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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

CNN On Sony's Fate

Conceding that the PS3 is "very expensive," Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony's games business, told a Japanese Web site earlier this year that he expects "consumers to think to themselves, 'I will work more hours to buy one.' We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else."

He has also said the PS3 is "not a game machine." Rather, he says, it is a "machine with supercomputer calculation capabilities for home entertainment."

If Kutaragi-san's calculations are wrong, the big game could be over. If he's right, Sony could once again become the world's dominant consumer electronics giant.
-- The PS3: More than a game

I'm not sure Sony's big game will be over if the PlayStation 3 doesn't sell out on it's first run. And honestly, while it's not that I don't disagree that it's an insanely high price tag ... I'm not sure why we think it won't sell out on it's first run. I mean, the 360 launched with little in the way of a library and not much backwards compatability and people were paying over a grand for one on eBay.

The real test of the PlayStation 3 will be it's longevity. Will the console continue to sell well after the initial frenzy. Ebay prices for a 360 have returned to sanity at this point and stocks of the console are beginning to become actually available. When that time comes for the PS3, Kutaragi will either have to prove his words right, find cheaper manufacturing, or ride out the storm.



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