PS3 Pricing Rumor $399

[Triumph]

The latest pricing rumor for the PS3 has it set to launch at a $399 price tag. This will include a 60-gig hard drive, which I consider excellent news.

UST A WEEK before the E3 game industry trade show, PSM magazine thinks that it has the shifty on the final price of the PS3.

As far as we can tell, it looked in the coffee cups to come up with the figure, but the outfit seems to think it is fairly certain that this is the 'final word'.

It is possible that, as the launch date has got closer, the security on the information has slipped, so we are going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The mag says that $399 will get you the console containing a 60 gigabyte hard drive. In Europe that will mean that users will have to shell out 322 euros.

Steep, but not as bad as the 499 euros touted by vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe George Fornay recently.

It will also be the cheapest method of buying a blu-ray disc drive. The cheapest one of those will set you back $499.

That is, if it is all true of course.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31317

[Scott croft]

O0ooooh I hope it's true.

There has been loads of rumons surrounding the price of the PS3 I wonder if this rumor is true or the rumor of it costing $600 is true.

[mistA.WEEd]

^^There's this rumor of $399 AND there's another rumor about SonyLive being free....

yet again... there goes Sony on a lying streak. This will never happen.

[anahunt]

I really really hope this is true! My laptop only has a 60 gig hard drive! Thats really cool. I'm going to choose to believe this rumor, only because I like it the best! what is the highest you guys will go to get one? If it is $600, would you pay it? I don't think I have much choice, I can't really afford one over a certain cost. What was the launch price of the 360 anyway, does anyone remember?

[mistA.WEEd]

The xbox360 has 2 SKUs. During launch, the core console was and still is $299. The premium was and still is $399, now there is a rumor about the premium package's price cutting down to about $299 with a little change to it.

The most i'd pay for the ps3 is $399, like i said before, i doubt it's going to launch at $399... more like $600, but im most likely going to get a Wii next ;) Wii=Rev.

Rev=around $250-$300

[mistA.WEEd]

Oh and another thing... the reason y Rev over ps3...

1.) Rev will be cheaper in some way
2.)ps3 games will be about $70 ($10 more than 360)
3.)Rev games are said to cost the same as last gen games ($50)
4.)There was a rumor about ps3 games only being able to play on one console, i havent heaerd any more news about it so i guess it's true. You cant buy used ps3 games is wat im saying cuz once u play a ps3 game on ur ps3, it only plays on that console.

[anahunt]

Oh, I'm with you on that one, I'll be getting a wii long before I get a ps3. My price limit for the ps3 will be $200. When it drops below that I will get one, but not until then. I'm gonna be checking pawn shops for prices on old 360s ^_^ but I won't get one of THOSE til it drops below $150. It'll happen, it always does. Without a doubt, I will be paying full price for the Wii though. (not that I will have a choice in the matter, there are other forces at work in my home, lol)

[Scott croft]

Yea hey mistA.WEEd you should check the thread called Nintendo Revolution Renamed - Nintendo wii 'cause as thread title says it's not a revolution it's a wii.

Yea I'm also going to get the wii before I get the PS3.

[Triumph]

I think at $399 with 60 gig hard drive it would be a go for me. I think that is a pretty good deal. Even better in a year or two when it is $249 :)

I like the rumor about SonyLive being free too. That would be great. That is one area where Microsoft really trounced Sony the last go around and that was with X-Box Live vs Sony Nothing.

[ujisgodofall]

PS3 releasin at $399 is about as impossible as the Sahara desert having a snowstorm. the release price ought to be somewhere near $550 or higher. but im sure in a few months of its release, the price should come down to $399, depending on the fluctuation in the demand. there is one certain thing tho, that ought to console all of us waitin for PS3's and that is the fact that no matter how hard they wish to, Sony cant price the PS3 higher than a certain limit, coz hardly any1 would buy it then, and the whole objective behind the hype would fail.

but the PS3 is hi-tec, thats for sure, what with BluRay and all.

yours truly,
UJ

[Scott croft]

Yea that's what I think it's never going to cost $399

[mistA.WEEd]

it's nice to dream tho:rolleyes: ....but it's not nice when the dream goes dead... so im not believing it. Sony is too smart, and too in-debt to do that kinda stuff.

[Scott croft]

Yea but there is a 20% chance of them doing it 'cause they might to it to kick Xbox ass.

[anahunt]

It's long, but it clears up this speculation. Umm, looks like we should send some snowsuits to the people in the sahara huh UJ?
************************************************** ******************************

Report: PS3 to sell for $399, cost $494 to make
Merrill Lynch Japan predicts Sony will lose more than $1 billion on hardware during its next-gen console's first year on the market--a sum it may not be able to recoup.
By Staff, GameSpot
Posted Jun 28, 2005 4:01 pm PT

According to the latest issue of Japanese magazine Toyo Keizai, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities has recently calculated an analysis that the production of a single PlayStation 3 console will cost Sony approximately 54,000 yen to make ($494), as of its initial release in 2006.

Merrill Lynch Japan estimates that the machine's main components--namely its Cell chip, RSX, and BD-ROM drive--will cost about 11,000 yen ($101) each. After adding the other electronics that will be used in the PS3, the machine's production cost goes up to 54,000 yen.

Given that Sony's PS3 will face stiff competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360, the chances that Sony will release its console at its production cost is slim. Under the assumption that the Xbox 360 is expected to sell at around $299, Merrill Lynch Japan predicts that Sony will sell each PS3 at the price of 44,800 yen ($410) in Japan and $399 in America. That would mean Sony would suffer a loss of more than 130 billion yen ($1.18 billion) during the first year of the PS3's release.

By comparison, the PlayStation 2 cost 39,800 yen ($364) in Japan and $299 in America when it launched in 2000. During its first year of release, Sony Computer Entertainment suffered a loss of 51.1 billion yen ($458 million), but it recovered the next year with a profit of 82.9 billion yen ($759 million), followed by 112.6 billion yen ($1.03 billion) the year after.

It is normal for game companies to take a loss on hardware whenever a new console launches, since they typically focus on acquiring market share rather than generating a profit during the first year. During the second year and afterward, they can recover the losses with the savings that come from mass production and with licensing fees from publishers.

However, Merrill Lynch Japan warns that the normal console business cycle may be disrupted if Microsoft cuts the Xbox 360's price when the PlayStation 3 launches. The report goes on to say that such a move could hurt Sony's plans, bringing an additional loss of 80 billion yen ($730 million) in its second year and 50 billion yen ($457 million) in its third year. Thus far, Sony has already invested 200 billion yen ($1.83 billion) into development and production for the Cell chip alone.

Toyo Keizai goes on to interview Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi, who avoided revealing the PS3's price but hinted that it would not be marked down excessively. "Whether consumers think a product is expensive or cheap all depends on the balance between its appeal and price," he said. "Our ideal [for the PS3] is for consumers to think to themselves, 'OK, I'll work more hours and buy it.' We want people to feel that they want it, no matter what."

"When Nintendo was selling its 16-bit machine at around 12,500 yen ($114), we sold the first PlayStation at 39,800 yen ($364)," continued Kutaragi. "The press was saying that it was expensive, but it was a huge hit. It's the same thing with the PlayStation Portable from last year. The Game Boy Advance is a same handheld gaming machine, and it costs less than 10 thousand yen ($91). On the other hand, our PSP had cost 25,000 yen ($229). But people lined up overnight to buy it, and it sold out on the day of its launch. It all depends on whether people want it. Of course, I'm confident that the PS3 is a product that people will definitely want."

[Scott croft]

I fell asleep when I got to production cost goes up to 54,000 yen.

[anahunt]

I wouldn't want them to lose too much money though... That just doesn't seem right, either!

[mistA.WEEd]

link??

[Scott croft]

What do you mean link?

[anahunt]

Oh, it was on gamespot... hang on, I'll put the link back up...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/28/news_6128295.html

[Scott croft]

Cool thanks

[Triumph]

Nice information Anahunt. This is similar to what Microsoft did with the original X-Box. Perhaps Sony is willing to take a loss on the consoles to push their idea of next generation.

The problem with something like a $550.00 pricetag is they would have a horrible time marketing it. The average family is never going to see their way to paying $600 for a game console. They just won't do it, and you will not be able to sell it.

They need to get it at a price point that is marketable, and $399 is probably the absolute highest point they could go and still have a chance at a large marketplace. The good news is this means any of us getting one will be getting a real value buying it below cost.

They can hope to make it up on software, add-ons, licensing and cheaper costs to produce units in the future. I give Sony a lot of credit if they do this. It would be REAL easy to cut out the hard-drive and charge extra for it, and that would make the difference right there. If they stick to their guns, though, I will be impressed.