Why is the PS3 new still so Expensive? Will it ever drop?

Hi there, I'm considering buying a PS3 but the price for a new machine seems quite expensive for such old hardware, $250+ on most sites. I would have expected more of a price drop now that the new consoles are solidly established, but that hasn't seemed to happened. For those in the knowhow, do the consoles ever get substantial holiday or seasonal price reductions, or is ~$200 the best it will get for a new unit?

We're probably getting another slim revision this year:

https://twitter.com/digitalfoundry/status/350842293911171072

We should hear about it at E3. I'd hazard a guess at a drop to $200 with the HDD model and $150 for the 12GB.

@Floppy_Jim:

According to a patent and reddit image, Sony plans to unveil a discless, digital only PS3 Super Slim at E3 this year with a lower price due to the absence of the bluray drive.

Could be BS, but you never know. It wouldn't surprise me that Sony would want to continue to revise the PS3 hardware and lower the PS3 price to a point its affordable for them to sell.

You can get them for $200. That's not expensive. It started at $600, so that's a lot less.

@clr84651:

Yes, that is cheap, but you have to consider the fact that the Super Slim models are poorly built and have many issues.

I repair PS3 units for a living, and I have repaired so many PS3 Super Slim lasers its impossible to count.

Also, the $200 model is horrible. It only comes with 12GB flash, and its very unreliable. I have had people come into my shop and tell me the memory got corrupted somehow. You can install a harddrive, but why bother? The ultimate price you would end up paying for a hard drive for the thing would make you spend exactly what you would have spent anyways for a hard drive model. I still don't understand why sony introduced this. Many people are buying this, not knowing a thing about memory or hard drives, just expecting it to work, only to come to the horrible conclusion that their game won't play because it requires installing and the game is over 12GB.

I actually had some teenage boy come into the shop and ask why Uncharted 3 would not install. I almost laughed when he told me he had a 12GB system. Uncharted 3 requires 30GB+.

It baffles me this day and age that sony would release a system with only 12GB, knowing full well that most PS3 games install content to the HD, and many are 8GB+.

Just because hardware is older doesn't always make it cheaper to build.

@cameroncr95: Thanks for the insights, seems like I should avoid the super slim. I figured the 16gb was a rip-off in the vein of the 4gb 360, but I didn't realize ps3 titles would actually take up 30+ gigs. If $200+ is where new ps3s will stay for a while, maybe I'll take my chances on a used unit with a larger hard drive.

Around holidays there will be all kinds of deals but u r gonna have to wait 6 months

@Postosuchus: Buying any used system is always a greater risk, and you're worse off is something does go wrong, unless you can get some kind of warranty or guarantee, which is unlikely. You may find a good deal, but do be careful.

The 12gb is a valid option if you have a spare hard drive laying around, or you can pick one up, any size you want. 1TB drives are fairly cheap these days. Replacing the hard drive will not void your warranty either.

Well doesn't this make me feel all fine and dandy.

I got a PS3 Super Slim about a month ago. I am pretty happy with it. Is it to be short-lived? I greatly intended for it to last at least 3 years..... :(

Swallow your pride and buy used for around the $100 mark on eBay or from a pawnshop. I've never gotten the YLOD and my 80GB PS3 has been going strong for like 5 years. It's not an Xbox 360 so even if it's used you should be safe,

I guess it highly depends on the environment and how much you use it.

The PS3 Super Slim has an issue with its laser. They are cheaply made and not like the Slim or Fat model lasers.

If you want, you can buy a cheap 80GB model of the fat from Ebay or Amazon. Those are pretty reliable if its in a well aired room. It also has a good laser too. Not too many of those I've repaired and I hear from others and online that that model is actually surprisingly reliable, so you shouldn't have any problem. However, keep in mind it isn't backwards compatible like the other fat models and it does sound like a lawn mower when it runs.