Japanese PS3 price cut, as Kutaragi talks technology News
PlayStation 3 News by Tom Bramwell
Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi bucked expectation on the opening day of the Tokyo Game Show by delivering a keynote address almost devoid of major game announcements - but he did reveal that the Japanese 20GB version of the console had been repriced.
During his address, Sony's "Father of PlayStation" focused on the technology that underwrites the PlayStation 3 offering, explaining that advances in computer hardware and Internet technology would enable a range of previously inconceivable services over the course of the next decade.
In a Q&A session at the close, Kutaragi also apologised to software creators for delays in PlayStation 3's over-ambitious production schedule, but said the company is now focused on ensuring no further delays occur.
But the response that won applause from the largely Japanese crowd concerned the inclusion of an HDMI port on the 20GB version of the console, and a repricing for Japan. The 20GB version will cost 49,980 yen (EUR 335 / GBP 225), down from 62,790 yen (EUR 421 / GBP 283), Kutaragi said.
He also said that there would be 200 playable consoles available on the show floor during the three days of the Tokyo Game Show.
Kutaragi showed trailers for previously announced titles including Ridge Racer 7, and announced plans to allow users to play emulated PSone and PlayStation 2 games directly over the Internet - initially offering games that place a relatively small burden on the network, but expanding the offering as technology progresses.
The console's online service will also offer Mega Drive and PC Engine titles, he said - a line-up for which will be decided in conjunction with the specific games' respective publishers.
Users will also be able to exchange data and videos, and Kutaragi revealed that PlayStation 3 will offer something called the Global Mapping System (GMS), which will allow users to upload photographs and data about their surroundings, creating a detailed view of the world around them.
It's Kutaragi's hope that through this system, and direct interaction with developers, consumers will be able to play an active role in future game development - although he offered no hints as to when the high-concept service would come to fruition.
Kutaragi's Tokyo Game Show keynote had been considered by many to be Sony's last chance to make a big impression on an international audience prior to the November US and Japanese launches of its next-generation games console.
But while Ridge Racer 7 was confirmed as a launch title and shown running in high-definition, and there were also spots for Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight, Virtua Fighter 5, Final Fantasy XIII and Afrika, the company's decision to offer a focused technological discussion rather than specifying new products and features is likely to come under intense scrutiny.
Especially from you lot. You're quite testy.
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I would probably wait for 'clarification' from sony PR as ken has a habbit of coming out with statements that turn out to be his personal view and not the actual reality..
It would be good for me though if the basic model had HDMI though as i was only getting the expensive one for that i dont need wireless, memory slots and a bigger HDD.. |
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AusFreelancer
22/09/06 @ 03:39
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Wow Japan gets a price cut, when it was already the cheapest place to get one. They could of easily done it for Europe instead....oh well their loss.
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Trip SkyWay
22/09/06 @ 04:17
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Crikey that's starting to get cheap enough. Is there an anounced price for the 60gb system?
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Since we're only getting the 60Gb model (unless that changes) I don't see the price going significanly enough below the £400 mark to change the general feeling it's too expensive.
If the Japanese 20Gb model is going for ~£225, by the time you factor in the increased pricing of the larger disk and whatever else and then slap on the tax-man's cut... Well, put it this way, a £225 Japanese RRP would probably hit the UK at £300 anyway, so I'm not hopeful for any change to that £425 RRP unless Sony take a bigger-than-average hit on their revenue from the hardware here. |
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gingerlink
22/09/06 @ 06:17
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is it me or is that price drop actually quite significant...it also reinforces the phrase "rip off britain". no price cuts here....
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maybe it was all a cunning tactic to make people say, like, 'whoa ps3 sucks cos it's so expensive' then they can be all like 'well, actually, it's not any more' and then people will be like 'oh, right, well i guess i better buy one then' then they'd be like 'excellent. so... what did you get up to at the weekend?' and we'd be like, 'oh, i went to my nan's for tea and buscuits.' then they'd be like, 'cool'.
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Price cuts are always a good thing especially for people who plan on buying more than one console. While I do not think the next PS will fail I do believe it will lose the edge it once had over the market. Sony is not going through a good time at the moment as a company and if the games section fails to make the needed cash then it might spell the worst for the japanese manufacturer.
Anyways we gamers win since, for the first time, I believe, we got three consoles and every one of them has potential to excel in one particular area. |
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Bill_Gates_Bitch
22/09/06 @ 07:14
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What? I wouldn't believe this until $ony officially confirms it. Kutaragi has made statements before that the higher-ups at $ony later backtracked on. As for the price cut, I highly doubt we'll see it over here because they knows that the mindless fanboys will buy it whatever they charge.
edit: forgot those $
Edited 4 times,
most recently on 22/09/06 @ 08:26
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ProdigyBE_OPM
22/09/06 @ 07:36
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Euhm... MAgic Box claims Kenny dopehead also said that the 60GB version wil have two HDMI ports, and will be able to render a second screen. Can anyone confirm that?
All in all, they should lock him up and let the games do the talking. |
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repairmanjack
22/09/06 @ 07:53
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"Bet ya this price cut doesn't happen in the US and EU because we didn't complain enough... "
He should have a read around here. Sony are the new Atari! /grabs pitchfork |
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"Soon GPS data will be used to make real worlds for games" like Test Drive Unlimited then? Gee, the guys a visionary. Glad to see the base model get HDMI - though how you put an expensive chip on the board, cut the price AND not go bust is beyond me.
I'm not so fussed about the "cheap over there" element, because it's not like Microsoft are shy of doing it - £89 for the HDDVD addon in Japan, £200 here. Go figure. Show me the games.. |
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Ignatius_Cheese
22/09/06 @ 08:09
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@ moggsy- Mwaaahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa! You're serious right...? Price cut in Europe? Tsk tsk. Will you never learn?
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zErOb_cOOl
22/09/06 @ 08:16
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I think people here in Europe should protest the price, especially people in the UK who already pay top dollar for everything already. Everyone should refuse to buy the console until the base model is reduced to £225 here too. That would get Sony to respect Europe a bit more.
I'm sick of Europe being the place that things are sold at a high price, if and only when the product has been successful in every other part of the world. How can waiting longer for a product AND paying a higher price than every other part of the world ever make sense, whatever the reason?
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most recently on 22/09/06 @ 09:18
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"Especially from you lot. You're quite testy."
You got that right. Christ, they announce the inclusion of HDMI in the core model (the only irreversable downside to getting one previously) and a price-drop to something far more in-line with regular console launch pricing, and people still find a way to complain! No, I doubt we'll get a £225 PS3 over here thanks to import tax, VAT and shipping costs, but something just below £300 would put them in the same position as the PS2 launch and therefore back in-line with what most consumers expect and can aford. Well, I hope anyway......... |
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bloodflowers
22/09/06 @ 08:34
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Too many people talk about protesting over a price.
Too few actually do it. You need to fix the idiotic sheep-like nature of European consumers first - this is why Americans don't get taken for a ride, they actually complain, instead of murmuring vaguely on the internet and then buying anyway. Write a letter to Sony. Go on, get off your arses and actually do it - if you really care. Don't use the old "it won't make a difference" excuse. Certainly it won't if everyone sits there, grazing on the high prices. Baa. Now get your pen and paper. |
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I think you will often find that its the regional companies themselves and nothing with multinationals trying to rip off consumers and gamers. For example, European companies will be benchmarked against other European companies in terms of revenues and profit, and if other electronics companies in Europe have a 50% profit margin (versus perhaps 25% in Japan) then then Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo need to remain competitive, they can't be benchmaked below Samsung/Toshiba etc. in Europe. If not, the market will react negatively and the share price will reflect this. So Europe is ripping Europe off, and no-one else. It will be very hard, if not impossible, for companies in Europe to break this circle.
Furthermore, with regards to staggered games and console release dates, a lot of this also has to do with financial reporting, and not 'making europe wait 9 months for a release after America'. Listed companies need to report on a quarterly basis, and if you are a developer with a single game that you will earn revenue from in a year, then you cannot release it at the same time worldwide, for example your Quarter 1 revenue will be $100m, and Q2 -Q4 will be nil. The market likes a stable revenue stream. Therefore Companies will release in one location in Q1, another in Q2, another in Q3 etc and revenue will more equal, $25M in Q1, $25M in Q2 etc. The market likes that. Stable revenue and revenue growth equals stable growth in share price. I am therefore often amazed when I read some gamers ramblings on here about how Europe is ripped off etc etc. I put this down to the low standard of education in Britain these days. |
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Salubrious_K
22/09/06 @ 08:39
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Why on earth did he wait till the Q&A at the end to announce the price cut and inclusion of an HDMI port in both models.
That's pretty damn strange... isn't it? |
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kangarootoo
22/09/06 @ 08:41
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@Toonster
"Once again, Kuturagi is a complete and utter shitface. It's like he doesn't even care anymore." How, HOW did you manage to glean that nugget of wisdom from that article. A complate and utter shitface? Where does this come from? Get some friends, get some hobbies and get yourself out in the fresh air, ffs. |
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Yes, seems only for Japan ... well for the 100,000 people that get to buy one anyway.
Honestly, this really does not afect old europe because Sony does not give a damn ... sorry to say we are better off with Nintendo and Microsoft that with those idiots. Perhaps in 2008 the PS3 might be a choice for consumers in europe. |
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