desosav said:
pokoko said:
Let's put the fan-centric arguments of who "won" aside for a moment.
Microsoft gained some ground in the installed base segment, which is always meaningful early in a generation. More importantly, they chipped away at the PS4's previously unassailable image of invulnerability, giving them a nice PR platform going into Christmas. On the downside, it cost them a hell of a lot of money. Now, someone is going to say that Microsoft doesn't care about money but that's bullshit. They certainly care, they're just not afraid of risky investments.
Sony, who "lost" the month, sold around 800k units at nearly full price. Think about that for a minute. They could have gone head-to-head with Microsoft with price cuts but I think it's obvious that they'd rather take the profit. Of course, the things they gave up are meaningful. It's not a strategy without costs. Momentum in North America belongs to Microsoft right now.
All of that is why who "won" is such a simplistic question. I think both companies come out of this satisfied but not ecstatic. Each went for what was most important for them, and did well, but they both paid a price.
Anyway, as I've said before, this is a cycle that repeated all throughout the PS3/360 era and one that is likely to be repeated throughout this era--Sony pulls away in the first three quarters of the calendar year, Microsoft makes up ground in the last quarter. |
Everyone cares about money mate. The thing is that MS can reduce X1 price because of cheaper DDR3 modules and continue being profitable. Sony on the other hand with gddr5 modules need to wait before reducing prices. What we need to know is what profit each company makes by selling a console. You know SOny might earn 5$ per console sold and ms 15$ (random numbers)..Additionally you should take under consideration the economic problems sony has the last couple of years which looses 5bn$ per year. On the other hand economic results for ms are green all the way recording, record profits every year.
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In the UK, Microsoft started selling Xbox Ones for £430. Over the last month they've been selling for ~£330 with multiple new games.
The PS4 started at £350 and now goes for £330 with 1-2 games thrown in (depending on the age of the game)
There have been some deals below those prices, but that's just a rough picture. Microsoft has already cut their price massively, I suspect Sony has more room to manouvre if they want, but less money sitting in the bank
But really, Sony tends to stay fairly quiet about these things. I'd expect some end of year announcement to try and capture a more global view, in which the margin is larger
