Destructoid is an independently-run gaming discussion community updated nearly every 20 minutes. Get started now by creating an avatar to post comments, upload videos, meet people, and create your own blog. Returning Dtoider? login!


all platforms pc/windows wii xbox 360 playstation 3 ds psp retro indie  
most recent
most popular
editors' picks
twitter updates
buy Dtoid gear
RSS feed



Dtoid staff
Nick Chester
Editor-in-Chief
Anthony Burch
Features Editor
Jim Sterling
Reviews Editor
Hamza Aziz
Community Mgr
Niero
Mr. Destructoid
Associate Editors
Brad Nicholson
Conrad
Zimmerman
Jonathan Holmes
Chad Concelmo
Dale North
Colette Bennett
Joseph Leray
Justin Villasenor
Samit Sarkar
Brad Rice
Ashley Davis
Dyson
Jordan Devore
Mike Ferry
Tom Fronczak
Topher Cantler
Qais Fulton
Contributors
Adam Dork
Charlie Suh
Joe Burling
Jonathan Ross

 
Podcasts
Rev on Podtoid
Chad on Retroforce GO!
Jim on The Podcastle

Elephant Software
Thomas Lackner

Destructoid is made by
ModernMethod


This Christmas is not the most critical for the PS3, says Sony Europe boss
David Houghton 07.21.08 - 7:40 PM 22 comments

This Christmas is not the most critical for the PS3, says Sony Europe boss screenshot

President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe David Reeves has been talking again, this time re-iterating Sony's mantra of "a marathon, not a sprint" by stating that it's actually going to be Christmas 2008 that the company aims to nail as a big pay-day rather than the one coming up.

Talking to the semi-official Three Speech blog, Reeves fielded questions about the lack of a European price-cut, the potential for a price drop before Christmas, and what SCEE is planning to do to improve the PS3's games line-up over the next 18 months. When asked how the PlayStation 3 will fare during this year's Christmas battle-zone, he responded: 

I think each peak is crucial to maximise what you can do, but I don’t think this Christmas is necessarily the most critical one – I think that’s going to be Christmas 08. I see this more as kind of like a tsunami – it starts small and gathers speed, and eventually, after four or five years, it will start to take you over. At least, that’s the way we’ve mapped it out. We’re not necessarily trying to take a scatter-gun approach with all the top titles just before Christmas. Again, it’s like reducing the price in summer – we don’t believe it works to put six or seven of our own games out [at Christmas], because consumers don’t have enough money to buy them all. And the trade doesn’t quite know where to put all the top titles. So what you’re going to see is that we might put some of our jewels out in February, March, May and right through the year. We call them pillar titles. I think, probably, that third parties will try to put their pillar titles out before Christmas, because that’s where they get the best sales. But we have a slightly different approach. 

Hit the jump for Reeves' explanation for the lack of price-cut in Europe. 

If you’re a consumer — and we introduced the PS3 in March for £425 or 599 Euros – let’s say you bought one at the end of April and have been using it, playing Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm. We’ve only been on the market for three and a bit months. Our thought process was: “Wait a minute – we’re actually not doing too badly – we’re not selling as well as Wii or DS – but seasonality-wise, compared to, say, PS2 at the same time we launched it in 2001, we’re actually doing quite well on a regional level”. It’s exactly the target that we sought. July is not really a gamers’ month unless you get a big, big title. So we thought if we reduced the price, we’d annoy a lot of people. We did think about it, but we also felt that it wasn’t doing that badly. In the US, they’ve been going for more than six months, so they took the decision that going down in price was a better thing to do than a value pack.

Interesting indeed. While Reeves' statements have obviously caused some pretty severe problems before, there are some who are actually beginning to warm to his honesty, whether the news he gives is good or not, and it doesn't get much more honest than admitted that Sony basically didn't drop the price of the PS3 in Europe because it didn't feel it needed to. Explaining that the company didn't want to annoy early adopters with a price drop however, is a bit tenuous to say the least. 

Thanks to the internet, we live in a global gaming community, and whereas ten years ago Europe vaguely knew that it was getting screwed, today it knows every detail of what's going on across the pond and understandably wants the same perks. The PlayStation 3 might only have been out over here for three months, but European gamers have been following its progress since day one and many don't feel the disconnection from the global market that Sony seems to assume. Of course, the extra Sixaxis and games in the UK bundle packs do definitely help in balancing out the value, but a lot of gamers would still like to be able to buy the machine for a price at least comparable to America's and have a choice as to what they spend the rest of the money on. Extras or not, there's still a big difference between £250 and £425.

As for the statements about Christmas and the slow and steady approach, I tend to agree that it's the best way to go, at least in part. While there can't be many who'd believe that Sony actually had this plan all along - Would the company really be using a slow-build business model if the PS3 had taken off as it had hoped? I think not - after the beating the console's had, Sony needs to take a step back, shut up, and build up the PS3's quality titles for a while before it starts showboating again. A good Christmas would obviously do the company no harm at all, but Sony can't afford to be rushing in over-assured for a second time.

Having said that though, writing the period off as unimportant is something that clearly should most definitely not be done under any circumstances, and I certainly hope Reeves is aware of that and merely covering himself in case of disappointing Christmas sales. 

While the resetting of its goalposts has obviously been forced by the PS3's currently unspectacular progress, E3 did at least show some promise for the future. It's going to take a while however, and a company on far better behavior than we've seen so far, before that promise comes to fruition. Let's just hope that having this measured approach forced upon it does actually teach Sony some humilty. It worked wonders for Nintendo. 

Make sure to check out Three Speech for the rest of the interview.  

[Via GamesIndustry.biz



MORE IN OUR Sony SECTION

Latest comment by Monte |view all 22 comments
aiming for christmas 08' is not such a smart idea; seems to far away... i mean, Sony's got to start showing they are a contender ASAP. The longer the PS3 stays in a rut the more developers will b......



BuckF1tches's Avatar
BuckF1tches at 07/21/2007 19:41

It's official. Reeves is the new Kutaragi!
BuckF1tches's Avatar
BuckF1tches at 07/21/2007 19:42

WTF is this guy smoking?

Phil or Jack, I know one of you are reading this. One of you needs to make a call over to Sony Europe and tell Reeves he's not allowed to talk...ever again.
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 07/21/2007 19:43

How are the holidays not important to ANY company? Are they not in the business of selling lots of stuff when people are not buying lots of stuff? Somebody explain capitalism to this man
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 07/21/2007 19:56

@Niero
He may be expecting lower than planned sales numbers and wants to have a statement to fall back on next year after the NPD numbers drop for the holidays.
David Houghton 's Avatar
David Houghton at 07/21/2007 20:02

Sony's whole "slow and steady wind the race" approach just screams of covering their asses. While they do need to quieten down and take the time to work on the PS3's library, no-one can see Christmas as not a big deal.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 07/21/2007 20:16

Someone should give this guy a podcast. It would be GOLD!
PoeticJustice's Avatar
PoeticJustice at 07/21/2007 20:19

No please, don't give this jerk-off nothing. He needs to close his mouth. They are just ruining what they did a E3 day by day
Qulprit's Avatar
Qulprit at 07/21/2007 20:26

I don't get why people are hating on David Reeves because he's not running a fucking line from some PR print out.
glipe's Avatar
glipe at 07/21/2007 20:31

For the market that likes to buy all its consoles, Sony sure does like to leave Europe til the end. There is good reasoning behind this, though. Because us Europeans are frickin' thickos who'll just buy what they try to sell us anyway.

You know there was no company launch party for PS3 in Europe? Yet SCEA and Japan had massive ones? Sorry, who developed Motorstorm again? Who's bringing out SingStar and Heavenly Sword? I forgot how unimportant we were.
HawtPawkitHero's Avatar
HawtPawkitHero at 07/21/2007 20:40

lol.
Churchhills Dog's Avatar
Churchhills Dog at 07/21/2007 20:40

Quote: "we don’t believe it works to put six or seven of our own games out [at Christmas], because consumers don’t have enough money to buy them all. And the trade doesn’t quite know where to put all the top titles."

WTF is he smoking indeed....does Sony have some kind of training course for teaching management this twisted double speak? It seems like they all do it.
Vigor's Avatar
Vigor at 07/21/2007 20:53

I love my PS3 but this guy is a ignorant douche.
BuckF1tches's Avatar
BuckF1tches at 07/21/2007 22:46

I don't get why people are hating on David Reeves because he's not running a fucking line from some PR print out.

Qulprit, the problem is that he is running a line from a PR print out and it's a really horrible line. This is bad PR, plain and simple.
0bshaky's Avatar
0bshaky at 07/21/2007 23:45

Why this guy is still working for Sony? If I were his boss this guy would have been in the unemployment's line a long time ago.

Still, apart of stupid PR and price and no games, Sony is having it BAD. They are still selling fucktons of PS2s and those people are sure as hell not getting a PS3 in the near (4 years) future.

Poor Microsoft, they were clearly in the "lead" until the RRoD exploded in their face. That thing prevented them of making profit. tsk tsk tsk...

At least everybody is happy at Nintendo land eating expensive mushrooms and dancing with controllers and other fruity activities.
donkeykong's Avatar
donkeykong at 07/21/2007 23:49

I thought the consumer decides how quickly a product will sell, not the company's eight-months-later "plan".

You can't have slow sales forever, Sony, that isn't a good business model. Fast and steady wins the race.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 07/22/2007 00:19

/nod @ Vigot

honestly, I have build this mental shield, love the product, ignore the BS talkers.

I just got back from playing a little Symphony of the night, gad it brings back memories.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 07/22/2007 00:20

Vigor******* sorry >_>
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 07/22/2007 00:26

So dropping all of your triple A titles during the holiday season is good for gamers how exactly? This may just be PR spin and moving the goalposts as has been suggested, but I for one would welcome an industry-wide change in this direction. Having titles released throughout the year means more people would be able to pick up great titles they may have overlooked at another time due to the market being overcrowded.
snapperdragon's Avatar
snapperdragon at 07/22/2007 06:54

"because consumers don’t have enough money to buy them all."

SQOTD (stupidest quote of the day).

I'm sure the consumer has enough money to buy a 600 ps3, then, right?

Clearly, that statement is suspect. What I see happening is Sony conceding Christmast 07 sales at this point, probably because they know that most of the top games will not be ready by then.

Who the hell would buy this system knowing that you have to wait 4 or 5 years until they get their crap together? By that time the other console makers will be coming out with a new gen of hardware.
Jim's Avatar
Jim at 07/22/2007 07:23

Or in other (and quite fewer) words - Microsoft will dominate this holiday season with great games that they showed at E3 and will hit 2007.
SniperFodder's Avatar
SniperFodder at 07/22/2007 09:48

While I agree the guy is a douche' bag, I am trying to figure out how I am going toafford all the triple a title coming out between September 25th and Christmas. I would much rather see titles spread out through the year than have to endure the summer game droughts.
Monte's Avatar
Monte at 07/22/2007 13:02

aiming for christmas 08' is not such a smart idea; seems to far away... i mean, Sony's got to start showing they are a contender ASAP. The longer the PS3 stays in a rut the more developers will be less likely to go PS3 exculsive... afterall, Developers want to make money and they can't make money developing exclusively for a console that's not selling. Sony's got to show third party developers that the console can be successful so that they will help support it... it's a vicous cycle, The PS3 doesn't sell well because it has few good exclusive developers, the PS3 doesn't have many good exclusive developers because it doesn't sell well... obviously one of those things have to change to break the cycle and it isn't going to be the developer support... Sony's got to sell well to break the cycle and bring on developer support

though really, this is just more Sony "we don't have problems, we planned for this and it's actually a good thing" PR... y'know just like saying rumble was last gen and that Europeans don't mind waiting for delays...

@snapperdragon
"Who the hell would buy this system knowing that you have to wait 4 or 5 years until they get their crap together? By that time the other console makers will be coming out with a new gen of hardware."

Well, that could be the whole 10 year plan that sony's been talking about; only smart thing sony has done so far this gen. Really, the technology leap between the 360 and xbox was smaller than the leap between PS2 and PS1, which in turn was smaller than N64 and SNES; each generation only last's 5-6 years and the technological leaps between the generations has been getting smaller, while the pirces to the consoles has been rising... really i have little doubt that if MIcrosoft were to release a console in the next 4-5 years, it would be a console that was not THAT much stronger than the 360(smaller tech leap than between 360 and xbox) but is at the same time much more expensive... definatly not worth buying. both the PS3 and the 360 (who will both have had price drops by then) will look like much more attractive buys. I think the only thing that MS could in 4-5 years, and be greatly successful, is follow the wii's example and use old gen hardware, but do something seriously innovative... though i don't see what they could do in the next 4-5 years

I think nintendo is the only who could sucessfully make a great console in the next 4-5 years. They can exploit the tech they didn't use this gen and, in 4-5 years, make a console that's just about as powerful as the 360, is much more powerful than the wii, but costs something affordable like $300... a very attractive buy in 4-5 years when accompanied by a good nintnedo launch line up.

You must be logged in to post a comment. Click here to login or create a user account now.

RELATED ARTICLES

Destructoid review: NHL 09
25 comments

Resident Evil 5 sexy gallery of sexiness
21 comments

X-Blades CLOTHING SITUATION UPDATE!
17 comments

Second official trailer for NBA 2K9, which you can now play in demo form!
6 comments

Behind the wheel of Midnight Club: Los Angeles
5 comments
Got gaming news?   Email:   tips@destructoid.com


community blogs (28235) members strong

Post a new community blog
October call for entries: The fear! THE FEAR!
Game with us: Friday Night Fights
Meet Dtoiders near you

popular right now
ContestsMega Man 9 giveaway contest and introducing the Mega Man Boss Maker!
326 comments + 26575 views
Things gamers doRamblings of a colorblind gamer
143 comments + 10515 views
HAHA Weird!Sony did NOT win an award for SIXAXIS
56 comments + 10090 views
Final FantasyLittleBigPlanet user creates a tribute to Final Fantasy X
62 comments + 9920 views
MusicIt only took three months, but I think I finally get Wii Music
38 comments + 9075 views
More top stories

contests & giveaways

Little Red Riding Hood BBQ winners announced: it's a man in a dress!
Mega Man 9 giveaway contest and introducing the Mega Man Boss Maker!
Final reminder: Show us your arts and crafts skills, win Mushroom Men prizes
view all contests and previous winners

games reviewed   more games

NHL 09 review

de Blob review

B-Boy review

Kirby Super Star Ultra review

Fracture review

Lock's Quest review

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen review
view more game reviews

new podcast shows   free on iTunes

Hey, Podtoid records tonight

RetroforceGO! episode 62: Mega Man 9

The Podcastle episode 20: Podcastle LIVE II
download back episodes

game figures & toys  via Tomopop
more video game toys and collectibles

     
Behind the wheel of Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Destructoid review: NHL 09
Xbox 360 gets two exclusive downloadable chapters for Tomb Raider: Underworld
Behind the wheel of Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Destructoid review: NHL 09
Second official trailer for NBA 2K9, which you can now play in demo form!
Nintendo waited on Wii MotionPlus tech for three years
It only took three months, but I think I finally get Wii Music
Muramasa: The Demon Blade confirmed for Wii-exclusive release
 
     
Mega Man 9 DLC round-up: Proto Man and Endless Attack mode
Cave Story coming to WiiWare this holiday season
Punch-Out!! returns! First screens and video of new Wii sequel
DS: Buy Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, cuddle free squirrel
PSP: Destructoid review: B-Boy
PHONE: Peggle to go mobile, batteries to die mid-call
Silent Hill: Homecoming misses its PC release date
Fallout 3 to respect consumers and use less evil DRM measures?
Piracy not the reason for Gears 2's Xbox 360 focus anymore?
 
         
Contribute

Post a blog
Submit a news tip
This month's theme
Video game forums
Support

Login issues
Community Blogs
Report abuse
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Keep in touch

RSS Feed
Facebook
Myspace
Flickr
Game with us
Meet ups
Seriously

Advertising

Our software
Jobs - We're hiring!
Our Network

About Destructoid

Japanator
Tomopop
ModernMethod Publishing