Sony PS3 - like dinner at a fine restaurant

Ken Kutaragi, president of SCEI, defends the announced pricing of Playstation 3, to be released globally in November 2006 (November 17 in the US). The PS3 is to be priced at USD 499 / EURO 499 for the 20GB basic version and USD 599 / EURO 599 for the 60GB model with all the trimmings - HDMI output, WiFi and media reader.

Sony is selling more than a game system. Mr. Kutaragi is quoted as saying:

This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap - we don't want you to think of it in terms of game machines. For instance, 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.

Short of theft or an earthquake, Mr. Kutaragi promises that Sony will deliver two million units by the end of 2006.