Just How Did Sony Topple It's Console Empire with PS3?

[radioioRobert]

Comrade Tovya said:
Sony is getting kicked around for a few reasons in my opinion:

A) Complicated cell processor

The added cost of the cell added to the complicated programing required to utilize it meant that developers are not taking advantage of its power. Therefore, it's wasted power that adds an additional cost to the console.

B) Inferior online network

The PSN lacks the ease, features, usability, and aesthetic appeal of that XBOX LIVE incorporates. Add that to the fact that it was launched years after LIVE (therefore, smaller loyal community) and the continued push-back of HOME upgrade. It's a free service that can't beat a $50+ a year pay service.

C) Blu-ray

Sony's strategy in winning the console war was directly tied to winning the high-def format war. With the success of the Wii and 360, this generation has already proven that people don't think a high-def player in their console is a priority. the average gamer buys their console to play games first, and anything else second.

On top of this, 3rd party developers are not taking advantage of the Blu-ray disc space. Especially considering a large portion of them are dual-releases for the 360 & PS3. If they are making a game <8.5gb for the 360, with the smaller attach rate and ownership of the PS3, they have little incentive to re-work the game and make it larger/better to take advantage of the BD.

Hence, the significant addition of cost that the BD drive adds is yet another feature that Sony included that was also a feature that painted them into a corner.

D) The PS2

The unprecedented success of the PS2, and the fact that it continues to sell well to this day has eaten into the potential of PS3 sales. Considering there have been so many games that were released on both the PS2 and PS3, people just saw it more cost effective to buy the game for the PS2 they already had rather than rush out and buy a PS3 to play the same game with upgraded audio/visual.

E) Miserable marketing

Sony's marketing has been questionable at best. They seemed to have pushed so hard that the PS3 is a BD player, that they had nothing left in the tank to push the console as a gaming machine.

Yet MS & Nintendo have really done the opposite. They have spent tons of money on marketing their consoles. For instance, Wii and their kiosks where you could test the Wii hands-on (I've seen these all over the country in malls when I travel).

My only assumption is that they assumed the loyal PS2 fanbase would all naturally upgrade to the PS3, which thus far has not happened on a mass scale.

I agree except for the PS2. I think B/C has been ready via emulation for quite some time, and that Sony has been depending on the PS2 to keep the game division afloat until costs to make the PS3 drop low enough for it to break even or turn a profit. IMHO B/C will return via a firmware upgrade after the funeral of the PS2. Then Sony thinks those people who are still buying PS2's (and until very recently there were more of them than the ones buying PS3's) will be ready to move to the PS3. This might work, but a $200 360 might interfere with that strategy. And if sony goes $299 the 360 and Wii might finish them with another price drop.

Sony is in a BAD place.