Too early for PS3 price cut in Europe

David Reeves, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), candidly shared his thoughts about the state of the industry at the ongoing Leipzig Game Convention 07. Although he did not have any major announcements to make, he freely touched upon many worthwhile issues including Nintendo’s ascendancy, the surge in casual games, Microsoft, EA and possible PS3 price-cuts.

He began by saying that, despite Nintendo getting all the credit for making casual games popular with its consoles (Wii and DS), it was Sony that actually sparked this casual gaming revolution. To underpin his point he referred to the launch of the Eye Toy in 2002, Sing Star in 2004 and Buzz in 2005. He believes that these Sony products made casual gaming popular and deserve credit for that. However, he was quick to admit that Nintendo has broadened the casual gaming market and taken it to a whole new level.

After casusul gaming he moved onto price-cuts. He sounded happy with the 60 GB version’s price-cut that has pushed sales by 60%. He also did a quick comparison between U.S and European gamers. In his view, European gamers value game bundles more than price-cuts unlike their US counterparts. Taking into consideration Europe’s game-bundle-love, he said that “it’s simply too early for a price-cut in Europe.”

Sony did not cut the prices of the 60 GB PS3 in Europe but offered a starter pack with accessories. In Europe a PS3 starter pack – 60 GB SKU with two games and two controllers – retails for £425 (approximately US$850). In light of David’s comments it is unlikely that a price-cut would be made in Europe any time soon, but the company would continue with the starter packs.

He also took a mandatory dig at Microsoft by saying “, Sony is going places where EA and Microsoft have never been.” This comment reekes of some bad blood between EA and Sony that has been there since reports of EA prioritizing the 360 over PS3 surfaced.

Having heard it from the horse’s mouth, we believe that Sony is very confident about the prospects of the PS3. It seems Sony has a secret master-plan, is assured of its end result and is making a concerted effort to propel PS3 sales. Earlier, at GC 07, Sony announced PS3′s new personal video recording functionality which gives the feeling that they are more concerned about giving consumers “value for their money” more than price-cuts.

Read [CVG] Also Read [Eurogamer] Via [Kotaku]