PS3 Pricing Strategy - Blu-ray Forum

Simplayer · 08-22-2008, 04:58 AM

It seems that Sony has decided to take a different pricing strategy than Microsoft and what it has done in the past with the PS1 and PS2; make money off of the hardware sold.

Even with Microsoft poised on getting the Arcade down to 200 dollars and the elite down to 400, Sony seems to be steadfast in keeping their price points relatively high so that they can make profit on each PS3 sold.

I'm wondering if Sony now is trying to reach a different audience than what they initially hoped on reaching. Microsoft seems to be still reaching out towards the traditional young male audience by following the same pricing strategy that the previous PS have used (selling below cost because that market can't afford that much) and is stagnating, while it seems to me that the PS3 is now aiming towards the young families. With PS3's current price point, it can be sold as a blu-ray player for this holiday (and future holiday) season, with the added benefit of gameplay for the kids (with LittleBigPlanet leading the charge there) as well as a heavy mixture of mature/teen titles for the parents.

With that audience, software sales aren't going to be as strong as you would see on the 360, so profit off the system will be necessary.

If Sony is able to convince retail partners to bundle the PS3 with HDTV sales this holiday, they may be able to sell a great deal of units with the growing demand for Blu-ray. This should help them bolster their install base, allowing them to more naturally reduce the price and reach more of the young male audience and possibly the Wii audience in time.

What do you guys think?

SkillzthatKillz · 08-22-2008, 05:06 AM

i think they're still trying to reach the young male audience(traditional gamer crowd) with the ps3, and its working, because i know many xbots who are picking up ps3's to play the exclusive games and to watch blu-rays with it. most people will admit that the ps3 is a better system than the 360 and now that is becoming a common opinion and more hardcore gamers are now looking to get a ps3

JadedRaverLA · 08-22-2008, 05:30 AM

There's several issues that exist that Sony is undoubtedly considering right now in terms of PS3 pricing:

The system has been outselling the 360 recently (even in the U.S.)
The (very costly) format war is over and Blu-ray won
They sold the system at an incredible loss early on in order to push Blu-ray into homes, so at some point, those losses have to be paid back
The PS3 currently accounts for far too large a percentage of Blu-ray player sales to make any of the other CE companies happy -- the PS3 needs to stay above the price of the lower-end major-brand Blu-ray players in order for standalone manufacturers to finally make a dent in the PS3s dominance
Most predictions are for very strong Q4 sales (at the current prices), as the PS3 has finally turned the corner from pushing the Blu-ray format, to having the Blu-ray format help push PS3 sales

Looking at sales, the current market, and the current value of the US dollar, it doesn't make much sense to me to drop prices right now. Obviously, they'll be looking at sales data following the upcoming 360 price drop, but they have to be very reluctant to make a major move on pricing right now. Including more pack-ins, larger hard drives, etc, all makes sense, but dropping the base price of the system (at least in the US) seems like a very bad move in the grander scheme of things right now.

harley · 08-22-2008, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkillzthatKillz

i think they're still trying to reach the young male audience(traditional gamer crowd) with the ps3, and its working, because i know many xbots who are picking up ps3's to play the exclusive games and to watch blu-rays with it. most people will admit that the ps3 is a better system than the 360 and now that is becoming a common opinion and more hardcore gamers are now looking to get a ps3

I dont believe that for a second. some of the best games are on the 360. lots of ps3 owners have 360's as well. They are both great systems. I bought the PS3 only for blu ray. I dont own any ps3 games...I had one but traded it and dont plan on buying anymore...but i will buy more bluray

pmac · 08-22-2008, 05:32 AM

I think with the options in the PS3 i.e. Blu-Ray built in vs purchasing HD player seperate back when...The price difference is FAR more than justified. I would pay more, and still feel like i received a better deal than my Elite in the kids room. It is almost like comparing apples to oranges at this stage. They only have the games in common the PS3 goes on after that.

We didnt even buy it for games, we initially bought ours for a BR player. Now I have a half dozen hard copy games and a dozen downloaded games on board

It is a Home Theater Play Station for us big Kids.
IMO, it is no contest, PS3 at a higher price is a far better deal.

Marquoz · 08-22-2008, 05:37 AM

I already had a PS3, got it for future games, current games, and blu-ray abilities. I was waffling on an X-box, but with the pricing strategy they are taking, it's a no brainer to pick it up for 199$. It's got enough games that I am willing to pick up, and with the 3 year warranty I'm not worried about the RROD. I know it will break, but I also know the PS3 will break (already did once on me, the diode or whatever died, and I couldn't play games/movies for nearly a month waiting on receipts and repair).

BirdManJr · 08-22-2008, 05:52 AM

Just a question...I have played 360 alot..My gf brother owns one...And yes the games are fun...And xbox live is cool...But i dont see a big difference in the 360 games being so much more fun?...Pretty much when we played xbox live we laughed at the 12 year old kids on there cussing people out and the older people cussing the 12 year old kids out....good way to spend 50 dollars hahahaha....

Anyway...i dont see a big difference...He is actually thinking about selling his 360 and getting a ps3 after i let him play uncharted.

His 360 has got the red ring of death 2 times so far and i think he is getting fed up with it too.

Blu-Generation · 08-22-2008, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley

some of the best games are on the 360.

Except there's no existing list to prove that. Other then opinions.

Simplayer · 08-22-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JadedRaverLA

The PS3 currently accounts for far too large a percentage of Blu-ray player sales to make any of the other CE companies happy -- the PS3 needs to stay above the price of the lower-end major-brand Blu-ray players in order for standalone manufacturers to finally make a dent in the PS3s dominance
Most predictions are for very strong Q4 sales (at the current prices), as the PS3 has finally turned the corner from pushing the Blu-ray format, to having the Blu-ray format help push PS3 sales

With those two things in mind, do you think Sony will try to partner up with other TV manufacturers (or perhaps just itself) and BestBuy, etc., to offer HDTV and PS3 combos for sale? Or would they lay off and let other Blu-ray players be sold in that fashion?

Also, do you think LBP is going to get bundled with the new 80gig Model? It seems strange to me that they want Sackboy to be their mascot, but not bundle it with a PS3 to help drive new customers to purchase the PS3.

CptGreedle · 08-22-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Generation

Except there's no existing list to prove that. Other then opinions.

Opinions make up for a lot of things. I can not tell someone Halo sucks, just cause it is on the 360, cause in their opinion it rocks! Honestly, it is a good game.
I can say that overall, there are MORE games on the 360. But better is debatable. And by better, do you mean more fun? better graphics? better gameplay? better support or reliability? With a 1 year head start, of course the 360 will have more games. But the games on the PS3 have been getting great reviews overall. The times are changing, and the PS3 is selling better and showing the world the powerhouse that it is. With games like MGS4, it is hard to say the graphics are better on the 360. Only bad ports gave it that bad rap. The games on Live are not as innovative as the games on PSN. And PSN is free, while Live is not.

Overall, it is always down to opinions. But yeah, I think the PS3 has better games, just fewer of them, and the sales charts can back me up there.

BillCable · 08-22-2008, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplayer

Also, do you think LBP is going to get bundled with the new 80gig Model? It seems strange to me that they want Sackboy to be their mascot, but not bundle it with a PS3 to help drive new customers to purchase the PS3.

I doubt it. My guess is they want to sell as many copies of LBP at full price as possible. Bundling loses any sales from people who'd pick up the console just to play it. With it lined up to be a big hit, they're probably counting on many people picking it up in addition to the 80Gig or 160Gig.

phranctoast · 08-22-2008, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley

I dont believe that for a second. some of the best games are on the 360. lots of ps3 owners have 360's as well. They are both great systems. I bought the PS3 only for blu ray. I dont own any ps3 games...I had one but traded it and dont plan on buying anymore...but i will buy more bluray

You must realize that you are in the minority. A lot of people bought the PS3 video game system for games. Lots of people still don't trust a "game system" as their primary media player (regardless of how great it is at that).

Some of the best games are on the PS3, and are exclusive to it.

My biggest issue with the 360 (other than RROD) is that if a game comes out on it, it's highly likely that it will also be available on the PS3 or at least the PC.

You cannot say the same thing about the PS3.

Avarice · 08-22-2008, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phranctoast

You must realize that you are in the minority. A lot of people bought the PS3 video game system for games. Lots of people still don't trust a "game system" as their primary media player (regardless of how great it is at that).

Some of the best games are on the PS3, and are exclusive to it.

My biggest issue with the 360 (other than RROD) is that if a game comes out on it, it's highly likely that it will also be available on the PS3 or at least the PC.

You cannot say the same thing about the PS3.

+1most games are 'only' on ps3 that are exclusive to ps3

Elandyll · 08-22-2008, 07:21 PM

Quote:

some of the best games are on the 360.

You mean on the 360 -and- PC right?

Because quite frankly, for those of us (and I imagine that's a lot of us) who have both a PC and a PS3, a 360 is 99% useless, be it at $299 or $199.

tru2blu707 · 08-22-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elandyll

You mean on the 360 -and- PC right?

Because quite frankly, for those of us (and I imagine that's a lot of us) who have both a PC and a PS3, a 360 is 99% useless, be it at $299 or $199.

very true...i was planning on buying a 360 just for gears of war...but then it came out on PC also, with MORE stuff! plus im a fighting game fanatic...and the 360 controller is just HORRID for fighting games.

i doubt sony is considering a price drop untill they see a dip in sales. right now they seem to be holding a steady pace in terms of console sales per month.

xtop · 08-22-2008, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phranctoast

Some of the best games are on the PS3, and are exclusive to it.

both systems have great games. great games aren't exclusive to one console

Quote:

Originally Posted by phranctoast

My biggest issue with the 360 (other than RROD) is that if a game comes out on it, it's highly likely that it will also be available on the PS3 or at least the PC.

You cannot say the same thing about the PS3.

how many people have a pc that can make games look like the 360 can? and even if everyone had a pc that could, how does that take away from what the 360 offers? it seems like ps3 supporters don't mind when a former exclusive goes multi-plat, so why does it matter if a 360 exclusive goes to pc?

pc and consoles aren't battling each other anyways

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplayer

Even with Microsoft poised on getting the Arcade down to 200 dollars and the elite down to 400, Sony seems to be steadfast in keeping their price points relatively high so that they can make profit on each PS3 sold.

they're still losing money on hardware, so it makes sense to keep the prices high still. plus they're having no problem selling consoles

saprano · 08-22-2008, 07:38 PM

Didn't the OP make this thread about the PS3 price? how the hell did it turn into a ps3 360 fanboy argument?

and people want a xbox sub section....yea right.

xtop · 08-22-2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saprano

Didn't the OP make this thread about the PS3 price? how the hell did it turn into a ps3 360 fanboy argument?

and people want a xbox sub section....yea right.

didn't you know, the mere mention of microsoft turns it into a huge flame war

but hey..as long as sony can (and they can, as they're outselling the 360) the prices are gonna stay high

Shin-Ra · 08-22-2008, 07:50 PM

Back on topic..

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtop

they're still losing money on hardware, so it makes sense to keep the prices high still. plus they're having no problem selling consoles

You don't know that, a year ago probably, 6 months ago maybe.. now?

xtop · 08-22-2008, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin-Ra

Back on topic..

You don't know that, a year ago probably, 6 months ago maybe.. now?

hmm, who knows i suppose. the "all knowing" analysts like to chime in when things change. you'd think they'd be saying they were making money now.

tho now that they've cut out the ps2 completely, maybe they'll be making money on the new systems?

08-22-2008, 04:58 AM	#1
Simplayer Special Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Windsor, Ontario	PS3 Pricing Strategy It seems that Sony has decided to take a different pricing strategy than Microsoft and what it has done in the past with the PS1 and PS2; make money off of the hardware sold. Even with Microsoft poised on getting the Arcade down to 200 dollars and the elite down to 400, Sony seems to be steadfast in keeping their price points relatively high so that they can make profit on each PS3 sold. I'm wondering if Sony now is trying to reach a different audience than what they initially hoped on reaching. Microsoft seems to be still reaching out towards the traditional young male audience by following the same pricing strategy that the previous PS have used (selling below cost because that market can't afford that much) and is stagnating, while it seems to me that the PS3 is now aiming towards the young families. With PS3's current price point, it can be sold as a blu-ray player for this holiday (and future holiday) season, with the added benefit of gameplay for the kids (with LittleBigPlanet leading the charge there) as well as a heavy mixture of mature/teen titles for the parents. With that audience, software sales aren't going to be as strong as you would see on the 360, so profit off the system will be necessary. If Sony is able to convince retail partners to bundle the PS3 with HDTV sales this holiday, they may be able to sell a great deal of units with the growing demand for Blu-ray. This should help them bolster their install base, allowing them to more naturally reduce the price and reach more of the young male audience and possibly the Wii audience in time. What do you guys think?

08-22-2008, 05:30 AM	#3
JadedRaverLA Power Member Member since:Apr 2007 Blu-ray reviews:2	There's several issues that exist that Sony is undoubtedly considering right now in terms of PS3 pricing: The system has been outselling the 360 recently (even in the U.S.) The (very costly) format war is over and Blu-ray won They sold the system at an incredible loss early on in order to push Blu-ray into homes, so at some point, those losses have to be paid back The PS3 currently accounts for far too large a percentage of Blu-ray player sales to make any of the other CE companies happy -- the PS3 needs to stay above the price of the lower-end major-brand Blu-ray players in order for standalone manufacturers to finally make a dent in the PS3s dominance Most predictions are for very strong Q4 sales (at the current prices), as the PS3 has finally turned the corner from pushing the Blu-ray format, to having the Blu-ray format help push PS3 sales Looking at sales, the current market, and the current value of the US dollar, it doesn't make much sense to me to drop prices right now. Obviously, they'll be looking at sales data following the upcoming 360 price drop, but they have to be very reluctant to make a major move on pricing right now. Including more pack-ins, larger hard drives, etc, all makes sense, but dropping the base price of the system (at least in the US) seems like a very bad move in the grander scheme of things right now.

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08-22-2008, 05:06 AM	#2
SkillzthatKillz Special Member Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Cincinnati, OH Blu-ray collection:214 DVD collection:2 Trading Score:1	i think they're still trying to reach the young male audience(traditional gamer crowd) with the ps3, and its working, because i know many xbots who are picking up ps3's to play the exclusive games and to watch blu-rays with it. most people will admit that the ps3 is a better system than the 360 and now that is becoming a common opinion and more hardcore gamers are now looking to get a ps3

08-22-2008, 05:32 AM	#5
pmac Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Mar 2008 Home Theater Gallery:33 Blu-ray collection:469 Digital collection:2 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:184	I think with the options in the PS3 i.e. Blu-Ray built in vs purchasing HD player seperate back when...The price difference is FAR more than justified. I would pay more, and still feel like i received a better deal than my Elite in the kids room. It is almost like comparing apples to oranges at this stage. They only have the games in common the PS3 goes on after that. We didnt even buy it for games, we initially bought ours for a BR player. Now I have a half dozen hard copy games and a dozen downloaded games on board It is a Home Theater Play Station for us big Kids. IMO, it is no contest, PS3 at a higher price is a far better deal.

08-22-2008, 05:37 AM	#6
Marquoz Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2008 Location:New Orleans Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:167 Trading Score:2	I already had a PS3, got it for future games, current games, and blu-ray abilities. I was waffling on an X-box, but with the pricing strategy they are taking, it's a no brainer to pick it up for 199$. It's got enough games that I am willing to pick up, and with the 3 year warranty I'm not worried about the RROD. I know it will break, but I also know the PS3 will break (already did once on me, the diode or whatever died, and I couldn't play games/movies for nearly a month waiting on receipts and repair).

08-22-2008, 05:52 AM	#7
BirdManJr Power Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray reviews:3	Just a question...I have played 360 alot..My gf brother owns one...And yes the games are fun...And xbox live is cool...But i dont see a big difference in the 360 games being so much more fun?...Pretty much when we played xbox live we laughed at the 12 year old kids on there cussing people out and the older people cussing the 12 year old kids out....good way to spend 50 dollars hahahaha.... Anyway...i dont see a big difference...He is actually thinking about selling his 360 and getting a ps3 after i let him play uncharted. His 360 has got the red ring of death 2 times so far and i think he is getting fed up with it too.

08-22-2008, 07:38 PM	#17
saprano Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Bronx, New York Blu-ray collection:495 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:9	Didn't the OP make this thread about the PS3 price? how the hell did it turn into a ps3 360 fanboy argument? and people want a xbox sub section....yea right.

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