Many in the game industry were wondering how Sony would price their PS3. GamerNode speculated months ago that if Sony priced their next-gen game console too high, it would be the death knell for the machine as consumers would be driven off by the premium price.
ABI Research seems to concur, as they have released a report on how consumers feel about Sony,s $499 and $599 price tag. The ‘stripped down, version has a 20GB drive, while the ‘premium, edition has wi-fi connectivity, memory stick compatibility, a 60GB hard drive and other features lacking in the lower priced model. According to Michael Wolf, principal analyst of ABI Research: "Asking consumers to pay $500 to $600 for a game console, when most have yet to purchase an HDTV, will give many current PlayStation 2 owners reason to consider the competition. Sony has clearly hamstrung itself with a box that is expensive to manufacture, and these costs are driving a retail pricing strategy that places a high financial burden on the consumer."
Not only is the high price point a “financial burden on the consumer,” the high price will have prospective buyers asking the question, “Just what am I getting for this premium price?” The Sony faithful will be defecting in droves to the Xbox 360 or Nintendo,s next-gen killer, Wii, as they realize that the value added aspect of a Blu-ray DVD drive is of little value, since a HD television is needed to fully appreciate the high resolution features of Blu-ray. Also, as GamerNode has reported in our coverage at the E3 convention, the PS3 is nothing to get excited about, let alone paying top dollar for. However, Sony,s CEO, Kaz Harai said that the prices for the PS3 were, “a good value for consumers.”
We,d like to agree with Mr. Harai and state that, yes, the PS3 is a good value for consumers if you compare the PS3 price with that of a Ferrari or the purchase price of a house in San Francisco. In this light, the PS3 is a steal. But since we mortals cannot buy Ferraris with our weekly paychecks, nor buy a couple of houses in Frisco on a whim, we,d have to say that the PS3 is way too expensive and not worth buying at this stage.
Besides, we,re pretty sure that Mr. Harai will get his PS3s for free.
