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Ken Kutaragi's Famous Last Words

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the six-hundred-dollars-is-only-cheap-in-japan dept.

When we look back on this E3, I think one of the moments we're most clearly going to remember is the dead silence in the Sony press conference following the price announcement. Eurogamer and GameDaily has coverage of Phil Harrison's spin work, trying to recover from that moment, discussing how Sony is not ripping off Nintendo and Microsoft probably won't meet their 10 million units goal. More interestingly, they discuss an interview with Ken Kutaragi conducted by a Japanese website. From that piece: "SCEI president Ken Kutaragi has defended the PlayStation 3's high price tag once again, declaring that not only will consumers be prepared to pay the cost but that the console is 'probably too cheap.' In an interview with Japanese website IT Media, partially translated by IGN, Kutaragi said: 'This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap - we don't want you to think of it in terms of game machines ... For instance ... Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It's a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem.'"

2 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. Ken Thompson by HarvardFrankenstein · · Score: 1, Troll

    Kutaragi-san kind of reminds me a little bit of Jack Thompson, in that he's a complete sociopath, totally full of himself, and constantly says ridiculous, asinine stuff when pleading his case. I daresay Sony's image might be a lot better were it not for him.

  2. Re:Yeah, well... by pnuema · · Score: 0, Troll
    Hate to break this to you, but you are the food equivalent of a Windows user, complete with Weatherbug, mouse tracers, and monkey punching. Seriously. People who enjoy food don't use the term "fancy" when refering to a restaurant. Olive Garden is the equivalent of Gator. Taco Bell is the Nigeria scam. (Taco Bell can barely even be considered "food". They use Grade C meat - the lowest grade fit for human consumption. It's a step above dog food. Anyone who knows what real food should taste like can't stand the stuff.)

    I don't make that much money compared to many Slashdotters, but my palette is very well educated. I don't step foot in chain restaurants. Ever. The food is terrible, the service sucks, and you can usually find better for less money. Not only will I not eat there, you couldn't pay me to do it.

    The point that I am trying to make is that people do not always want cheap. Uneducated people want cheap. Educated people want value, and may be willing to pay more to get it. Expensive does not always equal better, but on average, you get what you pay for.