Is Sony failing to capitalize? A question of momentum.

[ZenfoldorVGI]

Squilliam said:

ZenfoldorVGI said:

Squilliam said:

I don't really see the need for a thread like this TBH. I see no evidence they have really lost momentum yet and I don't see any evidence that Microsoft has gained any real momentum with  the Xbox 360 since the start of the year. Things are as they were this time last year with the positions in reverse.

Wait, so you didn't see the article I posted where the director of corporate communications directly implied that stock shortages were to blame for loss of sales, and will continue to be over the next few months, because I posted it in the article, and it's clear as day. There is even a link.

As far as you deductions from looking at numbers and trying to judge for yourself which way momentum is swinging, that is just your opinion, isn't it?

I'm fairly certain that many would consider stock shortages a reason for a company to sell less consoles. Wouldn't you? I think it is also reasonable that people who can't find a product might on occasion, buy from a competitor. Furthermore, I think a ton of people on this site would probably agree that Sony has(or had) more momentum very recently than they ever had, and that a reasonable person might conclude that said shortages might indeed effect said momentum?

Is that a satisfactory explination?

Because I think I mentioned all that in the OP.

I read it, but even still I haven't seen any real evidence that stock shortages for over a year cost the Wii any appreciable momentum and quite frankly if someone waited for 3 years and 3 months to buy the PS3 they can easily wait 3 years and 5 months. At this point, people walking into the store pretty much know what console they want to buy for the most part. Sure there are a few buying for birthdays etc whom will be swayed by a lack of PS3 stock but only on occasion that they go into a store and there are no PS3s to be had. Since the PS3 is still selling that would make up a small proportion of overall sales.

As far as I can tell the consoles are performing about where you'd expect them to be relative to each other. With the influence of Japan dropping and the short term boost from the price cut/slim fading we're just looking at the long term changes in demand which are expected. I stated previously that Sony's PS3 hardware revenue would be about the same as they were before the PS3 cut and that seems to be so.

No, it's not measurable. For that matter, stock shortages(some claimed) may have even HELPED the Wii maintain its momentum and popularity.

However, the PS3 is not even remotely comparable to the Wii in that sense. It is not near the beginning of its lifecycle, it has been readily available for months, and the amount of stock being sold isn't enough to grab the attention of the mass media(no Today show for the PS3).

So again, it certainly isn't measurable, but again, to be practical, it is a fact that you can only sell as much as you can produce, and for the time being, at least, Sony has a limit on how much it can sell each month, as Sony stated, and that's not even taking into account availability and display of units available for sale.

No, I'm not stating a fact. You can't measure momentum. However, it is interesting to speculate(which is a major point of these forums and this website). It nothing else, Sony's response to NPD validates a thread speculating this very point. Does supply have the potential to sway momentum one way or another?