UK faces massive premium for PS3

[cHodAX]

Would that be the reduction you said may come in October? or were you suggesting they might come sooner but only be at full production in October?

Sad nah, Helpfull yeah :worthy:

Well the GPU/CPU shrink is due for May this year so I would expect those machines to be on sale by the middle of summer. Microsoft will probably cream off a few months profits selling the cheaper to produce hardware at current price and then introduce a big RRP cut in the run up to Christmas 2007. October would be my guess for the RRP cut, I would expect either a small RRP cut in March (to get the 360 down to half the PS3 launch price) or at least a wholesale price cut so that retailers can discount as they choose are make some nice game/console/controller bundles.

 

[cHodAX]

And Yes 360 looks alot better now but that dose not change the fact that at launch it had the same near 40% mark up. So i just do not think Sony should get it up the arse for doing something that is common practice Thats why when people say sony are wankers for doing this it should be shown that microsoft did the exact same thing.

You are right bud, I cannot argue the fact that Microsoft hit EU with a 38% markup, even after VAT is taken into account it was still £30 overpriced. Take this into consideration though, at the time the pound was 10c weaker against the dollar than it currently is. One more very important aspect not to overlook is the fact that £279.99 at launch is infinately more affordable to a family than £425 is and that is before you consider the HDMI cable, extra controller, headset and remote control. You see my point? Yes it was overpriced but the bundle was better than what PS3 is shipping with, if you take those extra's into account the PS3 is well over £450 and how many families can afford to spend that on little Timmy?

Microsoft cut the wholesale price within weeks of the hardware becoming profitable which is why you were getting such great bundles at Christmas. The markup is only around 6% now on current street price. Still too much but still.

 

[soze]

You are right bud, I cannot argue the fact that Microsoft hit EU with a 38% markup, even after VAT is taken into account it was still £30 overpriced. Take this into consideration though, at the time the pound was 10c weaker against the dollar than it currently is. One more very important aspect not to overlook is the fact that £279.99 at launch is infinately more affordable to a family than £425 is and that is before you consider the HDMI cable, extra controller, headset and remote control. You see my point? Yes it was overpriced but the bundle was better than what PS3 is shipping with, if you take those extra's into account the PS3 is well over £450 and how many families can afford to spend that on little Timmy?

Yeah i have never said its not expensive Just this is not a reason to bash the PS3 as it happens on every console was all im saying

 

[cHodAX]

Yeah i have never said its not expensive Just this is not a reason to bash the PS3 as it happens on every console was all im saying

Hmm that depends on your point of view. 41% markup on $599 is a damn sight more than 38% on $399 agreed?

The fact is that Sony are losing money on every single PS3 unit in America even more so on the Japanese model, yet they are turning a $100 profit on the EU console even though it costs them the same price to make and market. Why are the EU being stung? To help keep the console price much much lower in Japan. That is right, you are subsiding lower priced hardware in Japan. PS3 in Japan costs HALF the UK price, surely you can't say that is justified? We are being priced to help Sony absorb PS3 Japan and US sales loses.

 

[soze]

Hmm that depends on your point of view. 41% markup on $599 is a damn sight more than 38% on $399 agreed?

The fact is that Sony are losing money on every single PS3 unit in America even more so on the Japanese model, yet they are turning a $100 profit on the EU console even though it costs them the same price to make and market. Why are the EU being stung? To help keep the console price much much lower in Japan. That is right, you are subsiding lower priced hardware in Japan. PS3 in Japan costs HALF the UK price, surely you can't say that is justified? We are being priced to help Sony absorb PS3 Japan and US sales loses.

If its right they are losing over $250 per bluray drive how can they turn a proffit on the uk ones? unless wiki or where ever the price breakdown was had it wrong

But no i do not think its right we pay more and i have said that and paying 40% more for something is still 40% more what ever the value it dose not suck less because its cheaper. And when i think how much i lost on my 360 when i sold it i hate them even more now

 

[old.Tohtori]

Oh didn't anyone say this? "If you don't like UK prices, move the f*ck to america"

 

[soze]

Oh didn't anyone say this? "If you don't like UK prices, move the f*ck to america"

Or import one and live with it

 

[cHodAX]

If its right they are losing over $250 per bluray drive how can they turn a proffit on the uk ones? unless wiki or where ever the price breakdown was had it wrong

At the $600 pricepoint they are currently losing $145 per PS3 according to a breakdown I read at the start of the month, Blu-Ray diode production has ramped up and they aren't losing as much as prevously estimated due to economies of scale so that $145 is coming down fast. With the UK price effectively being $847 it isn't hard to see where they are making a profit, it isn't massive but think of it this way. American and Japanese gamers are getting the console way below cost, EU gamers are not.

Sony then has the cheek to say that the EU is a vital market and EU gamers are not second class. If that is the case then why do they subsidise the US and Japan markets and not EU? Why did we get a launch that was 5 months delayed? Why are EU game prices set way above the prices for any other region on the planet?

Edit : Wiki isn't gospel, 90% of it is written by normal people like you and me. Alot of what is on there is correct, alot is also out of date and or biased. Keep your eye on the games industry press like http://www.gamesindustry.biz/ and you will get alot of info that doesn't hit the mainstream press.

This report for example, I haven't seen it anywhere else yet. This site is written by people actually in the retail and development industry btw, not casual gamers.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22360

 

[Everz]

Should have tried playing a ps3 game on a hi def tv then

it was the demo one, no idea on the game was a shooting one, local game shop up town had it playing, maybe the game that was playing but i never heard on positive thing about it, just caused more xbox 360 sales ;D

 

[soze]

At the $600 pricepoint they are currently losing $145 per PS3 according to a breakdown I read at the start of the month, Blu-Ray diode production has ramped up and they aren't losing as much as prevously estimated due to economies of scale so that $145 is coming down fast. With the UK price effectively being $847 it isn't hard to see where they are making a profit, it isn't massive but think of it this way. American and Japanese gamers are getting the console way below cost, EU gamers are not.

Sony then has the cheek to say that the EU is a vital market and EU gamers are not second class. If that is try then why do they subsidise the US and Japan markets and not EU? Why did we get a launch that was 5 months delayed? Why are EU game prices set way above the prices for any other region on the planet?

Edit : Wiki isn't gospel, 90% of it is written by normal people like you and me. Alot of what is on there is correct, alot is also out of date and or biased.

Yeah i know wiki can be shite it is interesting to see they will be makin a profit on release consoles that will be a new thing But crap they make it at our expence. I wonder if its some sort of rule or just a understanding among companies if the big 3 are all near 40% i wonder if it is thenselves deciding the price or if they have to go over by so much. Pure speculation would be good to hear some some one who know imports and exports to see if its just one of those freaky things why they are all near 40% or by design.

Also i can't be bothered to check but you might know did MS not end up making proffit off UK 360s then i though they had a $70 loss per box in the US and a $150 mark up i am prolly wrong

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22379
Site is one for the favorites

This is cool guy there saying Playstation may demand more than avalivble as stores may not invest the cash to buy them in bulk

 

[cHodAX]

Also i can't be bothered to check but you might know did MS not end up making proffit off UK 360s then i though they had a $70 loss per box in the US and a $150 mark up i am prolly wrong

360 was being manufactured at a tiny profit as soon as the 3rd assembly plant came online at the end of January 2006 if I remember rightly. Initial estimates of production costs before that factory opened were that a 360 premium unit cost between $500 and $550 to produce, pretty much bang on the UK retail price at launch but remember you have still have to take into account 17.5% VAT and the retailers margains. I would say it was running either at a very small loss per unit in the UK at launch or perhaps breaking even which is less likely given how tight retailer margains were those first 3 months.

Once the 3rd plant was operational and they started cranking out finished units the costs started to drop fast, it is always the way with the economies of scale. Microsoft were turning a small profit on UK sales for the next 6 months, since then it has been more like $80 a unit which is why they were able to cut the wholesale cost and let the retailers actually start turning a reasonable profit.

 

[cHodAX]

This is cool guy there saying Playstation may demand more than avalivble as stores may not invest the cash to buy them in bulk

That is what the industry in America expected, it turned out to be the complete opposite. The high price put off the average gamer and so we have 300,000 PS3 sitting on shelves across North America going unsold. The resale market on Ebay has crashed, many people are having to sell the console at a loss via auctionbecause demand didn't turn out to be anything like expected. These people thought it would be like the 360 launch and they could double thier money, turns out the bought the wrong console because Wii is the only console sold out in shops and priced through the roof on Ebay

With the higher UK price and the fact that America launched during the busiest time of the year and didn't sell out I don't expect the EU to sell out either. Even if it does it won't generate the kind of resale market on Ebay that 360 and Wii did on launch, why? Simply because it costs £100 more than it should and Ebay prices would only inflate that massively beyond what any normal gamer would or could pay.

 

[soze]

That is what the industry in America expected, it turned out to be the complete opposite. The high price put off the average gamer and so we have 300,000 PS3 sitting on shelves across North America going unsold. The resale market on Ebay has crashed, many people are having to sell the console at a loss via auctionbecause demand didn't turn out to be anything like expected. These people thought it would be like the 360 launch and they could double thier money, turns out the bought the wrong console because Wii is the only console sold out in shops and priced through the roof on Ebay

With the higher UK price and the fact that America launched during the busiest time of the year and didn't sell out I don't expect the EU to sell out either. Even if it does it won't generate the kind of resale market on Ebay that 360 and Wii did on launch, why? Simply because it costs £100 more than it should and Ebay prices would only inflate that massively beyond what any normal gamer would or could pay.

I hope they do not make it to ebay tbh. But like the artical said UK general has more disposable income than america so it might do better here depends if people appriciate it as a pc or just a games machine i suppose. Will be interesting and that site dose look cool

 

[cHodAX]

I hope they do not make it to ebay tbh. But like the artical said UK general has more disposable income than america so it might do better here depends if people appriciate it as a pc or just a games machine i suppose. Will be interesting and that site dose look cool

I didnt get that part of the article, with higher food costs, higher fuel and utility bill costs, higher taxation and lower wages how can the average UK citizen have more disposable income than someone from richest country on the planet? I can't get my head around that at all.

 

[soze]

I didnt get that part of the article, with higher food costs, higher fuel and utility bill costs, higher taxation and lower wages how can the average UK citizen have more disposable income than someone from richest country on the planet? I can't get my head around that at all.

Because the average person in the uk has 20k of debt racked up we are a cerdit card nation

 

[cHodAX]

Because the average person in the uk has 20k of debt racked up we are a cerdit card nation

Lol you might be right, nation full of bankrupt muppets

 

[Gamah]

I hate sony since my minidisk fiasco.

 

[Delket]

Another good reason not to get a ps3. After being cut back way down from its origional specifications it does very little a 360 cant, while costing more and having a far worse game lineup. To top that some of the developers being sick of waiting took up 360 as well meaning theres less unique titles.

Sony really take the piss with their brand name, always have done and its the same now. Microsoft took a loss with the origional XB, not sure if its the same with 360 but given sony are using dated, or at least not next gen tech by now their margins are huge.

 

[cHodAX]

I hate sony since my minidisk fiasco.

Spelling mistake?

 

[soze]

Another good reason not to get a ps3. After being cut back way down from its origional specifications it does very little a 360 cant, while costing more and having a far worse game lineup. To top that some of the developers being sick of waiting took up 360 as well meaning theres less unique titles.

Sony really take the piss with their brand name, always have done and its the same now. Microsoft took a loss with the origional XB, not sure if its the same with 360 but given sony are using dated, or at least not next gen tech by now their margins are huge.

A few things there are plenty the ps3 can do the 360 premium can't like blu ray hd dvd is a add on. Wifi 360 its a add on. 60gb hard disk you would need 3 360 disks to match that. The list could go on but i do not want to say anything Choad will kill me for.

And as for Sony using out of date tech nology i assume your joiking the cpu and gpu are both custom made for the ps3 so maybe they are old for PC terms but in console terms errm nope.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I hate sony since my minidick fiasco.

That fiasco had nothing to do with sony

 

[Deepfried]

well i rememeber paying 249 pounds for my ps1 and was more than happy
i payed 299 for my dreamcast once again i was happy
payed 299 for ps2 was happy again
payed 280 for my 360 was happy again
if a machine which costs you £500 pound but gives you 500 hrs of entertainment it is worth it...although i would much rather not have the blu ray dvd player and just a games machine...i do not need another dvd player

 

[Delket]

Stuff like wifi im not fussed about, same with HD-DVD as its unlikely to become mainstream at least within the ps3's prime.

Outdated is a comparative term. Considering the 360 was using similar tech 18 months ago, particularly evidenced by ps3's inability to run current titles with any discernible difference over its near rivals. The strong pound is a huge boon for importing and yet we pay a massive premium. Its sheer greed and rather annoying.

Sony know that people such as yourself will pick one up with unfaltering loyalty. Personally ill wait and see till the price drops and some decent titles come out. Ill probably pick up a ps2 then since it'll go down again

Really Microsoft are greedy bastages too but the 360 has been a success for plenty of good reasons. Just wish sony would fund the rollout of consoles like MS do, the games are expensive enough as is.

 

[soze]

Stuff like wifi im not fussed about, same with HD-DVD as its unlikely to become mainstream at least within the ps3's prime.

Outdated is a comparative term. Considering the 360 was using similar tech 18 months ago, particularly evidenced by ps3's inability to run current titles with any discernible difference over its near rivals. The strong pound is a huge boon for importing and yet we pay a massive premium. Its sheer greed and rather annoying.

Sony know that people such as yourself will pick one up with unfaltering loyalty. Personally ill wait and see till the price drops and some decent titles come out. Ill probably pick up a ps2 then since it'll go down again

Really Microsoft are greedy bastages too but the 360 has been a success for plenty of good reasons. Just wish sony would fund the rollout of consoles like MS do, the games are expensive enough as is.

MS do not make a loss on consoles to be nice they to it to ship the highest amount of units with out going bust if you think Bill Gates said ill make a $70 loss so people can afford the 360 your wrong. He sayd if i make a $70 loss i will sell 4 million units then i can sell 4 million controlers charging cable wifi leads external hd bla bla bla.

And if you read this thhread i have said i will prolly wait for the games i want so Devil May Cry and MGS and i will wait for the new OS so it can be a full media center pc something again the 360 dose not do.

And i will wait to compare the ps3 real power till the first true custom comes up not a port

That being said i was shocked to read sony will be turning a profit so early it really makes me wonder how Sharp ect charge £1000 for a bluray player if sony can make a ps3 for £425 and make money

Here is what i though sony losing £162 per console. From November last year though.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=7628