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Can PS3 Catch Up to 360?
- Thread starter jamesb23
- Start date
Gaborn said:
Know what my big question has been this gen? Say you're Sony. You're coming off the two most successful game consoles ever in a row. Why in the hell would you target your entire focus and business model on the guy who lost to you badly the previous generation (Microsoft)? Why would you not look at what you did, how you succeeded, and simply use the same strategy again?
Because aiming for the 2nd place guy has basically put them in the position to where they are, in fact, fighting for 2nd place.
Vinci said:
Actually, I think Sony's problem, in part, is they DID look at what they did, at least in party. I think it's probably fair to say that last gen a major advantage Sony had (apart from the HUGE early launch lead they took full advantage of) was that they were using the PS2 as a cheap DVD player to push some sales, especially early on. I doubt very seriously it was the only reason for their success but it had to be considered in Sony's value proposition when they were deciding whether to include Blu Ray capabilities. I think Sony should have been looking less at what THEY did right last generation and more at what companies like Nintendo did WRONG the last couple of generations.
Sony has repeated a lot of Nintendo's mistakes from previous consoles (the N64 had a different, expensive, and I seem to recall difficult to develop for format for example, it didn't help that their games were priced significantly higher than the competition). Sony forgot about gamers and started to believe their own hype, that people would want to get "two jobs" to buy their console.
Liabe Brave
Member
The very strong inflection point in PSP sales the week of S&L launch doesn't look like the sort of thing a piracy solution would cause, but perhaps you're right.OldJadedGamer said:
Of course not, but it's already doing better than that. During December in the U.S. PS3 sold ~55% more software than PSP, despite having ~85% fewer consoles out there.OldJadedGamer said:
Gaborn said:
But they forgot about the price. The PS2's DVD functionality doesn't buy them a damn thing if it's priced too far outside the mainstream range. It was a major contributing factor, of course, but it wasn't as primary to the phenomenom it became and the Wii has now become without being inside a certain price range. Microsoft wants a high-end machine with a huge pricetag? Let them. If you can't offer Blu-Ray functionality at a mainstream price within the first year, don't include it. Save that for PS4 or whatever.
Vinci said:
Absolutely, and that goes back to my final point about Sony's arrogance. They thought that "brand loyalty" and their perception that consumers REALLY wanted the system made the price almost irrelevant. In truth "for what you get" even the launch price of the PS3 wasn't a horrible deal. It's just that, from a practical stand point, the value proposition wasn't good in CONSUMER'S eyes. In other words, they overestimated what consumers would pay for a console system with a popular brand name.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
That's really not what the thread is about though.Flambe said:
You could enjoy games on the GCN, Xbox, Dreamcast, and Saturn as well.
Didn't stop them from being console bombs.
We is talking sales in a sales thread. What games you or anyone else like aren't important to the thread at hand. Plenty of Dreamcast and GameCube games that I loved too. Didn't improve the hardware sales one lick.
Zophar said:
Forza and Viva Pinata were bundled together, yet VP has only 1/3rd of the sales. I don't think the bump from unwanted bundling is anything like as high as you estimate. GT3, GT4 and GT5P were also bundled anyway, so it's kind of moot.
The volume of Prologue sales (bundling notwithstanding) just means that you need to subtract those users from the total potential of GT5 proper anyway, as the systems have already been sold. I think (GT5 - GT5P - Forza converts) = a much smaller bump than people are hoping for. Not to mention that it seems certain that FM3 will be released this year.
Kyo
Member
thewhiterabbit said:
Was R2 really considered an important title? If yes, WHY? The first part sold mainly because there was not much else for the early PS3 buyers to play. Sony really seem to have thought that R2 would help them this past holiday season, but IMO that was pretty delusional. For a similar case on the other side, see the "success" of PGR4.
Stoney Mason
Banned
Kyo said:
Well it is a shooter and it's done from one of their most respected developers and it gets good reviews from the media and it was a launch title so it's a fair shot.
I think there was a hunger from PS3 fans to have their own Halo so it was a bit over-rated imo.
It would of course make more sense to have Killzone 2 in the fall and Resistance in the spring but sometimes things don't work out the way you want development schedule wise.
Link
The Autumn Wind
I don't think Sony necessarily "forgot" about gamers so much as just assumed that all gamers these days are upper-middle class technophiles, which is just far too narrow a market. Even the PS2 started leaning in this direction, but was still within reason for the people outside this group. It also helped that their competitors all made major missteps.Gaborn said:
While I am surprised at how quick the turnaround was, their ultimate goal had always been clear from the beginning even with the PS1: Get gaming out of the hands of just kids and gamers* and into people's living rooms as the center of their entertainment center. Well, they accomplished that, but it turns out that in the end, most people really just want to play videogames. Go figure.
*And by this term, I mean the people that played games before the PS1 era, back when videogames were still fairly niche.
I had one more thought on this. Anyone left on the bench now is not really likely to be the kind of person who will improve the PS3 attach rates. This goes double for people waiting for a price drop to jump in, and makes me think that they're deliberately keeping the price up because they know they wouldn't recoup the losses they'd need to take at a lower pricepoint.
From VG24/7 http://www.*******.com/2007/05/08/analyst-blu-ray-and-therefore-ps3-will-win/
:lol Pachter should just shut the hell up.
:lol Pachter should just shut the hell up.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Why are you quoting an article from a banned site from May of 2007? Holy shit old.cedric69 said:
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
Given Sony's financial situation, a price drop is mind numbingly stupid.
Sony would rather recuperate funds than waste it on a price drop. You know, unless they want to let a few thousand more people go.
Sony would rather recuperate funds than waste it on a price drop. You know, unless they want to let a few thousand more people go.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
It's been covered.Cynar said:
Hollow victory and all that.
The Librarian
Banned
...Cynar said:
Cynar said:
Because its really likely that 360 will be discontinued just like the original xbox right? That's what you always do when you have the lead right?
Surely MS, one of the most successful companies on the planet of all time, would agree that this would be a smart move??
I think the 360 will always have a cost advantage over the PS3. It will take several years for Bluray to reach parity (if ever) with DVD. Better cost advantage = lower price (in this market). Lower price = better sales. I think people want PS3's, but Sony is too far behind the cost/price 8-ball to catch MS this gen in NA. WW, it might be a contest.
KingJ2002
Member
i believe so... i think down the line the ps3 will be able to catch up.
the systems are separated by 3 - 5 million units sold correct?
i think that the ps3 will gain momentum through effective cost cutting, a stronger blu-ray presence, and a better online marketplace.
these will give the system more value... but in the same breath it doesn't mean squat if sony doesn't deliver better games. Third party offerings tend to be the worst and their first party stuff fail to gain any buzz.
they need to go back to the drawing board with their marketing strategies in the mean time... a price cut is definitely needed to stay in the race.
the systems are separated by 3 - 5 million units sold correct?
i think that the ps3 will gain momentum through effective cost cutting, a stronger blu-ray presence, and a better online marketplace.
these will give the system more value... but in the same breath it doesn't mean squat if sony doesn't deliver better games. Third party offerings tend to be the worst and their first party stuff fail to gain any buzz.
they need to go back to the drawing board with their marketing strategies in the mean time... a price cut is definitely needed to stay in the race.
Hcoregamer00
The 'H' stands for hentai.
jeremy1456 said:
There was no sanguine expectations about the sales of Valkyria Chronicles, forget about even saying anything about expected impact on PS3 sales.
Predictions ranged from game sales breaking even to it being a total bomb.
cedric69 said:
The GAF version is better.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230386
Pachter gets paid a hell of a lot more to speak than we do to post. I'll keep reading his stuff whenever I can.
As to whether or not the PS3 can catch the 360. It's mostly irrelevant. I don't see the PS3 user base sliding so far behind that it gets that many fewer ports. I don't see the PS3 catching up/getting so far ahead that it gets PS2 type support. As much as the PS3 needs to maintain some profitability for Sony it needs to find a way to push more software. Getting more hardware out helps, but the optimal solution isn't going to be based on getting hardware back up to PS2 numbers.
Psychotext
Member
I'm sure someone can correct me... but isn't it something like 8m right now?KingJ2002 said:
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Psychotext said:
Yes, I believe so. Also, "Three to Five" when discussing millions of units is one of the wider nets I've seen cast in a while.
Dirtbag said:
Well considering the Wii, the console that's selling akin to the PS2, is in the lead, I'm not sure what the hell you're talking about. MS was the first to this generation and I fully expect them to be the first out of it. I'm sure it's nice for MS to beat Sony this generation, I doubt they expected it, based on everyone's expectations at the start of the gen, but to say they won't stop making 360's to get to the next generation so they can 'beat' Sony is silly. They've already beaten Sony at this point. Just take a look at software sales.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
TheBranca18 said:
"Everyone's"? There were quite a few people who were actually sane enough to actually predict what would evolve but where shouted down by fanboys at the time. Post E305 to pre E306 had the fanboys running wild and out of control on web forums.
Thrakier said:I don't care. I'l more looking forward to, ya know, playing all those godly game we'll see in the next two years.
Yeah, this is a sales thread ... if you don't want to discuss sales, then don't post in here. Create a "PS3: I'm Lovin' It!" thread and enjoy the massive circlejerk.
Talking about this thread numbnuts. This thread is not about catching up to wii is it?TheBranca18 said:
That doesn't mean they won't continue to sell and make software for the 360.. hence 'discontinue' it. I fully expect the ps4 / and next xbox to launch within months of each other and not have a year apart. I think both will aim to enter the market place around the same time so no one has a first to market advantage over the other like we saw this generation.
I agree, this is exactly what I was inferring. Reading comprehension isn't your strong point is it?
Death Dealer
Member
OldJadedGamer said:
I read a gamesindustrybiz article from summer of 2004 predicting X360 would come to market by the end of 2005 but the earliest release for PS3 was middle of 2006. Prophetic or common sense ?