Sony's Jack Tretton hopes 2008 'is as bad as it gets'
- Posted July 9th, 2009 at 16:03 EDT by Mike Harradence
- 3,528 views
- 34 Comments
Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), has conceded that fiscal 2008 proved a difficult time for the platform holder, despite having successfully met its hardware sales targets for the period.
Speaking to Fast Company, Tretton said he hoped that last year 'is as bad as it gets,’ admitting the company found it tough to shift high-end, future technology. However, he remained confident that 2009 would prove a far more successful period.
“Hopefully last year is as bad as it gets. I think all indicators are that 2009 is going better than 2008. In 2008, we had a 38 per cent increase in sales and we hit our ten million-units-worldwide goal for PS3 sales... At the worst possible time, if you're hitting numbers and delivering success... my hope is that as our production efficiencies improve and more great games come to market, the horizon has got to be better for 2009 and 2010.”
"It's like being out there in a storm - it does cause you to question your conviction, and tie yourself to the mast and weather the storm," Tretton continued. "We have hit a very challenging period of trying to sell future technology, a high-end device, but is on the high-end retail pricing spectrum, at a time when people's disposable income is limited. But I think the fact we were successful in that says people are getting the message, that you get tremendous value when you buy a PlayStation product. Yes there are cheaper machines out there, but not ones that deliver the degree of value for the money that ours does."
Elsewhere, he also defended the company’s stance on a PS3 price cut:
“We could've come out with a PlayStation 2.5 for USD 299 or less, and in the first two or three years it would sell extremely well. But there would be a point where people would be going, 'I am not really seeing the incremental leap," said Tretton.
"We feel that we're sacrificing the short term to pay dividends in the long term. People are having short-term thinking - the platform is not even three years old. It was USD 599; it's now USD 399. The focus on pricing is something we appreciate, but you have to have the conviction and the confidence that you are on the right path for the long term and ultimately you'll get all the consumers you want. You won't get them all day one, but we're looking to get them over a ten year period. It's going to take different things to get different consumers."
Comments
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jamesobachand |
sNaKe2112- 4:16pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 2
I paid the $599, plus extra game controller, couple of games; it was worth it.
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darthrazorback
- 5:15pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 8
I am glad Jack is the CEO of SCEA, and I hope he sticks around for a long time. He is a straight shooter and he is also very likeable (unlike his counterpart at Nintendo, who comes off as a jackhole). However, I think it is time for that $299 price point.
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rahstar2003 |
explosive78- 6:19pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 15
blah blah, all that doesnt matter when people are getting laid off there jobs and cant pay there bills. Screw value, they want the cheap. I mean why you think there is so much illegal downloading of music and movies even though music cd's the first week they are released is 9.99 with album cover, credits, guaranteed high quality music with no problems or viruses. They want the cheaper which is free. They forget in most peoples life the ps3, xbox, or wii comes after EVERYTHING else.
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andysw
- 6:39pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 17
I had quite enough of sony. Sales are going down and if they don't cut the price, they're going to lose exclusives. It's one of the reasons why final fantasy XIII went multiplatform. I for one was not impressed by that and I would hate to see that happening again to any other exclusive. For example, final fantasy VII remake.
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SUPERMANV1990
- 6:40pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 18
he act there wasnt the 20g 40g and 60g wasnt out there if they re would just sell the the 80g i think they would of have been better off
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hillybilly |
apeh- 7:11pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 20
@17
1) Perhaps you already have a PS3, if so sales and cost is the least of our concern as it dosent affect the consumer who already owns the product AT ALL
2) FFXIII multiplat had very little to do with sales, more to do with they wanted a wider market and at the time 360 was expanding rapidly, Sony mentioned at E3 it was almost a part exchange, they got final fantasy XIII (remember they didnt get versus so having XIII on the competitors console = more PS3 sales if they liked it for people trying to buy versus) and so we got FFXIV - a good deal since the multiplat dosent aaffect us ONE TINY BIT, im sick of people moaning aout multiplats as it dosent change anything
3) SE have never confirmed or even MENTIONED a FFVII remake once, no point to mention it - they only released a tech demo to show the capabilities of PS3 in 2006 or 2007 (?)
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Greystones
- 7:18pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 21
@17
There is no Final Fantasy VII remake so there is no exclusive there to lose. Alot of the exclusives that are on the PS3 are made by practically first party developers (granted not all) but now developers (BioWare) who have made some exclusives for the 360 are going to make games that most would of thought to once again be 360 exclusives available on the PS3 and others talking about amping up their PS3 development teams. So if anything they are doing the right thing whatever it is.
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andysw
- 7:39pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 22
At 20, 21,
I know they're not planning on a remake right now, but I only used it as an example. Since the likelihood of a remake happening after final fantasy XIII and final fantasy versus XIII is certain.
And as for first party exclusives, I don't feel that there are as many people interested in sony's games than there are for third party games. I don't know.
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Perkons
- 11:49pm BST - July 9th, 2009
- 27
@16 great lesson. by cutting price before two blockbusters, you have very big possibility to increase your customer mass + that means same, if not more money in your pocket if you hadn't done price cut + both blockbusters will have much greater launch with bigger sales. conclusion: it's worth risking by doing price cut at those times. if you don't risk, you don't win. that's the sentence of business.
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TheBeachie
- 1:57pm BST - July 10th, 2009
- 31
£289 Well worth the money
It's a full entertainment system (For all the family)
With all the extras coming out like Vidzone, you can't beat it!
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stovich |
TasteLikeBurning- 6:44pm BST - July 10th, 2009
- 33
Bumped up my launch 60GB to 500GB, added a DS3 controller, controller stands, the memory card adapter, and the official BT headset. I lurbs me some Sony merch. Anyone know when they're coming out with PS3 apparel? Gonna paint my car black with the PS family logo on the hood, with the face buttons on the wheels, and a working controller for the steering whee. YEEE-HAAAA!!!
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FatherOfOne
- 9:11pm BST - July 12th, 2009
- 34
"We feel that we're sacrificing the short term to pay dividends in the long term. People are having short-term thinking - the platform is not even three years old. It was USD 599; it's now USD 399."
Not totally true Jack. The 20GB system was $500 and the new "low end" PS3 is $400. That is a $100 price drop. The REAL issue is that Sony wanted Blue-Ray to win the format war at the potential cost of the PS3 market share. The problem at hand is that the U.S.A is now in a major resession and on the point of a major depression (with the current administration printing money, and doing ridiculous bailouts), and Sony has the most expensive console by a large margin. Unfortunately it looks like the Wii will dominate this generation. In my opinion Sony needs to focus hard on getting the cost down, and hopefully breaking down the silos in Sony to get them to work together. Does anyone understand why Sony doesn't have a PSP 2.x phone out? How come Sony pictures doesn't get forced to be exclusive games to the PS3 and PSP?
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