PS3 price slashed to $499, at least at Circuit City

The console wars just got a whole lot hotter. No, not in that way. Sony's perennially overpriced PS3 is about to get a welcome pricebreak to the tune of $100, at least according to a scan of an upcoming Circuit City advertisement leaked onto the interwebs. That puts the console at $499, and with the 5 free Blu-ray movies Sony is tossing in with every purchase, there's never been a better time to buy. The promotion runs from July 15th to the 21st, and there's no word if that price drop will stick, if it has Sony's blessing, or if will get expanded to other retailers, but we'll all hope for the best.

[Via Joystiq; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: GameDaily is reporting this is going to be an official change of price as of July 12th, which is, surprise surprise, during E3. We'll keep an eye on this.

[internets @ Jul 5th 2007 8:10PM]

Sony is getting desperate but this will increase sales by like 1%

[rock99rock @ Jul 6th 2007 4:49AM]

So wait, with Circuit City's Price Guarantee, Can we buy it now and get our $100 back when it goes on sale?

[rock99rock @ Jul 6th 2007 2:11PM]

I just went to get it. They only had 3 in stock, and weren't planning on receiving any for next weeks sale. I knew it didnt come with an hdmi cable, but didnt know i had to buy component to get the HD outta there. Went to Frys afterwards. They had 2 palates. I have a pretty good feeling its gonna be a quarter frenzy of Thanksgiving.

[Rick @ Jul 5th 2007 8:12PM]

Not surprised. It will probably stay that way too as they sell the version without the emotion engine.

[rock99rock @ Jul 6th 2007 6:34AM]

I thought i read that the emotion engine was only removed from PAL versions of the ps3...

[Rick @ Jul 6th 2007 8:40AM]

Emotion engine removal articles are all over the internet:

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/8917.cfm

The Korean 80gb version has it removed as well. I'd be interested if anybody knows a website that is tracking PS3 production dates of north american units to find out when this transition is going to occur or has occurred.

[matjet @ Jul 5th 2007 8:15PM]

awesome. If circuit city can afford to drop the price this much, even for a short period, it spells goodness for the chances of there being an all-round price drop later. This indicates that the price sony sells to retailers may already be considerably lower that 600.

[nVidiot @ Jul 5th 2007 8:35PM]

Not really. This indicates that Circuit City has a large stock of PS3's and that they are using them to get people in their stores to possibly spend money on games/blu-ray movies, etc., etc.

Sony WILL have significant price drops and they should happen sort-of rapidly at some point but I wouldn't expect them for another year. Cell/Blu-ray tech should allow them some significant room to drop once they are being used more and more outside of the PS3.

And oh yeah.. they need some games out before a price drop will sell PS3's.

[ZildjianKX @ Jul 5th 2007 8:16PM]

I'm still going to wait for a game that I really want and a packed-in controller that has rumble.

[steve-o @ Jul 5th 2007 8:17PM]

Of course it could be an error, they might be trying the ol'd bait and switch that Fry's Electronics does with every ad they circulate.

[lawrence @ Jul 5th 2007 8:17PM]

yeah now come on sony now i just want MGS4 and FF XIII and TEKKEN 6 because thats what the ps3 is built for .Microsoft just have blue dragon and lost odyssey wow now we know Microsoft big announcement at this e3 oops i broke the scoop on lost odyssey release date ....oops its coming to japan this year it it will be in the u.s.a next year gee z.ill wait until blue dragon comes on 360 to get one and ill wait for nintendo to release smash bros. for wii

[Alex @ Jul 5th 2007 9:35PM]

Huh?

[FermitTheKrog @ Jul 5th 2007 10:11PM]

Let me guess, not an English major?

[Manuel @ Jul 6th 2007 9:55AM]

Dude, try Decaf

[XSportSeeker @ Jul 5th 2007 8:54PM]

Ouch. Wasn't Sony already loosing tons of $$$ selling PS3 for FIVE HUNDRED NINETY NINE DOLLARSSSS???
Anyways, I hope this boost sales up... even my richest friends still don't have one for me to test *COUGHSTEALCOUGHT* it yet.

Anyways, I've seem some games... they are hot. But not my style...

[matthew House @ Jul 5th 2007 9:30PM]

As a consumer I don't want to invest *only* 500 bucks on a system if the company that makes the system is losing so much that it might have to kill its games division in a year.

[brad @ Jul 5th 2007 8:24PM]

Sony is going to announce the price cut at E3, this will be a worldwide price cut

[Paris K @ Jul 5th 2007 8:26PM]

5 free Blu-ray movies ? When did this happen? Is that also valid for europe?

[Andir3.0 @ Jul 5th 2007 10:38PM]

http://www.bluraysavings.com/

[Rob @ Jul 5th 2007 8:29PM]

As long as this is not another silly "Mail in Rebate" from Circuit City, I'd be willing to open up my wallet. I like this price much better. Although instant rebates are more expensive to the retailer than the mail in, we want to get our discounts at the register. You know that retailers are hoping that you're going to forget to mail that rebate, and allow the mailing window to expire quickly. After all, the majority of people forget to mail them out.

Back to the PS3. I'd love to get my hands on this thing at this price. There's no need for negativity against Sony. This is a usual business move. If your product is not selling at the current price, and most incentives have not returned the numbers you were aiming for, then it's time to lower the price a bit. And that usually gets products moving again. I applaud Sony on this one.

[Alan Partridge @ Jul 5th 2007 8:29PM]

Just checked, its still $850 in the UK :(

[J. Henry @ Jul 6th 2007 12:59AM]

...and this matters why?

Shock horror, the UK is a different country. We get paid in, and buy things in pounds. Going to XE.com and sticking in the UK price means nothing and shows how little you understand about how these things actually work. We have different overheads and costs in the UK, so the price is different. We also have a higher average wage etc. to balance it out.

Quit whining.

[Alan Partridge @ Jul 6th 2007 6:06AM]

It matters because its interesting.

And I didn't go to XE.com, i happen to know that 425x2=850 all by myself (its a gift)

And I didnt say that Sony were overcharging us or ripping us off, just expressed that the price made me sad.

Also if you honestly believe that a $200 (before tax) price difference is justified then i would like to speak to you about an exciting investemnt opportunity. You see, I currently own the London Eye...

[Froggy @ Jul 6th 2007 2:01PM]

J. Henry - you sir, are a moron.

[stitifier @ Jul 5th 2007 8:31PM]

Am I the only person who thought that the link was going to be to some picture of hot Korean models and was inevitably disappointed by a picture of the Xbox's innards?

[Aaron @ Jul 6th 2007 7:55AM]

Sadly, no...

[FrankTheCrank @ Jul 5th 2007 8:33PM]

Wow, it's on!

A PS3 with 60GB drive, wireless, memory slots and bling for $499?

Now it is a better deal than the 360. Wireless on the 360 is $99 and Live is $50. That's $548.

Plus you get Bluray with PS3 for FREE. Shhhhhwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[010111 @ Jul 5th 2007 8:46PM]

i don't recall it being a requirement to buy the Xbox 360 wireless kit or the $50 Live subscription.

last i checked the 360 worked just fine without either.

it'd be like saying a PS3 costs $3500 because you *have* to buy a 1080p set for it.

[Duke @ Jul 5th 2007 9:48PM]

uhmm, no because what you are getting for your money is what we are comparing. The PS3 comes with the wireless internet already however if I want the same equal on the 360, I have to fork over $99 extra. Oh and of course if I want to actually play the games on-line I have to pay $50 a year extra on the 360, yes its a small price but that doesn't mean you neglect it. It adds to the initial cost of getting a 360. So... lets see a Xbox 360 Pro edition cost $399.99 base. Lets add the wireless, $499, then Xbox LIVE $50. Total is $549.99. Higher than the PS3, not to mention you already get a next-gen drive in there, Blu-ray which if u want HD-DVD for Xbox 360, more extra money. Obviously for the $499, you are getting more than your money's worth when compared to the 360. Thats all I'm saying (also 40GB of more hdd space).

[garver @ Jul 6th 2007 8:15PM]

But I dont care about wireless internet and HD DVD so the 360 is still cheaper for me.

[Solomon @ Jul 6th 2007 9:37PM]

you dun need no 1080p, ya got 1080i 'n 720 too
and yer xbox needs 720 to look perty, anyhow

[john @ Jul 5th 2007 8:34PM]

"That puts the console at $499, and with the 5 free Blu-ray movies Sony is tossing in with every purchase, there's never been a better time to buy."

Ugh... Please try to make your posts a little less like advertising copy.

[XSportSeeker @ Jul 5th 2007 9:53PM]

Sounds like advertising, yes... but it's also true.
If up 'till now it was 100 bucks more expensive, and they didn't throw any titles free, there really never been a better time to buy it.

Which doesn't mean people will be buying it anyways, right?

[john @ Jul 5th 2007 10:13PM]

It is all true, but the phrasing is just like a commercial on TV. If you're running a site that reports on products, you may want to avoid sounding too much like an advertisement.

[Big @ Jul 5th 2007 10:03PM]

Circuit City CANNOT simply decide to drop the price on PS3's like you think.

First of all, I worked for Circuit City (and Best Buy) years ago when I was in College. Both store make almost NOTHING selling a video game console. They make their money by overcharging you for third party merchandise. They'll sell you a MAd Catz controller for $30 when they bought it for $19.

They never make money on true brands like SONY, APPLE, etc because the retail price is the same store to store.

If Circuit City is having a price break, it means that there has been a signal from the top that the Retail Price has dropped. This is not unforseen as we know Sony dropped the 20GB model a while back and there was speculation the 60 GB would be decreasing sooner or later.

The prblem is that Sony needs as much market penetration as possible and at a $600 price point, they aren't doing as well as they'd hoped. Not to mention the lack of game available.

It was one thing to release PS3 to lines half a mile long waiting outside stores but now that the market has cooled and kids on the street are cursing SONY's name for selling them a system with barely any games to play (now favoring XBOX360) its much harder to move systems off those damned shelves.

[john @ Jul 5th 2007 8:36PM]

"Am I the only person who thought that the link was going to be to some picture of hot Korean models and was inevitably disappointed by a picture of the Xbox's innards?"

Seeing as this is a post about a PS3 price drop, I'm going to go ahead and say yes.

[Russell @ Jul 5th 2007 8:42PM]

It would be better if it came with the ability to play 5 games that were actually worth a sh**...

[NineT9 @ Jul 5th 2007 8:45PM]

wow!

I was holding off on grabbing a PS3 until either of these happens:
1) GTA4
2) Divx/x264 support
3) XBMC

but this REALLY tempts me to buy it NOW.... ahhh!

what to do!

[Mike @ Jul 5th 2007 10:03PM]

thats funny, XBMC...on a Playstation... "XBOX" Media Center on a Playstation

[john @ Jul 5th 2007 10:32PM]

It really does seem like the PS3 could be the HIgh Def XBMC of the next generation. With card slots, and the ability to change the internal HD or add external ones. I figure my original XBOX will finally be dying by the time the PS3 reaches a reasonable price.

[NineT9 @ Jul 5th 2007 11:05PM]

whats funny about it?

XBMC is in Windows
XBMC is in Linux

Still called XBMC. If Team XBMC worked on getting XBMC to the PS3, and it was a pretty big project, I'm sure they would change the name... So when I say

'xbmc on PS3', Thats what I mean.

[JET @ Jul 6th 2007 6:08AM]

Use TVersity for PS3. It works incredibly well. I had a 2:03 movie in XVid that started in 4 seconds and streamed nearly flawlessly. Plus PS3 now streams content to PSP and TVersity works for that as well.

JET

[MR @ Jul 5th 2007 8:49PM]

The $100 price drop is great. But the 5 free BDs from that sorry list of titles mean nothing to me.

And to those blokes who keep saying Bluray is free with PS3, no it's not free. It comes with the package and you're paying for it, no matter how deeply discounted it is. It's like saying DVD is free with the DVD player. Purely BS.

[js @ Jul 5th 2007 8:55PM]

... you do know that Sony is selling these consoles at a loss, right? They gain it back by people that are buying games.

[Ping Wang @ Jul 6th 2007 2:59PM]

you could always sell those blu-ray movies for $$ towards Heavenly Sword, when it comes out in September

[MR @ Jul 5th 2007 9:02PM]

As a consumer why do you care if Sony's selling the consoles at a loss? If the console is reasonably priced and there are good games around, then sure I'd not hesitate to buy it. It seems like they're doing the first part but I'm still waiting for the games.

[Sam @ Jul 5th 2007 9:05PM]

Hmmm, I love my 360+HD-DVD and have been waiting for a reason to get a PS3 (price drop or good game). I figure even if a price cut comes soon, it won't be lower than this. Plus I get 5 free movies... although Underworld Evolution is the only one on the list I'm even slightly interested in. I'll just eBay the other 4. My Netflix queue is about to get really interesting though. It's mostly HD-DVD now, but I hate when I have to get a movie on DVD.

Also, I love when my favorite sites link to each other. I've been using Slickdeals for years. Even longer than I've been on Engadget.

Oooh, I'm gonna make Best Buy price match this :)

[bdkennedy1 @ Jul 5th 2007 9:14PM]

Ummmm, there aren't any console wars. Sony's hardly selling enough consoles to declare a war.

[Ray @ Jul 6th 2007 4:24PM]

Sony hater I take it? I make that conclusion based on your silly, one-sided unfounded comment. 4 million consles can hardly be called "hardly any units". And if you make that statement, its in comparison to what? The 360 that has had a 1-year head start? Well, the 360 was doing just about the same 1 year ago as far as sales go EVEN at a $100-200 lower price.
So incomparison to what? The wii? Which is less than half the price. The wii has sold about 8 million units at $250 a pop, the PS3 has sold 4 Million at $600 a pop, take into account the 20 gig version, in net cash, the sales have been the same. So put your bias to the side, and look at the facts.

[MR @ Jul 5th 2007 11:20PM]

So don't buy. They're doomed whether they raise or lower the price anyway:

Lower the price - Oh they lose so much they might kill ps3 ($200 loss per console)

Raise the price - Sony's out of touch. No one's gonna buy it. They'll have to kill ps3 even faster (not sold = $599 loss).