SCE boss says that supply, and not price, was the biggest challenge PS3 had to overcome
In an exclusive interview with consumer site Spong, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai has come out in defence of the firm’s PS3, claiming that it was satisfying demand, and not the machine’s launch price, that proved the biggest hurdle for the firm.
“I think the original price-point was the right price-point,” Hirai stated. “This was evidenced by the issues we had at launch when we couldn’t supply enough units to consumers in the Japanese market and the North American market, and it was a huge challenge to try and meet that demand because of all the production issues we had.
“When we started this business, we started from zero. We were a nobody. We had a zero installed base with the original PlayStation and we worked our way up from there. When we launched the PS2, the Dreamcast had a head-start and they had an installed base and we had to ensure we caught up and surpassed.
“We’re in a position where we’re having to play catch-up here. The PS3 has been on the market less than a year in the US and Japan and, what is it, less than that in Europe? It’s difficult right now to say who’s where. Five years from now, ten years from now, you look back and can see what kind of business you’ve generated.
“So, clearly we’ve never started from a position of strength and we’ve always had to catch up with every generation of hardware that we’ve brought into the market.
“In the PS3, we’re very excited about this holiday season, moving into the new fiscal year. We’ll have 200 titles worldwide, 120 of which will be available in the North American market, so we go into the holidays, we’re really going to be cooking on all cylinders with all three platforms and we’re really excited about going into the holiday season. I almost wish the holiday season was here now so we can really get in there.”
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Comments
lee johnson
i think a large problem is with the ps3 is, when a title is released on xbox360 but delayed on ps3, if its the same game it should be out on the same day all platforms.
I really do hope ps3 starts to hold its own, as it got a huge potential but its not quite there yet, also online funcionality need addressing, voice chat etc the service needs an update,
especially when haze comes out 4 player co-op you will need voice chat working.
Err
With PS1 being a sucess vs the Saturn which was a huge failure, Sega then launched the Dreamcast but given developers jumped on the Sony bandwagen Sony weren't the ones starting at the bottom in fairness they had their userbase and with the name SONY at hand it was much easier for them. Even though the Dreamcast is a much better console since it could go online as well as the PS2 went online much much later.
Sony are continuing to 'hope' and 'dream' if the holiday season was here now then what about the games that are still in development that still need to be made? I think the longer the holiday season takes the better for Sony and the devs that are making the games.
Also considering 90% of the games are all cross platform the Xbox 360 has yet again got the best holiday line up this year especially with HALO 3 just being launched, PGR4 is out tomorrow in the US and 12th October in Europe, then Mass Effect in Nov I think that says about it really.
Xbox 360 has everything perfect from a gaming perspective.
Re: lee johnson
Remember Hirai's comments about this holiday season and how they are cooking on all cylinders.
Then around February, see what the excuses are when the performance is below what is expected.
And how many of you still defend Sonys total failure to get what on paper seems a decent machine to sell.
Yes, I prefer 360 but, I do not want to see Sony fail because once any company gets too far in front, it gets complacent and this is bad for the consumer.
lee johnson
i think a large problem is with the ps3 is, when a title is released on xbox360 but delayed on ps3, if its the same game it should be out on the same day all platforms.
I really do hope ps3 starts to hold its own, as it got a huge potential but its not quite there yet, also online funcionality need addressing, voice chat etc the service needs an update,
especially when haze comes out 4 player co-op you will need voice chat working.
Re: Satisfying demand?
“I think the original price-point was the right price-point,” Hirai stated. “This was evidenced by the issues we had at launch when we couldn’t supply enough units to consumers in the Japanese market and the North American market, and it was a huge challenge to try and meet that demand because of all the production issues we had."
Yes, of course, totally neglect the fact that in both territories, 80 per cent of those units sold in the US and Japan ended up in eBay...and then four weeks later ended up back at retailers after punters took them back because no one wanted them.
Proof? Look at the UK and European markets where Sony had units gathering dust on the shelves. Now tell me Hirai that it wasn't down to the price.
Re: Satisfying demand?
right price? yeah right! £400 for a console which has a few good games (each cost £50, which is £10 more than their 360 version), and any multiformat games are released usually 2 weeks after the other platforms.
Make it cheaper, make the games cheaper, and get those good games out there. you can do it sony, stop being arrogant because you had success with ps2. Stop with the silly marketing nonsense and do some good business.
Re: Satisfying demand?
If supply was the problem and not price, why where there loads in any store you went too at launch?
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