Gamers will pay more to play
LOS ANGELES — The buzz at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo usually surrounds the latest new video games.
This year, the hot topic isn’t a sneak peek at “Halo 3” or “Metal Gear Solid 4” but a price tag — namely, the $499 and $599 Sony Corp. said it will ask for its eagerly awaited, next-generation PlayStation 3 gaming consoles when they hit retail shelves around the world on Nov. 17.
Analysts and industry experts attending this week’s E3 show said they aren’t surprised by the price. The PS3 does, after all, include a Blu-ray optical drive for playing high-definition movies. The current crop of stand-alone Blu-ray players retail for around $1,000.
But at $599, is Sony is pushing — or perhaps even crossing — the line on what consumers will be willing to pay for games?
“A lot of people are like, ‘OK, this is a lot of money and I need more justification for dropping this money,”’ said John Davison, editorial director of the video game Web site 1UP.com.
The console price doesn’t even consider the additional cost of the actual games. Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 raised the average price per game from $50 to $60. Sony hasn’t said how much PS3 games will cost.
Only 11 percent of gamers in a national AP-AOL Games poll last month reported spending more than $500 last year on gaming, including consoles, game software, online charges and accessories. The telephone survey of 1,046 adults who said they play games on a computer or gaming console was conducted by Ipsos and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Outside the conference, reaction to Sony’s asking price was mixed.
“If it was $400, that would be better,” said Nathan Guajardo, 21, as he wrapped up a lunchtime game of Madden NFL at an arcade in Milpitas, Calif.
Guajardo, a longtime owner of the PS2 whose video-gaming hours have now dropped to perhaps a few sessions a month, says the $500 price tag will keep him on the fence for a purchase for himself.
Avid gamer Russell York of San Jose wasn’t surprised about the price tag. The 25-year-old who owns a PlayStation 2 and a PlayStation Portable said he almost bought Microsoft’s Xbox 360 but decided to stay loyal to his brand and wait for PS3.
“If it does what it’s supposed to do, then that’s fine,” York said. “But it better be better than the 360.”
Sony executives have insisted the PS3’s pricing is appropriate, given all its high-tech innards.
“I think that price and value have always been two different things,” said Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios.