Sony's Yoshida-san says price cut is 'a relief'

Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has expressed his relief over the hardware manufacturer’s decision to cut the price of PlayStation 3, noting that sales of key software may not have been as strong had the firm decided not to see it through.

“My honest answer is that we're so excited about the products we're working on for release this year, but if there was one thing that could have prevented the success of our titles we felt that would be the price point - so we're relieved to see it finally happen," Yoshida told GI.biz.

“Games like MAG, or those hardcore games, we have no concerns over. But games like EyePet, or Heavy Rain, or ModNations - they're targeted to grow the audience and it's crucial to make the hardware more approachable to those consumers."

While congratulating Sony’s hardware team on squeezing the PS3’s innards into a sleeker, smaller machine with the Slim model, Yoshida noted that consumers who purchase the revamped console will pay little attention to the hardware and more on what’s happening on their TV screens.

"Well, our hardware design guys will totally talk about design philosophies and differentiation, and all that," he said. "But from a software side, I think once people purchase, the hardware almost falls away from their vision, and all that they see is what's on the TV."
 
"So it's nicer that it takes up less space - and also less power... it's eco-friendly, so you can be happier about that. But other than that, I like the new design, but as far as the game experience is concerned it'll offer exactly the same functionality."