Yves MakhoulWhat's in a dollar?
December 9th 2008 01:18
Will Sony ever lower the price?
The analysts are working overtime these days due to all the economic trouble the world is having. The PS3 is one console not seen having a favourable holiday season compared to its competitors. In fact, according to Jesse Divinich from the Analysts at EEDAR the PS3 will come last, right behind the PSP, the Xbox 360, the Wii and the Nintendo DS.
The PS3 is an amazing console with fantastic titles and plenty of potential for the future. But people have been saying that for a long time now. Home has been delayed beyond acceptability (quite frankly, Sony should not have announced it until this year to avoid the bitter taste many fans have been left with). Little Big Planet is now relying upon word of mouth to sell, as its initial sales results didn't live up to expectations. Final Fantasy XIII has gone multiplatform, a major exclusive lost to the PlayStation cause. And Metal Gear is rumored to be heading to the 360 as well.
Where does that leave Sony?
Well it leaves the company scurrying for exclusives and hoping enough people will want a combination BluRay player for their HD TVs. It's also hoping that it's PS2 install base will graduate to PS3. The PS2 is still selling amazingly well for its age and accounts still for much of Sony's game division's revenue.
There's one glaring issue here that Sony is consistent in trying to diminish via PR BS. The price.
The PS3 is worth the price. We all know this. Nintendo makes $6 on each Wii, Microsoft breaks even on each 360 but Sony loses money on each PS3 sold. How much they lose is still in speculation, but the fact that after two long years the company still hasn't been able to profit (or at least break even) from it's console is cause for alarm. It means they'll be reluctant to lower the price for a long while yet.
The price, in my opinion, is the key factor holding the PS3 back. In fact, I believe once the price is lowered, Sony themselves will be shocked by the amount of purchases they'll be rewarded with. The Sony brand is still respected, the PS3 brand still held up to a pedestal. It's only the hardcore fans (and customers who have bought an opposing console but can't afford to purchase another) that will criticize the company for its faults.
Granted, Microsoft has done a lot right this generation and no one can scoff at Nintendo's sudden success. But Sony has been no slouch either, working overtime behind the scenes to roll out extremely ambitious projects that utilize the very latest technology. Sure it seems they're behind the game in terms of exclusives, but they'll come when the install base grows (Sony can't afford to be paying for them at the moment as Microsoft can).
However, none of what Sony does behind the scenes is going to change matters significantly until the price is dropped. Personally, I believe the rumours of a price drop in Late Feb/ Early March are true, as much as Sony execs will deny it now. It's the holiday season, they can't have customers thinking they should wait until the price drops in a few months to make their purchase.
If however Sony enter the second half of 2009 without a price drop, it may reach a point where they will inevitably end up the least successful of the big three once this generation comes to a close.
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