Kaz Hirai: Original PS3 Price Point the Right One
By Chris on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 11:21 AM PST In Sony, Sony, Sony
In a recent interview with Spong, Kaz Hirai conceded that Sony needs to play catch up with the PlayStation 3, as it isn’t dominating like past consoles. But, he feels confident in the system’s ability to do well in the long run, as the PlayStation had no fanbase when it launched, and the PlayStation 2 had been beaten to the market by the Dreamcast. (That’s a bit of a weak argument right there, even if it is true.)
We’re in a position where we’re having to play catch-up here. The PS3 has been on the market less than a year in the US and Japan and, what is it, less than that in Europe? It’s difficult right now to say who’s where. Five years from now, ten years from now, you look back and can see what kind of business you’ve generated. So, clearly we’ve never started from a position of strength and we’ve always had to catch up with every generation of hardware that we’ve brought into the market.
Later in the interview, he stuck by Sony’s original price decisions for the system, pointing towards their inability to meet demand.
I think the original price-point was the right price-point, evidenced by the issues we had at launch when we couldn’t supply enough units to consumers in the Japanese market and the North American market, and it was a huge challenge to try and meet that demand because of all the production issues we had. It wasn’t a pricing issue, it was a supply issue.
That supply issue didn’t last all that long, though. Remember this?
il buy a ps3 when i get a job and finish pay college this semester and metal gear solid 4 comes out no doubt
@jay: In all seriousness, it’s good to see you have your priorities straightened out. There really is no rush to buy a PS3 right now, so take care of your debts and know that the PS3 will always be there.
I’m sorry, but anyone who can be parodied simply for saying “599 US dollars” shouldn’t do anything related to PR again…ever. Granted, the PS3 has sold, but, it’s in all degrees, ‘losing’. The PSP is biting the dust and Sony is fighting itself…and losing. Their promotion of the PS2 with new peripherals, whilst appealing to the hugest install base, is going up put peoople off buying a PS3. Why? Sony’s telling them they don’t need to.
I ordered the PS3 off ebay from a seller in Korea. When I first opened the box, I noticed a tiny crab-like insect jump from the box and into my underwear (I wear really loose undies). Ever since that moment my pubes have been all red and itchy.
Moral of the story? Stay away from the PS3.