Report: Consumers Expect PS3 To Cost <$300

Author: by Jason Dobson, Simon Carless

A new report from analyst firm Compete has surveyed U.S. consumer demand surrounding the upcoming PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles, revealing continuing discrepancies between public concepts of the PS3's pricing and reality. According to Compete’s October 2006 survey of active current-generation console gamers, almost half (48%) of those considering a PS3 expect it to cost less than $300. When told of the PS3’s actual retail price, 73% of all gamers and 59% of those considering a PS3 thought it was overpriced. The Compete survey continues with the interesting claim: "Wii’s price may be right, but a troubling sign for Nintendo emerges on the loyalty front. Nintendo’s strategic decision to simplify its console may in fact be turning off a number of its loyalists. 39% of GameCube owners are considering a Wii purchase while 40% are considering a PS3." However, along those same lines, PlayStation loyalty is considerably higher, with 63% of PlayStation 2 owners considering the purchase of a PlayStation 3, according to the firm's figures. In addition, Compete has posted a graph of console demand based on the number of U.S. consumers who shopped for the respective consoles at leading online retailers, showing a major spike for the Xbox 360 around launch time last year, and significantly more consumer activity around the impending PS3 launch - though the Wii graph is also trending up sharply.