PS2 price cut to $99 – Seriously, that’s Sony’s big announcement?
Sony left GDC claiming it was set to make a hugely important, global announcement on Tuesday. Today is Tuesday, and what do we get? The news that the PS2, a console eight years old and already claiming its pension, is dropping in price to $99. Wow, I think I’ve just soiled myself.
Announcing an announcement is surely never a good idea. Unless of course it is due to be the biggest announcement ever made. You know, proof that God exists, first contact with aliens, the fact that Chuck Norris has lost a fight. Something of that magnitude. Otherwise, it guarantees an anti-climax and at least a proportion of people are going to end up being bitterly disappointed.
I was under the impression Sony would know this. After all, it isn’t a new company unsure of how to handle PR correctly. Unfortunately, Sony has shown itself to be just as insecure and preposterous as any other company which promotes upcoming news as if it’s going to groundbreaking and ends up prompting disgruntled shrugs from most of the population.
Sony today announced that in America, the price of the Playstation 2 is being dropped from $129 to $99. In mainland Europe, the price will be lowered to 99 Euros. And in the UK? Erm, well, there will be no change to the current price of £94. The price cut will happen immediately, with anyone who still doesn’t own a PS2 being able to snap one up at the new reduced price on April 1, 2009.
Sony clearly thought that making the announcement on April 1 would be a mistake because of the possible misreading of it being an April Fool’s Day prank. As it is, it’s completely real, but I kind of wish it were a joke.
I’m really not bothered about the pricing of the PS2. I moved on from that console a couple of years ago now, and only really go back to it now because Sony made the ludicrous decision to remove backwards-compatibility from the PS3. Ah, the PS3. There’s a console that desperately needs a price cut to give sales a boost. And what do we get in that respect? Absolutely nothing.
There is a possibility that this announcement is a teaser, making us all believe we’ve heard the big one before Sony actually unveils the truly important news. AnalogHype suggests the PS Cloud, a new OnLive-style service could actually be the big announcement, but Sony only patented the idea last week, hardly time to put together an announcement about its true nature.
Why do you do this to yourself Sony? Have you never heard of keeping things quiet and subdued? By talking everything up in this way you just leave PS3 owners eager for news of a price cut or a new firmware upgrade bitterly disappointed. A PS2 price cut? Seriously, who cares?
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43 Responses to “PS2 price cut to $99 – Seriously, that’s Sony’s big announcement?”
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March 31st, 2009
man i want bc in ps3 so get rid of ps2 sheesh but anywho if ps3 lowerd it’s price then in another year ppl would want another and then another…remeber they have a plan to last 10 yrs while 360 will be 49.99 by then lol jk
March 31st, 2009
Just to quote comic book guy in The Simpsons.
“Worst announcement ever…..”
March 31st, 2009
PR car crash for Sony.
Though the PlayStation Blog currently makes good reading…
March 31st, 2009
took you long enough…
March 31st, 2009
You’re the man, DAVE PARRACK! If they dropped the PS3rd to sub $350 here in Aus, I might consider picking one up. A PS2? I think old daisy’s milk supply has just about run out.
March 31st, 2009
I dont know harry… plenty of games on the PS2 that are timeless… Sly 3 and Ico and even god of war… may look crap… but damn… they still look good…
I heard this on a podcast and it made a lotta sense… that the PS2 is a great system for someone who is just starting to game… like a small kid who just wants to play games… damn.. Sly 3… damn…
March 31st, 2009
yeah i think 50 dollar drop would work on both sides
March 31st, 2009
DWH… for little kids to start gaming… umm… thought that was the whole point of the wii?
i actually thought today they were going to tell us all that they where stoping production on the ps2 and some sort of new thing for the ps3 along with B/C for it… but a price cut… *stairs blankly at the screen* well.. thats all i got?
March 31st, 2009
well… $250 for the Wii… and $99 for a PS2… specially if the parents are looking for something cheap… its a no brainer…
Wii is going after the Casual Market… kids font always equal to casual… hell Im playing bejeweled blitz on facebook every day… its fucking addictive…
March 31st, 2009
Laugh?
I nearly sh@t.
Wii has the entry covered all the way.
PS2 is ok for those who love certain games but with this price drop it’s soon going to be getting like one of those new Megadrive sets with everything built in including about 25 games for almost pennies.
Nothing wrong with that of course but it’s dropped way off the radar & is definite bottom feeder stuff now.
March 31st, 2009
ok you walk into a store… what does the kid do… run up to the cheap ps2, or run up to the wii that every kid in his class has or tells him to get?
what do the parents do? think that the wii is the be all and end all of gaming, or mistake the ps2 for a ps3 and see it being advertised with KZ2 and think… hmmm lil 7 year old johnny is not playing that
April 1st, 2009
He’s doing the kindergarten teacher? But, she’s hot!! ……………. Niiiiiice!
niiiiiiice!!
April 1st, 2009
“hes sleeping with the teacher, and the students male? and shes hot?
…
…
nice”
April 1st, 2009
… also is it now safe to assume that gamers = south park fans?…
maybe we should have a poll on that? how often you watch south park
April 1st, 2009
i fucking love the show. have 2 episodes recorded daily on foxtel iq.
April 1st, 2009
Hey mick, are you going to the soccer tonight?
April 1st, 2009
jesus fucking christ… yeah you could use peer pressure as an argument… then again… most parents are cheapskates… and if they are not… they will prolly buy their kids a 360 or something…
April 1st, 2009
Completely forgot new South Parks have been on. My DVR stopped working so I needed to pick up a new one from the Cable company, and since no new shows were on then, I forgot to add to it the ones I record.
April 1st, 2009
People should buy a PS2 instead of the shitty Wii. Thousands of amazing games at a cheaper price vs an overpriced console for 5 good games. Seems like a no brainer to me.
April 1st, 2009
“Why do you do this to yourself Sony? Have you never heard of keeping things quiet and subdued?”
Dave, i think sony is learning the hard way that hype will only go so far in a tech industry. it used to go so much farther in the gaming industry.
the gaming biz has grown up. i just dont’ think sony got the memo…
April 1st, 2009
Damn, Morgan Freeman is going to take thier job.
April 1st, 2009
Barnabe, I’m with you on that one, 150%.
Also, South Park sucks.
-Arvis
April 1st, 2009
*facepalm* I dont get it… first of all.. this announcement was not “quiet”… other blogs had pictures of ads that showed PS2 with $99… so yeah… we already KNEW!
south park is awesome arvis… you just have no taste… fucking philistine…
April 1st, 2009
“Also, South Park sucks.”
Nevarrrrr!!! Its political commentary is second to none I tell ye!
April 1st, 2009
“Ooooh, look at me, I can offend people with BOTH poop jokes and socio-political and religious jokes! I are teh smartz!”
Gimme a break. Infantile rubbish. You’re not cool just because you’re politically incorrect.
-Arvis
April 1st, 2009
Meh, each to his own.
April 1st, 2009
Maybe Arvis is pissed at the episode that made fun of Scientologists still? The one that made Isaac Hayes quit?
April 1st, 2009
wow, arvis i didnt mean to offend with the comment about south park? i just enjoy it, and its been quoted to death on this site, my gf hates it even though both her mother and father watch it (odd i know)
Harry yeah i went last night, no idea why they didnt have kennady and macdould starting together… macer cant play as a lone striker, look what he does for celtic he plays off TWO other strikers. i got my ass wet but it was sooooo worth it.
April 1st, 2009
“The one that made Isaac Hayes quit?”
How could anyone be mad with that episode! For it spawned the episode where Chef dies!
April 2nd, 2009
haha SW, ‘I want to make love to your ASSHOLE children’
mick, I watched it on Foxtel, no point catching a cold! It was a bad idea to a) leave Macdonald on his own at the front and b) whenever they try to get the ball to him they keep trying to float it in the air. The guy is a vanilla midget, how can they expect him to get up high and header the ball? I knew a goal wouldn’t be too far away when MIISTERRRRRRR KENNEDYYYYY came on.
April 2nd, 2009
The Quiff episode was pretty good. Still nowhere near the Hilary Snuke 24 type episode that aired before it.
April 2nd, 2009
I’m all about Cartman getting the shit kicked out of him by Wendy. That episode is all sorts of tits.
April 2nd, 2009
arvis – the beauty of south park is they purposely go over the line. All the while while making a commentary, of sorts, of current events. it’s really pretty funny once you recognize it for what it is. Altho, Family Guy is much more to my liking…..
April 2nd, 2009
Taken at face value, South Park is immature and offensive. Delve a little deeper (you don’t have to go too deep, Parker and Stone are not big on subtlety) and you can see that every single episode has strong statements on western society and politics.
I still love Family Guy, but it seems far more stained in its attempts at humor (and mockery) than before, where as South Park just keeps going and going.
I was 18 when South Park hit the airwaves, and it has spoken to me ever since.~
April 2nd, 2009
I still like Family Guy but a lot less than when it first arrived. After the third season it took a drastic downhill turn (jumped the shark you could say). It almost felt that any writer with a grain of intelligence left the show and went to American Dad (which is consistently funnier than current FG).
April 2nd, 2009
I love we can all argue our faces off about video games, but when it comes to disagreeing about OTHER things (like TV shows) we’re all like “Oh, well, to each his own, no need to argue…”
Anyways, I concede that there is a lot of great observational humor in South Park. But their presentation is so consistently offensive, that I boycott the show on principle now. It’s obvious to me that the show’s writers get so much sophomoric glee out of offending people, it just makes me want to punch them in the face. When a show makes you feel that way, it’s time to stop watching it.
-Arvis
April 2nd, 2009
Fanboyism is mystical force that occurs for many reasons.
Taste in music and TV is down to your personality etc etc. Its like religion, you just don’t touch it… Insult someones taste in music and you’re insulting who they are imo.
I think I’m too tired and bored…
CON : 360 SUCKS!!! Damn RRoD %99 of the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!one
April 2nd, 2009
I’ve never seen/heard of conflicts involving religion
April 2nd, 2009
omg arvis im never talking to you again, south park ftw, how could you not see that it has folage therefore it has to be the awesomeest? i am going to dismiss any show you watch cause you dont like south park
i hope you take that as a joke? i was trying 2 be kev sept with south park instead of the whole 360 thing…
i like family guy, but american dad just shits me… the alien and the fish are funny but i think its stan? the dad? he just annoys me… out here in aus where not real big on the “america first, america only” thing he tends to portray, yeah its prob humour over there… but just dont like it… and like we said… each to there own… sept for gaming!
also gaming is something you put money towards… where a show you can simply change channel… gaming, uve made ur choice… NOW DEFEND… DEFEND…DDEEEFFFEEENNNNNDDDD…
yeah harry as soon as kennedy came on i was… why was this bean pole not on to start with… concidering they were willing to leave both of our wingers unmarked and mainly just work on cloging up the centre, which ment there was alot of crossing chances… and well… scotty mac is no tiny tim… so he had no chance of getting up to them… though im not complaining it was 2-0… felt it could have been 4-5… and felt they also could have gottin one
April 2nd, 2009
also tv/religon/music are just personal choice… gaming… thats a way of life
April 3rd, 2009
*laughs* @ “south park has foliage”
-Arvis
April 3rd, 2009
arvis – try hawx yet?
April 6th, 2009
No, too busy with Prince of Persia for the time being. My pilot friend isn’t even playing video games at the moment, so I won’t be checking it out at his place… But a couple other people I’ve come across have said it’s good.
-Arvis