Joebob said:
remember that they sold over 100 million of each of their previous generations of Playstation - even if 50% of them want to carry on along this route then Sony are laughing all the way to the bank.
Sony are a victim of their own sucess with the PS2 but long term they could go the same way and sell 100 million in 7 years with the PS3, the big question is is how long can they hold out at the current price points?
The PS2 was the only major player in the market really for a long time, it had the exclusives which alone could sell it by the millions, where games like GTA, MGS, Pro Evo, Gran Turismo, Tony Hawks etc etc were only available on the PS2 for a fair period before cross platform. That luxury has been lost with all but a handful.
When the PS2 came out, DVDs were still expensive and players were not all that common and still fairly hefty £££. The PS2 became your DVD player + console as the jump from VHS to DVD was large. I know loads of uni mates who bought it for the DVD player alone (same can be said for the PS3 and BR but I would imagine the HDtv and PS3 set up would be a little less in reach £££). Heck in the same year it launched I got a cheap VHS player for £80
. Also everyone had a SD tv which could fully utilise the PS2 so it really was plug and play. Not everyone has an HD tv and although the PS3 doen't need one, BR is wasted without it.
The PS3 has lost that luxury of being unique to a point like the PS2 was. I would happily have a PS3 BR player and set up but can't afford it nor have a pressing need. + My local DVD rental shop is a bit short on BR/HD to rent.
The PS2 has had a long time at the $130/£120 price point which has fulled sales dramatically. I would imagine and I can only guess when the slim line version launched as it was so cheap it tempted a lot of people to upgrade.
Sony definately have the future proof console but if combined BR and HD DVD players are released, which could be a posibility as the format war progresses, that would be interesting as it could, in theory, render the PS3 BR feature partially redundant.
I think MS got it right with the 360 at the time of launch leaving an HD DVD player out of the main machine and along with the core machine they read the potential market well. By the time HD/BR is the standard, say another 3-5 years to reach where we are now with DVDs, availability and price, the 360/PS3 will be out of date.
What would be really interesting is, if Sony do decide to get to that £299 inc a game price for X-Mas, I think the 360 would have to see a significant price drop in the UK to sell loads. As you have said PS3 brand loyalty may kick in with added affordability leaving the 360 on the shelves. Even at £200 the 360 may struggle against a £299 PS3 assuming it includes a game etc etc. £200 is close to the US price for a premium at the moment as far as I can tell from some sites and offers. So again rip of Britain strikes, but it is cheap enough to sell. They (360) arn't exactly flying off the shelves at their Dollar price in Aisa/US so if the PS3 price does drop some, that 360 price may need to hit £150 (premium pack) to compete.
A significant price drop in the 360 would again leaving further disparity between the 2 consoles.