Learn From History Or Doom Yourself To Repeat It: Sony Osbornes The PlayStation 3*
For the newbies, the Osborne effect 
the full story
Right now the company sells a 40 GByte version of the PS3 for $399.99, and an 80 GByte model for $499.99. Not only does the higher-priced version contain a 2x higher capacity HDD, it also offers enhanced features:
Backwards-compatibility with some PS2 titles
A copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, plus a voucher for a downloadable copy of Pain
SACD support
Two additional USB ports, and
Memory card reader slots
In September, Sony will boost the $399.99 unit's capacity to 80 GBytes, thereby obsoleting the $499.99 model. On paper, it looks like a console price cut, which is how Sony's furiously trying to spin it. But in contrast to today's 80 GByte model, you'll lose PS2 backwards-compatibility, additional USB ports, SACD and memory card support, and the bundled games. And anyway, Sony's probably getting the 80 GByte HDD from suppliers for the same price as its 40 GByte predecessor; don't be deluded into thinking that the company's taking a fiscal hit at the $399.99 price point.
After distilling all this data, I have several strategy questions for Sony (and for anyone considering buying a PS3 in the next several months):
Is partial PS2 backwards-compatibility, along with the other stuff, worth spending an additional $100 now versus saving $100 down the road?
Why on earth would I spend $399.99 on a 40 GByte model now when I know an 80 GByte version at the same price is coming in a few months?
How on earth, therefore, does Sony think it's going to sell any more 40 GByte PS3s at $399.99, without doing an inventory-clearing price cut as Microsoft did? Or, for that matter, any more 80 GByte PS3s at $499.99, except to the folks who care about (partial) PS2 backwards compatibility?
 Last edited by Interesting on 07-Aug-2008 at 04:22 AM.
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