High Price May Turn Off Consumers to Playstation 3 Despite Blu-ray, Says Analyst
Posted Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 12:17 AM PDT by
It's more bad buzz for Sony's PlayStation 3, with a leading industry
analyst warning that despite the inclusion of Blu-ray the unit's high price
may
cause consumers to choose another next-gen console, reports Home Media Retailing.
That's according to leading videogame research firm DFC Intelligence, whose
preliminary research hints that by courting the high-end consumer with premium
features and a list price as high as $600, Sony could be risking its current
leadership position in the gaming market if consumers pass over the PlayStation
3 this holiday season for the cheaper Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii consoles.
"Sony's clear strength is brand strength and current market position...
but the glaring weakness of the PlayStation 3 is price," David Cole, president
of DFC Intelligence, told HMR. "Of course, Sony would like to point to
the hardware horsepower and extra features like Blu-ray -- the problem is that
is only one factor in our forecasting matrix."
Cole said the report cites the fact that the Xbox 360 has Xbox Live and Xbox
Marketplace and Wii has the unique motion-sensor controllers, which could leave
the PS3 without the elusive "wow factor" despite being driven by Blu-ray.
"Sony has done very little to justify why the system is worth a premium
price for consumers who don't care about raw hardware performance and are not
hardcore audio/visual consumers," Cole warned. "Of course, there is
a market for high-end products, but it is a very different consumer type and
not nearly as big as the blue-collar mass market."