Reeves: no personnel or development cutbacks due to recession
In an interview with Dutch economics program RTL Z, Sony Europe president David Reeves speaks about the economic crisis and how it relates to the video game industry in Europe. Reeves is quick to state that the industry is not recession proof, but that there is no visible slowdown. He postulates that consumers are putting the recession to the back of their minds over Christmas, or that they are choosing to stay at home more and, as a result, are spending money on home-based entertainments, such as video games.
Reeves also states that within Sony Computer Entertainment Europe there will be no personnel or development cutbacks. "We don't have many personnel to cut back. Half our personnel are in the development of the games. That's an investment. We're not scaling down at all." Good news for first party developers; it looks like their jobs (and the games they are developing) are relatively safe.
Reeves goes on to say that while the Christmas period is showing no visible evidence of the recession, he expects sales to dip once the new year begins. At which point promotions will be introduced on software, either via Sony or via retailers themselves. Will this spread to a hardware price cut sometime next year? Let's hope so. As far as future development goes, Reeves sees more in software than hardware. Not necessarily games, but also user interfaces, PlayStation Network enhancements, Home, etc. Check out the full interview for plenty more interesting views from the SCEE chairman.
[Thanks NewDust]
