Euro PS3 Price Cut Would "Annoy" Consumers; Christmas Season Not Critical, Says Official

SCEE president David Reeves asserted that the upcoming Christmas season is not the most decisive sales test for the company and that a European PlayStation 3 price cut would merely annoy consumers.

In an interview with semi-official Sony blog Three Speech, Reeves said, "I think each peak is crucial to maximize what you can do, but I don't think this Christmas is necessarily the most critical one - I think that's going to be Christmas '08.

"I see this more as kind of like a tsunami - it starts small and gathers speed, and eventually, after four or five years, it will start to take you over."

The statement falls in line with previous official Sony statements positing the PlayStation 3 as a long-term platform that will remain viable for a decade.

Nonetheless, an assessment downplaying the importance of the coming holiday season fails to explain why Sony previously overstated the number of titles the PS3 will offer in the coming year.

In response to discontent over the company's decision not to cut the consoles price in Europe despite a $100 drop in the U.S., Reeves also downplayed the importance of July as "not really a gamers' month" and went so far as to say that a price cut right now would irritate consumers.

"So we thought if we reduced the price, we'd annoy a lot of people," he said.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz