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Post by KC on Jan 23, 2007 11:46:25 GMT 6
The Akibablog reports that in Japan, console sales for the PS3 have slowed significantly. (Kotaku would say not cooled, more like frozen, but people would start flaming here so we won't say that.) It seems that gamers have decided to wait for the prices to either drop, or for actual games to come out.
The Akibablog says that the retailers are reportedly slicing 20 percent off the 20GB PS3. The 20GB version originally books at ¥49,980 (US$ 412) but it is now being offered for ¥39,980 (US$ 329) in a sale that should end in February. Kotaku reports that popular reasoning for not buying a PS3 in online message boards, say for example 2chan, range from "there are no games I want" to "video stores don't rent Blu-ray movies."
If you recall the first few weeks after the PS2 launch, despite the lack of a solid library of games, the console still sold well in Japan due to the DVD player.
To balance things out (it's getting a bit too anti-PS3 here) we do have to note that some have pointed out that this essentially is a promotion from Don Quijote (the retailer) and they only had a few quantities. A commenter at Kotaku notes that they also had the deal at the Shibuya store but both stores were sold out of the promotional 20GB deal before it we even got to either store
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Post by Altaïr47 on Jan 23, 2007 17:49:41 GMT 6
www.joystiq.com/2007/01/22/tretton-ps3-will-be-difficult-to-cost-reduce/Tretton: PS3 will be "difficult to cost reduce"An interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America chief Jack Tretton in the latest issue of Game Informer revealed some troubling news for consumers waiting for a lower-priced PlayStation 3. When asked point blank whether price drops for the PS3 will be "as soon or as drastic as they were for the PlayStation 2," Tretton responded with a curt, "No."
For reference, the PS2 was reduced from $299 to $199 in the United States on May 14, 2002, 565 days after the Oct. 20, 2000 release date. Using this data and Tretton's above answer, we can expect that the PS3 won't come down in price until at least June 4, 2008.
The reason for the shallower pricing curve? According to Tretton, the increased investment in R & D and hardware makes the system "a lot more difficult to cost reduce" than the PS2. "There's a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it," Tretton told Game Informer. Despite this, Tretton doesn't seem to think the system's price will hurt its position in the marketplace. "I think the consumers that get their hands on a PlayStation 3 clearly see the value and not only want to buy one for $599, in some instances they're willing to pay ridiculous prices to buy one on eBay," Tretton said. (Oh really?)
Well, Joystiq readers are pretty big video game consumers, last time we checked. Do you think the PS3 can remain competitive at its current price until mid-2008? If you don't have the system yet, will you be willing to wait that long for a lower price? How much would you be willing to pay for Sony's power-packed system?
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