Another publisher asking Sony to cut PS3 price
Tecmo Koei, one of the bigger developer/publishers in Japan, is, like many other publishers, asking Sony to cut the price on the PS3 console, in order to boost the install base (and thereby widening the market for the publishers). Tecmo Koei CEO Kenji Matsubara recently said in an interview:
“Whenever I discuss this with Sony reps I always ask them: ‘Please cut the price’, but I don’t have a clear view on Sony’s situation. It’s definitely a way of boosting the PS3 market, but it’s Sony’s strategy and I don’t know their cost structure. Sony introduced cutting-edge technology in the PS3, that’s why people in the industry accept that the PS3 cost is so high, but we’d welcome a price cut.”
The problem is the low install base of the PS3, which doesn’t result in a lot of games being sold, especially in Japan. Coupled with the high development costs of the PS3, it’s turning into a bad business for many publishers, as they simply cannot sell enough games in order to turn a profit.