With E3 having just wrapped up last week, media and analysts continue to weigh in on the big companies' respective showings. While Nintendo's 3DS and Microsoft's Kinect grabbed many headlines, Sony was also in full force to once again put the spotlight on the PlayStation Move (which was first unveiled back at GDC in March).
The problem, however, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel, is that Sony's Move controller is missing that special something to really grab consumers' attention. He believes it failed to make a sizable impact at the show.
"This product was already introduced at the GDC conference earlier, but basically this wand and cam system is the Nintendo Wii control for the PS3, enabling more motion-control play for the system. We think this product lacks a 'wow appeal' and will likely not generate strong consumer appeal with the competitive device slate. The good news is pricing will start at $49.99 at launch, or roughly half of the anticipated low end cost of the Kinect, and with gaming PS3 bundles reaching up to $399.99. With the bundles already starting to emerge in fall, it is evident a console price cut is needed for the PS3 at the latest by this holiday season," he commented.
The PS3 price cut with the introduction of the PS3 slim model last fall really turned things around for Sony and that momentum has carried over into 2010. If Sony can afford to cut the price again, or at least bundle in Move without adding the cost into the bundle, it should do wonders for the PlayStation business. As for Move, we definitely think the device has some great potential but it needs some more killer apps and some big marketing.
1 Comments
June 22, 2010
I also think that so far the Move hasn't showcased anything that would make people want to jump up and get it. However, Sony has an ace up their sleeve and that would be the fact that they will actually make some of their core franchises compatible with the Move.
Sure we all know about Socom but that won't do it. If they make a Gran Turismo-compatible Move game they can pretty much watch the profits roll in. Of course people will complain that the controls aren't as precise as a wheel but it will still sell. And theres always the next God Of War game to try and make into a killer ap Move title.