Yoshida says PS3 hardware, cost, pricing 'coming together'
by Majed Athab 
{ Sep 9th 2008 at 3:00PM }
He refers, of course, to the increased hard disk space in the new PS3s which will retail for the same value of previous, lesser gig-happy SKUs. It's interesting to take note of his comment on "cost," which tells us that producing PS3 is becoming more cost-efficient ... possibly due to unpublicized hardware revision. As any head of a company would, Yoshida assures that this year is a strong year for PS3 and that 2009 will be just the same holding scores of new titles both announced and unannounced.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hashbrown Hunter @ Sep 9th 2008 3:07PM
He looks kinda like Masi Oka (from Heroes) in this pic.
His pose is EPIC.
ab @ Sep 9th 2008 3:45PM
I was thinking the same exact thing!
On a side note, anyone have a spare SOCOM code I can have, I don't want to wait any longer for the Qore dl
kevin @ Sep 9th 2008 4:10PM
@ab.
dude its 3 more days, plus the servers are flooded 5 minute wait for a game, lag, sounds goes off out of nowhere, ur not missing out much.
kevin @ Sep 9th 2008 4:10PM
yay for sony :)
Devin @ Sep 9th 2008 4:27PM
Well that's fine and dandy, but until they can start shifting more consoles by dropping the price or informing consumers of the PS3's value proposition in order to fight off against the "take advantage of the mis-informed consumers" approach by MS with their "Only $199!" BestBuy/CircuitCity ad campaign Sony may not do as strongly as Yoshida says......
It is still good to know that things are coming together sooner for PS3 rather than later and I hope they can take advantage of this by dropping prices on all SKUs (more PS3's sold, more/better games, right?), debuting more kicka$$ exclusives and selling all 3rd party developers on having their lead console development start on PS3 first.....then I'll be a really happy PS3 owner....
I'm rooting for you Sony!
Jon Acheson @ Sep 9th 2008 4:39PM
Masa Oki's dad, maybe...
When are we getting a new SKU with backwards compatibility, Yoshida-san?
Patrick @ Sep 9th 2008 5:11PM
@Devin
You do realize that Sony right now can't afford another price drop. So don't expect a price drop for awhile. I would guess early next year at the earliest. People need to realize that Sony is trying to turn a profit on the PS3 as it is right now there still loosing money on it. I get it alot of people want to see a cheaper PS3 but if your a company you want to make money on a product not continue to bleed money.
Devin @ Sep 9th 2008 5:44PM
Patrick, you are forgetting how console manufacturer's make money. They make money off of everything other than the console itself. Now, yes, the other manufacturer's are making money (Nintendo is a yes, but MS is a maybe from what I've read). So how is Sony suppose to make profit if they aren't selling a lot of everything that make them the most profit? The less consoles sold, the less peripherals, games, DLC, etc. are sold and that is where they make most of their money. They are also banking on Blu-Ray winning the format war and I feel like it isn't fair to not include a partial % of BR profits into PS3's, but either way I feel that if Sony lowers their costs then they should lower the cost for the consumer to drive (more) console sales. This is how the business model has always been run and the PS3 isn't even 2 years old yet mind you.
Devin @ Sep 9th 2008 6:12PM
Don't get me wrong, Sony needs to be making a profit on the console, but what matters at the moment? I would think shifting consoles should be the main concern and that they should bet that everything else will make them money (games, peripherals, DLC, BR sales, etc.) in the 10 years they decide to support the console. I just don't like seeing MS drop their consoles $50 across the board (Arcade $79) only to see Sony sit back and do nothing. It is the impulsive/misinformed buyers that will see this big gap in initial cost between them (not knowing the nickel'n'diming they will get later on) and will more than likely buy a 360 because of it. It's a sad truth, but that's what I feel will happen this Fall if Sony does nothing. Again, that's just my opinion.
Devin @ Sep 9th 2008 6:23PM
I take it back. They did annouce the 80GB SKU, but still...adding 40 more GB and a better thermal footprint is nice, but w/o a price drop of some kind or hell even added BC, the $399 price is still a little much for a larger target audience. Hopefully Sony will surprise and do something before Xmas, though it's doubtful based on previous statements.....
Metal_Gear @ Sep 9th 2008 6:25PM
For the last fricken time, the Playstation 3 is making a profit for Sony now! They are still in the red but they are making a profit and will soon get in the black.
A lot of people would like to see a cheaper PS3 yes, but there are a lot of people who are buying it regardless which sees it regularly beating the 360 anyway... why drop the price?
Sony will drop the price when it is needed, dont worry about that.
Devin @ Sep 9th 2008 6:48PM
Metal,
Idk who your comment was directed at, but what we are discussing regards the PS3 console itself making Sony money on the initial sale, not overall. You are correct that the PS3 is profitable and they will be in the black soon.
TheWakeUpCall @ Sep 9th 2008 8:43PM
At the end of 2007 I was saying, 2008 is the year of the PS3! And everyone else was too! With barely any games released that are decent, delays of the most important things like ingame XMB and Home, and we are now all left saying... 2009 is the year of the PS3!
Now Sony, when will I be able to afford one?
whoiscraig @ Sep 10th 2008 2:19AM
To be fair PS3 did, in fact, make some strides in console and software sales in 2008. Trophy Support and universal in game messaging were steps in the right direction but the system is nearly 2 years old. Sony needs to realize that it's not hardware and theoretical power that makes the difference in the end. Whether firmware update, PSN exclusives, downloadable movies, or disc based retail games it is clear that SOFTWARE is king. Until Sony starts setting some standards and/or implements yet another big firmware update, I don't see myself switching preferences with cross platform titles anytime soon.
Gravewolf @ Sep 10th 2008 6:13AM
I dont think sony needs to drop the price of the ps3 just to remain competitive. Ive been a long time gamer and ive seen many consoles come and go including the 3DO which was $600 when it was released. I know many people want to play as cheaply as possible but you have to know that gaming is a vice and not a commodity. It takes time and a lot of money to develop games and consoles. I think sony is just breaking even with the ps3 this year and i dont think a price drop just to get the sales going is a good solution to any business. Sony is going to drop the ps3's price when it is ready. Would you rather have a price drop along with a dead console because of profit loss?