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The 80GB PS3 to be the only option once the 60GB consoles are all sold out

Although the $100 price drop on the 60GB PlayStation 3 appears from most angles to be a tactic from Sony Computer Entertainment America to help jumpstart sales of its new console, comments from the company’s European arm seem to paint the price reduction as a method of clearing out old stock.

In an interview with GamesIndustry, SCEE president David Reeves said in response to a question asking why Europe isn’t getting a similar price drop as North America, “Well, they're not really are they, because what the U.S. are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game. All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July.”

The interviewer then clarified Reeves' answer by asking, “So once the 60GB is gone, that will be the end of the 60GB then?” The SCEE president replied, “In America, yes.”

Sony's Kaz Hirai confirmed the move in this video interview with VG TV (his response in English can be heard around the 1:45 mark).

The comments from Reeves and Hirari indicate that the recent price drop is just an attempt to clear out remaining 60GB inventory to make way for the 80GB model. This would also mean that once the $499 60GB models are sold out, the actual price of entry into PlayStation 3 ownership will rise back up to $599.

At the time of launch, gamers could purchase a PlayStation 3 for $499 rather than $599 if they chose to go with the 20GB model which also was without Wi-Fi and a memory card reader. Starting in 2007, shipments of the more economical 20GB appeared to be scarcer, while the 60GB was more readily found in stores.

Following investigations into the apparent extinction of the $499 option, Sony officially confirmed the 20GB PlayStation 3 as a discontinued product – effectively raising the price of the PlayStation 3 overall to the $599 tag of the 60GB model. The situation with the 60GB and 80GB consoles could lead to a repetition of history that could closely resemble that of the 20GB PlayStation 3.

As for the situation for gamers across the pond, Reeves also gave an explanation as to why Europe isn’t getting a PS3 with a larger hard drive yet: The difference between 60GB and 80GB is not really necessary. “Probably we could have gone for 80GB, but does it really make any difference?” he said. “We just know that we get a better supply on the 60GB than we will on the 80GB. So we chose to continue with the 60GB until we find that we can get something better, maybe lower cost. It just didn't seem necessary to us.”

Following the above reasoning, Reeve was asked why SCEA would choose the slightly larger hard drive if it isn’t necessary. “The difference is that the 60GB we have now has about 88 per cent backwards compatibility,” Reeve replied, referencing the difference in backwards compatibility hardware. “The 60GB they had had 100 per cent backwards compatibility. They felt that by going down for 100 to 88, for example, that they'd have to add something in – and that's what they did.”

Although European gamers will not yet be getting any price break or larger hard drive, a new value-added bundle has been revealed in the form of a starter pack that adds an extra controller and two games to the purchase of a new console.

Aside from the new bundle, Sony may not be making any moves until the end of the year. “We just felt that we didn't want to complicate things; we wanted to have one model, and we've had one model, we've done very well with it, now we'll add value and we'll think about what we'll do closer to Christmas,” Reeves said.

Update 07/13/07:
Sony officials are trying to clarify SCEE president David Reeve’s comments regarding the eventual end of the 60GB PS3. Posted on the official PlayStation blog, SCEA communications officer Dave Karraker wrote, “As we announced this week, SCEA’s product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of consumers for the foreseeable future.”

Karraker revealed to Joystiq that “the foreseeable future,” equates to several months: “The 60GB PS3 will be available in North America for $499 until supplies of that unit are depleted. We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come. We won't be making any further announcements regarding our hardware offerings in the North America at this time.”

The same news comes from even higher up the corporate chain, as SCEI president Kaz Hirai said in a recent VG TV interview, “Just from a hardware perspective, the $499 price adjustment that we did for the 60GB version for the American market, we’re no longer in production for that product. So once that product is gone from the retailers’ shelves, then we’re back to the $599 SKU only, so it’s not like we have a two price strategy here in the U.S. market, which we found very early on consumers that react most to just having one SKU as opposed to two.”

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Bye bye hope
By Boney on 7/13/2007 9:33:32 AM , Rating: 5
With a $100 price cut I thought Sony was headed in the right direction in trying to sell more ps3's. Clearly I was wrong.

I'm pretty sure that lowering the price on a "commodity" to attract buyers and then raising it again substantially without adding anything of value (WOW 20GIGS?!) is not a sound game plan.

Good job losing and ground you were "going" to make Sony.




RE: Bye bye hope
By yacoub on 7/13/2007 9:34:30 AM , Rating: 2
Not just not gaining, but actually losing (the hardware emulator).


RE: Bye bye hope
By bkm32 on 7/13/2007 12:09:30 PM , Rating: 2
It most likely costs Sony the same amount to offer both configurations, so if they include a game (Motostorm) and an x-tra 20GB, they make a little more on the 80GB model (really they lose less on it since the PS3 has yet to prove profitable at the unit level). Therefore, once the 60GB versions are sold out, then Sony will sell the 80GB at $499. It just won't have a game offered, or it might. By the time of the US holiday season, Sony will be offering some of its exclusives, which should help drives sales and bring costs down.

Their real only mistake in this whole "price drop scandal" is actually offering up this x-tra info. They should have known this would alientate fans and cause interested potential buyers to wait for the new pricing scheme in November.

This is the same reason why MS isn't specifiying the details on its price drop (e.g. when and how much). Although if they were going to have one, either they should have announced it prior to E3 or Shane Kim should not have mentioned it: http://www.dailytech.com/Microsofts+Shane+Kim+Talk...

My advice, invest in Nintendo stock heavily as MS and Sony are shooting themselves in the foot, right now.


RE: Bye bye hope
By mdogs444 on 7/13/2007 9:40:19 AM , Rating: 5
So they only do a liquidation on the current 60gb models, and introduce 80gb at $599.

Then M$ comes back with a $249 core, $349 premium, and $399 Elite (i think those were the prices). All while offering a 3 yr warranty, new 65nm chips, and better cooling (in the future consoles). So if you wait a few months, you can purchase the new 360 with a 120gb HD, HDMI, 65nm, better cooling, 3 year warranty, and an external HDDVD player (which doubles for your PC) for less than the only PS3 model.

Very very interesting.......


RE: Bye bye hope
By cochy on 7/13/07, Rating: -1
RE: Bye bye hope
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 7/13/2007 10:08:28 AM , Rating: 3
He was talking about the rumored price cuts for the Xbox 360, not their current retail prices...


RE: Bye bye hope
By cochy on 7/17/2007 12:57:26 PM , Rating: 2
hmmm that would makes sense yes lol


RE: Bye bye hope
By Verran on 7/13/2007 10:13:57 AM , Rating: 2
Those are the current prices. Read about new price possibilities in the new DT article:
http://www.dailytech.com/Microsofts+Shane+Kim+Talk...


RE: Bye bye hope
By GhandiInstinct on 7/13/2007 10:16:54 AM , Rating: 2
Cochy,

Forgot one thing, 360 is so cheap because it has conventional DVD, PS3 has BLU-RAY.

Anyway, why does sony think 20 more GB is something special? PS3 takes an 2.5" drive, I'd rather them sell a PS3 at 299 with no Hard Drive.

Peace.


RE: Bye bye hope
By scrapsma54 on 7/13/2007 11:16:55 AM , Rating: 4
Sony is like a pack of lemmings, they mate, have babies, then they jump off a fricken cliff with no brain function of as to why, they just are plain stupid.


RE: Bye bye hope
By MeTaedet on 7/13/2007 5:08:30 PM , Rating: 5
Sony may have made a bad move here, but really, who's the stupid one? Is it Sony or is it you of poor grammar, XBox 360 fanboy, who aren't even aware of the fact that the notion that lemmings commit suicide is entirely a myth? They have poor eyesight and so occasionally fall off of cliffs unintentionally. The producers behind the so-called documentary that filmed this behaviour of lemmings actually staged things and, by scaring them, forced them off of a stage prop made to look like a snow-covered cliff. You might say that this is irrelevant, but it actually goes to show that you are the one who believes and does things with "no brain function as to why" (that is to say, without a questioning spirit or understanding as to why). It seems that you are much more like the mythological lemming than Sony.

Microsoft has made plenty of bad moves itself. One might even say that they have made far more than Sony. Let's review: No HDMI port; no HD-DVD player included with the XBox 360 (which has spelled the downfall of the HD-DVD format); a failure rate approximately 33 times greater than that of the Wii or PS3; horrible press conference held in high school auditorium that revealed nothing remotely interesting or new; despite claims to the contrary, no better repertoire of games than the PS3 despite having been out for a year longer; failure to be honest and fair with customers by reporting actual failure rates as soon as they were known; failure to not lie about system failure rates; failure to do right by customers until absolutely forced to do so as a result of the true Xbox 360 failure rate being disclosed to the public by people other than Microsoft employees. And I'm sure there are more...

P.S. Something I want to get off of my chest:
People speak of the new change in warranty policy as if it were a selling point and really big and magnanimous thing for $M to do, but the truth is that if the console weren't an unreliable pile, they wouldn't have had to do it in the first place. All things being equal - that is, disregarding the differences between the two systems, save for reliability - in terms of warranty policies, I'd much rather go with the PS3, since, although the warranty doesn't last as long, there's a much much smaller chance of having anything go wrong with it. I don't want to go to the trouble of shipping my system to Microsoft and waiting for weeks to get it back so I can continue playing games, even if doing so should come at no monetary cost to me. So, please, people, don't speak of the new warranty system as though it were a selling point or merit of the console because it really isn't. And do try to give credit where it is due: How about giving props to Sony for manufacturing a console of such a quality that an extension to the warranty shouldn't in any way be necessary in the first place? Hmmm?

And to set the record straight: Yes, the PS3 is more expensive, but it is a much better value in every way. In order to get a functionality similar to the PS3's you have to spend around $700. And buying an HD-DVD player at this juncture is unwise, since with Blockbuster's exclusive adoption of the Blue-Ray format over the HD-DVD format, HD-DVD is getting betamaxed.

P.P.S.
I side with the PS3, but not because I have an irrational fondness for Sony; I do so because through ratiocination I have truly arrived at the conclusion that it is a better console. I am no fanboy. The moment the XBox 360 becomes the more appealing choice, I'll side with it. Remember, people, there's nothing wrong with preferring one console to another. But there is a problem with siding with one over another for no reason other than that you have a baseless and irrational love of and feelings of fealty to the manufacturer of that console.


RE: Bye bye hope
By GreenyMP on 7/13/2007 5:37:04 PM , Rating: 2
Tell me how that inane post gets a rated a 5. Only because it's pro Microsoft and anti Sony on DailyTech. So I guess the scale goes like this:

Rating -> Bias
1 Strongly agree with Sony
2 Agree with Sony
3 Non biased
4 Agree with Microsoft
5 Strongly agree with Microsoft


RE: Bye bye hope
By mdogs444 on 7/13/2007 6:41:47 PM , Rating: 2
Since you are obviously Pro-Sony, allow me the opportunity to defend what i wrote, that received a 5...

First and foremost, I am not a fan of Microsoft anymore than I am a fan of Sony. I believe they they both have many good products, many failures, and in my opinion - both share characteristics of pricing their items for more than what you actually get out of them.

Second, I was not bashing the Playstation 3's ability as a console, nor did I say one bad thing about its functionality & features.

Third, my comments were merely going off the statement that with M$'s expected price cuts (as stated on DailyTech), it is now possible to get a fully loaded 360 for the same price as the PS3.

------------------------------------------------- -----------

The fact that M$ is now issues a 3 year warranty (based on certain stipulations) is only meant as a tool to ease consumers minds when purchasing the item. No doubt is this a direct result of the wide spread surfacing of certain problems with the system that many users experienced.

M$ did also state that they are making changes to the systems design to prevent these flaws. We know they are shrinking the die to 65nm from 90nm for several reasons - not only to help cure the RROD/Overheating problems, but also lower the cost of production, thus helping justify the expected price drop.

Now as for my Sony PS3 comments. I think its a wonderful system as a whole - yes it offers great graphics, free online gaming, and a 1080P BD player.

My point of the previous post was saying that I dont think the extra 20GB of storage, while eliminating the EE chip, justify's a $100 price increase over the standard 60GB system. I think if they offered a "core" 60GB system and a "premium" 80GB system at a $499/599 price point - the 60GB would be the clear cut consumer choice, no?

Now, lets really consider what they are doing. A 60GB and 80GB 2.5" drive cost roughly the same, so that is not increasing the production cost. By eliminating the EE chip, it is decreasing production costs. So as a whole, they are really charging more, for less. Since the 60 & 80 GB drives cost the same, and they eliminate the EE chip, the price should drop to reflect it - similar to what M$ is expected to do with the cheaper production costs of the 65nm chip.

So when it comes to features & price, they are now somewhat similar with both having small advantages:

That was the sole basis for my post, not a pro MS or anti Sony.

------------------------------------------------- -----------

Now as for the long post above yours, I do agree with many of his points, and yet disagree with some as well.

1. It is not proven that there is a 33x greater defect rate on the 360. He even stated that MS did not release the actual statistics. While I do agree they are probably much higher than Wii & PS3, a single chain such as EBgames, or Game Stop's statement does not justify a defect rate as a whole, and thus in inconclusive.

2. Another inconclusive statement is to say that BD has won the format war. People are still buying both formats. With all the offers going around of 5 free HD & BD movies, and movies being bundled with consoles, who really knows how many people are actually BUYING the titles. And just because Blockbuster has chosen one format over the other, only time will tell if that was the right choice or not. Some studios have sided with only HD, others have sided with only BD, and others are planning on producing dual formats.

Truth be told, I dont think anyone really cares who wins. Its more of waiting period where we would like either A) one to win so we know we arent wasting our money on a BD player or a HD player, or B) please make affordable dual format players.

If there is anyone out there who claims "BD looks so much better than HD" or "HD looks so much better than BD" is full of it. There is no difference at all in the picture or audio quality. Its all whether they are choosing to be a fan of one or the other.

Also, I dont believe its fair to connect HD with Microsoft. MS doesnt even make the HD drives. Just because they chose not to side with Sony - who is a direct competitor of their console - and pay Sony to install BD drives in teh 360, does not make them the bad guy.

In all honesty, I could care less about HD or BD. I dont even have an 1080p tv to watch them on, 1080i is good enough for me, and from what I hear, its not that big of a difference to the naked eye.

Last of all, I do not agree with any statements where people say that the PS3 is a "value" or the 360 is a "value", becuase they are both with flaws, both of companies who i wouldn't trust as far as i can throw them. Its not a question of what is a better "value", its a question of what is considered more "affordable" and a "better buy" to the consumer.


RE: Bye bye hope
By GreenyMP on 7/13/2007 8:10:41 PM , Rating: 2
A couple of items.

1. My post claiming that the score of 5 was unearned was aimed at the lemming post. At least your post had some content.

2. Claiming that a shrink of the die and an increase in the warranty period are some kind of upgrade seems odd to me. If I had to send my console back a couple of times a year and get a new one, I would not be bothered. As long as Microsoft takes care of their customers, who cares if the failure rate is 99%. It's their money they keep losing. But to market the rectification of such issues as an upgrade is misguided.

3. It IS fair to connect Microsoft to HD. Microsoft built and marketed the disk authoring technology used in creating HD-DVDs. They were partners with Toshiba from the beginning. They were just unwilling to put it all on the line like Sony - for better or for worse.

4. No matter how logical you make your arguments, you are still a Microsoft Fanboy. You are just a more intelligent one. Not like scrapsma54 (Lemming man). And that would make me a Sony Fanboy.


RE: Bye bye hope
By mdogs444 on 7/13/2007 8:28:23 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
1. My post claiming that the score of 5 was unearned was aimed at the lemming post. At least your post had some content.


For that I apologize. I was too quick to jump the gun, as i didnt even bother looking at his lemming comment. I just knew most of the branched off mine.

quote:
2. Claiming that a shrink of the die and an increase in the warranty period are some kind of upgrade seems odd to me. If I had to send my console back a couple of times a year and get a new one, I would not be bothered. As long as Microsoft takes care of their customers, who cares if the failure rate is 99%. It's their money they keep losing. But to market the rectification of such issues as an upgrade is misguided.


Nowhere did i mention it being an upgrade, because to the user's naked eye, its nothing. I just said that the warranty was to help buy back consumers, and that the die shrink will help with the overheating issues and decrease the price.

quote:
3. It IS fair to connect Microsoft to HD. Microsoft built and marketed the disk authoring technology used in creating HD-DVDs. They were partners with Toshiba from the beginning. They were just unwilling to put it all on the line like Sony - for better or for worse.


Correction - HDDVD was actually created by Toshiba in conjunction with NEC. Microsoft was not a creator, but an adopter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD
http://www.timefordvd.com/tutorial/HDDVDTutorial.s...

quote:
4. No matter how logical you make your arguments, you are still a Microsoft Fanboy. You are just a more intelligent one. Not like scrapsma54 (Lemming man). And that would make me a Sony Fanboy.


Personally, since you are admitting you are a sony fanboy, and i've already said that i dont care for Microsoft, i think you just want me to be a MS fanboy for the sake of argument.

I guess since I have Vista on my computer, that makes me a fanboy. I guess that also makes everyone with Windows on their computer a fanboy as well...probably including you.


RE: Bye bye hope
By GreenyMP on 7/14/2007 2:36:34 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Correction - HDDVD was actually created by Toshiba in conjunction with NEC. Microsoft was not a creator, but an adopter.


Let me correct your correction. Microsoft and Toshiba jointly developed HDi. HDi is the technology that you use to create the menus and extra features on HD-DVD. Despite what you read on Wikipedia, Microsoft was in on the deal from the beginning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDi_Interactive_Forma...

This is the opinion part of the post. I personally like Blu-ray better for this reason. I think that Java (used for menus and extra features in Blu-ray) is a more powerful, versatile, future proof technology.