday, November 15, 2007; 6:02 AM

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. sales of the PlayStation 3 more than doubled in the weeks after the company slashed the video game console's price $100 and launched a low-end model, Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer told The Associated Press Wednesday.

Sony said it sold more than 100,000 consoles of all types in the week ending Nov. 11.

The price cut and new model make the PS3 more competitive against Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 as the holiday season opens, Stringer said.

"It's the breakthrough we've been anticipating," Stringer said. "We've been holding our breath."

Sony said it had been selling between 30,000 and 40,000 consoles per week before the Oct. 18 price cut from $599 to $499 of the 80 GB model.

Sales rose to 75,000 in the week of Oct. 29, reflecting both the lower price of the high-end model and the introduction of a 40-gigabyte model for $399 on Nov. 2, the company said. And it was the following week that sales hit 100,000, according to Sony.

Lagging sales of the PlayStation 3, compared to sales of the Wii and XBox 360, prompted Sony to cut the price in the U.S. as it had in Japan and Europe.

"Obviously, we've taken so much heat over the year on PS3," Stringer said from his office in Tokyo. "Finally, the turning point has been passed."

Stringer said Sony is poised to benefit from the difficulty Nintendo has had producing Wii consoles fast enough to keep up with demand.

"It's a little fortuitous that the Wii is running out of hardware," Stringer said.

By October, Nintendo had shipped 9.3 million units worldwide of the Wii, which went on sale late last year. By the end of this fiscal year in March 2008, total global Wii shipments are expected to reach 22.3 million.

Sony had sold 5 million PS3s worldwide by October. The game console went on sale late last year in Japan and the U.S. and in March in Europe.

Microsoft had sold 11.6 million Xbox 360 machines in two years.

Sony executives said the rising sales also will boost the Blu-ray high definition DVD format. A Blu-ray drive comes with the PS3.

"It puts us vastly ahead of where the other format is going to be in terms of an installed base in people's homes by the end of this holiday season," Andrew House, Sony's chief marketing officer, said.

Toshiba Corp. has been selling players for its rival DVD format for high-definition as low as $200 and prices are expected to drop further.

--Alan

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:31 am

PS3 still has no compelling exclusives nor a robust online experience. PS3 online is free, but XBL is well worth $50 a year.

maybe by next Christmas GT 5, MGS 3 and GoW 3 will be out?

Post by **complacent** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:52 am

Mr Kleen wrote: maybe by next Christmas GT 5, MGS 3 and GoW 3 will be out?

That is going to be the cause of some tough decisions for me.... I've bought each Sony system so far... just because of GT. It's a sickness, I can't help it.

Post by **Sabre** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:04 am

complacent wrote:I've bought each Sony system so far... just because of GT. It's a sickness, I can't help it.

As I have as well for GT and MSG. The addition of the Blu-ray player makes it appealing too. Going to be hard to resist soon.

Libra Monkee · Post by **Libra Monkee** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:42 pm

Yeah after MGS4, GTHD, and Soul Calibur 4 hit the market I'll start to consider getting one. Yeah there are games out now that I would like to try but they're not enough to make me drop half a grand for a glorified BluRay player. Especially when I don't have an HDTV.