PS3 Costs More Because It Does More

So it's Hooray for Blu-ray, Hooray for Cell.

Sony's Kaz Hirai is a leaner man now. The boss of the company's North American operation lost 30 pounds on the high-protein Atkins diet, and with determination he's kept the weight off for three years. The way things are going, he'll need the same sort of determination to make the PlayStation 3 the success Sony hopes it will be.

Hirai playing, ahem, Ridge Racer

The company has invested a lot in its new video game system, most of which has gone to the Cell chip that powers it and the Blu-ray drive that will read Sony's next-generation DVD discs. Unfortunately, a lot of the costs are being passed on to you, but Hirai says it's all part of a bigger plan.

"This console is going to do much more," he told the San Jose Mercury News. "We have made sure this is a console for the long haul. If you look at the lack of Blu-ray on [Xbox 360], what do you do if the game requires 40 to 50 GB? Put it on three discs? Let's look under the hood and see total value we are delivering to consumers."

Hirai also said that with an expected lifespan on 5 to 10 years, the PlayStation 3 is a better bet for publishers who will look to wring value out of their time spent making games.

Sony and Microsoft may be locked in fierce battle, but Hirai did have some kind words for his opponent, specifically about their colliding presence online.

"Thank you, Microsoft, for helping us in taking consumers online. The most important thing for us is to make sure online is an integral part of the experience. It's not a 'nice to have' feature. It enables new businesses. But we do want to make sure that we have the content for both online and offline."

None of that changes that, at €500 to €600, the PlayStation 3 is set to be one of the most expensive video game systems ever. Some have asked why Sony gave a price for it so early, especially because it could drive people to buy an Xbox 360 instead.

"We get no breaks," Hirai said. "If we didn't say the price, [the media] would be all over us for that. I think that is the right price for what we're bringing to consumers."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games