This is War!! Una PS3 por 230 Euros - This is the beginning

[Night]

Una publicidad de las tiendas GameStop ofrece la consola PlayStation 3 de 80 GB desde 229,98 euros, a cambio de cinco juegos o accesorios usados. ¿Es el anticipo de una rebaja que desde Sony se han negado a confirmar? La compañía lo niega, y afirma que se trata de un acuerdo internacional con la tienda.

Se trata de una promoción válida hasta el próximo 30 de junio, en la que la tienda de videojuegos ofrece cinco paquetes con la PS3 y uno o dos juegos diferentes. Así, se ofrece con Killzone 2, con GT5 y Motorstorm, con Resistance y Uncharted, con GTA 4 y Grand Turismo 5 Prologue, o con Midnight Club Los Angeles, en cinco paquetes a elegir.

En la misma promoción, enviada directamente desde un servicio de alertas de PlayStation Europa, se anuncia que la consola costará 369,98 euros si no se aportan cinco juegos oaccesorios usados.

Se trata de una importante rebaja para una consola, la PS3 de 80 GB, cuyo precio recomendado es de 399 euros, salvo algunas ofertas puntuales.

Desde hace meses se rumorea con la posibilidad de que Sony rebaje el precio de su consola más poderosa para impulsar sus ventas, un extremo que la compañía nunca ha confirmado.

Algunas fuentes cercanas a Sony aseguran que se trata de un "acuerdo internacional cerrado con las tiendas GameStop", y aseguran que la multinacional descarta que se trate de un preludio de una posible rebaja.

[Poyo]

[Kanon]

Ojala puedan meter una rebaja "oficial", hace rato que esta en el mercado, y ya es hora de que la play despegue con todo...

Necesito una tele HD

[Devil_May_Cry]

Necesito una tele HD

Idem + MGS 4

[Poyo]

Idem

[Kanon]

A que precio se estan vendiendo las otras consolas?

[El Chaos]

¿Por qué en euros, es sólo para Europa? En el GameStop americano no está...

Bueno. La Xbox 360 está en 199,98€ la Arcade, en 239,98€ la Pro y en 299,98€ la Elite (todas vienen con diversos juegos de regalo y algunos periféricos extra para Pro y Elite), y la Wii está a 249,98€.

[Poyo]

Con esos precios hoy por hoy entrarle a una Wii es una locura...

[Kanon]

Sony should beware — Activision chief is not simply playing games

Bobby Kotick and a partner bought the once-struggling Activision for $440,000 in 1991, at a time when it was losing $30 million on $10 million in revenues. Now the world's biggest independent computer games company, it has a market value of $16 billion (£10 billion) and operating profits of $179 million in the first quarter on sales of $981 million.

Activision overtook Electronic Arts last July when it was in effect taken over by Vivendi of France in a deal where Vivendi injected World of Warcraft into the company for a 56 per cent stake. With such success, Mr Kotick, who runs the business from Beverly Hills, can probably get away with saying anything, which, soon enough, he does.

The target is Sony, the once-dominant hardware maker. “I'm getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don't make it easy for me to support the platform. It's expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation,” he says.

It is not a very subtle hint, although Mr Kotick says his company paid $500 million to Sony in royalties and other goods last year, which “probably still worked out at 400 per cent of the profit they made”. Actually, Sony's games division lost $597 million last year, and Mr Kotick seems to think it may have to risk more losses if the £299.99 PlayStation 3 is to develop.
Related Links

* Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 fight for control

* Why World of Warcraft deal makes sense

“They have to cut the price, because if they don't, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.” Ask when and he says: “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP [portable] too.” Sounds like Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's chief executive, is going to have to call Mr Kotick pretty fast.

Activision is pretty fortunate in that it has ridden the trend away from traditional “shoot 'em up” titles to family-oriented, interactive games such as Guitar Hero, which grossed more than $1 billion last year. “It was as big as Titanic [the film] with better margins”.

DJ Hero, with its own turntable, will follow this year, although Activision will have to endure its main competitor, Viacom's Rockband, launching a Beatles-themed game.

But it is a trend that, unlike Nintendo, which practically reinvented gaming with the Wii, Sony has been slow to react to. To illustrate the point, Mr Kotick stands on a plastic skateboard that turns out to be the controller for Tony Hawk: Ride — the company's attempt to reignite the well-worn franchise. Using motion and infra-red sensors, the board detects movements in both the player's body and feet, and speed is generated by swiping a foot on the floor next to the board. It is hoped the title will be a blockbuster later this year.

“Such a physical interface could be ideal for Sony,” he says, building up the sales pitch, before he warns that he will “generate better returns on invested capital” on the Wii and the Microsoft console. If he can persuade Sony to bend to his will, then it will be a sign of how far the power in the computer games industry has changed.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 531367.ece

PS3 Price Cut in August Timed with Madden Launch?

With publishers and retailers having come and gone to E3 this past week, having seen no sign of any console hardware price cuts, the industry is starting to get antsy. Sales in the U.S. are expected to drop yet again in May by as much as 17% and movement on hardware pricing can't come soon enough, especially on the still too expensive PS3.

The good news is that Sony may be preparing to lower the price on PS3 this August in order to take advantage of the launch of EA Sports' Madden, which is always an event unto itself. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia reports in his latest industry note that “industry sources indicate Sony is planning a $100 price cut on the PS3 in mid-August, just prior the launch of Madden (8/18) and the start of the back to school shopping season. This will naturally be a positive for the industry.”

IndustryGamers sure hopes these sources are right. The industry needs cheaper consoles right now to keep its momentum from 2008 strong. And if Sony does drop the price on PS3, it could be a catalyst for both Microsoft and Nintendo to slash prices on the Xbox 360 and Wii, respectively. This in turn should help 2009 set yet another sales milestone for the games industry.

“The industry is alive and well. While software sales for the first half of 2009 are expected to be down mid-single-digits, we believe the second half, in contrast, will likely be up 10% to 15% driven by a robust lineup, easier comparisons and potential price cut(s),” added Bhatia.

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ps3- ... en-launch/