E3 2013: PS4 Priced to Undercut Smartphones

The PlayStation 4's £349 price point will dispel the idea that consumers are moving towards smartphones as the preferred way of playing games, Sony has said.

In an interview with AllThingsD, Jack Tretton, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said interest in home game consoles was still strong and that the PS4 would dismiss the idea that gamers were migrating to smartphones:

"Turn to anyone, any of the gamers here in this crowd [at E3] and ask them if they're turning to smartphones and tablets over consoles. And then run," Tretton said, adding that the belief smartphones will overtake consoles as a preferred gaming platform is "what people who aren't really into gaming think is happening."

Recently published figures from industry analyst The NPD Group showed that, in the US, 29% of consumers who play games play them either on mobile devices or on free platforms such as Facebook.

However, the PlayStation 4's price tag places it around £130 cheaper than the 32GB iPad 4, which currently sells for £479 or almost £200 cheaper than a 16GB iPhone 5 which will set you back £529.

Reverse fortunes

Sony is also hoping to reverse its fortunes from the previous console generation, when the PlayStation 3's launch price of £425 damaged its sales potential compared to the £279 Xbox 360.

"You always like to be below your competition, as opposed to above it," said Tretton. "Being at a price premium is a challenge, one that we certainly haven't enjoyed. [With the PS4] we executed our strategy and regardless of what Microsoft would have announced, our price was our price."

Tretton also said he expects the price of the PlayStation 4 to decrease after launch:

"As the install base grows and the manufacturing price comes down, the price comes down. While I can't guarantee that's going to happen down the road, if it didn't that would be the first time that's happened."