PlayStation 3 price still being debated

CeS

Sony Computer Entertainment executive says next-gen price point still undetermined; explains dearth of playable PS3 games at TGS 2005.



With Microsoft announcing its worldwide pricing scheme for the Xbox 360, the onus is now on Sony Computer Entertainment to decide how much its PlayStation 3 will cost consumers.

However, SCE also needs to assure third-party publishers that its next-gen console will be affordable for a wide enough audience to ensure PS3 games will be profitable to make. Recently, Koei CEO Keiko Erikawa commented that her company would consider shifting to another platform if PS3 development proves too expensive. This is despite the fact the company is currently a big supporter of the PS3, announcing two new games at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show alone.

In an interview published in the latest issue of Famitsu, SCE executive Masatsuka Saeki emphasized that the pricing of the PS3 remains a vital--and difficult--issue for Sony. He confirmed that the company has not yet decided on a price, saying that it will be the subject of debate until the last possible minute.

When asked why there were no playable PS3 games at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, as previously promised by SCE president Ken Kutaragi, Saeki revealed that there was a long discussion inside Sony before the show opened. While many executives argued that it would be good for the public to play demos, eventually the decision was made to only show E3-style trailers, as it was the first time the PS3 was being shown publicly in Japan.

When asked if there would be any changes to the February PS3 event where playable demos will be on hand, Saeki did not respond directly. However, he did say that SCE is planning something for the event that is sure to be a "major" surprise.

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JsnakeJ

$500 on release or will it be more?

Disposable Hero

I'm guessing about $450 - 500. But it'll depend on the success of Xbox 360. The better it goes the cheaper Sony will have to make the PS3 in order to compete. I'd say that $400 is the cheapest it'll be on release.

JsnakeJ

Price of the system isn't my concern, its the games prices. PS3's will be 80 I think and Xbox360s are 60.

Infamouz Chuckz

Well The PS3 will Most Likely be priced Between $400 - 500. can't really see it being anything under that Price range.

Kevin Idol

PS3 will likey go between the $250-$350 price range. That would be a fair price, for both Sony and the consumer. If they go above $400, sales will not be as high.

I doubt they will be that high. And even if they were, Sony wouldn't price theirs to be more than Xbox's. They would keep them at the same price.

CeS

it already been stated that the price for the ps3 will be above 400 more like 450-600 range.like mr sony ps man ken said it will be expensive here is the article:


Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation Meeting in Tokyo, company president Ken Kutaragi meandered along to continue with his solemn warnings that the PlayStation 3 will not be a cheap console, even going so far as to say that "…the PS3 can't be offered at a price that's targeted towards households."
Well err, who else were you thinking of selling it to? That aside, he does say that Sony is planning a lifecycle of ten years for the PS3, which is about double what its predecessors got. Sony hopes to maintain this long life-cycle by investing now in those expensive pieces of kit, saying "We're looking at a life cycle of 10 years with the PlayStation 3. We're currently shifting from standard TVs to HDTVs.

"But in the next couple of years, most flat-panel TVs will be full HD. We're releasing the PS3 with full HD features from the start so that consumers won't have to buy another version of the console in the future. For the same reason, we're using Blu-ray as the PS3's disc format."

He also showed the first slides of the early dev kits and told the audience that Sony intends to meet the huge demand from developers to get their hands on the technology by October, as at the moment the number currently shipped to developers is only around 450, though they’ll ramp that up to 3,000 a month come October.

We can’t help but get uneasy feelings in our stomachs about the PS3 considering that it’ll be coming to market so long after the Xbox 360 and with a price tag to boot. Wonder how far that loyal PlayStation fan base will stretch? µ

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Lets_Go_Yanks

$400 at least is my bet.

JsnakeJ

I saw the Xbox360 prices and thats the prices for them. PS3's will cost more, the discs are more expensive.