An interesting article about the Playstation brand. The author is talking about the past and current time.

"When PlayStation launched the PS1 console in 1994, it was jumping into a game dominated by Nintendo and Sega. A challenger on the scene, the company broke through with the marketing line “U R Not E” (with the E in red to denote “You Are Not Ready”). The provocation might have been directed at consumers, but it was the competition that was blown out of the water by Sony’s superior gaming system. When all was said in done, PS1 sold 120 million units--besting then-market-leader Nintendo by a wide margin, which sold about 34 million of its Nintendo 64."

http://www.fastcocreate.com/3028179/how-playstations-focus-on-gamers-helped-ps4-reach-1

I very much agree. A console should be about gaming, and should focus 99% of its resources on that. Sony saw this after the PS3, and its resulted in success for them. I can buy a Roku for my multimedia needs.

Yea I have an HTPC I built with XBMC and it was only $165. I have over 650+ HD movies. The X1 would be nothing but a step down for me.

Yes Sony learned a lot from their PS3 experience and deserve the success they have been having with the PS4. It's important they keep their fan friendly attitude though even if they are winning the console war.

120 million PS1? Where does that number come from?

What I was wondering as well, roughly 10 million more than I thought it sold.

I think he meant 102 million

I think many companies think they need to get into other parts of media and branch out yet if they focus on one aspect, the reason the device is being bought, then they will succeed. PS3 and PS4 are good examples of both of the above.

Before the 7th Gen, online gaming and social media were not important, non-existant beyond PC and Halo (just Halo) aspects. PS3 and Sony went to try and dominate the movie buying industry by putting blu-ray into all units, bumping up the price. This price difference to many was not worth it, not when at the time a lot of games could still be stored on one high capacity DVD. While their choice meant their format would succeed, it cost them the market and huge amounts of profit made from the previous generations.

Now with PS4 they don't need to introduce a new format, the new format (digital distribution) came into effect during the 7th gen, so their push for a new distribution format like the last generation wasn't a concern, they could focus on the thing that made the Playstation successful to begin with, priority on gaming (with a few modern updates like social sharing and community), which back during PS1 and PS2 was the only concern.

On the other hand, MS this gen are doing the same thing I think PS3 had issues with, their focus isn't the game, it's their Live service/cloud/TV features, to get their product in the living room and while sales early on will be high (like PS3s were) I think in a year they might slow once people start to really start to see which console is worth it. (Wii U is failing because the fad of the motion controls is gone and it's called Wii U).

Or maybe I'm talking bullcrap...

“Over the last two years we’ve been laser focused on what’s right for gamers in terms of the product solution, our policies and procedures, and our communications.”

I don't think it can be argued that Playstation's direction at the launch of the PS4 has been more effective than those of their competitors. They went hard and fast after the gamer demographic and it paid off. Microsoft made the mistake of taking their core audience for granted while they tried to expand their market appeal and it bit them. That's actually a shame, as I truly believe that Microsoft will have much more gaming content this gen than last. For me, the 360 was easy to skip but the XO's exclusive line-up appears to be much more robust.

I said a few years ago that I hoped at least one of the new consoles would focus on traditional gaming and that (selfishly) I hoped it would be Playstation. I'm pleased that it's turned out that way.

I'm glad that the PS4 is beasting. Not only because I prefer the Playstation, but I also hope this will also give Sony a lot of profit in the long term (in 2/3 years). This is what Sony deserve. Being a healthy company without financial worries.