Sony denies $299 PS3 talk

If you’re hoping to bag a cut-price PS3 then Sony has some bad news in store. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has stated that rumours of a $299 (£150/€210) PS3 are nothing more than wishful thinking. Speculation about a newly priced PS3 appear to have stemmed from Slickdeals.net, where one user’s thread claims that …

[Eddie Edwards]

Lies, damned lies, and Sony PR

Watch what Sony say carefully.

"No plans for a pricing announcement" means that, whether or not the price will drop very soon, they haven't yet planned the *announcement*. It does not say "No plans for a price drop". These weasel words are typical of Sony PR.

And of course rumours and speculation are "just rumours and speculation", as opposed to an official announcement. That does not imply that they are incorrect in fact.

Nothing of content has actually been said here by Sony. They have neither "denied", "confirmed" nor "verified" anything.

[Iain]

Console company denies upcoming announcement

Yes, we all know how much that means. Didn't the European branch of Nintendo deny the existence of the DS Lite mere hours before head office unveiled it to the press?

Certainly, both Microsoft and Sony have issued similar pricecut denials weeks before announcing them before.

Personally, I can wait - I can't justify a new PS3 before April-May time anyway, so as long as the cut comes before then I'm happy.

[Anonymous Coward]

so, they're talking about...

a white video console for less than $300... where did I see something like that?

Oh, yes... in my living room! it's called Wii

-The Coward Wii Apologist

[The_Police!]

Or is it?

Remember that speculation about the PS3 and Sony do turn out to be true. Remember they denied the price cut for the PS3 60Gb Version?

[Craig]

re: so, they're talking about...

I see a Wii in my living room every day too... pity it never gets played!

[Anonymous Coward]

In £s?

>> $299 (£150/€210)

Yeah, just like the $399 PS3 in is only £200. I suspect if the $299 PS3 is launched in the UK we will be looking £250.

@Anon. Cow.

Where abouts have you seen a Wii selling for less than $300 recently? - apart from Japan where it is only about $235 (£120).

[Anonymous Coward]

The Coward Wii Apologist

Yes but what can your wii actually do? PS3 actually has a processor as opposed to a caged rat, and graphics superior to pacman!

[Fab De Marco]

It's all about the dollar dollar!

If word got out that the PS3 is going to see a price drop in the near future, you would hold off buying one! Oviously save the pennies and all!

So Sony openly deny it so those who were considering buying one but holding out for the price drop cave and then spend the fortune!

[b166er]

Why do I get so much enjoyment

out of watching Sony squirm?

Really though, they're not gonna drop the price just now, considering Blu-Ray has just had a shot in the arm.

Not that any of this matters much, we're all too busy buying Nintendo ATM

[Highlander]

Price cuts?

In theory, in theory mind, didn't Sony cut their prices less than 6 months ago?

That said, I have always felt that the $299 price is a watershed price. That is, the PS3 price will drop quickly at first because of the whole Blu-Ray player thing. The PS3 is the leading Blu-Ray player and in order to drive the Blu-Ray market, Sony needs to keep it's price on par with stand alone players or it begins to look like a poor deal. However $299 is a price at which a very powerful video game console that also happens to be a good Blu-Ray player begins to look like a decent deal even when stand alone Blu-Ray player prices drop to $249, $199, $99 and beyond. I don't know if $299 will happen this month or even in one single cut. It may take two cuts, one in the next two or three months and another in the autumn, but I think it's a certainty that the $299 PS3 will happen before the next Xmas spending spree.

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't they do this before...

Didn't they deny the previous price drop a few weeks before it happened or perhaps these recreational drugs are imparing my memory!

[The_Police!]

at anon coward

>Didn't they deny the previous price drop a few weeks before it happened or >perhaps these recreational drugs are imparing my memory!

Yes they did!

[Neil]

Arse

I bought one at lunchtime, got back to work and read this.

Typical.

[Albert]

Sony's financial year ends in March

I think there will be a price drop for a couple of reasons.

Sony’s financial year ends in March, so to have a solid end of year a price drop would increase sales. Standard business practice.

Also, the rumble is back in the controller. I can’t see them supporting two controllers going forward, so they have to refresh the bundles to include the new controller. Perfect time to do a price cut.

But these are just my rantings. Let’s see what happens.

[Kenny Millar]

@The_Police

I think you mean 60GB not 60Gb - please learn the difference between bits and Bytes.

[Michael Compton]

PAC man graphics on the wii?

Some people really do seem to have bother seeing the wood for the trees.

The graphics on the Wii are grand, ok not bleeding edge but some way from pac man. And that PS3 processor is so damn hard to program developers are having bother getting games to work as well as they used to, If its so good how come pro evo lags on PS3 when it works fine on other 'less' powerful machines.

Been playing Mario Galaxy since christmas and have to say its one of the most polished games i have ever played; well balanced and evolutionary gameplay, indeed i think its the first true 3D platformer, and the graphics are great as well.

I'm not saying the PS3 is crap just horses for courses i suppose, and just to show i am at least marginally objective i would criticise the lack of motion sensing in some of Wii games, never lags though :)

[Highlander]

@neil

Price cuts in Euro-land will probably happen later than Japan or US, so don't feel too bad. Besides, the best thing for you to do is buy a US system with the wonderful pound/dollar exchange rate, and then purchase all your Blu-Ray movies through Amazon.com

Don't forget PS3 games re region free, so you don't have to worry about the US PS3 playing games at all. About the only concern is whether your TV can handle the US 720p/1080i/1080p signals. I'm gonna guess that it can since just about every LCD/Plasma can sync to just about any video source.

Have fun with your purchase and don't forget to import a dualshock 3 from Japan, heaven knows when they'll actually be available anywhere else.

[Anonymous Coward]

FCC and case colour

"despite it lodging documents with the US Federal Communications Commission for a Ceramic White PS3"

Why would the FCC need to be notified about the colour of the case? Does black do a better job of shielding electromagnetic interference than other colours?

Or perhaps the key word here is "ceramic" and Sony are planning on making the cases out of bone china rather than metal??? The mind boggles.

[Iain]

@Neil, Highlander re: import

All TVs with the "HD Ready" logo must accept 720p and 1080i signals at the US 60Hz standard, so you don't need to worry about that at all. All UK BluRay discs are 60Hz anyway, so it's just as well.

Also, while you're importing films from Amazon.com, be sure to take advantage of the fact that they're on a near-permanent BOGOF sale, and so dirt cheap even after import duties.

[The_Police!]

@ Kenny Millar

Well Sorry! A slip of the 'shift' key inadvertently occurred.