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There have been a ton of analysts lately giving Sony advice on how to regain their number one position in the console wars. Most analysts have agreed that the PlayStation 3 needs a price cut to get back into the race. However, Bank of America’s Michael L. Savner does not think a price cut alone will bring Sony where they need to be.
Savner states that Sony needs to get some console exclusives. “[An] important driver of Sony hardware last cycle was exclusive games, such as Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, Sony does not have a similar advantage this cycle. Halo 3, a highly anticipated game release this year is a Microsoft-published game only for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto IV, by Take-Two’s Rockstar unit, is being released on both the Sony and Xbox platforms.”
“Based on our analysis, we conclude that a $100 price cut for the PS3 (we have dismissed a potential $50 cut as meaningless) would still leave the ‘all-in’ cost for a PS3 console and basic accoutrements 20-25% higher than the comparable Xbox 360, and does not even reflect the possibility that Microsoft could also lower its hardware prices.” Savner also stated that Sony probably needs to make a $200 price cut to the PS3 to actually make up ground, although he doesn’t anticipate that happening.