Article Taken From gamesindustry.biz
Article Written By ellie gibson

SEGA of America executive Scott Steinberg has said that the high price of the PlayStation 3 "is a concern" - but that Sony's strong foothold in the marketplace should ensure that the console is a hit with consumers.

Speaking to GameDaily.com, Steinberg said that the PS3 prices announced by Sony - US$499 for the 20GB model, and US$599 for the 60GB version - are "within expectations... So there's no real suprise there."

"I think it's an expensive device, but it's a very powerful device. Their job is to convince the world that Blu-ray has a high utility and delivers on a promise, a value promise, and I'm sure they'll sell out," he continued.

"Definitely, the [price] is a concern, but globally the brand is so strong that when you think about the marketplace in Japan, North America and Europe, Sony has been the clear winner. So there's a lot of marketing momentum and sales momentum that they're going to absolutely carry into the PS3."

Steinberg reaffirmed SEGA's commitment to Sony's new console, with titles such as Virtua Fighter 5 coming to PS3 straight from the arcades "in a relatively few number of months" - with "very little if any noticeable degradation to the graphics."

"So, effectively you've got thousands of dollars worth of arcade tech in a machine that's 500 bucks, 600 bucks. So there's a lot of value in that machine," he concluded.

The PS3 "is going to be successful," according to Steinberg - but Sony does "have a job to do and selling and marketing it not only to gamers... They've also got to play with the Blu-Ray platform in the consumer electronics market as well."

"So they've really got to do two things with their tech to get this platform to be successful."

In addition, Steinberg argued, Sony may need to bring in a price cut soon after launch: "They're going to have to lifecycle price the hardware in a way that brings it to the masses, I would think relatively soon, because it is expensive. For a lot of families [the launch price is] too expensive."

Article Taken From gamesindustry.biz
Article Written By rob fahey

Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot has warned that while his company is optimistic about the prospects for the next-gen consoles, Sony must be prepared to drop the price point of the PS3 in 2007 if it is to compete effectively with the Xbox 360.

Speaking to business news agency Bloomberg, Guillemot expressed the view that while the PS3 will see enormous demand from early adopters this year, the price point could be a major stumbling block in the following months.

Ubisoft has committed heavily to the next generation with updates to existing franchises, as well as new titles such as Assassin's Creed and Wii exclusive Red Steel, and its recently revealed forecasts for the coming years are very positive for the next-gen systems. The French firm expects 40 million consoles to be sold in the US alone in 2008.

However, Guillemot - whose family controls a major stake in Ubisoft - clearly agrees with outgoing Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who has claimed that 2007 will be the crucial year for the next-gen console battle.

PlayStation 3 is set to launch in mid-November priced at 499 Euro for the lower-spec model, and at 599 Euro for the higher-spec model, which includes a larger hard drive and a HDMI video port, among other additional features.

The pricing is significantly more expensive than Microsoft's Xbox 360 - which, it has been claimed, will be less expensive than the PS3 even if it is bought alongside the external HD-DVD drive which will launch for the system later this year.

with more compititions werweeen the three companies , the prices will shot down