Tretton: Publishers, Keep Your Noses Out of Hardware Pricing

Developers and publishers have frequently been critical of the price point of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; especially the latter, which originally launched at $499 and $599. Just recently, Activision expressed its desire to see both systems at a price of $199 within two years – something that SCEA CEO Jack Tretton believes is “unrealistic.”

In an interview with The Mercury News, Tretton had some critical words for publishers who have been, well, critical of the PS3’s pricing.

In direct response to the comments made by Activision’s Bobby Kotick, Tretton had the following to say:

Well, I think from an unrealistic standpoint, I’m never surprised by that, because a software manufacturer may not be concerned whether a hardware manufacturer is successful or whether they’re profitable. But I think they should be, because without the hardware manufacturer, the software manufacturer has nothing to publish on. But, you know, I’m surprised by it, because I would never venture to suggest what software publishers should price their software at. So I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to suggest what hardware should be priced at.

When the interviewer mentioned that Activision may be reacting to the success of the Wii at its $249 price point, Tretton got a little snarky, saying, “… maybe he should design a platform.”

Publishers do invest millions of dollars into triple-A games, so is it unreasonable for them to want the platforms they’ll be selling on to be as mass market as possible? No, but citing specific prices from a third party’s perspective perhaps isn’t the most insightful way of going about this.

via GamesIndustry.biz