Rod Cousens - Part Two

It's a free market, and they do what they do. If I'm the consumer, competition is great. Shopping to me is a chore for the most part, so I do as much as I can online - and when I go online I search for the best price. So I can't sit here and criticise it - it's a decision for those retailers in a free market and competitive environment to determine what they're going to do.

What is does say to me, coming back to the earlier point, is that the margin structure within the software make-up that enables them to do that, is clearly too generous.

Yes it is, but I'm not sure they're selling it below cost price. I'm sure they come back and beat up their suppliers... [smiles]

Yeah I agree. Listen, what we don't need is fewer. The mighty will argue that you need few, but as soon as you get to few, the pricing structure changes and the consumer gets screwed.

Actually it's in the interest of retailers to have a much broader pipeline, and it's in the interest of suppliers to have a much broader retail line - that then creates healthy competition in the market place.

When you get into blood baths, they only last for a short period of time. If you go back over history... I've seen it all before. I can remember when Boots, WHSmith, Dixons were all in the market. They all fought on price, and where are they now?

I think you're going to have a changing retail landscape over the coming years. You are going to have some more global integration - what's going to happen places like Carphone Warehouse when Best Buy own 50 per cent of it? I don't think that's going to be the status quo for ever.

If that changes, then Best Buy becomes a major player, and then the competition continues. I think it is what it is, and that's what I mean by market forces. To me, it's a short term in history, and we'll sit here in January or February next year and wonder what it was all about.

Well, first of all we're always sad when a company has difficulties that either forces it our of business or calls its very viability into question, and we're conscious of the fact that it's a significant developer in Australia - that it employs people and that there are livelihoods at stake.

From our point of view, if we can work with a situation that will see some form of revival or re-emergence in another guise, then we would be as supportive as we can. We continue to maintain a dialogue with all the parties, including the administrator in Australia.

Obviously around that we're very conscious of the fact that we do intend to continue with the Ashes series, and if nothing emerges out of that scenario, then we have alternative development prospects which would see the game continue.

But we sincerely hope that there is an ongoing basis of sorts for the development team that has written the game for us.

Well, I absolutely take pride in it - what we are is a group of incredibly talented people in the UK, and it's a privilege to work with them. Long may it continue.

Our characteristics will remain, we'll publish five or six titles per year - we've got Formula 1 out next year, there will be another version of Flashpoint in due course, as well as another version of DiRT.

We, at our level, will continue to introduce new IP, which we'll do later in the year - they'll have the hallmarks of quality attached to them, and while we're doing that there are other aspects of our business such as the online business where we think we're very progressive and punch above our weight.

We have a whole release schedule attached to that, including the release of Jumpgate - and we'll continue to finesse our Ego technology, which we think is best-in-class, and drives the content and quality this company is known for.

Well, there are certain forces that I can control and certain forces over which I have no control. If someone can tell me where the financial markets are going then I'd be glad.

What I am conscious of is that there's an Election next year, and coming out of that in terms of the financial market, I think people will either get a sense of stability which will then drive appetite in that area - or a sense of instability which would close that door for some time.

All we will continue to do is improve our performance and make us attractive for consideration for investment opportunities in whatever form they may take as the year progresses.