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Reuters: Sony credit downgraded to "BBB+"; Outlook Negative
- Thread starter Oblivion
- Start date
PSP was not dead on arrival in America, just saying.
Yeah, things ended up going swimmingly for the US automotive industry. That's definitely the model that Japan wants to follow.
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
Advertising is one of those things you need when releasing a product that has this much riding on it.
Mailenstein
Member
Not in the US, but pretty much in Europe I guess. It's a shame there was never that level of support like in Japan. It's a great system with a great library. Then again, wrong people making wrong decision.
Very true. So it seems SCEA wants the Vita to do worse than the PSP.
As much as Sony claimed they've learned from the mistakes of the PSP and that they're focusing on the Vita, you'd think they'll try harder than using Taco Bell to build pre-release hype.
being in Europe myself, I think the PSP had its share of hype and success here, at least in its first 2 or 3 years in the market.
Advertising was there, you knew it was coming, it had support from 1st and 3rd parties and it had major IP developed (sometimes timed) exclusively for it.
If sony continues this path, Sony is aiming for a new low with Vita.
It's 100% more than the UK has got so far.
It's not just a case of people here not knowing when it comes out, I'm sure quite a lot of people don't even know Vita exists!
3DS had a very weak launch line-up, but the marketing and awareness was there. I'm not sure what Sony are trying to do here, this is a difficult time to launch anything and the price-point isn't good. 3DS tailed off very quickly, Vita could be stillborn.
And by having such a large launch line-up if they don't shift the hardware software sales for most titles are going to be abysmal.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
You mean it was undead?
maverick40
Junior Member
Sony needs to get rid of the tv division. It is bleeding money at this stage. Also the yen needs to be lowered too.
No. This is not Edge. This is the equivalent of an IGN 8/10.
Mailenstein
Member
You are basically not wrong, but from my experience in Germany, I felt like they don't really even want to try to expand the library. People pretty much bought it to flash it right after.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
I think we're going to see some consolidation in the CE market over the next few years. I would say a merger between Sony and Toshiba would work quite well. It would also have the support of the Japanese government who want all of their CE companies to get back to health and compete with Samsung.
I think consolidation with some kind of monetary expansion from the BoJ to help with strong Yen would be a good short term fix for all CE companies. If the BoJ created 50tn JPY and bought up Won, Euros and Dollars on the open market it would weaken the Yen and strengthen the competing currencies by enough to make a difference, push the dollar to around 85, Euro to around 110 and strengthen the Won as well.
The Fed, BoE and ECB have all had some kind of QE (whether overtly like the Fed and BoE or through the back door with the LTRO like the ECB) than none of the world's major currencies reflect their true market valuation, the Yen is overly strong because the other nations have created $2tn new USD, £300bn (probably £400bn by the end of the week) new GBP and 1tn new EUR. Without fighting fire with fire Japanese companies will pay the price of having a strong currency.
Monetary activism is the new game and the Japanese government need to give some relief to their exporters or watch them all go bankrupt in the next few years.
I think consolidation with some kind of monetary expansion from the BoJ to help with strong Yen would be a good short term fix for all CE companies. If the BoJ created 50tn JPY and bought up Won, Euros and Dollars on the open market it would weaken the Yen and strengthen the competing currencies by enough to make a difference, push the dollar to around 85, Euro to around 110 and strengthen the Won as well.
The Fed, BoE and ECB have all had some kind of QE (whether overtly like the Fed and BoE or through the back door with the LTRO like the ECB) than none of the world's major currencies reflect their true market valuation, the Yen is overly strong because the other nations have created $2tn new USD, £300bn (probably £400bn by the end of the week) new GBP and 1tn new EUR. Without fighting fire with fire Japanese companies will pay the price of having a strong currency.
Monetary activism is the new game and the Japanese government need to give some relief to their exporters or watch them all go bankrupt in the next few years.
There's too much riding on it not to.
A low-key launch while 3DS is riding high could seal its fate long before we get to the end of the year and higher sales. Vita needs to at least get its foot in the door, to secure ongoing development if nothing else.
Off the back of Japan the last thing you want is more vultures circling it. Vita was always going to be a tricky product to place in the market, but everything Sony has done is making it harder. Whether their hand was forced or not to launch in Japan first with this line-up it hasn't helped at all, and now they risk compounding the problem by a low-key Western launch at the wrong time of the year and with no marketing.
Shhiieeeet
yeah, my impressions are also Germany based and they definitely stopped trying but they at least tried at some point with loco roco, the GTA games, the exclusive Square Enix stuff. Capcom also supported it, Konami brought exclusive MGSs. It faired quite well, for some time.
Vita ia launching with no E3, TGS, or anykind of pre-release software hype going for it.
They can't afford *not* to advertise it.
Sidewinder
Member
Of course they will, this will be their swan-song, everybody will remember the PS4 50 years down the road, when Sony just flipped the bird to their shareholders and their creditors!!
Japan knows how to go down in style
Edit: oh and this is even more reason not to cancel your Vita pre-orders, we got to help them out somehow!!11
Gotta climb into your fridge to win.
That would be seriously stretching it. Companies have technological roadmaps which don't undergo knee-jerk modifications in reaction to debt ratings changes. Even the market would have suspected and factored in this ratings change already - speaking as somebody who works in the investment industry
Not really. Even if the Vita dies, it wont affect a PS4. At least it shouldnt.
The reality is that the Vita is targeted towards a smaller core demographic.. Its not intended to compete with the 3DS or the casual market, ipads, iphones ect. Thus the more expensive price point, and a launch library led by Uncharted. Its sales will be smaller but thats what Sony wants i guess? The hard core gamer knows the vita exists already, and theres no reason to essentially waste money they dont really have trying to advertise the vita towards a market that wont buy it.
They have their biggest marketing effort ever (apparently) lined up. Just a matter of "when is it going to start"
http://gamingbolt.com/sceuk-preparing-the-biggest-ever-advertising-campaign-for-vita-launch
http://www.shoptonews.net/2012/01/09/ps-vita-to-get-biggest-scee-ad-campaign-ever-executed/
Why would we think that?
UK: Sony has 'biggest campaign ever' ready for Vita launch
For the US, Sony has said that they're timing their ad campaign to arrive from launch, not earlier.
Not even sure what the significance of the news in the OP is? Is there much of any material impact on Sony's liquidity for now? Was there in the last recent downgrade?
Just maybe seems like fodder for eager doom mongerers who don't really understand what it means. I dare say I'm not an expert on these matters either, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that connecting this to 'a lack of Vita advertising' or other such 'Sony can't afford xyz' is a bit of a stretch, if not a little laughable. Sony doesn't have a liquidity problem, the s&p note itself mentions that as one reason the cut wasn't larger.
I still don't get how Japan manage to lost their CE leadership.
Is there sufficient demand for that (hypothetical) technological roadmap, though?
BruiserBear
Banned
Not even close.
iceatcs
Junior Member
I bet they don't want to boom yet.
When there is a good profit finally break through then start massive market campaign. Just like PS3.
I wouldn't know since i'm not an executive at Sony and therefore not privy to such details
MikeE21286
Member
Guess at least they didn't mention the gaming side of the business...
It needs to do well enough to justify development of games with higher development costs, it is incredibly risky to gamble on the hardcore who are informed and will buy it no matter what. It's not just low-key over here at the moment, it's non-existent. You need awareness to sell things, and to inspire confidence in a platform. Otherwise people will adopt a wait and see approach.
The size of the launch line-up as well will also work against it if they don't move the hardware. Sales of most titles will be abysmal if they don't, and a lot of stuff left sitting on shelves at a time when retailers aren't happy anyway.
It's not a good cocktail at all, and it's like they are just pushing it out the door not happy they missed the Christmas launch it was obviously intended to have. That could make for a very painful first year, and harder to secure the things that could turn it around in the longer-term.
Phonomezer
Banned
A Samsung console would be interesting.
Metallix87
Member
All eyes are on Kaz, now, to rectify this mess.
It's still no good, whichever way you slice it. They were already bleeding money, and now they have to pay more to service their debts.
What does Panasonic do well these days? There was time when every electronic gadget in my house had name Panasonic on it but these days not so much. I know they have mean Plasma TVs but seems like the plasma market is rather dead when compared to other types of TVs. I know Panasonic has it's hands in many places besides consumer electronics but I have no idea how well they are doing in those other fields.
edit. seems like Panasonic did well in 2011.
Start making better smart phones like Samsung did.
Haunted
Member
That seems bad. Is that bad?
Someone who knows what he's talking about tell me what Standard & Poor lowering Sony's long-term credit rating actually means.
Someone who knows what he's talking about tell me what Standard & Poor lowering Sony's long-term credit rating actually means.