Report – UK PS3 hardware stock drying ahead of price cut

It’s hard to imagine this NOT happening now.

Just a question of how much.

Shall we have a sweep?

How about £159

WOOOHOO! PS4 is coming out soon then

I’d throw £199.99 into the mix

No chance of anything less and every chance it could be more

I’m thinking £249. Possibly with a game, but only one pad.

Old-model could drop to £199 in the ‘clearance’ sale.

It has to be £199 or lower. I’ve heard everything from £150-£199 this morning. “Someone” just guessed at £179 with a game or Blu-Ray in the box, taking it to £199. I reckon that sounds about right.

I can’t imagine them dropping it that far, especially given that it’s a new model too. It’d be less expensive than a PSP Go!

unless they announce a drop on the go’s pricing as well

I reckon it’ll be the two models side by side. I think they have to come down to £199, and the new model will off-set the drop. I’m making this up, obviously, but I do think they need a SKU with an RRP below £199 this Christmas.

I don’t really care xD

I already have mine. It will be ncie to know it’s not too expensive to replace, if mine goes kaput though. So… lets go for £150 please.

Wouldn’t producing two models side-by-side negate any cost-savings they’re making by redesigning the hardware, though? It doesn’t make sense to do both.

I do agree that they need to be under £199 for Christmas, though.

I can’t see it being 199 pounds, as it’s been all but confirmed to be 299 euros. With the current exchange rate, I think the UK will be doing very well if the rrp is 249, possibly with a Blu Ray or PSN vouchers.

As has been mentioned many times, you’ve also got to keep in mind the PSP Go’s bat shit mental 249.99 price point. I’m honestly expecting a pre-launch price cut for that down to 199.99, as there is simply no buzz around it, at all.

That does make sense, yes.

*tears up little bits of paper, throws them in the air*

But I’m sticking with £199 on the shelf.

By the way, does the slim need to be a new shape? Maybe we are taking this all too literally. Couldn’t the slim just be the current PS3, with more cost cutting?

Slim could be an internal moniker that through leaks has implied something different to the consumer side of things.

Are we talking about the price on the slim? No way it’s releasing for less than £220. I’d wager £225 if not more.

wasn’t there a report somewhere of sony removing this model a few weeks ago for the upcoming slim?

which again, was rumoured to be the same price point if not higher?

So…. if Sony are really doing this, do we also expect Microsoft to announce the rumoured Elite price-drop next week too?

Hang on. Are we saying that we’re expecting the old SKU to be removed completely and Slim to be priced between £200-£250 as the only PS3 hardware you can buy?

Yes.

Hmm.

I’m interviewing Michael Pachter about this later today, btw. It’s going in the podcast on Friday.

Pat, you can officially put me down as £159 for current PS3, and the same for the 80GB of the new chasis

People are seriously expecting them to halve the price?

My guess – and it sure as hell is a guess – is new model, with little in the way of jaw-dropping changes, hits shelves at £220 with game. Slim could mean anything, could even be just lighter on features…

Old model continues to sell at all sorts of whacky prices til they disappear altogether – similar thing happened with PS1 if I remember rightly. You could still end up paying over the odds for the old model long after the redesign hit the shelves.

Xbox 360 Elite…$299

http://kotaku.com/5335673/elite-360-dropping-in-price-rip-pro-model?skyline=true&s=x

OK. This makes more sense. Split Slim SKUs, the “lesser” one below £200, the “greater” one between £200-£250. The current “brick” dropped down to the region Zarckan says until it runs out.

Blerk – Yep. I’ve heard the £150-ish figure a lot now.

If a price cut doesn’t happen I’ll die laughing.

The old SKU(s) could vary wildly, because they’ll be being phased out.

Personally… I’m on £179.99 for the new slim if they want to do something decent at xmas. £199.99 for bundle.

Honestly wouldn’t be surprised at £229.99 or even £249.99 though.

I’ll put my guess on £179.99 though.

“I’ll put my guess on £179.99 though.”

Pass the blunt.

Current model will disappear at whatever prices retailer feel like over the coming months.
Slim will be the only SKU priced at £200. (£250 with a game and extra controller)
FINAL ANSWER

I can’t imagine the Slim hitting at less than £200.

I don’t think it would be wise to drop such a chunk.

They could manufacture demand with two smaller price cuts.

One for this fall, and maybe one next year, if they CAN afford that price.

How does this all fit with play.com not releasing this until Friday ?

http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStation3/4-/11417964/Sony-PlayStation-3-PS3-Console-with-80GB-HDD-+-Terminator-Salvation-+-Terminator-3-Rise-Of-The-Machines-+-FREE-inFamous/Product.html

Getting rid of fat stock once ps3 slim is released ? Seems unlikely if ps3 slim is announced at 200 quid next week though doesn’t it…

I don’t really understand the logic of MS dropping the Pro, and cutting the price of Elite down to 299.99, the same price rumoured for the PS3 slim.

Assuming PS3 doesn’t lose any features, you’ll be getting free online, wireless and Blu Ray for the same price as an Elite, with no option for a Pro.

Seems odd, as they could have comfortably undercut even the PS3 slim with the Pro, but instead they’ve decided to go toe to toe with less features… I don’t really see the logic.

Everyone and their mother owns a 360 now don’t see them surpassing Ps3 if the price is the same as elite because as Robo said there is more of a bonus owning a Ps3 with all its features

If the PS3 Slim is announced at £200 or under that would be a crazy impressive deal for customers. Hell, I might even get one, and I’ve already got my Xbox to play games on!

But I’m skeptical. Currently the 80 GB model from Amazon.co.uk is at £289.99. It almost seems too good to be true for the price cut some are estimating.

Here’s my two pence worth:

New 80 GB PS3 Slim at £219.99
New 40 GB PS3 Slim at £179.99

One controller; no games included. And I’m totally pulling those figures out of my uneducated ass, but if I were Sony, and would want to retain competitiveness, this is the kind of pricing I’d go for, considering the Xbox 360 bundles.

Appart from one major downside; You end up with a PS3.

“Appart from one major downside; You end up with a PS3. ”

Bad fanboy trolling is bad.

“Seems odd, as they could have comfortably undercut even the PS3 slim with the Pro, but instead they’ve decided to go toe to toe with less features… I don’t really see the logic.”

People buy more games on the 360, on a user to console ratio (the “attach” rate as its usually called.). Sales of the 360 clearly show that the PS3′s extra bells and whistles are not enough incentive for the average consumer.

“Everyone and their mother owns a 360 now…”

Not even close. The PS2 has over twice as many units shipped at this point in its lifespan, and even then it was nowhere near saturation point as far as sales go.

I can’t see there being a 40 GB Slim, there’s not even a 40 GB ‘fat’ these days (apart from old ones being sold off at asda occasionally) … The difference in drive prices makes bugger all difference these days.

Those leaked pack shots showed a 120 GB drive. That’s what it’ll have.

Well, it looks like they’re trying to shift old stock to make way for the new SKU, so the old phat model might not be around anymore. And there’s no 40 GB Slim model indicated at this point. So, that just leaves the 120 GB Slim model as the only one Sony will be putting out. Does that seem plausible?

“Sales of the 360 clearly show that the PS3’s extra bells and whistles are not enough incentive for the average consumer.”

The figures certainly bare that out, but then Sony have been charging a premium for them, things may be different when the PS3 is comparatively priced to 360.

Ultimately price isn’t the be all and end all, if it was, the 360 Arcade would have been outselling the Wii on a regular basis now, but it hasn’t. That said, if you want to target the mass market, you have to charge a mass market price point, and 299.99 is the first time PS3 has really been inside that bracket.

£220 for a 60GB slim, £260 for a 120GB one with a game to keep it above the PSP Go and the old ones will drop to sub £180 with a free kitchen sink.

I just can’t see Sony releasing a PS3 for less than the PSP Go! launch price.

Kitchen sink, you say? Hmm.

I’m going to re-adjust my original guess to £249.99 with one game and a controller for the 120 GB Slim model. Depending on whether they bring out a PS3 Slim 80 GB or whether they keep the phat going, the price of that unit, I imagine, will probably be £199.99 with one game and one controller. That’s how they’ll try and undercut Microsoft, by filing out the medium ground they abandoned since they’ve now getting rid of the Pro model.

Personally I’m not getting one until they include a plastic basin to stop my sink getting scuffed, the inconsiderate bastards.