Tag Archives: price cut

MCV’s reporting that UK retail orders of all 360 SKUs have now been limited ahead of what is now widely tipped to be a hardware price cut this week.

It’s all down to “sources,” obviously, but it is happening. We’ll chase MS for comment.

FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase has told VG247 that Sony’s just-announced PS3 price cut fits in well with his game’s release schedule.

“We’re taking it as really good news, actually, because we’re planning to release Final Fantasy XIII this winter in Japan and next spring for both European and North American territories,” the developer said at GamesCom in Germany last week.

“Now that the hardware is becoming even more accessible for players, it’s really good timing for us.”

The PS3 reduction to £250 will mean plenty more beans in Square’s pocket, as FFXIII is scheduled for a sim-ship on 360 and PS3 in the west early next year.

The game is a PS3-exclusive in Japan.

Engadget’s running a couple of shots of “next week’s” Target ad, which shows the Xbox 360 60Gb Pro listed at $250, as well as the 120Gb Elite at $300.

This is now looking certain to happen this week. Back-stage chatter in the UK is backing all this up, so keep those peepers peeled.

EA CEO John Riccitello has told the Chicago Tribune that the newly introduced price-cut for the PS3 has come at the “right time” and is a “great move”.

He also praised Sony for not doing it just before Christmas or Thanksgiving.

“Consumers will likely be bombarded during the holiday season with an onslaught of messages from companies selling everything from DVDs to TVs to cell phones. Doing the price cut in the middle of August instead really stands out,” he said.

Sony cut the price of the PS3 to £249/$299/€299 on Tuesday at their GamesCom conference which went into effect as of yesterday.

More through the link.

So, Sony have announced price-cuts for the PS3, effective as of today, and the PS3 Slim. So what have Microsoft up their sleeves?

Well, a price-cut announcement of their own to the Elite, the discontinuation of the 60Gb and the price-hike of the Arcade. Or rather, there was meant to be an announcement.

According to MCV, a national electronics retailer was told by Microsoft that they were considering pulling the announcement until high stock levels of the Arcade and Elite clear from the channel.

Microsoft do have a new 360 SKU planned, but its unknown if it is just the Elite price-drop or more.

Thanks, Roybott.

SCEE’s confirmed to GI that the sterling price-point for the fat Playstation 3 will be reduced to £249.

It comes as the US and EU recieved price-cuts of up to $299/€299 tonight in SCEE’s GC presser. Meanwhile, the PS3 Slim will retail also for £249, according to MCV.

More info through the links.

SCEA president Jack Tretton has spoken out on the PS3 Slim and the PS3 price-cut  in a video interview with the US PS Blog for the first time.

“We’re extremely pleased that we’ve been able to meet production efficiencies that have allowed us to pass on those savings onto consumers,” said Tretton.

“As you know, the original Playstation and the PlayStation 2, we announced revisions of the hardware in the third and fourth years, we’re very pleased that, short of it’s third birthday, the Playstation 3 has achieved tremendous milestones which have allowed us to bring out this new form factor and pass those savings onto consumers, giving them the opportunity to buy this state of the art gaming system at half the price it originally debuted at in October 2006.”

The video is after the jump. Both the price-cut and Slim were announced tonight after months of speculation.

Thanks, Wonderwall Web.

More »

ASDA’s confirmed that it’s dropped the price of the 80GB Playstation 3 in the UK down to £249.

The supermarket chain is offering the 80GB along with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on Blu-ray and Terminator Salvation: The Game as well as a choice of either Ghostbusters or inFamous.

A ASDA rep told GI that the offer would run until stock ran out.

Yip, the price-cut is getting more likely by the hour. Only four hours and thirty-four minutes left to go before the ‘tons start to drop.

Update: Even better, KMart have the Slim on pre-sale for $299 and on sale from August 24th, next Monday. More here.

Original Story: Only 8 hours and 34 minutes left until that presser, innit?

American retail chain KMart has revealed what finally seems to be what we’ve already known for months: a PS3 price-cut and the PS3 Slim.

“The rumors are reality. New low price & a new exciting Playstation 3,” is what it says on the retailer’s website.

If it wasn’t official before, it is now – Sony are bad at keeping things a secret.

Thanks, Kotaku.

UK retailer Argos is claiming that Microsoft has binned the 60GB Xbox 360.

“We are very sorry but Microsoft have discontinued this line,” says the product’s listing (thanks EG).

Multiple reports are saying Microsoft is about to ditch the Pro and drop the Elite £60 to take its place.

You might want to read this MCV piece while you’re at it.

Right. Bear in mind this could be a complete lie. A catalogue page from French retailer Carrefour has apparently confirmed a new PS3 price of €299, effective as of September 1.

You can see all the scans on PS3Gen.fr.

The text above the machine says “nouvelle console, nouvelle prix” – “new console, new price” – but the model appears to be the current chassis.

That price equates to £258.

Remember: it could be bollocks. Sony’s GamesCom presser takes place in Cologne next Tuesday.

Thanks GAF and Blerk.

Update: SCEE just got back with, “I’m afraid I can’t make any comment on that.”

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter – speaking in this week’s VG247 podcast – has said that Japanese retailers are claiming they’re unable to order in new PS3 hardware post August 8.

Similar stories emerged at UK retail this week, the two coupled meaning it’s likely we’re about to see a PS3 price cut and the introduction of a new hardware SKU, Pachter said.

“It’s looking more and more likely based on what we’ve heard from retail,” Pachter answered when asked if we’re going to see a PS3 price drop from Sony at GamesCom in Germany next week.

“The retail commentary I’ve seen has come out of the UK. I have not seen at US retail. We heard Japanese retail a few weeks ago say they weren’t going to be getting any more PS3s after August 8, and now we’re starting to hear UK retail say they cannot re-order PS3s until month-end.

“And that suggest there’ll be a model change.”

He added: “If Sony’s practice is the same as it was in the past, and the Slim is more of a redesign of the components to drive down cost, then I think we will get a price cut.”

A PS3 price cut and the introduction of PS3 Slim is now widely tipped to be a major component of Sony’s GamesCom keynote in Cologne next Tuesday.

Will Sony drop PS3′s price and introduce Slim at GamesCom in Cologne next week? We thought we’d ask some experts.

Super-analyst Michael Pachter, Eurogamer.net editor Tom Bramwell and Eurogamer.de editor Tanja Menne were all kind enough to join us to talk about the new German show, in what turned into an illuminating discussion involving a lot of shouting and swearing.

You’d be a fool to miss it. Get it below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MCV’s claiming UK retail channels are being stripped of PS3 hardware in anticipation of a new price point “expected” in “early September”.

“Sourcing PS3 stock has been a challenge for the last two to three weeks,” said a retail source.

“There are obviously lots of rumours flying about as to why that might be. I don’t think it’s to do with demand, though. Sales are low at the moment and have been for a while. We’ve been told not to expect any further hardware deliveries until September.”

This is all starting to look a little obvious. Save the date. Hit through for the full story.

The Telegraph’s rumouring that PS3 Slim is to release in two forms, 40GB an 80GB SKUs, at prices starting from £260.

It’s now widely believed that the Slim will be announced on August 18 at SCEE’s GameCom press conference.

That report reckons Slim’s going to be the cheaper PS3 option, although incessant trade chatter reckons it’s the old “brick” SKU that’s going to see the big drop – £199 or bust, Mr Sony.

Sony’s ramping up production to meet increased demand later this year, says that piece, and “has ordered enough parts to make one million consoles in the third quarter of this year, twice as many as in the last three months.”

We’re almost sick with excitement for Cologne. There’ll be bombs everywhere.

Why are Wii sales crashing? Because there aren’t any big Wii games on shelves, stupid. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said so in the firm’s Q1 investor call this week.

“It’s not the case of the quality of hardware moved, the feeling of missing strong competitive power, lacking its luster or poor sales,” he said.

“Consistently, big time titles will be released in the marketplace for this hardware. When that stops, to reinvigorate the console, or to put it another way, I think the current decline in hardware sales is due to the fact that there aren’t many big titles (at the moment).”

That means there isn’t going to be a price cut, doesn’t it?

“Right now,” Iwata said, “there aren’t a lot of discussions going on about what exactly to do about hardware pricing.”

Thanks, Kotaku.

Sony corp CEO Nobuyuki Oneda said in the company’s Q1 investor call yesterday that PS3 manufacturing costs have now been reduced by 70 percent.

“The cost reduction since we introduced the PS3 is very substantial and this is on schedule,” said the exec.

“We don’t disclose how much of the PS3, specifically the cost deduction was achieved during the past two years. But that is on schedule.”

When pushed, Oneda said the overall cost of making a PS3 had dropped “about 70 percent, roughly speaking”.

Price. Cut. More on TVG. Thanks, Robo_1.

Wedbush Morgan super-analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Sony will cut PS3′s price before October 1 if US hardware sales continue to slide.

Speaking in a note today, Pachter estimated that US Wii, 360 and PS3 sales will show a year-on-year decline of 43 percent for June.

“We think that the console manufacturers will therefore be forced to consider a price cut before year-end, with Sony cutting the PS3’s price by October 1,” he said.

“Further, we do not think that Nintendo’s hardware forecast figures are achievable without a price cut, and we expect one around the same time as the PS3 price cut.

“It is likely both manufacturers will cut by $50, with Sony making up any lack of increased demand with a software bundle.

“We expect Microsoft to follow suit, giving us confidence that US software sales will grow later in the year, notwithstanding negative sales in the early part of the year.”

Pachter predicted sales of 350,000 Wii, 225,000 Xbox 360 and 165,000 PS3 consoles in June today. The June NPD releases this Thursday.

SCEA boss Jack Tretton has told Fast Company that those calling for a PS3 price drop need to take a longer view.

“People are having short-term thinking – the platform is not even three years old. It was $599; it’s now $399,” he said.

“The focus on pricing is something we appreciate, but you have to have the conviction and the confidence that you are on the right path for the long term and ultimately you’ll get all the consumers you want.

“You won’t get them all day one, but we’re looking to get them over a 10-year period. It’s going to take different things to get different consumers.”

Come on, Cologne. Hit the link for the full thing. Thanks, EG.

Sony Corp head Howard Stringer has shrugged off threats from Acti Blizz boss Bobby Kotick that he may drop support for PS3 unless there’s a price cut.

“He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer told Reuters, speaking at the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, Idaho this week.

“He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business.”

Kotick issued an eyebrow-raising warning shot to Sony last month, saying that unless the machine came down in price, “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console.”

Asked about the logic of not cutting PS3′s RRP, Stringer added, “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic.”

Full thing through there.