Sony's PlayStation 3 Goal for 2009 is to "Make Money"

PlayStation 3 price cut unlikely for the foreseeable future according to David Reeves

In an exclusive interview with David Reeves, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Eurogamer had the opportunity to discuss with Reeves his views on Sony's current position in the video game industry. The interview covered a wide variety of related topics as Eurogamer peppered Reeves with several hard-hitting questions.

In contrast to Kaz Hirai, who was recently interviewed by The Official PlayStation Magazine, Reeves’ comments were more subdued. He also deftly danced around touchy subjects such as the decline in year-over-year hardware sales for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. Reeves explained, "The plan wasn't necessarily to hit sales, it was to hit a profit target - to do better than break even in Q3. The financial results show a break even in Q3 for Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide. So rather than then going for market share and sales, we went for profit, at least to break even."

Reeves disputed Microsoft's claims they are leading the PlayStation 3 in console sales numbers by one million units. He stated, "I don't want to talk about the competition too much, but Xbox 360 is not ahead by a million units. We sold through 500,000 PS3s in November. We sold through 1.1 million units in December. Our installed base now is very close to 8.5 million units in PAL territories. Our numbers show we are absolutely neck-and-neck."

With regards to Kaz Hirai's recent controversial statements, Reeves had no comment other than to stay that he believed Hirai was misquoted and that he would not be making any similar statements about the competition. Hirai was quoted as saying the "Xbox 360 lacks longevity" and that Sony still has "official leadership" of video game industry.

Read the whole article @ Daily Tech

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PlayStation 3 is the Official Industry Leader According to Kaz Hirai

Kaz Hirai comments on the current state of the video game console industry and his view of the future

Sony Computer Entertainment chairman Kaz Hirai made several interesting comments in an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine. The contents of the interview were relayed to the public via Eurogamer and will be available in the February issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Although Sony no longer leads the industry in console sales Hirai believes Sony still possesses "Official" leadership of the videogame industry. He stated, "This is not meant in terms of numbers, or who's got the biggest install base, or who's selling most in any particular week or month, but I'd like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry,".

Hirai expanded on his statement explaining how he did not view the Nintendo Wii as competition and declaring the Xbox 360 as a console that will lack longevity. Describing how he viewed the Nintendo Wii's position in the industry Hirai, stated, "It's difficult to talk about Nintendo, because we don't look at their console as being a competitor. They're a different world, and we operate in our world - that's the kind of way I look at things." For the Xbox 360, Hirai continued, "And with the Xbox - again, I can't come up with one word to fit. You need a word that describes something that lacks longevity."

Read the whole article @ Daily Tech

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Sony Plans to Sell 150 Million PlayStation 3 Game Consoles

At present, Sony PlayStation 3 is the worst selling latest-generation video game console. However, Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., hopes that the latest system will eventually outsell its predecessor, Sony PlayStation 2 with 150 million units sold worldwide.

“It’s not fun for me replicating the PS2 numbers. I’ve seen that movie already. I want to try to see if we can exceed the PS2 numbers after nine years, otherwise why are we in this business?” said Mr. Hirai in an interview with Financial Times.

The original Sony PlayStation that was launched in 1994 was sold in 102 million units quantity worldwide, whereas the PlayStation 2, which was released in 2000, passed the 140 million units mark recently. The market of video games is increasing dramatically, particularly in the U.S., these days, hence, setting an unprecedented goal for the PlayStation 3 is not something strange.

But there is one thing that should be kept in mind when comparing PS2 and PS3: the former dominated the previous round of console war for the market and neither Microsoft Xbox or Nintendo GameCube could rival it. Nowadays Nintendo Wii has outsold both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, moreover, the latter is still ahead of its Japanese rival in terms of installed base.

Game developers already recognize Wii as the winner of the current round and predict that both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will trail Nintendo’s latest video game system.

“It looks to me as if the Wii is going to have at least half the installed base of the overall industry and the Xbox 360 and PS3 are going to fight over the balance, based on the run-rates we’re seeing,” said Peter Moore, the head of EA Sports, who used to be corporate vice-president of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business division.

Mr. Hirai did not reveal any strategies or initiatives that would help PlayStation 3, which is sold for $399 in the USA, to outsell Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii substantially in the coming years. Still, he indicated that he would work hard in order to PS3 to surpass sales of the PS2 over a similar time period.

Read the whole article @ X Bit Labs

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Kaz Hirai: replicating the PS2 numbers is 'not fun'

Kaz Hirai, the President and CEO of SCEI, told the Financial Times in an interview that some of his ardent goals for the PS3. "It's not fun for me replicating the PS2 numbers. I've seen that movie already, I want to try to see if we can exceed the PS2 numbers after nine years, otherwise why are we in this business?"

This echoes earlier comments made by David Reeves, President of SCEE. The PS1's lifetime sales were 102 million units, while PS2's lifetime sales are currently at about 140 million units. The PS3's lifetime sales 20 months into its life is about 13 million, and Sony expects to sell another 10 million units by the end of the current fiscal year.

So ... lofty goals or realistic expectations? Keep this in mind for comparison purposes: by March 2002, about 26 months after the Japanese launch and 19 months after the American launch, Sony shipped 30 million units of the PS2. Read the entire article here.

Read the whole article @ PS3 Fanboy

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Kaz Hirai: PS3 operations to turn profit by March '09

As many Sony fans know, the PlayStation 3 hasn't exactly been a financial success for Sony quite yet. Every console sold has not necessarily led to profits for the company, but that trend is to change soon if you believe what Sony head honcho Kaz Hirai had to say. He believes that overall PS3 operations will start to bring in a profit by the end of this fiscal year -- that's the end of March, 2009.

Keep in mind "overall" PS3 operations means more than simply selling the console. This means peripherals, software, and downloadable titles will contribute as well. It might not seem like something important to the gamer population, but unless the PS3 can do this, shareholders and other decision-makers may start to question the longevity of the console. We're not worried, though.

Read the whole article @ PS3 Fanboy

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