PS3 Price Cut in Japan – Not US

Mathew Everett 22 Sep, 2006 at 1:18pm ET Article published in Tech

With the market becoming competitive daily, Sony has already announced a price cut for its next Gen console. Sony will cut the domestic price of its basic PlayStation 3 model to 47,600 yen, or about $410 USD, from an originally planned 59,800 yen, or $515 USD. That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as the combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for 49,600 yen, or $427 USD. There are no plans to lower prices in the U.S. or other markets.

There are no plans to lower prices in the U.S. or other markets, Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said. In Japan, the game will hit stores on Nov. 11.

In the U.S., it will go on sale Nov. 17 at $499 for a 20 gigabyte hard drive version and at $599 for the 60 gigabyte version.

The decision could give Sony a badly needed boost at a time of embarrassing delays for the highly anticipated upgrade. Rival Nintendo Co. is also scheduled to release its next-generation Wii gaming system by year’s end, while Xbox 360 has been selling in Japan since December 2005.

As a US citizen I feel shafted.

Source: The Inquirer

Comments

22 Sep 2006 ~ 2:00pm Garg Those prices need to be cut by $100 on each model for the US. $600 is just crazy-talk.
22 Sep 2006 ~ 2:36pm BuddyJ $600 is gonna be my hot new folding rig. :P
22 Sep 2006 ~ 6:06pm Sledgehammer70 I have no problem paying $600 for a Console with BR as I had no problem dropping cash for a FX-57 when it came out
22 Sep 2006 ~ 6:35pm Garg

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

I have no problem paying $600 for a Console with BR as I had no problem dropping cash for a FX-57 when it came out

Right, but marketing to you and the other 1% of console/computer hardware buyers that stay on the bleeding edge may not be the best business plan
22 Sep 2006 ~ 7:06pm shwaip as a TA, that's about half my monthly pay. The other half will go to rent/utils. That's totally not in my budget. And I'm lucky enough to have the TA salary and tuition waiver.
23 Sep 2006 ~ 8:55pm Enverex May want to change the title to " Playstation 3 Price Cut in Japan" as not to piss people off...
24 Sep 2006 ~ 2:45pm Sledgehammer70

shwaip wrote:

as a TA, that's about half my monthly pay. The other half will go to rent/utils. That's totally not in my budget. And I'm lucky enough to have the TA salary and tuition waiver.

Wow your rent is cheap

Enverex wrote:

May want to change the title to " Playstation 3 Price Cut in Japan" as not to piss people off...

If someone wants to run off thinking it is a price cut for everywhere that is their problem.... It is stated plainly in the quote that it is in Japan only.
24 Sep 2006 ~ 3:15pm Enverex But the title is what people see if they don't view the entire thread and/or is what they will believe before viewing the thread. Think of it like this, you go to a store which has "50% off everything" in big letters on the outside, but inside it's only on everything in the stir-fry pans section...

Yeah, crappy anology I know but it's the best I could think of, lol.
24 Sep 2006 ~ 5:43pm Sledgehammer70 It is also a great way to catch the eye fo the reader so they read the entire newspost
24 Sep 2006 ~ 5:52pm Garg As long as we're going to pick this nit, I'm going to have to agree with Enverex and say that the more descriptive the title, the better. Truth in advertising and all that.

That being said, I don't know if it's worth changing the title on the thread two days after it was posted.
24 Sep 2006 ~ 6:36pm shwaip

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

It is also a great way to catch the eye fo the reader so they read the entire newspost

The idea of a title is to be somewhat descriptive so that the reader can decide if they want to read the entire newspost.
25 Sep 2006 ~ 1:51am Sledgehammer70 wel the post is about the PS3 having prices cut... with it possibly leading over to the US... the title fits the topic well "Playstation 3 Price Cut"
25 Sep 2006 ~ 2:35am shwaip

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

wel the post is about the PS3 having prices cut... with it possibly leading over to the US... the title fits the topic well "Playstation 3 Price Cut"

Where is there any indication in the article that the price cuts may be headed to the us?

Very often, Japan gets different games, special colors, different bundles, etc.

and from your newspost:

"There are no plans at this point to lower prices in the U.S. or other markets"
25 Sep 2006 ~ 7:42am CyrixInstead

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

As a US citizen I feel shafted.

You should try being a European citizen then. Higher prices and delayed release times for everything consoley makes us not know what it is to be unshafted.

~Cyrix
25 Sep 2006 ~ 11:10am Sledgehammer70

shwaip wrote:

Where is there any indication in the article that the price cuts may be headed to the us?

Very often, Japan gets different games, special colors, different bundles, etc.

and from your newspost:

"There are no plans at this point to lower prices in the U.S. or other markets"

"at this point"
25 Sep 2006 ~ 11:13am GHoosdum I agree that the title should be as descriptive of the content as possible. It's not a game of tricking people into reading the news - they'll read it if they are interested, but making them feel tricked by posting a misleading title is just not fair.
25 Sep 2006 ~ 11:17am shwaip At this point, there is no link between aliens and cancer.

LETS POST A NEWS STORY THAT SAYS ALIENS AND CANCER MAY BE LINKED!!!!!!!!!

There is no real reason to expect this price cut to expand outside japan, other than the title of this news post, or the Inq's headline.
25 Sep 2006 ~ 3:34pm BlackHawk Better call the Better Business Bureau.

My god! It's just a news post.
25 Sep 2006 ~ 5:39pm Sledgehammer70 Sorry I will make sure to get my news posts approved by the peanut gallery next time...

In all honesty this could have been addressed in a PM to me or any other news poster. Next time let’s take that course of action rather than turn a news post into a debate on topic choice.
25 Sep 2006 ~ 6:43pm Enverex But in a PM only one person would have been having the discussion, not a multitude of people... (which is why I normally don't take things to PM unless it's completely private).

But the judges are in!
25 Sep 2006 ~ 8:13pm Sledgehammer70 So Back on Topic! as posts #7 thru #21 are pointless!
25 Sep 2006 ~ 8:16pm shwaip I probably won't get a ps3 with or without a pricecut.

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

So Back on Topic! as posts #7 thru #21 are pointless!

as is 22
26 Sep 2006 ~ 2:26pm Winga

Sledgehammer70 wrote:

Sorry I will make sure to get my news posts approved by the peanut gallery next time...

In all honesty this could have been addressed in a PM to me or any other news poster. Next time let’s take that course of action rather than turn a news post into a debate on topic choice.

I know I should let this die and not add fuel to the fire, but it seems Sony has a way of bringing the best and the worst out of us newsposters when the PS3 is involved.... Reminds me of the verbal beating I got when I posted THIS.

What's worse is they took it as a complaint to the staff forums where I got my ass kicked blue by my peers all over again

I note though for posterity that the title has been changed
26 Sep 2006 ~ 2:51pm shwaip Haha - that was me too I don't remember taking it to the staff forums, though.
26 Sep 2006 ~ 4:41pm Enverex *sighs* All that work on the picture and not a single comment :rolleyes2