PS3 is 'Going to Stand the Test of Time'

via Gamedaily


The PS3's current price has been a subject of constant debate among industry analysts. Rumors of price cuts have been flying fast and wild of late, many of which see a price drop in the next month or two. Speaking to GameDaily BIZ in an interview, SCEA's Senior VP of Marketing Peter Dille sees not a high price in the PS3, but high value.

"I think it's already well publicized that we have a very clear objective from our parent, Sony Corp., that we're to focus on a profit objective, and with those marching orders it limits the playbook when it comes to pricing and promotion," expressed Dille. "Our competition had a very aggressive pricing strategy, but they also were packing two, three, four games in with the unit weekend to weekend with different retailers, and that cost a lot of money. So we had a profit goal and they had a market share goal. We've had a very successful year; we had record revenues across our three platforms last year, and our PS3 business was up 40 percent, notwithstanding the tough climate. So we've really focused on changing the conversation away from price and trying to communicate the value inherent in the PS3."

"I think when people start doing the apples-to-apples comparison, and see what PS3 can do, and see the value of Blu-ray, and what free online and free wi-fi with a hard drive in every box really means, it resonates," he added. "I think people are gravitating to it and we've got a lot of momentum with the launch of Killzone 2 – we're seeing a nice upsurge in our business. What we set out to do at Destination PlayStation (DPS) was to articulate our plans and lay out the road map, communicating our great software lineup. Some people probably were coming into DPS skeptical about what our plans really were, and I would venture to say that certainly all the retail partners I met with and all the publishing partners were really fired up about the year ahead for PS3.

"We also have to work hard to gain our consumers' trust and make them comfortable that when they buy a PS3, it's going to stand the test of time. The fact of the matter is we're the only console manufacturer that's ever launched a product that's had a 10-year life-cycle. And we've done that now not once, but twice. One of the great things about the PS3 is that if you buy it today you can be confident it's going to be the centerpiece of your entertainment for the next 10 years. Economically, that's a great value."

"Yes, in tough times people think twice about discretionary spending, but we also know people spend for value. They are looking for things that will last before they spend the money. We believe that plays right into our strengths," he noted.