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NVIDIA boss on PS3 pricing plans News
PlayStation 3 News by Games Industry.biz
Speculation over the price of the PlayStation 3 has been fuelled this week by the appearance of comments from NVIDIA chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang, who compared his firm's new approach to graphics card pricing to Sony's PS2 plans.
Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi has repeatedly hinted that the PS3 is going to be priced at a premium level - famously commenting that he wanted it to be a device consumers would be prepared to work overtime to afford.
However, Huang's comments about the pricing are more vague - and seem to suggest that Sony's focus is, as with previous consoles, about finding the right price point to encourage sales rather than being directly concerned with manufacturing costs.
Responding to a question in a Beyond3D interview about the price point of the new GeForce 7800 graphics part, Huang said: "We need to price it at a level the enthusiasts will buy it at, that's the way that we think about pricing."
"We think about the pricing of this in the same way that Sony thinks about PlayStation 3's," he continued. "Its not about how much is costs, its about what is the price it needs to sell at, and we need to figure out how to make money underneath that."
Sony's consoles have so far been sold at a loss for the early part of their lifespan in an attempt to build up an installed base quickly, but the hardware has gradually become profitable as the manufacturing costs drop off more rapidly than the price cuts at the consumer end.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 is expected to launch later this year at a price point of roughly $300, although some sources have suggested that Ken Kutaragi's repeated allusions to a high PS3 price point could be pushing Microsoft to ponder a higher launch price.
The PlayStation 3, which will launch in spring 2006 in some territories, will have more built-in functionality than its rival - but whether that will justify a significantly higher price tag for many consumers is a theory that has yet to be tested.
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The Bodybuilder
03/08/05 @ 16:23
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>"My money for PS3 is ready and waiting."
You're gonna need more than the coins in your piggy bank. |
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tonynibbles
03/08/05 @ 16:34
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Piggybank? Whats that?
My new uber gaming PC didnt come out a Piggybank, and neither will PS3. If I did have a Piggybank, it'd be emaciated and famished, shackled to an over-sized VISA card. |
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tonynibbles
03/08/05 @ 16:51
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I wish everyone would drop the 7 joypad thing...
Yes it is wierd, but you can still use a USB pad to play 8 player. And no one knows if PS3 will ship with a wired pad or a wireless pad. hopefully the pads will be useable as both wired and wireless, just by adding the cable, Considering XBOX / any other console doesnt bother with 8 player games, keeping 8 player on Playstation is a good thing. Fond memories of 8 Player FIFA 2001 with beers, a BBQ and sofas in the back garden at Uni...
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most recently on 03/08/05 @ 17:52
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kangarootoo
03/08/05 @ 16:55
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"If I did have a Piggybank, it'd be emaciated and famished, shackled to an over-sized VISA card."
Bragging about how much cash you "apparently" have is as sad now as it was when you were at Uni. |
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tonynibbles
03/08/05 @ 16:59
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haha, very funny.
You telling me that you dont use credit cards? If you are, then give yourself a pat on the back! Its not big and its not clever spending on cards, but I work my arse off and I've decent salary and enuff freelance work to keep me busy. SO frankly, you can go fuck yourself San Diego.
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most recently on 03/08/05 @ 17:59
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"The very expensive PSX2 coming soon!!
You'd think SONY would learn no one wants shit they don't need twice! P.S For those who don't know the PSX was a overpriced useless piece of kit that try to do a bit of everything badly, for that it was a massive flop! " Ok, congragulations Balor, you can be the first person to go on my ignore list. Up till now I've never found anyone irritating/annoying enough to warrant it's use, but in your case I'm going to make an exception. /puts Balor on ignore
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most recently on 03/08/05 @ 18:42
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I also have Balor on ignore, along with the other xbox fanboys such as Xerx3s and arnieofdarkness. Not that I prefer PS3 to Xbox 360 or anything (too early to say - Ill probably get both eventually, when there are games I want on them), but for some reason the xbox fanboys are particularly vocal and annoying here.
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If anything, petty 'rivalry' between console owners should be less than ever... we're all stuck playing exactly THE SAME multi platform games no matter the hardware. There's f*ck all difference between them nowerdays. To constantly knock a company that they don't 'support' is childish - try supporting a football team.
(Still, Nintendo's wank) |
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captain-future
03/08/05 @ 21:03
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mark my words:
I will buy a shiny next-gen console when they cost 299 EUR. My best guess is that MS will sell X360 for 399 EUR this christmas, Sony will (as always) rip us European off and delay PS3 until late 2006 maybe 2007, pricing will be USD x 1,35 = EUR. I guess the US price will be somewhere around 499-599 USD. if you apply my handy formula then you get 649 - 749 EUR. which would basically kill PS3. from this perspective maybe MS has a very good hand indeed? |
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sony has lost the plot at some point they have to listen to the public we do not need 6 usb ports, twin hdtv output, blue ray for that matter, we want to play games...
maybe killzone will be a movie using blue ray, i though the ps3 graphics are meant to be amazing why do we need rendered into movies???? movies are for other systems ill think i will still buy one but £500 + £60 a game!!!! |
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kangarootoo
03/08/05 @ 22:57
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@tonynibbles
Crap, crap, crap. Here I was poised to make some other snide remark about your spending, entertaining no-one but myself I'm sure, and then you sign off with a reference to one of my favourite comedy films in years and take all the wind out of my petulant sails. Damn you AND the piggy bank that you don't have. |
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"Ok, congragulations Balor, you can be the first person to go on my ignore list. Up till now I've never found anyone irritating/annoying enough to warrant it's use, but in your case I'm going to make an exception.
/puts Balor on ignore" Same here, but only did that for another thread earlier. I knew he was going to be in here spouting pointless crap about "SONY" (Not sony or Sony, as everyone else would have it), and was so pleased with the ignore funcion. I'm not planning on buying either a PS3 (I have better things to spend my money on). But I don't insist on telling eveyone this on every single thread, it's a good way to invalidate whatever point you may have, and just annoys everyone, he's probably been better at advertising the PS3 than the Xbox.. I think summary justice should be performed. Possibly ramming him up Bill Gates behind. But then again, he'd probably like that. |
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"Hey! I'll be sure to miss the sparkling conversations. :)"
Your trolling won't. "I'm sure you have a chuckle now, however when the time is right and you're reading yet another second hand story on Eurogamer, you'll see me in the comments thread saying "I told you so!" ;)" Regarding what? What do you think you're so right about. "SONY's Dirty Little secrets Muwahaha!" Wow that was worth linking to, what has that got to do with Sony's games division? Obviously MS are whiter than white in your beady little eyes. |
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Well, MS is kinda white. Atleast according to the X360's look.:)
I'm guessing Sony is going to sell PS3 at ~400 euros, and loose money with each unit. But, as with many things, only thyme will tell. (yeah, I'm a real comedy genious, just please don't hit me). I thought the PSX had sold rather well in the Japan, it's just that Sony thought that it wouldn't sell in the west. And I think the REAL Sony's dirty secret is why the square button really was sticky. I have to warn you, it's not safe for work and it's related to Gizmondo's name. Damn you typos! Damn you to hlee!
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tonynibbles
04/08/05 @ 01:24
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@kanagarootoo ...and then you sign off with a reference to one of my favourite comedy films in years..
+10XP And might I add. Do you have 'Wake up Ron Burgandy'. Its a whole new film on DVD, made out of excess footage from the first one. Its awesome if you're a fan :D |
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Balor, they're not "dirty little secrets" - they have been in the news plenty. The false reviewing thing kicked off sometime last year if I remember rightly (though it's just now come to a conclusion).
And they have nothing to do with SCE anyway. And Microsoft have done much more shady business in their past (and present). |
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"but whether that will justify a significantly higher price tag for many consumers is a theory that has yet to be tested." - I cant think of anyone that would pay that price for a BBQ.
"I also have Balor on ignore, along with the other xbox fanboys such as Xerx3s and arnieofdarkness" - Wait. Moi? Ow cruel world, what have thy done to me? I own all 3 current gen consoles. In fact i prolly own more consoles than most ppl. And in my oppinion, the ps2 is overhyped and bad quality compared to the GC, xbx or even previous gen's such as the DC. On top of that, sony doesnt seem to know how to handle customers and just sue the living daylights out of them. If im only pointing out flaws and your putting me on ignore for that, then it sounds to me like your the fanboy here. In fact, if i was a fanboy, i would be a pc fanboy because no console can get to the lvl of the pc. Although i do like to make a spicy comment to provoke you ps2 fanboys once a day. A fanboy a day, takes then pain away. ;p What do you want me to say? That the xbx is huge? That its butugly? That it has lots of crap games and the controler was badly designed? Its all true. No really. I mean it. Its far from perfect. [...]
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SlackMaster
04/08/05 @ 10:30
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Speculating about which console is better than the other and bitching about prices is pointless atm.
The only issue I think that will have the biggest impact on success is that fact that the XBox 360 will be out this September with no other next gen competition until 2006 or possibly 2007 in Europe. It will be the most capable console on ther market until its competition turns up which means that all those people with money to burn may well buy it regardless of whether they like MS or not. Next year or possibly early 2007 is a big big lead, but then it gives people time to buy the 360 then save and buy the PS3 when it's released. |
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Why on earth would Microsoft consider pricing the Xbox 360 HIGHER if the PS3 sells at a more expensive price? If the PS3 is £400 over here and the Xbox 360 is only £200 then that's great news for Microsoft. They want to tempt people to buy it and build up a large userbase as quickly as possible prior to the PS3's launch. Selling it cheaper is the way to do that, not higher!!! lol
If the games are fantastic then that is what will sell the machine ultimately not promised technical specifcations, work-in-progress "videos" and an I'm-twice-as-fast-as-you claim as Sony seem to think...
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kangarootoo
04/08/05 @ 11:51
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" Ken does the same thing though. As does anyone selling against competitors."
One thing I learned working for a big US corp back in my IT days, is that the CEOs of these giants are all f*cking nuts. They have to be to be successful at that level. They all hate their competitors and they all want ALL the money. I've been an Apple fan for years, but I don't doubt for a second that if Steve Jobs were in Bill Gates' shoes he would be just as monopolistic given the chance. |
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