Blue lasers coming down in price, PS3 to follow

[Scorxpion]

Sony's semiconductor subsidiary recently announced an increase in blue-violet laser diode production, with a monthly capacity of 1.7 million, and capability to produce up to five million with future upgrades. In June the diodes are expected to cost around $8 per diode in bulk, as compared to a price of $125 per drive (including the diode and other parts) when they came onto the market last year. Analysts predict that the lower cost of materials will likely drive manufacturers of blue-laser products to lower their own prices, with the PlayStation 3 benefiting from this reduction by allowing Sony to reduce the price, possibly even lower than $499, to be very competitive with the Xbox 360 Elite model. Of course, Toshiba could also theoretically take advantage of similar cost savings to reduce the price of their own HD DVD player

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/fe...00500000000025

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So, by mid-year, the cost differential for Sony between BD and plain ole DVD on the PS/3 will be $20-$30 a unit.

Clearly Sony are complete fools.

[JTK]

http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=7073

^^ More on it here.

[TBoneCapone]

This is really good news.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by TBoneCapone

This is really good news.

It's yet another HD-DVD FUD talking point going down in flames.

I hope Sony drops the PS3 60 giger to $499 ASAP and maybe puts out a 120 giger or so at $599 as a bonus item.

I can go on pricewatch.com right now and call up several 500 gig hard drives for the price that MS is asking for their 120 giger on the Xbox 360 Elite.

My point? If not now, then soon, Sony will have room for some much needed and overdue AGGRESSION.

[Scorxpion]

Yes INDEED this is a great news.BD is winning not only by sales of BD discs but too in production of blue-laser diodes now in quantity which can help reduce the price of the 2nd generation of blu-ray player and PS3 too.

As a result,More People are engaged in this and BD is totally invading everywhere

[JTK]

Here's one HD-DVD fanboy's angry response to this news.

This is/will be all too typical of what you all will see off these boards:

Oh, I'm sure Sony will be telling us all about it -- they seem to do a better job of PR than anything else these days.

I had to laugh when I read about that mysterious "spotty launch supply" Sony continuously spins in every story about why their PS3's haven't been selling. I mean, do they think everyone is STUPID? That's a total crock of you know what, when you can find consoles in stores and all over Ebay for not a dime over the retail price. The demand for the console is not there right now, and hasn't been since it was launched, period.

At any rate, Sony certainly needs to do something. They've been pounded by Nintendo and Microsoft since launch and their line-up of games is nothing to write home about either. If you want to write a text book on how to screw up a console launch, they've pretty much done it. Indeed, the firing of that big-time Sony guy the other day basically confirms that.

The price is reduction is very important, if not vital, for them to have a chance to make up the ground they've lost here in the early going. I couldn't see them going with a machine that was far too costly from the very beginning, which most of us knew.

The next corrective step is to change the horrid attach rate statistics that Blu Ray has as a format. What the PS3 has shown is that its demographic will turn out and buy CASINO ROYALE in huge numbers but aren't interested in other titles at all. It's why the stat about "5 million Blu Ray" players or whatever it is is very misleading, since the PS3 isn't a standalone machine and its consumer doesn't buy movies the way someone who owns a HD-DVD standalone would. (In fact, I'd go so far as to say those attach-rate numbers are a reason why Walmart is looking into cheap HD-DVD players).

Blu Ray may not go the way of the Betamax, but they've yet to answer HD-DVD as a product as far as I'm concerned. Like I've said, when Blu Ray starts showing me why it's better, I'll be all over it.

^^ He writes this almost everytime there's any BD news that's good, which has been a lot in the past few months.

This person believes everything they read on AVS sight unseen, just as a frame of reference.

Anyways, right back at him.