By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
superchunk on 12 January 2010
Edit Thread
totalcluedo said:
superchunk said:
Lastgengamer said:
It would keep with the tradition of PlayStation systems always releasing with new disk formats.

Let's put that into perspective.

PS1 came out when CD's were already dominant and games on PCs were already releasing on CDRoms. No real risk here.

PS2 came out when DVDs were already becoming the obvious choice and the PS2 was far cheaper than other DVD players.

Both of these systems were massive success as well since they came out before their rivals (I don't really count Dreamcast, it was already dying due to lack of support from devs) and they took advantage of the already existing format.

PS3 came out to push Bluray and nearly sank Sony because of that as well as forced the mighty Playstation brand to price itself out of market dominance. Had the PS3 came out at 1/2 the price that it launched Sony would have dominated 360 and probably be tied with Wii. (Wii's distinction would still have allowed it to sell very well.)

Sony is not stupid, granted PSPGo goes against that theory, so they won't push the envelope like that again. PS4 will release in 2012 with a bluray drive and many other features to continue the all-in-one entertainment device.

You people are getting more absurd (desperate?) by the day. Nearly sank Sony, give me a break. The ps3's losses were an irrelevnce to Sony as a whole before the economy meltdown. Sony were enjoying record profits.

Now heres a bit of shocking news for you. Bluray being included in ps3 was a strategic decision to win the format wars and after that helping make bluray mainstream. PS3 launching at $600 wasnt a mistake by Sony but a calculated strategic decision which will pay huge dividends for Sony for the next decade. The playstation business is one small part of Sony. Sony decided it had to take hits to help other parts of Sony. And judging by the last few months no serious damage has been done to the playstation brand although Sony have work to do in the US market.
 The ps3 has done Sonys dirty work for them and is now on a level footing, i expect a year of megatons.

1. PS3 has lost MILLIONS for Sony at a time when Sony's only profitable division was entertainment. With that being a loser the company itself was losing.

2. PS3 took a lot longer than PS1 or PS2 to become a profitable venture and the drasticness of the situation is proven in that the PS3 today is stripped of A LOT of features that were there on launch day. Since realization came in that it wasn't going to fly off shelves at $600.

3. You are right that bluray was purposely added to support its acceptance in the market, and that was a very good decision. However, had bluray lost, PS3 would still be failing massively in terms of cost and Sony would be in serious trouble right now. If you can't recognize that then you are blinded by teh fanboy.

Sony also hoped CELL would be accepted largely and produce big royalties, however, they sold that once they realized it wasn't going anywhere. Had bluray also lost....

4. Playstation is not a small business for Sony. Its been their central home business for more than a decade. MS has Windows and Office, Sony has Bravia and Playstation. The only other part that is larger is their Music/Movie business which is heavily supported by Playstation since people who buy one also play movies/music etc. and especially now with the growth of PSN Store.

5. This year will be full of motion (i.e. copying Nintendo). Next year will be full of PS4 and other nextgen introductions will full launches in 2012.