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High Price May Turn Off Consumers to Playstation 3 Despite Blu-ray, Says Analyst

Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 03:17 AM ET
Tags: High-Def Gaming, PlayStation 3, Sony (all tags) 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."
Related links:
Analyst: Sony From First to Worst? [Home Media Retailing]


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