PS3 price cuts in 2009?

The problem with high hardware prices in SA (like the DS3) is all down to SK, I mean, if we can import a DS3 for about R500, which is from a retail store, you can only imagine that SK pay around R300-R400 per control especially buying in bulk, and since retailers don't markup these things too badly, you can only imagine it's SK who are the culprits, especially since you can buy a new DS3 from Partserve for R500
 
Well most guys who don't have a ps3 and have the 360's only problem with the ps3 is it's current price, the ps3 is a fantastic piece of machinery so I wouldn't bash it. The console is fantastic, and I'm sure proper hardcore gamers would dream about owning all consoles, not just one and then trying to justify your purchase by bashing the competitor's product
 
The problem with cutting the price is, they will need to find a way to cut production costs and that will take a while. I doubt that South Africa would get a price cut, especially with the way that the Rand has being performing.
 
Production costs will inevitably fall as technology gets better, we're already seeing entry into the bluray market coming down with lots of standalone bluray player prices dropping.

The Rand hasn't been performing as badly as you think at it has nothing to do with the Rands performance. The Rand just looks weak to the US dollar because the dollar is performing well against all other major currencies like the Pound we've gained back the ground we lost and that's where it matters. The most important thing is the Yen vs Pound ratio as we get our consoles from Europe, and all is still fairly even besides the appreciating Yen making them a bit more expensive (only slightly) to import to Europe
 
This is all very well, but I think could muster a little more excitement were the price of console games also to be reduced. I am aware that game developers have to pay royalties to SONY/XBox360/PS3, but might they not perhaps enjoy increased sales were the prices to be reduced by R200-R300.
 
phoenix said:
This is all very well, but I think could muster a little more excitement were the price of console games also to be reduced. I am aware that game developers have to pay royalties to SONY/XBox360/PS3, but might they not perhaps enjoy increased sales were the prices to be reduced by R200-R300.
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Indeed, it would not hurt to have games come down. I still believe that R600 is reasonable. When its above that I really start thinking "Sheesh is this really worth the outlay?"

However, the prospect of a cheaper PS3 is rather awesome. Im not holding my breath for it though
 
I still think that R600 is pushing it. Then again, there is always the Platinum Range, or whatever the Playstation 3 equivalent is. A visit to Cash Converters/Crusaders can also be worthwhile.

Do any of you have an idea as to what the cost of manufacturing a Playstation 3 console is? Which components contribute the most to the cost of the Playstation 3?

I sometimes wonder whether the idea of the games console has gone astray, that consoles are trying to be too much and that the move to turn them into [with the exception of the Nintendo Wii] something akin to media centre pc has detracted from their primary function, that of dedicated gaming machines. Do any of you know whether this added level of compexity has impacted much on the price of consoles? [The cost of the inclusion of Bluray into PS3 comes to mind.]
 
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phoenix said:
Do any of you have an idea as to what the cost of manufacturing a Playstation 3 console is? Which components contribute the most to the cost of the Playstation 3?
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This is the best i could find

... iSuppli says ... : The PS3 now costs $448.73 to build while selling for $399. Sony subsidizes the hardware price but makes its profits on the many games that it and other game publishers sell to run on the machines.

Having sold the PS3 at a loss for its entire life span so far, iSuppli says, Sony may reach the break-even point with the PS3 in 2009, and start turning a profit on the consoles after that. "Every time we do a teardown, it's sort of backward-looking," says iSuppli analyst Andrew Rassweiler. "Sony is one step ahead of us and probably has plans to re-spin the hardware to reduce the costs yet again," he says.

One key difference in the latest console, Rassweiler says, is that Sony has in many cases combined two or more chips into one, or integrated some low-level chips. When it was first released, the PS3 sported a total of 4,048 different parts, including those in the handheld controllers. Now, that number has come down by about 30%, to 2,820. "At the end of the day the PS3 is doing the same thing it did before, but with two-thirds as many parts," Rassweiler says.

Fewer Chips Inside

On top of that, two key chips in the PS3 have moved on to more advanced manufacturing technology. In 2006, the main chips in the console, like the Cell processor and the Nvidia (NVDA) Reality Synthesizer, which handles graphics, were built on 90-nanometer manufacturing technology. Now they're even smaller, and are built on 65-nanometer processes, meaning they cost less to make than before. ISuppli estimates the Cell chip costs Sony $46, down from the $64 in 2007, and $89 in 2006.

The Nvidia chip has come down in price, too. It now costs $58, down from $83 last year, and $129 in 2006. In both cases, Rassweiler says, the chips have been significantly redesigned with new features for functions that used to be handled by separate chips inside the system, which also helps reduce costs.

And smaller chips require less power. That means Sony now ships the device with a less beefy—and less expensive—power supply that costs $21.50, vs. $30.75 before. "It's a slightly greener machine than it was before," he says.
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Source
 
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