80 GB PlayStation 3 Price Drop, Now $499
By Chris on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 1:06 PM PST In Sony, Sony
Coinciding with the announcement of the 40 GB PlayStation 3 coming to the States is a price drop for the existing 80 GB SKU. Currently retailing for $599, it will drop to $499 – $100 more than the 40 GB unit. While it’s still not quite in the Xbox 360’s territory, you can’t really complain about a price drop at this point. The 80 GB PlayStation 3 is the one with software backwards compatibility, which is more than you’ll get with the 40 GB, which is completely void of PlayStation 2 BC.
This marks the lowest prices the PlayStation 3 has ever sold at, as previously the only options were systems costing $499 and $599. The price drop should go into effect immediately, presumably, although stores might still try to sucker customers into paying full price until next week.
So, with these price drops, will you now be buying a PlayStation 3?
“While it’s still not quite in the Xbox 360’s territory”
Its only $50 more than the Elite and for that you get a HiDef drive and built in WiFi which would cost you $279 extra for the 360.
Of course some people don’t want those things but that doesn’t alter the fact that the PS3 is obviously cheap for its specification when you compare it to its market rival. If Sony charged as much for spec as Microsoft the PS3 would now be nearly $800
If you purchase from the Sony web site and you quality for the Sony Style credit card, you get a $100 credit on your first purchase, making the 80GB unit an effective $400 purchase. That’s starting to sound pretty appealing to me, as it gets the price below my $400 pain point and gives me all the features I think I need (i.e. backwards compatibility). Unfortunately, the Sony web site isn’t yet reflecting this price reduction.
When the 40GB unit is released in North America, if the $100 credit deal is still going on, and if it applies to the 40GB version, that would be very sweet, as it gives you a Blu-ray player for $300, plus you get a game machine thrown in for good measure.
Of course there’s a couple of big “ifs” baked into that second assessment.
I always wanted one but it feels kinda dumb to buy it and play it on a CRT tv. Don’t have a HD tv yet.
I guess I missed this part because I didn’t subscribe to WSJ?
That credit deal from what I’ve heard takes a while to pass through the channels. Let’s just say you won’t be getting your PS3 as soon as you’d like.
LaChandra: I have my xbox360 hooked up to my CRT. I could hook it up to my 22″ LCD via component (or HDMI if I had the elite), but for what little games I have it’s more than enough. Having a game at a higher resolution is obviously advantageous, but for some titles it’s not that big a deal. Guitar Hero 2 certainly isn’t advantageous at a higher res. Now first person shooters? Yeah, definitely.
Although they’ve gotten the numbers down, the vast majority of LCD and DLP TVs out there have latency. CRTs still hang around 1ms latency while the newer tech lingers up there sometimes in the extreme of 30ms. So yeah, if you are timing sensitive like me, CRTs still have the advantage there.
The credit approval process is immediate. The card is administered through Chase, just like the buy.com and amazon.com credit cards. The application process is on-line, approval is immediate (at least it was for me when I applied for both of those cards, but I have an excellent credit history), and you can then do your shopping. Here’s the first statement from the Terms & Conditions page. Looks like the 40GB would quality (”equal or greater than $299″).
“1. Sony Card is issued by Chase Bank USA, NA, and is subject to credit approval. Your first single sales receipt purchase made at a SonyStyle store, including SonyStyle.com equal or greater than $299 (”Qualifying Purchase”) will automatically qualify you for a $100 Statement Credit. Statement Credit will be posted to your Sony Card Statement within 8-12 weeks from Qualifying Purchase. Offer available to new Sony Card accounts only and only one $100 Statement Credit may be earned per Sony Card account. In some instances an application may require additional processing, in which case Instant Credit will be unavailable. When you are approved for the Sony Card, you will receive your account and CVV2 number on-screen. Please make sure to make note of your account and CVV@ number as this information will not be available until you receive your card in the mail. If you are approved, you will be able to make a one-time purchase at SonyStyle.com only, with up to a maximum line of credit of $5,000. Additional purchases with this account cannot be made until your card is received in the mail. This promotional offer is available for new Sony Card account holders only; existing Sony Card account holders or accounts are not eligible.”
I should also mention that the on-line Sony store has now lowered the price of the 80GB unit.
I just checked the Australian site:
The new 40GB version: $699.95AUD
$399USD = $445.20 or so AUD
I’m appalled. I’d definetely love to get a PS3, but ~$250AUD ($225USD) more than the same machine I’d purchase in the US is outrageous.
I’ve got no idea what an 80Gb version costs here; I don’t even know if we have it. 60Gb version costs $999AUD ($895.52USD) currently. Obscene.
Same goes for prices in England.
@Steven,
Those boats take a lot of fuel to get the game systems to you guys. At the price of gas these days…
Pfft. Clearly the Playstation 4 needs to be watertight, buoyant, and have its own solar-powered propulsion and navigation systems.
Yeah, but then people would just complain about the price and tell Sony they were putting in features we didn’t ask for.
Millions in marketing could sway you. They could call it the “DeepBlueRay”: you’ve got your ocean reference (avast!), your supercomputer reference (phw0ar power!), and your product reference (HD!). It’s the new wave in technology! You can sink (with an Xbox720whatever) or swim (with a PS4!). Many more bad puns to follow