PlayStation 4 received official $50 price drop in the US!

[gf78]

http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/8/9477625/ps4-price-drop-349-us

Starting this Friday, the PS4 will retail for $349 for all standard systems as well as the Uncharted bundle and Star Wars Battlefront standard bundle. 

Your move Microsoft!   

[abe]

Or alternatively, if you live in Canada, you get a $20 price drop. Most bundles are now $429.99 instead of $449.99. Wowee. Yay for the Canadian dollar.

[gf78]

Or alternatively, if you live in Canada, you get a $20 price drop. Most bundles are now $429.99 instead of $449.99. Wowee. Yay for the Canadian dollar.

I actually wanted to discuss this (rationally...) with someone as I see it pop up on forums all the time with the price difference between Canada and the US, and there are other factors I am genuinely curious if they have an overall economic effect.  So here goes.

Example for me, in the US factoring in taxes and income deductions.
Right now, a PlayStation 4 system costs $399.99 plus tax.  The current tax rate in my area is 8%.  So total cost is $431.98
My last paycheck was $1,297.50.  $277.83 was withheld for various taxes and health insurance premiums.  If I have to go to the doctor, I have to pay $50 out of pocket.  An ER visit costs me $100 out of pocket.  Prescriptions (with my insurance) costs $8 for generic, $35 for brand-name (of which many medications have no generic alternative in the US yet) and if they consider it non-formulary (ie a newer medicine they don't want to pay for even if it is the best medicine for your ailment or condition), they have the option of charging you up to $100 per prescription or not covering it at all.  Wonderful American health care system at work!

So basically, as an American I am taxed/billed/charged 21.4% of my pay right off the top.  This doesn't include actually going to a doctor which is more or filling a prescription which is outrageous.

I'm genuinely curious how this compares to standard of living in Canada, Europe and elsewhere. 

[kamikazekeeg]

Glad to see a price drop, which will be good for me when I look at buying one next year sometime.

[devancowan]

Or alternatively, if you live in Canada, you get a $20 price drop. Most bundles are now $429.99 instead of $449.99. Wowee. Yay for the Canadian dollar.

I actually wanted to discuss this (rationally...) with someone as I see it pop up on forums all the time with the price difference between Canada and the US, and there are other factors I am genuinely curious if they have an overall economic effect.  So here goes.

Example for me, in the US factoring in taxes and income deductions.
Right now, a PlayStation 4 system costs $399.99 plus tax.  The current tax rate in my area is 8%.  So total cost is $431.98
My last paycheck was $1,297.50.  $277.83 was withheld for various taxes and health insurance premiums.  If I have to go to the doctor, I have to pay $50 out of pocket.  An ER visit costs me $100 out of pocket.  Prescriptions (with my insurance) costs $8 for generic, $35 for brand-name (of which many medications have no generic alternative in the US yet) and if they consider it non-formulary (ie a newer medicine they don't want to pay for even if it is the best medicine for your ailment or condition), they have the option of charging you up to $100 per prescription or not covering it at all.  Wonderful American health care system at work!

So basically, as an American I am taxed/billed/charged 21.4% of my pay right off the top.  This doesn't include actually going to a doctor which is more or filling a prescription which is outrageous.

I'm genuinely curious how this compares to standard of living in Canada, Europe and elsewhere.

I feel like a lot of that gets taken advantage of as a Canadian. If your ever feeling sick, you go to the doctor and it's free. Broke your arm? Head to the ER for free. Almost anything that has to do with the doctor is free. However, we do have to pay for our prescriptions, and visits to the dentist. Most of this cost would be covered from your work insurance (if you have it) if not all of the cost. I'm 22 years old and have never had to pay for a visit to the doctor, dentist or prescription, so I guess we take that for granted.

[gf78]

I feel like a lot of that gets taken advantage of as a Canadian. If your ever feeling sick, you go to the doctor and it's free. Broke your arm? Head to the ER for free. Almost anything that has to do with the doctor is free. However, we do have to pay for our prescriptions, and visits to the dentist. Most of this cost would be covered from your work insurance (if you have it) if not all of the cost. I'm 22 years old and have never had to pay for a visit to the doctor, dentist or prescription, so I guess we take that for granted.

Thanks for the info!  If you don't mind me asking, what are your prescription costs? 

Dental insurance for me and a large majority of US citizens is separate from health insurance and the coverage is pretty poor.  For example, with our insurance a tooth extraction is $250 out of pocket and a root canal is almost $1000.  About the only thing 100% covered is a yearly cleaning.  I spend around $120 out of pocket a year just for the insurance.

Really, I'm just trying to figure out average living expenses and how the costs of goods-such as the PS4-fit into the average budget.  Meaning, it seems that my Canadian neighbors and fellow gamers are getting stiffed on the cost of a new PS4 compared to US prices. 

But does your price include tax or is that separate?  For example as I said before, you have to add $32 to the cost of a PS4 where I live for sales tax.

Do Canadians get hosed on social security, federal, state and all these other taxes like we do in the US? 

[abe]

Really, I'm just trying to figure out average living expenses and how the costs of goods-such as the PS4-fit into the average budget.  Meaning, it seems that my Canadian neighbors and fellow gamers are getting stiffed on the cost of a new PS4 compared to US prices. 

But does your price include tax or is that separate?  For example as I said before, you have to add $32 to the cost of a PS4 where I live for sales tax.

Tax is not included. For example, before tax, one of the cheaper PS4 bundles would cost $429.99. Tax is different depending on what province you live in. Where I live, after tax one of those PS4 bundles would cost me $494.49 (15% tax).

It wasn't until the Canadian dollar started slowly losing value a couple years ago that video games started getting more expensive. In 2012 and most of 2013, games cost more or less the same here as they did in the US, but they've increased in price a couple times since then. As another example, most handheld games cost $40 on release for a standard edition in the US. Back in 2013 I bought Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) for $40 (before tax), same as what it cost in the US. Last year when Demon Gaze (PS Vita) came out, it cost me $45 (plus tax), $5 more than the US. Now in 2015, it's gotten to the point where almost no new handheld games release below $50 (again, before tax). Yes there are exceptions, but for the most part, handheld games don't release for anything less than $50. As for current-gen console games, most big releases cost at $70-$80 at launch compared to the $60 they generally are in the US.

[gf78]

Ugh...that sucks bud.   

[weirdfeline]

This was like the most unnecessary price drop ever but I feel like Phil Spencer bullied them into it. A week or two before the price drop he was saying that Sony will drop the price then every major gaming website ran with that story basically forcing Sony to do it. They should've at least waited for Xbox One to beat the PS4 in sales for a change., but good for the consumer though.

[gf78]

This was like the most unnecessary price drop ever but I feel like Phil Spencer bullied them into it. A week or two before the price drop he was saying that Sony will drop the price then every major gaming website ran with that story basically forcing Sony to do it. They should've at least waited for Xbox One to beat the PS4 in sales for a change., but good for the consumer though.

Nah, I don't think Spencer bullied them or influenced Sony in any way.  The time was right for a price drop, it's been nearly two years.