Other than wanting to get a cold one I do not have a lot of junk to spew about tonight. Actually, before we get started I have to admit that I am a little bit pissed off that there is no update on the Sony site about the status of my PS3 repair. The site says to “please allow 1-2 business days for your unit to be assigned to a Service Agent once received.” Hmmm … I guess there must be some sort of backlog of broken PS3.
Price cuts by October?
This article from VG247 shows that the price cuts are coming, just in time for your holiday shopping pleasure.
Wedbush Morgan super-analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Sony will cut PS3’s price before October 1 if US hardware sales continue to slide.
“It is likely both manufacturers [Sony and Nintendo] will cut by $50, with Sony making up any lack of increased demand with a software bundle.
The article basically states that hardware sales suck [stagnant is probably a more profession description] and that there will be price cuts all around. Everyone is looking for a $100 PS3 price cut from Sony, but I guess $50 is more reasonable. To be honest, once I saw the $249 price point for the PSP Go I figured Sony was going to go for a deep PS3 price cut and try to recoup PS3 losses on early PSP Go suckers [I mean adapters].
PSP Homebrew Stuffs
If I get a PSP Go, I am going to consider bricking my PSP-1000 into a homebrew system. In anticipation of this event, I have been looking at different homebrew options. QJ.net seems to be a decent news consolidation point for all things PSP homebrew related.
PSP-3000 vs. PSP Go
Click here is an interesting article comparing the PSP-3000 specs to the PSP Go.
NCAA Football 10
I have not budged. Have not started checking for the “I have it posts” or looking to see how much the game “rules or sucks.”
One factor which is really hurting Sony is that the yen has appreciated a lot against the dollar and the Euro.
So even keeping prices the same, Sony is seeing far less yen returned for the Euros and Dollars they earn on sales in Europe and the US.
They might have been able to afford price cuts if the exchange rate hadn’t worked against them to such an extent.
But the economy isn’t helping either, along with the slow season for games sales.
Any price cuts by any game maker is going up against still increasing unemployment. China is doing better because they’ve poured massive stimulus, far more than the US and the EU was really reticent about stimulus so they’ll lag behind even more.
A $100 price cut may see some short-term spikes but the effects may dissipate if the economy doesn’t rebound later this year and next year.
Blu-Ray movie sales are doing okay but probably could be better. There is one study saying by 2012, Blu-Ray sales may be 50%. But that could be the dollar value of sales, not unit volume, since Blu-Ray costs more.
That could reflect declining DVD sales and prices too. During the format war, people questioned how quickly Blu-Ray could push down costs and prices, especially whether Blu-Ray could produce dual-layer (BD50) discs.
Well Wal-Mart is selling a $98 Magnavox Blu-Ray player now (of course they had $99 HD-DVD players one Thanksgiving during the format war but it was a sale and volumes were limited IIRC).
And most Blu-Ray movies are released on BD50, which many people said was “science fiction.”
If disc manufacturing has become efficient enough, the studios should look to push down prices. Or they’re satisfied with the sales volume they have now.
Still would take same as DVD prices, to really boost the format.
wco81 – All well said, and not really much I can offer in the way of comments. Thanks solid post!