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NY Times: Sony is in "the fight for its life"
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
Haunted
Member
Time to get all Rising Sun up in this bitch.
XANDER CAGE
Member
There's no need to get sarcastic. I was comparing the relative number of niche titles I remembered on PS3 this generation, not taking potshots at Sony. For what it's worth, the 360 had a number of JRPGs this gen, most of them (in my opinion) better than Neptunia or the Artelier. I do think that overall, there are far less weird unique titles for PS3 this gen than compared to the PS3.
Losing your favorite platform might suck but I'm just pointing out some perspective. Niche games will live on without Sony, if the PS division even goes away.
What were you expecting.. lol. It's a public forum where despite not having the proper background to discuss such things giving absurd and cringe worthy advices is bread and butter. Why? Because it doesn't cost anything to present such opinions.
I agree Sony has too many models out at any time.
Original devices like the HMZ-T1 should be prioritized. That's a concept which could be revolutionary, but only if the price is right, and it's marketed properly. Sony has a tendency to make clever devices which are too expensive to be anything other than a toy for the wealthy. Remember the MyLo?
Despite Playstation's recent losses, it's probably the most promising division within Sony. Playstation is the only division which has delivered a cross-platform content distribution network.
Original devices like the HMZ-T1 should be prioritized. That's a concept which could be revolutionary, but only if the price is right, and it's marketed properly. Sony has a tendency to make clever devices which are too expensive to be anything other than a toy for the wealthy. Remember the MyLo?
Despite Playstation's recent losses, it's probably the most promising division within Sony. Playstation is the only division which has delivered a cross-platform content distribution network.
For my money, there are far more interesting titles on PS3 than on 360. Also, considering my past experience with MS products, it'd be a cold day in Hell before I entertain the idea of buying their product in the future. I may as well go with the iOS gaming since I'm going to buy iPad 3 this year.
Brofist
Member
The JRPGs would just migrate elsewhere. Unless you really believe that no Sony would be the death of the genre.
They shat in mine, and lost any support and sympathy from me as a result.
Most of them already have to 3DS. I imagine Falcom would do the same
Where else would they go? Atleast currently, no one in Japan buys 360's (or atleast very few), Nintendo ususally does not gain these types of games very often, which I suspect has something to do with the audience but I could be wrong, and most Japanese developers tend to shy away from PC development, atleast in west.
Currently NIS for instance only releases games on Playstation, I don't see where else they would go because if they had a strong enough audience elsewhere they would probably develop multiplatform wouldent they?
shaowebb
Member
The territorial infighting between departments and the refusal to cooperate is sadly not just an isolated problem in Japan. Square Enix has a lot of that going on and look at them. As a whole the japanese industry seems filled with a very "lifetime employee" sort of mindset settled over it early when it emerged and many folks tend to sort of try for a hit, establish themselves, and then just sort of ride out their career in security. This doesn't work in an industry as competitive and based on creativity as games, though. This creates a very uncomfortable and paranoid atmosphere from older crew to protect their own interests above all else as what they had always thought was an infallible position starts to look like a position that will be replaced by anyone with a solid idea as the japanese studios start to struggle. This means lots of things get snuffed out that shouldn't, guys wont share ideas in hopes of churning out more reputation and stability for themselves and folks will just develop things their way even if ordered not to if they disagree with a direction. Succed and its their win. Lose and its their bosses fault...and if crew see their seniors using this attitude they often emulate it themself.
Its one giant disaster in Japan right now in a lot of studios that suffer from this sort of thing. This is something that is constantly getting talked about at my college and some of the stories folks share from overseas jobs are just mind boggling.
Its one giant disaster in Japan right now in a lot of studios that suffer from this sort of thing. This is something that is constantly getting talked about at my college and some of the stories folks share from overseas jobs are just mind boggling.
It'd certainly be the death of some of the more unusual games like Patapon, LocoRoco, or something expensively experimental like ICO, Shadow of Collosus, and even something like Heavy Rain. Sony has taken risk on some projects that other companies would not commit to and I really like that.
Haunted
Member
Honest question: what's left for Sony's next console except attempting a hail mary? Does anyone think they'll be able to regain dominance by providing a "safe" next-generation system? And if they don't go the straight power multiplication route, where is that lateral shift going to happen?
Sony's is honestly in pretty deep shit right now.
Days like these...
Have a Blessed Day
Not to derail but to all those saying if sony goes belly up I'll quit gaming. It seems like your love for sony is greater than your love for gaming and that's cool but let's call a spade a spade and stop hiding behind "sony is the only one who offers *insert niche title* " I mean seriously you're gonna quit gaming cause ms or nintendo doesn't have an equivalent to flower or whatever title you use choose to use as an excuse?
themadcowtipper
Smells faintly of rancid stilton.
Maybe DOOOOOOMED Sony is like DOOOOOOMED Nintendo, they flourish .
They will go to PC. Nintendo consoles aren't good for a "main" gaming system and MS offers nothing interesting. Well, at least I'll go to PC.
NY Times wants Sony to succeed...that much is clear with this article.
LOL. Company loyalty doesn't just arise out of nothing. What would we be loyal to if it's not the kind of games that they put out? The company itself is just an empty shell without the products that they output. People are loyal usually because the company offers something that they like, be it products or services. Not because it's for the company's sake itself. Everyone has their own agenda by wanting a company to succeed. Sony got my money because they output the kind of games that I like to play not because they are Sony.
If this was true Nintendo would be gone by now because they play it safe, make money off of hardware, rinse and repeat for the next generation.
Sony making another system that sells at a loss is most likely what MS wants too. MS can afford to sell another system at a loss I don't think Sony can.
A big reason why PS3 was sold at such a big loss is that Sony wanted to ensure BluRay won the Format War. Those diodes were still really new in 2006. PS3 certainly served that goal. I haven't seen good information on profits from bluray production, patent licensing, etc but obviously bluray success was a priority. And from a technical perspective, it has been an advantage for PS3. As game sizes creep up in the late years of this generation, the advantage may become more pronounced.
Anyway, with PS4, I don't see that we're on the cusp some radically expensive new technology that would drive up the cost. Microsoft and Sony are going to choose from technology that is aggressive compared to PCs the time, and close enough to eachother that 3rd parties can easily cross-port. Both will probably have bluray. Maybe Sony sticks to their guns on universal HDD, while Microsoft includes a few GBs of flash with an optional HDD. These kinds of differences are not make-or-break. The only thing I'm guessing we might see is mandatory 3D support. And that doesn't directly eat into hardware costs.
Allonym
There should be more tampons in gaming
Sony's six steps to success
1.) Create innovative products without chasing the tails of their competitors
2.) Stop pricing themselves out of competition
3.) End the usage of proprietary products
4.) Reduce number of products sold, it only serves to cannibalize sales AMD confuse customers
5.) Know your demographics and create products to appeal to them all
6.) Let Vita be the last mobile device unless phone functionality is added ie Xperia Play, even then I'd still advise against it
1.) Create innovative products without chasing the tails of their competitors
2.) Stop pricing themselves out of competition
3.) End the usage of proprietary products
4.) Reduce number of products sold, it only serves to cannibalize sales AMD confuse customers
5.) Know your demographics and create products to appeal to them all
6.) Let Vita be the last mobile device unless phone functionality is added ie Xperia Play, even then I'd still advise against it
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
They can't and never will regain dominance. MS entered the console gaming business and pretty much took a huge share of the pie. MS will only expand that upon the release of Xbox 3.
GraveRobberX
Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
The TV line needs to become beautiful and minimalistic
Everyone out there is going thin and bezel-less, Sony on the other hand has TV's that look the same from the year 2005, bulky, huge rectangles, I think they added an extra inch of bezel lol on the newer models
You have Samsung looking into Kinect-like camera sensors into it's TV
If Sony was looking into the future, they wouldn't be in this much of shit
Sony could already have had the Move be a good trojan horse for them, you can have such great synergy
Put your PSEye into the TV, MOVE isn't necessary, if you already own it, great, you can enhance your viewing pleasure
Too many different TV versions with miniscule differences
I mean XBR, HX, EX, BX... What the flying fuck do they mean?, then with-in those 4, you have the same sizes multiple times and considered different SKU, so HX has 3 different 55" models... WHY?
You half-ass OLED, by showing a 11" model, which still sells close to $2,500, while your competitors are ready to pull the trigger on Super OLED and bring 55"+ to the market
There should be only 2 Tiers of TV, with and without models
The with has all goodies under the sun, sizes: 40", 46", 55", 65"
The without is just basic model sizes: 35-37", 40", 46", 50"
Try to standout with new design, everybody and their mother has done the rectangle square black bezel with a wides ass stand
(Fuck try white?, blue, go back to silver/chrome, go wild and let people choose)
Sony's laptop division is gonna get fucking wrecked this year/next year with Ultra Books, I mean Vizio is joining the goddamn party to take market-share
You can live off Vaio and the Z line for the next 6-9 months, but when those Ultra get into the sub $800 range, and whoever drops the first budget ultrabook is gonna make money hand over fist (I wouldn't be surprised this Black Friday one company just goes for the Jugular, and tries to corner an area)
Everyone out there is going thin and bezel-less, Sony on the other hand has TV's that look the same from the year 2005, bulky, huge rectangles, I think they added an extra inch of bezel lol on the newer models
You have Samsung looking into Kinect-like camera sensors into it's TV
If Sony was looking into the future, they wouldn't be in this much of shit
Sony could already have had the Move be a good trojan horse for them, you can have such great synergy
Put your PSEye into the TV, MOVE isn't necessary, if you already own it, great, you can enhance your viewing pleasure
Too many different TV versions with miniscule differences
I mean XBR, HX, EX, BX... What the flying fuck do they mean?, then with-in those 4, you have the same sizes multiple times and considered different SKU, so HX has 3 different 55" models... WHY?
You half-ass OLED, by showing a 11" model, which still sells close to $2,500, while your competitors are ready to pull the trigger on Super OLED and bring 55"+ to the market
There should be only 2 Tiers of TV, with and without models
The with has all goodies under the sun, sizes: 40", 46", 55", 65"
The without is just basic model sizes: 35-37", 40", 46", 50"
Try to standout with new design, everybody and their mother has done the rectangle square black bezel with a wides ass stand
(Fuck try white?, blue, go back to silver/chrome, go wild and let people choose)
Sony's laptop division is gonna get fucking wrecked this year/next year with Ultra Books, I mean Vizio is joining the goddamn party to take market-share
You can live off Vaio and the Z line for the next 6-9 months, but when those Ultra get into the sub $800 range, and whoever drops the first budget ultrabook is gonna make money hand over fist (I wouldn't be surprised this Black Friday one company just goes for the Jugular, and tries to corner an area)
Lion Heart
Banned
Sonys has more worldwide presence, if they were smart, they'd capitalize on that. MS's best territory is US and last months NPD were relatively close. If they launch at price parity next gen, they are looking pretty damn good. They will never dominate again but I can see a 60-40 split easily. I don't think they will ever do better than a 50/50 NA market split though.
just an interesting bit of news; Sony is now the biggest music publisher:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/sony-music-buys-emi-publishing/
also innovation in the medical field:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/sony-dr-tv-patent/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/sony-music-buys-emi-publishing/
also innovation in the medical field:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/sony-dr-tv-patent/
bgassassin
Member
Not by their own accord.
shinra-bansho
Member
For clarification purposes - I wasn't saying that proprietary storage is the key to success or anything but that a) it's not necessarily the harbinger of doom and b) it's not a mistake of the PS3 at all considering the PS3 doesn't use proprietary storage.
I agree with your other points - but I also think the way Nintendo handled the launch of the $250 3DS also contributed to the market's sour response.
You think it makes logistical or operational sense for SCEE studios without experience on the engine etc. that are working on their own projects to work on GT?
Rather it would be more prudent to get SCEJ's house in order.
I'm not sure what other publisher with similar numbers of studios is doing what you currently suggest.
Just re kinect/ps eye and Viao. The new E series have gesture control. Also on CES they showed off Viao tablets with slide-out keyboards so that can be expected to launch with Win 8. Right now their Tablet, Vaio and Xperia lines should flourish as they combined the R&D departments for them together.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
DR3AM
Member
is there a list of products sony currently has for sale? for every electric device, sony has at lease one product out. they also stopped innovating and stared copying others but most importantly, their products cost way too much. downgrade to the basics and make those products good and affordable.
bigtroyjon
Member
Stock keeps dropping on the Tokyo exchange. Has hit it's lowest point since the 90's for the fourth day in a row. I would say they are a prime takeover target but I don't know if there are any finance companies in Japan that have the financial might to pull it off.
Inaccurate
njean777
Member
You're funny, Sony can reestablish dominance if MS screws up, which very well could happen. Free online, blu-ray, and a year head start could seal Sony as the winner next gen. MS still has the pay for online perspective and with people becoming savvy they may start to see how much of a rip off live is. If Sony can manage to make their online more robust and include everything that MS has for free next gen I could easily see them overtaking MS on that alone. They got me this gen with it, who knows how many they can get next gen. Not to mention Sony still has way more first party devs then microsoft has. This is all speculation of course, but saying that Sony will never reestablish dominance is very ignorant. Same thing was said about Apple not even 14 years ago and now look where they are....
True, that was the case in the past. Kaz seems to have recognised it though with his 'One Sony' strategy. I imagine being the biggest publisher in the industry can be definitely used as leverage, if used properly, to get people to buy Sony devices. For example, Xperias should come with some high-profile songs from the Sony artists. Tablets and Blu Ray players should have Sony published movies etc.
Also they need to hurry the fuck up with Music and Video unlimited. Especially Music unlimited now that they have so many artists under their wings and licensing problems are thus non existent.
How so? when was the last time NIS put out a game for the Wii, or 360? I can't seem to recall the last time a game like Neptune, Atelier, Journey, Flower or similar launched on a console other than the PS3. There are also games like heavy rain which while the games merits are arguable it's still a game that I could not see MS, or Nintendo rushing to publish.
Ghost_Protocol
Member
Hopefully they'll ask us to get a second job again to pay for their new system. Hopefully.
Launching a year before certainly helped them. People got 360s because their friends had 360s.
If you live in Melbourne check out Metro PC and Dungeon Crawl around the CBD. They're focused on PC games and they're usually $30 cheaper than what EB Games offers. Also those internet issues will be solved once the NBN rolls out, but for now TPG offers an affordable unlimited service. I haven't been on a cap for a few years now, and have saved hundreds bypassing our ridiculous regional prices with digital downloads.
This could be the best thing to happen to them, sort their shit out making them a leaner meaner company in the future.
Sony is just a dumb company. They have cellphone and portable gaming divisions. Logically, the two should work together and create a flagship device, ala Vita phone. Instead, they create different products which aren't really compatible. If they go that route, at least, take it from Apple with the IPhone and iPod Touch.
They use to be top of the line, ive got a nice bravia from 08 and its still going strong as the best tv i have ever bought but the past few years the line up has become confusing and makers like samsung have closed the quality gap offering tvs just as good without the sony tax.
I've heard they're not very reliable. Many of my friends have been complaining about drop outs, which I never experience with Internode. They recommend I go with Dodo (?) if I want bigger GBs. Anyway, I live in Sydney so I don't even know what those places are. Besides, my PC is kind of dead. Really need to save money to bring it to a repairman.
ViperVisor
Member
I don't get the putting Sony's gaming pedigree on a pedestal I am seeing.
They put out 2 very capable boxes when the competition was hitting themselves in the face.
It is like people have mentioned they failed to turn that 10 years of hardware dominance into a field that is where their own software is a significant cash crop.
You are almost never going to sell 10,000,000 of a game and make assloads of money but a simultaneous publisher/developer should end up with a focus of games for gamers. Those rarely catch fire with the public at large but it is a bankable segment of business. So when the console base lags you are still attaching a high rate of your games to it and throwing some water on the burning money pile that is hardware.
Gran Turismo is like that but you can almost screw it up by treating it like a Star Wars prequel.
They put out 2 very capable boxes when the competition was hitting themselves in the face.
It is like people have mentioned they failed to turn that 10 years of hardware dominance into a field that is where their own software is a significant cash crop.
You are almost never going to sell 10,000,000 of a game and make assloads of money but a simultaneous publisher/developer should end up with a focus of games for gamers. Those rarely catch fire with the public at large but it is a bankable segment of business. So when the console base lags you are still attaching a high rate of your games to it and throwing some water on the burning money pile that is hardware.
Gran Turismo is like that but you can almost screw it up by treating it like a Star Wars prequel.
still doomed