PS3 consumers waiting for quality games, says Ramsdale

Keith Ramsdale, EA's VP and general manager for UK and Ireland, has told GamesIndustry.biz he believes that the future of the PlayStation 3 is strong - but consumers are waiting for quality software titles to arrive.

"If you look at FIFA 08, on its first weekend the PS3 numbers were 75 per cent of the Xbox 360 numbers, despite the 360 having a massively higher install base.

"That's not that the 360 has underperformed, not for a moment. That's because the appetite for a quality game on the PS3 is there and maybe FIFA is the first game to come and show where the quality is.

"I think PS3 consumers are waiting for the right game and they want to see the quality."

He also pointed to the console's price cut as a positive move for publishers as well as consumers.

"Of course the hardware sales increased dramatically when the price cut happened and that's absolutely part of it. Ray Maguire said himself that they were planning that, it was part of their strategy and I absolutely understand that.

"But what I would say is that the software sales against a hardware install base on a good game like FIFA - the PS3 outpunches its weight in attachment to the hardware. So now the price drop has happened, the hardware is going to grow, and we're in for a great time."

Ramsdale spoke to GamesIndustry.biz in his capacity as chairman of the London Games Festival as well as his EA role, and was pleased that the event had gathered a lot of attention this year.

"The difference year on year is pretty much broad industry support and really good mainstream media attention - ITV, BBC, broadsheets and red tops. I'm really pleased with that."

The full interview with Keith Ramsdale is available now.