Kutaragi "gambled" with high tech PS3 strategy, says Maguire

In an interview with TechRadar, SCE UK boss Ray Maguire has said that Ken Kutaragi's scheme of introducing PS3 as a high tech machine at a high price was a "gamble."

"The gamble that Ken Kutaragi took with the PlayStation 3 was to put in a high level of technology, so it has been a bit slow to market in some respects, but we're now seeing how people are starting to understand how the technology works," he said.

"Historically, the installed base of any hardware platform has been proportional to its great gameplay, but also very attached to the RRP. That was the second part of Kutaragi-san's gamble, as that hardware made the machine more expensive. But now we're in the second part of the PS3's cycle, and since the price came down, there has clearly been an uplift.

"We'll go through the next part of the year without a price-reduction, but we're committed to introducing the 80Gb PS3 here on August 29, and the £299 price-point remains. That's why we're short of stock at the moment – production of the 40Gb PS3 has stopped."

Much more through the link.