See, Sony, Price DOES Matter

October 20, 2009

PS3 Slim

It took Sony a while to realize that price matters. After finally slashing the price of the PS3 to $299, they came out on top in console sales for the month of September, selling 491.8K units. The Wii sold 462.8K and the Xbox 360 sold 352.6K, while the Nintendo DS topped the overall hardware charts, again, moving 524.2K units according to this month’s NPD sales data.

With a good price, a solid marketing campaign, and a blockbuster title like Uncharted 2, Sony should see a pretty solid Holiday season. It’s just a shame it took them this long to bring the PS3 pricing in line with the competition and what the market demanded.

Now, let’s all put our fanboy hats down and enjoy the games. I’m going to go finish Uncharted 2 and spend a lot of time in Pandora with Borderlands.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Wii Price Drop Official – $199 Starting Sunday

September 24, 2009

Toys R Us Wii Price Drop

Nintendo confirmed what everyone already knew: the Wii will getting a $50 price drop this Sunday. I’m sure it’s going to sell even more than usual at $199.

The price drop party has been in full effect. First it was the PS3, then the Xbox 360, now the Wii. I wonder if the handhelds will get in on the fun? The PSP Go hasn’t launched yet, but it could definitely use a price drop. Maybe Nintendo would shave a couple bones off the DSi too.

Have you been desperately waiting for this price drop to pick up a Wii? Do you see enough value in the console to get one for $199?

By Matt Banks | Tagged , | Comment (1)

Wii to Join Price Drop Parade?

September 15, 2009

Toys R Us Wii Price Drop

This price drop, if it happens at all, will not be as clear cut as the rest. Recent reports show that Wal-Mart had suggested that they will be having roll back prices on the Nintendo Wii. What that price was, no one knows. Now, a leaked Toys R Us ad suggests the price will drop to $199.99. Hmm. Consumers will surely jump at the bit to get a Wii for under 200 bucks, but did it really even need a price drop? Granted the Wii is nowhere near the Xbox 360 and PS3 on the sheer technology scale, but people have been buying it at alarming rates. In a capitalistic economy, things are only worth what people are willing to pay and it seemed the Wii was selling just fine. However, when the two other juggernauts dropped their prices, Nintendo seemed to fall in line to stay in favor with the consumer. I am eager to see if this will boost Nintendo sales and if it will detract from the other consoles in a crowded holiday market during an economic downturn.

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , | Comment (1)

Rant: The PS3 Slim/PSP Go! Price Gap.

September 9, 2009

Ps3 120G

Damn, Sony’s been busy this month, haven’t they? I’ve been toying with the idea of trading in my PS3 with an added 120G Hard Drive for the new PS3 Slim. I was also thinking about trading in my PSP Slim for the Go! Then I noticed something that had escaped me previously – the very small $50 or so price difference is disproportionate to the massive performance difference. Then that had me thinking “what the hell is Sony thinking?!”

Let’s start picking this apart then.

Hit the jump for more »

By BJ Schwinghammer | Tagged , , , | Comments (16)

Amazon Cutting Xbox Live prices and Other Bonus Offers.

September 1, 2009

xbox_360_live1

Amazon cut the price of the 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription cards to $41.99, a 16% savings. Also, they cut the 3-month subscription cards to $15.99, a 20% savings

Amazon is also offering a free bonus Xbox Live 12-Month + 1-Month Gold Card Free with purchase of the Elite SKU. They are also concurrently offering a free game with the purchase of the Pro SKU

And finally, a buy 2 get 1 free promotion on all Xbox Platinum Hits games.

[via PunchJump]

By Ryan Sullivan | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Rumored Xbox 360 Elite Price Drop Official

August 27, 2009

Xbox 360 Elite - Contents Image

Sony announces some of their biggest news in years in dropping the PS3 to under 300 bucks and also introducing a new SKU, the PS3 Slim. What does MS do? They answer right back. The Xbox 360 Elite will now be $299.99. The only small difference is there will be no HDMI cable included. Go to monoprice.com and type in 3661 in the search bar. They are 10 bucks, not 70 as Best Buy would lead you to believe. The 360 Pro will be now $250, but will only be available until supplies run out. The Arcade version is down to $199.99.  Here is the official announcement. There has never been a better time to buy consoles than right now. Sucks for me since I am gaming nerd and bought them all Launch Day for an exorbant amount of money.

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , | Comments (8)

PS3 Price Drop Effective Today

August 18, 2009

PS3

I don’t want to hear any more excuses that the PS3 is too expensive. Effective today, the PS3 will see a price reduction to $299 for the 80GB SKU. Yep, it’s finally here. That’s for all regions, so gamers everywhere can get a PS3 for a lot cheaper.

Head on out to whatever retailer you like best and grab a PS3 if you’ve been waiting for this moment to arrive. It’s worth every penny of the $300 price tag.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , | Comments (7)

Kmart Selling PS3 Slim for $299.99, Shipping 8/24/09

August 18, 2009

Kmart PS3 Price Drop

It looks like Kmart has jumped the gun and is advertising both a price drop for the PS3 and the announcement of the PS3 Slim. On the retailer’s homepage, you’ll see the above ad. If you click on it, takes you to a page where you can preorder the PS3 Slim for the cool price of $299.99. The new PS3 ships on 8/24/09.

Sony’s press conference at Gamescon is set to begin in mere hours, but it looks like we know one thing they’ll definitely be announcing. With the PSN also going down for that time frame for “maintenance”, who knows what else they have in store.

Are all of you out there finally happy with the price of the PS3? Having it on par with the Xbox 360 should result in a nice sales boost for Sony. Maybe they can pull themselves out of 3rd place.

Hit the jump for more »

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (5)

Sony Producing PS3 Slim vs. Xbox 360 Elite Price Drop to $299.99

August 17, 2009

Next Gen Consoles

Mostly Confirmed: Sony producing new PS3 Slim.

Mostly Confirmed: Microsoft pee’s pants a little, and responds by making the Xbox 360 Elite a little bit smaller a whole butt-load cheaper.

Anyways, some of you might remember the rumors of a PS3 Slim floating around our dear interwebs around the end of May, via an Arstechnica Mole. Then again in early July with Sony reportedly signing manufacturing agreements with both Foxconn and Pegatron. There is no mention of a price change there, so…whatevs. It’s a smaller PS3.

So, the Xbox 360 Elite will replace the Pro at the end of August, with a price drop to $299. This is pretty much a brilliant move by Microsoft, since the biggest shopping season of the year is LITERALLY knocking on our door. Just think, Black Friday is only 101 days away.

I personally don’t see how Sony can’t put in a price drop though. When Christmas rolls around, do you think Mom and Pops are going to spring for $299 top of the line Xbox Elite, or spend $469.99 for a PS3? HECK, for only $30 more, they could buy an Xbox Elite and an Xbox Arcade model. That’s 2 consoles for the price of one folks. Now, for extra credit, try to convince me how that’s not going to affect Sony’s Fall/Winter Sales Data.

Yeah, yeah, I know, Sony has the Blu-Ray. Sure, you don’t have to pay for every goll-danged extra thing like you do with the Xbox (wireless connectivity, online play), and the PS3’s DLC tends to be a lot cheaper too. but I really don’t think this outweighs the fact that the Xbox is now almost HALF the cost of a PS3.

These developments will definitely make the never ending debate of “PS3 vs. Xbox 360/Hardware vs. Value” more interesting.

By Ryan Sullivan | Tagged , , , , | Comments (44)

Sony’s Fiscal Year is Over – Where is the PS3 Price Cut?

April 11, 2009

PS3

Sony has stated many times that a PS3 price cut would not come during their 2008 Fiscal Year. Well, that ended a few weeks ago. It’s time to drop the price.

While a price drop was announced to coincide with the company’s new Fiscal Year, it was for the PS2, which was both inevitable and disappointing. Gamers, journalists, and analysts alike are all clamoring for Sony to make a fairly major price drop for the PlayStation 3. It’s still by far the most expensive console on the market and has been lagging behind in sales with the cheaper Wii and Xbox 360 moving more product. With the economy still down globally, slashing prices is the best way to ensure more sales for your product.

While I absolutely love my PS3, I believe the longer Sony waits to announce and implement this much needed and overdue price drop, the more they’re going to lose out on sales. People cannot afford purchasing multiple consoles in this economy and will pick up a cheaper product if needed.

So, Sony, when will we see a cheaper PS3?

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , , | Comments (26)