Create new account
Forgot password?

NEWS

EA CEO Praises Sony’s “Bold” PS3 Price Cut

Tom Ivan's picture

By Tom Ivan

August 20, 2009

  • Login or register to post comments

See also:

Related Articles:

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello believes Sony’s decision to cut the price of the PS3 this week was a "bold move done precisely at the right time."

The platform holder announced at Gamescom on Tuesday that it would be cutting the price of the console by $100 to $299 and introducing a new slimline model at the same price point.

Riccitiello told the Associated Press that it would have been unwise to delay the price cut until right before Christmas when the message might have been lost on some consumers. He referred to this week’s price cut announcement as a "great move" that "really stands out."

PS3 game sales generated $121 million for EA during its first fiscal quarter, making the platform the third most lucrative for the publisher.

Following the PS3 price cut announcement, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton suggested that the system's new price point is "the sweet spot" that will convince more consumers to purchase the console, while analysts said that the move will help close the sales between gap between the PS3 and Microsoft’s rival Xbox 360.

German's picture
On August 20th German said:

Its kind of funny to say that the platform is the third most lucrative for EA when there are only 3 major consoles, I know there is the DS and PSP but I tend to see them in a different category.

All in all I think that is great news for Sony and I hope it goes well for them, now I can finally pick up a PS3 and get to play KZ2. MGS4 and heavenly Sword while I wait for God of War 3!!!!

fangry123's picture
On August 20th fangry123 said:

Actually, the 2 "major consoles" that made more money for EA were the Wii and PC...

toadwarrior's picture
On August 20th toadwarrior said:

Their markets:

Wii
360
PS3
PC
PSP
DS
Mobile
iphone/itouch

Those aren't tiny forgettable markets (hence the reason they're in them) and console games seem to forget there is a world outside of their favourite system and its arch nemesis.

German's picture
On August 21st German said:

Potato, Poteto, Tomato, Tometo.

Obviously there are more markets and other consoles we all know that, but what I meant is that what everyone focuses on is the 3 major players, as in the ones that have press conferences at E3 and the ones the majority of people and media seem to care, the ones that get the fanboys all riled up, etc.

I don't think gamers forget there are other markets outside of their favorite system and its arch nemesis as you put it (I agree with you by the way) its just that they don't care so all the focus goes to the main 3, Wii, PS3 and 360. Love it or hate it that's the way it is.

toadwarrior's picture
On August 22nd toadwarrior said:

Again it's not just console companies that show up at E3. PC games are shown there and maybe mobile games are. I wouldn't be certain because I don't care for mobile games.

Fanboys are dedicated but they're becoming less relevant. I'm not sure you can really judge the industry based on teenagers that will defend their system to death because it's the only one mommy would buy for them.

samromeo's picture
On August 20th samromeo said:

I really hope that it pays off for Sony. Its about time something went right for them.

Peter_Pesic's picture
On August 20th Peter_Pesic said:

"Its about time something went right for them."

I think that's a bit of an incorrect statement, the power to drop the price on the PS3 has always been in Sony's hands. The question becomes if the price cut came too late.

Either way, the PS3 being cheaper is great news for everyone who enjoys video games, and didn't have a PS3 because it was previously out of their affordable price range.

samromeo's picture
On August 21st samromeo said:

Wrong, i'm afraid. Yes it has been Sonys decision to drop the price, but whether it goes well or not isn't, thats down to the buying public. What i was saying was that all of their previous decisions to market as a 'high end, blueray player/games console' didnt go well, and that i hope this one does.
x

quietIdentity's picture
On August 20th quietIdentity said:

Not to mention how sexy the new PS3 is, mmm sexy box.

Chotus's picture
On August 21st Chotus said:

It looks more like a video game console now. Not neccessarily a bad thing, just different.

I thought the original looked like a nice piece of AV gear. (I own the original 60GB version)

quietIdentity's picture
On August 23rd quietIdentity said:

Same I have the original PS3 60g, I found out Sony are going to stop the 'Install other OS feature' from the the new PS3 from the Yellowdog board. Glad I got the original they keep dropping features with every new iteration.

Playstation 3 remains the only unhacked system, but now they're blocking Linux geeks there will be a lot of support for hacking the console which will eventuate in the system being hacked. No doubt. Since the commercial hackers (Pirates) piggyback on the success of the enthusiast hackers (Linux) Sony stands to lose from this ill-formed decision.

So yes this once viable multimedia entertainment system is just another console which will be used for other means whether Sony likes it or not. While a lot of PS3 games have the innate security of being massive it's PSN games that stand to lose from Pirates getting access to a hacked console. No one will care if Sony make it so you can't access PSN with your hacked console either as TPB will become peoples PSN.

Bad call Sony I hope you change your minds.