'We simply have to suffer,' says Sony Europe's gaming chief

The Guardian sits down to talk for a candid interview with SCEA boss David Reeves. In the interview, he believes that to maintain profitability in the current climate they "simply have to suffer a little," "go down in market share and mind-share.

[Wife Of The Bad Guy]

I've always liked Reeves,very honest and straight to the point.

[tocrazed4you]

the part about new ips :O

[StayHigh]

what happen to all the fanboys who said killzone 2 will sucked and wont live up the graphic hype? oh yeah they got owned!! im glad it will sell 1.1 million..even if it didnt do it in its first day it will eventually happen, just look at all the big ps3 exclusive game all sold pass 1 million or more now!!

[eagle21]

1.1+ million pre-orders already. I think Sony has more humility and more swagger than any company ever will. Every gamer I know wants this game. Even some non fps fans want KILLZONE.

[Danja]

wow this is great...already guaranteed million seller....

glad ppl are excited for this game...expect sales to rise even more when the ads kick in..Sony dont drop the ball this time around..

MGS4 seems like it will be dethroned in 1st week sales...

[Rock Bottom]

So much for being the FLOP 360 fanboys were hoping for.

[morganfell]

I have never heard Greenberg speak of the competition like that.

[iHEARTboobs]

I'm assuming the 1.1 million pre-sales was world wide and not just Europe?

[Consoldtobots]

he is extremely honest, to the point of saying that if this business wasn't profitable for them they would leave it. That tells you alot about the performance so far and the faith they have in the PS3. IMO they've been riding a steady climb in marketshare and cost reductions.
By the time the PS3 hits $250-$299 it will have a 30-35 million install base and sales will explode even more. Thats when the market will completely shift focus back the playstation.

[cayal]

oops.

[Immortal Kaim]

He isn't giving up on the 'console war' because there is no such thing as the console war, this 'war' is only in the minds of immature fanboys. He is a smart man, and one with integrity. He knows full well the competition for market share is a totally different ball game this gen.

By acknowledging their competitors and the increased pressure it puts on maintaining market share, we can expect some interesting and unique things coming out of both hardware and software area's in order to sustain a reasonable market share.

Wake up lighting, this 'console war' as you like to call it doesn't revolve around you and your irrational mindset.

[acedoh]

I am really excited about the buildup for Killzone 2... I think this game will truly show what the PS3 is capable of as a console for graphics but also of mega sales for a blockbuster game. SONY knows when you are at the highest pricepoint you need convincing games like Killzone 2 to convert the masses of hardcore gamers that will fork over $400 for a game console.

David Reeves I believe is a consumate professional and gives total respect to the competition. He and SONY are realistic enough to realize the market has changed and they are adapting to it very well. Remember it's the companies that take the right approach to an economic downturn that end up on top when the dust settles.

[prowiew]

Reeves should be on Kaz shoes. He is more down to earth than Kaz. Kaz should be included in those 16,000 people Sony will fire.

[Parapraxis]

Inspiring words from Reeves.
He is a gentleman, and I hope that he will have, at some point, as much of an importance in Sony Entertainment's management as Mr. Harai. I do think it would do great things for Sony if control was split more evenly.
Good interview.

[marinelife9]

One of those pre-orderers is me.

edit

I take that back 1.1 million is just European pre-orders. I'm American

[xwabbit]

You still got 3 fan boys on you StayHigh Lol

[tplarkin7]

Reeves said about cost cutting the PS3: "But will it be anything as off-strategy as releasing a PS3 with a DVD rather than a Blu-ray drive? I doubt it."

How can he "doubt" something that is impossible? If the PS3 only supported DVDs, then the games would not function.

Does Sony have a dirty secret that their "Blu-Ray" games are actually on DVD?

[eagles1990]

Looks like Killzone 2 will sell well it's first week

[Huh]

my friend when i get killzone 2 i will be so happy i will likely play it very slowly so the game becomes really long i mean its already long like 11 hours but i want it to last for 7 days and then after 7 days i train for multiplayer

[cayal]

1.1 million @ $60 each is a nice income.

$66,000,000, that's crazy.

[jessupj]

Please stop saying that like it sells at $60 everywhere. Countries other then the US exsist.

[heroicjanitor]

Sensitive much?

[Barca_V_V]

he is right, not everywhere it is sold for 60$.
here i have to pay about 100$ for newly released games

so its 66,000,040$

[heroicjanitor]

Australia? I think they aim to make the same profit from all games though. The higher price of your games is most likely due to transport costs, but the profit Sony makes from the game is the same.

[cayal]

I live in Australia.

The average cost around the world would be $60 once converted into whatever currency (yen I suppose)

$100AU = $64US
$100AU = 5,800Yen (I have no idea what the cost is in Japan).
$100AU = 50EU

Point is, $60 is a good average price point.

Next point is, stop being a whiny little turd.

[Karum]

shopto.net are selling the game for under £30 in the UK, if you were to walk into GAME or HMV you'd likely be paying £39.99 or £44.99 for a big title such as KZ2 on release day.

With that said though they're going to make a fair bit of cash from the worldwide sales of this game, of that there can be no question.

Can't wait for the demo later.

[UnDone14]

I feel exactly the same. I absolutely do not want to rush through this game. As a matter of fact, I will play it on the hardest difficulty there is! I'll get my ass handed to me, but hey, it's good training!

I simply cannot wait.

p.s. Killzone deserves all the accolades it's been receiving and now it's a confirmed million seller!

[RememberThe357]

is that they haven't even started advertising yet. This is pure hype.

[TheHater]

Congrats to Killzone for hitting the 1.1 million preorder mark in Europe. So I guess the game will be selling over a million on day one.
As for Davit Reeve, Sony need to cut tides with this guy already. 99% of the things that comes out of his mouth is idiotic.

Dammit I am wait for the demo right now, and it kill me. It almost 2AM NYC right now. A PSN buddy of mine said the demo will be on the European UK store at 2AM EST time.

[Cyrus365]

I didn't think the 1.1 million is Local Europe number, considering previous to that they were taking about global sales of the console and global software sales of all the Sony products.

1.1 million in just Europe would be huge, especially considering the past of killzone.

1.1 globally aka (US/Europe/Australia), makes sense, with 500 K split between two or so, plus loose 100 K in other territories (Australia, etc.)

[RememberThe357]

In context it would seem that they are talking about Europe(SCEE):

"And there are some encouraging signs for SCEE, which Reeves understandably wants to focus on. While PSP and PS2 software sales have fallen (by 15% and 51% respectively), PS3 games sales are up 53% and there's a healthy 1.1m pre-order book for Killzone 2, the first of a new batch of IPs that Sony will be counting on."

Either way, those are great numbers for Killzone 2.

[Wife Of The Bad Guy]

1.1 Million pre-orders for a game everyone in the gaming press said would suck.

Sales are never the sole indication of quality,so going by the reviews and the recent spark in gamer interest,it's becoming increasingly clear that Killzone 2 will have a healthy life.

[terrandragon]

Show me where it says "everyone", stop lying and spit out the truth.

[acedoh]

the advertising hasn't even kicked in... Most people wait until one to two weeks before release to preorder. Killzone 2 could easily double or triple that number by release. Selling 3 million worldwide in the first week would put it right up there with Halo and Gears...

[Huh]

wow 1100000 in sales already someone pinch me this is amaizng

[Grooski]

Good start for KZ2, although I wonder whether thats total or just in Europe. If its Europe, wow! US will be another 600-700k. We could be looking at 2 mill day one. If its total, that is still an enormous amount, only to improve when the ad campaign starts.

[morganfell]

We should also consider the number of people that will pick up this game in the first week DID NOT preorder it.

[Grooski]

The mind boggles doesn't it? If we are talking 2 mill preorders worldwide, could this mean 3mill total sales week 1????

[Milky]

I am one of the many that havent pre-ordered yet. CRazy.

[blackpanther25]

i haven't pre-ordered it as well, but i'm hoping of getting it day 1

[RememberThe357]

You guys better get on that.

[zach1980]

i'm one of though's 1.1 millon people that have pre ordered the game can't wait, just waiting for the demo.

[chidori666]

killzowned!!!!! congratulations gg and sony...

[CaptainKratos]

someone give me 5 dollars to go pre-order this game.

[Rmagnus]

Woot happy days are coming

[SonySoldierEternaL]

same here!

[Llort]

It's still not gonna sell more than Halo 3.

In fact, I don't know where my copy of Halo 3 is but I need something to wipe my ass with.

[LeGenDx]

ahem

[Gobuz]

I think you will find that Halo 3 was a one off, not many games sell 8-9 million units (wii excluded!). I think people need to put things into perspective here.

If a game sells over 1 million copies it's considered a success, however i would hope that Killzone 2 would sell 4-5 million units judging the games potential. A pre-order of 1.1 million units is excellent and the demo coming out today will spur even more interest.

Gears of war 2 sold 4.5 million, if your a numbers addict then i would like to see the same numbers for Killzone 2. But let's also remember that the percentage conversion for Xbox and PS3 will be different judging the 7-8 million users gap, so a PS3 game could sell less and still have a better percentage conversion than Xbox.

I agree with what Dave Daily said, buy the f*ckin game, 1 million copies sold day 1. Killzone 2 should reach 4 million.

But at the end of the day as long as i have the games i like, I'm pretty chuffed.

[PotNoodle]

Gobuz

Not many games sell 8-9million units? Gran turismo says hi, pretty much every game in the series has sold near 10m.

[Gobuz]

I said not many games sell 8-9 million. If you look at most big games this gen they peak at about 5-6, most games only average 2-3 and even less.

[WhoaMan]

halo could sell 50 million and i still wouldnt give a damm
if the game's great then the game's great
sales doesnt matter, look at wii play..sold alot..but soooo FREAKING BORING

[UltimateIdiot911]

In marketing term, this is called harvesting.

[Ashton]

demo and TV ads are yet to come.it cold rise as much as 2 mil.

awesome

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

It totally won't outsell Halo 3!!!

Of course...neither did Half-life 2, Gears of War 2, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Devil May Cry 3, LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and various other games that are WAY better than Halo 3.

[Llort]

Honestly and truthfully Halo 3 is the best Nex-Gen experience. The graphics and art design are impeccable, the game play is unmatched, forge is super cool and who doesn't love vibrant colors?

m'I gnillort, ylsouivbo ti skcus.

[NickIni]

Lol at people's failure to read backwards.

[gametheory]

But I think this game needs to sell 2 million to break even (its budget was 60 million about a year ago, I don't doubt the budget is already on par with GTA4, if not more). I don't doubt it will, just saying.

Edit:

@Below: Doing some research would help your poor brain understand. Does everyone have to be spoonfeed the news? No, probably just you.

http://ps3.qj.net/Rumor-Kil...

Sure, that's a rumor, but again all budgets we know, including that of GTA4, Halo 3, etcetera have been well substantiated rumors.

[-IronMan-]

And where u get that figure from on how much it cost? Oh ya out of your posterior.

[Xheratuul]

brilliant!

[sinncross]

Seems like Killzone 2 could be a potential hit for Sony after all, and thank goodness. IT seems like so much effort has been put into delivering a quality title among all the hate they have been getting.

And to think that Japan seems to have taken a fancy to Killzone2, being 8th in the top best sellers.

[BX81]

This game is actually one of the reasons why I bought my PS3! I don't hold KZ2 in high regards though.. just so I'm not expecting too much from it and feel like I got less than what I expected. Can't wait for the demo 2 day.

[Wife Of The Bad Guy]

Nah,no one can fail that bad when reading a comment.

[no-spin]

and told girlfriend, friends and family
dont look for me after feb 27
i am gonna be all riiiiiight
:)

[Horny Melon]

over 2 million? Finally a PS3 title the xbox fans won't be able to say didn't sell.

They talk about the economy. As times get tougher the PS3 will look better not worse. You can get your $200-$250 console and $400 bluray player. Or you can get a PS3.

[Parapraxis]

Pretty sure they are.
1.1ml would be for the UK specifically.

[resistance100]

@Parapraxis

There won't be 1.1million pre-orders in the UK, considering the fact theres only about 1.5million Ps3's sold here

[no-spin]

"We've learned from Nintendo how to grow the market and move from handheld device to device - they've done it brilliantly. And we've learned an enormous amount from Microsoft, too. Overall, the market has sharpened up individual competitors to do better - we should celebrate the industry and how we've collectively grown it beyond all recognition."

that is a grown up response

[creeping judas]

now if we all could just get along!!!!

[zainkool]

That great to hear

[BMS84]

It will suprass the 2 million in the first week for sure.

[hardcorehippiez]

in my local store we are only allowed 1 preorder for this game but i myself am buying 3 copies and theres many more round my area like me so 2 million in the first week isnt that hard to meet.

[BIGBOSS08]

how come people always say this guy talks crap? he sound ok and very porfessional but then again so is every company, well apart from microsoft. anyway it seems like sony are in no rush to cut the price and why should they if they are htting all their targets? i still think there is going to be a price cut but late in the year.

[Cajun Chicken]

David Reeves does have his times for some badly thoughout quotes and he's incharge of SCEE, so I personally blame him as head of the unit for the delays of PSN games.
Did you know EU hasn't got Street Fighter 2:HD yet?

Anyway, except for that, SCE seems to run smoothly.

[DERKADER]

OMG!!! Killzone 2 has alot of pre orders, which I'm one of, lets all pee our pants. I guess PS3 fanboys finally get to have there moment of glory. The same glory that XBOX fanboys got with Gears and Halo.

[Dimitri]

LeGenDx
Why are you bringing a racing game to this topic ???
You pathetic fanboy..

Cant wait for Killzone 2 :)

[snipermk0]

That is what I call a gentle-man. He openly admits that they learnt a huge deal from Micro$haft. Unlike Aaron Greenturd that runs his mouth and pretends that Sony doesn't exist.

[eddispider]

The ps3 is the new saturn+++ . Look at the latest game re5, its better yet again on the 360. Hope killzone 2 is good .

[PirateThom]

The PS3 still has all the third party support. It's Microsoft who lack first party support.

[Hallucinate]

sony could survive alone on 1st party support

[Pennywise]

RE5 isnt better on any console. It sucks on them all.

[Neo604]

They are not desparate to drop the price and they have it all plan out.

[Neo604]

mgs4 cost 50mil to make so it seem thay already make profit.

[sephy 9 2 5]

Killzone 2 did not cost 100 million for developmen like GTA IV. The last known figure isn't anywhere near that much. Stop spreading false information.

[Stationfan]

Fvck 3rd party games, its all about the exlcusives, and Sony has a AAA exclusive for every genre so were covered, besides its not like we cant play those 3rd party games if we desire.

So we get the best of both worlds.

[Sanhlami]

I hope Killzone 2 achieves 2 million pre-orders before the 27th.

What a crazy amount of hype for Killzone 2. I'll be keeping my PS3 just long enough to fully enjoy Killzone 2.

[xg-ei8ht]

Lightning, you don't own a PS3.

Your a big Fat liar. :)

Stay High, i got lost in translation.

pre-orders over 1.1million, so far. ROFL.

It's not even out yet, so yes it'll be 2million day 1 SOLD.

[PS3MANJP]

Can't wait to play KZ2.

[TheMART]

"If we'd cut the price, lost another billion dollars, we might have had a huge Christmas but it would have been followed by a huge loss."

Basically he's saying PS3 will stay on the high price because Sony can't give money away on the hardware to earn back on games/software.

PS3 will stay 3rd this gen thats clear.

[Llort]

Last place in sales, first place in games.

You don't buy an Xbox 360 for games, you buy a PS3.

Xbox 360 makes a nifty space heater and foot stool.

[NickIni]

We shall see.

A lot could change this year/next year. Sony's line up is really picking up.

[Arnon]

Sales figures disagree.

Xbox 360 software sales equates to more than the Wii and PS3 combined.

Xbox 360 software attach ratio is 8.1+ games per console. PS3 software attach ratio is around 3-4.

[dredgewalker]

HAHAHhahahahahahahahahahah 1.1 million preorders already!!!! Im just laughing my head off right now at the haters who said that the game will flop! I just hope the severs can handle the massive number of players in its first week out.

[Lombax]

"We're always looking at ways to reduce costs, replacing the current 65 nanometre Cell chip with a 45 nanometre one probably in middle of year."

PS3 price cut E3 09.

Dun Dun Dun...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[interrergator]

but but but games dont sell well on ps3

/sarcasm

[Captain Tuttle]

Did any of you think KZ2 wasn't going to sell millions? The more important stuff is in the interview.

"My objective is financial - to make a profit in our territory by the end of March, and we will. Our priority has always been the PS3; the forecast was 10m at the beginning of the year and it's still 10m. If we'd cut the price, lost another billion dollars, we might have had a huge Christmas but it would have been followed by a huge loss. The company could have thought: 'Hmm, I'm not sure I want to be in this business at all.' But we've shown Sony this is still a good business to have."

No price cut in the first half of '09 confirmed. I'd be surprised if Sony cuts the price by more than $50 for holiday '09.

Good interview though. He even gives props to the competition.

[Superduper09]

I pre-ordered this game along with Street Fighter IV. :)

[Says you]

And Halo 3 is garbage and that is a fact considering Nintendo sells millions all the time with Mario and Wii Sports but doesn't mean it was great and plus sells can go both ways even crappy games can sell a million like Kaine and Lynch and good games sell a million like this game.

[Karum]

You wouldn't find that idiot Greenberg saying they learned a lot from Sony or speaking in a positive manner.

Good to hear KZ2 preorders are going well, I would say that 1.1m figure is for worldwide preorders rather than just Europe. However if it was just Europe that would be pretty damn amazing but I think it's more likely to be a WW figure.

My preorder has been in since before shopto.net had the tin edition, I cancelled my preorder with GAME to get the tim edition at a cheaper price :)

[Reeperdotcom]

and I'm not saying this to burst anyones bubble..but here in the US, you can put $5 down on a game to preorder it. So that doesnt mean that the 1.1 mill is a sure thing. I know alot of people that put $5 down on alot of games when they are first offered for preorder and alot of them dont get the game til a couple weeks afterward. Anyway, 1.1 mill is still very impressive especially for a game that hasnt been advertised yet. Imagine if Sony advertised KZ2 like MSFT did with Halo...

[OGharryjoysticks]

no price cut

[Yomiro]

after the demo is release the pre-orders will increase.

[Magic_The_Celt]

Haters owned

[tall8420man]

Is Killzone any good? I dont know.. do u kill in a zone...or is it just kinda gay

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYY!!!

[cmrbe]

and it's logical what he is saying. MS cut the price of the x360 and they suffered financially but gained more market share.

Sony kept the price of the PS3 to remain profitable but lose market share for the time being.

In the end management and shareholders look at profitiablity and this must be the reason why Sony are still keeping their first parties while MS are closing down more studios.

The Key for Sony is to
1. Bring down manufacturing cost so that they can be more profitiable or drop the price of the PS3 by then so that they can sell more hardware and Software as a result.

2. Do more to sell their games.

3. Look at ways to sell more PS2's and PSP's.

In the end he is more confident than ever about the PS brand. I believe he is confident because he knows that they have alot more room to maneuver. Their biggest hurdle at the moment is the manufacturing cost of the PS3.

[zeph94]

guess what? it's now 1,100,001 pre-orders. I just pre-ordered like 10 minutes ago.

[Bgibbs]

Lets hope sony has learned from the past and starts to prepare servers NOW. that way i wont have to wait to play online =]

[anubis12]

just because there's 1.1 mil pre-orders does not mean that they will all sell. there were tons of pre-orders for halo, god of war 2, and some others games...there is a percentage of pre-orders that do not get used or picked-up..believe me.......i still Believe Killzone 2 will sell over a million in that region ,but im just stating that a percentage of those pre-orders will not be used.

[ftwps3]

More people (like me) need to preorder

Us ps3ers need a FPS title to our name
because even though 1.1mil is impressive its trumped by halos " over 4 mil"

http://xbox.joystiq.com/200...

Even halo 2 got 1.5

http://digg.com/gaming_news...

MORE KILLZONE

[ALIEN]

I haven't pre-ordered it.

[HDgamer]

This game is going to be huge. Also I think Reeves means there will be a price drop.

[Hercules]

it hit 1.1 mil...it still wont do halo3 numbers..sells arent everything people..if a game is good then get it..im sure someone will complain about...and if you think im a 360 fanboy..think again

off-topic: uncharted2 ftw

[tatsujin]

read the page guys, just click on guardian's link and read. thats JUST in europe. USA numbers not out yet. =)

[ForROME]

Heres whats weird, this isnt a war, if your a grown man.

Market share is all that counts if you have a piece of it, more or less than the competetion you still have a piece of it and make profit at somepoint.

You fight to gain more, but there is no such thing as WIN.

I had an Xbox last gen, it was in 3rd place, and I still LOVED IT