PS3 shoots itself in the head

machalla

Possibly a bit off-topic but...

As if they weren't messing the Europeans around enough with the late launch of the console now they are knocking 20% off the price of the PS3 in Japan only!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5369720.stm

I'm starting to think Sony wants the Wii to do well...

sprinkles

That's a farce. Do we not count at all!!!

evad_lhorg

it is only the lower end model getting a price cut is it not?

we wont be getting that anyway

ErinGoBrath

Just out of curiousity, what sort of sales would be made in Japan compared to Europe on consoles?

Kimbot

evad_lhorg wrote:

it is only the lower end model getting a price cut is it not?

we wont be getting that anyway

Yup only the 20 gig version is taking the cut but its still a €180 odd difference for the same product between here and Japan!!!

hullaballoo

Sony are just clever enough to realise that all of us idiots will pay the price anyway!

Vegeta

ErinGoBrath wrote:

Just out of curiousity, what sort of sales would be made in Japan compared to Europe on consoles?

http://journal.pcvsconsole.com/?thread=8498

I don't know how reliable the figures are but that's what i found

ambro25

(i) in Japan only (US + EU stays same) and
(ii) to make it more competitive with XB360 ?

But, but but... Japan is the only territory in which XB360 isn't doing well ?!?

(and in which XB before was never doing well either!)

So why drop the price there?

The mind truly boggles

sprinkles

ErinGoBrath wrote:

Just out of curiousity, what sort of sales would be made in Japan compared to Europe on consoles?

I read recently that Japan bought the majority of PS2's compared to other markets, the country is effectively a Sony fanboy.

GrumPy

sprinkles wrote:

The country is effectively a Sony fanboy.

So is Ireland, second biggest consumer of the ps2 per head our population, second only to Japan.

koneko

Winning in the "home land" is important to a company like Sony, they will not want to be beaten by Nintendo and definitely don't want support for Microsoft to grow there.

We already know they care little about Europe (biggest game market in the world? If not, it's close). This is not unexpected.

Balfa

What the hell is this doing in the nintendo forum? Someone close it before the fanboyism gets out of hand.

sprinkles

sprinkles wrote:

I read recently that Japan bought the majority of PS2's compared to other markets, the country is effectively a Sony fanboy.

And do you think we'll see a price cut.... not a chance

:mad: :rolleyes:

projectmayhem

ambro25 wrote:

So why drop the price there?

because the only competitor in japan is dirt cheap (Wii)... they have to try and compete.

Irish GrumPy wrote:

So is Ireland, second biggest consumer of the ps2 per head our population, second only to Japan.

yes but that makes for a nice statistic, but still puts us (and europe) below the sales sony gets in america and japan, even though europe generally is very loyal to sony. microsoft have the same problems in japan and the likes of spain etc. (where playstation is as popular as ireland)

GrumPy

projectmayhem wrote:

because the only competitor in japan is dirt cheap (Wii)... they have to try and compete.



yes but that makes for a nice statistic, but still puts us (and europe) below the sales sony gets in america and japan, even though europe generally is very loyal to sony. microsoft have the same problems in japan and the likes of spain etc. (where playstation is as popular as ireland)

Yeah I know man, was just pointing out that even if Sony charged €700 for the damn thing, the parents would still buy it for there kids!

Sony playstation is t3h household name in Ireland.

Vegeta

projectmayhem wrote:

because the only competitor in japan is dirt cheap (Wii)... they have to try and compete.



yes but that makes for a nice statistic, but still puts us (and europe) below the sales sony gets in america and japan, even though europe generally is very loyal to sony. microsoft have the same problems in japan and the likes of spain etc. (where playstation is as popular as ireland)

I don't know if thats true i thought the biggest market for PS2 was America followed by europe then Japan.

I thought that yes Japan did have the greatest number of PS2s per person but came third in the number of consoles sold.

Can someone please show me figures cos i was looking for em a while ago and couldn't find any. twas drivin me nuts

Retr0gamer

I actually think that Europe is the biggest games market. Japan is definitely the third biggest market. There's a great picture on Wii60 of Europe with a caption saying something like 'Sony, welcome to Europe, the biggest videogames market in the world'.

I'd say in about 2 years time Asia will definitely be the biggest market. The success of the PSP, PS2 and Nintendo iQue in China and the explosion in their economy seems to indicate this. With the PSP released in China and Korea before Europe I'd expect the same with the PS3. Europe isn't even 'the Third Place' anymore for Sony.

hawker27

A Japanese financial expert scoffed at Sony's decision to reduce the price of the PlayStation 3 in Japan even before its launch. Says Yoku Ihara, "It's ridiculous to decide to cut the price before they start selling the PS3...They may cut the price again if sales don't go well."

The reaction came after Sony announced at the Tokyo Game Show that it is due to cut the Japanese price of the 20GB version of the PS3 from ¥62,790 (US$540 or €421) to ¥49,980 (US$430 or €335). Naoki Fujiwara of Shinkin Asset Management seems to agree with Ihara when it said "Sony will take a bigger hit on a launch it is already losing money on".

Furthermore, it will prove to be negative in the short term since the company may not be able to sell enough consoles to cover an instant loss caused by the price cut.

We'll all find out soon enough if these analysts are right, or if Sony can pull this off and prove everybody else wrong.

not bothered as i,m sick to the gills of sonys carry on with the ps3,so i,m plunging for a xbox360 for crimbo+theres various mods you can do to the xbox360 now:)

1huge1

and the nintendo ds apparently

savemejebus

I'd say the only reason Sony are cutting the price in Japan is because MS are releasing the HD-DVD add on in Japan first. As the add on is released in more markets I'd say you can expect to see similar ps3 reductions in those markets

CiDeRmAn

The cut in the price of the PS3 in japan has to be seen as a desperate measure to counteract the press that Sony has been getting about their super console, the very comments made by themselves about the exclusive nature of the machine, the prestige value of the product could only hurt it in the eyes of the local gaming public, a price drop will also surely have to include a quietening of such sentiments from the Sony themselves, and try to avoid alienating those that made it such a strong gaming trademark to begin with.
Lets face it, if it wasn't for the extraordinaryly high launch price most of us wpuld be buying one at launch and even so many of us will, and the rest will follow towards Christmas 07.

hairball

listen, these debates about whether or not sony have failed this time or not are pointless, anyone who knows consoles and games knows damn well that sony will always do just fine...the playstation 3 wont be a flop in any territory, no matter what initial set backs they might have, they have also, it seems adapted the approach of the ps3 being a long term investment for a gamer, something that's future proofed, something that you'll still happily playing 5 years from now without looking at the other kids brand new consoles and feeling jealous.
Whether they've produced this wonder machine this time out none of us know or will know for at least a year perhaps two when the software that truly pushes it comes along.
but they wont flop, for example i watched some videos on joystiq from tgs where they'd randomly asked people 'wii or ps3'....guess which one was picked twice as much as the other.

Rhyme

http://games.slashdot.org/games/06/09/25/1322256.shtml

Im confused.