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[Herp Derpington]

Amazing that PS4 is such a pillar for Sony.
Kaz has done a great job as CEO.

Kaz did an amazing job.

And yeah, that PS and Sony Pictures collab should have happened years ago. Better late than never though.

One could argue that hedging your bets on one product is a really risky and ill-advised move. What would Apple be without the iPhone? Luckily for each company their respective products have been a success but I'd be far more impressed with Kaz if he had diversified the company to the point where they had more than one leg to stand on. I'm not saying Sony is doomed if the NEO fails to take off and the PS4 cools off but man that's not a scenario that inspires much confidence.

 

[HStallion]

One could argue that hedging your bets on one product is a really risky and ill-advised move. What would Apple be without the iPhone? Luckily for each company their respective products have been a success but I'd be far more impressed with Kaz if he had diversified the company to the point where they had more than one leg to stand on. I'm not saying Sony is doomed if the PS4K or NEO fails to take off and the PS4 cools off but man that's not a scenario that inspires much confidence.

They do have more than one leg to stand on and have so for a while? Kaz was trying to stop the company from hemorrhaging money on entire product divisions that were not seeing anywhere near the return they should have and that was for reasons both inside and outside of Sony. If anything now that the company seems solid will they begin to diversify and have already started branching out into things like Playstation Vue which could be huge for them if it takes off.

 

[Massa]

When do we expect to hear the official announcement for discontinuation of PS3 and PSVita? This year? After Neo?

Vita is still selling well enough in Japan, they're not going to discontinue it.

 

[vpance]

Kaz got his priorities right. Vue and PSVR have the biggest potential for growth, out everything they're working on in the entire company. Doubling down on PS is the correct move.

 

[Shin-Ra]

I'd like to see them tackle a gaming-focused monitor, stripped of all the unnecessary TV features and processing latency.

24-26" small OLED gaming display with at least 120Hz native refresh and AMD FreeSync over HDMI & Displayport for under $1000.

 

[pixelbox]

Didn't Apple do this with the ipod? This is definitely the right move.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

The problem is Nintendo doesn't give their shareholders any sort of power over their company, I think Kimishima gets the final say on everything. So if Nintendo wants to keep plugging away with hardware, they will. Obviously they're going to make changes if things continue to go downhill, but the NX at the very least seems to seem like they're going in a different direction from Wii/Wii U.

That might be a problem, but that's kind of irrelevant to the point I was trying to make. Besides the fact that Nintendo can't just continually thumb their noses at investors.

Namely the point was that a business doesn't just lose "$X amount and survive for Y years." That point is continually brought up by certain fans, and it's absolutely worthless in the scheme of finance. It's an overly simplistic view of business that doesn't account for how spiraling losses, mindshare, marketshare, and overall perception of your product can damage your brand. What's even funnier is that the oft cited GamesRadar is like four years old, and Nintendo has burned through more of the money than the nitwit who wrote that article forecasted.

The bottom line being that if Nintendo were actually in a situation were they might be "doomed," they could burn through that much vaunted pile of cash reserves in just a few years.

Nintendo is alright for now, sure. They've got a good chance at a comeback. But big companies have burned through those kinds of reserves before and Nintendo isn't above that possibility. So let's stop acting like those cash reserves are some shield of invincibility.

But this thread is about Sony, and I've digressed enough.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Wow, I had no fucking idea that the gaming division was this big in Sony's portfolio

that's both impressive and a bit scary.

PS4 has been amazing for them though, and they deserve the success. Does anyone have numbers from previous generations? How is it tracking compared to PS2?

 

[DriftingSpirit]

One could argue that hedging your bets on one product is a really risky and ill-advised move. What would Apple be without the iPhone? Luckily for each company their respective products have been a success but I'd be far more impressed with Kaz if he had diversified the company to the point where they had more than one leg to stand on. I'm not saying Sony is doomed if the NEO fails to take off and the PS4 cools off but man that's not a scenario that inspires much confidence.

Well, they do. They have other areas that are outdoing PS.

Besides, Kaz needed to stop them from losing so much money more than anything else. If they want to diversify later, that is a possibility for them.

 

[Wollan]

PS4 has been amazing for them though, and they deserve the success. Does anyone have numbers from previous generations? How is it tracking compared to PS2?

Tracking ahead of PS2:

PS Plus subscriptions and hardware itself being profitable day one are also big boons compared to PS2 days.

 

[kvn]

While their Android implementation is hella janky (I mean their TV guide for Satellite is beyond a joke for how broken it is), I played through Snatcher with an easily paired DS4 on Retroarch (with a cool CRT shader) using a Android TV app. It's so close to being really cool if they'd just spend some time making basic TV features not suck.

As an OS choice, I think Sony made a good move, but for some reason, they just clearly haven't put the manpower behind their decision.

Yeah, exactly. The OS decision is great from a strategic point of view. But in operational terms it is a disaster. I would've ditched it, if gaming on it weren't so great (great IQ, low input lag), as everything else is complete jank (no other way to describe the state of the implementation). The funny thing is that the bad UX is something one can see in a lot of Sony products although they are handled by completely different divisions and sub-contractors (I'm sure TV firmware is handled externally).

 

[HStallion]

Yeah, exactly. The OS decision is great from a strategic point of view. But in operational terms it is a disaster. I would've ditched it, if gaming on it weren't so great (great IQ, low input lag), as everything else is complete jank (no other way to describe the state of the implementation). The funny thing is that the bad UX is something one can see in a lot of Sony products although they are handled by completely different divisions and sub-contractors (I'm sure TV firmware is handled externally).

They were a hardware company first and it shows in a lot of ways. Their camera line contains a ton of great designed cameras that work very well. Though I do think they're getting better and better about UI stuff but its not there yet. For example I think PS Vue has a pretty decent interface on the PS4.

 

[El-Pistolero]

Sigh...Not worth it.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

Is Vue doing well as a service?

 

[Herp Derpington]

They do have more than one leg to stand on and have so for a while? Kaz was trying to stop the company from hemorrhaging money on entire product divisions that were not seeing anywhere near the return they should have and that was for reasons both inside and outside of Sony. If anything now that the company seems solid will they begin to diversify and have already started branching out into things like Playstation Vue which could be huge for them if it takes off.

Well, they do. They have other areas that are outdoing PS.

Besides, Kaz needed to stop them from losing so much money more than anything else. If they want to diversify later, that is a possibility for them.

The point is that so much of the company revolves around one product and I just can't see that as sustainable. Then again I'm not the CEO so they can do what they want. I don't want them to fail of course as I enjoy my PS4 but I don't know just seems many are happy with them putting all their eggs in one basket. Yes I know they have other divisions doing well but nothing like what their Playstation product is doing.

 

[klier]

Not Nintendo. They can fuck up 10 more times like the Wii U and still be fine.

If that were the case Xbox can fuck up 678 times and still be fine.

 

[cchum]

Is Vue doing well as a service?

120k subs..,so ok

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

You sure you're not being dramatic?

Of course. I wonder why they have yet to do it.

No, I don't think so. I mean, I like my tech to be up to date and working as intended. with everyone wanting everything now now now, I understand pacing and making sure things work.. But completely not matching what's out there and being a bit outdated can ruin a company. I'm not saying everything Playstation is outdated but I can't lie and think that simple things like removing the cap on PSN downloads speeds is something that people will forget when looking to continue buying into the ecosystem. Or even software improvements to the
UI that you have to wait 6 months or more for. Not saying any of these things affect me or is something I complain about but it's there.

Fragmentation may not be breaking Googles pocket with Android but people do expect a level of uniformity in their product or they switch if they see no improvement. So riding on Playstation definitely needs to feel like they are.

 

[Az987]

One could argue that hedging your bets on one product is a really risky and ill-advised move. What would Apple be without the iPhone? Luckily for each company their respective products have been a success but I'd be far more impressed with Kaz if he had diversified the company to the point where they had more than one leg to stand on. I'm not saying Sony is doomed if the NEO fails to take off and the PS4 cools off but man that's not a scenario that inspires much confidence.

They didn't hedge it all on the PS4, it was just such a hit that they figured let's see if we can launch other products using it.

It's not like they decided to make the PS4 to save the company. It was clearly already in the pipeline.

They also announced they're going back into robotics and recently announced a partnership with some start up to develop AI.

It's just not in this article.

Edit: I'd much rather them try and use an extremely popular brand and product to launch a new product than the alternative.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Love the article and hard to disagree.

Its strange how Playstation was at one point just a niche sector in the company that would not have even existed without one guy pushing for a games playing machine to compete in the games market.

Without Playstation, i imagine Sony to have long since folded, having been upended by other technological conglomerates that surpassed them.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Probably Microsoft, I mean Xbox. From what I remember, the main investors in the company want nothing more than for them to completely scrap the Xbox and get out of the console business since they've never been number one in the market.

It's not about being number one for shareholders. It never has been.

It's about being profitable.

Investors don't give a shit about the Xbox. MS stock is higher than its been in years

 

[Wagram]

I wouldn't use revenue as the indicator for which division is the most important. You can have a division that has insane revenue, but ends up with low operating income and even negative net income. PlayStation is definitely huge for Sony right now, but their financial division is by far and away their most successful (Gaming: 88.7 vs. Financial 156.5 billions of Yen) in the operating income department.

Just wanted to throw that out there. It's easy to get lost on the revenue figure, but there are expenses that come after.

 

[J-Skee]

I thought this was obvious. Sony was hurting pretty badly until the PS4 took off. They made the smart decision to make sure they would make money for each one sold as soon as possible. They also killed off other parts of the company, such as their PC division. So yeah, they're all in on PlayStation.

 

[RibMan]

It will get better yes but I still think they are squandering away its potential. Can you even get the service on the PC for example? I think it would be wise to get the Playstation brand beyond their own walls. I am not talking about PS4 games because at the end of the day it makes most sense to keep them exclusive, this is more about their old library (PS1,PS2 and PS3 games). They don't really need to be tethered to the console and I think they did offer it on some TV's.

I truly believe it's only a matter of time -- and not corporate politics -- before Sony makes it available on other platforms. It makes a lot of sense to offer the service on as many playback devices as possible.

 

[HStallion]

The point is that so much of the company revolves around one product and I just can't see that as sustainable. Then again I'm not the CEO so they can do what they want. I don't want them to fail of course as I enjoy my PS4 but I don't know just seems many are happy with them putting all their eggs in one basket. Yes I know they have other divisions doing well but nothing like what their Playstation product is doing.

They still aren't hedging their bets all in one basket as PS Vue and Now are services, they aren't tied to the PS4 or PS3, PS VUE especially is popping up on new services every couple of months. It just became available on Roku and Android and its still technically in its beta phase. They are leveraging the name PLAYSTATION to give them a family of products like Apple does with Iphones and Ipads and Iwhatevers.

 

[longdi]

Sadly,

Bravias have chose to become pretty ornaments with shitty picture. Slim edge lighting and IPS panels and self-certified HDR.

Xperias latest X series is not a joke, but an insult to past Xperia owners and potential buyers.

Sony pictures keep making shitty pictures.

Kaz out!

 

[Halabane]

Not sure historical numbers mean much. The way we consume things have and continue to change. So not sure if those trends or numbers are true indicators.

I still believe (and more people are talking about it) that Xbox will leave the consoles and go to PC only. Win 10 is the OS in the box now. Why not have Scoprio be a MS branded PC...goes to your TV or to your monitor on your desk so you can play games, watch movies or do work. Sounds like a PC to me. Anyway, Xbox as a framework could tie in nicely as a unit in their overall windows business. Just don't know if it will generate enough revenue for MS to keep it. Steam is the real threat here. No excuse for MS screwing up their store.

Nintendo is an island. They appear to marketing their IP a lot more, which will continue to pour cash into the coffers (as I sit here in my high top mario vans and socks). They are teflon for at least another decade. They will be the last guy making consoles.

Sony. The once powerful electronics giant is not making a move into software services in general (like MS has) but a very narrow part of software services. It's like they are rolling a big company on mainly one thing plus movies (which is even more of dice roll). They are late to the party on streaming. But that is their last hope. I just was at BB and saw TVs advertising the game streaming of Sony on the TV. Don't kid yourself. Those big ass consoles will be gone soon, especially since it appears the FCC will keep the net neutrality in place, for now so delivery of content could work for them. But it will be a much smaller Sony than what it has already shrunk too. By the way for those with weak internet better hope that now its a internet can be managed as a utility they will, eventually, put standards on its performance (like TV and phone).

Change is coming.

 

[DragonKnight]

its pretty much whats holding them together

Yep. People tend to forget this.

 

[NolbertoS]

I feel Sony the company has really fallen from grace that it relies on a very fickle market for long term stability. Just look at the console market over the last 30 years, nobody has ever maintained market superiority indefinitely. That Sony has lost the TV, radio and phone market is all on them for not seeing the surge in popularity of Cellphones and IPods. Funny how in the 1980's all everyone ever talked about was owning a Sony TV and Stereo, it was considered the cream of the crop in electronics and now Sony is banking on Videogames to save them. The same videogame market that made PS2 king, PS3 a failure and Slowly returned back in the PS4 era

 

[somecrazymember]

They just need better marketing for their other products. The crowd has changed. They dont want quality anymore... Just whatever is the 'coolest'

 

[Shadowheart]

 

[WetWaffle]

Yep. People tend to forget this.

But it literally isn't. It was insurance, and even then they've been profiting in every division except phones for some time now. Games are just where they see massive potential for growth

 

[DragonKnight]

But it literally isn't. It was insurance, and even then they've been profiting in every division except phones for some time now. Games are just where they see massive potential for growth

Ah. Thanks for clearing this up.

 

[N.Domixis]

Sonys success lead to my dreams becoming real. Crash returning, that activision partnership would have never happened if ms kept bungee and ps4 wasn't the market leader.

 

[TGO]

not like Sony really has a choice in the consumer electronics front. Sony doesn't have popular phones, TVs, PCs, or audio. Their camera offerings are quality but it's a competitive segment.

As someone who works with customers in photography which now includes Phones I can say very easily I wish everyone had an Xperia, iPhone users moan because their photos don't show up because they in the icloud without them knowing, they can't access Whatsapp images and the new Samsungs just don't connect to anything.

Anyway their TV's are fantastic and Xperia Z5 is a gorgeous phone.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

Not sure historical numbers mean much. The way we consume things have and continue to change. So not sure if those trends or numbers are true indicators.

I still believe (and more people are talking about it) that Xbox will leave the consoles and go to PC only. Win 10 is the OS in the box now. Why not have Scoprio be a MS branded PC...goes to your TV or to your monitor on your desk so you can play games, watch movies or do work. Sounds like a PC to me. Anyway, Xbox as a framework could tie in nicely as a unit in their overall windows business. Just don't know if it will generate enough revenue for MS to keep it. Steam is the real threat here. No excuse for MS screwing up their store.

Nintendo is an island. They appear to marketing their IP a lot more, which will continue to pour cash into the coffers (as I sit here in my high top mario vans and socks). They are teflon for at least another decade. They will be the last guy making consoles.

Sony. The once powerful electronics giant is not making a move into software services in general (like MS has) but a very narrow part of software services. It's like they are rolling a big company on mainly one thing plus movies (which is even more of dice roll). They are late to the party on streaming. But that is their last hope. I just was at BB and saw TVs advertising the game streaming of Sony on the TV. Don't kid yourself. Those big ass consoles will be gone soon, especially since it appears the FCC will keep the net neutrality in place, for now so delivery of content could work for them. But it will be a much smaller Sony than what it has already shrunk too. By the way for those with weak internet better hope that now its a internet can be managed as a utility they will, eventually, put standards on its performance (like TV and phone).

Change is coming.

I feel Sony the company has really fallen from grace that it relies on a very fickle market for long term stability. Just look at the console market over the last 30 years, nobody has ever maintained market superiority indefinitely. That Sony has lost the TV, radio and phone market is all on them for not seeing the surge in popularity of Cellphones and IPods. Funny how in the 1980's all everyone ever talked about was owning a Sony TV and Stereo, it was considered the cream of the crop in electronics and now Sony is banking on Videogames to save them. The same videogame market that made PS2 king, PS3 a failure and Slowly returned back in the PS4 era

You would think it would be Nintendo fans who would steer clear of "DOOM" talk, yet here we are.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

they stll need the box down to 200 imo

They need to really get their streaming service cheaper and better if they want to be the go to services and hit it big

 

[HStallion]

they stll need the box down to 200 imo

They need to really get their streaming service cheaper and better if they want to be the go to services and hit it big

Well seems they are still doing good saleswise at the price they're at so they won't be dropping the price till they see strategic value in it. If the rumors are true and we are getting a PS4 Slim as well as a Neo, I can them just releasing that instead of dropping the price for the time being.

 

[CosmicQueso]

they stll need the box down to 200 imo

They need to really get their streaming service cheaper and better if they want to be the go to services and hit it big

The last thing they need to do is drop hardware pricing with Neo and VR coming along with its very strong market position.

On the streaming side, The quality is getting better, and it's still early in the market adoption cycle to drop price on Now.

With a strong market lead, pricing stays elevated.

 

[mrklaw]

Is there more in the article than what sounds like 'Sony hopes ps4 will sell some VR headsets and maybe 4K TVs'? Because that doesn't sound like a core pillar of the entire Sony financial future - just a reinforcement of the PlayStation business

 

[Wollan]

I feel Sony the company has really fallen from grace that it relies on a very fickle market for long term stability. Just look at the console market over the last 30 years, nobody has ever maintained market superiority indefinitely.

Sony arguably has though for the last twenty, longer stretches then anyone previous at least. The fickle exception is the PS3 where about every single thing had to go wrong in the first three years for have them fall from grace but they ultimately recovered from it within the same generation. They have been laser focused with the PS4 and their current philosophy is very sound.

 

[~Cross~]

Eh nevermind, read thread.

 

[Alo0oy]

Buried in reams of financial data is the revelation that Nintendo have 812.8 billion Yen (£6.7/$10.5 billion) in the bank – enough for it to take a 20 billion Yen loss (£163/$257 million) every year until 2052. Then there’s almost 469 billion Yen (£3.8/$6.0 billion) held in premises, equipment and investments. When that runs out – we’re in the year 2075 by this point – they’ve got some of the most valuable intellectual property in gaming to sell off before the company goes out of business.

http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/

Obviously not invincible but if NX has the same faith as WiiU , they will try a couple of times ...

Wow, did someone actually write that? I took classes in high school that taught me this isn't how it works.

A company can theoretically lose its entire cash reserve in a given fiscal year while still posting huge profits, that article is fucking terrible.

 

[hodayathink]

The point is that so much of the company revolves around one product and I just can't see that as sustainable. Then again I'm not the CEO so they can do what they want. I don't want them to fail of course as I enjoy my PS4 but I don't know just seems many are happy with them putting all their eggs in one basket. Yes I know they have other divisions doing well but nothing like what their Playstation product is doing.

But it's doable as long as you're smart. Someone brought up Apple and the iPod earlier, and that's a perfect example, as they leveraged that into the iTunes Music Store, and then iPhone, and then everything else is/was history. Right now is Sony leveraging Playstation into PSNow, PSVue, and PSVR, and we'll have to see where that takes them from here.

 

[Az987]

Don't they own the Beatles catalog too now?

 

[entremet]

I thought their TVs were relatively popular

Nope. TVs are a low margin business and it's highly commodotized.

 

[LCGeek]

These "Nintendo could lose X dollars for X years and be fine" posts really fail to think about how business exactly works.

You could say the say the same for doom type posts which are old and played out as fuck at this point in gaming history.

Nintendo has legit problems they can fix, but money wise they aren't in trouble therefore not leaving anytime soon.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

Basically, it's all or nothing with PlayStation 4 being the focal point. I love my PS4 but at the same time, im not loyal to any brand. Whichever console gives me what I want the most for the least amount of money is what I care about. PS4 gives me an excellent controller, nice sleek small console, great exclusives, excellent third party support, PSN games and Indies. In short, the opposite of last generation.

As for TV's, I always go with Samsung with Toshiba being my backup. Never been interested in Sony TV's because of the price but mainly because the other two companies have always been number one and number two to me.

Future wise, it all remains to be seen how it all plays out. PSVR this year is fine but they should delay Neo until Fall 2017. No reason to oversaturate their own market. Just give me Horizon (2/28/2017), Days Gone and God of War IV in 2017 before Neo launches and I'll be more than satisfied.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

It's good for the industry to have two major players...I hope that doesn't change anytime soon.

Agreed but it seems many people don't recognize this. Many on GAF give off the impression at least that they would be happy if MS (and for some even Nintendo) would just leave the platform-holding business entirely. Sony's doing great but part of that is due to competition. People have their preferences but in the end it wouldn't be good for console gamers if Sony didn't have to stay on its toes. It's not like Valve's steam machines or the various Android boxes are any kind of threat so far. It's okay to hate the other team but it's also good to appreciate the benefit you get just because they are there. I think most PC gamers appreciate the fact that AMD is there, even though the majority of them would never consider buying anything but an Nvidia card at this point.

 

[Chris_Rivera]

I'd like to see them tackle a gaming-focused monitor, stripped of all the unnecessary TV features and processing latency.

24-26" small OLED gaming display with at least 120Hz native refresh and AMD FreeSync over HDMI & Displayport for under $1000.

Pfft lol. Sarcasm? Pretty specific request, that's all. As much as they charge for the pro OLED's, seems far fetched.

Who manufactures the panel in the new Dell OLED running $5,000?