I am not even sure what to begin with this one. Over the weekend GameSetWatch published a fascinating article titles Analysis: Was Using Original IP The Best Idea For Sony’s PS3 Strategy?
The article points out that among the many different risks Sony took with the PS3, one of the primary risks was concentrating on new intellectual property instead of focusing on sequels. While the new titles have been well received (my opinion) none have been what I would call a system seller, at least not in the U.S. Even if Sony ends up with a must have title, the current price point is just too high to get further market penetration in the U.S. market. $299 is a “magical” price point for a system, and Sony must reach that mark by Christmas or they face the very real prospects that third party publishers will abandon the system or at the very least treat it as a nonstarter for the majority of their titles.
Looking at the data in the article, I was surprised to see that Resistance: Fall of Man is the only title to officially go over 1 million games sold [article uses NPD Group data]. It will be interesting to see if Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction will get a bump now that it is in Greatest Hits status. I am also curious to see if the new Uncharted does well, because unlike some of its other titles, I expect Sony to push the living daylights out of the sequel. All in all, I think the first party sales figures are downright abysmal.
This is the rare occasion where I do not quote an article. It is worth a read; highly recommended.
