EA CEO Larry Probst on the PSP
In part II of a three part interview with EA's CEO Larry Probst, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal asks a couple questions about the development of original titles for the PSP and also the platform's future. Not surprisingly, Probst mentions that the PSP's price needs to be lower in order to encourage the development of original titles, among other things. Check out a few excerpts from the interview below.
EA Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon told me recently
that EA really wants to make big original games for PSP, but that the
installed base isn't big enough--
On what?
On PSP. But he says that the installed base isn't big enough to support
those games on the scale that EA would like. Since publishers are fond
of saying that "Software drives hardware," isn't the onus on companies
like EA to put out the big original games that will drive up the PSP
unit sales? Or are there steps that Sony needs to take in order to
drive up the installed base so that you feel comfortable putting out
those big, original games?
I'm not so sure that I
agree with the premise that we're strategically focused on building
original product for the PSP. That's news to me. It's more likely that
we would target platforms like the PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii if we
had an original in mind. Our strategy on PSP has typically been to take
the franchises that we build on other platforms and exploit them on the
PSP. I think the price point needs to be lower, and I think you're
going to see that next year, along with a different form factor.
American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy has written that Sony
will release two new models next year: one with eight gigabytes of
built-in flash memory, and another with a built-in hard drive. Nothing
has been said about the form factor, but you've got to assume that
they're considering changing it. Do any of these changes sound as
though they'll move the needle on PSP sales?
I
think what moves the needle is a new form factor that's smaller than
the existing unit, at a lower price, and hopefully that price is $100
lower. This is pure speculation, we don't know what Sony's plans are.
But it would not be hugely surprising if they had that lower priced
unit at $149 and then a more fully-featured upscale unit that retails
at $249 or $299. Again, that's pure speculation. We don't have any
inside information on that.
There's probably a
good deal of overlap between the PSP's early adopters and the PS2's
early adopters. Some of them have probably bought a 360, and some are
now buying the PS3 and the Wii. If your strategy is to bring the same
brands over to PSP, there seems me to be a problem with that approach.
The PSP's graphics aren't as good as those on PS3, 360 or Wii. The PSP
only has one analog stick instead of two. So what's the compelling
argument for a consumer to buy the PSP version, instead of or in
addition to the console versions, when it's the same game, but somewhat
compromised?
Portability. I would agree with you
that if someone owns Madden on multiple systems already, they're less
likely to buy it on PSP. It's true. If you've got Madden on PS2 and
Xbox 360, how likely are you to buy it on PSP?
Read the full text of the interview here...Source: Newsweek