According to Bank of America’s Michael L. Savner (posted on BusinessWeek), a price drop on the PlayStation 3 later this summer or fall will not be enough to get the sales Sony needs. They also mention the sales in the Wii is a turning into a major problem for games publishers too.
Based on our analysis, we conclude that a $100 price cut for the PS3 (we have dismissed a potential $50 cut as meaningless) would still leave the ‘all-in’ cost for a PS3 console and basic accoutrements 20-25% higher than the comparable Xbox 360, and does not even reflect the possibility that Microsoft could also lower its hardware prices. Further, an important driver of Sony hardware last cycle was exclusive games, such as Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, Sony does not have a similar advantage this cycle. Halo 3, a highly anticipated game release this year is a Microsoft-published game only for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto IV, by Take-Two’s Rockstar unit, is being released on both the Sony and Xbox platforms.”
Savner said.
In my opinion the PS3 is worth the money with Wifi and Blue-ray but its clear that Sony have failed to understand the sensitivity of their customers when it comes to pricing of todays consoles. I myself am close to buying one as my 360 has encountered the evil rings of death.
It should be interesting to see if anything changes on this and if Sony really can make the changes it needs to start selling some of these things.