Sony chief warns PS3 will be "expensive"; PS2 hits sales highs

[wraggster]

Last week at Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation Meeting in Japan, company president Ken Kutaragi appeared on stage to discuss further information on the current status of the PlayStation 3.

Kutaragi started out by reconfirming that the PS3 will be backwards-compatible with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games and support high-definition TVs. "We're looking at a life cycle of 10 years with the PlayStation 3. We're currently shifting from standard TVs to HD TVs," said Kutaragi. "But in the next couple of years, most flat-panel TVs will be full HD. We're releasing the PS3 with full HD features from the start so that consumers won't have to buy another version of the console in the future. For the same reason, we're using Blu-ray as the PS3's disc format."

"I'm aware that with all these technologies, the PS3 can't be offered at a price that's targeted towards households. I think everyone can still buy it if they wanted to," said Kutaragi to a mostly Japanese crowd. "But we're aiming for consumers throughout the world. So we're going to have to do our best (in containing the price)."

Then Kutaragi issued a somewhat ominous warning. "I'm not going to reveal its price today. I'm going to only say that it'll be expensive," he stated.

Sony also gave an update of the latest PlayStation 2 sales statistics, revealing it has shipped 91.62 million PS2 units worldwide as of 20 July. Of those, 37 million were in North America, 21.41 were in Japan and Asia, and 33.21 were in Europe. PS2 software has shipped a $#@!ulative 863 million during the same period: 395 million in America, 176 million in Japan, including Asia, and 292 million in Europe.

When including original PlayStation game sales, the software figure jumps to 1.822 billion units: 767 million in America, 461 million in Japan and Asia, and 594 million in Europe and PAL regions. Overall, the PlayStation and PS2 are currently available in 120 countries with a library of more than 13,000 games: more than 7,700 for the PlayStation and 5,200 for the PS2.

As for sales in Japan, Sony disclosed that there have been some demographic changes following the launch of the new, slimline PS2 console last November. While most owners of the old PS2 were aged 25-29, the majority of buyers of the slimline model are 40-44. Buyers aged 30-39 have increased, while consumers in the 20-29 age range have dramatically dropped, possibly because they already own a PS2. Sony also revealed that the number of female purchasers has been increasing, and sales of the PS2 rose from 12.9 percent to 17.8 percent with the appearance of the new model.

After briefing visitors with the latest statistics on the PS2's success, Sony showed off some short trailers of anticipated upcoming games, starting with Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Aside from the main character Vincent, other characters from the original series confirmed in the trailer include Cid, Barret, and Tifa. Other games shown at the meeting included: Bandai's Dragon Ball Z Sparking!, Naruto: Uzumaki Ninden, Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed Destiny: Generation of CE; Square Enix's Grandia and Code Age Commanders; Capcom's Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams and Resident Evil 4; Namco's Tales of Legendia; Atlus' Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou; Sega's Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou 3; Konami's Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence; and Sony Computer Entertainment's Ratchet & Clank 4th (which may be the Japanese title for Ratchet: Deadlocked) and Shadow of the Colossus.

[rmedtx]

If the PS3 is under $500 I will buy it. More than that I would have to wait for a price drop.

[Raveneye]

Hell if the ps3 is gonna be that freaken expensive forget it. I'm just a 16 yo, if it's anywhere between 300 and up i'm getting something else. I don't care about all the cell tech. and the mp3's and movies, if it's gonna be 500$,... I mean i'm buying it for playing games not music or anything else. If i want to watch a movie I got a dvd player at home that works just fine, and a iPod for mp3's; i mean why should i spend 500$ on a piece of electronics that can do a lot stuf when i got Separate devices already at home that work just as good.

I think i'm gonna go for the Nintendo Revolution. It's looking better every day, I mean you can't beat it's internet sevice. Free internet online play, not to mention you can download every single game ever made by nintendo for free. It makes me drool just thinking of it. And not to mention that there's rumors that Nintendo discovered a new rendering method thats faster better and less hardware consuming then anything out there now, so the games'll be just as good looking as the ps3's. not to mention it'll be alot cheaper, some estemate it'll be 200$ or less! aghhhh... (drooling again)

(Edit)-- Answering Comments
--Nope just have a poor family (sorry no porn or gummybears here)
--Our dad is leaving our mom so nearly all money must go to bills, and lawyer.
--sorry here's the correction "Classic Nintendo titles will be free."not all of them, though i heard that that makes 221 free games.

[gimpyjr]

Man holy freaking crap! Don't spend all your money on porn and gummybears and maybe you would have some dough.

Just have patience and save your money grass hopper!

all good things come to he who waits. :-)

[gimpyjr]

My money is all on PS3 and revolution. Oh also the game downloads wont be free but who needs em when you've got the PSP homebrew scene baby!

I like the thought of playing all my old stuff though. I just want to see some demos and the revolution controller for god sake.

;-)

[RedKing14CA]

Then Kutaragi issued a somewhat ominous warning. "I'm not going to reveal its price today. I'm going to only say that it'll be expensive," he stated...

some one PLEASE bitch slap this dude

[Kaiser]

I expect it to be 500-600 dollars. Thats not to bad as the PS2 and Xbox were 500 dollars when it first came out. I hate some Americans who complained that the about there cheap $299 price tag on the PS2 when it first came out. For us Canadians its quite more expensive. For Australians its even worse. Around 100 bucks for a new game in Australia.

can download every single game ever made by nintendo for free.

. Nintendo would never and I mean NEVER sell all of there old games for free. Maybe a free game or two when they start up but after that hell no!

some one PLEASE bitch slap this dude

For sure

[gimpyjr]

I agree with kaiser. But instead of saying some americans why not say some people. It won't offend anyone that way. Myself included.

Everyone has a right to complain! I am an american and im not rich! I had to pay $500 too.

Not all americans have money, live in hollywood, and wear designer clothes.

We are just like everyone else.

[WSOUNitePirate895]

[QUOTE=Raveneye]Hell if the ps3 is gonna be that freaken expensive forget it. I'm just a 16 yo, if it's anywhere between 300 and up i'm getting something else. I don't care about all the cell tech. and the mp3's and movies, if it's gonna be 500$,... I mean i'm buying it for playing games not music or anything else. If i want to watch a movie I got a dvd player at home that works just fine, and a iPod for mp3's; i mean why should i spend 500$ on a piece of electronics that can do a lot stuf when i got Separate devices already at home that work just as good........."

"From:computerandvideogames.com, Tuesday 5th July 2005
KUTARAGI: EARN YOUR PS3!

You'll toil long hours but are you worthy enough to own a PS3?

16:21 Following tantalising recent rumours and speculation on the price of the PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi has told gamers they'll need to earn the PS3, dropping the strongest hints yet that we could be looking at the most expensive of the next-generation machines.
Speaking to leading Japanese economic web site Toyo Keizai, Kutaragi-san said that players would need to work hard for their PS3, dropping the following bombshell: "Our goal for PlayStation 3 is for consumers to think to themselves, 'I will work more hours to buy one'. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else."

Listen closely and you can probably hear the sound of Microsoft execs dancing around the boardroom. Price point is going to a crucial battleground in the next generation and with senior MS personnel dropping hints of a price around the $299 mark, Sony, it seems from these comments, could be hard pushed to be quite so aggressive on price alone. Informed insider opinion from long standing Sony watchers has suggested a launch price of up to $400 for the PS3, though that, of course, remains highly speculative for the moment.
However being a touch more expensive may not necessarily a bad thing for Sony. It means it'd lose less money for each unit sold and that extra bit of wonga on top might add a certain extra chic and cachet, even if it follows months after the Xbox 360."

IT's all bull "we want people to feel they wanted.." yea ok KEN ... I'll feel I want it when all my bills are high up on the roof, and I am siting outside like a Hobo with my ps3.... and psp which was also an arm and leg.
If I were microsoft or nintendo even, I would defenetely be prancing around at PS3 high cost system, more sales for me. Maybe sony dosent want the minority population, hard-workers, and middle to low class to have such a majestic machine and believe the small amount of rich ppl in the world are going to buy it.... they got all thier demographics in the wrong order... and I bet Ken is DBUI (doing buisness under the infulence)