My DH and I enjoy playing video games. We own a Nintendo Wii and bought it when it came out. We have a few games and previously owned a Gamecube. It was not an expensive system and we bought it by flipping a couple of other systems just because we had picked them up on opening day.
Anyway my DH wants a PS3 because of a new game called LittleBigPlanet. Anyway it costs $399, and as of right now there are no plans to cut prices before Christmas. To put into perspective the Xbox base model is $199 and the Wii is $249. So it’s substantially more than the other two systems.
But should Sony cut it’s prices? One writer says yes, that Sony is killing the Playstation 3. He says it was expensive at $599 when it came out and now it’s $399. Which is still very expensive. And it is lagging substantially in market share to the Xbox and Wii. So cutting the price suggests that it will sell more consoles. But Sony doesn’t want to do that because it will hurt shareholders.
But the writer says they are falling behind in demand. That people will go out and buy the other two systems shopping solely on price. I think this Christmas season will determine what happens. I feel like people are less likely to be buying $399 systems when their savings have lost 40% and potentially losing more. But Sony is betting I’m wrong. That people will continue to spend this holiday season.
What do you think? Is Sony gambling too much that people will be blowing money on the holidays? Or do you think consumers are just too worried to really spend that much? Personally I think they need to come down in price, likely right after Christmas, and when they do I’ll probably get one for my DH. $399 for one gift for a child? Crazy.
10 responses so far ↓
1 LJK // Nov 4, 2008 at 10:14 am
Funny you should bring this up, my husband & I actually bought a PS3 last night. It is on the expensive side, but the main reason we bought it was for the blu-ray player. It’s in line with other blu-rays, and it’s the best on the market. Because it can connect to the internet, it can get firmware upgrades that other blu-ray players can’t.
I think the price will come down once other blu-rays get more competitive. And in terms of demand, we got the LAST PS3 at Best Buy last night. Not as hard to find as the Wii is, but still…
2 Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet // Nov 4, 2008 at 10:45 am
I was also going to point out that it plays blu-rays. That’s why my husband wants one. And my brother in law and a friend of mine both bought one because it plays blu-rays.
3 Kristy // Nov 4, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I honestly think that people will not cut back on the holidays. We don’t know what cutting back is. We think that if we give up our latte, then that should be it and we shouldn’t have to give up anything else.
4 Mary@SimplyForties // Nov 4, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I find myself hoping Sony is wrong, as opposed to believing it. Although it is inconceivable to me that anyone would spend this much money on a gaming system, I realized it is no different than me struggling not to spend $300 on a Kindle. I do believe people will cut back this Christmas. Losing your home or knowing someone who has brings the whole “latte factor” thing into perspective.
5 fengshui // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:02 am
DH and I ARE cutting back on the holidays. We agreed that we are not going to get anything for eachother, and are getting small things for our parents, some close friends, and that is about it. Thankfully we are both only children so we don’t have to worry about spoiling neices and nephews! LOL. DH wants a PS3 so badly, but we’ve been holding off until the price comes down…. I’m wondering if it will….
6 LivingAlmostLarge // Nov 6, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I think that it’s a lot of money no matter how much you make. It’s not a drop in the bucket.
And after today’s results about the STEEP decline in shopping in October, I’m betting Sony is way more wrong than they think!
Tomorrow the jobs reports for layoffs and they are predicting 200k jobs, 500k jobs lost in Sept-October! So how can you buy something like this when people are not working?
9 Miss M // Nov 11, 2008 at 11:06 pm
The only thing saving the PS3 is Sony winning the blu-ray vs HD war. We’ll probably get a PS3 eventually because it has the blu ray player, we can’t afford one right now. Also, we already have a couple of game systems and don’t use them that much. It seems silly to buy another.
10 LivingAlmostLarge // Nov 12, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Yep, but is the blue-ray really that great?
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