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Sony claims up to 90% market share in Europe

SCEE Jim Ryan cites "considerable" momentum as reason to hold off on any price cuts

Earlier this month, Microsoft dropped the price on the Xbox One in a number of markets, in some cases making it cheaper than a PlayStation 4. Speaking with VG247 at E3, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan suggested that anyone holding out for Sony to match that move may be waiting a while.

"All I'd observe, particularly in Europe, is that our momentum is still very considerable," Ryan said. "We're happy with the price and we're happy with the value proposition. Consumers, equally and more importantly, appear to be happy with the price and the value proposition. We'll leave it where it is for now. Obviously, we never rule anything out and we never rule anything in, but it feels like we're in quite a good place at the moment.

Later in the interview, Ryan returned to the topic of Sony's performance in Europe.

"We have a very significant market leadership," Ryan said. "Well, we have market leadership in every country in Europe, and have very significant market leadership in continental Europe. Extremely significant. I don't think market share's any less than 70 percent, and frequently greater than 90 percent in continental Europe."

Ryan said part of that performance is due to Sony's longevity in the market, having invested in infrastructure, distribution, and partnerships in the region since the mid-'90s and the PSone generation. That long-term strategy doesn't end with Europe, as Sony is investing in similar efforts elsewhere.

"Now a lot of the emphasis is about building out into places like the Middle East, starting to build very significant businesses in places like Saudi Arabia, localising our system software and Store into Arabic, and building big, big businesses in these places," Ryan said.

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Brendan Sinclair avatar
Brendan Sinclair: Brendan joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2012. Based in Toronto, Ontario, he was previously senior news editor at GameSpot.
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