Sony needs to change their game plan.

[Bodhesatva]

SlorgNet said:

Bodhesatva said:

The problem isn't that the strategy is ineffective -- it's that Microsoft can play the same game, only better. Their pockets are much deeper, and it shows. Nintendo has differentiated themselves by making a very distinct system with a unique strategy: in contrast, both Microsoft and Sony seem to be playing the game called "burn as much money as possible to earn market share," and Sony simply cannot win that battle long term.

Why not? The competition isn't over pockets, it's over cash registers. Nintendo is pursuing a different strategy, and more power to them, but Sony has far more ways to make money off the PS3 than Microsoft can vis-a-vis the 360. Camera pix? Put 'em on the PS3. Downloadable games? Got 60 GB of space. Next-gen media? Blu-Ray. (I still think the 360's lack of next-gen media is one of the worst business decisions in corporate history.) Online services? Powering up fast. HD display devices? Bravia. Portable devices? PSP. Content? Movies galore plus studios capable of producing marvels like Shadow of the Colossus and God of War 1 and 2. And of course the PS2 continues to sell like hotcakes. For every dollar Sony loses on a PS3, they'll make five dollars elsewhere. All Sony needs to do is reduce the PS3 to $500 this fall, and to $400 by 2008, and they'll do just fine as the Mercedes of gaming.

First, the PS3 isn't the Mercedes of gaming -- that's the high end PC. There are already games in development for the PC that the PS3 can't handle, such as Crysis, and the PC will continue evolving past there.

More improtantly, you're just pointing out ways that Sony can make money. That's not what this thread is about. It's about spending money. Sony can't spend endless amounts of cash in the hopes of higher market share as Microsoft can.

I'm not sure you realize how much bigger Microsoft is than Sony; I think a lot of people lump both into the "very big giant corporation with tons of money" category and don't really think about any distinctions amongst companies that fit that description. Microsoft is to Sony what Sony is to Nintendo; MS has 8 times as much cash in reserve and its profit margin is 10 times higher (on average, obviously) per year than Sony's is. Microsoft has a great deal more money to burn than Sony does.

So while Sony has historically used their wallet to buy up exclusive titles, development studios, etc, Microsoft can buy even more, pay for more exclusives, and spend billions more than Sony can, because they simply have more money to spend. The recent Grand Theft Auto exclusivity is an example of that.