With the worldwide economic downturn, many electronic entertainment companies have been sent scrambling. Among the largest affected by the decrease in spending has been Sony. Not only is the console manufacturer already taking a significant hit for every PlayStation 3 console sold, but now there is mounting pressure for another price cut.
Industry luminaries including the likes of Peter Moore, formerly of Microsoft fame, have spoken about the necessity for Sony to offer up a price cut, and soon. After announcing Electronic Art’s new focus towards Wii development, he was quoted saying:
“You can’t ignore the guy who has half the market,” said Peter Moore, head of sports games at Redwood City, California- based Electronic Arts, maker of the “Madden NFL” series….
“Sony obviously still has a ways to go with their pricing,” Moore, a former executive in Microsoft’s Xbox division, said in an interview. Electronic Arts is committed to the PS3 and expects a cut eventually, he said. — Bloomberg.com
Interestingly enough, one of the most outspoken people addressing the need for a PlayStation 3 price cuts is Alex Evans of Media Molecule. As most are aware, sales of LittleBigPlanet failed to meet expectations last year, but he has always argued that it was due to the lack of a diverse console install base. In a recent interview Evans discussed why a price cut would help stimulate sales:
“They’ve had all these, you know, SingStars and the EyeToy games. They’ve had their casual gaming audience on the PS2, and they have to translate that over to PS3 now.
“As they do that, I’ll be very happy with that, because that’s how I see PS3 growing. That’s why I’m kind of comfortable with it for now… As soon as they drop their price, ho ho ho.” — GamesIndustry.biz
Evans was spot on when he talks about the need to tap into the casual fan base that was present in the PlayStation 2 era. However, the main stumbling block continues to be the four hundred dollar (USD) barrier to entry. Not only does this place the console out of the reach of many, but it alienates the audience that made them successful in the last console generation.
Many analysts have predicted that there could be up to a one hundred dollar price drop on the way, but Sony has remained silent on the topic for quite some time. From where I am sitting, the more they delay the inevitable and necessary price drop, the more consumers they risk losing to the more cost-efficient Wii and Xbox 360. I know we will have to be patient, but I can’t help but feel that if this is not addressed soon, the days of the PlayStation 3 may be numbered.
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