June 19 2:38 P.M.
It can't be a good day to be a Sony executive. In an interview with the Times, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, threatened to drop support for Sony's consoles if the manufacturer doesn't cut its prices. Activision, following its 2008 merger with Blizzard, publisher of smash hit World of Warcraft, is currently the largest video games publisher in the world.
Activision to give the PS3 the heave-ho?
"I'm getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don't make it easy for me to support the platform. It's expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation," Kotick told the Times.
"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."
Dismissed as a bluff by analysts, Kotick's comments nevertheless can't have failed to raise eyebrows with Sony brass. Kotick's far from the only one to raise the specter of a Playstation 3 price cut -- most recently, executives at top retailer Gamestop reportedly consider a near-term price cut highly likely.
What does the prospect of an Activision-free Playstation 3 mean for Sony fans? G4's Patrick Klepek was kind enough to let us know what we'll miss out on if Activision carries out its threat: some 14 PS3 titles could be cancelled, including Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5, and Tony Hawk: Ride.
Sony has yet to directly address Kotick's comments, but did issue a statement to Industry Gamers, saying "PlayStation has tremendous momentum coming out of E3, and we are seeing positive growth with more than 350 titles slated to hit across all our platforms, including many anticipated games from our publishing partners. We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience."
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Posted: 19 Jun 2009
