Third-parties Comment on PS2 Shortage

The Sony PlayStation 2 will be supported at launch and beyond by several high-profile third-party publishers. Electronic Arts and Activision are two developers that have multiple PS2 projects in their respective development pipelines. EA will have six games for the system's launch - by far the most of any publisher - and it plans to release up to six more games by the end of the year. Activision will release Orphen and Sky Odyssey at the PS2 launch, and it has already announced that it is developing at least 14 games for the console. The company will bring most of its successful properties - including Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, X-Men, and Spider-Man - to the PS2.

GameSpot spoke with Kathy Vrabeck, executive vice president of global branding for Activision, and Jeff Brown, an Electronic Arts spokesperson, to discuss the effects the console shortage will have on their respective companies, consumers, and Sony. Both felt that the shortage will only have a negative impact in the short-term and that it will not affect Sony's ability to market the PS2 in the long run.

GameSpot: Does the PS2 shortage affect your software sales projections at launch?

Jeff Brown (EA): It doesn't have any impact on our sales projections at launch. We see this as a multiyear opportunity. We have a big investment in the PS2, and we expect that investment to pay off over the next several years. We have absolute faith in Sony's ability to manufacture and market this console into a market-leading position. We will have six titles at launch and between 10-12 by the end of the year. Frankly, our portfolio will give the kind of market share that will balance our projections for 2000.

GameSpot: In the long term, do you think the short shipment will have a big impact?

Kathy Vrabeck (ACT): No, Sony is still calling for a minimum of 3 million units by March. We have built all of our business expectations on having the 3 million units out by March and 10 million units by the end of next year. Sony is still calling for exactly what our business model is built on. I have a lot of confidence that they'll hit that. Coming out this close to launch, they must have a good idea of what their manufacturing is going to be able to contribute.

Jeff Brown (EA): In the next six months, this will have no impact on Sony's ability to market and sell-through this machine and no impact on the consumer's love of the experience they are going to get with the PlayStation 2.

GameSpot: Do you think the shortage will turn consumers to the competition?

Kathy Vrabeck (ACT): You know, I really don't. I think it's going to create one of those scarcity situations where people will be clamoring for it even more because they can't get it. It really has all the makings of something like that. Normally it's the hard-core gamers that adopt new hardware first. So, it won't be mom deciding what to get her kids for Christmas. It's older teens buying it with their own money. They may buy extra PS games to tide themselves over, but they won't be moving over to other platforms. Everybody is so excited about the PS2 that I think they're going to know that they're going to be able to get one sooner rather than later.

Jeff Brown (EA): Absolutely not. I think everything they can make they will sell times ten. Sony understands that it is in everybody's best interest to get these consoles to consumers as quickly as possible. I think they're going to mobilize behind that and whatever fallout there might be will be extremely short-term and alleviated as soon as the console gets into the hands of the consumers.

GameSpot: What do you think the short-term impact of the half shipment will be?

Kathy Vrabeck (ACT): The folks that are going to be the most disappointed are going to be the consumers who are lining up hoping to buy one. For the hard-core, they've been lined up for a year for this thing, and there's going to be nothing more disappointing than to show up for one of these things and not be able to get one. [Sony] is still essentially planning to have out by Christmas the amount of hardware that we were targeting. Additional units will be available in November and December that we were not counting on, but then, we will lose the launch numbers we were counting on.