Ellie Gibson
18:08 (BST)
02/08/2006
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Atari to hold off on PS3 titles until 2007
Sony is targeting hardcore market with new console, says Bonnell
Speaking in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell has confirmed that the publisher has no plans to release any PS3 games before 2007.
Bonnell said Atari intends to support all three next-gen consoles "fairly equally", adding, "It's just that we're lacking information about the PS3 at this stage, because we have basically a rough release date and a high retail price point.
"As far as the Wii and the Xbox 360 go, we'll be there for this season; for PS3, we'll probably have to wait a little later in the year before we release some new titles." And, according to Bonnell, that means no Atari titles on PS3 until 2007.
The PS3 is slated for a global launch this November, priced at 499 Euro for the 20GB model and 599 Euro for the 60GB version. But Bonnell does not believe that the console's high point puts it at any risk of failure: "I think that by deciding to put the PS3 at this price, Sony has chosen to really differentiate itself from the other consoles.
"The fact that you have Blu-ray, and the fact that it's HD compatible - all this is driving me to think that Sony is picking up the high-end of the market, the hardcore, passionate fans. There will be a time they can reduce the price and access more people, but clearly that's a technical choice that Sony has made to be selective on the field at stage one," he added.
Read the full interview to find out why we're likely to see Atari titles arrive on Wii much sooner than they appear on PS3, what the future holds for the company following its recent financial difficulties, and what Bonnell thinks about the new format E3.
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