Marino2Clayton
02-20-2006, 05:35 PM
Some of you guys may have missed this earlier story I posted from IGN Insider (it was burried in another post).
January 27, 2006 - Those lucky enough to have gotten their hands on an Xbox 360 will tell you that after the hardware, games, and other miscellaneous peripherals, controllers, etc., buying a next-gen system 'aint cheap. But as much as a 360 may have hurt your pockets, it's looking like a PS3 will even more so. In fact, it's feasible to assume that the PlayStation 3 could retail at anywhere between $300-$800 at launch.
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Though the system's final price tag is still completely unknown at this point but Sony president Ken Kutaragi has stated that the PS3 "Will be expensive". He has also said the company wants "for consumers to think to themselves 'I will work more hours to buy one'. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else."
One thing however is widely known; the PS3 won't match the 360's $399 price tag, and here's why:
It's cost will ultimately be determined by two things. One is the PS3's unique Cell processor that was co-designed by IBM, Toshiba and Sony. The second is the systems Blu-ray drive. Now, certain analysts in the industry believe the latter will drive costs up hundreds of dollars on its own, and there's no reason to believe that to be untrue. Pioneer, one of Sony's Blu-ray partners, has marked the MSRP of their top-of-the-line BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player at $1,800. Other companies like Samsung have priced their comparable, but ultimately lower-end model, players at $1,199 retail. So, by the time Blu-ray players are available for consumer purchase, which should be around the same time the PS3 is expected to launch in Japan, they'll be going for an average of over a grand.
Yeah, I want a PS3, sure; but I'm not putting in extra hours at the office just to buy one.
With that said; here's a worst case scenario: What if with all games, peripherals, and the add-on hard drive included - it will cost you over $1000 to get a PS3 at launch? Will you buy it? Do you think this is just way too much to pay for a gaming system, even though it's fitted with the highest-end DVD player on the market? Are you willing to shell out this much cash for what's likely to be comparable to the Xbox 360 (according to some developers), as a gaming system? Or is the Revolution looking sweeter and sweeter now with its sub $300 price tag?
Today on Gamespot (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), there is even a more worrisome story for potential PS3 owners...
Monday's drop follows a 2.8 percent decline in Sony stock on Friday, after Wall Street stock-brokerage firm Merrill Lynch published a report skeptical of the company's next-generation console plans. It predicted the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the US.
"We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product," read the report, "and we think that we’re seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive." Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.
While other analysts have predicted that the PS3 might not hit North America until Q4 2006 or Q1 2007--which would miss the all-important holiday shopping season--Merrill Lynch's stature made many-a-trader skittish. The fires of unease were fueled further by another component of the report, which predicted the manufacturing cost of the console could be much higher than previous estimates of around $500 per unit.
"Our updated analysis indicates that the initial bill of [production] materials for PS3 could approach $900," read the report. The report said that the production cost of a single Cell processor will be $230 at launch, with the Blu-ray drive setting Sony back $350 per unit. If that estimate is correct, that means the PS3 would have to sell for around $775-$800 to maintain a $125-$100 per-unit-loss similar to that of Microsoft's Xbox 360.
January 27, 2006 - Those lucky enough to have gotten their hands on an Xbox 360 will tell you that after the hardware, games, and other miscellaneous peripherals, controllers, etc., buying a next-gen system 'aint cheap. But as much as a 360 may have hurt your pockets, it's looking like a PS3 will even more so. In fact, it's feasible to assume that the PlayStation 3 could retail at anywhere between $300-$800 at launch.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Though the system's final price tag is still completely unknown at this point but Sony president Ken Kutaragi has stated that the PS3 "Will be expensive". He has also said the company wants "for consumers to think to themselves 'I will work more hours to buy one'. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else."
One thing however is widely known; the PS3 won't match the 360's $399 price tag, and here's why:
It's cost will ultimately be determined by two things. One is the PS3's unique Cell processor that was co-designed by IBM, Toshiba and Sony. The second is the systems Blu-ray drive. Now, certain analysts in the industry believe the latter will drive costs up hundreds of dollars on its own, and there's no reason to believe that to be untrue. Pioneer, one of Sony's Blu-ray partners, has marked the MSRP of their top-of-the-line BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player at $1,800. Other companies like Samsung have priced their comparable, but ultimately lower-end model, players at $1,199 retail. So, by the time Blu-ray players are available for consumer purchase, which should be around the same time the PS3 is expected to launch in Japan, they'll be going for an average of over a grand.
Yeah, I want a PS3, sure; but I'm not putting in extra hours at the office just to buy one.
With that said; here's a worst case scenario: What if with all games, peripherals, and the add-on hard drive included - it will cost you over $1000 to get a PS3 at launch? Will you buy it? Do you think this is just way too much to pay for a gaming system, even though it's fitted with the highest-end DVD player on the market? Are you willing to shell out this much cash for what's likely to be comparable to the Xbox 360 (according to some developers), as a gaming system? Or is the Revolution looking sweeter and sweeter now with its sub $300 price tag?
Today on Gamespot (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), there is even a more worrisome story for potential PS3 owners...
Monday's drop follows a 2.8 percent decline in Sony stock on Friday, after Wall Street stock-brokerage firm Merrill Lynch published a report skeptical of the company's next-generation console plans. It predicted the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the US.
"We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product," read the report, "and we think that we’re seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive." Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.
While other analysts have predicted that the PS3 might not hit North America until Q4 2006 or Q1 2007--which would miss the all-important holiday shopping season--Merrill Lynch's stature made many-a-trader skittish. The fires of unease were fueled further by another component of the report, which predicted the manufacturing cost of the console could be much higher than previous estimates of around $500 per unit.
"Our updated analysis indicates that the initial bill of [production] materials for PS3 could approach $900," read the report. The report said that the production cost of a single Cell processor will be $230 at launch, with the Blu-ray drive setting Sony back $350 per unit. If that estimate is correct, that means the PS3 would have to sell for around $775-$800 to maintain a $125-$100 per-unit-loss similar to that of Microsoft's Xbox 360.