Looks like Sony may be just as frustrated with their current situation as gamers are, as both sides of the battle are steadfast in their beliefs over the PS3's current price tag. In terms of a price cut, gamers have loudly shouted "Yea", while Sony has clearly shouted back with a deafening "Nay." So, what's the deal here? What's keeping Sony from dropping the price, say $100?
Well, you may find your answers from Sony's president and CEO of Sony America, Jack Tretton and Sony's chairman, president and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, who both spoke out in separate interviews about the problems of a price cut.
During an interview with Fast Company, Jack Tretton spoke about how Sony is looking long term, say 10 years long term in trying to grab consumers.
"People are having short-term thinking - the platform is not even three years old. It was $599; it's now $399," he said. "The focus on pricing is something we appreciate, but you have to have the conviction and the confidence that you are on the right path for the long term and ultimately you'll get all the consumers you want. You won't get them all day one, but we're looking to get them over a 10-year period. It's going to take different things to get different consumers."
Sony seems pretty stubborn about this 10-year plan, for better or for worse, but with the current economic situation, who knows how long this plan can hold out. However, Tretton seemed confident that this year would be better than the last, citing their upcoming digital media, especially for the PSPgo, and the PS3's versatility and "tremendous value."
That "tremendous value" might not be seen by all however, including game developers, as last June Activision CEO and president Bobby Kotick spoke out about the system, saying:
"If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console - and the PSP too." - Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision
Tough words, but in an Interview conducted with Reuters, Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer didn't seem to concerned about the threat and had a response to Kotick's statement, saying:
"He likes to make a lot of noise. He's putting pressure on me and I'm putting pressure on him. That's the nature of business."
A lot of people are fearing Sony's "nature of business" as of late, and when asked about the logic of not cutting the PS3's price, Stringer stated:
"I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make - how's that for logic."
These are tough time my friends and it seems it may get a bit tougher if Sony holds to this 10-year plan of theirs. "Logically" it would make more sense for Sony to invest in a product that was more efficient and didn't cost so much to produce and sell (How's that for logic?). But, hopefully, if rumors are to be believed, Sony may be simply trying to cover for a rumored upcoming "PS3 slim" which would cost way less to produce and sell on the market. Let us hope this is the case, because if it isn't, gamers "10-year plan" may be to avoid Sony all together.
To read the full interviews and articles with Jack Tretton and Sir Howard Stringer, check out Fast Company and Reuters.
