Recently Bobby Kotick, CEO, president, and board member of Activision Blizzard, spoke to Times Online in regards to Sony and its current gaming platform, the PlayStation 3. His words weren't very positive, saying that the console is losing its momentum, and that it's not easy for the company to support the PlayStation 3 because of the overall development expense. He also pointed out what current monthly numbers already reveal: that the Wii and Xbox 360 consoles are selling better than Sony's offering.
In May, Nintendo's Wii console sold 289,500 units; Microsoft sold 175,000 Xbox 360 consoles. Sony's PlayStation 3 trailed behind with 131,000 units, and actually sold 117,000 PlayStation 2 consoles. Kotick said that because the Wii and Xbox 360 are selling so well, games generate a better return on invested capital than they do on the PlayStation 3. He also added that Sony's games division lost $597 million last year, and it may need to risk more losses if the PlayStation 3 is to evolve.
“They have to cut the price, because if they don't, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow," he said. "If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console--and the PSP too.”
The Times Online article moves on to Activision Blizzard's recent lean towards family-oriented, interactive games such as Guitar Hero, the upcoming game DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk: Ride. Unlike Nintendo, Sony has been slow to respond to the interactive trend, according to the article. Kotick tries to offer an example by demonstrating the skateboard controller for Tony Hawk: Ride, showing its ability to detect movements in both the player's body and feet.
“Such a physical interface could be ideal for Sony,” he said, adding that the game will generate better returns on invested capital on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Kotick hopes that Sony will heed his words, and cut the console's price at the very least.