Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Retro, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business
If the
recently rumored $100 price cut for the PS3 turns out to be true, it will end the era of one of the most controversial pricing moves in the history of consumer electronics.
The writing was on the wall early on, with former SCE President Ken Kutaragi
hinting way back in July 2005 that he hoped gamers would "work more hours to buy [a PS3]." When the price was
officially announced at
Sony's E3 2006 press conference the first wave of ridicule was practically
immediate. Kutaragi's comment that the price was "
too cheap" for what consumers were getting just stoked the fires, leading at least
one Joystiq blogger to call the company "out of touch." Hey, $599 is pretty cheap if the thing is
made of uranium.
Yet by launch time there were some signs that the high price wasn't really a deterrent. Despite some launch window reviews saying the system "
just isn't worth it yet," the initial stock of PS3s sold out to
mobs of fans who waited in the November cold to drop up to six Benjamins on a game console. Many of those who managed to get one of the
limited initial allotment put them up on eBay, where some fetched
ridiculously inflated prices. Maybe $600
was a bargain after all.
Continue reading Behind the price cut: The long, strange saga of the $599 PS3
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
SPONSORED BY: Age of Empires III - Real-Time Strategy Game Control a European power on a quest to colonize and conquer the New World. AOE3 introduces new gameplay elements, as well as new civilizations, units, and technologies. http://www.ageofempires3.com/
Behind the price cut: The long, strange saga of the $599 PS3 
