The Koopatorivm

Sony strategists may see a priced-down PS2 as all the company needs in '06; the current success of the PSP in the handheld market being enough to support the company in the gaming industry.

Buried in an analyst's memo, written shortly after last month's Electronic Arts earnings call, was the unsettling news. According to the widely read team at Wedbush Morgan Securities, Sony may completely cancel the release of the PlayStation 3--if exactly the right conditions prevail. Currently, the console is slated to appear in Japan before the end of that company's fiscal year--March 31, 2006--and in North America before the end of 2006. In a research memo sent to investors, Wedbush senior analyst Michael Eisner set up the following scene for a cancelled PS3 launch. There are two components to this pricing strategy: the first is that a $99 PS2 would offer a significant distraction as the 360 launches. As Eisner states: "We believe that the company will attempt to disrupt the Xbox 360 launch with a price cut, and as a result may succeed in diverting attention away from the higher-priced next-generation console." In addition to the "diversion rationale" is the supporting fact that "the company hopes to concentrate on their popular trademark game franchises, such as the widely-successful [link=http://koopatorivm.com/deco/crash2.jpg]Crash Bandicoot [/link] and [link=http://koopatorivm.com/deco/dead-alive-4-1.jpg]Dead or Alive[/link] series," according to Eisner. Following the distribution of the memo last week, GameSpot spoke with Eisner who emphasized that he "posited the thought as option value for Sony. After all, it is a strategy that has worked so well for Sega!" IN ADDITION: The Mario Quiz Cards section has been updated.