Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video game publisher, expects Sony's dominance over the console market to slip in the current hardware war, EA's outgoing chief executive, Larry Probst, said Monday.
Sony has had an iron grip on global console sales with its PlayStation 2, which is estimated to have accounted for more than 60 percent of combined unit sales in the last console cycle that started in 1999. But the company delivered its new PlayStation 3 a year after Microsoft's competing Xbox 360 hit stores.
Underdog rival Nintendo is also putting up a tough fight with its $250 Wii console, which has a price about half that of the Xbox 360 or PS3 and a one-handed, motion-sensitive controller that makes gameplay more active and intuitive.
"We expect that there will be a more level playing field this time around than last time," said Probst, who said he expects Sony to win the new console war, but with a less commanding lead.
"I think the issue is that (the PS3 is) expensive," Probst said during a Webcast from an investor conference hosted by Morgan Stanley.
"This should not have surprised anyone," said Probst, who added that the crowd gathered for Sony's press conference at last year's E3 trade show gasped when Sony said its high-end PS3 would cost $600 in the United States.
Microsoft's top-line Xbox 360 retails for $400.
Probst said the Wii was off to a great start and EA has boosted its investment in games for the Wii and for Nintendo's popular DS handheld player. Microsoft appears to be on its way to gaining share, he said.
Sony is primed for a March 23 PS3 launch in Europe, where it has a loyal following. Response to the PS3 has been less robust than anticipated in Japan and the United States, where expected shortages eased sooner than expected.
"No one should count Sony out at this point in the game. This is going to be a long race," Probst cautioned, saying the PS3 delivers potent technology for the money.
Sony overtook Nintendo as leader in the game console market in the mid-'90s with its original PlayStation, which leapfrogged rivals with improved graphics and other features that gave game makers the tools to deliver innovative games.
EA said last week that former Chief Operating Officer John Riccitiello would return as the Silicon Valley-based game maker's CEO on April 2, with Probst continuing as executive chairman.
Riccitiello left the largest video game maker in 2004 to become a co-founder and managing partner at Elevation Partners, a media and entertainment buyout firm.
Sony says it has shipped more than 115 million PS2s globally. The PS2, which now sells for around $130, was the second best-selling console in the United States in January behind the Wii.
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