In News, Sony

PlayStation 4 Price Now $349

PS4 New Price-SOCT. 8, 2015 • Three weeks after Sony Computer Entertainment reduced the MSRP of the 500GB PlayStation 4 inside Japan, the console will go from $399 to $349 in the United States. In Canada, the new MSRP is $429, down from $449. Sony’s move returns the PlayStation 4 price to parity with the Xbox One, which has sold at $349 since last June. The new PlayStation 4 pricing corresponds with the October 9 release of Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection. The Uncharted/PS4 bundle, plus the standard Star Wars Battlefront PS4 Bundle arriving on November 17, are now both priced at $349. The Limited Edition Call of Duty: Black Ops III 1TB PS4 Bundle, releasing on November 6, will go from $449 to $429. No similar price reduction announcement was made for the European market.

CLICK BRIEF ICON to register to get our latest Complimentary Brief

CLICK BRIEF ICON to register to get our latest Complimentary Brief

Impact: We have been expecting the 500GB PlayStation 4 to get a price cut to $349 since confirmation of a 1TB model last June. The pricing dynamics in Japan are much different than they are in North America. Here, the PS4 has been a consistent leader in sales and SCEA has not faced market pressure to reduce the MSRP despite the $50 advantaged ceded to the Xbox One the last four months. But the fall is a different matter. With the delay of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End to next spring, Sony does not possess an exclusive with the weight to compete with Halo 5: Guardians. In fact, all of Sony’s big hitters from this year’s E3 – The Last Guardian, Horizon Zero Dawn and Ratchet & Clank –are 2016 releases. For the rest of this year, Sony is relying on exclusive content for multi-platform titles, which isn’t as big a consumer inducement to buy. Faced with Microsoft Corp.’s penchant for releasing a slew of bundles tied to back door discounts during the holidays, SCEA had little choice but to realign PS4 pricing. It is one thing to pitch the PlayStation 4 around great games coming next year, but Halo 5 is arriving late this month and we fully expect Xbox One sales to get a significant boost through the end of December.

Start typing and press Enter to search