| PotentHerbs said:
Sony has stated that PlayStation profits are impacted by Bungie: PlayStation operating profit dips as Sony pays toward Bungie buyout, game development costs (tweaktown.com) If Sony is worried about revenue dropping than PS5 sales nosediving is absolutely a concern. You claim if there is a way to circumvent that lost revenue then it wouldn't be a concern. But there isn't. So coming to the conclusion that its only the revenue, but not actually the console, when console sales are the primary business model in the mid term, and without an option to circumvent that lost revenue otherwise, doesn't really hold up. Nintendo and Sony both use console sales as one of the primary ways to judge the health of their business. And without Microsoft providing any concrete numbers when it comes to Xbox, I don't see how you could argue better returns, especially when Xbox is already Day One with PC. That means, technically, Microsoft is serving a significantly larger userbase of players than Sony is right now. Does Xbox really have the better ROI in that sense? Its says a lot when Xbox has only 4% better ROI (using the figures you provided in your last post) with 2x the userbase of players (60M+ PS5's versus 200M+ Xbox & PC). Another thing you have to remember is that Sony decided on PC ports during the literal peak of PlayStation profits. They decided to pursue live service games and make them multiplatform during the peak of PlayStation profits. This wasn't a rash decision made in 2022. And of course, Microsoft is not supporting Xbox philanthropically, but that doesn't take merit away from Xbox going the way of Sega without a trillion dollar parent company backing them. |
TweakTown is wrong here, Sony only stated an increase in operating cost because of Bungie, not because they account for the buyout but because they are now responsible for Bungie own operating cost. The cost of the acquisition itself is not amortized upon PlayStation Revenue. It's clear in the earnings report they link in the article.
I don't see how you could argue better returns
12% returns on investment > ~6.8% disclosed by Sony, simple as that.
Does Xbox really have the better ROI in that sense
simply yes
Its says a lot when Xbox has only 4% better ROI
4% increase RoI not just 4% better it's 12%/6.8% = ~76% better
Its says a lot when Xbox has only 4% better ROI (using the figures you provided in your last post) with 2x the userbase of players (60M+ PS5's versus 200M+ Xbox & PC).
The size of the userbase does not matter here, it's simply revenue/expense and it's Sony here that had the bigger revenue with $26.8 for 2022 (likely the year for which MS disclosed their own 12% RoI in 2023 ) to ~$15B for Xbox.
Another thing you have to remember is that Sony decided on PC ports during the literal peak of PlayStation profits.
They were testing the water but they only now decided to support PC with most of their release and not just it being an afterthought.
They decided to pursue live service games and make them multiplatform during the peak of PlayStation profits. This wasn't a rash decision made in 2022.
Didn't claim it was, the big live service focus decision was taken during peak Covid, they likely would not have taken this decision if they had taken it later but now they are stuck with ongoing High-risk projects amidst unfavorable conditions.
And of course, Microsoft is not supporting Xbox philanthropically, but that doesn't take merit away from Xbox going the way of Sega without a trillion dollar parent company backing them.
What is even the point of this statement, discrediting Xbox's success because of MS? By using your very same argument and looking at the doc in the OP it's clear Playstation would have bankrupted or gone the Sega way during the PS3 gen without Sony backing them.
And even then that's still speculation over speculation, because without Sony backing PlayStation they likely would not have taken the risk of making the Cell processor and include a Blu-ray player which made the PS3 expensive enough that consumers were holding back.
Same with Xbox, without MS they likely would not have financed Kinect, would not have pushed for Always Online and the Xbox One Fiasco would have been avoided.
You literally cannot say what Xbox would have been if it was independent, same with Sony. You cannot even say whether or not Nintendo would have been as successful or even still a console maker if it was owned by a larger entity.
