PlayStation 3, Sony|March 30, 2009 7:37 pm

Sony Not Planning PS3 Price Drop



By now it seems that many of you have come to anticipate tomorrow’s mysterious Sony announcement; until now the general speculation was that the PS3 would get a long overdue price cut. However, SCEA PR manager Al De Leon  has decided to rain on everybody’s parade by flatly denying such speculation in a statement to Joystiq:

“As we have stated previously, we do not have plans for a PS3 price drop, and any rumors to that effect are false and are the result of speculation. SCEA remains focused on the long-term momentum of PS3. With the industry’s best software lineup this year, combined with our most aggressive marketing campaign to date, we remain confident in our approach and the value we’re delivering with PS3.”

So then, it seems that such a clear denial is likely true, and the PS3 will stay at it’s current $399 base price point a while longer. Meanwhile, the speculation regarding tomorrow’s announcement has turned to a potential drop on the nine-year-old PS2 or the handheld PSP. For those of you who have been holding out on purchasing Sony’s powerhouse game console, might I recommend speaking with your pocketbooks by pursuing a couple of  alternatives.

VGN24
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  • http://ps3evolved.net INFECTED503

    Hello Mr. Obvious! Its nice to meet you! and I don’t know anyone that actually thought it would have been a price cut. They are losing money on every console sold! Sony is not an American company and has no one to bail them out. They will bail themselves out of this and announce a price cut in Sept. wanna bet?

  • http://consoleation.wordpress.com Peter Skerritt

    It’s a losing proposition for Sony either way. The PlayStation 3 is too expensive to compete with Microsoft and the software isn’t there (yet). Sure, there’s Killzone 2… but less-serious gamers already have their fill of shooters with the Xbox 360. What is it about KZ2 or Resistance 2 that would make you want to drop over $450 on a PS3 and one (or both of those) when you can spend 30% less on a 360 and Halo 3 or Gears of War?

    It’s a recession out there and disposable income is shrinking daily. Stretching that disposable income out and getting the most for your dollar is an obstacle that Sony will not overcome in this console generation.

  • Chris

    Sony can’t afford to drop the price of the PS3 because they’re losing money hand over fist on every console sold. This is in addition to the fact that other aspects of Sony’s entertainment division aren’t doing very well either. Peter is also right, the lineup also isn’t enough to entice people to drop $400 on the console.

    Sony’s biggest problem is that, allegedly, according to an article I read elsewhere about a week or two ago, publishers are so angry that the install base is getting killed by the 360 and Wii that they’re threatening to pull resources from PS3 games and put them into Wii games instead. That could really kill Sony this generation.

    I think Sony will have to announce a price drop eventually, I think it’ll be before September though. I could see another announcement by Sony, this one of a PS3 price drop, at E3 in June. IMO a stage that big will garner them more publicity than a standalone announcement tomorrow.

    Unless Sony’s willing, and able, to take a big bath on how much they lose on every console sold IMO this generation’s over for them. They’re not going to be able to compete with the 360 and Wii, both of which can now be made and sold at a profit for each console.

    I also think they’re really rather stupid for still selling the PS2 and, if this turns out to be the announcement, dropping the price further. It’s like they’re telling gamers, “Why bother with the PS3 when you can have a perfectly ok gaming experience on the PS2?” Then if a gamer wants a next-gen experience the XBox 360 is still cheaper. It seemed harsh at the time but IMO Microsoft’s decision to kill the XBox turned out to be the correct decision. It forced everybody who liked what XBox had to offer to upgrade.

  • Aaron D

    I totally agree with Peter — Sony is dropping the ball on everything they are trying to do right now – the PS3 right now just looks like a Blu-Ray player to me not a legit game system – since most if not all there games can be found on other consoles with no big difference in overall quality – They need to pull a something off and right now they are just content to stay where they are – its hard to say you are gaming when your ps2 is the largest selling console ever and then can’t follow it up with the ps3 by just betting that since it says PlayStation on it it will sell — sorry its a recession.

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