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Analyst predicts $300 PS3 in April. $250 360 Pro before E3

Queasy

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Link - Michael Pachter has joined me 😉 in predicting the that the PS3 will drop $100 come April (the start of Sony's new fiscal year). He also anticipates that the 360 Pro will drop to $250 by E3 in response. I'd think you'd also see a drop for the Arcade and Elite similar to what MS did before - $20 and $50 respectively.

And why the hell should the Wii drop in price? Demand is still strong for it at $250. No need to drop at all.

The real question is, what can Sony afford not to do more. Can they afford not to act as MS and Nintendo have their consoles closer to the consumer sweetspot? Or can they afford not to try and be profitable with the PS3 at a time when the company just took a big operating loss? I guess it all depends on how much they can continue to drive down the cost of making the PS3.

I could easily see the PS3 dropping only $50.
 
Sony's problem is not a $250 Xbox 360 Premium. Sony's problem is a $150 Xbox 360 Arcade and a $100 Blu-Ray player - especially if the amount of flash in the former gets raised to 512mb or even 1gb.
 
Pachter's predictions regarding the PS3 haven't been very accurate. They are still losing money on each PS3 sale..are they really gonna drop it 100 dollars?
 
I already bought my 80GB PS3 @ $300...thank you holiday sales!!

😉

I disagree on the $150 360 and $100 Blu-Ray though. Sure, they will essentially have some of the same functionality, but a lot of the cheaper Blu-Ray players are having problems, and have little support. When you add all the extra stuff the PS3 does over the 360 Arcade...it's not quite the deal it's cracked up to be. Also, the people with HDTV's who are looking to use HDMI may be limited by their TV and won't be able to use both at the same time without a HDMI switch.

Just my take though...

🙂
 
if the ps3 goes down that far in price, it will start competing against sony's own bluray players in the same price range. At the moment, they are fully aware that a huge segment of the population are still non-gamers and would rather buy a standalone Br player even if a ps3 is only $50 more expensive. If they price them the same, the non-gamers could potentially be buying the ps3's instead of standalone bluray players.

Now this might not sound like a big deal, but the truth is, the standalone players would be much cheaper to manufacture and sony probably has a much bigger profit margine on those than if the non-gamers buy the ps3 and end up just using it as a pure-bluray player, which would be the worst thing possible for sony because not only do they lose money per ps3 sold, but they won't be getting any cash based on the gaming license of the people who own the ps3 purely for the price point and never buy games.
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
I disagree on the $150 360 and $100 Blu-Ray though. Sure, they will essentially have some of the same functionality, but a lot of the cheaper Blu-Ray players are having problems, and have little support.
Click to expand...
This isn't really a problem with the players so much as teething problems with the format. The firmware updates have almost all been workarounds for badly-authored discs, and, IIRC, most of those discs were revised shortly thereafter to not contain corrupted files. In any event, I would not count on low-cost BR-D players have quality issues for much longer - just like cheap DVD players eventually stabilized in terms of quality.

When you add all the extra stuff the PS3 does over the 360 Arcade...it's not quite the deal it's cracked up to be. Also, the people with HDTV's who are looking to use HDMI may be limited by their TV and won't be able to use both at the same time without a HDMI switch.
Click to expand...
Most TVs have more than one HDMI input. If not, there's always component. You're kinda grasping at straws with this one.

As for functionality differences... well, sure. But you're also not forced into buying a BR-D player with a 360 Arcade, or vica versa. That's the problem with a value bundle like the PS3 offers - once it stops being a tremendous value, it starts to become a liability.
 
I don't agree on the players. Most of the existing problems seem to be fixed with firmware updates if anything. Do you think those $100 Wal-Mart Blu-Ray players are going to have firmware support, or that most end users who buy $100 Blu-Ray players are going to know how or want to do it?

As for the TV's. I don't think I'm grasping at straws as you say. Even if the TV's have a couple of HDMI ports, you may still run into the issue with port shortages. In a normal setup you may already be using one from your cable/satellite box, then a second from your console, and then there would be a third for the separate player. Yes, there is component, but it's a hell of a lot easier to connect one HDMI cable for most end users than a component cable, and then a separate audio connection.

You are also completely disregarding that most people probably want less electronics rather than more. Would you rather have one thing that does your movies AND plays your games, or two separate units that require you to do things like constantly switch remotes/inputs to watch a movie or play a game. Most end users want simple, and less. For roughly the same price if you tell them they can get one thing that does a lot, or two things that do the same if they also get some add on's and don't mind switching between them, they will pick the first option most times.

I also think you are disregarding a lot of the extras someone would get with the PS3.

I guess we just have a difference of opinion on the matter though...

🙂

Edit:

Also, a quick scan of Blu-Ray players shows most are still in the $250-$300 range. I'm sure they will come down, but to $100 by April?
 
do you honestly think that someone buying a $100 blu-ray player even cares about firmware updates?

do you think the majority of those people even know what firmware is?

the people who buy a $100 blu-ray player want it to do just 1 thing, play blu-rays on their TV, and that is exactly what they do.
 
I think alot of people that know about the technology don't even care about blu-ray. i know it is better and all but i just could care less. I'll never buy a bluray player unlessit comes to a point where I'll basically have to. Actually I'll have one if God of War 3 comes out this year but I'll never buy a blu-ray disks unless they are as cheap as DVDs.
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
I don't agree on the players. Most of the existing problems seem to be fixed with firmware updates if anything. Do you think those $100 Wal-Mart Blu-Ray players are going to have firmware support, or that most end users who buy $100 Blu-Ray players are going to know how or want to do it?
Click to expand...
It's like you didn't even read what I wrote. _The firmware fixes are workarounds for problems on the discs themselves._ The discs aren't to spec, it's not a problem with the players. That's why the players issue updates _and_ new disc revisions come out. The problem as a whole will get fixed as compatibility testing improves at the studios - it is not some sort of problem inherent in the Blu-Ray standard that will always be there, much like how it was with DVD.

You are also completely disregarding that most people probably want less electronics rather than more. Would you rather have one thing that does your movies AND plays your games, or two separate units that require you to do things like constantly switch remotes/inputs to watch a movie or play a game. Most end users want simple, and less. For roughly the same price if you tell them they can get one thing that does a lot, or two things that do the same if they also get some add on's and don't mind switching between them, they will pick the first option most times.
Click to expand...
Having one box that does everything is actually the direct opposite of simple. Ever tried playing a DVD on a PS3 versus a stand-alone player? One of them, you put in the disc and then have to go hunting through the XMB to find it and make it play. The other, you put the disc in and it plays. That's ignoring the nightmare of configuration, too. Ever tried to configure audio and video on a PS3? Most non-technical people are going to be terrified.

But, besides that, how many people have a standalone DVD player hooked up to the TV next to their PS3, PS2, or 360? I think you're overestimating the inputs problem and underestimating the value of simple operation. But, like you said, JMO.

I also think you are disregarding a lot of the extras someone would get with the PS3.
Click to expand...
I _own one_, and I would wager I've used more of that additional functionality than 99% of PS3 owners. I'm not disregarding anything. The 360 does stuff the PS3 doesn't, too.

Also, a quick scan of Blu-Ray players shows most are still in the $250-$300 range. I'm sure they will come down, but to $100 by April?
Click to expand...
Why not? They're down to $150 already. Sure, they're no-name brands right now, but that'll change by the end of 2009. It's not so much the reality of cheapness as the perception of cheapness that'll matter when pricing on the value of the PS3's Blu-Ray component.
 
You can buy Pro consoles with 2 games on sale at many outlets in Canada for 259.99 right now, Future Shop and Best Buy had them at this price the whole month of December, while the PS3 was still 399.99
 
$300 including backwards compatibility and I'm sold. I'll just wait for $150 otherwise.

I'm guessing that I'll be waiting until $150...
 
Got a link to some of these $150 Blu-Ray players? I couldn't find any...

As to the firmware vs disc problem, the problems I've seen have mainly been with the players themselves, but you claim differently, so let's just disagree.

Regardless, this is just becoming and 360 vs PS3 argument now...there's already plenty of those around...

🙂
 
Pretty crazy that the Wii could end up being the most expensive console by the end of the generation. :Q Going by the "standard" models at least (the 360 that everyone calls the "Pro" and the cheaper PS3)
 
I don't have a HDTV yet adn there's no game I dying to play on the PS3 so I don't see myself buying one any time soon. When GT5 comes out I'll probably grab it.
 
I just grabbed an open box 160GB PS3 for $440 CDN that included Uncharted. Incidentally, whoever returned it also left Guitar Hero III in the drive ... so I got a little bonus there. For what it can do (and the amount I actually had to pay - it was mostly a Christmas gift), I LOVE it. If the 80 GB version had been $100 less, I would have definitely bought it a long time ago 🙂
 
Ever tried playing a DVD on a PS3 versus a stand-alone player? One of them, you put in the disc and then have to go hunting through the XMB to find it and make it play. The other, you put the disc in and it plays.
Click to expand...

I _own one_, and I would wager I've used more of that additional functionality than 99% of PS3 owners.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that 99% of additional functionality is everything you can do without actually hooking it up? To play a DVD on any of my stand alone players I turn them on then put the disc in. To play a DVD on my PS3- put the disc in, no need to so much as turn it on. I just double checked this as what you were saying made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

Ever tried to configure audio and video on a PS3?
Click to expand...

Anyone who can handle the setup on a BluRay player or HDTV can very easily handle it on the PS3- it is FAR simpler. I realize you can say that you don't need to set them up which is on a technical basis accurate, however every new HDTV I've seen looks like absolute trash out of the box.

Also, the profile 2.0 player you linked- not quite 2.0 yet.

I've spent a decent amount of time over the last several weeks trying to find a decent stand alone BRD player and I keep coming back to the same thing, if you want a good quality 2.0 player the PS3 is still probably your cheapest option for anything resembling quality. This isn't something that makes me particularly happy, I already have a PS3 and don't really feel the need to have two of them, but given the available stand alone players it looks like I'll have a second PS3 simply for the BluRay capabilities.
 
Originally posted by: FuryofFive
whenever i stick a disc in on the ps3.. it plays automatically.. so why are you all navigating?
Click to expand...

I *think* there's a setting to automatically play DVD's/BD's when you insert a disc, but I don't remember if the default setting is on or off.
 
Originally posted by: tk149
Originally posted by: FuryofFive
whenever i stick a disc in on the ps3.. it plays automatically.. so why are you all navigating?
Click to expand...

I *think* there's a setting to automatically play DVD's/BD's when you insert a disc, but I don't remember if the default setting is on or off.
Click to expand...

on.
 
Originally posted by: evident
Originally posted by: tk149
Originally posted by: FuryofFive
whenever i stick a disc in on the ps3.. it plays automatically.. so why are you all navigating?
Click to expand...

I *think* there's a setting to automatically play DVD's/BD's when you insert a disc, but I don't remember if the default setting is on or off.
Click to expand...

on.
Click to expand...

Yea i don't know what erwos is talking about, my ps3 plays blurays and dvds automatically when i insert them.

hell, like the other poster said, i think you can eve insert a disc w/the console turned off (in standby mode) and the slot loading drive will suck the disc in and power the ps3 on for you, then automatically play the movie.
 
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