40GB PS3 a flop - 89% of buyers bought a 60GB last week
According to ChartTrack, PS3's whopping 178% UK sales increase last week was due pretty much entirely to bigger sales of the price-slashed 60GB model - not the launch of the bargain 40GB PS3 Lite.
ChartTrack's games man Dorian Bloch told Gamespot that "Eighty-nine percent of purchasers opted for some form of 60GB model, since this is sold with at least two games for only £50 more than the 40GB model."
Which must leave Sony scratching its head over why it bothered with the 40GB version at all if no one's that bothered. Unless, as with Xbox 360's Core machine, the 40GB console is designed as a clever bit of reverse psychology to make everyone think they're getting a better deal with the pricier machine.
Honestly, this video game mind-war is very hard to keep on top of.
Related posts
SCEA needs to shed 60GB PS3s before it gets the 40GB, says analyst
US 60GB PS3s will be a thing of the past, post-July
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Comments
Obvious consumers are smart, and the editor of this blog is stupid.
Here is how it works.
Sony don't want to sell too many of the £299 40GB units, they want to sell the 60GB £349 unit.
The £299 price is there to attract people, but when they look closer, for £50 more, you get 20GB extra HDD, PS2 backwards compatability, card readers, and 2 games (worth £35 each), you would have to be pretty insane to buy the 40GB unit, or no intest in the bundled games and backwards compatability, or want it as a cheap but fully featured Blu-ray player.
I am not suprised by this "news", and anyone with any common sense should not be either. I'm sure it comes as no suprise to Sony either, it's all part of the plan..
Posted by: Mak | October 17, 2007 12:08 PM
Mak: Doesn't that raise serious questions about why Sony is discontinuing the 60GB SKU - the one that people clearly want more than the replacement 40GB?
Posted by: Al W | October 17, 2007 12:13 PM
Again, I believe this is another of those 'lazy' surveys between a handful of people. As already pointed out by others, it is a marketing strategy that companies use to draw in the consumers. "Ah, look! They're selling a cheap PS3 now, I can get one...Wait...actually, the 60gb looks better, with all of the features, I may as well get that one." - That's mainly what people would be thinking when seeing an advertisement on this, or in the shops.
I personally think that this is a brilliant way of selling consoles, yet I don't think that the editor of this 'news' should have been biased in the tone and structure of this.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 17, 2007 12:38 PM
@Al W
The only people claiming the 60GB model (or equivellent) is being discountinued is lame blog sites like this. Sony have not said this as such.
When the 60GB unit runs out, there will be a premium unit to replace it. That is certain, it won't however be 60Gb (maybe 80GB, maybe 120GB or more).
There are alot of red faced bloggers and "journellists" who likewise, claimed that when the US 60GB model sold out, the price would be rising back upto $599. Of course this is not actually happening, there will ber a US 40GB @ $399.
Posted by: Mak | October 17, 2007 12:56 PM
I do not know what Sony is smoking, but it is seriously damaging their perspective on what the end user wants.
Sony - keep it simple - listen to the consumer!
Posted by: Jason | October 17, 2007 1:13 PM
Wow. Here was I thinking that we will only really know the success of this model after a few months at least but apparently the genius behind this story knows far better. The 60gb version is only £50 more for higher spec so of course it will sell far more, the same way the 360 premium sells far more than the core.
Jason said: Sony - keep it simple - listen to the consumer!
Keep it simple like your brain. 11% of the consumers obviously thought it was OK dipshit.
Posted by: Ian | October 17, 2007 1:26 PM
A number of the comments here are correct. With the 60GB so closely priced, its obvious to a blind rat that the 60GB is much better value. The writer of this article is quite obviously out in Sony bashing season again - since normal buyer can tell value, how come this blog writer cant? talk about a huge "Oh der?!"
Posted by: Grover | October 17, 2007 1:31 PM
Mak:
"The only people claiming the 60GB model (or equivellent) is being discountinued is lame blog sites like this. Sony have not said this as such."
Sony has stated as such: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=29340
As for another premium unit, I'm pretty sure you are right, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Sony does seem to trip over itself when it comes to pricing the various models. However, people do want the console when the price is right - as these sales figures show.
Posted by: Al W | October 17, 2007 1:34 PM
@Al W
Sony are not ready to annouce the 60GB replacement. So yes, taken word for word, it does sound like that once the 60GB unit is sold out, only the 40GB will remain. HOWEVER, that is making a very big assumption that nothing will come along at the high end to replace it.
Sony want to get as much for the PS3 as possible. To even suggest that the only model available once the 60GB has sold out, will be the cheap model, is pretty ludcrious, when you think about it.
The is exactly the same situation, as the idiotic bloggers and "news" sites, that reported that when the US 60GB model ran out, only the $599 80GB model would remain, meaning the PS3 cut was only temporary. However time has made these people look very foolish, now the prospect of a $399 40GB and $449 80GB PS3 a very high posibility.
Posted by: Mak | October 17, 2007 1:48 PM
This seems like firestorm times two. Look kiddies PS is trying to sell out their 60 gig models because they cost more to make. Since launch Sony has been eating a shit load of losses because you fanboys don't buy games. I'll give you credit for being smart enough to realize that a 5hr $60 game no matter how many gigs is a bad deal. I'm talking to you Heavonly Sword, Lair, and pretty much all the rest. Sony needs the 40 gig in the wild because it is cheaper to manufacture and more competively priced plain and simple. The really sad part is that in the US can't sell all of their 60 gig models because there are mountains of them at every store you go into at least in Jacksonville Fl. That is why the US is still waiting on the 40 gig. Sony has clearly stated numerous times that they will be eliminating the 60 gig sku so all that is left is waiting and more waiting. "Oh MGS4 is coming so is FF13 in 09" I really wonder are you guys serious when you keep touting those two games over and over? Didn't the last MG sell less than the 2 one? Who the fuck buys a console for just 2 games?
Posted by: Guy who knows | October 17, 2007 4:51 PM
@ Guy who knows best
well lets see here xbots buy a system with just 2 games gears of war and halo 3.
all there other titles dont sell even with so called 11 million xbox 360's sold.
Posted by: david knows best | October 17, 2007 5:10 PM
David are you talking about the 21 other xbox 360 games that have sold over a million copies when you say "all there other titles dont sell even with so called 11 million xbox 360's sold"? Or maybe you were referring to the 1,000,000+ average weekly software totals just in the US.(PS3 averages around 200k BTW)? You see David the 360 has and is maintaining the largest attach rate for a console in history versus the PS3 who has very few titles reach top 50 sales in their launch week. Do some research next time buddy if you can find time to pull Sony's member from your mouth that is.
Posted by: Guy who knows | October 17, 2007 6:02 PM
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
The 60GB will be replaced by something, possibly the 80GB. No way will they leave just the 40GB on the shelves in one of their major markets.
By the way, Argos have a limited offer of a 60GB with THREE FREE GAMES from a list of about half a dozen. So in effect a 60GB PS3 for about £230.....remarkable.
Posted by: James | October 17, 2007 8:36 PM
The argos offer probably has lame games though.
i bought a 40gb ps3, just for the blu ray playe though. had it for 299.99 with 3 blu rays from hmv.I was looking at jericho for it, but its also out on 360 and just because xbox live and achievments, plus most firneds have a 360, i will probably end up buying it on that.
i know quite a few students who used their student loans for a ps3. they wouldnt use that sort of money for a blu ray player and have quite a few ps2 games so would prefer backwards compatiility. this is maybe another factor in why 60gb one has sold more?
Posted by: buncey | October 18, 2007 12:29 AM
=+=+=+=+=
Argos offer has the following games as part of the offer. Any three of:
Motorstorm
Formula 1
Ridge Racer
Resistance Fall of Man
Heavenly Sword
Posted by: James | October 18, 2007 6:11 PM
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