Has the cost of the PlayStation 3 console caught up to it already?  I’ve made several comments about the cost here at Unscripted 360, both on the show and throughout articles I’ve posted.  I’ve always been firm in my reasoning that parents will ultimately shun the $499 or $599 price.  It’s nothing for the hardcore gamers out there but what about the average family looking to get their kids into the next generation?  I may have been right about what the cost will mean at least according to what I’ve seen here in Dallas.

Last night I visited a few local Gamestop stores and a Best Buy because I had a few items to exchange from Christmas.  After handling my business in each store, I couldn’t help but venture out to see how things were going with the PlayStation 3.  I’ll let you know what I noticed in each store.

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The Best Buy Story:

I’m in Best Buy exchanging a copy of Pitch Black HD-DVD for The Devil Wears Prada (please don’t ask why).  After I do this, I figured I’d head out to the PS3 kiosk to see what’s up.  NBA 07 was being played and it looked pretty good.  I didn’t see any glaring differences from what I’ve played on the Xbox 360.  After a minute of watching, the strangest thing happened…it froze.  I laughed a bit as the guy playing looked stunned.  Reset.  Wait.  Play.  After about 10 minutes, the strangest thing happened again…it froze.  I laughed again thinking about a post I had read earlier about forced freezes and Sony reps.  Possible?  No.  But it was still funny. 

Anyway, on to the point of the Best Buy Story.  I ventured to the PS3 aisle next to the kiosk and noticed that there were 6 PlayStation 3 60 gigs there.  In line behind me at the time of my exchange there were 2 people buying an Xbox 360 and one guy apparently brining his Xbox 360 in for replacement.  No one had a PS3.  I asked one of the floor reps if the PS3 units were reserved and he said ‘No, they’re just sitting’.  I found that really odd that during this time ANY PS3 would be ‘just sitting’. 

I walked around the store for another 1/2 hour just to see if anyone would come running in for it and nothing happened.  This time last year you would’ve been hard pressed to find any Xbox 360 ‘just sitting’ so few days after Christmas.

The Gamestop 1 & 2 Story:

I’m in Gamestop (1) to exchange a copy of my PSP Sonic Heroes for some Avatar game.  I noticed on the front window before heading in that a sign was there reading ‘PlayStation 3 60 Gig Here Now’.  After exchanging my game, I asked the rep how many PS3’s they had and he said about 5 were in the store.  There were quite a few people in the store at the time making exchanges and purchases so I figured that someone had to be waiting for the PS3 and those 5 units wouldn’t last very long.  I spent another 1/2 hour or so playing some WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2007 on the 360 kiosk. 

I didn’t bother watching anything during that time so I went up to the same rep and asked if he still had some PS3’s there.  The same 5 were still there.  We got into a conversation that resulted in him telling me that those same 5 had been there since Saturday.  He said that most of the people hadn’t asked or were turned off when told of the price. (which brings me to another point I’ll get to in a second)

The next Gamestop (2) went about the same.  The difference in this story was that there was an actual PS3 purchase sort of being made when I got there.  I’m there to strictly get some more feedback on the PS3 at this point.  I head in and see a father and his 4 sons at the counter.  The rep has a PS3 ready to go and the father asks him how much it is.  ‘$599 w/tax’  I’m not sure if his kids had simply failed to tell him the price or if he just honestly didn’t know but after he was told, he left with his kids saying that he wouldn’t buy it.  They settled for an Xbox 360 Core instead after he noticed the ‘$299′ tag on the console and some nifty salesmanship from the rep.  The kids seemed okay with it as they picked up Gears of War and Madden NFL 2007.  And this brings me to the point I mentioned above.

The DeaconBlade Summary:

I’m not sure if it’s the store or simply the way the Xbox 360 and other consoles are being packaged, but in each of the stores there was no price listed on the PlayStation 3.  The Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Core both had $399 and $299 respectively for all to see on their packaging.  The Nintendo Wii had $249 glaring right at you.  The PlayStation 2 had its $129 stamped right on it for no confusion.  Even the Nintendo DS and the Xbox had their prices plastered on them. 

None of the PlayStation 3 consoles had a price on them.  What does this mean?  Are retailers simply afraid of people being immediately turned off on the price?  Did Sony make arrangements for no price to be listed on its console?  Or is my eyesight simply gone and every other store has the $499 or $599 price listed right on the PlayStation 3?

Many people may argue that ‘well you’re getting a lot for the price’ and all of that.  But I’ve always said that in the end the majority of consumers (who just happen to be average families) won’t spend that kind of money.  Many people will argue ‘well if you add this and that and that and this, the prices are the same for a decked out Xbox 360′.  Well perception is a strange thing to the average consumer.  Seeing a $299 or $399 price on something registers a bit better than $499 or $599.  They don’t know and probably don’t care what you have to build up in order to make something comparable in price.  They only care about the immediate price.  This is what I said when the price was announced and this is what I’ll say today.

It’s fun to argue between those in the know but we represent a very small percentage of purchases.  We’re not average consumers.  And I believe the price is slowly catching up to the PlayStation 3.  You may see a price cut quicker than you realize if what I believe holds true and people (average consumers) just won’t fork over $600 for this thing.

Ok that’s my PlayStation 3 moment.  What say you?