Sony Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Howard Stringer, says the company is banking on the success of the upcoming PlayStation 3, which will be released November this year. Otherwise, if the PS3 is a flop, then that will surely hurt the company’s stock, at least in the medium-term. It’s a high-stakes game for Sony!
“The PS3 is key to the medium-term success of this company since so much has been invested in it.”
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The PlayStation 3 will have to be a superior product because the cheapest version will cost $499, about a $100 more than the Xbox 360. Nintendo Corp.’s Wii console, whose controller can be swished like a sword to create a matching movement on the screen, will cost less than $250 when released in the fourth quarter.
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“If the PS3 doesn’t sell well, Sony won’t be able to recoup the investment in five years,” … that will hurt profitability for much of the group.
Given the pricing issue, The PS3 would, indeed, have to be the superior product, at least even in marketing terms. Even Microsoft, first-to-market with its Xbox 360 considers the PS3 to be expensive–the cost of one PS3 could buy an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii!
Still, with the advantages the PS3 has in terms of sheer processing power and an existing PS2 userbase, then Sony might just still have its edge.