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[EGM1966]

They're not going to sacrifice profit, especially when you consider Playstation is Sonys only division that's making them money at the moment. Sony just lost 1bn dude. Whether the X1 gains any ground is irrevelent to Sonys bottom line.

Who said anything about sacrificing profit? Last I read Sony could trim price a little and still make profit on the console and of course there's games/Plus and other revenue on top of that.

No company focuses on one metric. You need profit, sure, but also volume of sales and ideally a price point to generate certain revenues.

Sony will balance profit and sales vs the value of remaining dominant. Longer term losing momentum against XB1 could easily cost more than some small price trims to stay ahead.

To be honest it's a bit moot. On current trends I don't see £20 being enough to upset the apple cart to the extent Sony would respond. I'm just noting there would be a tipping point in sales trends where they would respond. That's a given just as they cut PS3 price even though it hurt them because they needed more volume than profit at that point.

 

[Elios83]

Sony have just reached profitability with the PS4, if they cut the price now, then they'll be back to square 1. The last thing Sony want is more losses after they've spent 8 years in the red with the PS division.

I've already tried to point out that profitability doesn't rely on hardware margin alone. It depends on sales of all the things related to the platform and most of the money for a gaming console is made on software and subscription sales.
You keep repeating to yourself something that simply doesn't apply to the PS4 situation which is a very profitable ecosystem at the moment which will be handled according to its own schedule, not influenced by whatever Sony is doing with mobiles or TVs.
Still you're right to say that Sony won't cut the PS4 price right now, not because they can't, because they don't need to do it while their competition (Microsoft and Nintendo) is getting widely beaten. This year they'll do deals and bundles.
Next year they'll take advantage of the rich lineup and will use an official price cut as a way to make sales skyrocket and increase their profits through software, PS+ and other things.

 

[Curufinwe]

All it takes is one Holiday period of complacency to let a competitor back into the race, and looking at Sonys lineup for this holiday period, it isn't particular good.

I think a combination of Halo, great deals for Cod and Fifa, unique games like SO will see MS close the distance at least in NA and the UK. Europe will remain the same. Sony can't afford to take part in a price war, and you can expect MS to get very aggressive this Christmas.

Sony don't need to take part in a price war. They are now the default mainstream console in the US and UK and the huge multiplatform games like GTAV and ACU will sell better on the PS4.

Sunset Overdrive is not going to affect the sales gap to any significant degree.

 

[Tommy DJ]

I've already tried to point out that profitability doesn't rely on hardware margin alone. It depends on sales of all the things related to the platform and most of the money for a gaming console is made on software and subscription sales.
You keep repeating to yourself something that simply doesn't apply to the PS4 situation which is a very profitable ecosystem at the moment which will be handled according to its own schedule, not influenced by whatever Sony is doing with mobiles or TVs.
Still you're right to say that Sony won't cut the PS4 price right now, not because they can't, because they don't need to do it while their competition (Microsoft and Nintendo) is getting widely beaten. This year they'll do deals and bundles.
Next year they'll take advantage of the rich lineup and will use an official price cut as a way to make sales skyrocket and increase their profits through software, PS+ and other things.

Seriously. Hindle is basically playing the game that people did in 2013. "but but but sony has no money they're losing money they can't release a $400 console" and "the xbox one has secret sauce because they have so much more money than sony". It seems the current phrase is "sony can't price cut because they have no money".

What happens in their mobile department barely has any impact on the Sony Computer Entertainment. Not only is it a paper loss (assumption here since its the only loss we know about) related to Sony's stupid mobile strategy but Sony has shown very recently that they're willing to spend big to win. The Playstation 4 is proof of this.

 

[mrklaw]

Are we seriously rating value per gigafucks?

Cost yes. Seriously? Nah.

 

[Marc]

Fucking hell, I get 2 gigafucks just docking my Vita in its cradle.

You have an actual cradle, like for babies... don't you? Tuck that Vita in every night.

Spoiler

VitaBros Assemble!

Where? Link, please.

A link to them not apologizing? Well that would be kind of tough. Basically Medhi is it (?) using marketing speak to say it was a great vision but not right for the current market, reconsidered position etc. but haven't seen a straight up "we goofed, sorry guys". Maybe I missed it however, Spencer is a lot better running things so maybe he apologized on their behalf?

 

[nib95]

It's irrelevant.

Price is more to do with the manufacturing process and APU size, not graphical power.

It's a hurdle to the manufacturer or company who's product is in question, sure, not to the end consumer. All we're interested in is value proposition, and one of the ways people gauge that is in hardware performance.

 

[Dizzy]

How low can they go?

Ha ha, seems that way.

Crazy to think it was £429 less than a year ago.

At this rate I might pick one up in 2016 when its around £199.

 

[Renzoku]

They might in the US and UK, where the Xbox is slowly creeping up on them.

Creeping up to what? The Wii U?

It would be great if we see another drop in the US soon. The PS4 and XBO are two of my biggest pending expenses and if I can shave another $100 off the XBO, that'd be great.

 

[TGO]

Amazon has been selling the PS4 for that price for weeks now
£329.86 @ Amazon and Shopto
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BE4HOIM/

£319 @ Zavvi
http://m.zavvi.com/ps4-hardware/sony-playstation-4-500gb-console/10765997.html

 

[Ramrock]

Amazon has been selling the PS4 for that price for weeks now
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BE4HOIM/

£319 @ Zavvi
http://m.zavvi.com/ps4-hardware/sony-playstation-4-500gb-console/10765997.html

That's true. The PS4/Destiny bundle is already £329.99 on Amazon UK.
But...... it's sold out.

 

[Broken Hope]

All it takes is one Holiday period of complacency to let a competitor back into the race, and looking at Sonys lineup for this holiday period, it isn't particular good.

I think a combination of Halo, great deals for Cod and Fifa, unique games like SO will see MS close the distance at least in NA and the UK. Europe will remain the same. Sony can't afford to take part in a price war, and you can expect MS to get very aggressive this Christmas.

Master Chief collection probably isn't going to be the system seller you think it's going to be, you have to take in the fact that the people likely to buy it likely already own the console.

COD, Fifa and most other multiplats are likely to sell better on PS4, especially GTA5.

Then take in the fact that Sony were still outselling the XB1 2:1 during the Destiny launch where you could pick up a XB1 for £309 then I really don't see an official drop to £329 doing much.

Though I'd love to see how Microsoft are not only going to match PS4 sales but also sell more than the PS4, you do realise to close the gap they will have to sell 400, 000 more consoles in the UK and 700, 000 consoles on top of actually at least matching PS4 sales which they haven't done except for 1 month.

 

[BotoxAgent]

All it takes is one Holiday period of complacency to let a competitor back into the race, and looking at Sonys lineup for this holiday period, it isn't particular good.

I think a combination of Halo, great deals for Cod and Fifa, unique games like SO will see MS close the distance at least in NA and the UK. Europe will remain the same. Sony can't afford to take part in a price war, and you can expect MS to get very aggressive this Christmas.

wait so Sony is not getting COD or the GTA V remaster?

 

[bishoptl]

They might in the US and UK, where the Xbox is slowly creeping up on them.

Tales from the Ass, indeed.

 

[goonergaz]

I think Vita has been the system to get for the past two and a half years. Nothing wrong with being in a minority.

Couldn't agree more - got a Vita at launch, best VFM I ever spent.

I wouldn't want to be in the minority more than once tho

 

[dose]

That bundle was almost £100 more expensive than the PS4 at the time...

As someone who has been a gamer in the UK for over 30 years, I can tell you that we LOVE cheaper consoles. In fact, we LOVE cheap anything. We are very tight with our money.

As also someone who has been a gamer in the UK for over 30 years, I can tell you that you're talking absolute rubbish. One example, the Gamecube launched at £129, and look what happened to that.

 

[Carl]

It might be a good idea of them to consider cutting the price as a precaution, though. Even by just £10 or £15 - it is easier to stay in the lead than to get back up there, if the cheaper XB1s started to sway people.

Oh i agree, they should I just don't think they will.

 

[Busty]

As also someone who has been a gamer in the UK for over 30 years, I can tell you that you're talking absolute rubbish. One example, the Gamecube launched at £129, and look what happened to that.

*pours out some macchiato for the Gamecube*.

You were too beautiful for this world.

 

[dwr budr]

The difference is that the PS3 was 'outselling' the 360 WW. The XB1 is getting outsold WW by a huge margin and getting beaten in the UK and the US. Regardless of whether the ratio has grown smaller, in no way can it be described as 'creeping up'.

dat major Nelson spin innit ?

 

[RayMaker]

might as well go £299.

£50 + game will definitely sway some minds.

 

[CoG]

Thinking back to 1999, Xbox One's life is reminding me a lot of the Dreamcast. Not saying Xbox One will meet the same fate because Microsoft will keep throwing money at it to keep it afloat. Just the price drops, free games, all the stuff they are trying to stimulate sales reminds me of the DC days.

I'm thinking they will drop the price by $25 - 50 in the US for the holidays. Bundling games alone does not seem to be cutting it.

 

[RayMaker]

Thinking back to 1999, Xbox One's life is reminding me a lot of the Dreamcast. Not saying Xbox One will meet the same fate because Microsoft will keep throwing money at it to keep it afloat. Just the price drops, free games, all the stuff they are trying to stimulate sales reminds me of the DC days.

I'm thinking they will drop the price by $25 - 50 in the US for the holidays. Bundling games alone does not seem to be cutting it.

The PS3 is better comparison I think, the price drops for the X1 arnt even that dramatic considering that they took the kinect out the box as well, the original kinect stand alone bundle has dropped less then 10% in price in the UK and about 1% in the US, added games to bundles has happened to every generation there is nothing out of the norm about the x1 apart from them offering a kinectless bundle, which is quite similar to the PS3phat which had backward compatibility, usb ports and card readers ripped out for the cheaper slim version.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Sony doesn't need to do anything.

Retailers will do soft price drops/Bundles for them to match the Xbox, unless Sony specifically tells them not to. Its been happening for weeks already.

The "competition" between retailers is more fierce than anything Sony and Microsoft can muster.

If anything, the Xbox price drop is a reaction to that.

Very few things sell for RRP in the UK for long, especially in electronics.

 

[Heigic]

GameStop is currently selling a PS4 + FIFA for £329
Game is selling a PS4 + 2 games for £350 - They were doing the same with XboxOne last week.

If you shop around you can find either console for £329. Maybe it's just the UK retail market being competitive?

 

[Jimez]

Desperate much Microsoft?

 

[Visualante2]

People waiting for a revision might be setting themselves up for disappointment. Just look at the new Vita which came out costing more here.

 

[DBT85]

They might in the US and UK, where the Xbox is slowly creeping up on them.

Wat? Ps4 has had a 1:1.5 ratio since launch in the UK which only extended to 1:2 with Destiny. There is no creeping in the UK and iirc, the US has had PS4 as the biggest hardware number every month since launch.

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

I may actually purchase one of these now....

Nah who am I kidding. I won't forget the shit they tried to pull.

 

[Astro Racer]

Tales from the Ass, indeed.

The XBO is gaining interest over here quite quickly. Obviously not as popular as PS4 right now, but I don't think it will be long before it gains traction from price drops and a good Q4 exclusive line-up. I don't think it will ever catch up. But it will close the gap enough for Sony to take notice. Mark my words.

This time next year I will have you eating humble pie out of my hand.

 

[HawksWinStanley]

Thinking back to 1999, Xbox One's life is reminding me a lot of the Dreamcast. Not saying Xbox One will meet the same fate because Microsoft will keep throwing money at it to keep it afloat. Just the price drops, free games, all the stuff they are trying to stimulate sales reminds me of the DC days.

I'm thinking they will drop the price by $25 - 50 in the US for the holidays. Bundling games alone does not seem to be cutting it.

Well if they drop the price $50 and bundle 2 or more games that'll push me over the edge. I've been sitting on the fence so long my taint has dents in it.

I was really trying to wait for a slim version though and they really need to get an Xfinity app. That app made the 360 my go-to media machine as 75% of the stuff I watch is through that app.

 

[Nyoro SF]

The XBO is gaining interest over here quite quickly. Obviously not as popular as PS4 right now, but I don't think it will be long before it gains traction from price drops and a good Q4 exclusive line-up. I don't think it will ever catch up. But it will close the gap enough for Sony to take notice. Mark my words.

This time next year I will have you eating humble pie out of my hand.

For starters, your claim is so vague that it can't be used to prove anything. It's kind of impossible to serve humble pie when you set random qualifiers.

Secondly, are you really going to try and challenge bish with statements like "creeping up"
gains traction" "closing the gap"? Rather than throw marketing statements around like a goof it would be much more compelling if you made some real predictions and real estimates.

 

[Verendus]

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Verendus. I am the one, behind the one, in All-In-One. And I am posting here today as an advocate for my client, the one in the Age of One, X-Baaaaaaaaawx One.

With a new price of £329.99, Xbox One continues to provide amazing value, and is now officially the cheapest next generation console in the UK. This means gamers can experience games, entertainment, dreams, passions, all on the Xbox One, since it puts the one in All-In-One. Also available are great upcoming exclusives, that you'll only be able to play if you're part of the Age of One, such as Sunset Overdrive, and Forza Horizon 2.

If you've been waiting. The time to wait is over. It's time to play the game.

 

[NickFire]

While nowhere near the fumbles they made in 2013, I feel like the baby steps they are taking towards lowering costs and increasing value are mistakes nonetheless. They should rip the Band-Aid off and drop the price / increase the bundling to the most consumer friendly proposition they can sustain for the next year.

They still have an image and momentum problem among the consumers that clearly has not been corrected by the incremental steps. Time to go all in if they want to win, because people have no problem paying a little more for a superior system's specs. Just look at how many people have paid $100 for a mere 16gb since Iphone launched.

 

[Guymelef]

Destiny's launch week.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-ps4-sales-up-300-per-cent-thanks-to-destiny-launch/0138633

it's important to note that the 'average selling price' of Xbox One last week was just £306, the lowest price for either next-gen console since they launched.

 

[Astro Racer]

Destiny's launch week.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-ps4-sales-up-300-per-cent-thanks-to-destiny-launch/0138633

it wasn't a bad week for Microsoft either, who also posted a significant sales hike week-on-week.

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

 

[jakncoke]

The XBO is gaining interest over here quite quickly. Obviously not as popular as PS4 right now, but I don't think it will be long before it gains traction from price drops and a good Q4 exclusive line-up. I don't think it will ever catch up. But it will close the gap enough for Sony to take notice. Mark my words.

This time next year I will have you eating humble pie out of my hand.

How are you measuring this "interest" that XBO is so quickly gaining steam on?

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

Sales go up during week of a major release, shock and awe?

 

[goonergaz]

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

but the GAP widened!?

 

[goonergaz]

While nowhere near the fumbles they made in 2013, I feel like the baby steps they are taking towards lowering costs and increasing value are mistakes nonetheless. They should rip the Band-Aid off and drop the price / increase the bundling to the most consumer friendly proposition they can sustain for the next year.

They still have an image and momentum problem among the consumers that clearly has not been corrected by the incremental steps. Time to go all in if they want to win, because people have no problem paying a little more for a superior system's specs. Just look at how many people have paid $100 for a mere 16gb since Iphone launched.

Problem they have is upsetting the early adopters - they will expect some compensation so it's like a double blow.

This just seems like they are putting all eggs into their Halo basket.

 

[Guymelef]

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

They might in the US and UK, where the Xbox is slowly creeping up on them.

But this.

but the GAP widened!?

 

[Dunlop]

Desperate much Microsoft?

Please take 5 minutes look at the financials of Sony and then MS and see if you draw the same conclusion.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

That's not creeping up in any way though. Which is where most people have a problem with your comments.

Gaining popularity doesn't mean much when the competition is doing the same thing.

 

[goonergaz]

That's not creeping up in any way though. Which is where most people have a problem with your comments.

Gaining popularity doesn't mean much when the competition is doing the same thing.

TBH even if you say 'gaining popularity' (which it isn't - because it was the game Destiny that was popular, not the machine) the fact remains if we say XBO 'gained popularity' then the PS4 gained twice as much popularity!

lol

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

TBH even if you say 'gaining popularity' (which it isn't - because it was the game Destiny that was popular, not the machine) the fact remains if we say XBO 'gained popularity' then the PS4 gained twice as much popularity!

lol

That's what I was saying.

 

[JAYSIMPLE]

I really don't get the people demanding an apology from Ms... Or am I reading into things? Are there people who genuinely believe Microsoft needs to apologise for attempting the DRM idea and then changing it??

What a strange world we live in

 

[BriGuy]

^ See. This is what I was talking about. Whilst not on PS4-levels, the XBO is gaining popularity here.

Short of people actively returning their systems, the Xbox One is technically gaining popularity every time another unit is sold. Not exactly a compelling argument.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

The XBO is gaining interest over here quite quickly. Obviously not as popular as PS4 right now, but I don't think it will be long before it gains traction from price drops and a good Q4 exclusive line-up. I don't think it will ever catch up. But it will close the gap enough for Sony to take notice. Mark my words.

This time next year I will have you eating humble pie out of my hand.

Heh.

 

[gaming_noob]

Desperate much Microsoft?

I don't get these posts. Are you angry they're trying?

 

[Dunlop]

Are there people who genuinely believe Microsoft needs to apologise for attempting the DRM idea and then changing it??

Sony charging for multiplayer screwed up that old standby, then MS stopped putting media apps behind a paywall, then the bastards made Kinect optional, so it is back to DRM (that was never deployed) staining our honor....

 

[Duxxy3]

For starters, your claim is so vague that it can't be used to prove anything. It's kind of impossible to serve humble pie when you set random qualifiers.

Secondly, are you really going to try and challenge bish with statements like "creeping up"
gains traction" "closing the gap"? Rather than throw marketing statements around like a goof it would be much more compelling if you made some real predictions and real estimates.

This will basically mirror my nov/dec npd predictions so...

PS4 - 750k
XB1 - 1.1m

PS4 - 1.2m
XB1 - 1.5m

Massive bump for COD and Halo gives November to Xbox. Holiday bundle keeps them ahead in December. The gap will still be over 100k.

This is assuming prices stay the same.

 

[Radec]

The XBO is gaining interest over here quite quickly. Obviously not as popular as PS4 right now, but I don't think it will be long before it gains traction from price drops and a good Q4 exclusive line-up. I don't think it will ever catch up. But it will close the gap enough for Sony to take notice. Mark my words.

This time next year I will have you eating humble pie out of my hand.