March 2015 NPD (U.S. Hardware) Predictions - Closes April 14th

I think it's been said zillion times but Sony may drop PS4's price after BOM goes down. Let's see when number of GDDR5 chips can be halved.
 
Not expecting any surprises with hardware this month, but I'm interested to see if Bloodborne was able to expand its reach beyond its hardcore fanbase.
 
[3DS] 100k
[PS4] 400k
[WIU] 70k
[XB1] 170k

Bloodborne somewhere in the realm of 500k opening week in US, like 1.2-1.3 million worldwide opening week.
 
I don't get why people think Sony won't do a price cut this year. In October, the PS4 will be out in the market for almost 23 months, which is the perfect time IMO. Not to mention the PS4 will sell tons of units during the holidays if it's priced at $349, let alone $299.

I'm thinking we'll see a drop to $300 for holiday 2015. With two years of excellent sales at $400, they're ready for a discount, and I can't see them going with a half-measure like a $50 cut.
 
Don't see how anyone could say this without knowing the actual split between the two bundles. Rankings aren't going to show that.

That's not to say that I feel the MCC bundle greatly helped though -- if anything I think it simply split sales that would have all been AC Unity if the MCC bundle didn't exist.
The sad thing is they still have ACU inventory.
 
lol the Xbox One predictions this month remind me of November 2014 3DS predictions, getting sandbagged hard by a lot of people
Preseason anyway, doesn't matter. Abriel's prediction doesn't seem to contradict amazon either soo.....

That arkham knight bundle though. It's the destiny bundle all over again. (Based off of Amazon)
 
Don't think Sony will bother with a price cut this year, they don't have nay competition outside of NA and UK so why bother?

Because there is always the default option of not buying any console. There is no unlimited number of people, who are willing to pay $400 for a console. By dropping the price, you lure in a completely new batch of customers.
 
Don't think Sony will bother with a price cut this year, they don't have nay competition outside of NA and UK so why bother? XB1 had some drastic cuts to beat PS4 in NA last year, don't think it's something Sony would lose sleep over when they are number 1 in every other region. Batman, MGS V and other bundles is what I see Sony doing to increase value this year, high profit margins would be nice and all.

Yeah, unless they see a change in other regions outside of the US and UK, it wouldn't make any sense for them. Does anyone remember the Wii first official price cut?
 
Yeah, unless they see a change in other regions outside of the US and UK, it wouldn't make any sense for them. Does anyone remember the Wii first official price cut?

Well the Wii launched at $249 which was lower than any console launch after 2000.

If the PS4 follows the Wii then that means you're suggesting we won't see a price cut till September 2016. It will certainly be before that.

The PS1 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA.
The PS2 saw its first price drop 18 months after launch in the USA
The PS3 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA

The PS4 has now been on the market for 17 months.
 
It was meant to be holiday only.

It was? MS expected 3 Million (NPD) during November and December alone?

__________

makes sense to drop the PS4 console price with Morpheus (presumably) coming out next spring.
They're going to need to get some reasonably priced bundles out if they want to move VR, I think.

Yeah, I'm expecting Morpheus to cost a decent amount of money so a PS4 price drop alongside it would be smart.
 
It was? MS expected 3 Million (NPD) during November and December alone?

You also factor in the CoD and (limited) White SKU, they probably expected a lot with the price drop.

~3 million is around the 360's peak holiday years (2010 and 2011)
 
You also factor in the CoD and (limited) White SKU, they probably expected a lot with the price drop.

~3 million is around the 360's peak holiday years (2010 and 2011)

Yeah, I wasn't being sarcastic, I was just simply wondering if there was any information on what they wanted.

Definitely seems believable with the crazy deals they had.
 
I'm thinking we'll see a drop to $300 for holiday 2015. With two years of excellent sales at $400, they're ready for a discount, and I can't see them going with a half-measure like a $50 cut.
Agreed. A price drop to $349 may not be enough to get a big boost in sales as the XB1 has been $349 for months now. Going all the way down to $299 will also allow Sony to have a reasonably priced Morpheus bundle next year. With the PS4 built with quick price reductions in mind, Sony should only have to make minor losses if they slash the price to $299.
 
Well the Wii launched at $249 which was lower than any console launch after 2000.

If the PS4 follows the Wii then that means you're suggesting we won't see a price cut till September 2016. It will certainly be before that.

The PS1 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA.
The PS2 saw its first price drop 18 months after launch in the USA
The PS3 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA

The PS4 has now been on the market for 17 months.

I didn't know that, frightening the PS4 has been out this long already! A price drop will probably be this year then, there's still 8 months left and no cut would be unprecedented for a Playstation console out for such a length of time. Question then would be the extent of the price drop, I'd guess they might go for the jugular and cut down to $299 in time for the holidays depending on the manufacturing costs of the PS4. A price cut to that extent would take care of business outside everyone that is not UK and US, even in those regions at that price (and assuming XB1 has a similar cut) I would expect the PS4 to take number 1 easily during the winter months.

This holiday should also be a second go for Assassins Creed, the next one is going to be next-generation again but if it's not a steaming pile of shit the game could push a lot of current generation consoles. Same for Battlefront.
 
Yeah, I'm expecting Morpheus to cost a decent amount of money so a PS4 price drop alongside it would be smart.

It doesn't necessarily have to be prohibitively expensive. Most of the costs will come from the screen (as it is effectively just a display with not a lot of processing power or memory), and we have seen phones with 5" 1080p displays for less than $300. Depending on their business plan, Sony might well be able to sell it for less than $200, although I would place my bets on price point of $249.
 
I didn't know that, frightening the PS4 has been out this long already! A price drop will probably be this year then, there's still 8 months left and no cut would be unprecedented for a Playstation console out for such a length of time. Question then would be the extent of the price drop, I'd guess they might go for the jugular and cut down to $299 in time for the holidays depending on the manufacturing costs of the PS4. A price cut to that extent would take care of business outside everyone that is not UK and US, even in those regions at that price (and assuming XB1 has a similar cut) I would expect the PS4 to take number 1 easily during the winter months.

Sony issued the first price cut to the PS2 to effectively kill the competition in Xbox. Now that Sony know they will stay in first place for quite some time, they don't need a price cut yet.
 
Sony issued the first price cut to the PS2 to effectively kill the competition in Xbox. Now that Sony know they will stay in first place for quite some time, they don't need a price cut yet.

Not until the holiday season. I wonder if Sony would do a price cut just for the US? That would probably be a bad look for them considering Playstation is a global brand.
 
Well the Wii launched at $249 which was lower than any console launch after 2000.

If the PS4 follows the Wii then that means you're suggesting we won't see a price cut till September 2016. It will certainly be before that.

The PS1 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA.
The PS2 saw its first price drop 18 months after launch in the USA
The PS3 saw its first price drop 8 months after launch in the USA

The PS4 has now been on the market for 17 months.

oh that's a nice post, really telling.
 
The PS4 will most certainly see an official price drop in FY2015-16.

I can't blame Sony for being cautious this time, but I'm sure it will be soon. There's probably enough software in circulation now for a cut to be beneficial. PS4 is going to have an amazing Christmas.
 
Agreed. A price drop to $349 may not be enough to get a big boost in sales as the XB1 has been $349 for months now. Going all the way down to $299 will also allow Sony to have a reasonably priced Morpheus bundle next year. With the PS4 built with quick price reductions in mind, Sony should only have to make minor losses if they slash the price to $299.

But why take minor loses when you can make nearly 100$ in profits per console sold ?

With Sony selling something like 5-6 milions of consoles in Holiday season that's half a bilion of dollars of difference.
 
I can't blame Sony for being cautious this time, but I'm sure it will be soon. There's probably enough software in circulation now for a cut to be beneficial. PS4 is going to have an amazing Christmas.

Makes total sense for Sony to announce a price cut in late august being effective since 1st September with the MGSV launch.
I don't know if the announcement will be made at Gamescom this time because this year the show happens quite early, 5th August which is still full summer and not the right time to announce a price drop.


Sony issued the first price cut to the PS2 to effectively kill the competition in Xbox. Now that Sony know they will stay in first place for quite some time, they don't need a price cut yet.

It doesn't work like that, Sony couldn't care less of the original Xbox which was much less of a threat than what the XB1 is now, they cut the PS2 price because it was time to speed up hardware adoption rate so that they could make more money by selling a lot more games.
This time is the same, it's not about XB1, it's about achieving growth for themselves, driving sales of games and lucrative subscriptions and services like Playstation Plus, Music/Spotify, PSNow and so on. That's where they can make the biggest profits, not the hardware.

Btw:

[3DS] 200k
[PS4] 400k
[WIU] 90k
[XB1] 280k
 
I can't see Sony dropping the price of PS4 by $100 this year.

Sales are still huge at the current price.
I can see them packing in 2 games though.
 
It doesn't work like that, Sony couldn't care less of the original Xbox which was much less a threat than what the XB1 is now, they cut the PS2 price because it was time to speed up hardware adoption rate so that they could make more money by selling a lot more games.
This time is the same, it's not about XB1, it's about achieving growth for themselves, driving sales of games and lucrative subscriptions and services like Playstation Plus, Music/Spotify, PSNow and so on. That's where they can make the biggest profits, not the hardware.

They cut they price days before MS was going to announce a price drop for the Xbox. They didn't do it to speed up hardware adoption rates, it was a reaction to make sure the Xbox could not get any steam from a price drop.
 
They cut they price days before MS was going to announce a price drop for the Xbox. They didn't do it to speed up hardware adoption rates, it was a reaction to make sure the Xbox could not get any steam from a price drop.

Well, MS did it first last year. And they succeeded beat PS4 only in US during holidays.
 
But why take minor loses when you can make nearly 100$ in profits per console sold ?

With Sony selling something like 5-6 milions of consoles in Holiday season that's half a bilion of dollars of difference.
This is a short term way to look at things. Just remember a price drop can potentially boost sales significantly, especially during the holiday season. And as the install base increases, there will be more users on PS Plus, which Sony will make quite a good amount of profit from. Also, if Sony doesn't slash the price of the PS4, I have a feeling it will not be able to keep up with the XB1 this holiday season, especially if Microsoft goes for insane bundles again.
 
Well, MS did it first last year. And they succeeded beat PS4 only in US during holidays.

It only worked for the holidays.

I think Sony will be ok with still shifting massive amounts of units in Holiday 2015.

Xbox One is in a dire position due to devaluation of the console, and further price drops are only gonna do so much.

Sony are in a very comfortable position, and a considerable position of power being the market leader, and momentum is just snow balling at this stage.
 
They cut they price days before MS was going to announce a price drop for the Xbox. They didn't do it to speed up hardware adoption rates, it was a reaction to make sure the Xbox could not get any steam from a price drop.

They both planned to do the same thing. Back then price cut announcents at E3 were commonplace, they both planned to make E3 price cuts. PS2 didn't get a price cut since launch in the US at that point.
In Europe instead sales were slower due to a much higher entry price and they cut the price earlier in September 2001 for example.
Sony didn't care at all about the original Xbox, it wasn't even considered a competitor in the same league back then by Kutaragi and infact it was a system which sold 25m units lifetime versus the 150m lifetime sales of PS2.
You think way too much about Xbox and Sony doing things to respond to them or viceversa.
Sony is way more concerned about their own profits, growth and sales targets, they need to sell tons of games and subscriptions, this year there will be a PS4 price cut (don't now how much), regardless of what Xbox does.
 
They both planned to do the same thing. Back then price cut announcents at E3 were commonplace, they both planned to make E3 price cuts. PS2 didn't get a price get since launch in the US.
In Europe instead sales were slower due to a much higher entry price and they cut the price earlier in September 2001 for example.
You think way too much about Xbox and Sony doing things to respond to them or viceversa.
Sony is way more concerned about their own profits, growth and sales targets, they need to sell tons of games and subscriptions, this year there will be a PS4 price cut, regardeless of what Xbox does.
What do you mean with the bold? I stated something they did back in 2002. How am I thinking too much about them?

Also the PS2 price cut wasn't planned for E3 seeing as it was before it and it was put in "effective immediately".

And to your last statement, yeah of course? Sony 2015 is different to Sony 2002, and they know they don't have to worry about the Xbox.
 
Sony issued the first price cut to the PS2 to effectively kill the competition in Xbox. Now that Sony know they will stay in first place for quite some time, they don't need a price cut yet.

But they certainly know they would need one during the Holidays, as (if it needed to be pointed out) MS pushes extra hard during that time and for the most part a sale made by the competition is a sale you potentially don't get to make for this gen at all, thus not bringing a household onto your ecosystem.

I would honestly be shocked if Sony had the "gall" to not at the very least drop the PS4's price by $50 in Sept/ Oct, but Imo they will go for a full $100 price drop for maximum effect.

In fact, even if you exclude the competition, it also makes sense in a "market" kind of way. Once the $399 buyers market have been tapped (and after 2 years and 2 Holidays it will probably get close to that point), it's time to get to the $299 market.

Makes total sense for Sony to announce a price cut in late august being effective since 1st September with the MGSV launch.
I don't know if the announcement will be made at Gamescom this time because this year the show happens quite early, 5th August which is still full summer and not the right time to announce a price drop.

I too think this is what will happen.

September 1st: PS4 is now $299.
Bundle with MGS V TPP $349

Black Friday Promo: PS4+TLOU+Bloodborne+Driveclub and 1 year of PS+ : $299

Holiday bundles (Nov/ Dec):

"Family" pack: PS4+LBP3+Tearaway+Driveclub = $349

"Action" pack: PS4 + TLOU + Bloodborne + Killzone: $349

While the single PS4 is still at $299
 
But the PS4 still sold a hell of a lot during those Holidays, all without resorting to mad bundling and steep price cuts.

I can only see Sony dropping the RRP of the console when momentum slows to a crawl in the face of Xbox One - which I can't see ever really happening.

Xbox One is basically a few steps away from irrelevance in most global territories excluding US, and to a lesser degree, the UK.

I can see them adding value to the console ala 1 TB edition, limited editions, and pack in games.

A Star Wars themed PS4 with Battlefront would do mammoth numbers, and it will almost certainly happen if Sony has the marketing rights.

The Playstation division is a pillar in the revival of the entire corporation, and I just cannot see any scenario where a $100 price cut will happen this year, given how much it is currently dominating and there seems to be nothing stopping it.

It is the defacto console of this generation, and Sony probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if Microsoft reduced the price of the Xbox One again this year.

They'd probably just laugh, cringe with embarrassment for their competitor, and go back to the champagne party that has been going on strong since November 2013 with Andy, Shu, Mark, Shawn, and Jim.
 
But the PS4 still sold a hell of a lot during those Holidays, all without resorting to mad bundling and steep price cuts.

Yes, it's true. If Sony cut PS4 price, well.... Best time for announcement IMO is during Gamescom this year cuz date is near holiday season. If they announce it @ E3, everybody will wait holiday season for almost 6 months. Sony don't wanna lose some potential customers until holidays. Well, if Sony cut the price in the end.
 
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