£425 Playstation

[Avalanche]

Taken from the Saturday Daily Mirror. It's a tabloid, so take what you will of it.

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$425 Playstation

Price Leaps before Launch

A SONY boss let slip that its new Playstation3 will cost £425 - £84 more than expected.

The price, £140 more than rival Microsoft's XBox360, will shock parents who were expected to snap up the consoles as a 'must have' present next Christmas.

Initially two versions were to be launched with a basic PS3 at £341.50 and a more powerful model at £409.95.

Sony's UK boss Ray Maguire accidentally revealed the higher price in an interview with Eurogamer TV, to be shown next week.

He admitted the price tag would put the silver cased machine beyond reach for many gamers.

But he said it was still 'a bargain' because of its sophisticated new Blu-ray technology. He said: "I don't think it's an expensive machine. I think it's probably a cheap machine."

"If you think a Blu-ray high-def player by itself might be £600-700 and we're coming in at just £425."

Sony is 8 months behind schedule with the UK launch, not set for Novermber 17, and experts say the PS3 might be in danger of pricing itself out of the market.

The firm had planned to have them in shops by the Spring but glitches with the Blu-ray DVD disc drive forced a rethink.

It still plans to have two million ready for the worldwide launch, and another six million by March.

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£425 comes in at something like $770 for you US folks, though obviously it won't be priced like that over there. In the UK we're faced with extortionate console prices.

 

[kainedamo]

I think Sony have screwed themselves.


Sony have dominated the games industry since the first Playstation. But now, now they're going down big time. And they only have themselves to blame.

Look at the dismal sales of the PSP. Nobody wanted UMD technology.

The PS3 is too damn expensive. Sony have screwed themselves.

 

[Galactus]

In Sweden it might be even more expensive than in Great Britain. I heard rumours about a price equal to £440-450. Definitely not worth it.

 

[Zenien]

I think Sony have screwed themselves.


Sony have dominated the games industry since the first Playstation. But now, now they're going down big time. And they only have themselves to blame.

Look at the dismal sales of the PSP. Nobody wanted UMD technology.

The PS3 is too damn expensive. Sony have screwed themselves.

PSP sells neck and neck with the Nintendo DS, adn together they are two of the fastest selling handhelds in history. PSP software sales typically have an edge over the NDS in every territory but Japan, where the Nintendo DS is more dominant than any gaming platform I have ever seen.

Typically the translation that most companies have done in the gaming industry is $1=£1, so they are breaking the trend with the PS3 in that respect, but price and all so yeah.

If you're some AV person, the PS3 is a great bargain I suppose. But then again HD has like no prescenece in Europe thanks partly to your wacky electricity frequency.

 

[Smirnoff]

Rofl.

 

[Sava]

450?....f**k that!!!

 

[Aiden]

450?....f**k that!!!

ditto

 

[comicman]

I don't care if its got Metal Gear Solid 4 (a game I really want to play I should point out). I point blank refuse to spend nearly £500 on a games console.

Sony, well done, you just lost a customer.

 

[Zenien]

Just wait a year or so. Price drop + when MGS4 is actually coming out right.

And the basic one is £341.50, not 425.

 

[SpiderFan17]

Just wait a year or so. Price drop + when MGS4 is actually coming out right.

And the basic one is £341.50, not 425.

Err... what basic one? According to SCEE, it won't exist

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6151565.html

However, there is no guarantee that the cheaper 20GB console will be launched in the UK. "The lower-end 20GB version of PlayStation 3 has no Wi-Fi, no HDMI, and none of the other slots in it, so it's really a question of where we would position it. It's more likely that we will only launch the 60GB version," Maguire told MCV.

This entire launch reeks of miscalculation and awful business decisions. As far as price drops, I don't see why anyone expects a drop one year in massive enough to still make it worthwhile (Unless they do a 100 dollar drop, but the way they're touting the "its a very cheap console" line around, in addition to the production cost, its highly unlikely).

 

[Zenien]

If that's the case if you wait a year I bet they'll have the basic unit on shelf, just like they did with the PSP. Intially they only did the "Value Pack" in other territories, but after a year they are now releasing the standalone unit. Looking into my crystal ball similar situation likely.

 

[Strgts]

Sony Fan Boys would have to be REALLY, REALLY, STUPID if they buy this System at that Price

 

[kainedamo]

You might aswell buy a PC.

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

or upgrade your own. plus the games will be like 70-80 bucks.

 

[Zenien]

The games won't be any more expensive than their 360 counterparts. Not sure where you heard 70-80 dollars.

 

[Boom]

The evidence just keeps piling up: Sony doesn't want me to get Metal Gear Solid 4.

 

[giggs11uk]

The Blu-ray kills it Sony has gambled to much what if HD DVD wins. If it does Sony Is F**ked

 

[giggs11uk]

The games won't be any more expensive than their 360 counterparts. Not sure where you heard 70-80 dollars.

Higher devolopment cost shoot the 36o games up 10 dollars and because of all the nice graphics developers will have to raise prices

 

[Strgts]

The Blu-ray kills it Sony has gambled to much what if HD DVD wins. If it does Sony Is F**ked

I doubt either will win. DVD is to popular. I know I am not upgrading anytime soon

 

[Strgts]

Higher devolopment cost shoot the 36o games up 10 dollars and because of all the nice graphics developers will have to raise prices

If you ask me thanks to Sonys Price **** up & since Sony is making the PS3 even higher the best thing Microsoft & Nintendo can do is make their Games Cheaper. That would tell Sony a thing or Two. I doubt Microsoft will raise any Prices. Sony is only making things TOOOO GOOD for Nintendo & Microsoft

 

[Iceman]

Wow - lot more than expensive than I was expecting.

 

[Zenien]

Higher devolopment cost shoot the 36o games up 10 dollars and because of all the nice graphics developers will have to raise prices

What does that have to do with anything. I mean that's sort of beside the point...

 

[Spidey-Bat]

High console price+High software price+Overall weak launch=Poor Sales

The PS3 games will definately be $60+. The Blu Ray technology is more costly than what the 360 is using.

 

[Zenien]

You must realize that the cost of Blue Ray is included in the system price for the PS3, and the difference of cost in producing a BR disc versus a DVD is minimal, like we are talking pennies.

Even with its five times larger capacity, a single layer disc of Blu-ray (BD-ROM) is expected to cost no more than a current DVD when manufactured at mass volumes.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I think Sony have screwed themselves.


Sony have dominated the games industry since the first Playstation. But now, now they're going down big time. And they only have themselves to blame.

Look at the dismal sales of the PSP. Nobody wanted UMD technology.

The PS3 is too damn expensive. Sony have screwed themselves.

While I do agree with you that Sony is shooting themselves in the foot with this price and they are acting like idiots involving it (for example Krazy Ken saying that the Playstation 3 is very cheap). What you are saying about the Playstation Portable is completely wrong.

Nobody wanted the UMD MOVIES, not the technology. UMD movies were a stupid concept from the beginning. But they are still quite good for the Playstation Portable for games. Do you actually expect to put in a DVD into that thing? A cartridge certainly can't handle the games on the system. UMDs allow the Playstation Portable to have the games it has, with the graphics they have while keeping it as a portable system.

Also, the Playstation Portable is gaining a slight edge in Europe and North America over the Nintendo DS, mostly due to games such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Daxter, Metal Gear Ac!d series, and console ports that feature exculsive content. These games cater to the audience in those markets. Expect the Playstation Portable to gain a better edge when Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII are released.

In Japan, the Nintendo DS is doing better because it's games cater more to the Japanese audience, than the Playstation Portable does. The Playstation Portable won't beat the Nintendo DS in Japan, but expect the gap between the two to lessen when Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is released for the system, but Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS could counter that.

But most importantly, Sony has ended the monopoly that Nintendo had on the handheld market thanks to the Game Boy line. A feat that Atari, Sega, Nokia, NEC, Bandai, SNK, and Gampark were unable to do.