PS2 $199 as early as 5/14/02

WOW!

http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/fullstory.asp?id=3422

Gaming industry analysts report that Sony Entertainment of America will lower the price of the PlayStation 2 console to $199 as early as tomorrow, with the PSOne price being lowered to $49.

A source inside Sony and three retailers have also confirmed the cut. The reduction from $299 is expected to steal some of the thunder from Microsoft, which is expected to announce a price cut on the Xbox on May 20 to $199 as well.

"We have argued in previous days that slowing retail momentum and a relative paucity of new releases should set the stage for a price reduction on the PS2 at E3 or before," said John Taylor, a video game industry analyst with Arcadia Research and Investments. "We are also hearing that an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow."

"What this reduction will mean is that it’s going to take Sony, which is currently running in the six to seven million unit range, and give them a tail wind that should propel them to a nine to 10 unit run rate."

Official sources at Sony would not comment, saying nothing has been announced yet.

The news comes on the heels of Microsoft\'s recent decision to lower the price of the Xbox in Europe and Australia, with indications that the U.S. price will also be lowered to $199.

Earlier this week, Edward Williams, an analyst with industry consultant and investment bank Gerard Klauer Mattison, told GameSpyDaily that the Xbox cut would cause a ripple effect at Sony.

"It\'s not a slam dunk for Sony to follow right away with a price cut. But they are also under growing pressure from retailers to follow Microsoft’s lead to $199.99," Williams said.

The news of price cuts isn’t entirely surprising, however. But with both Microsoft and Nintendo also recently announcing strategies for online gameplay for their respective consoles, and all three companies seeking to make a big splash at next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, it seems that a console price war is in full effect.

Over-the-counter sales data indicates that sales have spiked during past hardware price reductions.

On May 16, 1996 when Sony dropped the price of the PlayStation from $299 to $199 sales jumped from 1.3 million units in April to 2.6 million units in May according to an Arcadia Investment chart of retail sales activity. Then on March 3, 1997, when Sony dropped the price again from $199 to $149, there was a two million-unit spike in system sales.

Well the good thing about this news is we\'ll know if this is true or not in a few hours.  I highly doubt there will be a drop tommorrow since it has been advertisd aboslutely NOwhere.  But in all hostey I think the PS2 is worth $199 and the PSOne should be $49.  The PS2 is almost 2 yrs old.

This would make a PS2 or even possibly a PSX very tempting to me.

I need a good RPG fix, and the PlayStation is the place to be for that genre. Most PC RPG\'s like Morrowind are so-so to me, and the GameCube isn\'t getting any traditional RPG\'s until late 2002 or early 2003! I could try ICO too.

the time phram isnt right here

Unfortunately that article is based on "Industry Analyst" opinions (which were all started by one industry analyst\'s rumors in Reuters).  It says that nobody from Sony has commented... but they have.  
In this thread I posted, a Sony representative - Director of communications - goes to say that they don\'t currently see the need to compete with pricing, rather their prices are determined by how their console is selling, and that the way it\'s going right now, there is no need to drop prices.  This makes a drop by E3 unlikely.  I don\'t see it as unlikely, however, that they might start bundling HDD and network adapters at the current $299 price - especially since they found a way to make PS2s cheaper well over a month ago.

It\'s official right NOW!
 
http://www.gamers.com/news/1147215

At 11pm on Monday night, Sony CEA announced a dramatic cut in prices across the board for all of its products. With news leaking of a suspected Xbox price drop at next week\'s E3, it has been assumed that Sony CEA would respond in some way. It\'s safe to say that although speculation has been rife of the impending price war, no one expected Sony to move so quickly and so aggressively.
If you\'ve been putting off the decision to buy a PS2...wait no more! The price drop is effective IMMEDIATELY.

Here is the full text of Sony\'s announcement...


SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA PREPARES FOR FURTHER MARKET EXPANSION WITH AGGRESSIVE NEW PRICING STRUCUTRE

Consumer Demand Expected to Escalate as PlayStation 2 to Retail for $199; PS one Priced at $49

FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 13, 2002 - Pursuing its long-term vision of making computer entertainment accessible to mass-market audiences, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced that effective immediately, its leading PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system will be available to consumers for $199, a more than 30 percent reduction from its current suggested retail price (SRP). As the company recently achieved cumulative worldwide shipments of 30 million units and with a greatly enhanced value proposition, it is well positioned to drive consumer interest in PlayStation 2 to unforeseen levels.

In addition to the new PlayStation 2 price, the company also announced a new price for the PS one console of $49 SRP, a reduction of 50 percent. The combined sales of PlayStation and PS one now total more than 30 million units in North America alone, with a PlayStation or PS one console in one out of every three U.S. households. Following is the new pricing breakdown by platform:

PLAYSTATION 2

PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system $199 SRP

Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) $ 24 SRP

DUALSHOCK 2 Analog Controller $ 24 SRP



PLAYSTATION

PS one console $ 49 SRP

PS one Combo (console/LCD screen) $149 SRP

DUALSHOCK Analog Controller $ 19 SRP


"The $199 price point for PlayStation 2 has always been part of Sony Computer Entertainment America\'s strategy to bring the world\'s leading computer entertainment system to the broadest audience," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief operating officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "As we currently stand, our company has shipped more than 30 million PlayStation 2 units, and 90 million PlayStation/PS one consoles worldwide. With the popularity of the PlayStation brand breaking all industry expectations, Sony Computer Entertainment has been able to grow the gaming category as a whole representing tremendous opportunities for our partners and ultimately, for the consumer."

PlayStation already enjoys a diverse spectrum of fans and offers game titles in all genres, and the company expects the hardware price reductions to further expand the appeal of its popular systems, exponentially growing the software business. Company executives also indicate that the new price point for the PlayStation 2 and PS one consoles, coupled with the sustained demand for PlayStation products overall, will drive another strong year for the industry.

/me scratches head

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/020514/tech_sony_playstation_1.html

Effective immediately, the PS2 will cost $199 in the United States, down from $299, while the first-generation PSX will sell for $49, down from $99. Prices for accessories and extra controllers will also be reduced, Sony said in a statement.

Good news. I\'ll be able to get one soon.
I want to play MGS2.

And one more for all the non-believers out there:  http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APOCorBTlU29ueSBD


Now all they need to do is get their $199 advertisements out before Microsoft does, and also start selling the "Platinum" games over here in the US.

We already have "Platinum" games here in the states, in the form of Greatest Hits.

LMAO i know one group of people who are praying it any so.....M$$$$$$$$$

becuae After a PS2 price cut , it would be yet ANOTHER nail in the X box\'x Coffin.

m$ is going to have to pour so much money into the xbox its ridiculous

Originally posted by mm
m$ is going to have to pour so much money into the xbox its ridiculous

X box = Windows ME part 2

heh, don\'t play too rough Sony. You wouldn\'t want your PlayStation2 to be the next Netscape would you now.....

now they need to make all new games $40 not $50