PS3 is 'too cheap', says Ken

By Ellie Gibson Published 12 May, 2006

Kutaragi's off again.

SCEI president Ken Kutaragi has defended the PlayStation 3's high price tag once again, declaring that not only will consumers be prepared to pay the cost but that the console is "probably too cheap."

In an interview with Japanese website IT Media, partially translated by IGN, Kutaragi said: "This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap - we don't want you to think of it in terms of game machines."

"For instance," Kutaragi continued, "Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It's a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem."

Kutaragi reiterated comments he made earlier regarding the original PlayStation, which he says was also considered too expensive at launch.

"Same for the PlayStation 2," Kutaragi said.

"However, when released, both had sales that were unthinkable for previous game machines. This is because both offered experiences that could not be had on previous machines."

Like its predecessors, PS3 will also offer brand new experiences, he continued: "Things like next-generation graphics and various services via the network. And, as with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it."

The PS3 is set for a global launch this November, priced at USD 499 / EURO 499 for the 20GB version and USD 599 / EURO 599 for the 60GB model. Kutaragi dismissed suggestions from the likes of Microsoft's Peter Moore that Sony will be unable to meet its shipment targets in time - the company has said that it plans to deliver 2 million PS3 units by the end of the year, with a further 2 million arriving by April.

"Of course, this is a number that we announced having made sure we can definitely prepare it," Kutaragi said.

"There is the possibility of unexpected problems like earthquake or theft, so I won't say it's absolute. But if this type of trouble does not occur, there's no problem with this number."

Rumours that the PlayStation 4 will be made of pure light, feature a unique "time machine" function and cost eight hundred million pounds are completely made up.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (74) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • The12thMonkey #1 6 years ago

    I lol

    And as for time travel, even if the PS4 could manage it, I expect the time travel experience on the other consoles to offer more value for money.
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 11:23

  • itamae #2 6 years ago

    Ken makes my head spin. Sony, please see to it that this guy never gets near a microphone again. And I do think of the PS3 as a games console, thank you very much.

  • IMO #3 6 years ago

    Someone get this guy a medal or something!

  • Eighthours #4 6 years ago

    Like its predecessors, PS3 will also offer brand new experiences, he continued: "Things like next-generation graphics and various services via the network.

    I can't believe nobody's let Ken out of his mental home long enough to tell him about the Xbox 360 yet!

  • tonynibbles #5 6 years ago

    Well, it is alot for a games console.

    But then, for the power you get and the hardware - this is gonna piss on my £900 PC I custom built fairly recently.

  • Carlo #6 6 years ago

    "Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant?..."

    LOL, McMicrosoft or Gordon Sony?

  • Sko #7 6 years ago

    *patiently waits next announcement where he puts the price up because us peons don't deserve the glory that Sony are bestowing on us*

  • Guff-Pipe #8 6 years ago

    I love him! Hes like a big mental grandad!

  • Kazzahdrane #9 6 years ago

    "And, as with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it."

    I like games. Hell, I love them.

    But I don't have that sort of money kicking around to buy a games console with a fancy new built-in Blu-Ray player that I don't even want.

  • BillGaitas #10 6 years ago

    I allways liked the idea of playing MGS in a ps3, but when Ken talks about 4D and time travel and a lot of things i dont want to justify the price it really annoys me.

    Just admit it, sony is just playing the same game the last year 360 Ebay sellers were playing, wich seems fair enough but please just stop the BS

  • Darkedge #11 6 years ago

    Ken ken ken...
    keep taking the pills. In fact you might want to up your dose.

  • #12 6 years ago

    What is going on in the Sony camp?! Can we please have someone say something solid!? FFS.

    Here's an idea - give us full specs, a price and highlight differences in the two models.
    In addition, fully describe how the on-line service will work, what it will offer etc.

    At least a year or so ago when MS did all this there was a clear message!

  • Psi #13 6 years ago

    Yes it's far too cheap, just like the petrol is far too cheap to put in my bentley.

    Excuse me while I use another £50 note to light my cuban cigar, the last £50 went out..

  • lennon #14 6 years ago

    I have this wonderful image in my head of the old boy from Dads Army running round the corridors of Sony shouting "Dont Panic"

  • SlackMaster #15 6 years ago

    So what else other than a games console is the core console? It's certainly not a media centre no HDMI or flash card slots are available on it. :s

  • RedPanda #16 6 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • I_Have_The_Power #17 6 years ago

    "Yes it's far too cheap, just like the petrol is far too cheap to put in my bentley.

    Excuse me while I use another £50 note to light my cuban cigar, the last £50 went out.. "

    That reminds me - i need to restock the rolls of £50 notes i keep in the bathroom....

  • crisotunity #18 6 years ago

    Thank the Lord for King Ken - the whole gaming business is full of marketing buzz-words and boring, boring, boring corporate drones who wouldn't dare visit the toilet unless it was "ok" with their focus groups.

    Ken says it like he dreams it, baby!

  • Psi #19 6 years ago

    "Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant?"

    someone call the analogy police!

    Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for a night with a high class prostiture with having a wnak to the ten minute free view?"

    YES one is more than the other but the end result is STILL THE SAME! you pop your cookiees.

  • Psi #20 6 years ago

    i hope he gets fucking food poisoning.

  • MrWonderstuff #21 6 years ago

    The arrogance is cloying.

  • WicKeD #22 6 years ago

    I can imagine the average family rushing out with 600 Euros in hand too! I knew Sony were becoming out of touch with gaming, but not to the point that they're out of touch with reality. No wonder their Triniton days are over, they're deluded.

    All that ramble he spouts, though that is priceless!

  • Talha #23 6 years ago

    Hey, Sony, believe me - everything will be alright once you hire a better spokesman.

    Yes, you won't even have to decrease the price of the PS3. just shut this man up.

  • Danj #24 6 years ago

    I'd like to know what the official UK price will be - will it be around £399/£409 (converted from Euros) or will we get shafted even more than everyone else?

  • coojam #25 6 years ago

    @disc:

    kids don't exclusively play games anymore. In fact, the average age of gamers is mid-twenties these days, and they (we) are the ones with the largest disposable incomes.

    Whats silly is the most devoted fans of Sony are your average Jo's who don't use Internet forums and haven't even considered the alternative.

    This price and controller design (while will be great for gamers I'm sure, it will be tough for the mainstream to get on with) could well make them think again.

  • Nikanoru #26 6 years ago

    Except the PS3 isn't like a fine restaurant. More like the filthy hotdog stand on the corner wrapping the buns in 24K gold napkins. "See how pretty your junkfood looks! That'll be $600!"

  • coojam #27 6 years ago

    Not to mention covering it in every single sauce. And giving you a burger in the same bun.

  • jazon! #28 6 years ago

    The guy is a total fucktard.

  • Psi #29 6 years ago

    lol @ Nikanoru

    I still like mine better, if your getting fucked try and use a prostitute in the analogy :) lol

  • Cappy #30 6 years ago

    If Sony believe there is a market for a high end of the price scale luxury console fair enough.

    But... this time unlike the PS2 which was also pretty expensive make damn sure components reflect that price bracket, instead of the cheap junk thrown into most PS2 revisions which rather unsurprisingly lead to a lot of units with severely curtailed life spans.

    For a £400 console I expect, not one year, not two years, but an entire generation free of disk read errors and other such irritations.

  • deepmenace #31 6 years ago

    you've gotta know more about a product before discerning if its worth the dough or not surely?

    if its a media hub then i can stream movies from my pc yes?
    can i go on the "real" internet?
    how quick is boot? am i gonna have to wait 30 seconds before i play an audio cd?
    can i stream internet radio?

    if it can better my current athlon 1800 sitting behind my tv and play games then count me in at 599.

  • Zomoniac #32 6 years ago

    With PS2 they gave completely new experiences, yes. They were indeed the first company to bring out a console that wasn't a patch on the competition that had already been out for a year.

    With PS3, they will once again bring you this experience.

  • alimokrane #33 6 years ago

    Another episode of lies. Those guys at sony are unbelievable. In the conference they said they will ship 7 million by April and now he says 2 milliion by end of year and then another 2 million by april making it 4 only and not 7 ... just unbelievable!

  • #34 6 years ago

    @ deepmenace
    Very good points. And that fact that we still don't know this speaks volumes for how badly Sony has handled the PS3 so far.
    Please note - I did not say the PS3 was bad in any way, just that is has been handled badly.

  • asphaltcowboy #35 6 years ago

    /takes PS3 out for dinner

    ...oh wait, that's not what he meant... is it?

    "we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it."

    LMAO! 'without question'?!

    "Hmm, is the PS3 any good?"
    "Dunno, but I must purchase one without any knowledge of if it's worth the hefty price tag. Ken said so."

  • space_ace #36 6 years ago

    argh
    has anyone played on ps3 at e3 or not?! (i guess not)

  • bivith #37 6 years ago

    I keep reading about how the price reflects the network service, so basically instead of charging a subscription for an online service, they just added the cost to the price of the console, regardless if you actually want it.

  • Triggerhappytel #38 6 years ago

    I don't like the price as much as the next person. Whatever the price will be in sterling, I don't have £400 - £500 spare cash floating around to spend on a games console (at least, not without my girlfriend lynching me).

    Blu-Ray may prove a good decision, and it may not. Time will tell. In this respect, I guess we'll see if the console justifies the price only towards the end of it's lifecycle.

    But to those who want the console but don't want to pay through the teeth for it - don't buy one - not initially, at least. If enough people *don't* buy one, and sales are down (in particular, if they are lower than the 360's launch) Sony will have no choice but to drop the price. The consumer controls the market, not the retailer. Spread the word. If you're not happy about the price, don't buy a PS3.

  • Kalinin #39 6 years ago

    Oh my, Ken you're a class act.

    PS3 is too expensive!

    Ken: What? Lies, our Playstation was like three times the price of the SNES and it was awesome!

    Hold on... that's not a fair comparison...

    Ken: You know what, it's too cheap, you should pay more you know, I'm cutting my own throat at £500

  • gizmo #40 6 years ago

    What a total idiot.

  • kristo #41 6 years ago

    /Walks up to back door in games store

    *knock knock*

    "Whats the password?"

    "Ken sent me"

    Lying on the bed is a PS3.......

  • peterfll #42 6 years ago

    Silly fucker.

  • Salvia #43 6 years ago

    "argh
    has anyone played on ps3 at e3 or not?! (i guess not)"

    Yes lots of people. There's a website called eurogamer that has hands on reports.

  • reality_cheque #44 6 years ago

    Ken "Strangle myself to death with a controller cord" Dibbler!

  • Santino #45 6 years ago

    As a sensible gamer i say "Ken u can go f*ck yourself you sorry excuse for a turd how dare u be so arrogant" i say boycott his fantasy and leave him to live in 'his' world by himself, TWAT
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 13:38

  • Feanor #46 6 years ago

    Call me crazy but I don't mind the price. I wasn't going to get one at launch, and Sony will still sell every PS3 they can produce in 2006. If the price was lower it would just mean more profits for ebay resellers

  • IP #47 6 years ago

    This will go one of two ways: 1) everyone will wake up, smell the coffee, and realise that they can (probably) buy a 360 and a Wii and perhaps some other stuff for the same price as a PS3, or; 2) the PS3 will sell bucketloads on the basis of perceived value. In other words, because it's so expensive, people will think they're getting great value, and even post-purchase, they'll convince themselves that the console is the Best Thing Ever, because they've spent so much on it. Conversely, Nintendo may end up not doing so well with the Wii, because people will think it's so cheap that it must have something wrong with it.

    I hope the first of those is the more likely thing to happen, but we've already seen something close to the second with the PSP/NDS. (I'm not talking generally here, but when PSP "giga packs" for nearly £300 were all that was available, yet they were still selling as strongly as Nintendo's £100 console.)

  • glaeken #48 6 years ago

    The most annoying thing about the PS3 price is that MS don't have to drop the price of the 360 anytime soon because their main competitor has chosen to not even to attempt to compete on price. I was hoping the 360 would get a nice price drop come the PS3 release and there is not much chance of that now.

  • PearOfAnguish #49 6 years ago

    But then, for the power you get and the hardware - this is gonna piss on my £900 PC I custom built fairly recently.

    http://www. theinquirer.net/?article=31631

  • Mr_Whacker #50 6 years ago

    'we believe price is not a problem'

    Then make it $200. Oh you mean HIGH prices are not a problem.... for you.

  • L0cky #51 6 years ago

    Quick poll: Who actually is excited by the prospect of a Blue-Ray player?

    Not me, and if I did I'd wait till a standalone player is available.

  • #52 6 years ago

    Oh yeah cool, Blu-Ray! Awesome. I have a huge collection, no, wait... I WILL have a huge collection, no, wait.... Does anyone even know what's coming out on bluray?

  • glaeken #53 6 years ago

    The blue ray player is a negative to me. I know how much the blue ray standard means to Sony and I don't really want to be subsidizing their format war.

  • Tonka #54 6 years ago

    Does anyone even know what's coming out on bluray?
    A Knights Tale and Stealth

  • Frogger #55 6 years ago

    "Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant?..."


    Yes, right, but the PS3 gives this bitter feeling of being charged for a dinner in a fine restaurant for a lunch at the company cafeteria.

  • Collie #56 6 years ago

    He's right. You should pay at least £699 for the PS3 so we can give Sony executives an early retirement. They deserve it. We should probably all kiss their buttocks as well for bringing out their lovely console device to us, the unwashed plebs.

  • dk_rare #57 6 years ago

    Ken Kutaragi is the bizzaro world versio of Jack Tompson. Pure comedy genius, when everyone is the room because silent after a hard days work, you can count on Ken to jump on the table with a lamp on his head and shout out summat stupid, that will make everyone laugh.

  • dk_rare #58 6 years ago

    "Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant?"

    I heard that fragments of Kens handbag at this speech are beign sold on ebay.

  • Garulon #59 6 years ago

    Well, maintaining a smear campaign about broken 360s and threatening not to supply shops with PS3s if they have XBox advertising _does_ cost money, you know.

    Note to Sony: Drug Krazy Ken until the PS3 launch, for God's sake. You've already let him make "The Homer", don't allow him to make things even worse for you than they already are.

  • Psi #60 6 years ago

    Blue ray... so... not only are you charging a fortune for your hardware, your also going to try and sell me my dvd collection again.

    Why not just ask for our wages for a year? Then tell us to thank you for the privalidge?

  • captainrentboy #61 6 years ago

    What I think Microsoft will do come November is drop the price of the premium to £250,a week before the ps3's launch and bundle it with a 60+gb hard drive.So then like P.Moore said yesterday consumers,unless really wanting that Blu-ray player,will have a harder job coming up with a reason why they should fork out another £100 for a ps3 with what will more than likely be a rather limited launch line up.That's my prediction folks:)
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 15:38

  • Mr_Whacker #62 6 years ago

    I think the Blu-ray is a nice addition. If I'm shelling out £1000+ for a HD telly then I'd like to play HD games and films on it. So I would definitely use it. Its up to you what buy so you can't say they are selling you your DVD collection back to you.

  • Kami #63 6 years ago

    Hahahahahaha.

    *breathes*

    MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    Hahahahahahahaha!
    Whahahahahahahahahahahaha!

    I'm sorry... the headline cracks me up. "PS3 is 'too cheap', says Ken"...

    You couldn't make that stuff up...

  • NthSimulachum #64 6 years ago

    Since only the movie-nuts and cutting-edge techno people will buy this thing at launch, they could certainly make it a lot more expensive. That would also solve the problem of not having enough stock for a worldwide launch, by making the product so cretinously expensive that noone can get it.

    "A fool and his money are soon parted"

  • Redeye #65 6 years ago

    Completely hatstand.

  • NthSimulachum #66 6 years ago

    Redeye: The B3tans are invading!

  • Hughes. #67 6 years ago

    Psi, Blu Ray will play DVDs, if there's one thing I CAN thank Sony for it's for realising that constantly obsolescing formats is a stupid idea. All other Kutaragi-based insanity aside, at least they're spreading the practice of reverse compatibility across more entertainment media... well... if you don't count UMD movies that is, they'll be dead as disco pretty soon :¬D

  • FredMT #68 6 years ago

    I will not be one of the first adopters on this!
    My prediction: Price drop by next summer as Sony try to out flank M$ with the PS4...

    And of course, one can compare dinner at the cafeteria with the fine restaraunt: after all; one is when you are working your but off to get some money so that you can take the chick of your dreams to the other!
    The dollar values are different but the return is the same...
    Think about it, you guys.

  • captain-future #69 6 years ago

    the bloody thing is called "PlayStation 3"... so maybe they should change the name to something more approbriate so that people don't mistake the video game console for something else?

    maybe George Foreman Grille? nobody would think about games then...

    at least Krazy Kenny K is much more amusing than Phil Harrison.
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 23:50

  • kasabian72 #70 6 years ago

    "Does anyone even know what's coming out on bluray? "

    "A Knights Tale and Stealth"

    SOLD!

  • NemesisEnforcer #71 6 years ago

    I'll be Ken's bitch. I'm putting in a pre-order tomorrow. The guy is definately not dull, that's for sure. Love him or hate him, you can't say he's boring.
    Edited by 1 at 13/05/06 @ 01:26

  • aine #72 6 years ago

    As much as Sony have cocked this one up, I know they'll sell shitloads based on the brand alone, it'll end up with a massive PS1/2-style game library (complete with the super-obscure yet inevitably brilliant Japanese games I'm an absolute whore for) and I'll end up buying one. For fuck's sake.

  • edo #73 6 years ago

    Just give Shoryuken right on his face, damn it!

  • YourMessageHere #74 6 years ago

    So...by the time PS3's are on offer for the measly price of £far, far too much, these vaunted blu-ray drives will be available for 5.25" bays in PCs, yes?Presumably they'll be making Blu-ray R/RW drives soon after that. They will become a sensible price, like under £50, eventually, like probably about this time next year. I may then buy one.

    Then, even if I replace nothing else in my PC between now and then, I will exceed the PS3 in every respect, rather than exceeding the PS3 in every important or practical respect and ignoring the pointless media format upgrade until it becomes useful.

    Oh, but I won't be able to play PS3 games. And damn, looking at them they look so...progressive and cutting edge and different from the current generation.

    PCs are the future of not paying through the nose for further mediocrity dressed as the next big thing.