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pavel1995 on 18 May 2024
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zorg1000 said:
Hardstuck-Platinum said:

Putting games day and date on PC is what ruined the sales of Xbox. In the US the sales of Xbox were close to the sales of the PS4 until the release of games day and date on PC. If Sony do that they will kill the PlayStation

I think that may be the future strategies for Sony & Microsoft with the way the industry is moving and development times/costs continue to accelerate.

PS/XB have traditionally used the razor and blades strategy where hardware is initially sold at a loss with regular price cuts in order to increase the install base and get as many people invested in their ecosystems to sell higher profit margin software, accessories & subscriptions but I think that strategy may soon be a thing of the past.

I think hardware will still be a major pillar of their gaming businesses but it will be at higher prices with a focus on selling at a profit day 1 and shift focus to maximizing software sales and subscriptions by offering them on as many devices as possible. Sony will probably be slower and less aggressive in this transition since PlayStation sells a lot more than Xbox but I don’t think they will be far behind.

Will this impact hardware sales? Probably, but would it be better for Sony & Microsoft to sell ~90m & ~40m instead of ~115m & ~55m if their hardware is sold at higher profit margins and their software/subscriptions are on mobile/PC in addition to their consoles? I’m not sure but we may soon find out.

I think it's dangerous to disincentivise buying your hardware especially for Sony. Basically it's as followed 

  1. Pc ports to boost sales but gives people an option not to buy sony
  2. With pc ports eventually those pc ports will run better then the ps5 versions hurting sales more
  3. 3rd party games that would be sold on your platform could be bought by the same people on steam where they know they'll have it years later 
  4. 3rd party titles that would go to ps5 don't because it's less enticing when pc and other consoles sell better 
  5. Less 3rd party games (especially exclusives) will hurt because the 30% they get and for a company like Sony who make more from 3rd party they will be hurting
  6. With less sales of hardware and software Sony will either have to lower development costs by making smaller games or they'll have to make pc ports more appealing by launching them closer to maximize hype the game receives. 

I do think that for a platform holder doing this in the long run will hurt them. 

Last edited by pavel1995 - on 18 May 2024