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NY Times: Sony is in "the fight for its life"
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
And if they kept them, but without any studios to actually make games based on them, we wouldn't be getting those games.
Well I wouldn't really say it's due to people being cheap. It's more so due to the fact that the average person finds the price ridiculous since "it's just a TV".
He was talking about return on investment in the vita ecosystem will be profitable in 3 years, not the vita itself. This has been talked about many times.
Yep.
I'm pretty pessimistic, but not that far.
Sony can save itself, but the cuts and reductions and layoffs that are probably required would be deemed heartless. Draconian. I do wonder if Kaz gets past the gut-check moment that arrives when it's time to make a decisive move.
Vizio HDTV's are the best bang for the buck which is why they gained popularity so fast. Good picture when calibrated.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
And? Bungie doesn't have the Halo IP anymore. Think of it like Naughty Dog losing the Jak and Daxter IP. Because they did, we got Uncharted. It can't be said enough. Good developers will make good games regardless of who publishes.
Agent Unknown
Member
Wow, epic scary but it's not surprising given their destructive behavior. Hopefully for the sake of its employees and Playstation gamers they'll hurry up and get a clue ASAP and start being smarter and more consumer friendly (looks at his multiple non-Vita compatible memory stick pro duos) but it doesn't look good right now.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
And what if you're a fan of the IP and not the developer? You wouldn't be getting any more Uncharted games even if ND were making a new franchise for a new publisher.
I don't see how slide 15 shows VITA is profitable.
I disagree. You can get good picture out of more recent models as long as you calibrate them.
Were you a previous owner of one?
OldJadedGamer
Banned
You got me there. I don't care about IPs and follow the developer. I'm not buying the new Halo because it is not made by Bungie. I liked Uncharted and I'm sure I will like ND's next game as well regardless of who the publisher is.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Generally it's the other way around for me, as I follow IPs rather than developers. I liked the three Crash games ND did, and Uncharted, but anything Jak after the first one is of no interest to me, and I can't say I care much about The Last of Us either.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
This is a bizarre position to take. I can understand being skeptical if another developer takes over a franchise, but to simply not buy it at all because it isn't made by the original developer?
Just odd...from what I've seen of Halo 4, it looks better than anything Bungie's done this gen from what little footage we've seen. They seem to be a very competent studio.
The PS1 and PS2 were of course very successful but that was years ago... just how successful (financially) are the PSP, PS3, and PS Vita?
I agree.
Patently false, unless you're referring to the Samsung LED. I've never seen that unit in motion, but am aware of it's numerous issues. It seems to be an inferior unit to many others on the market.
Having calibrated both a Samsung plasma D8000 and the flagship Sony LED HX929, I can objectively conclude that the Sam plasma offers a much crisper, vibrant picture with inky blacks that rival (if not outright better) the 929. Perhaps you were auditioning both units in a brick-and-mortar store display, which obliterates IQ with horrific lighting. Under those circumstances, many folks will automatically prefer even the lowliest budget LED display over a flagship Plasma (like the VT50 or even a Runco), due to the lumens difference, inherent in the tech.
Properly calibrated, the 2011 flagship models from Panasonic, Samsung and Sony are surprisingly similar in image quality, with the VT30 and D8000 a notch better than the HX929. The Sharp Elite is another half notch above those three, although at twice the price.
I'm sure PSP made money for Sony. PS3 was just disaster financially. PSV? That depends on how sony handles things from now on.
So weird to think about Sony in its current state. It used to be the class of the electronic market and the PS1 and PS2 were "cool" in ways the N64, Saturn, Xbox and GameCube definitely weren't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIA0kaGFIhQ
The PS1 boot-up screen alone serves as a reminder of this.
I wonder how much of a hand Kuturagi actually had in creating the launch PS3 (which was pretty crappy before all the firmware updates). Judging by how poorly their other divisions are doing, I feel like Kuturagi may have just been a scapegoat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIA0kaGFIhQ
The PS1 boot-up screen alone serves as a reminder of this.
I wonder how much of a hand Kuturagi actually had in creating the launch PS3 (which was pretty crappy before all the firmware updates). Judging by how poorly their other divisions are doing, I feel like Kuturagi may have just been a scapegoat.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
Right now their gaming division is about $400 million per year in profits, successful.
May not be a lot to other companies, sure, but to Sony it's certainly the best thing they've got going right now.
My dad had two that I tried to calibrate and I could never get decent colors. Maybe a shit model but I'd never recommend anyone buy one. It's worth spending the extra $100-200 for a TV that doesn't suck.
Possibly a model that wasn't good then.
But yeah, their recent HDTV's aren't bad at all in my opinion. Similar priced TV's are significantly worse.
iSurvivedTheOutage
Member
Ssigh..most of ym electronics are Sony...I hate to see them in jeopardy.
What about Sony Financial(heard their life insurance, make some serious bank) and in the camera market both high end and consumer grade they seem to be major players.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
I'll play Halo4 maybe down the road to see how it turned out but I won't be day one... or month one for that matter. Early shots mean nothing to me, I don't judge games until they are in the hands of myself and other gamers. Most times I only care about the IP from the original team. I guess they know better than anyone that the series is done since they are moving on... I feel I should do the same. I feel these new games just don't have the heart in them from the original teams and seem a shadow of what the game could have been.
Point still stands that these are great studios that Sony owns and if they sell them off and these studios go back to being independent then they will just pick up new publishers and keep making good games.
bonesmccoy
Banned
That 400 million iOS user base there for them.
seattle6418
Member
One of Sony's biggest problem is people's perception on them.
Apple uses proprietary format BS, just like Sony, but they are fine because they are trendy. When Sony used to be trendy, their proprietary formats were "oh, it's different because it's better".
They need to change the way people view them. The guy on the first page saying the Xperia phones were better is a great example. Everybody quickly jumped on him because of Sony's track record with android and xperias.
But the phone in question, the new Xperia S (LT26i, the same one i bought recently) is very different from the old models and it is, in fact, better than any iPhone. (not a surprise since it was released to go against the next iteration of iPhones from Apple.
The way people are ready to quickly discard them, without even knowing which product they are making, is a lot more serious than the quality of the products they are making it.
I don't know how they are going to change this perceived image, but i hope Kaz has at least a plan for this.
Apple uses proprietary format BS, just like Sony, but they are fine because they are trendy. When Sony used to be trendy, their proprietary formats were "oh, it's different because it's better".
They need to change the way people view them. The guy on the first page saying the Xperia phones were better is a great example. Everybody quickly jumped on him because of Sony's track record with android and xperias.
But the phone in question, the new Xperia S (LT26i, the same one i bought recently) is very different from the old models and it is, in fact, better than any iPhone. (not a surprise since it was released to go against the next iteration of iPhones from Apple.
The way people are ready to quickly discard them, without even knowing which product they are making, is a lot more serious than the quality of the products they are making it.
I don't know how they are going to change this perceived image, but i hope Kaz has at least a plan for this.
Oh there it goes, lost in this pathetic thread.
Right now, yes.
But this upcoming generation transition could undo all of that. All it takes is another Vita/PS3 misstep with the PS4 and they are in serious trouble.
They do have some decent brands and franchises that they can leverage on the software side (although few that can actually shift hardware), but hardware is on a knife edge right now.
The most worrying thing for me, as far as Sony are concerned, is whether Kaz Hirai is really the man to turn the company around. He's the man behind the Vita and even it's biggest fans must admit that the launch was an absolute disaster. No hype, no decent advertising, no indication that this is even a product that people want, yet here it is, sent to die, ignored and floundering. He oversaw this product through R&D to launch and it's a total dud at retail.
If Kaz Hirai is going to save the company, he's going to have to up his game from that.
PedroLumpy
Member
Very little footage and yet you feel comfortable making that statement, or stealth Halo troll?
I don't know if thats fair, the Vita is not just a great handheld, but a great multimedia device in general imo. They were smart in how the designed and got the tech especially when you consider that they went with custom off the shelf parts instead of what they have previously done, especially with the PS3. There is also the PSuite which is a Kaz initiative, which could be a great thing for them an Android as a whole if Sony can unify the android platform the way they want to with this.
This also is not mentioning that when they announced the Vita it would have been the exact same price as the 3ds which if it had stayed at that price I think there would be a greater amount of competition between the two. I don't know if anyone could have honestly known that Nintendo would drop the price as much or as quickly as they did.
The one misstep I think Sony made was not having internal memory when it's needed for most games to play, and when you consider Sony pushing digital through PSN. I think it would be pretty interesting to see what would happen if Sony were able to match Nintendo's price for the 3ds, or come close. Can they? I don't know if anyone knows the answer, because wether they are making a profit on hardward or not is all over the place, some say they are, some they arent, and some that say they are breaking even, but I don't know if anyone but Sony really knows the answer to that question.
Arrogance really hurt Sony. "You need to work 2 jobs to get the PS3." They pretty much used this as a Blu-Ray trojan, which made it release late and at a very high price. They alienated a lot of developers with the tough development environment and exotic hardware. Sony forgot that 'it's all about the games', and with their decisions, they pretty much pushed a lot of 3rd parties onto the 360. PS3 was more expensive, came out a year later and often ended up with inferior 3rd party ports. Not a formula for success and went what made PS1 and PS2 so successful.
PS2 honestly set the seeds for the downfall. It was massively successful, but it also had exotic hardware and was a bit more difficult to program for, but the Sony brand was so strong during that time that it was be overlooked. Sony's huge problem is that they simply went away from the formula which made them so successful, which was getting the 3rd parties to focus on developing for them. Unlike Nintendo, Sony's 1st party doesn't have franchises as notable and distinct to the mainstream public. Uncharted, although a great game, isn't as popular as a Mario.
Their marketing also went downhill. Sony used to be a marketing monster, but with the PS3, their ads just got weird, and now with the Vita, it's like a lot of people didn't even know the thing was out. Sony needs to go back to catering towards 3rd parties, release the PS4 at a reasonable price and they need to get their marketing muscle back.
PS2 honestly set the seeds for the downfall. It was massively successful, but it also had exotic hardware and was a bit more difficult to program for, but the Sony brand was so strong during that time that it was be overlooked. Sony's huge problem is that they simply went away from the formula which made them so successful, which was getting the 3rd parties to focus on developing for them. Unlike Nintendo, Sony's 1st party doesn't have franchises as notable and distinct to the mainstream public. Uncharted, although a great game, isn't as popular as a Mario.
Their marketing also went downhill. Sony used to be a marketing monster, but with the PS3, their ads just got weird, and now with the Vita, it's like a lot of people didn't even know the thing was out. Sony needs to go back to catering towards 3rd parties, release the PS4 at a reasonable price and they need to get their marketing muscle back.
Patapwn
Member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AphxyjrH4SE
The first thing I thought of after reading the title
Anyway, godspeed kaz
The first thing I thought of after reading the title
Anyway, godspeed kaz
Haha yeah good news about Nintendo or Sony is usually very easily lost in the Sony/Nintendo is DOOMED threads, unfortunately.
Just a factual correction, Sony have said that they will be releasing a new flagship every 6 months (or something to that effect) and reports and benchmarks of S4 powered Hayabusa are already well known, so that'll be the phone to go against iPhone.
Regarding the image, well with the NXT series Sony has started doing subtle rebranding. Now xperia's iconic color is not green but blue instead. You've got the transparent bar on the phones which indicates that the phone is an Xperia as well. So they're definitely moving in the right direction.
Well... I want Sony to stay afloat... I like their consoles and handhelds. On the other hand... if Sony folds its gaming division, that just increases the likelihood that we'd see something from Apple, because there is definitely room for a third player in the console race rather Sony wants to be it or not.
Frankly, I think Apple would do a better job... they have either totally dominated or at least dominated the high-end segment of every market they've stepped into.
Don't you just love how Apple is always brought up in these threads. Clearly it is something people want. Not sure it's what Apple wants though, despite the rumors/reports we've been reading the last few years...
Frankly, I think Apple would do a better job... they have either totally dominated or at least dominated the high-end segment of every market they've stepped into.
Don't you just love how Apple is always brought up in these threads. Clearly it is something people want. Not sure it's what Apple wants though, despite the rumors/reports we've been reading the last few years...
It was the Samsung LED model. I know about the Sharp/Pioneer Elite but that was in a price bracket that exceeds the budget unfortunately!
CadetMahoney
Member
It doesn't help that we don't know how bad the situation is for sure since Sony don't release numbers anymore in NPD's. The numbers forum members are posting could be painting a better picture than reality which is quite possible (deliberately hitting the high end of a range of guesstimates) which is then presented as the agreed figure.
Kenshin001
Member
You don't seem to realize the number comes from someone who knows the figures. I think you even quoted that person in the NPD thread when they were making fun of you.
There's nothing anyone in the world could've done to salvage the PS3 with those prices. Kutaragi is fully to blame.
Honestly not sure if serious...
LowEndTorque
Member
I'm open to correction on this, but wasn't Kutaragi given a mandate from corporate that the PS3 HAD to include a blu-ray drive?
And since blu-ray was the primary reason behind the PS3's price wouldn't it mean that the corporate executives that made that decision should have more blame placed on them then Kutaragi?
CadetMahoney
Member
The same thread explained to err on the side of caution even if a forum poster had a past number be correct. I don't recall what you're talking about in the latter part though, I checked unless I missed something.
Guys it wasn't Job's that saved apple. It was Bill Gates and Microsoft. At a crucial point in time Apple would have gone under but due to the anti trust law suits MS pledged to keep producing Office for mac and even infused Apple with hundreds of millions of dollars. This is what allowed Job's to make the come back.
It was also backed by the United States Goverment tieing MS's hands and allowed apple the chance to have the ipod become a sucess .
Of course now Apple is the big dog and soon their hands will be tied and other companys will rise up again.
Sony has just stoped making good products . Their products haven't been worth the asking price in a decade or so and they have no way to change this fact. Vizo makes a tv thats 95% of the quality of a sony set at 80% of the cost and at the end of the day its all that matters.
It was also backed by the United States Goverment tieing MS's hands and allowed apple the chance to have the ipod become a sucess .
Of course now Apple is the big dog and soon their hands will be tied and other companys will rise up again.
Sony has just stoped making good products . Their products haven't been worth the asking price in a decade or so and they have no way to change this fact. Vizo makes a tv thats 95% of the quality of a sony set at 80% of the cost and at the end of the day its all that matters.
Brofist
Member
The PS1 boot screen was pure class. Still their best console as far as I'm concerned.