Andrew House, President of SCEE, has listed the launch of the PlayStation 3 Slim in September 2009 as a “stand out” moment for the company’s PlayStation hardware strategy. On the official U.K. PlayStation website, House said the release of a smaller, cheaper model is what is driving the PS3 to catch its market rival, Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
“From a business point of view, I have to say that the stand out moment for me has to be the launch of PS3 slim at 299 euros in September 2009,” said House. “We know that for a long time, PS3 was expensive and therefore holding people back. When we launched the slim PS3, sales exploded and haven’t really slowed down since. Obviously it has been helped by the incredible line-up of first party exclusive software such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Heavy Rain, MAG and God Of War III. Since that day, momentum has been firmly in our favour and we have no intention of giving that up.”
House commented on Sony’s continuing commitment to digital content delivery, in addition to existing disc-based models.
“At the moment, disc based content is still very much what the consumer is used to and wants,” he said. “However, there has been a change in attitude and technology that is making digital delivery far more feasible and far more attractive. It is our job to ensure that consumers have the choice between the two where possible. How this area will evolve, I can’t really say at this time, as we are relying on many things outside of our control, such as broadband speeds. Things are changing quickly and we have to make sure we are ready for those changes.”
House also lent some credence to the rumors that Sony will be launching a premium PSN service, saying that the company is “looking at a premium [PSN] service to sit alongside the current free service.” He promises that the “current PSN as you know it will remain a free service” and that gamers will learn more “very soon.”
