Blue rays getting cheaper, PS3 to follow suit?
by Nick Doerr 
{ Apr 26th 2007 at 2:45PM }
We don't mean that Blu-ray is getting cheaper... we mean that the blue ray diodes are growing significantly less expensive to manufacture. According to the Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor Inc. subsidiary, they've ramped up production of those tricky diodes to a 1.7 million unit per month goal. That's pretty good -- Sony is banking on future demand for blue diodes what with the Blu-ray format gaining ground in the HD format wars.Starting in June, the blue-violet laser diodes will only cost 900-ish yen to produce (about $8). Last year, the Blu-ray player itself was estimated to cost $125 -- a good chunk of that was probably the diodes. Along with this major cost decrease, some analysts are saying this bodes well for a PS3 price cut this year. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said this on the subject: "God knows whether they will, but lower costs usually lead to lower prices. The right question to ask is whether the full bill of materials is below $499, allowing them to cut price and still avoid losing money. I'm not competent to answer whether it is, but I am competent to say that when cost is below $499, we should look for a cut to that level."
He says that he could see one before the end of the year, probably bringing the 60GB PS3 right along the same price as the 360 Elite. Who wouldn't want wireless and a Blu-ray player for just $20 more? Along with better first party titles and the same multiplatform games over the next year? That's right. Only a crazy, crazy fool.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KillarClown @ Apr 26th 2007 2:59PM
OH GEEZ... FLAME WAR ROUND 5 MILLION.. DING *SOB* DING
Causality @ Apr 26th 2007 3:09PM
"Who wouldn't want wireless and a Blu-ray player for just $20 more? Along with better first party titles and the same multiplatform games over the next year? That's right. Only a crazy, crazy fool."
Better first party titles = a fucking joke.
Same multiplatform games = is that not what multiplatform means? Fucking joke!
I guess i would take a blueray player for $20.. but well na ill just dl high def movies from xboxlive.
Ps3 sucks cock. have a nice day fuckers.
Justin @ Apr 26th 2007 3:15PM
fuckin' dead @ #2's name spelled wrong
Causality @ Apr 26th 2007 3:20PM
@3
Its the relationship between cause and effect not a corpse say.. like your ps3.
Justin @ Apr 26th 2007 3:22PM
you mean like my dead 360...
TheSh0wstopper @ Apr 26th 2007 3:30PM
@ causality
Your a sad case. Coming in here trying to bad talk the PS3 because you dont have one (and cant afford one). Sad sad case. I have both so if you have a problem with wat I said you can come get your ASS kicked in Gears.
TheSh0wstopper (Thats my gamertag too, a zero not an O)
Ste @ Apr 26th 2007 3:32PM
PS3 a corpse? Guess you've never heard of the 3 rings of death, which is STILL happening even in new models?
You're an embarrasment to X360 fanboys.
Geoff Gibson @ Apr 26th 2007 3:36PM
Wow this thread just jumped head first into the flamewar.
Good news for Sony but will they drop the price? I mean if the Blue Ray diode now only costs $8 as opposed to the $125 it did cost and yet Sony was still losing $280 on each PS3 sold that would mean even if they didn't drop the cost they'd still be at about -$128 for every PS3 sold (I already subtracted the minus cost for the 65nm chipset). And then if they did drop the price to $499 they would be back up to -$228.
Seems to me like they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. I guess they could go a somewhat easier path and choose to drop it to $549 but I'm not sure if that would have the desired effect as dropping it to $499.
I do not want to be the person who has to make this decision.
Killer @ Apr 26th 2007 3:53PM
Why the hell do people post things into a story that's obviviously going to have a cusing, flamer fanboy war to follow it? I know it's the ps3fanboy site, but everyone looks at these posts. I'm a 360 fanboy. I look at the autoblog, engadget, joystic, wii fanboy, everything. I'm a very bored person. I feel like tacos..I'm going to go get tacos.
OrganicShadow @ Apr 26th 2007 4:19PM
If they price cut at all this year it will be RIGHT before xmas. Because if they even dip into the profitable zone they will want to take advantage of it as much as possible before the fiscal year is over.
But all this PLUS consolidating down to one uniform PS3 model would be right in line with price cutting.
Oh, and speaking of corpses, there was a thunderstorm night before last. PS3 survived. UPS for my PC did not. I am cry.
Jeremy @ Apr 26th 2007 4:24PM
#8, thanks for addressing the substance of the post. Here's my take.
$125 is (was) the total cost of the drive, not just the diode. Considering Sony can probably make a DVD drive for $20, that leaves $100 (rounding down) in parts that make the drive a BluRay. I'll interpret "a good chunk" as 50-80% of that difference. So Sony is now saving $40-70 per console with cheaper diodes.
Next, there is the 65u shrink. I'll guess $20-50 savings there each for the Cell and RSX. They also dropped the PS2 chip, there's another $10-20. By my math that is $90-190 in savings. I would bet it is at the higher end of that range, but let's say $150 to be safe. Now, we don't know if they have completed the 65u migration yet, but that will certainly be done by the holiday season if not mid-summer.
The $280 loss you quoted, IIRC, was for the 20gb unit, which is now discontinued, so the loss per unit is closer to $240. So after the process shrink is complete, the loss per unit will certainly be below $100. They should be able to close the rest of that gap with improved yields on the major chips, in addition to consolidating the minor chips (which will also simplify motherboard costs).
It looks to me like the economics are in place for a fall price drop. The question is will they do it? If M$ drops prices (they are certainly due), I don't think Sony will have a choice. But I think Sony realizes that there are a lot of people (like me) that want a PS3, but aren't willing to fork over $600. A $100 price drop would do wonders for their sales, and more importantly their install base. I'm sure Sony would have no problem selling PS3's for a $10-20 loss over the holiday season, but a $50 loss would be a tougher pill to swallow. We'll see.
Jeremy @ Apr 26th 2007 4:28PM
Oops, two things for that last post. I meant to say that consolidating chips (in addition to costing less for the silicon) will simplify motherboard construction which will further lower costs.
Also, we've heard a lot about Sony kicking up the mass production of PS3s, so that is another price cutting factor.
polyh3dron @ Apr 26th 2007 4:29PM
I have 25 Blu-Ray movies. How many Hi-Def movies can you keep on your 20GB HDD, especially with all your XBLA content and such?
superhookie @ Apr 26th 2007 4:51PM
mmmm, tacos.
Bangbang... @ Apr 26th 2007 4:51PM
This site does seem to jab at the 360 in every other post. Go to 360fanboy and the ps3 is only mentioned when the posted article directly ties to the console.
And the ps3 having better games is your opinion. According to metacritic, The 360 has more games with an 80 or better cumulative score. I'm just putting that out there.
Bangbang... @ Apr 26th 2007 4:52PM
polyh3dron
How many of those hi def movies can you watch at one time?
Vincent060 @ Apr 26th 2007 5:01PM
@15
People only tend to bash the 360 is when someone bashes the PS3 here first. The reason noone bashes the PS3 as much on the 360Fanboy site (they do bash the PS3 alot more often then you think) is because they usually just go here to do it. For some reason they like starting a fight here.
Killer @ Apr 26th 2007 5:05PM
@superhookie
Hell yea! lol
KeVil @ Apr 26th 2007 5:06PM
Causality is actually really interesting. You come in and act like a tit, the resulting effect is we think you're a tit, that and you've watched the Matrix one too many times.
Re X360 bashing, I'm against it, but I don't agree that xbox360fanboy is any less biased. Also the final comment is daft, how many hi def movies can you watch on a 360 at once... one. Polyh3dron was referring to storing them not watching them. But that leads to the whole HD DVD argument and another one why Sony hasn't started selling movies on PSN yet... also when will the rest of the world get the XBL movie love
Killer @ Apr 26th 2007 6:13PM
You're right KeVil. I think Sony is reluctant to put HD movies onto the PSN. It wouldn't be a smart tatic. You have a console that has BR, you start selling your movies that are on BR on something people can just download. It would take away from the BR part of the console. I could see them releasing non-hd movies (maybe). Sony wants BR to win. They don't want to do something that might have the slightest chance of slowing down BR sales.
On your comment about when XBL will give movies to the rest of the world. When the rest of the world adopts the same movie distribution rules and regulations that the U.S. has. doubtful. Also when Microsoft feels like they can make money, because Microsoft (like sony and nintendo) is all about "DA MONEY". I like "DA Money" too. :p
I'm going back to eating more tacos, because those were good. mmmmmmmm...
Bangbang... @ Apr 26th 2007 6:17PM
Thank you captian obvious for proving my point. He has 25 movies stored and can only watch one at a time. The way the marketplace is setup allows you to watch/play content as you download new content(PSN got the ablity to do this with its latest patch).
Therefore the amount of HD movies you can store on your hard drive is irrelevant, as you can only watch one at a time, but you can download a new movie at the same time you watch the stored movie.
Time @ Apr 26th 2007 6:41PM
lets, say the ps3 does cut its price?....lets say the number one reason for bashing the ps3 is gone?
Then What?......and system that is the most advance now cost roughly the same as the 360?
Come on, I know there are some trolls out there that have a few things to say
Killer @ Apr 26th 2007 8:20PM
@Time
I don't use the price of the ps3 as a bashing point. (I hardly ever anymore bash any console. Just people that are ignorant, mindless fanboys.) The only thing that stops me from buying a ps3 is the games (I hardly like what came out on the ps2, It's my personally choice so don't go all flamer on me.) I never liked the feel of controller, felt like I was getting carpotunnel from it. (same with the xbox1 controllers) The 360 controller I like because it feels comfortable. My choice is personal likes and not blind fanboy crap other people throw around like monkeys do when they have a hand full feeses.
Killer @ Apr 26th 2007 8:25PM
@Time
Also, I think you forgot something. Microsoft will make the 360 cheaper. If they make the ps3 cheaper. Microsoft will stop any close prices. It's simple business sense.
scott @ Apr 27th 2007 1:24AM
@time
As someone said, MS is currently profiting off their systems now, so if ps3 drops I'm sure 360 will drop along with it. If the core and the premium dropped 100 bucks, that drops the core down to 200. Which is VERY reachable for many people who didn't want to swallow the 300/400 price tag.
The price isn't even the main argument for most 360 users, it's the horrible lack of games and online services. They use the price in conjunction with those two.
I'll be honest here, I'm a 360 owner, and a big ps3 hater. I've never been a fan of the 25 dollar 8 mb memory cards on the ps2, and reading about the ps3's arrogance and blunders just made lose any faith I had in Sony. But I'll try to keep my arguments intelligible.
For what you're getting in the ps3, it's worth the purchase price, from a technical standing. For a gaming machine, it's not worth it at all. I don't think many of you can deny this right now, and I"m not bashing you for your purchases. Maybe in a year or more, the Ps3 will be very very worth it, but right now from a GAMER's perspective, it's not. 360 owners argue that you're spending an extra 200 bucks on some extra bells and whistles that don't have anything to do with gaming really, and your games look identical or worse.
Regarding the other arguments 360 users use, is the massive difference in games, and obviously the online components. Yes, we pay for ours. But, we have a very solid online network that's reliable, and has tons of content available. Speaking frankly, I'd rather pay for something higher quality then to spend nothing on something that's fairly shitty (so I've heard). And the xbox live price isn't even extreme, 49.99 for 13 months? With tax, that's around a dollar a week. I happily spend about 10-30 hours a week on xbox live, I've got no problem spending money on that.
I'm not trying to start a flame war by the way, was trying to truthfully and intelligently respond to Time's question.
Time @ Apr 27th 2007 2:41AM
"I'm not trying to start a flame war by the way, was trying to truthfully and intelligently respond to Time's question"
I knew it, I could count on trolls to respond to just about anything...."the ps3 sucks and I play my 360 all the time, but I still find time to go to ps3 based sites and troll".....yes seeing as how none of you people have any interest in the ps3 still find time to come here and troll....
@killer
"The only thing that stops me from buying a ps3 is the games (I hardly like what came out on the ps2, It's my personally choice so don't go all flamer on me.) I never liked the feel of controller, felt like I was getting carpotunnel from it"
so let me get this straight....you never even liked the ps2....so why the fuck are you here on a ps3 website if you didn't even like the ps2?....I never like the Gamecube so what purpose do I have for being on wii forums?
Troll away people
@Scott
So let me get this straight, you don't even have a positive interest in the ps3 or anything Sony but still find time to get away for the "awesome 360" so that you can come here and troll...I feel special
People (mainly xbots) keep singing the songs of "ps3 have no games, Gears of War Pwns!!!!111!!"
So very comfortable with the 360, with it's online and games and all that crap all the xbots scream about...."360 will pwnn the ps3 forever"....is what most of you people prey about at night....is what most of you people believe.......if this was true..none of you people wouldn't troll so much on ps3 websites....it is as if you people have to check up on the ps3 just to spin things badly or bitch or troll just so you can continue to feel comfortable about the 360
Why? isn't the 360 all your gaming needs?, isn't the 360 all you xbots should be focused on?....and yet here on a ps3 website, anything good and we have to hear people like Scottt, or Killer try to spin it badly
" Yes, we pay for ours. But, we have a very solid online network that's reliable, and has tons of content available. Speaking frankly, I'd rather pay for something higher quality then to spend nothing on something that's fairly shitty (so I've heard)."
LOL, and I rather pay for something I don't have to fear it getting the "red rings of death", or scratching disk, or crashing whenever I download a patch or something, I rather pay for something that is defiantly new and advance, like Blu-ray and not some half-ass last generation like DVDs......but hey whenever we ps3 fanboys say we don't mind the price of the ps3 all you xbots try spin it about how none of that stuff is needed, but whenever we say online should be free, all you xbots jump and say "we don't mind paying for LIVE".....hypocrisy?
Keep spinning xbots, make me laugh
"Gears of War Pwnss!!111!!1!"
scott @ Apr 27th 2007 8:38AM
You asked a question to 360 owners Time, why are you flaming me for answering? Ignorant little prick. Don't ask a question then flip out on the person who responds because you don't like the answer. We both have our reasons for buying our systems, I wasn't trying to get into an EPEEN war and start comparing every little aspect, but you asked.
Some of you PS3 fanboys are truly pathetic. I can see you're now one of them Time. You all hail ps2 as being such a great system, and it was. It was great for it's game library. You all laughed in xbox's face because it was more technologically advanced, but still lost the console war. Ps2 won because of ITS LIBRARY. Now that ps3 is out, according to all ps2/ps3 owners, technical specs matter the most! When did that happen? You're one of them, claiming that blu-ray is REQUIRED for gaming now? Is that you justify your purchase? Since sony bent you over and raped you, making you pay for some ridiculously expense technology? You're the one spinning your own purchase, and I can't believe you honestly think blu-ray is required for "next-gen" gaming experience. Just because they bullshit you and tell you ps3 games wouldn't be able to fit on a normal DVD? Keep spinning it bucko.
You know what's required for next-gen gaming? GAMES. I'd rather pay 400 for a system that actually has games over some 600 dollar glorified "next-gen" DVD player.
Go look at your sales charts you sack of shit, your system is bombing miserably. 129,000 units sold in North America last month, I think you only beat the GBA. Congrats! How long has your system been out? Europe sold alot...for like 3 days. Apparently sales are down like 80-90% since launch, bravo!
Oh, and it's 8:30 AM here, so no I'm not playing my xbox right now. And that has to be the most pathetic excuse to someone who comes on here and posts. I could say the same thing to you, why aren't you busy playing your system? Is it lack of games? Or shitty online? Or just complete buyers remorse?
Time @ Apr 27th 2007 12:25PM
LOL, I never said anything to 360 owners, I just said what if the ps3 cost roughly the same as the 360
"lets, say the ps3 does cut its price?....lets say the number one reason for bashing the ps3 is gone?
Then What?......and system that is the most advance now cost roughly the same as the 360?
Come on, I know there are some trolls out there that have a few things to say"
Not unless you are talking about the troll comment, then yes I was talking to the 360 owners.....besides that there is nothing to suggest that I was making a direct comment to 360 owners....but I guess in your mind you twist things around like that....how else do you xbots justify the "awesome" 360.....by spinning reality and twisting facts....and you seem to be doing a good job of it
ahh you poor child are you waiting for your 360 to get out of the repair shop for the 4th time?
ahh you poor thing, here, have a cookie
"claiming that blu-ray is REQUIRED for gaming now?" who said blu-ray was required?....ahhh you poor thing......blu-ray with it's massive space would certainly help break gaming grounds, it would help push the limits of things....ahhh you poor child I guess "gears of war pwnsss" thing is what you consider next gen...you sad thing
"Go look at your sales charts you sack of shit, your system is bombing miserably. 129,000 units sold in North America last month, I think you only beat the GBA. Congrats! How long has your system been out? Europe sold alot...for like 3 days. Apparently sales are down like 80-90% since launch, bravo!"
do you know why these sites. ps3fanboy, joystiq and whatever else only post Japanese sales and not worldwide?.....well could it be that the Japanese market is a good indicator of what will eventually set the trends and current status for the rest of the gaming world?...I think so..seeing as how the ps3 outsold the 360 five times over with its "shitty online", and "lack of games"...seems as if the japenese market seem don't give to give a damn for "Gears of War pwnss and LIVE pwnsss everything"....seeing as how the PSONE outsold the ps2 for a whole year and we all know how the ps2 turned out, so now that the ps2 is outsells the ps3 is no surprise....
"Oh, and it's 8:30 AM here, so no I'm not playing my xbox right now. And that has to be the most pathetic excuse to someone who comes on here and posts. I could say the same thing to you, why aren't you busy playing your system? Is it lack of games? Or shitty online? Or just complete buyers remorse?"
I am here to get updates for the upcoming games for the ps3....again why are you here if you are not even interested in the ps3 or its "lack of games"?.....owwww that is nature of trolls....now I get it
seeing as how no matter how you try to spin it, the fact that you hate the ps3 and have boner for Microsoft, and somehow still find your way on a ps3 website is just very sad....do you understand that no matter what you say or do, you will always be wrong for just that.......
To be honest I think not even you xbots believe that the ps3 library will always be this bad...how many months left do you people have left saying "ps3 lack of games"......before that because just untrue......not very long, maybe 3-6 months....so we get people like you Scott trying like hell to get in your final bitching before you have to crawl back in the hole and scream "Gears of War pwnnss"
ahh I feel sorry for you dude
but don't leave, ps3fanboy just wouldn't be the same without it's trolls,
you know what people say, "if the xbots are bitching, the Sony is doing something right" (seriously I heard people say that)
so as long as we get people like you to troll, then I know the ps3 is on the right track
now go child and let the adults talk
Vincent060 @ Apr 27th 2007 4:03PM
Actually, I too believe that Blu ray is needed for next gen gaming. You know the system from last gen that used previous generation game format? Dreamcast. It was also released first and some people claimed it was better then the PS2. It also had heating problems. Now why does that sound familiar?...