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Sony's Jamie MacDonald believes that he has the pulse of the European buying public

We've heard some pretty bold claims from Sony in the past regarding its PlayStation 3 gaming console. One of the more famous ones came from Sony CEO Ken Kutaragi when he said that the price of the PS3 was "probably too cheap." This time, it's Sony European VP Jamie MacDonald's time to shine.

McDonald was quoted as saying, "European consumers have shown that historically they don't mind [the delays], because they end up buying as many PlayStations, if not more, than the US and Japan."

If you may recall, while the United States and Japan will fight over 400,000 and 100,000 consoles respectively during the official launch next month, European customers will have to wait it out until March 2007 to get their hands on a PS3.

McDonald's comments seem somewhat perplexing with regards to European customers. Could it really be said that European customers "don't mind" or is it a matter of they don't have any choice but to wait? Then again, there's always the XBOX 360 as an alternative and Nintendo has been getting a lot of positive press for its $250 Wii console. The latter console will launch on December 8 in Europe.

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They don't mind...
By ChugokuOtaku on 10/6/2006 1:40:02 PM , Rating: 5
...getting something else instead




RE: They don't mind...
By jskirwin on 10/6/06, Rating: 0
RE: They don't mind...
By Ecmaster76 on 10/6/2006 2:22:39 PM , Rating: 2
The above comment seems to be a translation of the first posters handle. Not an insult.

Anyhow maybe Europeans wouldn't mind waiting, bu Ill bet some of them will mind hearing this from Sony.


RE: They don't mind...
By Burning Bridges on 10/6/2006 2:51:25 PM , Rating: 1
Excuse you!

and just WHY wouldn't us Europeans mind waiting?


RE: They don't mind...
By dnd728 on 10/6/2006 4:38:17 PM , Rating: 2
hehe
you don't mind paying twice as much, you might as well wait...


RE: They don't mind...
By Visual on 10/7/2006 12:48:55 AM , Rating: 1
he's right in a way... i kinda "wouldn't mind" waiting... really wouldn't buy a ps3 until atleast march next year anyway, even if it was already launched. i'd be waiting for more good titles and pricedrops and such, etc. but now that it'll launch so late, i guess i'll have to wait even more for those pricedrops eh?

dunno... even without buying right at launch, it still sucks that we're treated as second-grade. not that i ecpected anything different - a worldwide launch would've surprised me. i kinda realise the reasoning and it isn't so hard to swallow it.

but sonny making a statement as this one, this is completely outrageous. not only do i get screwed up on the launch date, but now they're telling me that its kinda my own fault, that i almost WANT it that way, or what? what exactly are they trying to say here?

fvk sonny, and excuse the latin.
hmm, and fvk dailytech's posting system, and the "Ooops"es i keep getting. you got no programmers there or what? go get a standard forum system if you can't manage to make one, im tired of this.


RE: They don't mind...
By slunkius on 10/9/2006 5:29:21 AM , Rating: 2
for the last time...

THIS IS NOT FORUM, THIS IS COMMENT SECTION!!!


RE: They don't mind...
By tuteja1986 on 10/6/2006 10:45:00 PM , Rating: 3
Whats next from the CEO :? European gamers don't mind paying $599euro for a PS3 which translate too 754USD...


RE: They don't mind...
By FITCamaro on 10/6/2006 3:20:26 PM , Rating: 4
More like they don't have a choice. What are they gonna do if they do mind? Go into the future and get one? You're at the mercy of the hardware manufacturer.

I doubt there's many people out there who want a PS3 and if asked "So if you could have one now or if I kick you in the nuts and make you wait 3-4 extra months, which would you take?" I'm pretty sure almost everyone would take the first option.


RE: They don't mind...
By muffins on 10/6/2006 3:56:47 PM , Rating: 4
this sounds like a trick question......ill take option #2...HA! whos laughing now?


Back when there was no internet ...
By psychobriggsy on 10/6/2006 2:09:51 PM , Rating: 5
People didn't really know if, nevermind when, new consoles would be launched.

So the fact the Playstation was delayed compared to the US and Japan wasn't a big issue - all the other consoles were as well. You dealt with it, if you even cared.

Even with the PS2, it was out before the GameCube and XBox, so being late wasn't a major disadvantage, even if some people knew about the delay.

Now the PS3 is out after the competition, and everyone knows about the 1/3rd of a year delay. They can look elsewhere, and anyway the PS3 has loads of issues, so it's probably good to get it later. Of course most people will get one console per generation, so if the parents buy that XBox360/Wii because there's no PS3, then that's a lost PS3 sale, full stop, for at least a couple of years.

Given the horrendous price of the PS3 in an area suffering from increased costs of living (massive hikes in power and tax bills) it will be even harder for the PS3 to be a justifiable purchase.




By therealnickdanger on 10/6/2006 2:22:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
PS3 has loads of issues

To be fair, the PS3 production, development, and demo-ing of the PS3 has had "loads of issues". It remains to be seen if the full production model will have problems.


RE: Back when there was no internet ...
By Griswold on 10/6/2006 3:20:35 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
People didn't really know if, nevermind when, new consoles would be launched. So the fact the Playstation was delayed compared to the US and Japan wasn't a big issue - all the other consoles were as well. You dealt with it, if you even cared. Even with the PS2, it was out before the GameCube and XBox, so being late wasn't a major disadvantage, even if some people knew about the delay.


I dont want to nitpick, but at the time the PS2 launched, the intarweb was very much alive and kicking. Hell, it was, even before pony entered the console market with the original PS. So, if you wanted the info, you could get it (also and especially, through print media).

Anyway, this will bite them in the ass, thats for sure. Poor sony.


By UserDoesNotExist on 10/7/2006 2:14:00 PM , Rating: 3
I fully agree. Ponies will be the real victims of the coming console war.


European consumers
By Hare on 10/6/2006 1:59:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
"European consumers have shown that historically they don't mind [the delays], because they end up buying as many PlayStations, if not more, than the US and Japan."
Maybe if Sony released their product faster the European consumers would buy more playstations than the US and Japan?

Maybe not but still Sony's statement is just stupid.




RE: European consumers
By hughlle on 10/6/2006 2:01:13 PM , Rating: 4
as a european i have one thing to say: F**K YOU!


RE: European consumers
By hughlle on 10/6/2006 2:01:58 PM , Rating: 1
not you, sony :D


RE: European consumers
By 0blivious on 10/7/2006 5:46:50 PM , Rating: 3
I beg the differ, the longer you wait, the more you want it.

The Europeans, knowing that on other parts of the world people will have theire PS3, will cause the PS3 to increase value.

Sony will be asking us Europeans the same price if not even more than the prices they will be asking 'the others' on it's launch.

We want it and we will have it. Wether it'll be now, later, cheap or expensive.

ps= sorry for my english


Historically, maybe
By Zurtex on 10/6/2006 1:53:46 PM , Rating: 2
'Historically', Sony have had very little competition when launching their console, even with the delays there were never any heavy weights on the market (excluding SEGA, but that's another discussion).

With the PS3, it is behind 1 console that's so far done very well and has had 2 Christmas' to get ahead of it, release new titles and get in to peoples homes. It's also behind another, very well expected, comparatively cheap console that has had 1 Christmas to get ahead of it.

I think when we take in to account of the situation of the games market, Sony won't find 'historically' very useful.




RE: Historically, maybe
By Xavian on 10/6/2006 4:10:51 PM , Rating: 2
it'll also be well behind the the Wii in europe. Plus Nintendo is hoping to steal Sony's thunder by launching their console so close to Sony's.

Sony is launching into extreme competition, a situation they havent had before with their consoles.


RE: Historically, maybe
By 9nails on 10/6/2006 10:07:38 PM , Rating: 2
Sony's launch is akin to sticking your toe into the pool. Nintendo's plans to sell 10X the number of Sony's 400K consoles will place it squarely in the #2 position for global sales by year end 2006.

Extreme competition? I absolutely agree. Sony better watch out, better not cry, better not pout...


RE: Historically, maybe
By 0blivious on 10/7/2006 6:07:22 PM , Rating: 1
I rather think you're wrong.

Let me first off tell you that i'm not a console man and never will i be, i love my games on pc and consoles are stupid (bring on the flames).

Ok now that i've proven i'm not biased towards any console i will tell you that Wii won't be a huge succes, they will have nice profit numbers, but like XBOX360, even together they don't form a competition against PS3.

Everyone wants a PS3, they don't care how much it will cost, they just want it at ANY cost.

You'll ask me where did i get this informatition, and my answer is simple: just look around; everyone that bought a PS1 bought a PS2 (ok not everyone but those that lost the hook, other people got there to 'fill' the void and more) and everyone that bought a PS2 will buy a PS3 and 4 and 5...

Sony got enough people hooked with the PS-strategy it's really a full blown hit this PLAY-STATION (yeah i know it's playstation..) people wanting to play on something buy a play station, not an x box or wiii.

It's an ingenious marketing brand, it tells people everything it is and what to expect from it.

Yea ofcourse people will still buy a wii and xbox, but if you think logically, then like me, you will understand why sony will always have a hit with theire playstations.

I mean look at the numbers, who sold more consoles, (lets leave nintendo out of this one for a sec ;) ) SONY (starting from PS2, just to make it about equal)or MS.

They are eachtothers rivals, though my guess is sony doesn't see ms as a treath.

ps: sorry for my english


RE: Historically, maybe
By akugami on 10/8/2006 11:32:54 PM , Rating: 2
Sony lucked out with the PS1. Nintendo more than anything screwed up with their hubrus and ill treatment of 3rd party publishers. Said 3rd party publishers flocked to the greener pastures of the PS1. Lower licensing fees which means that the publishers get to take a larger cut of the money from each game sale. Lower cost of the actual manufactoring of the game cd's which means publishers have a much much smaller risk of financial ruin if a game doesn't sell well. Cd's are way way cheaper than rom cartridges and it's much faster to press a new batch of cd's should a game you weren't expecting to sell well does unexpectedly well. You can have a new batch of CD's in stores in roughly 2 weeks time as opposed to cartridges that will take upwards of 2 months.

That is not to say that the PS1 would have failed, just that I am not sure it would have had such success if not for the failures of both Nintendo and Sega. The Saturn was a somewhat half-baked system that failed to attract outside of the hardcore Sega fans and due to the higher costs of Nintendo's system both in the retail space and cost to publishers, Nintendo lost support from many of it's 3rd party publishers which flocked to the PS1. Not to mention many smaller developers could cheaply crank out a game and hope for a big hit, something not possible with the much higher cost of the N64. As we've seen time and again, sometimes these smaller but extremely tallented unknowns can produce amazing games.

The PS2 road the coattails of the PS1's success and it was more momentum than anything that carried it. It was arguably not even the most powerful console in the last generation of the console wars. But it had amazing 3rd party support and shrewdly had backwards compatibility with the PS1. With the PS2, Sony kept things rolling and didn't do anything to mess up the foodcart.

Now we are presented with the PS3. Sony has built this very powerful but very expensive system. Some of it's designs such as the Cell CPU are questionable additions to the system due to the difficulty of tapping into the Cell's power. It may take another 2-3 years before people can tap fully into the Cell CPU's power. Even with that being the case, what is a fully utilized PS3 going to be capable of (aside from prettier graphics) that the Xbox360 and Wii isn't capable of? Not much would have to be the answer.

The killer is all the high priced components in this system that has necessitated an insanely high price. One that has only been reserved for the 3DO and Neo Geo before it.

Is the PS3 a powerful system? Absolutely, though some aspects of it are of questionable design. In the end, even if a product is highly desirable, if it's priced itself out of the mass consumer market, it's going to have only limited success. I think the PS3 will sell well but I think even if it's the market leader, it's going to lead both the Xbox360 and Wii by only single digits. After all luxury cars are coveted by all but most can't afford one. Forget the high end with your Ferrari's and Porsche's, even in the lower end of the scale, most people simply can't afford a BMW, Lexus, and Benz.

What's going to happen IMHO is that the first 10 million PS3's will be easy sells to the hardcore gamers. The second 10 million will be somewhat easy sells, should have a price drop by then but it'll reach 20 million, much like the Xbox and Gamecube has. It's anything over this mark that then becomes difficult. The gamers are a bit more casual after this range and for these folks to spend $600 ($500 console, $60 game, +tax) is a bit of a reach. If they wouldn't spend $150 for a Gamecube and one game with some of Nintendo's arguably more casual oriented lineup, then what the heck makes you think they're going to buy a PS3 for $600? To a lesser degree the Xbox360 is in the same rut but it's much more lower price and should be able to hit the $300 mark (with game) by next Christmas.


By vortmax on 10/6/2006 2:30:58 PM , Rating: 5
Looks like someone forgot to read their handbook:

Rule #1: When public opinion of your company is at an all time low, try not to say stupid stuff to the public.




I like Sony
By Sparke on 10/6/2006 3:28:32 PM , Rating: 5
These Sony execs remind me of Baghdad Bob. They are getting their teeth kicked in, but they still manage to say the most inappropriate things at the most inappropriate times, which is comedic drama at its finest.




What about the wii?
By Xavian on 10/6/2006 4:07:54 PM , Rating: 3
The Wii is going to launch worldwide in the space of 1 month. Why can Nintendo do what Sony cannot?

Anyways, i certainly do mind, remember a lot of people pre-ordered a PS3 in europe, they will know for sure that the PS3 is delayed and they wil care.

However, launching the EU marketplace some 6 months after the Wii and some 18 months after the Xbox 360 will hurt the PS3 greatly.

Also Sony just reeks of arrogance in every PR statement they make nowadays. Softra like Nintendo in the N64 days, this generation will be Sony's fall from grace and they dont even see it coming :/




RE: What about the wii?
By Xavian on 10/6/2006 4:08:56 PM , Rating: 2
softra = sorta, dunno how that happened.


Excellent Image choice....
By thecoolnessrune on 10/6/2006 9:55:56 PM , Rating: 2
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!*gasps* BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....... *gasps* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


I dont know.... I just thought it was really funny....




RE: Excellent Image choice....
By kmmatney on 10/7/2006 9:07:35 AM , Rating: 3
That picture is awesome! Ha! Ha!


better call a doctor....
By muffins on 10/6/2006 2:23:18 PM , Rating: 3
Sony seems to have contracted the dreaded foot in mouth disease




RE: better call a doctor....
By hughlle on 10/6/06, Rating: -1
RE: better call a doctor....
By muffins on 10/6/2006 3:40:42 PM , Rating: 2
lol its a joke...as in sony is putting their foot in their mouth


what are they thinking?
By soydios on 10/6/2006 4:43:08 PM , Rating: 2
Sony's arrogance continues to astound me.




RE: what are they thinking?
By tygrus on 10/7/2006 11:57:14 PM , Rating: 2
Sony is trying to fool themselves. I wish they had designed the PS3 to arrive last Chistmas instead of one that will last 10years minus a few delays. I'll want a new one by then. They tried to get ahead of themselves (and the competition) but now they are lagging behind


These people mind.
By microAmp on 10/6/2006 1:49:53 PM , Rating: 1
These people beg to differ.
http://www.thisiswaiting.com/




RE: These people mind.
By tacorly on 10/6/2006 2:05:58 PM , Rating: 1
So these people have nothing better to do than flame the things they don't like rather than spend time with their wonderful 360 because they could get it earlier. Great, don't care.


incompetent farks
By cnimativ on 10/6/2006 2:21:57 PM , Rating: 2
There's a very good reason why Sony is failing




It's true
By Spoonbender on 10/7/2006 9:02:48 AM , Rating: 2
I dont mind at all. I'll just buy another console. :)




As an European...
By Strunf on 10/7/2006 12:51:33 PM , Rating: 2
the SONY guy is right I don’t mind the delay... since I don’t plan to buy it at all.

Frankly I’m yet to see people not minding being the last to be served more so when they are not only the last but also the one that pays the most...




expressions
By Wwhat on 10/7/2006 2:27:49 PM , Rating: 2
Better to say "sony doesn't mind about losing income" what with the rootkits, batteries, and losing xmas sales in europe.
Seems they are trying to sink themsleves, must be the old kamakazi genes expressing themselves :)
(for the american audiance: yes Sony is a japanese company)




Not again...
By Apprentic3 on 10/7/2006 2:55:24 PM , Rating: 2
I think Sony is being overly optimistic. With all the bad reps that they chalked up recently, I wonder how it will affect their PS3 sales. All the delays better be worth the wait for those waiting to get their hands on it. As for me, I can't be bothered to wait. Trying Wii out instead. =)




Well... if you put it that way.
By Plasmoid on 10/7/2006 8:39:23 PM , Rating: 2
Most Potential buyers of the PS3 dont mind waiting... because the wont be buying it anytime soon.

However the people who buy the PS3 out of brand loyalty sure as hell do mind. I dont mind, im not dumb enough to buy it at launch when a price war is certain. I wouldent mind waiting either way, im used to it at this stage.

But, when the promise a consoles release is pushed back an entire year i do mind... when the "smaller" markets get precedence yet again and i smell another Septemeber PSP fiasco i really do mind. And when there is a price drop in Japan because only having the console cost twice as much in Europe will make Japanese gamers feel warm and fuzzy inside im dont mind anymore, im too much in a rage of anti-sony hate to think or feel anything.

But thats sony for you... i wonder how much of their foot is left to shoot off?




Imports?
By probedb on 10/8/2006 5:13:55 PM , Rating: 2
...and companies wonder why Europeans import so much from the US and Japan...it's because you can't get it over here or it's far too expensive.

Lots of people already have HD-DVD players, loads of people import R1 DVDs etc, the list is quite long :)




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