+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted June 26, 2009 Subscriber² Share Posted June 26, 2009 The Mole gives up the goods on Sony and Microsoft hardware plans this fall: price drops on both systems, with the 160GB PS3 model replacing the 80GB model before the PS3 Slim is released. Expect the Elite to replace the Pro models on the 360 side after Microsoft adjusts prices as well. New bundles are coming as well. Our favorite inside source has given us a heads-up on what to expect from both Sony and Microsoft this year in hardware packages and pricing. The path to the holidays is a rosy one, with more hard drive space inside the systems at a lower price. Here's what we can expect. Since we can't name the source, we're treating all this information as rumor, but the Mole's reputation in the industry for breaking large stories, a long history of being first out of the gate with big announcements, and an outstanding track record for accuracy speak for themselves. Sony and the PS3 The 80GB model is going to see some serious hardware constraints in the weeks ahead, and retailers have about 60 days worth of inventory before the systems will become hard to find. Expect to see many more 160GB units on store shelves. Those units have no constraints yet, but if the retailers sell through that supply as quickly as they did the 80GB, Sony is in a good place for the final part of its plan in 2009: dropping the price of hardware and launching the PS3 Slim in the fall. We have absolutely no information on what to expect from that price drop, so we don't know how large it will be... yet. Still, hearing confirmation from the Mole that it's coming is great news. Sony has had much success getting people excited about the PSP platform with a raft of new games and the PSP Go hardware, so launching the PS3 Slim and dropping the price on the hardware that's out now should give the platform its own boost. Microsoft and the Xbox 360 Expect the Xbox 360 Pro to disappear in July or August, but you're going to see some solid bundles to get those systems moving off store shelves. The Halo 3/Fable 2 bundle the Mole previously tipped us off to shows that Microsoft is willing to put some good games into the box to get people buying. So what are we going to do without the Pro systems? Nothing. The Elite units, with the 120GB hard drive, are going to become the Pro-level system after an early September price cut. We'll be on the lookout for another holiday bundle as well, and that should hit around October. What titles will be included? We should be able to break that story as well, but we don't have the information yet. In conclusion These moves all make sense: the systems are becoming less expensive to build, and hard drive space doesn't cost much to add... although it does make a good story when you have more storage to offer consumers. With Microsoft selling entire games through Xbox Live, the Elite has become far more important. The wind was completely taken out of Sony's sales when so much conversation and video was released detailing the PSP Go before E3, so making the launch of the PS3 Slim an event should prove an interesting challenge for the company. The Xbox 360 and PS3 have been "current-generation" systems now for a while; these price drops and bundles should help widen the installed base of both systems. Source: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/06...g-this-fall.ars With a 100% track record covering software and hardware, you can almost take this as fact... Not surprising for MS to drop the Elite pricing, they wouldn't leave it at $399 if the PS3 gets cut to $299. More interesting is they seem to finally be ditching having 3 SKU's, just an Arcade and Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webcivilian Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Good for every one. Jump in... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Sony NEEDS the PS3 to be priced at $299 if they want to have a chance at catching up. A bare-bones PS3 at $299 is all many of us want. I don't need wireless, or a memory card reader, 4 USBs, blah blah blah. I just want a HDD (20GB, w/e, I'll upgrade it myself), Blu-ray player, and HDMI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted June 26, 2009 Author Subscriber² Share Posted June 26, 2009 Sony NEEDS the PS3 to be priced at $299 if they want to have a chance at catching up. A bare-bones PS3 at $299 is all many of us want. I don't need wireless, or a memory card reader, 4 USBs, blah blah blah. I just want a HDD (20GB, w/e, I'll upgrade it myself), Blu-ray player, and HDMI. No one's been getting them for a long time :p Also as daft as it sounds, putting 20GB drives in consoles nowadays would probably be more expensive than 120/160GB. No one manufactures 20GB laptop drives any more in bulk. Sony/MS need to buy in bulk to get cheap trade prices, not have to strike "proprietary contracts" for manufacturers to keep bulk supplying small hard drives just for their console whilst hardly anything else on the market is using them. Which is why you keep seeing juggling of hard drive sizes this generation, although once each console is selling at 120/160GB, they'll probably be at that for the foreseeable future (popular value for money size, a 20GB drive is easy to fill up for a laptop owner, a 120/160GB drive will happily live in laptops for generations). Obviously that works on a plateau though, whatever the most popular middle ground is in terms of size, will be the cheapest to put in. A 500GB drive for example will not be cheaper than a 120/160GB drive, although all, or at least the 120/160GB will probably be cheaper than 20GB (when buying in bulk, thousands or hundreds of thousands at a time). And trust me whilst it's easy to upgrade, you're probably going to want/need more than 20GB in a PS3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzdawg Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Good for every one. Jump in... :) +1 here's hoping MS keeps the hdmi cord in the elite box when they switch to pro.... also hope Sony will include an hdmi cable with the ps3 slim.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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