It really depends on how many units they have out there. There must be millions.

They ahve ampel stock, it will not leave anytime soon,byt the time the 60gig is gone, the 80gig will be mcuh cheaper to make, nad this $100 less for that

I guess it sucks for anyone who wants a ps3.....

this is a bad move by sony. sony was startin to get a bit of a advantage. even after admiting 600 dollars was to high they go and do this. sony why???
EDIT: actually riqued at number 10 jus came of of a idea of what they can be doing so sony might not be that stupid

They are going to drop the 80GB when the 60GB is sold out, they just can't announce now or none would buy the 60GB now.

by the time the stock of 60s is depleted the number of people with ps3s is gonna double.

if they dident want a 80gig ps3 why dont they just go out near the shops it only takes 10min and by a 60gig ps3 while its 499

i promise u that this is a way to get even more ppl to go get a system

it makes senses...drop the price...and they make it seem its a limited time..so ppl that are waiting will think "hey wait a sec i better grab one now because dueing xmas all the games will be out and ill have to pay full price

SONY is a genious if that is what they are doing...

if not - well - 599 for a PS3 is still a steal so u should be complaining in the first place

Expect to see an 80gig non bundle for 500 in a couple months.

all their doing is not producing any more 60gb units until they are exhausted and selling the 80gb units bundled at a higher price so they can eliminate the supply of 60gb. Else consumers would purchase the 80gb and not the 60gb were they offered at the same price. Thus I think we can expect that once the 60gb supply has exhausted they sell the 80gb at the same or lower price than the 60gb right now. This way the 80gb won't compete with the 60gb at the moment but will take over once they've sold all of them.

But i will never get a PS3 for these Price's it is Ridicoulous i don't care about the Faulty 360's i still love XBOX i would rather buy two 360's then get a PS3 or 6 Wii's instead, until SONY Lowers the Price with the Playstation 3 or makes it really good and Takes Advantage of Cell-Processor (because right now they don't even know how to work the PS3)i won't be getting a PS3 anytime soon...

4 million 60gb sold out confired

Well, it's only temporary since the price drop is on a model that won't exist in a few months. So, how long until the inventory of the 60GB model are exhausted?

Here's the question:

Will there be a price drop on the 80GB model before Christmas, following suit with this current cut? Cost-cutting measures on the system (BR diodes, lack of Emotion Engines, etc.) could indicate where they're going with this.

Or is this just a bait-and-switch? If so, then Sony just blew all of the positive press and goodwill they built up this week.

EDIT: Damn, lost a bubble. Oh well.

won't come with the PS2 emulation engine right. Maybe that's why they want to get rid of the 60 gig version because the PS3 will be cheaper to make without having to put that PS2 card in it.

Theres was never really a price drop kids, look the PSP fat is now $169 but the slim one coming out soon wil cost $200 but it will come with a free game and free movie. ok
all 60gb PS3's are sold for $499 so when thats done the new PS3 bungle with a free game and 5 HD flicks for only $599 thats still one hell of a deal.

chill xbugs and wiitards nintendo and microsuck doesnt care about you enough to make deals like this, they know you are all so blind enough you will cut your penis is nesesary just to have it.

Sony cares for their costumers, kidtendo and microsoft dont.
nuff said.

Sony being doomed and all that. The truth is no one knows whats going to happen and how this will effect Sony. No one here can tell the future. Besides if you think about it demand may go up because people will want to get the PS3 at its cheapest possible price. Who are we to say Sony won't drop the price of the 80GB when the time is right? They aren't going to announce it now just like they waited till the last minute to announce the 60GB price drop. They want sales now they don't want people to wait. Also whose to say they don't have other promotions or tricks up their sleeve. Sony has been bashed since the beginning and after GDC things started to turn around and E3 came and Sony showed us how much potential they have and now all of a sudden everyone is saying they are doomed. Sony has been in the business for over 60 years. They know what they are doing and have a long-term plan. They will react to the market and their fans accordingly. Nothing is set in stone.

I picked mine up today ... Im setting it up, but having a helluva time connecting to the internet with it ... Im almost positive its my router though ... XBL would do the same thing from time to time

Lets take this from the standpoint of sony. For the sake of argument, we will assume the 60 gb version will not be made anymore and the 80 gb version will be all there is. We also will assume that as long as there are still 60gb PS3's on the market for 499, there will be 80 gb PS3's on the market for 599. Now, again for the sake of argument, we will assume that October is when the 60 gb version is no longer able to be found in stores. That is the point in which Sony would most likley drop the price of the 80 gb PS3.

To me, that is the most likley scenario (timeline obviously is not going to be exact) of what will happen. And whats the problem with that? there was a price drop 7 months after launch. who are any of us to say there cant be one in another 4 months or so. The rush for all these people to get some kind of ammo to bash a company seems to make people forget about reality. I really dont understand what anyone has to gain by trashing Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft, keep the complaints about real problems with each system, Its not like someone from any of said company is going to send you a medal for going to war on the internet in their name. ;)

by the time they run out of the already-produced 60 gig models, they'll likely just stop bundling the 80 gig (bye $60 motorstorm game) and sell IT for $499 instead. Makes sense to me.

I was ready to move on, and just let it be.

The beans were spilled
then it was false
and now this....

not much to say, how long will this price-cut last?

a. If the $599 80 GB PS comes with a game/movie and a controller then, it's a good steal, if you do not want Emotion Engine.

b. For Movie/gaming combo the Ps3 is still the best option. Since, I'm not a big movie fanatic, I'm not paying for BD. That's just me.

I want Emotion Engine. Simple as that. Chill with the Doom comments, just let this sh!t play out. I'm done talking about PS3 and it's price, unless provoked. I don't own one, I will get one when the time is right. Actually gonna check Craigs.

but yeah if the price drop is tr,p well its good i got it today for my b day :)

Not that much to play but it looks like there will be some good stuff.

LOL just when everyone started to brag the truth is exposed. Bend over says sony.

SONY RULES THE 80 GIG WILL BE 499

If you disagree..... TELL ME WHY???

I see this as a double edged sword for Sony, only working to their advantage short-term. The newly reduced 60gb will FLY off shelves, n' I'm starting to see it first hand. My local Target was depleted of PS3's. When I first seen that I thought "Damn, all it took was $100". But once I strolled around to the oposite side I noticed all 360 SKU's were sold out as well. But I think I can still use that as some indication that these 60gb PS3's will be depleted sooner than most think, 3-4 months. Question is, will Sony be prepared to drop the price of it's now $600 80gb SKU? I don't think so, n' naturally, folks will be pissed. Hell, they already are.

Maybe because they are loosing tooo much money on the 60gb PS3 and not so much on the new 80gb (since they have no ps2 chip etc). So they will still have a 600 dollar model that cost less to manufacture than the 60 gb model.

This can be the onyl logic behund this madness. So the only looser here is the Consumer unless you buy a 60gb model now. The only problem is-PS3 has NO games (except maybe RFOM..Maybe), No Rumble.

Then again yoo'll have a 500 dollar blu-Ray player.

I found this post in gamespot's PS3 forum, it could help clarify the possible strategy of sony for the 80Gb model:

"Sony has been unhappy with their current 20gb and 60gb, and as a result they released a 80gb model. Now, do to a slight hick-up in the pr office, a dude spilled the beans and Kaz just had to come clean up for PR reasons.

There is no doubt that the PS3 80gb will go to 499.99 once the 60gb model is gone. The more that are sold, the faster the 80gb goes down in price.

Kaz simply can't say that the 80gb will go down in price because that would be bad for current 60gb sales. People would wait for the 80gb to reduce in price to get the better deal if they knew that a newer version would be at the same price.

Sony is not a multi-billion dollar corporation for being stupid. They realize sales have increased due to a price drop. So once the 60gb is limited, the 80gb will be droped in price and probably the game, Motorstorm, will be taken out. For now, they are just giving people an incentive to buy the 80gb model with the included game.

Sony may be stupid at times, but they are not that stupid."

no in effect it means that the 60gb at 499 is temporary, but when they move the 80gb to 499 it wont freaking matter. its like this is the most underhanded dishonest thing anyone has ever done. and its not even underhanded or dishonest. its a freaking price cut. buy a ps3 if you were waiting for a price cut. and if you wait till the 60gb is gone, youll have to buy the 80gb. and guess what....sony can cut the price on that one too. they can come out tomorrow with a statement that says the 80gb ps3 will be marked down to 499 once the 60gb are gone. holy sh!t. those bastards

They must know that Xbox 360 is having mad troubles right now
So they are starting to get arrogant again !

I don't know, I mean this could boost sales dramtically, or it could
just piss off adoptors waiting patiently for price to drop.

I don't have a problem with the plan if this is what they wanted to do from jump.

BUT STOP THE DAMN SECRECY! WE AS CONSUMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW.

Why spring something like this at the last minute when all the press was in your favor, WHEN, if they would have just announced this to beging with, the press would still have BEEN POSITIVE

WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE IS AN IDIOT !!!

Is thie one that lied oh! my god! its like you people dont even listen to yourselves anymore and put yourselves on mute! to just listen to what a dumb journalist puts down the article that says Sony lied was a lie of its own you people take things way to seriously on what a journalist says considering they would twist words on what Sony says and make gamers sucsh as yourselves believe that Sony said that like when Jack Tretton said that he doesnt like what the 3rd partys are doing and that journalist just twist his words when he said to Jack so you dont like what the 1st partys are doing!.

i dont think the extra 20 gigs actually what cost them, in think that the 60gb backward compility chip has alot to do with this, cause it costs alot of money to have in the 60g, and remember the 80gb has some type of backwards compabability thats avadilble in europe and remember there are not phasing the 60gb over in europe, imo once the 60gb are gone in NA then they will drop the 80gb to 499 and 1 more price drop by dec to 450 but this is just my opinion

Bad for america..i guess, but seriously....they have shifted in lots of units, it will take a while before its thruly gone....

THIS....might be a good stragty, they might acually lower the price for the 80gig later. they are denying it so people will rush out and buy the cheaper version(60gig) so then the stocks will fly, then once its gone...make the 80gig cheaper! its like they did before with the price cut...Deny it..

but its a good deal in europe, the starter bndle is awesome!, im going to get one soon

go PS3

Playing with Microsoft.. I mean they know that they can get the 360 on it,s knees now...
I mean see it this way..

The e3 comes and microsoft comes with an europe video/media download.
the allso shows halo 3 that was one of the biggest hope for 360 to finish.
Well they show it and then what? well pople talk it is beutiful and stuff... WTF i mean the demo they showed 2005 i think it was ,, THAT was beutiful.. and what is that we see on the E3? A cutt of broke **** game that looks youst a little betther then Halo 2.
( in my opinion now)
THEN The ps3 Comes, games are nott that good, eather are they so nice,, IF you are nott placing them infront of Kz2.
Look at that game,, THERE we have a game that realy looks like the trailer.. and what do microsoft have,,, a kid game,,
(no flame)

So the ps3 knows, and the see on all the internet sites that EVERY boddy writes about Kz2.
SO they push the 360 down to a prise cutt, and they only have to do it 4 a short period of time.
WHy? Kz2 looks bether then halo3 and when halo 3 is released , the press, and the gamers know it.. and they gott lair.. what does microsoft have.. fable?..ps3 have Heavenly Sword. and 360?
The 360 is counting on the ut3 engin, and that is NOW released that a GAME that has faster speed and more that happens run smother and better on the ps3 then gears of war did to 360...

And when the developters see on the ps3 what they can do ( like killzone ) that cost money,,, A LOTT of money... so thats why...
(in my opinion )
plz give me 1 bubble at last ;)

So

id say once the 60 gigs are gone they keep the 80 gigs at the 600 range then come the holidays BOOM a price cut on the 80 gigs, motorstorm and added rumble controller with sixaxis...just in time for MARCH and MGS4

I thought they said that after the 60GB ran out, the 80GB would be dropped to $499.99?

@Shaka2K6
The PSPSlim will be replacing the older models in the core pack. Meaning, you'll be able to get the Slim PSP in its core pack for the same price the original retails for. The $199 pricing is for the entertainment pack.

They will dominate this market with the PS3...You will see the 80 GB PS3 at $499 or less come this christmas....If and if the 60 GB are sold out. We know that sony shipped 5.5 million PS3 worldwide...I calculate that there are about 500k to a million PS3 60 GB to sale out for North America....all the rest of the PS3 are Japan and Europe.

They probably sold 250k PS3 this week in North America...Supposely in europe the PS3 is not sitting on shelves like in the US....So by October 2007, the 60 GB PS3 will be soldout...and the 80GB ps3 will drop to $449.99 with out a game...Microsoft will have dropped the price of the Xbox 360 by $100...but we all know in the Xbox360 world you have to get the Elite which will be at $379 by then....

Sony needs to stick to 1 SKU...either a 80 GB PS3 at $449 or a 120GB PS3 at $479. As long as they stay within $100 of the Xbox 360 Elite...they will be ok...remember the PS3 has wifi and easy upgradable HD, and bluray....and it is reliable...Remember all current Xbox 360...all 11.6 million units are defective.

So Sony has to price the PS3 around $449 to $499 to stay competitive...

I would go 1 SKU 80 GB PS3 and $449 around GTA4 release date...all the 60 GB PS3 should be gone by then.

"We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated"

did all the anti-sony people not read this part?

they have a hardware strategy... this doesn't mean that the cuts are temporary... this means we won't know until the supply of the 60GB model is depleted...

Daemon Hatfield... all i have to say is this... you are terrible at journalism if you think this was an accurate and non-biased article

I think SONY made the wrong move. SONY! you have to listen to the consumer.

for the last time.
think about this logically.

yes, the 60gb will be discontinued.

BUT THEN THE 80gb WONT COME W/ A GAME A BE $499.

man you people are gullable.

sheesh.

am i the only sane person on here. seriously again.
am i the only sane person on here.

you people cant see past your NOSES.

This is why i dont understand how people can be sony fanboys. They just cant help but crap on the fans. I like the system but hate the company that makes it.

Sony seems to enjoy sabotaging their own sales. The truth is that if they had kept making $499 60GB PS3s then I think sales could easily be in Sony's favor, but it looks like not only will the sales stop but there might actually be a point where 60GB's aren't available in any stores.

Sony's pimp hand is strong baby. D@MN

I know ya'll don't know bout this.

I think it's unfortunate that a lot of people are being very short-sighted about this issue.

After stock of the NA 60GB model is depleted, which might be millions of units for all we know, there is bound to be a new SKU or package that will be comparable. Look at the timing and the phrasing. For the next few "months" to come the base price will be $499.

Look at an example of what's in the channel: As of March end, there were 5.5M units shipped/sold into retail. Estimated sold-thru numbers were around 3.5 million. That's about 2 more million units available to be purchased.

A few months from now means the holiday season. Do you not think it's likely that another comparably-price SKU or even a better value-pack will surface for December-January?

Who knows. The only thing that's certain is that there is now a *very* high demand for the 60GB SKU, and those units will undoubtedly sell out faster than they were pre-E3.

Not too shabby. It's a pretty effective way to narrow the sales gap.

this could being in some profit to help lower the 80 gig ... lets wait and see

The new 80gb bundle is a joke! All they are doing is forcing you to buy a $60 game and your paying $40 for 20gb of extra space. Or you could look at it as since sony is the publisher of Motorstorm and doesn't cost them as much to slap a game in the box like this you are paying a ridiculous amount for 20gb extra. I don't know about you, but for around $70/$80 (even at regular consumer costs you can buy a 120gb drive. (Im sure mass purchase of hd's would be even cheaper for a company like this) There is nothing special about it to justify $100 differance. On top of that the EE won't be in the new ones which was supposed to help cut costs. I think all this was to boost BRD sales and to build hype around the E3 so they could regain some attention they lost a long time ago. I like sony but they definately have some retards making decisions. I will shut up if the 80gb does become $499 though. Also, did anyone notice the box says limited edition for the new bundle?

according to the haters out there, the 60gig PS3 is "lining store shelves," overflowing because the unit isn't selling. so this shouldn't concern any of the people that may have been willing to spend $500 on a PS3, as, also according to them, "hardcore Sony fans have already bought the PS3 at $500 and $600 already."

also, look at it this way, Sony plans on selling 11 million units by years end (yeah, good luck with that). silly, to be sure, considering that they've only shipped 5.5 million units so far, and sold nearly 4 million, and the year is almost halfway over, with most hot titles coming out in September through December.

that's still 1.5 million 60gig PS3's out there to be sold.

considering that the PS3 is selling about 100,000-200,000 units a month, it'll take, roughly, 6-7 months for them to sell out of the 60gig PS3, if sales remain as they are, which means we won't be seeing it phased out until sometime in Q1 2008, even with the busy holiday season.

coincedentally, a certain title from Kojima Productions will probably hit the PS3 at some point in early 2008 (ie, Quarter 1), and what better way to help that title's chances than by offering the 80gig PS3, which has been out since August, at the newly dropped price of $499, around the time that the 60gig PS3 has sold it's units? or, keep the damn thing at $600, considering that diehard MGS fans will probably buy a PS3 *JUST for MGS4, and at whatever price Sony is asking for.

so either people are going to gobble up the $500 60gig *NOW, or wait for the 80gig to drop to $500, or bite the bullet and buy it at $600 because they just *HAVE to have MGS4.

of course, my true opinion is that Sony is waiting to see how many PS3's sell this year, and if they run out of 60gigs by the time the 80gig releases, they'll drop the price of the 80gig to $500, and remove the Motorstorm bundle, after gaging the reception of the Motorstorm bundle.

what's the term again: a "trial balloon?"

Sony is throwing this out there, testing the waters, seeing what the reaction is after their strong E3 showing, and they'll respond accordingly.

judging by the reaction thus far, i imagine some backpeddling and a $500 80gig w/o Motorstorm for the holidays.

i admit, this is a very different Sony from old, and they've been listening to a lot of their consumers (as well as the media and developers) lately.

thinking about this. These posts are sounding like a choose your own adventure book, and I honestly don't know what the hell Sony is doing.

Sony doesn't love you.

Wake Up, Lemmings.

when Microsoft launched the Elite, the Sony fanboys were crying out "3 SKUs? They are ripping off gamers". Now that Sony are doing the EXACT same thing, do you hear them saying "SONY ARE RIPPING US OFF!"? No. At least (at the mo) Microsoft are giving choice by not discontinuing the core. Now Sony are going "If you want a cheap(ish) PS3 you must buy one now.No time to delay!". Meaning that there will be a hike in sales.

1. they will sell out of the 60 GB then unbundle motorstorm and sell it for 500 since its cheaper to make then the 60GB 2.this is a lie and this will be unconfirmed in a day or two i don't know lets wait and see i want to hear it from SCEA not from this guy

At first I thought Sony were being a retard. But it does make sense what they are doing. It doesnt make sense to manufacture 2 different SKUs, just means higher production costs. Stocks of the 60GB wont run out for a long time. Once they do they will probebly drop the price of the 80GB.

Simple; drop the price and say it's temporary. They just want to stop the 2:1 ratio (against 360) by creating a crisis.

is it really that hard to get an avatar?

you just make the comment section look funny.

Once the 60gb is out of stock, they will replace the 80gb with it. Basically, 60gb out of stock, 80gb goes from $599 to $499. This will probably happen after the holidays, as currently the 80gb is a
"limited" time bundle.

you know when you let go of the rope in tug-o-war, and than yank back to cause everybody to fall off.

This is the same thing

The 80GB model will be $499 won't be surprised if it comes with a game or Blu rays. Sony wants to sell consoles.

GO OUT and Buy one now!

Sony droped the price on the 60G for $499 this year. and so later on next year or sooner the 80G will drop the price as well.....and so on after that they'll make a bigger HDD could be 120G at $600 pricetag, and after a year it will drop the price as well. cant you see how it works?

For myself who live in Europe, i would have to say that the bundle coming here is a good deal, but i would rather have a PS3 at a lower price to be honest.

I get two controllers, but seeing as rumble is coming back as we all know, i would rather have one with rumble, than two without, because some games like MGS4 will probably make great just of it (hopefully the sixaxis as well). I think Resistance is a good game, but would rather have Haze or UT3 because they`ll be newer and most likely better. I can seem to recall any good driving game coming this year (but i`m not into racing games that much so i might me wrong), so Motorstorm would be okey to me.

Either way, i hope Sony will drop the price in Europe around winter, so i can buy one.

Haha temporary

Sony tries to pull in people that afterwards will feel bad for getting in on a 'lower' pricepoint and then discover... There are still no games

Thanks Sony!

who knows .. maybe they already have a plan to cut the price again.

just about everything you said through the last weeks was proved wrong.

killzone 2 looks near the 05 trailer ... third party support is great ... exclusives look fresh and innovative ... games are coming ... home is coming ... online is free ... more different types of games ... (maybe) 10 years+ fun with the ps3 ... + you can always get a 360 for playing all the shooters.

who wouldn't want a ps3 this year?

Jeez I'm confused now. I'm currently trying to sell my like new 20 gig PS3 for $400.
So I can get a 60 gig which I thought were gonna be 499.99 but now who knows if I manage to sell it and the price goes back up I wont be able to make up the difference at least not anytime soon.

I had a problem with this strategy by Sony because of my own strategy I thought was better, but I'm gonna go ahead and get the 60gb now that my wife has co-signed on the deal for me. I'll get the 60gb and upgrade my harddrive to 250gb...BAM!

My strategy for Sony if anyone is wondering...
One sku...the 20gb version with all the media connections of the 60gb version...sell it for 399.99. Since the hard drive is upgradeable...sell large capacity hard drives as accessories???? who else thinks that was a good strategy???

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.