PS3 price revealed!!

[Gurm]

No no, no stupid pills, just a lack of understanding. What's UMD? Is it optical? I haven't seen a picture of one yet, and have only been interested enough to ask, not research.

[Nowhere]

Oh c'mon, you're calling Google Image Search: "UMD" research? That would take less time than posting question on MURC

[Jammrock]

I virtually GUARANTEE you that no console will EVER be introduced at a price point that high.

It just won't happen... because nobody would buy it.

Same with the Nintendo DS which everyone said would be uber-expensive. When it actually hit Electronics Boutique? $150.

PSP... everyone said $400... hits stores at... $300.

I don't buy this price for a minute.

I bet it premiers in Japan at $450, but drops to $399 or $349 by the time it is released on US shores. The Japanese are far more willing to pay the enthusist prices for gaming consoles than Americans.

[Gurm]

I bet it premiers in Japan at $450, but drops to $399 or $349 by the time it is released on US shores. The Japanese are far more willing to pay the enthusist prices for gaming consoles than Americans.

Yes that's what I meant. The Japanese will pay really good money for something new once every six months.

[KvHagedorn]

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

[Kurt]

I virtually GUARANTEE you that no console will EVER be introduced at a price point that high.

It just won't happen... because nobody would buy it.

Same with the Nintendo DS which everyone said would be uber-expensive. When it actually hit Electronics Boutique? $150.

PSP... everyone said $400... hits stores at... $300.

I don't buy this price for a minute.

Remember the PS2? Can you say 600 USD? That was the intro price in Belgium. Not an import. A few month later it went down to 450...then to 300 like a year and a half later and stayed there for a while.

These are "THEN" prices of course. Now they'd be 30% higher, accounting for stronger Euro vs US Dollar.

I can almost GUARANTEE that the PS3 will come out at 450 EUR...

[KeiFront]

Without tax you mean then , if it will cost 400$ in the US we'll at least pay 500€ for it, not that I will buy one.

[Kurt]

By taxes you mean VAT, RECUPEL (recycling), AUVIBEL (a/v reproduction), BEBAT (batteries for the remote), probably AUTHOR RIGHTS too if it can record anything...it might get into the 600s

We probably have too many accountants in Belgium. What would they do without all the tax categories?

[Wombat]

I'm not even interested in the price of the console. What will the <I>games</I> cost? Those suckers just keep going up.

[Goc]

I was amazed that the PSP debuted at $300 instead of sub-$200 like the Nintendo DS, but then again it isn't JUST a game machine, it's also a media player and $300 is a reasonable price for a media player. In fact, it's a GREAT price for a media player with a screen, although most media players with screens have hard drives.

So it's OK to bump the price for a handheld device that brings additional features, but if you decide to introduce Wi-Fi, streaming videos and all kind of media from network (LAN/WAN), free online content and a quantum leap in game visual immersion + the usual progressive DVD/CD features, effectively getting rid of 4-5 different entertainment/multimedia machines, THAT wouldn't justify additional 150$?

[Gurm]

So it's OK to bump the price for a handheld device that brings additional features, but if you decide to introduce Wi-Fi, streaming videos and all kind of media from network (LAN/WAN), free online content and a quantum leap in game visual immersion + the usual progressive DVD/CD features, effectively getting rid of 4-5 different entertainment/multimedia machines, THAT wouldn't justify additional 150$?

Yup. Consumers have indicated their willingness to pay certain amounts of money in certain device categories.

I am, for the record, talking about USA street prices. Y'know, what it costs to buy the unit at Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

Handheld Game Systems: $100. This price is negotiable, but the Nintendo DS hasn't sold super-well at $150. Is it WORTH $150? Undoubtedly. It's got PocketPC capabilities, even if they aren't completely fleshed out yet. It's got Wi-Fi. It's very spiffy, and it's backwards compatible. But essentially it's JUST a game system at this time, so it hasn't sold THAT well, all things considered. I don't see kids walking down the halls of the mall playing them, like I do with the GameBoy SP or even the PSP!

Handheld Media Devices: $300. This number is a little malleable, but any unit with decent storage can command up to this price. iPods with gigantic drives and video playback are $400+, but standard iPods of whatever size is current run around $300. Creative's units run about $300. Units that play videos? $500-$600. So for THAT the PSP is underpriced. It's sort of a weird niche unit though, since it's a game system AND a media player but has no hard drive. It also has some PocketPC capabilities, WiFi, etc. Is it worth the $300? Absolutely, but again it's not cheap enough to become ubiquitous. EVERY kid has a GameBoy.

Consoles: $300. Tops. $200 is a better target. I have yet to see a SUCCESSFUL launch of a console that cost more than $300 at the outset. XBox launch? $300. PS2 Launch? $300. Nintendo launches? Much cheaper. Sega? Much cheaper. People just don't want to pay $500 for a console. They won't. Not in the USA.

[Nowhere]

Hmm...here they have to, at each and every launch :/

[Gurm]

Hmm...here they have to, at each and every launch :/

I don't dispute that. I'm just saying that the BIG MARKETS are Europe, Japan and the USA. In Europe, you people get raped on everything (VAT, it's a lovely thing!). In Japan, they will pay a premium for ANYTHING from new electronics to Hello Kitty backpacks. In the USA, there's a fixed amount of money people will pay for things.

I'm no expert on that amount of money, but there are experts and you can bet some of them work for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Same as they work for all the car companies. Notice how all cars of a given size and fuel economy are all priced the same? Doesn't matter whether it's Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, or GM. Budget cars are around $15k, you step up to either slightly sportier or slightly nicer/larger for $20k, etc. etc.

So you can't tell me that they're going to introduce any new system for $500. It just won't happen, because nobody ELSE's system will be $500.

[Nowhere]

Actually, I'd love to have the same prices as in rest of the Europe (direction: West). Or at least the same prices/incomes relation (mhmmm...that would make people here one of the wealthiest in the world )
Oh well...