Sony's Phil Harrison: no pressure to drop PS3 price

"...5.00m - 1.88m = 3,120,000. More than half a million.

...
Now for some fuzzy math of my own:

If Wii and Xbox360 sales continue at the same pace, the total number of consoles sold will meet in June 2008. That would be only two months after the PS3 reaches the Xbox360's CURRENT total (not at that point)."

good point, however it does not take into account the fact that the ps3 has not completely launched worldwide yet. also, you would have to take into account how certain variables would come into play. namely, how each company's exclusive mega-hits will affect console sales. considering that as of now sony has the most "announced" titles that are potentially AAA sellers, that could swing the numbers wildly. Even that would not take into account the runaway success factor of a niche game: take brain age, nintendogs, or guitar hero's effect on system sales for example. no one would have been able to predict that those titles would have pushed as many consoles as they have.

market analysis of the video game market is not as simple as looking at a chart and choosing the current leader, ask micheal pachter. lol.

How is it possible Sony comes off as arrogant and out of touch in every interview they give?

Seriously Sony, STOP TALKING TO THE MEDIA.

Apoc,

Even if you take away shooters, the 360 lineup is still probably better than the PS3 and would be after a year as well. PS3 is sword heavy, the 360 is gun heavy. Do you prefer shooting stuff or hacking it?

@Jake

I like the combo :) Gimme a sword AND a gun!

I think SONY is LAST GEN.

"Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it's not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is."

Wow, this guy is an idiot! Rumble is what makes shooters and other games good.

I dont know about you JET but I think 500,000 is a lot systems. Just cause there were "100 million PS2s" last generation doesnt mean they all happened in the first year of launch.

@Jet

I'll take the NIN DVD, thanks. Trent Reznor looks just fine in SD.

JET-

I'll throw in this quote from the bottom of your link:
"These numbers may or may not be accurate. They've been pieced together from various figures and percentages on the Internet. It's probably close enough for amateur analysis and web discussion."

I'm inclined to take vgcharts numbers over your random forum post. In either case, even if you just compare those US numbers for the two consoles, it's more revealing to mention that the Wii has sold >50% more consoles than mention straight figures.

Here is your positive sony story!!!!

http://www.playstatic.com/news/314

sales for January.
sony sales were only 50k units behind xbox. Which proves even with its lower price. Its still not jumping off the shelfs. I think is funny that people would rather play last gen games. the ps2 is still outselling the xbox 360. And wii sales will always be strong, since it doubles as a toster when not in use.

Stop whining about Joystiq posting the bad news that Sony creates itself. They fucked this console up from tip to tail in relation to what they've been promising since it was first announced and now every time they try to exercise damage control, it just creates MORE damage. How is this biased? Should they just not report it? How about Sony STFU, then you wouldn't have to worry about what Joystiq's posting now would you? I mean why come here? If you want sunshine and lolipops, go join the circlejerk at PS3fanboy.com.

If things were going well for Sony, things like this wouldn't be happening AT ALL let alone on an almost weekly basis. PR gaffes are a fact of business life, but it's been almost a year since Sony REALLY started eating it's feet. That's not a sign of a company that's confident in it's product, that's the sign of a company that's shitting itself at the thought of it's flagship device taking a huge dirtnap. If it was actually any good, it would speak for itself and not need the constant PR push up the hill.

Does Phil Harrison actually exist? I wasn't aware that any living being could be that stupid.

I wasn't aware that I was content with my PS3...especially since I've only bought ONE game for the friggin thing, and only RENTED bluray movies to get use out of it other than a $600 DOORSTOP!!!! At least I won't have to visit a stupid website to find out if my PS1&2 games are backward compatible with my PS3 when they stop producing the PS2 chipset for the PS3 and go to software emulation. Goodbye, GuitarHero, hello MyLittlePony FTW on PS3!!!

...and I WANT RUMBLE!! My 360 has it, my Wii has it, it's awesome in games like Crackdown and Halo1&2, Burnout: Revenge, Zelda: TP, Excite Truck, etc...GET A FRIGGIN' CLUE, SONY!!

ZodiacKiller29:
> sony sales were only 50k units behind xbox.

OMG. Another misused statistic.

Take into account that market of new Xbox360 is already saturated. And number of units changing hands on eBay might be pretty high for "static noise". And having 250k units for xmas sales is really puny - drop in the ocean. Compare that to 1.2mln PS2 units + 4.3mln PS2 games figures for the same period.

Let's get real: PS3 isn't released /yet/. With so few games and current low impact of HD video it is impossible to guess what it will be by end of 2007. For most people dropping off PS3 and HDTV it requires would be no-go. And this is situation for 80% percent of people who do not have HDTV set at home yet. Xbox360 position on SDTV/HDTV games at least in short term (1-2 years) gives it tremendous advantage over PS3.

P.S. Disclaimer. Happy Wii owner ;-)

I can't believe Joystiq passed up on this gem from the article,

"I think the fact that we are able to have a very well organized, very well managed supply channel, which allows us to keep the stores restocked, is a really positive thing.

So we're actually doing in succeeding in managing to keep the demand satisfied, so I think that's a positive."

The dude is actually saying there isn't extra stock - he's saying that Sony is so good at supply chain management that as soon as a unit sells they're restocking it with a brand new one.

You just can't listen to anything any Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft exec says about price drops. They're always under pressure to do it and they never want to... the consoles are expensive to make and they already lose money on them. By next holiday, X360 and PS3 will both have had price breaks. The competition makes it inevitable.

About rumble... its a good feature. So is motion sensitivity. When they say they couldnt do both, they're lying. They don't have rumble because of licensing issues. The Sixaxis is still a great controller. Its at least as functional as the X360 controller, slicker looking, and if developers take advantage of the motion sensitivity as they have been doing for some sports titles and Wii games, could be unreal.

I don't own any of the seventh gen systems, I've played all of them for dozens of hours (I love living in a dorm), and I can see the pros and cons to all of them. They're all great systems, and I have no idea which one will "win", or if there will be a "winner" at all (if PS3 very slightly outsells X360 globally, Sony has sold more units, but MS has caught up huge and probably beat them in North America and Europe- who won? Also, the Wii could sell fewer units than PS3 and X360 and still make Nintendo more profit- did Nintendo win?)

THE ONLY THING I KNOW FOR SURE IS THAT THE PS3 GETS AN UNFAIR RAP. Yeah, Sony has made mistakes, but so have Nintendo and MS (Wii straps, flaky 480p support (Wii), flaming power supplies (which are literally the size of bricks), consoles that just drop dead for no good reason, consoles that eat your game disks if you move it while playing (X360)), the only difference is that PS3 just doesn't have any compelling games yet. AND SONY HAS DONE A SHITLOAD RIGHT:
-HDMI support
-no ridiculous "core" SKU that doesnt have half the usability the system would have it had a hard drive
-every PS3 user having a hard drive means that developers have the incentive to code games to cache data to the hard drive to decrease load times (or any other reason). For 360, developers will often choose not to waste resources coding something that a large portion of their user base won't be able to take advantage of.
-uses standard 2.5" SATA HDDs instead of the proprietary crap from MS. MS tries to sell a 20GB 2.5" notebook drive in a goofy plastic casing and a proprietary interconnect for $100. For $100, you could go to Newegg and buy a 120GB drive for your PS3. For a little more you could have 160GB.
-uses the Bluetooth format for wireless communication rather than a proprietary format, which means interoperability with the wide range of bluetooth peripherals already made for use with computers and cell phones.
-More or less is completely backwards compatible with PS and PS2 games. MS fucked up that one.
-Supports Linux

So next year when HD and blu-ray will be "sooo last year", Sony will go back to back to the little sliding RF boxes from the Atari 2600 and Vic20 cassette tapes for games!
(for the record, I own a PS3 - and I ain't that happy about it Phil. So shut the hell up and get some games out as well at the rumble back)

I'm no marketing or business expert, so I'll stick to what I know and like: games.
Not that it really matters, but I plan to buy a PS3 and I think when I do, I expect I'll probably like it from what I've seen so far. I've got a PSP that I really enjoy and I'm looking forward to synching it up with the PS3. I don't know if any of you noticed, but the PSP has had a great 12 months in terms of quality software releases. I mean, easily its best yet and on the whole probably better than what the DS line put out. I took a look at the library available, was impressed, and took the plunge. No regrets. I'm loving Pirates! and Metal Gear: Portable Ops, as well as many others such as Syphon Filter, Lumines II and Killzone. No need to get into firmware hacks just yet, but I bet I'll like that too when I get into it. Now after playing the Wii at a friend's place, I'm not convinced it will satisfy me. I'm spoiled on HD after years of playing on computers. Also I don't think the motion is sensitive enough. I could be wrong. Hey, I might buy a Wii, too, eventually once the sports titles are there and they convince me that the motion controls can work well in real time. But the PS3 will probably come first. Main reason for not buying an X360 - I already have a gaming computer, and I'm used to the Dual Analog control for other kinds of games (driving, sports, METAL GEAR!!!!)...so that's where I stand. Sony can bank on my purchase, probably later this year, but maybe sooner if my tax return plays out like I really, really, really hope it will. Remember boys and girls, they're just games. And no one reads these lameass comments anyway. Do you really care about the console race (whatever that is) this much? The hate has got to end. Don't you realize competition makes these games better? I hate to say it, but grow up. And no, I'm not going to miss rumble. Anyway, this was one of the more civilized threads today, so I thought I'd add my two cents to it.

@JET

There is something fundamentally wrong with your numbers; the Wii, and the PS3 to a lesser extent, are in heavy demand, with the Wii being sold out everywhere, and sales numbers relying on how much Wii`s are produced. If both consoles were readily available, we would be able to compare sales numbers.

I thought you liked comparing apples to apples?

apoc06 - "good point, however it does not take into account the fact that the ps3 has not completely launched worldwide yet."

I'm going to stop you there, and I'm going to say a quote by Reggie at Nintendo's 2005 E3 Press Conf.

"Well, they say PSP hasn't launched in Europe yet... So? So, we got their when we said we won't and they didn't. Know what? That's Sony's issue, not my problem."

Ack! I misquoted the above Reggie comment! It should be "We we said we WOULD"

Sorry.

Seriously, there are so many flaws right now in that freaking interview.
First, there really is no good software on that system right now that you can't get on any other console...yes, there's that exception of resistance, but seriously...is that enough to sell the system? it aint no gears of war, ill tell you that.
Second, how can they be happy with the current state of affairs in terms of price if they increased an already proposterous price point that probably deterred a lot of potential buyers from the system?
Thirdly, how is rumble last gen? that's like saying a controller is last gen! rumble has been a pre-requisite since its inception, an integral part in immersion. That, my friends, is why wii's controller kicks ass...because it has BOTH. Also, i've tried to use the sixaxis motion controls, and i can only say one thing. Why? Why did they even bother? It has to be one of the least immersive, most annoying enhancements to gaming since...ever. They don't work...simple as that.
Sony, for once...come up with something yourselves. At least Microsoft is showing that they're paving their own path in the world of gaming, not surviving off of stolen ideas and ridiculously overpowered and overpriced boxes of electrical engineering. Remember, it's about the damn GAMES, not the damn HARDWARE!

Umm... all owners are satisfied? Not quite. I have one and it's collecting dust. I have been completely unsatisfied with it. It's a $600 paperweight, and Blu-Ray movies don't even look that good (HDDVD playback is much nicer, even though it's via component and not HDMI).

This thing is a joke. I wish I could get my money back.

Oh please...

"Blu-Ray movies don't even look that good (HDDVD playback is much nicer, even though it's via component and not HDMI)"

Sounds like a perfect "double blind" there "introvert".

Ohhhh Sony, ever thought of being humble? Then again that would most likely be ridiculed as well. Well if it's any consolation, we have a PS3 and an Xbox 360 in our office (with virtually every game on the PS3 mind you) and i don't think anyone's touched the PS3 since about a week or so after launch... to be honest i don't think it's still plugged in. So far so bad...

my PS3 is collecting dust; my apartment is really, really dusty.

i play my PS3 everyday. $600 doorstop? i don't think so.

i've whiled away many hours on Resistance, Virtua Fighter 5, GTHD, Motorstorm demo (just one more week until i take home the full version), flOw, and some PS2 games i haven't finished yet.

i'm satisfied with my purchase enough to last me until the real big games come out.

after all, Motorstorm, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Lair, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, White Knight Story, LA Noire, Untold Realms: Monster Kingdom, Killzone PS3, Ratchet and Clank PS3, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and DMC4 are only a few months away, most of them scheduled for a release sometime this year. all PS3 exclusive for now.

i personally don't see what the big deal is when the software lineup is as solid as it is, and there are still tons of titles not announced yet (and i'd love to reveal the few that i know are coming, but i'm not getting in trouble).

it's still too early in the PS3's lifecyle for all of this nonsense. also, i love what quotes joystiq chose to represent. it's very telling of their viewpoints on Sony.

i know most of you are all in "kneejerk reaction mode," but when you get the chance, read the entire interview. it's not full of the usual arrogance and cockiness that permeated most Sony PR interviews.

and besides, if you were being paid the big bucks to pimp a product, you wouldn't admit to any screw-ups or blunders either. remember the guy who was fired for admiting he enjoyed the 360 over the PS3? it's even worse when you're PR.

i don't think i'd risk my cushy, 6 figure a year job to appease the few whiny dissenters on the internet either.

the PS3 is a good system, with a lot of greatness under it's hood. it's only a matter of time before that greatness is harnessed by developers (and it won't be harnessed by EA or Activision, that's for certain).

you guys need to give it a rest and learn some patience.

you guys wanna know why ppl hate the ps3?... because ppl loved the ps2!

That's "fazed."

"Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature"

Soooo your new machine isn't even up to scratch with the last gen?

Imagine running thru the house holding a sixaxis just like a toy plane pretending it can fly. Errrrrrrr. Errrrrrrr. Errrrrrrr. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Kabooooooom. Now if it only had rumble.

51: JET

http://www.vgcharts.org/aconscomps.php?name1=Wii&name2=PS3&type=2&align=0

Currently

Wii 1,728,250 till the end of Jan 2006
Ps3 1,035,500 till the end of Jan 2006

About 700,000 difference.

Using Jan figures for Feb they are now

Wii 2,213,250
PS3 1,311,000

So current figures (using my estimate) are 900,000 units apart

To me, the PS3 and 360 are too similar to own both. It would be a waste of money. Is an extra $400 - $600 worth the few exclusives that come out on each system? I'd unfortunately have to say no. In previous generations this wasn't a problem. Consoles were generally cheap and gamers would just buy them all. But now... only the Wii has that claim. No matter what Harrison says, the PS3 and 360 are on a level playing field, with comparable pros and cons for each. The only difference being an extra $200 for the PS3. Sony can't afford to spin and stretch the truth like MS or (to a lesser extent now) that Nintendo does. Us hardcore gamers know it's bullshit, but that's ok. Every company does it. But now it's time to stop shoveling it out and start showing us what the PS3 can do. I want it to be worth it. I don't want this to be the generation where I don't buy every system. I just need the PS3 to be proven to me. And not by some vague, egotistical speach.

Point 1) I personally don't think rumble is an essential feature but gamers want it.
Phill's comments are a stupid attempt at making rumble look like something old! He is definitely in denial and is he really so stupid to believe anyone will agree with his "rumble is last gen" comment??!

Point 2) The console wars is not about keeping the market supplied. It's about increasing the demand. Again here we find Phil is in denial
Sony is good at supplying because those who bought PS3 are returning it back. He certainly didn't talk to those who work at BestBuy or Gamestop. The demand for PS3 is low, just look at sales figures!

Point 3) About Blu-Ray: Developers would rather have a Disk that loads quicker than one that can contain 50Gb instead of 9Gb. Anytime! THis can be worked around though.

Point 4) IF SONY is to succeed it would better sell the PS3 at a lower price NOW, at a bigger loss NOW! Only if the machine is in homes can they get back the cost later.

Point 5) Avoiding BIOS upgrades is one reason people buy consoles instead of PCs. I think Nintendo is the only company that is getting this. Console gamers want it simple!

pOINT 6) sONY is focsing on more than one game as opposed to Microsoft??? Bullcrap. At this point in time MS has the third party games actually running, most are looking marginally better and on a less expensive machine! Wii has the 1st party exclusives and a fanbase that will buy every Mario and Zelda for their gameplay no matter what they may lack in graphical photorealism.

Point 7) Wii will die off soon because it is more similar to last gen hardware... I don't think Nintendo will allow that, also producing games for Wii is going to be increasingly cheaper, as opposed to increasingly expensive to make games for other machines.

This is in response to #16 posted by Mobat555

Dude! What the fuck is your problem! The reason why Joystiq doesn't post any good news from Sony is because SONY NEVER HAS ANY GOOD NEWS TO REPORT! If you want to see some good news from Sony, then by all me, go ahead and find some then post it to Joystiq. Please do! Until you do, shut the hell up!

Once again (not that anyone cares since they're now obviosuly making up their own numbers), here are the official NPD sales numbers for the US through the end of Januaray 2007:

Hardware Install Base, January 2007 & LTD

Xbox 360 294k, 4.8mm
Wii 436k, 1.5mm
Playstation 3 244k, 937k

February numbers won't be available for another two weeks yet, so I don't know where #81 could have gotten them.

JET
JET

#83 - You're right, look at that incredible first party software base on 360. Kameo! Perfect Dark! Viva Pinata! Are you kidding me?

Sony was talking about first party titles, not third party titles. Microsoft is a one game company. They've got Halo. Oh yeah, and those generic Gran Turismo knock-offs.

@ apoc06


“Games that don’t features guns” I will list games that I own, Viva Piñata, TDU, NFS series, Feeding frenzy, games that I have played include all the major sports games, Football, Hockey and Basketball and many others on XBL Arcade games, I may have missed a few. I see your point MS did have a horrible library at launch, but MS did have a better selection then PS3.

Again that is my point you say of course these are not console sellers but Phil listed them as such, why?

@Hoffy:

They did. It was posted a while back.

The PS3 controller design is not only last gen, it was last gen last gen, and it was last gen the gen before.

There's no way to justify the afterthought placement of the analog sticks back in 1997 after the N64 came out, let alone in 2006 when you're pushing a HD 3D experience.

Seriously, look:
the PSX came out with a digital pad.
They wanted analog sticks, so they made the Dual Analog, with two poorly-placed analog sticks that were placed by necessity- they didn't want to re-arrange the existing controller, so they just stuck them on the bottom.
They wanted rumble, so they introduced the same controller with rumble - this was the Dual Shock.
The Dual Shock was popular enough that they decided just to tweak it, add analog buttons, and release the Dual Shock 2
And now, again, we have the same controller shell with the SIXAXIS, and honestly they can't excuse that.

i love sony's products (not just game consoles, i own a viao a bravia lcd and various other sony products) but it always PISSES me off to read what their company leaders have to say. THEY ARE SO GOD DAMN ARROGANT! christ you would think they are the only company that ever comes out with anything worth buying. and god forbid their product ever has a failure or a much NEEDED update (yes ps3 it would be nice, yes i do own one). i am happy with the ps3 right now but to say that there is nothing that needs improvement right now is just fucking absurd. what about everyone with a tv that only shows 1080i? i bet they could think of a few things to fix. how about unified network so that my friends in resistence are friends for every game? thats not a big deal or anything. i love sony's stuff (think i said that already) and i doubt they will fail with their product but it wouldnt kill them to be a little more humble when addressing their CUSTOMERS! because guess what their shit stinks too and acting like gods above peons is no way to make your customers happy.

I'm waiting for Phil Harrison's counter to his own very well thought reasoning behind the "playstation brand legacy" on how when you buy PS3 you are buying into everything Playstation. included its 10 year library of games.

i have to hear this announcement from him, what comes out should be a milestone in PR spin control and if it works, should be taught at universities.

his "rumble was last gen" remark was inspired, but only if the interviewer was as smart as webrunner. indeed, what gen is the rest of the controller?

its apparent in nothing less than "full-HD", that every decision for the PS3 thus far has been decided for business reasons and not gaming reasons.



.

sorry, yes, of course business reasons, but *essentially to the EXCLUSION of* gaming reasons.



.

Mostly just a nitpick, but:

Say what you will about Perfect Dark and Kameo, but have you actually played Viva Pinata? I haven't yet (though I want to), especially since the critical consensus on it is that it's excellent. Check out Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/vivapinata

Hi Guys,

Stop crying, if you can't afford it don't buy it!

I read pages and pages of people crying that sony is so bad, but if it was bad ignore it and get what you want.

The fact is that all of you will jump at the chance of getting a ps3 if it was in your price range. Sorry but if you can't afford it at the moment wait a few years and the ps3 will get cheaper like any other product life cycle.

As for me I got my ps3 yesterday and i am loving it!

It's so much more than just a game console, I only wish sony put a bigger harddrive in it as there is so much i can do with it at the moment but I am afraid I will run out of space on the HDD.

Hopefully Sony will have a software patch so that I can plug in a usb HDD to the unit say a 500gb or so. That will be so cool. each of the demo's I download is around 700mb so i am sure to run out of space.

Anyway the more people bitch about the product it only says "sony we love you can you please make it more affordable for me!"

The interest has been unbelievable which only means one thing you all want a ps3!!!!!!