And even this aspect will probably fail, becaue BluRay players will be able to drop their prices faster than the PS-3, while the whole format war will probably be solved by the hardware industry (the formates are close enough that the difference will be bridged by players, that handle both formats, just like the DVD-R/DVD+R differences).

Yeah they are going to release hybrid players pretty soon, probably for less than the price of a PS3. Then movie makers will just print the movie on whatever format has lower licensing costs.

How about looking at the thread title another way?

Sony simply underestimated Nintendo? 

"that's very true, Nintendo started telling the gamer what they wanted instead of trying to expand their market, that's why they failed, and that's why Sony is failing now."


DING DING DING DING DING WE HAVE A WEENER!!!!!!

I do got to give MS respect for launching a system when they did. Think about it, they launched their system..layed all the cards on the table for Nintendo and Sony to complete their systems, for nintendo, it didnt really matter, they werent getting into the graphics arena. However by putting their cards on the table Sony had almost a year 1/2 to work out the bugs/controller etc. remember the boomerang controller?? gone thanks sony, I actually wanted that crazy boomerang for my ps3

I think this is the reason everyone looks over. A major cause in all this. Misrosoft and Nintendo phailed last generation. So, they looked at what they did right and wrong and qwhat Sony did right and made their stratigy. Mircosoft launched a year early. Nintendo made sure their launch line up was better, and so on.

 1.  They knew what the demand was and the PS3 was just a sneaky way to get Blue-Ray players into peoples houses.  It was a very big gamble and still not sure if it's going to pay off.  Blue-Ray is doing decently at the moment (as HD players go) but HD-DVD's are starting to release discs that play in DVD and HD-DVD players.  If that becomes the standard for the next few years, HD-DVD will beat out Blue-Ray.

2.  Too true.  Sony was just completely arrogant this time around because they were still riding high from the PS2 and ignoring the PSP.

3.  A lot of things went into that one.  They thought that they could tell people what's good and brand name alone would sell the system.  The simple fact is that $600 is just too much to pay for a console, or a toy as parents see it.  The 360 was already pushing it but the PS3 was just too much.

4.  I don't think the overestimated the 360, they just overestimated how long it would take them to successfully launch.  I really think they should have done a world wide launch Spring 07' or (what I really think) Holiday 07.

5.  This is a hard one only because people just haven't gotten the hang of the PS3 yet.  It's completely different to work on that and it will take time.   

On the MS & Sony fronts, where they're digging themselves into a hole is that they're trying to compete with too many other products all in one fell swoop, and neither have done well enough to position themselves as a simple, affordable entertainment appliance, which has always been Nintendo's forte.

While Nintendo haters will probably bemoan this go-round of consoles with Nintendo going gangbusters again like it's 1986, I am somewhat thankful for Nintendo stepping back into the fray, even with an underpowered console, so long as it forces the competetion to rethink their strategies and develop products for their customers, not their shareholders. The crux of the problem is that neither Sony nor Microsoft really care about the gamers at heart. Microsoft wants to own the appliance and the OS that's on your TV before Linux based HTPCs and Tivos (which run Linux) take over, while Sony's goal is to control the content and the media.

Either of those two outcomes, IMHO, would be a disaster for consumers in the long run.

I don't understand why people still hold out hope that a game or three and another holiday season will shift the positions of Sony and Nintendo. No way. Sony is sitting on an estimated 1.9M consoles that are in warehouses and on store shelves not selling, while the Wii STILL isn't in stock anywhere. People are quick to discredit Nintendo's success by saying the software won't catch up to the hardware because the Wii is "an impulse buy" or is only marketed to "casual gamers." Well, I've never heard of casual gamers lining up at 7:00am in front of their local supercenters to make a $250 impulse purchase.

... for a console that has been out for nearly seven months.

I think casual gamers will buy a lot more Wiis on impulse when ... you know ... there are actually Wii consoles in stores to buy. 

Nintendo hasn't even scratched the surface yet, and that's still without online multiplayer and without having leveraged the DS-Wii controller/interconnectivity yet.

Nothing is stopping this train now.

As for the original post in the thread, where Sony went wrong was putting all their precious eggs in one very expensive basket, while simultaneously alienating virtually the entire customer base that made their first two consoles virtual start-to-finish, unchallenged successes. Consumers have been told for nearly 10 years now that they need to buy into the HD experience, which (for the last 10 years) probably included a 40+" 1080i HDTV, a DVD player, and 5.1 surround. Now, Sony is telling those same consumers that what they just spent $3000 assembling isn't good enough, because they need 60" 1080p TVs, Blu-Ray, and 7.1 surround.

HD(er) movies is a load of bunk. The average non-tech-savvy consumer honestly can't distinguish component from composite, nor can they make any sense of terms like 1080p or 480i. The window of appeal for such hi-tech appliances is always very, very narrow at the outset. Compound this with a movie distribution format that costs two to three times as much, has a smaller selection, and provides a set of enhancements that few people can currently leverage, while simultaneously having a PR arm that's managed with such tact and subtlety the like of which we haven't seen since the Iraqi Information Minister's nightly ramblings on CNN, and it's obvious to see how Sony wound up where they're at.

Pretty simple. Where Sony went wrong was Blu-Ray. Release the exact same console with progressive scan, run-of-the-mill DVD instead of Blu-Ray, and it can be priced at $299. Game Over. Sony FTW!

Sure, they would have won the console market, but Sony's meat-and-potatoes is the consumer electronics division. HDTV's and movies are a hugely comptetive market, and Sony needs to sell those 1080p TVs and Blue-Ray players. That's what drove their decisions, but in the end it looks like they gambled away the good playstation name for nothing. Their winning the format war anyway, and people are lapping up the 1080p hype. I mean, people believe they need that 32" 1080p LCD the salesperson is conning them into, even though you can't actually see the benefit at that small size....

One thing I find curious is that,despite the Wii´s very healthy sales in all major territories,devs and publishers keep giving the system only "small meat",while giving the 360 and PS3 what could be considered the "big games"....Capcom gives 360/PS3 Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4,gives the Wii RE:Umbrella Chronicles,an on rails shooter.....Square gives the PS3 FFXIII and FF VS XIII,gives both the 360 and PS3 The Last Remnant,and gives the Wii....a Chocobo game...one Konami dev named Tsuboyama has recently been quoted saying "Silent Hill 5 would surely be easier to develop for the Wii,but it wouldn´t be appropriate for that system´s target audience"....now,on one hand,one could say that´s because most of these "big games" had already been comitted to the 360 and PS3 before the Wii´s success caught devs and publishers off guard,but on the other hand,recent comments such as this one from Konami may lead to a strange scenario,one that I personally have never seen before...the scenario where the best selling system doesn´t get what´s considered the "main titles",it gets offshoots...not that they´re bound to be bad and some may prefer them over the "main titles",but I think E3 2007 and TGS 2007 will reveal the devs´ attitude towards the Wii...of course,what I´m getting at here is....with the Wii´s high sales numbers,surely devs will flock to it,it´s an automatic response,but the question is,what kind of games will they make for it?....the "big games"?....or "small meat"?