David Reeves: In his own words
The best things he's ever said.
Today, David Reeves retires after 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. He spent a good proportion of those as president, steering the company through some of the trickiest events in its history - the launch of PS3, the loss of market leadership and the dead goat fiasco, to name but a few.
Over the years Reeves has been generous with giving interviews to Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz and our friends VG247. He's spoken more frankly and openly than most of the executives we get to talk to. He's also come up with some metaphors and allegories which can only be described as amazing.
Here, we bring you a collection of Reeves's best ever quotes. If you're reading this, Mr Former President: thank you for the memories, but more importantly the quotes, and best wishes for the future.
On the delayed launch of PS3 in Europe:
"It's rather like taking a bottle of soda water and we've shaken it so hard over the last six months that when we take the cork off, it's just going to explode. I think that's a better way of looking at it than to say the delay is disappointing. It's not - it's really been beneficial for us." - March 2007
On why the PS3 not selling out at launch is a good thing:
"We don't want secret shoppers to go in there and say, 'Ah, it's not out of stock, therefore it's not selling.'" - March 2007
On market leadership:
"PlayStation 3, you will see, will be far and away the winner when you look at it by March '08. They really, really will. It's something that is going to be a slow burner, and suddenly it's like a tsunami; it will just overtake you." - July 2007
"The last few weeks have shown we are clearly number two in the market." - January 2009
On planes, battleships, cars, tanks and swords:
"If you're fighting in a war that's, say, Boeing versus Airbus, it's almost like battleship against battleship and you're fighting from 15 miles away. If you're fighting in the car war, it might be that you're fighting in tanks and you're one kilometre away. In the videogame industry, if there's a war, if there's competition, it's almost like hand-to-hand fighting, but it makes you sharper.
"You want to have a sharper sword, you want to have a sword that feels just about right, and everyone is very sharp, and what they're doing is they're looking for high ground, low ground where they can get an advantage. The winner is the consumer and I think that's great." - July 2008
On the success of Xbox 360:
"I would say in Continental Europe it's about dead." - July 2007
On whether Sony has appeared arrogant in the past:
"I think they have... To an American perspective - no, because the difference in cultures is you have to go, 'Ra-ra, I'm the best.' We in Europe, and especially the Japanese, don't necessarily accept that. You have to say, 'We're doing our best, but we're not the best.'" - July 2007
On what consumers think when they choose PS3:
"'I know I'm not going to have to ring up the customer careline saying I've got three red lights.'" - January 2009
On Xbox 360 getting exclusive GTA DLC:
"It's just a question of money. If Microsoft wants to pay USD 50 million just for that... Then I would say they're quite desperate." July 2007
On what Bob Dylan would make of the console war:
"And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin, and there's no tellin' who that it's namin', for the loser now will be later to win, for the times they are a changin'." - August 2008