Activision CEO "Likes to Make Noise" About PS3 Price Cuts

Sony CEO dismisses Activision CEO's threat to stop supporting PS3

Sony is taking a hard hit in the current poor economy. The firm announced a massive loss last quarter and sales for many of its divisions are at historic lows. Sony is also under lots of pressure for it gaming division to perform.

In June, Activision CEO Robert Kotick put pressure on Sony CEO Howard Stringer to cut the price of the PS3 console. Kotick said at the time that Activision might have to reconsider developing games for the PS3 is price cuts weren't made. Sony issued a retaliatory press statement reading, "We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience."

Both Stringer and Kotick are at the Allen & Co conference in Idaho this week. Reuters reports that when Stringer was asked directly about Kotick's statements Stringer said, "He [Kotick] likes to make a lot of noise. He's putting pressure on me and I'm putting pressure on him. That's the nature of business."

Stinger was also asked about the logic of not cutting prices on the PS3 console. Stringer replied, "I [would] lose money on every PlayStation I make [if prices were cut made] -- how's that for logic."

[via Daily Tech]

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Activision CEO Calls for PS3 Price Cuts

Activision CEO says support for PS3 may stop is price cuts aren't made

The video game industry is feeling the burn of the poor economy as game sales and console sales are slowing for some companies. A few smaller game developers have been forced out of business altogether and many in the game industry are calling on Sony to cut the price of its PS3 console.

Sony maintains that there is no price cut coming for the PS3 console. Sony says it can't cut the price of a console that is a money loser already when it posted a massive $1 billion loss in its last quarterly earnings report. The fact that Sony is on shaky ground financially has not stopped Activision CEO Bobby Kotick from calling on Sony for PS3 price cuts and even saying that his company's support the console may stop if price cuts aren’t made.

Kotick said in an interview, "It's expensive to develop for the console, and the [Nintendo] Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation."

[via Daily Tech]

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PS3 Price Cut Coming Very Soon

Rumors say PS3 will drop $100 to coincide with Madden NFL's August launch

As the global economy continues to remain weak, most markets are seeing sales at the lowest point in many years. Even the stalwart video game industry is seeing sales figures decline in the face of the economic recession.

Console sales are directly tied to software sales and many game publishers are putting pressure on Sony to drop the price of its PS3 console. The PS3 is by far the most expensive game console on the market that is currently dominated by the lower priced Nintendo Wii.

Sony maintains that no price cuts are coming on the console and some industry analysts say that Sony simply can’t cut the price of the PS3 considering that the console is still a money loser for the company. Rumors of price cuts on the PS3 continue to circulate as fast as Sony can deny price cuts are coming.

The latest rumor comes from IndustryGamers who cites industry sources that claim a price cut on the PS3 is coming in August to coincide with the launch of the latest Madden NFL game. If the rumors are to be believed this time, the price cut would be significant at $100.

[via Daily Tech]

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PS3 160GB sales increase post price cut

Sales for Sony Corp.'s 160GB Playstation 3 SKU increased at Amazon.com following a six percent price cut at the retailer.

On Thurs., the 160GB PS3 SKU held a 33 percent sales increase to rank at No. 115 in Amazon's Video Games division.

This week, the PS3 160GB SKU held a sale price of $469.99, six percent off the $499.99 MSRP.

Sony in Nov. released the 160GB PS3 SKU. The bundle includes a new 160GB PS3, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, PAIN downloadable game voucher, and a Dualshock 3 controller.

Continue reading @ Punch Jump

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Rumor Mill: Price Cuts Coming in April For BOTH PS3 and 360

There’s been some stuff flying around in the air. No, it’s not pollen or birds; it’s a little something we’d like to call “rumors”. For some time now, there’s been rumors being thrown around about Sony’s PlayStation 3 getting a significant price cut this month. Every single analyst and their mothers have been forecasting these visions of theirs for quite some time, now. But, according to a GameStop Regional Manager in New York who wished to remain anonymous, those rumors are indeed true – and it’s coming for both systems next month.

The PS3 is indeed getting its price cut, as everyone envisioned, as per the GameStop Regional Manager who indicates that these new prices are already entered in GameStop’s systems. However, it seems that Microsoft has a little trick up their sleeves to counter Sony’s second price-cut since the PS3’s release. According to the GameStop employee, the Xbox 360 will be getting a more significant price cut than the PS3. What? Yea… that’s what I said to myself as well. What SKU is receiving the cut in price has yet to be determined, but in the case that it is the Arcade version – which is currently priced at $199.99 – that means that it might be going down to $99.99 or, in the case of the Elite, $299.99 from its current $399.99 price tag. The PS3’s two SKU’s are priced at $399.99, for the 80GB, and $499.99 for the 160GB Uncharted bundle, which gives an idea of how significant this 360 price drop has to be.

Read the whole article @ Loot Ninja

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Video Game Publishers Pressure Sony for PlayStation 3 Price Cut

Sony risks losing more development funds to Nintendo without price cut according to publishers

Game publishers are pressuring Sony to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 or face the risk of more development funds shifting to the Nintendo Wii according to a Bloomberg article. Sony, which used to be the undisputed industry leader, currently sits in third place for this generation’s line up of video game consoles. As the VGCHARTZ sales numbers show, the Nintendo Wii has an iron grip on first place, the Microsoft Xbox 360 sits in second, and the Sony PlayStation 3 is third. 

Multiple publishers in the Bloomberg article laid down the bottom line they face due to the way console sales have played out. Development is divided in to software titles for the best selling Nintendo Wii and software titles for the rest of the market which consist of the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and the PC.

Electronic Arts’ Peter Moore very directly stated in the Bloomberg article, "You can't ignore the guy who has half the market." Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon believes Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 titles are typically more expensive to produce and as a result, “The publishers need the PS3 install base to grow in order for most of these games to be profitable.”

Read the whole article @ Daily Tech

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Third Public Call By Electronic Arts For A PS3 Price Cut In A Week

OK, we get it, Electronic Arts (ERTS) execs: Sony's (SNE) PS3 needs a price cut to stay competitive (something this blog has long believed).

The latest comes this morning from EA Sports boss Peter Moore, who tells Bloomberg: “Sony obviously still has a ways to go with their pricing."

Which follows EA manager Glen Schofield saying he's "really not sure what's going on with Sony" and EA CFO Eric Brown noting the PS1 and PS2 only took off after dramatic price cuts.

And then Sony's own developers are griping about a low install base..

Read the whole article @ Business Insider

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PS3 Breaks 2 Million, PSP Breaks 3 Million

Months before its second anniversary and in a crap world economy, Sony's PLAYSTATION 3 console has sold 2 million units in the United Kingdom.

"It's a premium product, so therefore it costs a premium price, and that does give us issues in terms of the expected sell-through that analysts and the media want," explains Sony Computer Entertainment UK's Ray Maguire, "but actually when you look at it in isolation: close to a million units in a year which is really tough, at a premium price, actually shows that's a great number."

What's more, the PS3 United Kingdom sales show great potential. Meaning? If the price went down, you'd see higher sales. "We have potentially more longevity in PLAYSTATION 3 than we had in the previous PlayStations," Maguire added, "simply because if the price goes down we've still got a massive market place to sell in to."

Read the whole article @ Kotaku

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PS3 price drop coming soon? Free PS3?

A Wall Street analyst reports that a price reduction for the PlayStation 3 will happen "in the next couple days."

Mike Hickey with investment-banking firm Janco Partners told investors on Wednesday that he expects Sony will drop the price of the console to respond to sluggish hardware sales.

"Recent channel checks indicate increased speculation for a PS3 price cut announcement from Sony in the next couple of days," Hickey wrote.

Currently the PS3 is the most expensive of the three "next-gen" consoles on the market. The Playstation 3 with an 80 GB hard drive runs $399, while the 160 GB model is priced at $499. By comparison, the most expensive Xbox 360, which includes a 120 GB hard drive, retails at $399 and the economically priced Wii, when it can be found on shelves, sells for $249.

While many Playstation fans argue that the PS3 more than makes up the price difference with its Blu-ray drive, with the economy as it is, consumers are looking harder than ever at the PS3's spendy price tag.

Read the whole article @ Examiner

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Sony Says No to PS3 Price Cut as the PS3 Outsells Xbox 360 Globally

Sony "has a business to run" and shareholders come first

Sony has clearly said “no” to calls for a PS3 price cut in time for the holiday season. At the Games 3.0 conference in London, Sony Computer Entertainment managing director Ray Maguire told Videogamer.com a PS3 price cut was not planned.

Maguire was asked directly if Sony was feeling any pressure to cut the price of the PS3 in time for Christmas to which Maguire replied, "Well the pressure comes from the consumers obviously and so therefore there's always pressure on price, but you know we have a business to run, and we have to make sure we're doing the right thing for the shareholders as well."

Read the whole article @ Daily Tech

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No PS3 Price Cut, Sony Says...but a Free PS3 is possible!

Following rumors of a looming Xbox 360 price drop, Sony says those hoping for a PlayStation 3 drop at next week's Games Convention in Germany "will be disappointed."

"It's not going to happen," a SCEA spokesman told Reuters on Friday. "If you're coming for that you'll be disappointed."

Earlier this month, a proven confidant said Microsoft would drop the price of the Xbox 360 in September, from US$279 to $199 for the Arcade model, and $349 to $299 for the Pro model with hard drive. Microsoft has declined comment on the rumor.

Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 saw their first price drops in late 2007. As consumers continue to gobble up the industry-leading Wii for $250 a pop (or more if resold), many gamers wonder when Sony and Microsoft will respond with a more enticing mainstream price.

The Leipzig Games Convention runs from August 20-22.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Sony cuts PlayStation 3 price by $100

And announces new $599, 80 GB model coming in August

Sony Corp. slashed the price of its current PlayStation 3 by $100, or 16.7 percent, and introduced a high-capacity model in an effort to spur sales of the struggling video game console.

Starting Monday, the current 60 gigabyte model will cost $499, down from $599.

The Japanese electronics maker also said it is introducing a new version of the PlayStation 3 with a bigger hard drive for storing downloaded content such as video games and high-definition movies.

The new PS3 increases the system’s storage capacity to 80 gigabytes from 60 gigabytes and also includes a retail copy of the online racing title “MotorStorm,” a company spokesman said. It will be priced at $599.

The larger capacity machine won’t be available in the United States and Canada until August.
It plays into the company’s upcoming strategy of eventually offering downloaded high-definition movies, video games, movie trailers and demos, Sony spokesman David Karraker said.

Karraker said further details on high-def movies for download would be released at a later date.
The announcement comes two days before the E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica, Calif., where dozens of industry heavyweights including Sony rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. are expected to show off their latest games and related products.

Sony has said it sold 3.6 million PS3s in the fiscal year ending March 31 and expects to sell another 11 million in the current fiscal year. Microsoft said in its most recent quarterly earnings report filed in April that it had shipped 11 million Xbox 360s.

Nintendo, meanwhile, claims it has sold nearly 6 million Wiis worldwide as of March 31, and more than 40 million Nintendo DS handhelds. The company has predicted it will sell another 14 million Wiis and 22 million additional DS systems by the end of the current fiscal year.

The Wii and PS3 were released within days of each other late last year. Microsoft had a head start in the current generation of consoles, having launched its Xbox 360 in 2005. Last week, the software company announced an extension of the warranty due to the high number of systems suffering from hardware failure, also called the “red ring of death.”

In April, Microsoft began selling a version of its Xbox 360 with a 120-gigabyte hard drive and a souped up high-definition video connection. Called Xbox 360 Elite, the black-colored system sells for $479.99.

Xbox gamers who already own the $399.99 20-gigabyte model can buy a snap-on 120-gigabyte hard drive for $179.99.

Read the whole article @ MSNBC

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Sony:No plan to cut PlayStation 3 price

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Sony has no plan to cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console, the company's chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda said Friday.

"This year, our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," Oneda told a forum in Singapore. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

His comments followed a report in the Wall Street Journal which said Microsoft plans to cut the price on a popular model of its Xbox 360 game console in an effort to boost sales in the face of stronger competition from rival Sony.

The Journal report cited people familiar with the matter and said the price cut would come as early as Sunday.

Oneda also said he expects Sony's PS3 operations as well as the broader game segment to be profitable for the current year ending March 2009.

Read the whole article @ Yahoo News

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