EA On PS3 Price Cut: "It Has To Be Sony's Decision"

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently issued a bold threat; if Sony didn't drop the price of the PlayStation 3, the mega-publisher might have to stop supporting the machine. Analysts called it nothing but hot air and Sony CEO Howard Stringer said Kotick "just likes to make a lot of noise."

But since then, other developers and publishers have popped up, proclaiming their support for the PS3 in the face of Activision's statement. The most recent is EA, although they were smart enough not to make any comment regarding the Sony/Activision snafu. In speaking to VideoGamer, EA UK head man Keith Ramsdale first said Activision is "free to make whatever comment they choose to make," but at the same time, he certainly doesn't agree with Kotick's words. Said Ramsdale:

"As it stands, the installed base of 360, PS3 and Wii, just talk about the home consoles, is a significant base. We’re interested in the projection parts, as to where we put our development, and as it stands today they’re all three very viable platforms."

We figured this was just common sense, so we didn't bother to freak out on Activision. Besides, most people are now of the opinion that Activision - with its bevy of high-priced products headed our way this year - just wants a PS3 price cut so their stuff doesn't seem so costly. As for EA's take on a PS3 price drop, Ramsdale had this to say:

"It’s interesting for a publisher and a developer for the installed base of any format to grow as quickly as it can, but it’s got to be a sustained business. So, is it in our interest that the installed base of hardware increases? Yeah, of course it is. Sony are the ones that have to manage their own business... it has to be Sony’s decision."

Again, sounds logical to us. It is Sony's decision, and it's only a matter of time before the price cut comes down the pike. Publishers who wish to pressure Sony into providing a price drop before they're ready will clearly be wasting their time. As for the day when the PS3 finally becomes cheaper, some believe it will come with the arrival of the semi-confirmed PS3 Slim. Guess we'll have to just wait and see...

7/17/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (52 posts)

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fluffer nutter
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 10:58:38 AM
Reply

A very diplomatic response from Ramsdale. He must have a history in business. Good for him. ;)

(No, this is not sarcasm. He seems to know how to cater to the people without sounding like an ass.)

3 up, 0 down

Hezzron
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:19:04 AM
Reply

Who knows, maybe there would of been a price cut by now, but because Activision tried to strong arm Sony, they're standing pat out of defiance. "You don't negotioate with terrorists"! Sony a brilliant company. They know what's what.

4 up, 3 down

Radiitz
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:23:23 AM
Reply

I hope the PS3 slim is not real. Think about it. All of that great technology crammed into a smal case?! Wouldn't there be over heating problems?

1 up, 3 down

Jawknee
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:38:36 AM

I'm sure Sony has thought that through.

1 up, 0 down

godsman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:43:20 AM

That's why they are using the smaller chip, that require less fans. You have to have faith in Sony technology. People doesn't cater to brand loyalty just for its name you know.

4 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 12:31:21 PM

Lol godsman tell that to the die hard xboxers.

Last edited by Jawknee on 7/17/2009 12:35:13 PM

2 up, 0 down

godsman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 1:16:49 PM

Xboxers choose the 360 because of the huge library of violent shooters and because its CHEAP. Cheap with a captial "C".

2 up, 0 down

xnonsuchx
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 5:28:28 PM

Overheating problems? It's not a Xbox 360! ;-)

0 up, 0 down

JMO_INDY
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:24:18 AM
Reply

I dont want a price cut, it is priced competively, thats the way it should be.If they priced it with whats actually in the PS3, it would be around $1000,which id still pay for btw,i think $400 is a good deal imo. Its like comparing caviar to tuna,the caviar tastes better and higher quality so it gets a higher price, the tuna is lower quality so it gets the lower price. I wonder how the PS3 tastes? hold on..*goes and licks the PS3* it tastes like plastic,not bad, now the 360, hold on...*goes and licks the 360* YUK!!! Dust tastes nasty! lmfao. haha (btw the PS3 is the caviar, and the 360 is the tuna. and hey, they match colors too.

9 up, 4 down

fluffer nutter
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:36:05 AM

I happen to like tuna and cavier but would not compare the two.

3 up, 1 down

Jawknee
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:43:16 AM

If Sony can still make a profit if they lower the price then I think they should. If they will lose money then they shouldn't.

1 up, 1 down

ohmikkie
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 1:15:44 PM

interesting analogy. I too do not want a price cut. I think the PS3 is priced quite reasonably. It's a pity its been held back by DVD-esc third-party titles. I'd like to see more games that actually uses the blu-ray.

2 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 9:44:06 PM

@jmo_INDY_Repub1
Well, I have champagne taste, but usually only have beer money,
so I guess I gotta go for the "star-kist & some welfare cheese,
(BTW, that's the EDIBLE tuna, not that fishy MS brand)

1 up, 0 down

Dancemachine55
Saturday, July 18, 2009 @ 4:27:24 AM

LOL!!!

Same comment as last time? You're a funny guy.

1 up, 0 down

JMO_INDY
Saturday, July 18, 2009 @ 4:36:30 AM

Hey im not digging on tuna, ilike it, but it must be fresh tuna, not that canned stuff. I prefer wine, but thats just me. Like i said Caviar is higher quality so it gets higher price, thats all i was pointing out. It wasnt actually a i like this better then this situation. Just comparing price with quality.

1 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:24:20 AM
Reply

EA was never a favorite dev of mine but I'm starting to like them more and more. Need another Dead Space for PS3.

4 up, 0 down

Kowhoho
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 12:50:07 PM

Dead Space ftw! I was semi-interested in Extraction, but now it's time for DS2! ...also Mirror's Edge 2.

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 1:37:16 PM

Extraction looks interesting but I'm not a fan of the rail shooters. Should have just made it a FPS.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 5:01:03 PM

Extraction is a rail shooter? I had no idea! Watch for another hard core gaming flop on the Wii.

0 up, 0 down

sunspider13
Saturday, July 18, 2009 @ 12:43:49 AM

Agreed, DS2 would be nice. Just beat DS yesterday (yeah I know, not enough hours in the day) and I've never had so much scary fun since the original Silent Hill.

Last edited by sunspider13 on 7/18/2009 12:44:18 AM

0 up, 0 down

Warukyure [Power User]
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:48:24 AM
Reply

*Applaud* Good Job, EA! At least, you understand 2 simple things, 1) what console makers do should be up to them and 2) even though this is the gaming industy, business is still business. No one goes out and puts their financial wellbeing on the chopping block.

I think since becoming the biggest publisher after the purchase of Blizzard, I think activision has fancied itself the King of the industry or something. How about this Kotick, if you want the PS3 to drop its price, would you be willing to be charge a sub-$100 price tag for the next Guitar Hero WITH A FULL SET OF INSTRUMENTS and lost money on every game you sold? If no, I dare you to stop supporting the PS Family. (Btw, I haven't bought an activision game in years anyways.)

3 up, 0 down

godsman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 11:54:05 AM
Reply

Look at Activision's Modern Warfare bundle, guitar hero/ DJ hero bundle prices. I have never seen any price tags so insane in previous generations. Why are they complaining about PS3 pricetags?

4 up, 0 down

fluffer nutter
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 12:01:46 PM

Because they have a Sales & Marketing team. They're designed to bitch and moan. Now go get yourself an MBA so you can understand this. Ha ha.

0 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 12:24:54 PM

MBAs are the most useless humans on earth. ;)

6 up, 3 down

fluffer nutter
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 2:13:49 PM

My brother has an MBA and I will not comment any further... but I will let out a definite L O L. (Holds the devil horns up in approval. My hands, dude. My hands! Sick people you are.)

0 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 12:28:39 PM
Reply

EA realizes the immense sales potential of the PS3 once the price becomes more favorable in this economy.

It's as simple as that.

0 up, 0 down

Jordahn
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 1:14:43 PM
Reply

What I really love about this is that if and when SONY drops the PS3 pricetag, it would seem that they did it more on their own terms rather than pressure from Activision because of Ramsdale words. Good logical call.

0 up, 0 down

godsman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 1:17:44 PM
Reply

I have more faith in EA because they don't port down from Xbox games.

0 up, 0 down

Gregory Freeman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 3:47:51 PM

nah, valve just makes sh!t ports from 360 to ps3 through EA, that's all

1 up, 0 down

xnonsuchx
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 5:36:02 PM

Because Valve is too lazy to learn to properly do PS3 coding, and too arrogant to admit they're lazy!

0 up, 0 down

556pineapple
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 2:00:07 PM
Reply

Wolfenstein and Modern Warfare 2. Those are the only games I'm currently looking forward to from Activision. I don't care about GH or DJ Hero. I don't care about Tony Hawk since they dropped the Pro Skater titles. I don't care about crappy movie-based games. Activision, do you care about losing a huge chunk of income from the massive PS3 crowd out there? If you don't, I won't miss you. I wouldn't have dreamed of saying this a year ago, but kudos to EA.

Last edited by 556pineapple on 7/17/2009 2:03:36 PM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 2:26:20 PM
Reply

While the fanboy and fake journalist hate rages on I now see a trend (in sharp opposition to Kotex's remarks) of intelligent industry professionals sticking up for the PS3. This, I believe, is indicative of the future of where this generation is headed insofar as the recognition of the superiority (in terms of ability to deliver the best software content) of the PS3 in coming months and years.

Onward Sony soldiers, the games will only get better.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 7/17/2009 2:27:26 PM

5 up, 0 down

RadioHeader
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:07:56 PM

Liking the vibe here^
It's like one of Elpresador's Trey Brootherhood vids :)

Edit: *Broootherhood

Last edited by RadioHeader on 7/17/2009 4:13:11 PM

0 up, 0 down

NoSmokingBandit
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 2:30:34 PM
Reply

August 11, 2009
At a small press conference Sony unveils the PS3 slim. The "fat" ps3 will be reduced to $299 for the 120gb model. The slim will come with a 120gb hdd as well, priced at $399. Both units will come bundled with a copy of inFamous, though the Slim will also have a PSN voucher for Gripshift.
They then announce that the Slim will be available September 8th and will ship with firmware 3.0. Firmware 3.0 includes the usual bugfixes, compatibility updates, and ps2 backward compatibility. The 3.0 update will be available for download for all PS3 units on August 18.

I can dream, right?

0 up, 1 down

Gregory Freeman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 3:50:04 PM

if you're right, what are next week's lottery numbers???

1 up, 0 down

NoSmokingBandit
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:56:37 PM

4-8-15-16-23-42

4 up, 0 down

xnonsuchx
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 5:40:12 PM

Can 3.0 have a new, not mobile phone based web browser too?

Hey Sony! You know the Firefox/Gecko code is open source, right?

0 up, 0 down

Gregory Freeman
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 3:44:46 PM
Reply

lol say you're a butcher, and you have the choice of getting fatty pork for your bacon for one price, and pork with little to no fat for a bit higher of a price... would you demand that the product of higher quality be the same price as the lesser quality product??? on what grounds do you have that authority??? it's not your company, they just supply you with product.. you get what you pay for... and the expensive is usually better...

3 up, 0 down

JMO_INDY
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:09:18 PM

Except for RadioShack,just saying. lol, Damn those vulchers,$28 for a 5' USB cord, seriously? There probably in cahoots with M$. GALGE GALGE.lol

1 up, 1 down

JMO_INDY
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:14:16 PM

You walk in, "Yes, id like a USB cord." Radioshack employee, "Are you a PlayStation owner or an X-Box owner?" Me, "PlayStation owner", Employee, "Ok, that will be $62." Me, " Damn!" lol

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:22:41 PM

Radio Shat has to charge a million dollars because no one shops there since cables can be had for a couple bucks online.

4 up, 0 down

vicious54
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 4:27:52 PM

@World

Agreed, the don't even have anything useful in their stores anymore.

Last edited by vicious54 on 7/17/2009 4:29:01 PM

1 up, 0 down

JMO_INDY
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 5:22:48 PM

im not even going to go into the USB Flash drive fiasco. URRRRRRG!!!

Last edited by JMO_INDY on 7/17/2009 5:23:18 PM

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 9:50:10 PM

@Canuck Pride,
Yup what you just said!
(and especially on "triple coupon" Thursdays) LOL

0 up, 0 down

xnonsuchx
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 5:42:20 PM

I agree with some of the Radio Shack slams, but I still NEED them about once a year for something I can't get anywhere else locally.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 5:47:11 PM
Reply

Kotick is looking more and more foolish next to his contemporaries as the weeks go by.

2 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 7:43:01 PM
Reply

They're both crap companies

Thankfully I haven't bought an EA game in years, 5+ years

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Friday, July 17, 2009 @ 9:53:44 PM
Reply

Kotick's heads so big, he probably thinks he's the f*cking leader of the Alamo too....

(and we all know what happened there)!

0 up, 0 down

___________
Saturday, July 18, 2009 @ 2:31:45 AM
Reply

i find it extremly ironic that activision can be such Hippocrates.
they complain about the high price of the ps3 but than expect 300 AUD for the GHWT full bundel.
180 for guitar and game.
if you want the drum set you have to buy the full 300 dollar set you cant buy the drumbs by themselves.
not to mention the over priced editions of MW2.
they know its going to sell bucket loads so they add 5 bucks to the RRP.
i agree with them the ps3 does need a price drop, but there not one to talk.

1 up, 0 down

infekt
Saturday, July 18, 2009 @ 11:41:19 AM
Reply

I can't believe I'm saying this but EA have their head screwed on right this gen.

0 up, 0 down

xnonsuchx
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 5:43:56 PM

After the first generation of sh!tty PS3 ports from them, right?

0 up, 0 down

phade2blaq
Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 9:46:42 AM
Reply

Of the people I personally know who have yet to take the PS3 plunge, their biggest gripe about the PS3 is: 1. Price 2. No BC and 3. No RPGs !

If Sony can somehow return BC and drop the price, they would do themselves some good !

People just aren't willing to fork over $400-$500 for an under performing gaming console ! So far the PS3 hasn't shown itself to be the console that the PS2 was at this stage in its life ! I'm hoping that will change this year !

Owner 60GB ! Love my PS3 and the fact I can still play my fav PS2 games !

0 up, 2 down

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