Analyst Pachter Alters PlayStation 3 Price Cut Prediction
See Full ImageIt wasn't long ago when Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicted we'd see a price drop for the PlayStation 3 in April. But as it turns out, that was kinda like his "April Fool's joke," even though he does still expect a price cut later this year.
According to EndSights, Pachter believes the $299 price point is the "sweet spot" for Sony's machine, even though Sony may not be able to afford to drop the price by April. Instead, he sees the drop coming some time between June and September, which most consumers will interpret as "better late than never." Said Pachter:
"They probably won’t really cut in April (that was my early April Fool’s joke), but they should seriously consider making a move as soon as they can afford it. My guess is that they’ll be able to afford a cut by October, and will cut earlier than that in anticipation of their cost of production coming down. I picked April as the beginning of the fiscal year, but it could be June (E3), September (TGS), holiday, or not at all. If they don’t cut, they had better prepare themselves to run a distant third in sales once again."
At this point, it seems like the last piece of the puzzle could be this price drop. The software lineup for 2009 is great, Blu-Ray is coming into its own, more and more people are going online via the PSN, and now, it's just a matter of the price of admission. Consumers have been clamoring for a cut for quite a while now, and although PS3 sales were up 40% in 2008, the numbers could really skyrocket if Sony made the system more accessible. At least, that's how we see it.
1/16/2009 Ben Dutka
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Comments (42 posts)
Deleted User
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 4:49:02 PM
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MetalHead09
Saturday, January 17, 2009 @ 9:38:28 AM
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Zorigo
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 12:34:38 PM
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www
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:50:16 PM
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Ultimadream
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 5:15:35 PM
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Scarecrow
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 11:44:38 AM
Reply
Bastard
I wish I could joke around with my job.
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www
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:52:00 PM
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karneli lll
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 3:57:08 PM
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www
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 6:44:15 PM
Last edited by www on 1/16/2009 6:46:50 PM
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englishgolfer
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 11:50:35 AM
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Nynja
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 12:00:43 PM
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Probably why MS claims Sony will have a price drop in the first quarter of the year - in anticipation of the Killzone 2 release.
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CH1N00K
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 1:56:19 PM
And by the look of comments of "industry experts" lately, the general public aren't the only ingorant people out there.
I don't think Pachter is influencing the sale of PS3 by much...
Last edited by CH1N00K on 1/16/2009 1:58:59 PM
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dfm078
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 8:55:54 PM
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Fane1024
Saturday, January 17, 2009 @ 4:20:27 PM
(Wow, two internet abbreviations; I feel so hip)
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Tim
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 12:18:28 PM
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Sir Shak
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 12:45:09 PM
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fundando
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 1:59:06 PM
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Phoelix
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:40:47 PM
He just forgot to add the other few million.
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ps92117
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 12:49:52 PM
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FLYING_APE
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 1:56:57 PM
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@ps92117 yes sony marketing SUCKS A** but calm the F*** down. Your like one of those crazy fanboys that support there console like it's a football team.
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CH1N00K
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:20:55 PM
I don't necessarily agree with only marketing KZ2 though. Since the biggest misconception out there about the PS3 seems to be a lack of games, why doesn't Sony do ads showing that this has changed, or do some multi plat ads like M$ does. I've seen lots of ads from microsoft that are showing off games that are on all the systems, They just don't advertise the fact.
Take the situation with Final Fantasy XIII. Sure this time around it's Multi Plat, but for the previous 2 console generations FF has been known mostly as a Sony game. If Sony were to get a jump on M$ for getting the ads out for this game, they could sell more copies just by name association alone, even though it will be available on both. If they did these ads before the game released, some people would even be inclined to go out and buy a PS3 in anticipation. Not everyone would fall for this mind you, but some would.
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ps92117
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 7:22:58 PM
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Fane1024
Saturday, January 17, 2009 @ 4:25:42 PM
LOL Are you wearing face paint?
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Alienange
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 1:57:06 PM
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friendlycarl
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:11:26 PM
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Phoelix
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:43:46 PM
I think Sony's problem is that their culture is focused on honor. Hirai-san would probably sell the PS3 to Microsoft before he'd release a product that he deemed to be inferior.
Clearly, the rest of the Japanese feel the same way; that's why the PS3 owns Japan (except the Wii). Americans, on the other hand, really aren't as concerned about quality. They just want a cheap console.
As soon as Sony picks up on this and starts to market the PS3 as a cheap console and not a beastly entertainment machine, Sony should sell more.
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Deleted User
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 5:00:17 PM
Surely you know of the tariffs and the restrictions on imports entering Japan. Americans are NOT cheap. Maybe you could consider yourself and all of us cheap. But I for one am not that ignorant. If it delivers for the price Americans will pay it. You really think Sony cares about what the Japanese think first of their system? With its IBM and NVIDAI parts in it. More PS2s are sold here in 2 weeks then ALL the gaming systems (handheld included) combined in Japan for a month.
Stop being blind.
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karneli lll
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 6:10:51 PM
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PhilipJWitow
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 7:49:34 PM
I think for the most part people do just buy the cheapest game console because they're cheap or just want something for their kid and don't really care about the quality.
Completely based on my own opinion, but I do believe the Japanese are bit more informed and are more willing to spend money on quality than on something to just amuse the kids with.
Who knows, it could just be a brand thing (Sony > Microsoft in Japan?)
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AntDC
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 10:51:57 PM
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www
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:59:38 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 3:36:12 PM
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Gone
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 4:13:03 PM
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(R.I.P Circuit City I will miss your 2 for $30 game specials)
Last edited by Gone on 1/16/2009 4:14:45 PM
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Aftab
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 4:43:38 PM
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bamf
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 9:54:39 PM
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On the 'Bonus Round' With a laugh and a smile Patcher continuely makes comments about how the GT veiwers accuse him of not knowing anything about games, but there is sarcasm in his voice as if he's saying "I know more than you"
Pather recently said on the Bonus Round that PSN is 2-3 yrs behind where Live was a year ago. The others on the panel said that the 360 had the best games line-up in 2008.
Patcher is such a fool.
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AntDC
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 10:49:19 PM
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His excuse for his moment of stupidity I guess...
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ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 10:55:11 PM
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What kind of dumb shit is that? Seriously. Whoever from Yahoo is responsible for that is a moron.
Last edited by ArnoldK PSXE on 1/16/2009 10:56:05 PM
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Diggity Dan
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Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 11:20:22 AM