So Much For The PS3 Price Cut

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SCEE president David Reeves says that the $100 price cut on the PS3 only applies to the 60GB model and, after existing stock is sold, it will no longer be offered (in the U.S.). The only PS3 left in retail after that is the $599 80GB bundle.

"All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July." When asked to clarify if this will mean the end of the 60GB model, Reeves answered, "In America, yes."
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They could've just called it a "stock liquidation"

Jeez. Sony does something *right*, and then they go and shoot themselves in the foot.
 
It's not really surprising. Although it is pretty crappy that they are removing hardware support for backwards compatibility in the 80 gig. At least when Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Elite no features were lost. Now Sony customers are paying $100 more to get an extra 20 gigs and lose hardware backwards compatibility.
 
From a post several seconds ago that I made:

But for the current 60gb price range, you get a good deal, considering that the only thing you are losing over the 80gb is the drive size and the game that is included. So it's not a bad thing to just get the 60gb version... you can always add the game in and you can always spruce up the hard drive.
 
Colt___45 said:
It's not really surprising. Although it is pretty crappy that they are removing hardware support for backwards compatibility in the 80 gig. At least when Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Elite no features were lost. Now Sony customers are paying $100 more to get an extra 20 gigs and lose hardware backwards compatibility.
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You would think that the removal of an added piece of hardware would make the console cheaper to produce.

I guess they are tacking on the 80gb to compensate.
 
Colt___45 said:
It's not really surprising. Although it is pretty crappy that they are removing hardware support for backwards compatibility in the 80 gig. At least when Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Elite no features were lost. Now Sony customers are paying $100 more to get an extra 20 gigs and lose hardware backwards compatibility.
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While this is true, it is not. The software used for backwards computability limits you on what PS1/2 games you can play, but it can easily be updated through firmware.
 
You guys think this is bad, check out the full interview with this guy:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26702

A couple of my favorites:

Why not offer the 80GB model in Europe?

The difference between 60GB and 80GB is not really necessary. The difference in cost between a 60 and 80 is just Euro cents; it's nothing, because the cost of memory is so small.
Probably we could have gone for 80GB, but does it really make any difference? We just know that we get a better supply on the 60GB than we will on the 80GB. So we chose to continue with the 60GB until we find that we can get something better, maybe lower cost. It just didn't seem necessary to us.
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But if as you say there's no difference between the 60GB and 80GB, is SCEA making the right decision in offering the 80GB?

The difference is that the 60GB we have now has about 88 per cent backwards compatibility. The 60GB they had had 100 per cent backwards compatibility. They felt that by going down for 100 to 88, for example, that they'd have to add something in - and that's what they did.
That was their decision. We just felt that we didn't want to complicate things; wewanted to have one model, and we've had one model, we've done very well with it, now we'll add value and we'll think about what we'll do closer to Christmas.
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I find it somewhat humorous that people are getting in a big huffy over the hardware/software emulation thing. The reason you buy a PS3 is to play PS3 games; if you're that concerned over playing PS2 games, here's a thought: play them on a PS2, they run about $100 right now and there's a good chance that if you are going to play some PS2 games that you already have a PS2. If you bought a PS3 but do not own a PS2, you're less likely to want to play PS2 games.
 
Buckus said:
I find it somewhat humorous that people are getting in a big huffy over the hardware/software emulation thing. The reason you buy a PS3 is to play PS3 games; if you're that concerned over playing PS2 games, here's a thought: play them on a PS2, they run about $100 right now and there's a good chance that if you are going to play some PS2 games that you already have a PS2. If you bought a PS3 but do not own a PS2, you're less likely to want to play PS2 games.
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While I agree with you somewhat on this, the point of the newer consoles is to consolidate all the old into the new so there is no need to have the older ones and thus eliminate the need for having 3 PS' lying around when they can do it right and put the older 2 into the newer one. I have no problem with the removal of the HW emulation but the lack of a price cut because of it is troubling. And a HDD size increase doesn't matter much with the PS3 seeing as how you can add in any drive size you like. I do want the PS3 but Sony is making it hard for me to justify buying one at the moment.
 
Buckus said:
I find it somewhat humorous that people are getting in a big huffy over the hardware/software emulation thing. The reason you buy a PS3 is to play PS3 games; if you're that concerned over playing PS2 games, here's a thought: play them on a PS2, they run about $100 right now and there's a good chance that if you are going to play some PS2 games that you already have a PS2. If you bought a PS3 but do not own a PS2, you're less likely to want to play PS2 games.
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You can't ignore the fact that backwards compatibility was a promised feature and a selling point for a lot of people. It'd be okay if Sony hadn't advertised or included this functionality in the first place, but they did. Nobody wants to lose features in a newer model.
 
What a mess. A game console is normally well defined in terms of specs. Sony already announced they were looking to reduced the building cost by removing some hardware and using software to replace it. Console developers don't want to support multiple configurations like the PC since all their efforts should be spent on the game itself the main purpose of a gaming console.

The PS3 is already "hard" to program (from some reputable sources) and adding multiple configurations doesn't help.
 
Buckus said:
I find it somewhat humorous that people are getting in a big huffy over the hardware/software emulation thing. The reason you buy a PS3 is to play PS3 games
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That would be fine if there were more than like 2 games out for it! (yes, I'm exaggerating just a *little* :p )

Seriously though, there are only like 5 titles out for the PS3 that I want to play now, with a further 5 or so coming out by the end of the year. If I bought a PS3 right now, I'd mostly be buying it for the future and playing the great library of PS2 titles on it until more games are released.
 
update at Joystiq says this piece of news is incorrect:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/13/so...ot-over-in-us/

Should probably update the frontpage
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Kaz Hirai CONFIRMS what Reeves said so it's 2 major officials backing 1 denial. Plus, everyone at Sony was denying the $100 price cut even when there was a Circuit City ad showing the PS3 price cut. What do you know? A few days later, there was a price cut. At this point, I don't believe a single breath out of Sony's mouth until I see it for myself first hand.
 
They should of just said that the 80GB model was going to be $599 BEFORE they announced the price cut on the 60GB. Then that would of made it not seem so bad...People would just be complaining about the price still instead of complaining about the announcement sequence.
 
Sony says 60GB is not over in US

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/13/sony-says-60gb-is-not-over-in-us/

Dave Karraker said:
As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future.
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Extended quote from Kotaku:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/durr/the-great-60gb-phase-out-clusterfuck-278256.php

Dave Karraker said:
Those quotes from David Reeves are not accurate. He said that if they had lowered the price in Europe, that territory would have run out of their current inventory by the end of July... As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future.
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Dave Karraker said:
Those quotes from David Reeves are not accurate. He said that if they had lowered the price in Europe, that territory would have run out of their current inventory by the end of July... As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future.
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This is Sony we're talking about. How long is the foreseeable future? End of today, tomorrow, maybe next week? I don't think they foresaw the PS3 coming in last place either. I wouldn't put much faith in thier foresight.
 
According to the same source you just linked, the key words in that denial:

Key words: "foreseeable future." Doubt Sony is making any new 60GB PS3s, but as long as those 60GB models keep sitting on store shelves, that "foreseeable future" could be long indeed.
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As already mentioned, Kaz Hirai also confirmed the demise of the 60GB PS3 in the US as well. So I am sure the 60GB unit will indeed be $499...for the foreseeable future. Just like there were "no price cuts AT THIS TIME" last week.

Anyhow, most people in the industry feel like a jackass every time we post something about Sony because they screw us every time. No hard drive! Yes, hard drive! Price cut! No price cut. Backwards compatible 100%! Backwards compatible...mostly! The 20GB will not be discontinued! We are discontinuing the 20GB! We are discontinuing the 60GB! We are not discontinuing the 60GB...for the forseeable future. Ugh...:confused:

Again, Sony needs to put a muzzle on these people. If the message is wrong, it is solely the blame of Sony.
 
What I don't understand is Why can't sony just give us the straight scoop here?

Say "look guys, we're putting out the 80gb PS3 with motorstorm and rumble. It's going to be $599. We'll be discontinuing the 60gb, and hence lowering the cost of that SKU to $499"

I think letting the people know what's up is far less damaging than this run-around/double-speak/telephone game thats going on
 
Buckus said:
I find it somewhat humorous that people are getting in a big huffy over the hardware/software emulation thing. The reason you buy a PS3 is to play PS3 games; if you're that concerned over playing PS2 games, here's a thought: play them on a PS2, they run about $100 right now and there's a good chance that if you are going to play some PS2 games that you already have a PS2. If you bought a PS3 but do not own a PS2, you're less likely to want to play PS2 games.
Click to expand...

The PS3 is supposed to allow for a graphics improvement (smoothing) on PS1 and PS2 games. But if you can't play the game on the PS3, then you don't get to enjoy that perk.
 
Steve said:
According to the same source you just linked, the key words in that denial:



As already mentioned, Kaz Hirai also confirmed the demise of the 60GB PS3 in the US as well. So I am sure the 60GB unit will indeed be $499...for the foreseeable future. Just like there were "no price cuts AT THIS TIME" last week.

Anyhow, most people in the industry feel like a jackass every time we post something about Sony because they screw us every time. No hard drive! Yes, hard drive! Price cut! No price cut. Backwards compatible 100%! Backwards compatible...mostly! The 20GB will not be discontinued! We are discontinuing the 20GB! We are discontinuing the 60GB! We are not discontinuing the 60GB...for the forseeable future. Ugh...:confused:

Again, Sony needs to put a muzzle on these people. If the message is wrong, it is solely the blame of Sony.
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just a case of the left arm not knowing what the flippin hell the right arm is doing is all.
 
This was my understanding of the upscaling features.

I'm trying to find the Phil Harrison comment at the moment.

If you do enable upscaling on the PS1/PS2 games then it is completely bypassing the EE chip and being done entirely in the software emulation realm.

I sadly don't have a PS3 and all my PS2/PS1 games are on the successful emulation list.

So to me it seems like nothing lost, but if someone had a PS3 and a game that wasn't support in the emulation I would be curious about the test scenario if they could get it to play at 1080p or any upscaled resolution.
 
People are making a big deal out of nothing. It's really simple.

60GB PS3 with built in EE is $499.99
80GB PS3 with motorstorm and without EE $599.99

When the current PS3 with the EE drys up then Sony will drop a PS3 without the EE and a hard drive size to be determined later for $499.99. They aren't going to abandon the $499.99 price point. This is from a Wii60 owner by the way.
 
For a company so arrogant,Sony is unbelievably stupid.With recent news of the 360's hardware problems,they could have made some headway in the console race if they had played it straight.Instead they disguise inventory liquidation as a price cut.Then they reaffirm their greed by charging customers $100 more for a measly extra 20GB's,and take away backwards compatibility.Brilliant!
 
if this is actually true, this will be BY FAR the most retarded thing Sony has ever done. But i really don't trust the lower downs on slipping info like this, more than likely they have been lied to/are retarded.....or Sony has a real mindfuck.
 
well i just dont understand why sony is doing this, even if it is some how good business strategy they really cant afford to keep screwing with their base, i dont care how little i know about their "master plan."

earlier today when i heard about this i did indeed call BS and figured, just like when they denied the price cut a few days before it actually happened, that this would be nonsense as well, but now all they're doing is alterign their syntax, who knows what will happen by december (when i'd probably actually buy one), it may indeed probably be just the chintsy 80GB software emulated version that i dont want.

fyi, i have a large ps2 library and a PS2 deck on its last legs, so YES PS2 emulation is very important to me since the PS3 will both act as my PS3 console (and the pickings for PS3 games are still very slim, which is why i havent jumped on one yet, makes waiting for a price cut easier too) and a replacement for my dying ps2.
 
The way Sony has been doing business lately they are eventually just going to bankrupt theirselves. The PS3 is throwing them on a downward path of bleeding losses and they do this to make it even worse.

Now I can see why their head honcho bailed on Sony and is considering joining Nintendo's company.

Just when you think Sony is doing 1 thing right with the PS3 they crap on their rabid fans once again.
 
As others have posted;
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/sony-says-499-60gb-ps3-is-staying-alive-alive-in-us/
After some turbulent hours of confusion over this story, Sony finally got its facts straight and let the world know that it is in fact not going to discontinue its 60GB PS3 in US once current stock runs out. According to SCEA's Dave Karraker, "As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future." Apparently the confusion arose from Sony Europe's David Reeves explaining that if they cut the 60GB price in Europe, they'd run out of stock in Europe by the end of July. So, false alarm people, please resume buying / not buying your $499 60GB PS3s in an orderly manner.

Update: This has been semi-contradicted once again, with Sony now saying that they have enough stock to sell 60GB consoles for the next few months, but it doesn't sound like they'll be making any more after that. According to Karraker, "We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated."
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How many thousands of times does this need to happen before people realize that no company announces price drops of products before it happens. It is bad business. I have no doubt that the 60gig is going to get phased out and eventually replaced by the cheaper to produce 80gig with no EE. When that happens, I can almost guarantee that it will be sold for the same price as the 60gig is currently sans Motorstorm.

This is great for Sony in that they get 2 perceived price drops in short succession. They get to sell the millions of unsold 60gig PS3's, then once gone they get to do another drop with the 80gig, all the while never really reducing the price at all. Just adding more for your money. We won't no the truth to any of this until it is just about to happen, so Sony's PR people will be talking out of their ass until then. That's just how PR works. You build up the present, not talk about how consumers might get more for the money down the line. Otherwise you cannibalize sales.

How fast we get to the second drop most likely depends on how fast the current stock and whatever stock they might still be making of the 60gig sells out.
 
LynxFX said:
How many thousands of times does this need to happen before people realize that no company announces price drops of products before it happens. It is bad business. I have no doubt that the 60gig is going to get phased out and eventually replaced by the cheaper to produce 80gig with no EE. When that happens, I can almost guarantee that it will be sold for the same price as the 60gig is currently sans Motorstorm.

This is great for Sony in that they get 2 perceived price drops in short succession. They get to sell the millions of unsold 60gig PS3's, then once gone they get to do another drop with the 80gig, all the while never really reducing the price at all. Just adding more for your money. We won't no the truth to any of this until it is just about to happen, so Sony's PR people will be talking out of their ass until then. That's just how PR works. You build up the present, not talk about how consumers might get more for the money down the line. Otherwise you cannibalize sales.

How fast we get to the second drop most likely depends on how fast the current stock and whatever stock they might still be making of the 60gig sells out.
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I wish what you said was true, and even you were smart enough to admit we wont REALLY know until it happens, but i really dont think it will.

of course some day the price will drop again, some day the PS3 may eventually even be below 200 dollars like the PS2 eventually got. But i sincerely doubt that once the 60GB DOES sell out, that they will drop the 80GB down to it sans game. They may do it someday but not as a response, it would be smart indeed and it would help the current PR crapstorm they got themselves back into, but i dont trust that this smart decision is what they will make.

Also, i dont see it necesarily as an even trade (and charing an extra 100 for it is a rip) because while you get 20GB more space, you lose the hardware EE, and YES that is important, until the PS3 actually gets some great games i will be using it as a PS2 sub, since mine is dying, having full support is important, i own both really old, and some really recent PS2 games.
 
LynxFX said:
How many thousands of times does this need to happen before people realize that no company announces price drops of products before it happens. It is bad business. I have no doubt that the 60gig is going to get phased out and eventually replaced by the cheaper to produce 80gig with no EE. When that happens, I can almost guarantee that it will be sold for the same price as the 60gig is currently sans Motorstorm.

This is great for Sony in that they get 2 perceived price drops in short succession. They get to sell the millions of unsold 60gig PS3's, then once gone they get to do another drop with the 80gig, all the while never really reducing the price at all. Just adding more for your money. We won't no the truth to any of this until it is just about to happen, so Sony's PR people will be talking out of their ass until then. That's just how PR works. You build up the present, not talk about how consumers might get more for the money down the line. Otherwise you cannibalize sales.

How fast we get to the second drop most likely depends on how fast the current stock and whatever stock they might still be making of the 60gig sells out.
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I also believe that once the bundle deal is over it will drop down, I don't think Sony can justify $100 more for an addtional 20GB. I love how everyone is crawling out of the woodwork to crucify Sony.
 
KaosDG said:
What I don't understand is Why can't sony just give us the straight scoop here?

Say "look guys, we're putting out the 80gb PS3 with motorstorm and rumble. It's going to be $599. We'll be discontinuing the 60gb, and hence lowering the cost of that SKU to $499"

I think letting the people know what's up is far less damaging than this run-around/double-speak/telephone game thats going on
Click to expand...
Well for instance, on the price drop thing. Had they confirmed it before it went into effect, people would have waited to buy it until a couple weeks later, thus depressing sony's sales for the month. Similarly with the 60gb thing, they are probably afraid people won't buy it if its being discontinued (the smart people who are going to buy a PS3 will buy it anyway for the hardware compatability and you can always put a much much larger hdd in it).
What they need to do is control thier people more on what they say, then they wont look so idiotic, of course, even if they did, they'd still look that way :)
miskari said:
if this is actually true, this will be BY FAR the most retarded thing Sony has ever done. But i really don't trust the lower downs on slipping info like this, more than likely they have been lied to/are retarded.....or Sony has a real mindfuck.
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See the front page news update, its true.
And its definately not the most retarded thing they've done.
What about the news this week that they are sueing the company that made them the rootkit for the music cds? All of sony's actions made it obvious they supported the rootkit (like the comments from sony higher ups that people were making a big deal about nothing), they just want to get back some of the money they lost from that fiasco thats all.

Or what about sony's statments to the effect of so what if people have to work more to buy the PS3, and if they build it ppl will buy it regardless of price

Sony has also hired graffiti ppl before to spray in major USA cities ads for thier stuff, the mayor of Philly threatened to file a criminal complaint over that one.

Or the infamous dead goat at a sony party, with people eating its "entrails" that was REAL smooth of sony.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...tml?in_article_id=451414&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
NSFW btw, complete with slaughtered goat and topless babe

There's plenty more rediculous sony stuff out there, most of the above was from memory, you hardly even have to search for it.
Here's a small sample:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony
 
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