1. They wouldn't be making a profit at that, they can't afford not to.
2. Only 1 of those games has a chance of coming at launch, and that's the New IP.
3. It'll be hard, but the most likely.
4. Looking at the Vita, that ain't gonna happen.

I hope Sony are gonna change after their lackluster Vita launch, I really do but from current trends, it doesn't seem likely.

I'm sure Sony would love to dominate next gen, but they really don't need to. They need to be profitable first. Even if they come in dead last again, as long as they have a healthy market size, and are making money on both hardware and software, Sony and the PlayStation brand will be fine. So that really should be their strategy. Spend the 8th generation reviving profits, and the 9th generation dominating the market again.

One thing they should never EVER try to do again is to gain dominance through accepting massive losses.

In my opinion, a more fitting title would be "Four requirements for Sony to have a chance at winning Next Gen" or better yet "Four requirements in which Sony can be competitive Next Gen". Each of those won't individually give Sony first place. It'll take about three or four of them for Sony to have a chance, but even then it's still only a chance. At this point, the three companies have a fairly equal shot at winning imo, because of many of the reasons in the OP.

Conegamer said: 1. They wouldn't be making a profit at that, they can't afford not to. 2. Only 1 of those games has a chance of coming at launch, and that's the New IP. 3. It'll be hard, but the most likely. 4. Looking at the Vita, that ain't gonna happen. I hope Sony are gonna change after their lackluster Vita launch, I really do but from current trends, it doesn't seem likely.

1. I'm not sure how you've reached that conclusion. It's more likely that the PS4 won't be as the PS3 after what Sony learned this gen. Also, a while ago a Sony spokesperson said Playstation hardware will be cheaper & would sell at a profit. How did you reach your conclusion.

2.) Uncharted 4 definitely has a chance. You may believe this because Naughty Dog is releasing The Last Of Us next year. While that is true, keep in mind that, said they had two different teams. One for The Last of Us and one for Uncharted. Also keep in mind that launch could be the year a system launches, or the following year. That means the launch for the PS4 will be 2013/2014. The team that developed should be able to make this deadline since it'll be 2-3 years after Uncharted 3 released.

You're probably right about Gran Turismo, but Sony said the PS4 will be a lot easier to develop for, so that could allow for GT6 at launch. I wouldn't bet on it but it definitely has a chance. If not we'll surely see a GT6: Prologue.

And third-parties will be there more than likely as well.

3. We'll see. I doubt it'll match Steam. Probably not even Live.

4. Sony has shown some good marketing for the PS3 itself. For instance, the 2009 Slim adverts were good. They also show excellent promotion for their 90+ rated games like Uncharted or God of War 3. In some special instances, the promote games even if they don't have mainly 90+ reviews. Example: Gran Turismo. Sony just doesn't market their sub-90 rated games welll, like inFamous, MAG, Ratchet & Clank. Though some games can be sub-90 and still receive a fairly large promotion, like Resistance 3.

I think 3rd party will not decide who win the next generation i expect much more less 3rd party exclusive so first party will decide the leader of the next generation.

I've said this before but: I reckon we'll see Gran Turismo 6 and Killzone 4 as launch titles for PS4, alongside some new IP's from the first party team. That alone should be enough to shift a lot of consoles.

If they pull up their socks with the online play, keep the exclusives flowing as well as having a decent advertising campaign (no creepy baby dolls this time, thanks) then I reckon it's very much got a chance of winning next gen.

Andrespetmonkey said: Something for japan - Final Fantasy? I don't know, I'm not a fan of Japanese games, so I'll leave this up to someone who knows gaming in Japan better than I do. What would sell systems in Japan?

For Japan

Surely a Final Fantasy Main Series or at least something like Versus as an exclusive would be great.If it isn't exclusive it won't have the impact they would like.
Tales of Xillia was beating Final Fantasy 13-2 cause IT IS an PS3 Exclusive.That was the only reason - The Fanbase is kinda pissed they get ignored by SquareEnix this Gen a lot.
But it also  has to be a top notch secure Deal where M$ couldn't do against it and of course it has to release withing the first 2 years unlike Versus.
I don't think SquareEnix would agree to something like that - They are on a weird drug trip where they want to appeal to the Western world and especially to the CoD Community.
They sacrifice a lot in this Gen already and think 350k Sold units on the 360 are worth it even if a Sony Exclusive could sell 3 million in Japan alone.

But i would think a new IP with real good marketing coul have a huge impact.
A mature looking and dark J-RPG(like Versus13) could work even if it isn't from SquareEnix...Maybe Sony should buy out the Team Nomura from SquareEnix(they love Sony and hate M$ and hate how SquareEnix handles things right now so it could be possible) but it would probably be to late for them to build a complete new game now.
Such a Dark J-RPG could probably sell in the western world too if enough advertising is behind it.The Sony Fanbase is hungry.

A J-RPG for Japan would be a Tales of Maingame PS4 Exclusive (with a lot of costume DLC)
This would sell a lot and Japan would be theirs without any chance for Microsoft to come back in any way the whole Gen.

YukanaSenix said: Andrespetmonkey said: Something for japan - Final Fantasy? I don't know, I'm not a fan of Japanese games, so I'll leave this up to someone who knows gaming in Japan better than I do. What would sell systems in Japan? For Japan Surely a Final Fantasy Main Series or at least something like Versus as an exclusive would be great.If it isn't exclusive it won't have the impact they would like. Tales of Xillia was beating Final Fantasy 13-2 cause IT IS an PS3 Exclusive.That was the only reason - The Fanbase is kinda pissed they get ignored by SquareEnix this Gen a lot. But it also  has to be a top notch secure Deal where M$ couldn't do against it and of course it has to release withing the first 2 years unlike Versus. I don't think SquareEnix would agree to something like that - They are on a weird drug trip where they want to appeal to the Western world and especially to the CoD Community. They sacrifice a lot in this Gen already and think 350k Sold units on the 360 are worth it even if a Sony Exclusive could sell 3 million in Japan alone. But i would think a new IP with real good marketing coul have a huge impact. A mature looking and dark J-RPG(like Versus13) could work even if it isn't from SquareEnix...Maybe Sony should buy out the Team Nomura from SquareEnix(they love Sony and hate M$ and hate how SquareEnix handles things right now so it could be possible) but it would probably be to late for them to build a complete new game now. Such a Dark J-RPG could probably sell in the western world too if enough advertising is behind it.The Sony Fanbase is hungry. A J-RPG for Japan would be a Tales of Maingame PS4 Exclusive (with a lot of costume DLC) This would sell a lot and Japan would be theirs without any chance for Microsoft to come back in any way the whole Gen.

I'm not sure I got this. ToX had a better first week but XIII-2 sold way more copies in Japan.

A mature looking and dark J-RPG... wouldn't Dark Soul fit that description?

GT6 for launch? Lawl

GT4 2004
GT5 2010
GT6/PS4 2016

...in a vacuum. These points have to be relevant against the competition.

Microsoft was willing to lose ~$150 per 360 at launch. This time they'll be buoyed by 20 million live subscribers. They could very well do the same and only have their marketing costs to cover.

I don't know if the analysts are over dramatising and exaggerating Sony's financial woes in recent times, but it does read like they're in a precarious position heading into next gen. Their capacity to continue with their loss leading 'razor-blade' pricing strategy is a concern, let alone indulge in a huge marketing campaign.