Ben-DutkaIt may have come as a surprise when SCEA's head of public relations, David Karraker, announced he will be leaving Sony after only one year with the company. In response to this, analyst Michael Pachter now believes Karraker will be missed, and this could make for a "difficult holiday" for the PS3.
Karraker called his decision "very difficult," and said he believed Sony is "well positioned to have an exceptional holiday season." Pachter said Karraker was "a steady contact in a volatile industry," and someone who played a major role in assisting Sony's PR in regards to the PS3 and PSP. While the analyst says he believes the other PR people at Sony are "quite competent," Karraker's leaving might pose a problem.
"The other PR people at Sony are quite competent, but it would help to strengthen the team with someone as good as Dave to handle the schizophrenic press over the next 6 months," Pachter told GamePro. "I think Sony will have a difficult holiday with only a handful of exclusive games and a pricing disadvantage against Microsoft and Nintendo. But I expect things to get better in spring with the release of Grand Theft Auto 4, Gran Turismo 5, and Metal Gear Solid 4."
We'll have to wait and see what happens, but we're pretty sure the PS3 will be just fine this holiday season…the only question is, how fine.
