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Why Sony failed to fully capitalize on PS4 success in 2014?

N

noobie

Banned
Yes Sony is undisputed No. 1 in 8th Generation and by the look of the things its going to stay like this.

But if we look that Sony sold 18.5 - 4.2 = 14.3 million PS4 in 2014 then i feel its a little below what they could have achieved. I believe they should have hit 16 million with ease rather they must have to cover the sharp decline in PS3 sales.

Couple of favorable things for Sony to hit 16 million in Calendar Year 2014 were
  1. Sony was coming from sellout in 2013. So some of the sales were coming from people looking and not finding PS4 in 2013
  2. Sony launched in lot more countries and initial shipment is not only for customers but also to create some inventory in the respective country.

So what you see are possible reason for not hitting 16 million?
  1. Lack of aggressiveness from Sony?
  2. Lack of first party exclusives? Although Sony did well to promote Destiny and Watchdogs but one more better exclusives in the holiday season could have worked well
  3. Aggressiveness from Microsoft? MS played well with the promotion and definitely cost half a million or more sales to Sony
  4. Lack of Japanese titles?

Again my point is not that PS4 sales are bad. But they should have been better by atleast a million or so.

if it makes my point a bit more clear. PS4 had the lowest Sep to Holiday increase. even below PS3 numbers and well below Xbox numbers.
exgKEawXj
 
So where were these first party and Japanese titles supposed to magically pop up from to make a 2014 release to capitalize on the success? Hell, one of the fall releases was supposed to be a launch title.

Why play a price game when 1. in the lead by a tremendous margin worldwide and 2. profits are the priority at this stage for them?

Never a fan of these "What if...?/Why not..." threads. Especially when stylized like this.
 
Sony got 14 million people to buy a paperweight in 2014 including me, I'd say they were pretty successful whilst spending minimum effort.
 
If you asked Sony would they be happy selling 1.2m consoles a month in 2014 they would have bitten your hand off. They are however severly devastated on not meeting your external predictions and offer their sincerest apologies :(

CmdBash said:
Sony got 14 million people to buy a paperweight in 2014 including me, I'd say they were pretty successful whilst spending minimum effort.
Click to expand...

No power lead supplied ? I hate it when that happens gggrrrrr Sony
 
To sell more, they would have to manufacture more. And to manufacture more, they would have to make their sales forecasts several months before actual sales. And as Shuhei Yoshida (was it him?) said, they were not exactly sure, who is buying all these consoles. They didn't want to take a risk of suddenly hitting a wall.

I believe they were playing it safe, until they are ready for the redesign (just the internals) and price cut. When it's cheaper to put together a console and maybe sell it for a modest profit at $299, you can easily increase the sales targets.

Erring on the side of caution and still handily beating the competition. I think that is an astonishing accomplishment.
 
Short of a price cut (which wasn't in the cards), they probably did the best they could. Their software lineup could have been much better, but I'm not sure how much Sony developed titles actually push hardware.

GribbleGrunger said:
A more interesting question would be why didn't Microsoft capitalise on Sony not capitalising?
Click to expand...
In the markets that Microsoft had any chance in, they did.
 
How is 14+ million anything but great ? This is a Wii-like success, they are still supply constrained in some parts of the world...

And they did that without much effort, whether on exclusives, or price offering...
 
noobie said:
Again my point is not that PS4 sales are bad. But they should have been better by atleast a million or so.
Click to expand...

And why is that? PS4 is the best selling PlayStation so far, the big games, price cut, slim revision are still coming. It might reach over 100 million sold in it's lifetime.
Is this a psychological thing to have the "magic" 20 million number to compensate for something?
 
Toki767 said:
They didn't do a huge price drop in the US like Microsoft.
Click to expand...

LOL, you don't do a price cut when you're the market leader & when your product is selling well just because your other competitor does it. You only do so when the sales of your product starts slowing down drastically on that same price tag.
 
I can imagine Sony not living up to any personal expectations, subjective as they are of course. But as other people have said Sony did in fact capitalise on their 2013 success.

We were legitimately talking about consoles in general ending due to the market shift in digital entertainment. Sony, and Microsoft, played huge parts in in changing that mindset and were incredibly successful in doing so.
 
I feel like gaf is full Cassandra's sometimes but I do think not price matching Microsoft during Black Friday weekend was a mistake. I also believe that it would probably hurt their sales for the rest of the year mainly because people just wait for the next sale.
 
Sony are draining the pool of people prepared to pay the launch/full price, they seem to be doing a good job of it.
 
Sony sold everything they could without lowering price, and people are very satisfied with the console and the largest catalogue of games for all new systems. Delay of Order 1886 hurt them a bit, they did not have big exclusive in the holiday season.

Not a big problem though. 2015 looks to be a great year for PS4 and Sony will most certainly sell 20-25M this year.
 
Basileus777 said:
Short of a price cut (which wasn't in the cards), they probably did the best they could. Their software lineup could have been much better, but I'm not sure how much Sony developed titles actually push hardware.


In the markets that Microsoft had any chance in, they did.
Click to expand...

Oh right, so we're reducing the argument to two territories now are we? You'd better change the thread title then.
 
Biker19 said:
LOL, you don't do a price cut when you're the market leader & when your product is selling well just because your other competitor does it. You only do so when the sales of your product starts slowing down drastically on that same price tag.
Click to expand...

Basically. They still sold a lot. Not sure how anyone could really say that they didn't do all they could do.
 
There current problem is lack of strong exclusive titles.
Driveclub is a great exclusive but should have been as it is now on day one and the PSN version should have also come out.
 
"Not bad, but 11% more would have been absolutely perfect so oh boy did they mess up!"? That's an odd thing to try to pin them for.

Japan is the only territory under-performing, but given the release there was held back and sales have been meh Sony probably feels justified in not pushing their home market the first year. They knew they wouldn't be able to force the top Western best-sellers there in order to sell new hardware. That entire formula flips starting in March and this next year is far more important to Sony in Japan than last.

Given I doubt even Sony thought the trajectories would hold above the PS2 for the first year I don't know what more you were expecting them to do or even try to do. Could maybe have sold a few hundred thousand more in NA through the holidays with a discount but not worth the revenue loss. Driveclub and LBP3 were never really destined to be system-sellers so that didn't hurt much.

They feel so comfortable that they don't have a problem with delaying at least some of their major releases. That's an incredible advantage to hold.
 
I might of read it wrong, but I think what the OP is saying is that they had MS on the ropes, like a fighter who has just knocked down his opponent (first 10 months) then they for some reason did not go for the finish, instead MS came out fighting and then knock Sony down (Xmas)

So why did Sony not choose to go head to head with MS at Xmas?

Did they really care?

are console wars just a media fed thing?
 
Are you taking the piss?

Seriously, it's like ever since the XO outsold the PS4 in Nov/Dec in the US, there's this insane narrative popping up that the Ps4 is underperformancung while the XO is doing great.

It's selling hugely above expectations and quite rightly trouncing it's inferior competition.

Sure, AAA exclusives were a bit thin on the ground, but it's still got the biggest library of titles, and this year will more than make up for it.

Microsoft had to effectively pay for people to buy the XO, yet it's the PS4 that is somehow in trouble? Fuck off.
 
mazpratim said:
Isn't this the highest number a console has ever sold in a year besides Wii?
Click to expand...
Probably not.

It might be the best year 1 (if the launch months are year 0) after the Wii.

PS2 would be the other contender but it was a staggered launch so it can't be used as a direct comparison.
 
Toki767 said:
1. They didn't do a huge price drop in the US like Microsoft.
2. Console gaming is basically dead in Japan.
Click to expand...

1. True. Sony needs to stop sitting on the console and stop trying to push their public relations division. They need to push the UI to the limit. It's honestly PATHETIC that in the current day and age the OS is hideously plain. Microsoft has been releasing major updates every month, not only fixing issues but introducing newer features and ways of making the system fun. Games are already fun, so a fun system is what Sony is really lacking. No support for media companies and no support in apps besides the public relations. With that said, they do not need a price drop as badly as Microsoft did, but now the tables have turned and it seems like they'll need one soon if they want to stay on that throne that was practically handed to them by gamers and Microsoft.

2. I dislike the notion if console gaming being dead in any region. Nothing dies if you innovate and listen to the needs. Nothing dies if you show GENUINE support for the region. They have no one but themselves to blame for the decay of console gaming in Japan. It can be revived and cured but they're too far behind due to the arrogant nature of last gen, and Microsoft not giving a GENUINE fuck about the people's need until Phil Spencer took over and Sony trying to play catch up. Sucks that they're going to be playing catch up again this year even if they lead in sales. Just because gamers know which hardware is better in terms of strength and want a competition to ignite doesn't mean they have declared Sony the winner. The idea of "first to 10 million" is dead when it comes to providing great experiences. Sony won by default because MS fucked up and Nintendo got high.
 
Japan underperforming. New exclusives can only go so far. What may of hurt was the marketing deals for games that were supposed to were supposed to drop in November and got delayed along with the order.
 
shagg_187 said:
1. True. Sony needs to stop sitting on the console and stop trying to push their public relations division. They need to push the UI to the limit. It's honestly PATHETIC that in the current day and age the OS is hideously plain. Microsoft has been releasing major updates every month, not only fixing issues but introducing newer features and ways of making the system fun. Games are already fun, so a fun system is what Sony is really lacking. No support for media companies and no support in apps besides the public relations. With that said, they do not need a price drop as badly as Microsoft did, but now the tables have turned and it seems like they'll need one soon if they want to stay on that throne that was practically handed to them by gamers and Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Umm...what tables have turned exactly?

I don't think people realize yet that while Xbox One might have caught up to the PS4 in the US, the PS4 still increased its total sales lead over the Xbox One worldwide during the holidays.
 
Tak3n said:
I might of read it wrong, but I think what the OP is saying is that they had MS on the ropes, like a fighter who has just knocked down his opponent (first 10 months) then they for some reason did not go for the finish, instead MS came out fighting and then knock Sony down (Xmas)

So why did Sony not choose to go head to head with MS at Xmas?

Did they really care?

are console wars just a media fed thing?
Click to expand...

What is "finish"? We just passed the first year of both consoles. Both Sony and MS still have years to compete in this console generation. Xbone sold better than PS4 in one territory for a couple months doesn't mean a damn thing in overall picture.
 
shagg_187 said:
With that said, they do not need a price drop as badly as Microsoft did, but now the tables have turned and it seems like they'll need one soon if they want to stay on that throne that was practically handed to them by gamers and Microsoft.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this part. Even PS4 is still leading over Xbox One on Amazon's Best Sellers in the U.S., despite the $50 price cut along with the Assassin's Creed Unity bundle on Xbox One (which is old as dirt now).

2. I dislike the notion if console gaming being dead in any region. Nothing dies if you innovate and listen to the needs. Nothing dies if you show GENUINE support for the region. They have no one but themselves to blame for the decay of console gaming in Japan. It can be revived and cured but they're too far behind due to the arrogant nature of last gen, and Microsoft not giving a GENUINE fuck about the people's need until Phil Spencer took over and Sony trying to play catch up. Sucks that they're going to be playing catch up again this year even if they lead in sales.
Click to expand...

Japanese 3rd party publishers are the ones to blame for letting the Western 3rd party publishers overtake them in consoles last gen.
 
I think ability to supply was their bottleneck for the year nothing more. They noted several times and in particular heading into holidays in West supply was tight.

For example they could have sold more in US but likely would have had to reduce shipments elsewhere to do so losing sales in another market as a result.

In MS position they can afford to push majority of stock to US and UK and go all out in those regions: Sony has more successful WW sales tland they need to be fairer about stock.

Or maybe they projected demand with a specific margin goal and simply weren't willing to sacrifice margin for another 500 k or more units sold.

They're not going to be unhappy with current results in any case.
 
shagg_187 said:
1. True. Sony needs to stop sitting on the console and stop trying to push their public relations division. They need to push the UI to the limit. It's honestly PATHETIC that in the current day and age the OS is hideously plain. Microsoft has been releasing major updates every month, not only fixing issues but introducing newer features and ways of making the system fun. Games are already fun, so a fun system is what Sony is really lacking. No support for media companies and no support in apps besides the public relations. With that said, they do not need a price drop as badly as Microsoft did, but now the tables have turned and it seems like they'll need one soon if they want to stay on that throne that was practically handed to them by gamers and Microsoft.

2. I dislike the notion if console gaming being dead in any region. Nothing dies if you innovate and listen to the needs. Nothing dies if you show GENUINE support for the region. They have no one but themselves to blame for the decay of console gaming in Japan. It can be revived and cured but they're too far behind due to the arrogant nature of last gen, and Microsoft not giving a GENUINE fuck about the people's need until Phil Spencer took over and Sony trying to play catch up. Sucks that they're going to be playing catch up again this year even if they lead in sales. Just because gamers know which hardware is better in terms of strength and want a competition to ignite doesn't mean they have declared Sony the winner. The idea of "first to 10 million" is dead when it comes to providing great experiences. Sony won by default because MS fucked up and Nintendo got high.
Click to expand...

Most of those features where already since launch in the PS4 OS. The reason why Microsoft had so many updates is because they where lacking many features in 2014. But everybody things that only media features are important. Xbox One can't still do screenshots.

Now the Xbox One will have an game hub for every game. Another thing the PS4 already have since launch. Maybe Microsoft need to put more effort in games then OS features. Still the Xbox One is not well designed for developers. If they want to have access to some more hardware, they have to shut down other features like Kinect or voice command. PS4 OS is fast and i think overall faster then Xbox One OS. You can double tab PS button for multitasking. Yes PS4 OS needs also some improvements, but it already works great for me (and others).
 
neogaffer1 said:
You act like 14 mil in first full year is a bad number...
Click to expand...

Eggbok said:
Sony you done fucked up.

iNGSsyhGhF0Mo.jpg
Click to expand...

No i never say they are bad. They are doing good but they could have done better than good. :)

Tak3n said:
I might of read it wrong, but I think what the OP is saying is that they had MS on the ropes, like a fighter who has just knocked down his opponent (first 10 months) then they for some reason did not go for the finish, instead MS came out fighting and then knock Sony down (Xmas)

So why did Sony not choose to go head to head with MS at Xmas?

Did they really care?

are console wars just a media fed thing?
Click to expand...

I am not saying they should go for the kill. But i believe that there are finite number of active gamers and if you loose 1 non-fanboy gamer to the opposing camp you are reducing your life time sales of the console.

PJV3 said:
Sony are draining the pool of people prepared to pay the launch/full price, they seem to be doing a good job of it.
Click to expand...


JayEH said:
Why is 16 million the magic number? Such a weird thread.
Click to expand...

16 is not a magic number.. But i think the result of November NPD were not good which Sony also claimed that their opponent surprised them. Also PS3 managed to get 14 million while being expensive and not the market leader.. So i believe PS4 should have easily topped the best of PS3.

Just an opinion
 
shagg_187 said:
1. True. Sony needs to stop sitting on the console and stop trying to push their public relations division. They need to push the UI to the limit. It's honestly PATHETIC that in the current day and age the OS is hideously plain. Microsoft has been releasing major updates every month, not only fixing issues but introducing newer features and ways of making the system fun. Games are already fun, so a fun system is what Sony is really lacking. No support for media companies and no support in apps besides the public relations. With that said, they do not need a price drop as badly as Microsoft did, but now the tables have turned and it seems like they'll need one soon if they want to stay on that throne that was practically handed to them by gamers and Microsoft.

2. I dislike the notion if console gaming being dead in any region. Nothing dies if you innovate and listen to the needs. Nothing dies if you show GENUINE support for the region. They have no one but themselves to blame for the decay of console gaming in Japan. It can be revived and cured but they're too far behind due to the arrogant nature of last gen, and Microsoft not giving a GENUINE fuck about the people's need until Phil Spencer took over and Sony trying to play catch up. Sucks that they're going to be playing catch up again this year even if they lead in sales. Just because gamers know which hardware is better in terms of strength and want a competition to ignite doesn't mean they have declared Sony the winner. The idea of "first to 10 million" is dead when it comes to providing great experiences. Sony won by default because MS fucked up and Nintendo got high.
Click to expand...

You forgot to mention that they haven't been updating the SDK or overclocking the CPU with the same amount of aggression that Microsoft have with the xbone.

#FallingBehind
 
Toki767 said:
Umm...what tables have turned exactly?

I don't think people realize yet that while Xbox One might have caught up to the PS4 in the US, the PS4 still increased its total sales lead over the Xbox One worldwide during the holidays.
Click to expand...

I agree. Sony is killing it and printing whatever money it can print. It's without a doubt that their hardware is superior to Microsoft's.

By turning tables, I mean that Microsoft woke the fuck up with heavy management change, with the OS being updated monthly and by a very competent team, by providing price drop and announcing loads of features and providing more incentive to users. Sony needs to move the OS team from Japan to US, to someone who is willing to push themselves and fulfill goals more quickly than their Japan team.

Don't get me wrong at all. Sony is doing a fantastic job when it comes to satisfying game developers and ensuring that their games make it as smoothly as possible to their console, but that's about it. Their interface is a mess, their Video/TV section is shit and all apps are broken in one way or another.

Microsoft was more focused on pushing every services onto Xbox and make shit loads of money and forgot that the console will eventually be bought by gamers who expect the same level of polishing that we are used to with their previous consoles, but they send mixed messages and confused us all into deserting them. Now they've realized the mistake and are fixing it. Sony has yet to improve things, though they have a fantastic hardware.
 
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