http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/M5B6J5L3
By David Richards | Monday | 17/08/2009
John Breeden the Editor of Game Industry News has taken at major swipe at Sony Computer Entertainment. He claims that the struggling gaming Company is going to lose further ground up aqainst arch rivals Microsoft and Nintendo and that Sony may even quite the gaming market all together.
He predicts that Microsoft will challenge Nintendo for the top spot in new console sales and that Sony will lose more ground as they struggle to be competitive.
He also claims that the most recent sales figures show that the PS2 outsold the PS3 and that with the new Beatles game coming out, the pressure will be on some people to upgrade to the PS3 so they can play it.
Breeden claims that the PS3 till costs too much and is overpriced. He also claims that Microsoft Xbox 360 customers are still having manufacturing errors with their 360s, requiring that they ship them out and wait for repairs.
In a recent online article he said that Sony has stubbornly refused to drop the price down to reasonable levels, or even to match the 360 price. I can't see why they wouldn't do this. If a consumer like me is looking at upgrading to a new console, and one costs $100 more than the other, that is a huge hurdle, especially now with everyone tightening their belts.
(In Australia the PS3 sells for $699 compared to $399 in the USA)
He also takes a swipe at Sony's new PSP strategy which was announced at the recent E3 gaming conference. He wrote "Excuse me, but how is coming out with a new version of the PSP going to increase sales of the PS3? One is a handheld gaming platform. The other sits in your living room or den".
"Just because someone owns a DS doesn't mean they are going to pick up a Wii because they are both from Nintendo. Its two separate areas, handhelds are used on a bus or a train, while consoles are played in the living room. I realize that Sony is trying to say that the new PSP is tied into the PS3 because you can download games on your PS3 using the network and then put them on your PSP. But so what? That means I would need to buy both the PSP and the overpriced PS3 to play games. They've added costs instead of reducing them".
He added "The bottom line for me is that I've changed my mind about getting a PS3. To me, it seems like the 360 is a much more advanced console now, with plenty of cool games like The Beatles one that I want to play. And it costs less than the PS3. This is exactly the opposite of what I thought would happen".
"Sony may still be considering a price drop, but they likely want to rack up as many full price sales (from people who will feel really cheated afterward) as possible before that happens. So they end up being like the dog in the fable with a bone in his mouth that sees his own reflection in a lake, and tries to grab the phantom bone down in the water. The dog loses both bones and ends up with exactly the same thing Sony is getting from me – nothing.
He concludes "If the market follows suit, which I suspect it will given the state of things, we may be witnessing one of the greatest falls in the console market: Sony going from the undisputed champion of the world, to a distant also-ran beaten by even their own older technology. Who knows, perhaps they can start developing games alongside of Sega".
