Stringer: If PS3 fails, it will be down to high price

Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer has commented that if the PlayStation 3 fails in the market it will be due to the high price point attached to the next-gen console.

Speaking in a interview with US TV program CEO Exchange, Stringer likened the console to a Mercedes car and said that it was in a different league to Nintendo's Wii console.

"If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 sales as the Mercedes of the videogame field," said Stringer.

"PS3 is a different audience and it can be whatever it wants — a home server, game device, even a computer," he added.

Stringer praised Nintendo's latest home console, calling it a "a wonderful device," but he believes it "has a different target audience" to the PlayStation 3.

The CEO also stated that sales of Blu-ray DVD movies, the format that forms a central component of the PS3 and is one of the main reasons it demands a high price, is currently enjoying better market penetration that the rival HD-DVD format.

"We are selling 3-to-1 versus to them," he said. "We have exclusives with Disney, Fox, Sony and they have the top 15 of 20 movies at the moment."

"At some point Blu-ray will take over based on ...this support."