By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
dbot on 13 March 2009
Edit Thread

@Numenex:  I actually thought that this was an unsourced article written by someone else.  I guess I will say good job.  I don't completely agree with your post, but some of the points are excellent. 

I don't think Sony took the customer for granted with the PS3, I think they tried to provide too much value and thought the customer had a higher tolerance to pay it.  I really hope that Sony is documenting their lessens learned from the PS3 and don't make the same mistakes next generation.  Obviously, they need to value engineer the PS4 to maximize value and minimize cost.  The PS4 needs to be based on the same cpu/gpu.  Don't switch, third parties will have "mastered" it by the time the time the PS4 is released.  They may not love it, but at least they will know how to make love with it.  Plus they would have free 100% backwards compatibility.

I think your points are fair regarding Sony's mistakes, but there are some positives.

  • The PS3 is a high definition system.  The transition from standard def. to high def. costs money, your first and second party developers need to come up to speed and it adds substantial cost to your base sku.  It will be interesting to see how Nintendo makes the transition next gen.
  • Free online gaming.  This is a huge competitive advantage.  I wish they would stamp this on every PS3 box.  It's not that it's just free, but they have built this business model on not charging for this service.  If Microsoft converted Xbox Live to a free service, they would have to rethink their model.  Sony is already postitioned to gain revenue off of PSN.
  • Blu-ray.  Let's face it, it isn't going anywhere.  It is the High Definition standard for the future.  You can try to convince yourself that a standard definition dvd is good enough, but it isn't.
  • First party development.  Sony realized they could invest all of their money in buying exclusivity, or invest in developing their own exclusives.  They are now in a position to get all of the multiplatform games, while publishing terrific in-house titles.  

So I guess you could say it isn't all bad for Sony.



Thanks for the input, Jeff.