Sega's corporate director Masanao Maeda has told Reuters that Sony will likely need to substantially cut the price of PS3 by the end of the year to stimulate low demand. Ouch.
Japanese publisher Enterbrain recently reported that Wii outsold PS3 by the crushing ratio of over six to one in June in Japan.
"Name brand, price and software are what count," says Maeda. "Since it's getting difficult to make software availability a differentiating factor, superior marketing and pricing strategy will be the key for Sony."
Maeda also said he expects Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games to rival big name titles like Halo 3. "This will be the first time ever that we see Sonic and Mario appear together in a game. It surely has potential to be the No.1 title," he said.
If case you've forgot about it already, read our exclusive interview with the men behind the Sonic and Mario alliance here. Expect more from E3.
Sonic and mario at the olympics will be great with your family and friends. On your own, on the other hand, it will be poor. Thank god 360 and ps3 have games like Halo 3 and Heavenly sword, otherwise I would lose the will.
Firstyl, Sony to take at least Ł100 off the current price of PS3. Secondly, Sony need to secure some interesting exclusives. Thirdly, no one cares about Sonic and Mario at the Olympics...
Everyone's been hampering Sony about dropping their price. Thats what everyone is basically waiting for. No sense in spending spending that amount of money right now for a console. I know i'll pick one up the day it drops price...
Advice on selling consoles, from Sega!!! Ha ha ha. And Sonic and Mario Olympics can't possibly compete with the games. If they did a proper Sonic and Mario platformer, that would be a world beater...
Oh my days, if anyone knows how to not sell a console, it's SEGA!!
This whole PS3 price cut story is jus one big disguise for Sega to gain some publicity for Sonic and Mario at the Olympics.
No doubt this unjustified comparison to halo 3 will spark fury amongst the forumites.
My PS3 is gathering dust (until NG Sigma!) and the 360 is played everyday, but mark my words, most ppl dissing the PS3 will surely buy one when the price cut happens and the big games start pouring in this christmas. After all i am certain that most ppl who own a 360 are or have been a PS1/ 2 owner. The price is the only obstacle.
Motorstorm is the only game worth getting a PS3 for. I took mine back after i finished the game. Everything else can be played on the XBOX (and more). But having said that, I will probably buy another one when the price comes down
Motorstorm is the only game worth getting a PS3 for. I took mine back after i finished the game. Everything else can be played on the XBOX (and more). But having said that, I will probably buy another one when the price comes down
I'll be waiting till crimbo before I get one. By that time alot of the amazing games will be out, Assassins creed, GTA IV, Kane & Lynch etc and i'll have saved up enough cash for a HDTV. Haha, Fiendish...
They should listen to sega, they know that a great game catalog doesn't matter if the console price is too high in comparison with others and they know all about bad marketing.
They should listen to sega, they know that a great game catalog doesn't matter if the console price is too high in comparison with others and they know all about bad marketing.
Actually, the DreamCast was only half the price of the PlayStation 2.
Not to mention the sega-cd wich was very costly, brought improved fmv, but only had a select good titles. And the 32x wich was a even worse disaster. Even the game gear, which had better graphics, good games, lost out to the GB in the end due to price (and price of batteries). But they were ahead of the lynx, due to lynx inital price and lack of support of good games. In the end, it's not graphics that sell, but good (original) games, price and marketing (creating the good image). Sony's hardware is the best, but u need a combination to succed. *At the moment Wii has the playabilty, 360 has the games, both are cheaper then ps3, which has the graphics and to be honest, the pricecut is not gonna solve it on it's own for sony.
As soon at they knock at least Ł100 off the RRP i will buy a ps3
Shop around. I saw PS3's in Grainger Games in the Metrocentre, Newcastle last night for Ł339 and they were flying out of the door - 4 sold in the 3 minutes I was in store. Try your local independent. Obviously this isn't the RRP though.
There may have been many great games for previous Playstation consoles, but because most of Sony's triple A titles aren't first party, they've always been in danger of losing to out to the highest bidder.
With Microsoft willing (and more than able) to dish out the dosh for exclusives and Nintendo cleaning up with affordable non-gamer-friendly hardware developers are proving they are only truly loyal to themselves. Sony must now offer people far more than just hyperbole and arrogant promises if they want to succeed this time around.
On the subject of price however, there seems to be a phrase which is often ignored by Sony, and that's "The customer gets what the customer wants." Maybe if they'd pitched the PS3 (and PSP) without the mantra "The customer gets what we decide they need." Then maybe we'd all be playing Ł200 PS3 and Ł130 PSP GAME consoles instead.
Sony were immensely popular for a good while, and as such they probably now believe that their 18-30 cash-rich demographic will have got on in life and all live in perfectly white show-room style apartments, reading Nuts magazine, driving Audi TTs, and drinking over-priced Italian lagers. We're young and eager, working hard and playing harder. We have Ł2500 to blow on a Sony 40" Plasma TV and think nothing of hooking our Sony Vaio up to it to surf the web. Surely in this world, the PS3 is a bargain must-have, which satisfies perfectly our need for a media hub to manage our busy digital lifestyles.
However, this is nonsense. Sony have not clocked the fact that PS2 owners have grown up. House prices, interest rates, student loans, and other boring grown up stuff have all gotten so out of hand in the time since the PS2 launched that the majority of people are precluded from justifying about Ł1000 (if you need a basic HDTV too - what's the point of all those specs on a CRT?) on a f**king games machine. Sony need to get a grip and realise that the PS2 was successful because even Chavs could afford one.
So yeah, games falling into the hands of the competition, a vast ignorance of how much people are willing to pay for a toy (which is what it still is in the eyes of a non-gaming parent...) and a generally lacklustre marketing campaign all collude against Sony's recent console effort.
As for Sega saying anything where this subject's concerned... well I presume the irony is lost on noone!
Well, to be fair, Sony is in the best position to judge it. SEGA just wants a wider audience to sell its games to; when you're the one footing the bill for the hardware though, things aren't so cut and dry. SEGA above all others should know this... and I suspect they do, it's just that they of course - like all others - have to portray stances that better their own corporate interests. They've got some strong software coming that may move some boxes. It'd be financially more sense to see what the software on its own can do, and then drop the price when sales remain low, rather than drop the price now.
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