There’s no denying that Sony’s introduction of the PlayStation 3 Slim has been a popular move for the company. But perhaps the executives for various publishers are enjoying it more than the customers Sony is bringing in.
For instance, Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello told the Chicago Tribune that Sony’s announcement of a price cut was a “bold move done precisely at the right time.” He reiterates that it was a “great move,” praising the company for not leaving it until just before Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Noting the bombardment of advertising consumers are likely to be faced with during that period, from cell phones to DVDs, he says that making the move in August will really stand out.
Riccitielo’s colleague, EA Games President Frank Gibeau, seems to be in agreement. He enthusiastically told GamesIndustry.biz “I think it’s awesome.”
“It’s an old line, but it still rings true for us: ‘We make the ammunition for the hardware wars’. So the lowest priced hardware possible is a good thing for us. We want to see as big and broad a base as possible, and the Sony hardware is a good piece of equipment.”
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot also noted “It’s exceptional news, actually. I think the machine is a great machine, with the Blu-ray,” adding that “I’m happy that they were able to move to that [price point], particularly in the UK.”
He believes that the smaller redesign will help to move more units in Europe, “and I think this will help Sony and the whole industry – because everybody will react, and so we’ll be able to see it come to the mass market.”
“Getting into that price point is just going to expand the market for us, especially in Europe,” Gibeau agreed. “We have a lot of PS3 games, we’re a good supporter of Sony, we believe in the platform. We’ve got a lot of PSP games coming, and frankly we also support the PlayStation Network with direct-to-consumer releases.”
“So we’re strong, committed partners of Sony and I’m extremely excited about the Slim – I think it looks great. And the price point will be hot,” he added.
Gibeau went on to note that the lower prices will help the current console market endure a longer lifecycle: “The good news is that we still have a lot of price points to go yet – Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony – which points to a longer cycle for hardware this time around. And again, for us it’s great, because we don’t have to go out and build a whole new set of engines for next-gen,” Gibeau said.
