PlayStation 3 has an interesting story. Coming off of the most successful game console in history with PlayStation 2, Sony was determined to build a machine that would trounce the competition in terms of specs and capability. To do so, just as PlayStation 2 was the first console to include a DVD drive, PlayStation 3 would become the first console to include a Blu-Ray drive, Sony’s proprietary technology that allowed for high-definition content to be included on a disc.
Everything seemed to be going well for the leadup to release. That is until May 8th, 2006 at E3, when then Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Kaz Hirai took the stage to reveal more details of Sony’s next console. Everything was going well until it was time to announce price. Hirai revealed that PlayStation 3 would retail for $499 for a 20g version, and $599 for a 80g version. At the time, console pricing was $299-$399. There was nearly silence in the crowd. Sony spent the rest of E3 and the following months leading up to release attempting to justify the price of the console. While it worked to some extent, when PlayStation 3 released in North America on November 17th, 2006, initial sales of PlayStation 3 did not meet that of Sony’s previous console.
Throughout the years, PlayStation 3 sales did increase significantly as manufacturing costs decrease led to price drops, but the initial announcement is still talked about, almost 20 years later.
