Premium prices for 3D games unlikely – Sony
Phil Lelyveld
Entertainment Technology Center
Monday 23-Aug-2010 12:11 PM
Andrew House says development costs don’t warrant higher prices
Earlier this year, EA said that 3D games could get premium price tags in the future – but Sony seems to hold the opposite view.
SCEE boss Andrew House has said that the publisher and platform holder hasn’t even considered slapping higher prices on 3D games.
And it doesn’t sound like it will any time soon – because 3D development costs aren’t really any higher than usual.
“This isn’t a really significant investment and probably plays really good dividends in terms of return on investment,” House told GI.biz.
“Somebody asked how much of a premium are we going to charge on 3D games, and I said ‘we haven’t considered charging for one.'” Because it’s not significant enough an investment to really demand that.”
“I’m a great believer in the brand loyalty and brand differentiation you get out of it more than pays for the investment that goes up front.”
It’s probably in Sony’s best interest that 3D games prices match those of their average HD brothers and sisters. The company is hoping to see 50% of TVs made in 2014 will have 3D built in.
