JULY 13, 2007 • On the last day of the E3 Business & Media Summit, SCEE president David Reeves throws cold water on the American division’s PS3 price cut – calling it a temporary measure to clear excess inventory in anticipation of the $599 80GB unit. After SCE president Kazuo Hirai confirms in an interview that production of the original 60GB system has already been discontinued, SCEA representatives acknowledge the facts, yet say they have sufficient inventory of the PlayStation 3 model to last several months.
Impact: We wonder what Mr. Reeve’s motivation was for outting the underlying rationale for SCEA’s $100 price cut. Was he attempting to diffuse consumer unrest in Europe at a $499 price point in the U.S.? Had he fought and lost to bring a similar reduction to Europe, and desired to undercut the impact of the U.S. announcement? Does he wish to play himself as the straight-talking executive from Sony for his own purposes? Regardless, the revelation put SCEA into a public relations damage control mode within a week of winning widespread kudos. One more pot hole along the PlayStation 3’s bumpy road pre- and post-launch.
