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published:
18-Jul-07
territories:
Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, USA
categories:
General market development
Sony to cut PS3 price, bundle games software
At the recent E3 show Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced a $100 price cut on the 60GB PS3, bringing it down to $499. At the same time, the company revealed the launch of an 80GB model, designed to facilitate its plans to eventually offer hi-def movies and games for download. The new model will be available from mid-August at a price of $599 and will be bundled with online racing title MotorStorm. Subsequent reports indicate that the 60GB model will be phased out after existing stocks are exhausted.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is taking a different approach in the PAL territories (primarily Europe and Australia/New Zealand). There is to be no 80GB version at this time, nor is the price of the existing 60GB model to be cut. Instead, it is to be bundled with two controllers (the standard offer is just one) and two games, the exact titles of which will vary to reflect to local preferences.
Our take...
The pricing and bundle announcements from SCEA and SCEE were received with a mix of relief and frustration by the industry. A price drop before the end of 2007 had been expected for some time and indeed Screen Digest had already built it into its Games Intelligence forecasts, but the bundle offer for the PAL territories is disappointingly weak and is not expected to affect hardware forecasts.
The timing of the price cut in the US to $499 is in line with previous PlayStation first reductions in the lifecycle. This time around though, the introduction of an 80GB version at $599 and the implied phasing out of the cheaper 60GB SKU will leave new consumers having to pay the same price to access the PS3 experience. Total future sales of the 60GB version will be equal to quantities in SCEA warehouses or in trade. Of course, SCEA could, before Christmas, drop the price of the 80GB to $499 to retain the price reduction trend to maintain demand.
In Europe, the offering is confusing and consumers may be right to feel aggrieved at not having a cheaper PS3 in stores. The bundle is good value for money for new entrants who want the two titles and an extra controller but the price is still €599 to get into the market so we do not anticipate any immediate fillip to sell-through trends.
SCEE has hinted that this is a summer only offer. It has also said that the 60GB version will remain for PAL until supplies for the 80GB are improved to fill all three region's pipelines. A cheaper console is therefore still on the cards for the last quarter but an improvement in sales is unlikely before then.
Price is of course an obsession of analysts but not the primary reason for buying a console. PS3 still lacks a quality catalogue of software which would make the whole proposition more compelling and there is no evidence that Blu-ray Discs (BDs) are providing a significant incentive to hardware purchase. When consumers can start to compare consoles playing the same triple A title, then PS3 sales may start to accelerate, although the very presence of these titles may reduce the demand for BDs among gamers.
For detailed forecasts and analysis of PS3 and other games consoles, see Screen Digest's Games Intelligence service.
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Analyst, market intelligence & notices
Reports
(2) 1-2 showing
European Digital Terrestrial Television: Market assessm...
The latest report from Screen Digest provides a detailed analysis of the European
digital terrestrial television (DTT) market in 15 Western and 4 Eastern European markets.
The report includes historical and five year forecast household and penetration data for free,
pay and top-up DTT as well as penetration numbers for cable, DTH and IPTV.
published:
21-Jan-06
territories:
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine - Central and Eastern Europe
Guy Bisson
Chris Dziadul
Articles
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Western Europe
Hardware Households
