dr. apocalipsis
Banned
Brand and affordable price tag.
Nothing else. Playstation 3 would have been the same at 450 bucks.
Nothing else. Playstation 3 would have been the same at 450 bucks.
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What is making the PS4 a massive success?
- Thread starter CurseoftheGods
- Start date
Yep. Nintendo and Microsoft basically started with additional features, Gamepad and Kinect. While MS and Nintendo were busy selling those features, without software to back it up, Sony only had to say stronger console + games. Nothing against Gamepad and Kinect, but you don't start a console generation with that. You start selling it when the install base is there, price is lowered and enough software is available. They killed momentum.
Stone Ocean
Member
The Xbone reveal was terribad, Sony banked on that big time and gave the console a lot of word of mouth. That coupled with people wanting new things, the lower price at launch, mostly better versions of the big name multiplats and Microsoft fucking up specially when it comes to Europe makes the console sell like hot cakes, and the tendency is to snowball from there since the PS4 on top means more exclusives and yadda yadda.
mejin
Member
If they said: "Of course not. We absolutely knew PS4 would sell like this. We worked hard to make the best gaming experience out there."
You guys would all "Arrogant Sony is back".
Playstation 4 has never been sold out for a long period after launch. They surely were well prepared. They just are doing great PR all this time.
Of course is not just about Sony being competent but competition doing bad too.
You guys would all "Arrogant Sony is back".
Playstation 4 has never been sold out for a long period after launch. They surely were well prepared. They just are doing great PR all this time.
Of course is not just about Sony being competent but competition doing bad too.
True, it's a lot but still half of what the DS sold. If it was all about the brand, PSP would be on top (it had some very great game and feautures!) but DS was just on another level with its offer in terms of quality, quantity, diversity. It's the only portable console I've ever enjoyed lol and I'm definitely more a PlayStation player than a Nintendo player.
In my opinion the brand is a factor but it isn't enough to do what PS3 did, from the ashes to "glory". Crazy price, a year late, all the big exclusives but MGS4 were lost, they were decades behind when it comes to online play, bad ports, disasters like TLG or FFXV etc. , remember? They even had Wii taking some of the players from PS2 (Singstar, Buzz, some EyeToy trash kind of player).
They worked their ass off with WWS, first party games like GT5, Uncharted 2 and God of War 3, exclusive games like MGS4 or second party games like Heavy Rain, technical achievements like Killzone 2, new IPs, free PSN, a slow and painful improvement of their OS and so on.
PlayStation was a brand of success, something you could trust on and damn they managed to fuck everything up in such a small amount of time, to me that was another proof that a brand, no matter how strong, can not live forever doing nothing but sitting on its money.
With PS4 they took nothing for granted, they did heavy marketing and some very wise choices, Microsoft helped of course.
Sony's ability to sandbag the entire world, even their own studios, on the amount of RAM the machine was going to have, and then reveal it to be twice that number was one of those moments where the early adopter / hardcore owners really took notice to.
It also helped to have the comfortably more powerful machine, at the lower price (for awhile, until MS decided to take aggressive / panic level action on price)
It also helped to have the comfortably more powerful machine, at the lower price (for awhile, until MS decided to take aggressive / panic level action on price)
Think about what made most systems such a success. Like the PS1, PS2, 360, and DS.
PS1. Sega and Nintendo knocked themselves out. Stupid decisions.
PS2. Xbox and Cube came out too late. 18 and about 15 months after the PS2. So by the time they launch... They have FFX, MGS, GTA, GT, DMC, AC, and more.
360. Wii U went after a different market and it took Sony almost an entire gen to recover.
With PS4. They still have the weakest line up and currently highest price. Why? Because they made a gaming machine that people wanted. Not one they thought they people wanted. So why Nintendo calls the Wii-U a failure and MS is still picking up the pieces of their launch. Sony can just keep cruising.
Most of the trends for a gen are decided very early on. I'm not saying there aren't other factors. But its normally other companies shooting themselves in the ass.
PS1. Sega and Nintendo knocked themselves out. Stupid decisions.
PS2. Xbox and Cube came out too late. 18 and about 15 months after the PS2. So by the time they launch... They have FFX, MGS, GTA, GT, DMC, AC, and more.
360. Wii U went after a different market and it took Sony almost an entire gen to recover.
With PS4. They still have the weakest line up and currently highest price. Why? Because they made a gaming machine that people wanted. Not one they thought they people wanted. So why Nintendo calls the Wii-U a failure and MS is still picking up the pieces of their launch. Sony can just keep cruising.
Most of the trends for a gen are decided very early on. I'm not saying there aren't other factors. But its normally other companies shooting themselves in the ass.
Slangblade
Member
No Kinect.
Look at it from the perspective of someone who just wants to play 3rd party games.
For a long time:
Wii U - Doesn't Have them.
Xbox One - Has Them
PC - Has Them
PS4 - Has Them
Okay Cool. Now which ones will run them well but also not cost a lot?
It's gotta be PS4. It's a powerful device for it's price point, no-brainer to set up and use. No muss no fuss, and has everything you need to get going. Sure there are $400 PCs out there that might be able to do just as much, but you have to go through some steps to get to that point and even then on the off chance you might want random exclusive PlayStation game, PS4 covers you there too.
And seriously though, don't underestimate people wanting to play games with their friends on the same system.
Now, that might not be good enough for YOU to want the machine, because maybe you already have a gaming PC and a Wii U so none of these games are unavailable to you anyway. But look at it from the perspective of some random broke kid that just wants to play FIFA, Assassin's Creed, and Call of Duty. They don't want to put any effort into assembling a PC, or learning mouse and keyboard, or convincing their friends to get one too.
TLDR - Has 3rd party stuff. Cheapest or tied for cheapest. Trivial to setup and use. Console familiarity. Peer Pressure.
For a long time:
Wii U - Doesn't Have them.
Xbox One - Has Them
PC - Has Them
PS4 - Has Them
Okay Cool. Now which ones will run them well but also not cost a lot?
It's gotta be PS4. It's a powerful device for it's price point, no-brainer to set up and use. No muss no fuss, and has everything you need to get going. Sure there are $400 PCs out there that might be able to do just as much, but you have to go through some steps to get to that point and even then on the off chance you might want random exclusive PlayStation game, PS4 covers you there too.
And seriously though, don't underestimate people wanting to play games with their friends on the same system.
Now, that might not be good enough for YOU to want the machine, because maybe you already have a gaming PC and a Wii U so none of these games are unavailable to you anyway. But look at it from the perspective of some random broke kid that just wants to play FIFA, Assassin's Creed, and Call of Duty. They don't want to put any effort into assembling a PC, or learning mouse and keyboard, or convincing their friends to get one too.
TLDR - Has 3rd party stuff. Cheapest or tied for cheapest. Trivial to setup and use. Console familiarity. Peer Pressure.
AstroNut325
Member
Simple, elegant messaging. Relatively strong hardware. Initial lower price point. And trust:
Zantetsuken
Member
I went from a 360 to a PS4. But I was set on getting an Xbox One. There was so much conflicting information that I switched over. I can't remember much about it, but I think it was about having to connect to the Internet every day and the Kinect always having to be on. It didn't turn out to be true I don't think, but by that time my mind was made up.
Cthulhu_Steev
Member
ninjablade
Banned
PlayStation is the biggest brand in gaming world wide, even with all the huge mistakes they made with the ps3 in terms of pricing, cost of console, not developer friendly, they still managed to sell over 90 million consoles, and that's with Microsoft doing everything right with the 360 and Nintendo catching lighting in a bottle with the wii, anybody who knows the market can easily see ps4 was destined to be a huge success.
Fox Mulder
Member
Everything can reset with a new generation and momentum just swung back to Sony. They capitalized and benefitted from some of the same mistakes MS benefitted from last generation.
-MD-
Member
360's games dried up around 2010 and PS3 kept pumping them out, it was mostly the promise of games in the future that sold me a PS4, knowing we'd probably get a TLOU 2 etc. As far as games go right now there's nothing there (for me), I've yet to turn my console on.
So a mix of being the most powerful/affordable console, the promise of good games, Microsoft handing Sony the generation by being inept and marketing/word of mouth. Combination of things.
So a mix of being the most powerful/affordable console, the promise of good games, Microsoft handing Sony the generation by being inept and marketing/word of mouth. Combination of things.
Zombie James
Banned
Games, hardware...
Simple, elegant messaging. Relatively strong hardware. Initial lower price point. And trust:
This is interesting. Kinect shoulda have been more of a system seller for XBO. I know I keep looking for ones with Kinect before I take the plunge.
Seems like ....I know some have said this already.....both companies carried over their late last gen focus. Seems like Sony guessed right.
I wonder if MS would have just kept quiet about all the policies they eventually reversed, kept Kinect as the main focus would sales be better?
Yea no clear idea about what the XBO was gonna do hurt....alot.... especially when that confusion was spread by word of mouth.
Stone Ocean
Member
The PS4 sold in a year what the PS3 took two years to sell
I don't expect PS2 numbers but 80 million-ish should be easy
jimbobsmells
Member
Brand was the number 1 reason why people are buying XB1 in the US apparently.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ing-ps4-purchases-is-better-resolution-survey
Always-honest
Banned
It's a great console. But the games untill now haven't really blown everyone away. That is slowly starting though.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
It's a great system, that delivers all the big name games, at a great price, from a company consumers have trusted for two decades.
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
In a race where the other two competitors fall over, the one that continues to run wins.
The Wii U had a messaging problem and didn't satisfy the gamers that wanted more power. Microsoft annoyed a load of people with their original Xbox One ideas and that generates bad PR that continues to this day. I heard someone in a shop last week saying they wouldn't buy one because of the always online requirement. This stuff tends to stick.
The Wii U had a messaging problem and didn't satisfy the gamers that wanted more power. Microsoft annoyed a load of people with their original Xbox One ideas and that generates bad PR that continues to this day. I heard someone in a shop last week saying they wouldn't buy one because of the always online requirement. This stuff tends to stick.
Yea...even with some ppl showing its tracking very close to Wii sale levels I dont see why any would think otherwise.
I can see it hitting 80 million easy. Unless the next gen starts early.
After reading thru this thread, seeing more post like this and others....how can anyone wonder why the PS4 is a massive success? Both MS and Nintendo had no idea how to get their console vision out there clearly. Many to this day...still.....think the Wii U is an add on to the Wii, think the Wii U is just the pad...
Sometimes....less is more... Wii sales should tell us this.
Value proposition and games. It released at a pretty affordable price point, with better hardware performance comparative to the competition, in a smaller, sleeker package no less. Plus it had better versions of the biggest games (multiplatform), that early adopters, which I'd imagine compromised of mostly core gamers, were more likely to be informed or educated about compared to generally less imformed casuals. The latter being more likely to buy what is simply in, popular, or has the buzz, or what their friends are all buying, usually at a more affordable impulse price point than early adopters are willing to pay.
I think it likely also helped that it was a more conventional console, with a more traditional, faster, more user friendly UI, without the added quirky Kinect centric appeal of its biggest competitor. It may have been perceived as a more pure gaming focused machine from the very offset, which carried transitioning through word of mouth.
Playstation Plus I'm sure helps add to value proposition perception for many would be buyers too, especially when half of all PS4 owners supposedly have it.
I think it likely also helped that it was a more conventional console, with a more traditional, faster, more user friendly UI, without the added quirky Kinect centric appeal of its biggest competitor. It may have been perceived as a more pure gaming focused machine from the very offset, which carried transitioning through word of mouth.
Playstation Plus I'm sure helps add to value proposition perception for many would be buyers too, especially when half of all PS4 owners supposedly have it.
Dangoesforth
Member
Sony built up a very good public reputation following the PSN outage, of some of the best 1st party titles (Nintendo still holds crown for me). That matters to people, and Microsoft effectively read the market wrong and in turn made Sony the good guys.
Fox Mulder
Member
The 360 Kinect was a borderline broken product sold on lies. It was only good for dancing or minigames.
It dragged down the xb1 with added cost and a less powerful console.
CitizenCope
Member
First reply and done.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Even if you told them what a WiiU was its not like they would care.
Its all about the game library. Does it have the audiences' favourite franchises? Thats why its important getting all the third party support you can and PS4 is evidently on top of the competition on that front.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
all the good work sony has been doing since 2010ish, they showed big support for the PS3 so at least on the long run i guess people knew what they were getting into
however after their reveal and everything about the PS4 was known, people knew that they had to get it
/out of my ASSumptions
however after their reveal and everything about the PS4 was known, people knew that they had to get it
/out of my ASSumptions
Zombie James
Banned
SicSemperTyrannis
Member
Dingdingding!
I think the most important cog in their machine of success has been Microsoft tripping over themselves nearly every step of the way until Matrick was ousted and the Kinect was finally removed as a default bundled accessory. This generation was Microsofts to lose and they have proven that they are just as capable of making the same kinds of horrible decisions that Sony made last generation leading into the PS3. I think that it will take some serious price war strategy and HUGE game gets for Microsoft to have a hope of taking the US and UK back from Sony at this point. Our latest sell through from Sony is 20.8M(?) worldwide and Microsoft has stayed hush hush since around 10M sold to retailers worldwide. We won't hear another concrete number until they are near a dead heat worldwide or until Microsoft takes back a single territory, and even then they'll only be giving the numbers for the territory they took the lead in.
But the moral of the story is: both systems are outperforming their last generation counterparts by quite a margin and they should both be happy with their performance. It is just that Sony is doing that much better that Microsoft at the moment. We aren't in danger of a PS2/Xbox/GameCube scenario of library division (at least between X1 and PS4) unless indies are taken into account. Microsoft has got to rethink that parity clause and start aggressively going after indie projects the way Sony has. Charla isn't doing the same type of work that Giocorsi is and it shows at every conference when they show 10 or 20 indies in a sizzle reel and Sony shows double that.
Bottom line, Sony made the right decisions leading into and continuing into this generation while Microsoft fumbled and tripped over everything they did right last generation.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
holy shit, i thought this was a forum schtick but seeing "reputable" sites doing it... god damn son
Maneauleau
Member
Xbox One message was horrible and the console was more expensive and less powerful. Also Sony = more Japanese exclusives or at least promises of more Japanese exclusives. Also cross play / cross save between 2 or 3 consoles is nice plus Vita remote play.
ProfessorMoran
Member
It's the best console on the market, so people bought it.
Get out of here with those facts. Or be ready for responses that disregard a whole catalogue of different types of games because of 'reasons'.
Wut!? PS4 reached a quarter of what the PS3 achieved in total in an eighth of the time at a $400 price point, I'll be amazed if they don't blow past that.
That site just compares the PS4 and the XB1, as if you had to buy one the moment they're out. Why does it list PS3 and even PC multiplats as PS4 exclusive? Pure quantity over quality on that list. All it does is reinforce my point.
-PS3 momentum at the tail end of last gen
-an old, respected brand that most gamers, casual or core, have history with.
-a games first philosophy that pervades its ecosystem.
-terrible decision making by its competitors
-best hardware
-best value for the price, especially at the start of the gen.
-the most eclectic games catalog, which helps drive global appeal.
-an old, respected brand that most gamers, casual or core, have history with.
-a games first philosophy that pervades its ecosystem.
-terrible decision making by its competitors
-best hardware
-best value for the price, especially at the start of the gen.
-the most eclectic games catalog, which helps drive global appeal.
Price to Performance Ratio - It sells video cards and it sells consoles. Out of the gate PS3 had this in spades, cheaper and more powerful. MS is learning the lesson, you have to heavily subsidize to be on top.
Games - I am not talking about that single breakthrough title. I dont know why (Parity Clause?) but there are twice as many games in the PS store vs Xbox One. It shows who is dominate with developers.
Games - I am not talking about that single breakthrough title. I dont know why (Parity Clause?) but there are twice as many games in the PS store vs Xbox One. It shows who is dominate with developers.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Maybe you should read the nomenclature first.
Ingueferroque
Banned
Nothing else? Ok
And the 'even sony doesnt know why' line is referenced way too much every time this thread is created.