Sony seeking "very substantial" Move sales
Andrew House says controller launch is "closer to a new platform" in scale
Sony Computer Entertainment is setting the bar very high in terms of sales expectations for PlayStation Move, which will be released in September in the US and Europe, and October in Japan.
According to SCEE president Andrew House, the company is looking on the launch more as it would for a new platform, rather than just a new peripheral.
"I've been asked, is Move a peripheral or is it a platform? And I think it's somewhere in-between," he told GamesIndustry.biz at this year's E3 Expo in LA. "In terms of the level of new units we'll ship it's closer to a new platform than just the peripherals business.
"We're looking for very, very substantial numbers," he continued. "We've been deliberately very competitive and aggressive about the pricing that we've set against it. The impression I got from E3 is that it was well received as an easy point of entry so we expect the numbers to be very substantial.
The price points were revealed in the platform holder's press conference on Tuesday, putting it at £39.99 / €39.99 / $49.99 / ¥3980 in the various territories. Europe will be first to see Move when it's released in the region on September 15, with the US following on September 19 and Japan on October 21.
Meanwhile, Microsoft - which renamed its motion system from Natal to Kinect - has noted a November launch, but won't unveil its pricing structure until gamescom in August.
But while House is expectant on big sales for Move, he was reluctant to indicate whether he thought it would spur sales of PlayStation 3 hardware.
"It's difficult to say because we haven't launched it yet and it's a little bit too early to predict," he said.
"What I do think is important is that I hope we demonstrated there is a gathering sense of momentum around PlayStation Move - the ease with which it can be implemented in games, the sheer variety of experiences that it can enhance and improve and the fact that uniquely among the motion control offerings it is uniquely at home with conventional games and genres as it is with social and more casual gaming experiences. And that is a key winning point as far as I can see."
The full interview with Andrew House is available on GamesIndustry.biz now.