wraggster
June 9th, 2009, 16:32
Sony's newly appointed president and CEO of Europe has said that he doesn't believe the price of the PSP Go will harm sales on release later this year.
Asked whether the EUR 249 price may act as a barrier to purchase in a repeat of the slow uptake that hampered the luxury-priced PlayStation 3, House said that Europe wasn't traditionally a price driven market.
"I don't think so," he offered, admitting, "If it's cheaper would we sell more? The answer would probably be yes."
House said that consumers understand the hardware is worth the asking price, allowing them to buy into a system that will be supported for at least ten years, and allows easy access to content through a convenient digital network.
"I think on PlayStation 3, and the potential with an extension of PSP, we've got an opportunity to go even further on that. The overall value proposition which, by the way, European consumers get very, very well, I don't think they are as price driven as other markets.
"So the overall value proposition is really strong and trends towards that lifecycle. And then you've got for the first time a networked community for the business and the strength that implies. That's a huge factor in retaining people for a longer lifecycle with the product they have, because now they've bought into not just a packaged media relationship with games, but they're bought into a community that they're sharing with people and they're interacting with."
House refused to discuss a UK price for the system, even though the hardware has been given an RRP for Europe and North America, stating only that “We'll give it full and due consideration at the price point that we think is right for the business model and the consumer.”
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/price-not-a-barrier-for-new-psp-go-house
Asked whether the EUR 249 price may act as a barrier to purchase in a repeat of the slow uptake that hampered the luxury-priced PlayStation 3, House said that Europe wasn't traditionally a price driven market.
"I don't think so," he offered, admitting, "If it's cheaper would we sell more? The answer would probably be yes."
House said that consumers understand the hardware is worth the asking price, allowing them to buy into a system that will be supported for at least ten years, and allows easy access to content through a convenient digital network.
"I think on PlayStation 3, and the potential with an extension of PSP, we've got an opportunity to go even further on that. The overall value proposition which, by the way, European consumers get very, very well, I don't think they are as price driven as other markets.
"So the overall value proposition is really strong and trends towards that lifecycle. And then you've got for the first time a networked community for the business and the strength that implies. That's a huge factor in retaining people for a longer lifecycle with the product they have, because now they've bought into not just a packaged media relationship with games, but they're bought into a community that they're sharing with people and they're interacting with."
House refused to discuss a UK price for the system, even though the hardware has been given an RRP for Europe and North America, stating only that “We'll give it full and due consideration at the price point that we think is right for the business model and the consumer.”
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/price-not-a-barrier-for-new-psp-go-house