I am not sure WTF is wrong with Sony, but the miscommunication around the recent price drop announcement is appalling. Honestly, I could care less about the price drop; I am comfortable with my purchase of my 60GB PS3 for $599. With that said, a price drop will sell more systems, and more systems, eventually will mean more games.
As of right now, while there is a “price drop” of $100 for the 60GB PS3, apparently Sony has no desire to keep the PS3 at a $499 price point. If all the rumors are true, the 60GB PS3 is no longer in production, which means that the new 80GB PS3 (due in August), priced at $599, will eventually be the only PS3 available. So the price drop is really a temporary price reduction or a discount for a discontinued system. Spin it however you will.
Confused? Message boards, blogs, and gaming sites are all ripping Sony for not really having a true price cut. This is somewhat warranted, but then again I think many gamers realize that Sony has thousands (maybe even a few hundred thousand to a million) 60GB PS3 sitting in warehouses, so the strategy is a good way to clear out inventory. It is also a good strategy to get PS3 systems in the hands of potential buyers that have been holding out for a better deal. $599 is simply too much for the mass market to absorb, regardless of value (Blu-ray, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc).
I can only assume that Sony plans to drop the price of the 80GB PS3 to $499 once the 60GB PS3 is no longer available, but they cannot show that hand now or the 60GB PS3 systems would stagnate as gamers pick the “better” version (more = better).
Other part of it is that Europe isn’t getting a price cut so the president of SCEE had to say it’s just clearing the 60 GB SKU inventory.
At E3, they said sales had doubled since the price cut at the top 5 retailers.
But sales volume was so low, especially this time of the year, that it won’t make much of a dent unless they keep price at least this low.
I think they have an appealing fall lineup but these new games have no name recognition at all whatsoever.
Right about the increase in sales – they were going from bottom of the charts. I think the lineup is great, but no idea if it is enough for Sony to have a great holiday push (to sell more systems).