Sony: No PS3 price cut on way – Praise for Xbox 360 and Wii
Whether you believe Sony and the PS3 are in trouble or not is personal opinion. But the one thing everybody seems to agree on is that the Playstation 3 needs a price cut and quick. Unfortunately it’s not going to happen for a long time to come, as SCEE President David Reeves has now confirmed. However, he did have praise for the PS3’s rivals.
I don’t believe the PS3 is in trouble at all. Sure, it’s currently third in the sales rankings this generation and sure, there’s a good chance that’s where it will remain. But all three consoles have sold enough to ensure a three-way next gen, and all three home consoles have done the industry some good.
However, the PS3 is too expensive. I know you get a lot of kit for your money, such as a Blu-ray player, a state of the art games machine, Home, and some brilliant exclusive games, but it’s still too expensive, especially compared to the Xbox 360 and Wii.
There were rumors of a price cut on its way in the Spring but Sony has already denied it. And now SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) President David Reeves has confirmed Sony’s commitment to the current price point.
In an interview with MCV, he stated quite categorically:
No, we are not going to go down in price on PS3 – neither are we going to go down in price on PS3 in spring time either. Absolutely not, whatever you might have heard to the contrary. Our strategy is very much value added.
I can’t help thinking that’s a mistake because although many people have already bought a PS3 or are going to regardless of the cost, it’s miles away from that mainstream consumer sweet spot that the Wii launched at and the Xbox 360 has recently been reduced to. I know it’s a business but man, that’s surely cutting your nose off to spite your face.
However, David Reeves did please me with some of his comments.
I know it’s natural for competing companies to dismiss each other’s products and try to besmirch their rivals’ reputations, but I must admit to growing tired of the petty squabbling. Can’t we all just get on? The games industry is notorious for marketing efforts and interview comments that focus as much on the competition as the company doing the talking.
But Reeves eschewed the nasty talk and actually praised Nintendo and Microsoft, saying:
Nintendo have only done good things. They have expanded geographically and dramatically extended demographically. They have never been afraid to try new products, be that hardware, or software or peripherals. In a way, they have strength in silence as they don’t have to say too much. That’s really good, and it works for them.
For Microsoft, again, I can understand that, again, they have put money into the market and have initiated growth. In some ways what they have done is brought forward consumers from next year into this year.
By bringing the price down they are trying to establish themselves quickly, as they did with the first Xbox. But they have built online in a meaningful way and the competition they have brought to the market place is great.
Now that wasn’t too hard was it. Reeves may have disappointed millions of people hoping for a PS3 price cut in the near future but his comments on the competition have at least given me hope that there are some decent bods left in the cut-throat world of gaming.
Related Posts:
28 Responses to “Sony: No PS3 price cut on way – Praise for Xbox 360 and Wii”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
December 19th, 2008
OH NO HE DIDNT!!!
well… isnt the Visa Playstation card a good offer?? If youre an intelligent buyer… you should exploit this offer… but Ive heard on the podcasts… that its a bitch to get that $150 off… you gotta go through customer service and everything…
I hope it gets easier for people to buy a PS3 with this card… means more PSN buddies…
December 19th, 2008
I have family that did the $150 deal. If you go to a Sony style store they take it right off the price then.
This guy sure is a class act. Take note MS. That’s how you don’t act.
December 19th, 2008
Compare it to the snide comments from M$ and M$ look like Apple at their worst.
I don’t believe anything the guy says, but he’s still a legend.
December 19th, 2008
There will be a price cut next year.
With Gran Turismo 5, God Of War 3, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Heavy Rain,A Team ICO game (hopefully!) you cannot afford to price yourself out of the market; even if they will be a available for next ten years.
The longer the PS3 is outsold; the longer it will be to claw market share back; and the harder it *might* be to keep devs on board, even with the history and heritage of the PlayStation brand.
Though that said, Sony must be mightily relieved that they own the studios that produce most of the above games.
Otherwise they would be in huge trouble.
December 19th, 2008
I wanna hug him.
December 19th, 2008
Dave you said “I must admit to growing tired of the petty squabbling. Can’t we all just get on?”. So does this mean that BLORGE will stop flaming the console wars?
December 19th, 2008
stop talking crazy CAD.
December 19th, 2008
yes CAD… just because Blorge writers get Sony Underwear and Free Vacation in Japan doesnt mean they “flame” anything…
poor dave parrack only has 3 holiday homes in Sony land… thanks to you he cant afford the 4th one… LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!
December 19th, 2008
nice to hear the deal went ok phranc… but again… I dont think enough people know of this deal… I saw no ads… nothing… only on the web… its pathetic…
I saw an ad for Walmart… with 360 arcade and guitar hero and the mom was talking about how she can play with her children… its like a triple strike… three products in one… and I see no Littlebigplanet ads which tells you how awesome it is…
by the way… LBP… getting… FUCKING PAINT GUNS!!! that the sack people can hold… its in the MGS download able pack… or something… check it out…
PAINT GUNS!!! WOOOOO
December 19th, 2008
ahem…. WOOOO HOOO!!!!
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43860.html
watch and weep boys… Christmas has come early…
I cant decide what to get… LBP or R2???
December 19th, 2008
also… I think Media Molecule are starting to earn their “Best Studio of the Year” award…
nice job guys
December 20th, 2008
@dwh
ps3 has a guitar hero ad that’s similar with best buy.
December 20th, 2008
dwh – I checked out that LBP dlc , looks awesome! Will be getting that for sure, has extra trophies too
.
December 20th, 2008
phranc… it doesnt matter if they do or not… they dont tell it to people… I didnt know… and Im always in front of a TV… when I was buying a PS3… I saw walmart had awesome deal… deals with bundled games… bundled blu ray movies… but how many people know??
its a shame…
December 20th, 2008
Sony could move consoles at the current price point but their marketing sucks! Seen the new ads? They make sense IF you already know about PS3 and it’s games and capabilities but otherwise the public doesn’t get them. There is nothing in Sony’s marketing to inspire new adopters to buy a PS3, the public at large sees the prices and has no clue how much more bang for the buck they get. MS is killing them with massively marketed entry level consoles that needs hundreds in upgrades to compare, but the initial entry price is what gets the sales. After that, the lock in additional sales are gravy. Sony needs an “entry level” PS3 if they want to be competitive.
December 20th, 2008
I’m well past caring Dave.
I bought my XBox 360 60gb last night for £120 ($179) and picked up Guitar Hero 3 for £35 ($52).
In the UK those are excellent prices.
I then bought 10 other games.
Another affluent mature buyer lost for good.
(and what kind of crack are the Sony fanclub on here?
Sony don’t make snide unnecessarily abusive remarks, huh?
I think just about anything Stringer said in the last 2 years contradicts that completely)
December 20th, 2008
BTW that’s guitar hero 3 with the wireless guitar.
December 20th, 2008
Happyhockum
What 10 Games did you buy? And if your online hit me up “C DAWK” is my Gamer Tag.
December 20th, 2008
Hmm, gone a bit nuts I suppose really.
I got Gears 1 & 2, Battlefield 2, Blazing Aces, Fifa 08, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, Soul Caliber 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Project Gotham Racing & Tiger Woods PGA 06 (my two cheapy old games).
Plus the Guitar Hero 3.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my on-line play (of course I’ll be setting it up) I’m undecided whether to go wired or wireless.
I’m sure I’ll end up wireless but I’m possibly going to switch ISP in the next month or 2 and the new one is offering a wireless modem router (which will save me having to…..and if they are anything like Orange you have to use their own type so I’m reluctant to buy right now).
Whatever.
A couple of meters of ethernet cable is hardly a big deal.
I’m looking forward to seeing it on the big HD TV & hearing it through the HD receiver.
Once I’m up & running I’ll be happy to look you up CAD.
December 20th, 2008
Oh, I forgot to say, they threw in a Call of Duty 4 with the Xbox unit.
So I’m pretty well occupied for the time being with a fair spread of games!
My Mrs is happy they are not all war/shooters so, happy days, eh?
December 20th, 2008
…..and then I got a few more – MotoGP 08, World Superbikes 08 & Battlestations Midway.
All of which ends up with me spending just a little over what the basic PS3 would have cost me but now I have a stack of games to enjoy.
December 20th, 2008
write that gamertag down folks… if you meet this guy on LIVE… stay the fuck away from him… or he will drain away your common sense…
December 20th, 2008
I don’t know if little is the correct word.
But alas, i’ve lost all feeling of the value of the pound these days
I miss the 20pence piece. The mother fucker was all about not giving a fuck about being round (sure the 50p does too, but it just does it because its big)…
December 21st, 2008
darkwhitehair, are you drunk while writing your posts? Or are you like this in real life also?
December 22nd, 2008
He obviously has to deny a price cut of any kind. If he confirms one is due for spring of ’09, he risks hurting sales now.
Also I like that Sony’s representatives have class. Not like M$ who act like petty children, and never miss an opportunity to take jabs and cheap shots. It actually makes a broader statement about the companies and there products. Example 360 is to Trailer Trash as the PS3 is to living in the lap of luxury.
December 22nd, 2008
it’s hilarious all the ps3 gamers here are so young they don’t remember all the smack talking kuturagi, hirai and harrison did about the original xbox’s chances in the market, the impending failure of xbox live, and lack of bluray in the 360.
sorry ps3 fanboys..sony started the flame war, and now that they’re getting spanked by the 360 by huge margins, they want to play nice…
love it… lmao…
December 22nd, 2008
Sony did seem to talk a lot of trash in comparison to Microsoft before and immediately after the launch of PS3. I think they realize they do not have as much ground to stand on at this point, and have more respect for their competitors.
kev,
It is a decent margin, but the PS3 will probably not go the way of the XBox.
December 26th, 2008
Though Sony (immediately after the PS3 launch) may of been a bit upset about all Microsoft’s PR stunts. Like the thing with the boat, and the stack of beers thing and the thingy things. I can’t really remember, were a few though. To be honest, some of M$’s stunts were quite funny, so I’m not calling foul play anyway.