It started with Activision firing the first shot, with CEO Bobby Kotick telling The Times that if Sony does not drop the price of the PS3 and become more profitable then the publisher will seriously consider discontinuing support for the console.
This would mean no more Call of Duty or Guitar Hero games for PS3 or PSP owners. Activision is the biggest independent games company in the world, and Sony reportedly made $500 million off of Activision titles in 2008. Many therefore expected Sony to take the threat quite seriously, but it seems that they are not as concerned as many expected them to be.
Sony Europe has responded, stating that while it “respects… third-parties’ opinions,” it “will not be commenting on this story.”
Sony America also responded stating “PlayStation has tremendous momentum coming out of E3, and we are seeing positive growth with more than 350 titles slated to hit across all our platforms, including many anticipated games from our publishing partners.”
“We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience.”
Sony’s response is in line with its current market strategy of maintaining the PS3’s high value perception and backing it up with quality content as opposed to dropping its price.
While many argue that a PS3 price cut is needed to stimulate sales and increase the console’s installed user base, it is worth noting that a PS3 price cut would almost certainly lead to an Xbox 360 and maybe even a Wii price cut. Considering that Sony is in worse financial shape than its two competitors, itstands to reason that a price war is not something that it can truly afford.
We are still however anticipating a price reduction towards the end of this year following the launch of the PS3 Slim. It would be a truly sad day for PS3 gamers if Activision were to go ahead and discontinue support for the console.
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