Sony is hoping that shaving US$100 off the PlayStation 3 price in the US will double sales of the console in the lead up to Christmas, but have decided to forgo this marketing strategy in Europe.
By far the most expensive gaming console, the PS3 retails at an RRP of €629.99 in Ireland, although the rest of Europe can buy it for €599.99.
In comparison the Nintendo’s Wii sells for €269.99 and Microsoft’s high-end Xbox 360 for €409.99.
In lieu of encouraging Europeans to buy the expensive 60GB gaming console with a high-definition Blu-Ray drive, Sony will launch a starter pack for the same price as the current PS3.
This starter pack will include two games and two controllers, but this may not be enough to increase flagging PS3 sales in Europe.
European gaming fans at the E3 Media & Business summit in Santa Monica were hoping for the announcement of an 80GB version, but were disappointed.
While the US benefits from a price drop, it will also be able to avail of the 80GB version for the price of the 60GB.
A month after the PS3 was launched in Europe, Sony jubilantly announced that nearly 800,000 units had already been sold.
One can’t help noticing that 20,000 units were stocked for the initial launch phase in Ireland pointing to an expectation of much higher sales, with Sony itself predicting 1m units shipped during the launch phase alone.
It may take more than the inclusion of two games and a couple of wireless controllers to shift vast quantities of this expensive console in the face of Nintendo’s current domination with the cheaper and more innovative Wii.
By Marie Boran
