Who here thinks ps3 is Sonys' last videogame console?

[FinalEvangelion]

Akvod said:

Smashchu2 said:

Mummelmann said:
Who here thinks the OP only makes these kind of threads and wants them to be true?

Many people have been underminding the demise of the brand.

The Playstation brand is at it's last legs. Remember that Sony is not a game company. They can easily move away from this, or make it a niche (where it is irrelivent to the company, but still kept on). This system has yet to make a profit and the cycle is about over. People are proclaiming bad sales as good becuase they are slightly less crappy then last week's sales.

The system is in last place and losing money. It is eating the profits of the former systems. The company went under a massive restructuring (this means things are bad people). The global economy is in a recession which means it will be harder to opperate (meaning that you can't carry dead weight). Nintendo has disrupted the industry (meaning Sony and Microsoft are done anyway). Microsoft's goal is to stop Sony, perhaps even go as far as to kill the brand. They have shown tht they will take the lose to do just that. Sony wants their system to be profitable (meaning they are fighting a foe who does not eat, sleep or breath, but they have to).

The last paragraph is reasons why Sony will kill the brand (or it will die). The only thing that makes the systems still relevent is that third parties do not want to support the Wii. Japanese third parties are slowly moving to Nintendo';s system. I doubt the new systems will have any steam to keep going (the Wii will long surpass both systems. The 10 year play is more of an attribute of the Wii).

There isn't much reason they will keep the brand. There are fewer reasons why it wont all fall apart soon anyway.

If every company gave up when one of their brands (especially a long established one) weren't doing as good as it used to, then why are have the Big 3 been in business for decades, why did MS stay with Xbox, etc? The strongest argument you have is that the recession may make the executives think for the short term. However for the long term, think of what pulling out now will do. They will lose a place in a industry that could make potentially make them a huge ammount of money in the future, which they did for 2 out of 3 generations. Getting back into the industry would force them to lose a huge ammount of money like MS did, and it will be strange to use the PS brand again. The PS isn't as strong as it used to be, but it's strength clearly still shows with it's sales despite it's huge price tag.

You say that the PS brand is on it's last legs, but it's only losing by 10 millionish to the 360, in comparison to how badly the PS2 beat the Xbox brand. People still know about the brand, and that's the most important thing, as you need their attention in order to convince them later (next gen). Sony is trying to make a profit, by not cutting the price of the PS3, but by bolstering it's software development, and I believe, while it won't give it as huge of a bump as a price cut would have done, they will still bump up some hardware along with making money back from the very same software they just sold to push the hardware.

Do I think that the PS3 will beat the 360 this gen? Not really, no. But do I think that the PS3 would be absolutely crushed and it's brand image tarnished? No. If anything, it got an image of being too expensive, elitist perhaps, but at the same time that it's a reliable piece of hardware with top of the notch graphics (if Sony continues to invest in it's 1st party as it is now).

If they cary that image over to the next gen, a strong lineup of games provided by it's 1'st party developers, a improved online infrastructure, a similar but improved version of the PS3 (cell), and a cheaper price, then they could give a good run for the other competition.

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To sum up that wall of text:

There's a double standard going on. Microsoft lost money with the Xbox, and in the initial years of the 360, but hanged in there with hopes that their investment will let them penetrate a market, and make money later. (Side note: For those that argue that MS only wants to sabotage Sony. I'm sure even if that was the case, MS has realized that they can make money. Unless you don't believe MS is making some profit through the 360) Sony is losing money now. Why can't they hang on this generation, and go to the next generation with the hope to make money? The strongest argument against this is that the recession and the overall state of the company will make them consider the option. However the industry has proven to Sony to be a huge source of profit in the past. Why will they lose their foothold in that industry, and throw away a brand that has been established for 3 generations, and clearly still has strength and recognition?

Sony can still make a new console, because they could still use their current technology, but only beef it up, just exactly like MS did with the 360.

Sony is clearly investing in the long term, as they are bolstering their first party line up, staying competitive, and adding new features to the online aspect. If Sony were to pull out of the industry, it would have to be very sudden and in the future, as they clearly don't look like giving up now.

 

 

Excellent Post.  That sums things up really well.