The PS3 Needs The Da Vinci Code
What Sony needs, says one analyst, is a good movie - sort of. Details inside.
If you want to sell something, say an expensive video game system, it would help if you had something that people really wanted to use it for. While people pick apart how enticing Sony's video game offerings for the PlayStation 3 are, one analyst points to The Da Vinci Code as a potential hit for the system.
The movie, which debuted to poor reviews and box office success around the world this past weekend, was made by Sony's movie arm, and as such Sony could use it in pushing the PlayStation 3's cause.
"Having a hit in-house movie could be a big factor behind Sony making its target of shipping six million PlayStation 3 consoles in the first year at a price of more than $540 each," said Eiichi Katayama, an analyst at Nomura Securities, as reported by Next Generation.
"The movie business has long hoped for the Blu-ray disc format to take off, and The Da Vinci Code could be the first major title on Blu-ray."
But even with a potential white knight in The Da Vinci Code, things would still be more complex than it would initially seem, mainly because of cultural differences around the world, as Katayama explains:
"As certain scenes are difficult to understand without having read the Bible, it is uncertain whether the film can maintain this momentum in countries such as Japan, where the proportion of Christians is low."
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games