The forecast of a successful launch for Sony,s PS3 may have hit a snag if game industry reports confirm what is being whispered about behind closed doors-developers are having second thoughts of committing time and resources to PS3 game development. The concerns have to do with the PS3,s high price point in becoming a deterrent for consumers in buying the machine, according to a report published by businessweek.com.
Some game companies are rethinking their direction and have come to the conclusion that developing for the Wii or 360 is much more cost effective than making games for the PS3. Hirokazu Hamamura, CEO of research firm EnterBrain said, “Many developers think the console’s initial high price will lead to slow sales and are holding off on creating games for Sony.”
BusinessWeek observed, "At [EA,s] autumn games preview on July 13, for instance, traditional Sony ally Electronic Arts spent far more time showing off innovative Nintendo games than it did titles for the PS3. EA announced six Nintendo Wii launch titles and showed long working demos for two of those. But it offered only a short clip of a car-racing game for PS3. EA says it’s still testing the potential of the PS3."
As to the solution for Sony,s dilemma, Hiroshi Takada of JP Morgan commented, "It’s likely Sony will have to discount [the PS3] more…and faster."
A very small segment of game industry watchers speculate that the high prices for the PS3 models are merely a ruse in which to set up the public for an unexpected price drop of its machines, in order steal away market share from the Xbox 360 and the upcoming launch of the Wii. This proposition seems rather ridiculous, but the reality of having reduced sales because of the high PS3 price tags may force Sony to reconsider its price structure.
