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[Hollywood]

GBA SP to $60 ... DS to $100 ... GC to 80 ... XBOX and PS2 to $100 .... any of these likely?

Sony could have the crunch put on them by Nintendo and MSoft. If Nintendo cuts the price of their portables two months after the PSP launches will they drop? And since XBox 2 is coming out this year will MSoft purposely drop the XBox to $100, not only to clear a little stock, but to make Sony set the PS2 at $100 ... which would have to last like that all the way up to the PS3?

 

[Deku Tree]

I think they'll play the $129 card before the $100 card.

 

[Pedigree Chum]

I think Sony will cut the price of the PS2 when Xenon comes out to offset the hype. It'll probably work to some degree...$100 vs. $300.

 

[Sysgen]

Why would MS want SONY to drop th eprice of the PS2? It seems to me that MS would want the PS2 to stick at $149. Not saying a PS2 price drop won't happen and it probably will but IMO SONY would take the lead doing it to make their console and it's huge library more attractive.

 

[Ironclad]

I think Sony will cut the price of the PS2 when Xenon comes out to offset the hype. It'll probably work to some degree...$100 vs. $300.

I can see the slim PS2 for $100 being a definite contender against the Xenon. It wouldn't be a bad move on Sony's part.

 

[fse]

:lol
probably, but most likely not.

 

[Hollywood]

Why would MS want SONY to drop th eprice of the PS2? It seems to me that MS would want the PS2 to stick at $149. Not saying a PS2 price drop won't happen and it probably will but IMO SONY would take the lead doing it to make their console and it's huge library more attractive.

Because Sony would be stuck at $100 up until the PS3 is released, which would be late next year, while XBox would only have to stay $100 till XBox 2 comes out.

 

[Speevy]

At this point (2005), not one of the consoles is worth its price.

The PS2 needs to be $79.99, the Xbox needs to be $99.99, and the Cube needs to be $49.99. If you think this is crazy, ask yourself whether you'd rather have 3 brand new games or a new PS2.

 

[sonycowboy]

I think Sony will cut the price of the PS2 when Xenon comes out to offset the hype. It'll probably work to some degree...$100 vs. $300.

I don't see that happening.

1) $149 PS2 seems to be selling pretty well. We'll find out if that's still true tomorrow. If you look at my hardware threads, you'll see that Sony drops the price only after the sales for the system drop too low for a period of time. That's a signal that that particular price point has been tapped out. I really don't think it's tapped out yet.

2) They'd never skip the $129 price point

3) They didn't get to take the $149 or the PS2 redesign for a test spin last year at retail because of the shortages.

4) I don't think PS2 @ $99 will stop people from buying Xbox360 at all. Hardcore buyers already have the PS2 & Xbox. They're the ones who'll get the XBox 360. The PS2 buyers will be casuals and bargain conscious consumers.

 

[Amused_To_Death]

Demand for PS2 and PSTwo is still very high so I doubt Sony cuts its price. Microsoft can't keep up with demand so they'll be content to wait 6 months until xbox2 comes out. GC is becoming irrelevant at this point.

 

[Sysgen]

Because Sony would be stuck at $100 up until the PS3 is released, which would be late next year, while XBox would only have to stay $100 till XBox 2 comes out.

How does a PS2 price point of $100 benefit MS?

 

[Sysgen]

I don't see that happening.
...
4) I don't think PS2 @ $99 will stop people from buying Xbox360 at all. Hardcore buyers already have the PS2 & Xbox. They're the ones who'll get the XBox 360. The PS2 buyers will be casuals and bargain conscious consumers.

MS needs to attract many more casuals. A PS2 @ $99 would make the casual think twice about 360.

 

[Speevy]

The sort of casual that buys a PS2 in the Fall before the PS3 is either

A) not worth Sony's time.
B) Just needs a replacement system. (more likely)

 

[aoi tsuki]

Free Gamecube with the purchase of the new Zelda = 1 million+ GCs sold

 

[sonycowboy]

The sort of casual that buys a PS2 in the Fall before the PS3 is either

A) not worth Sony's time.
B) Just needs a replacement system. (more likely)

Speevy, please. Don't go to troll land with the replacement crap.

Sony makes money on the hardware and they buy software just like everybody else. They bought 30 million PSOnes last generation and made games like Driver, Syphon Filter, Crash 5,6,7 (whatever), Frogger, etc million sellers.

The Tie Ratio for the Playstation, went up AFTER the PSOne was released. A very clear sign that they buy software. They are just slow to get the hardware for whatever reason. Also, the ASP of software is now in the mid-$30's vs mid $40's two years ago. There's a HUGE library for them to buy software for and it's all gravy to the publishers. They've long since recouped thier costs and everything else is pure profit.

 

[Morts]

PS2 and XBox aren't $100 already? That seems outrageous for machines that have been out as long as they have. A DS at $100 would be a definite purchase for me, though.

 

[The Faceless Master]

i would be surprised to see any pricedrops at e3

 

[Mac the KNife]

Xbox'll prob'ly drop. As for the others, it wouldn't make as much sense. PS2 will probably drop closer to Nextbox time. How much further can Gamecube go!? They might as well give the system away, that would spark some serious sales. I doubt the DS would drop so soon. Especially after the PSP's price was officially announced.

 

[Speevy]

Speevy, please. Don't go to troll land with the replacement crap.

Sony makes money on the hardware and they buy software just like everybody else. They bought 30 million PSOnes last generation and made games like Driver, Syphon Filter, Crash 5,6,7 (whatever), Frogger, etc million sellers.

The Tie Ratio for the Playstation, went up AFTER the PSOne was released. A very clear sign that they buy software. They are just slow to get the hardware for whatever reason. Also, the ASP of software is now in the mid-$30's vs mid $40's two years ago. There's a HUGE library for them to buy software for and it's all gravy to the publishers. They've long since recouped thier costs and everything else is pure profit.

By the Fall of 2005, how many PS2's will Sony have sold? 100 million or something? You honestly want to tell me that not many people need a new PS2? I've had this Xbox since November 2002, and I frankly expect it to be gasping by the time all the next generation consoles are out. Jeez, you're overly sensitive. I know the PS2 sells. I know you track every unit it sells. I've also seen several break with my own eyes.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

How much more can XBox drop? I thought they weren't profitable now because of the old NVidia contract. Dropping to $100 isn't going to help that.

 

[cvxfreak]

Free Gamecube with the purchase of the new Zelda = 1 million+ GCs sold

They'd be repeat buyers though. =/

 

[Pakman]

How much more can XBox drop? I thought they weren't profitable now because of the old NVidia contract. Dropping to $100 isn't going to help that.

Microsoft never profited off the Xbox alone. They've been loosing money since day one. As for a PS2 price drop. If that slim drops to $99 during E3 Sony will have at least one new PS2 owner. Me. But if they do it when Xbox2 launches screw that.

 

[Hollywood]

How does a PS2 price point of $100 benefit MS?

Makes Sony lose 1/3 of thgeir revenue by forcing them to drop the system price $50. That's the whole point. Get in a price war right before you release your new system since you aren't going to be selling it much longer anyway. And sony will be stuck with the $100 price point for another year until ps3 comes.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

It will probably be $129 for E3 time this year and then finally $99 for E3 2006. PS3 isn't coming out until 2006. $99 systems tend to be reserved for when the successor is coming out that year and the only people who get it are those who are cheap or parents who want to buy a cheap console for their kids.

Hopefully there's a price drop on GC so the price on a used GC will go down. I've been waiting for the moment the system hits $50. I've been itching to play Paper Mario 2 but not at $100 or even at the used prices of $65-70.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

PS2 and XBox aren't $100 already? That seems outrageous for machines that have been out as long as they have.

My records for N64/PS1's later price drops are not so great, but I do believe by the age of the current Xbox and PS2 they were at $129 or less. Fastest to hit 100 among recent consoles, though, were the Dreamcast at 17 months, and the GameCube at 22 months. My records don't indicate when either N64 or PS1 hit $100, though it looks like PS1 finally hit $50 68 months after launch; that would be the E3 after PS2 launched.

It's understandable why the Xbox and PS2 prices are as high as they are, though. People will buy them at that price, Sony likes profits, Microsoft dislikes excessive losses.

 

[neptunes]

I wonder how many people haven't purchased any current gen consoles yet.

 

[sonycowboy]

I wonder how many people haven't purchased any current gen consoles yet.

USA - Another 17-20M units
WW - Another 30-35M units

 

[SickBoy]

I'm pretty sure there are more than 30 million more people in the world <---LOOK A SMILEY!

Anyhow, I just wanted to post and suggest that the likelihood of a price drop... or a steep price drop might be impacted by the weak American dollar.

 

[jarrod]

Well, this fall I'd like to see...

PlayStation 2~ $129.99
Xbox~ $129.99
GameCube~ $79.99
Xbox 360~ $299.99

Game Boy Advance SP~ $49.99
Nintendo DS~ $99.99
PlayStation Portable~ $199.99
N-Gage QD~ $79.99

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Jarrod is probably very close to the fact. Not so sure about those Nintendo portable prices, though. $30 (37.5%) drop for GBA SP and $50 (33.3%) drop for DS are pretty big. I'll guess something more like $59.99 (20% drop) and $119 (20% drop again), unless PSP is demolishing them. Of course, if the rumors about a new model of GBA pan out, an even lower SP price would be possible, but also basically irrelevant.

 

[Red Scarlet]

At this point (2005), not one of the consoles is worth its price.

Why's that? This stage of their lives is one of the best to get them now, with so many games to choose from (and many at cheaper, used prices), compared to $350-ish with crap for software (number of titles/launches haven't been great this gen) at release. Of course, after E3 is one of the better times to buy one, or Christmastime.

I wish I would've waited longer for my US PS2 (was $149? I think when I got it), I've played it maybe twice in the year I've had it.