Sony CEO takes a dig at Activision boss, refuses to cut PS3 price
As developers across the world call for Sony to cut prices of the PlayStation 3, the company’s CEO Howard Stringer has defiantly dismissed any notions that the video game console is too expensive.
Asked about the logic of not cutting prices, Stringer said: “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic?”
The statement comes on the heels of chiefs of a few video game publishers – including Activision and Tecmo Koei – citing that the PS3’s high price leads to low sales, making it unfeasible for a publisher to develop games for it.
Activision Blizzard Inc’s CEO and President Robert Kotick had recently said: “They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates are likely to slow. 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,” he added.
Activision Blizzard has some of the biggest titles in video games today, including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Warcraft, StarCraft, Tony Hawk, Spider-Man and Chronicles of Riddick.
A few days later, Tecmo Koei CEO Kenji Matsubara told CVG: “Whenever I discuss this with Sony reps, I always ask them: ‘Please cut the price’; but I don’t have a clear view on Sony’s situation. Yes, from a publisher’s point of view we would welcome a price cut for PS3, and we are waiting, definitely.”
Tecmo Koei is the publisher of popular titles such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, Tecmo Bowl, etc.
In a direct response to Kotick’s statements, Sony’s Stringer said: “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.”
The sharp claws have ripped through the kitty gloves! Game on!