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Forums - Sony - My view on why Sony is currently in 3rd Place.

I think the only reason taht ps3 is in 3rd place is its high price



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I think the reasons the Wii is winning is because it has the most focus on oldschool gamers, the most focus on casual gamers, the most focus on non-gamers, the most focus on relapsed gamers, the most focus on new gamers, and yes, the most focus on snobcore gamers.

I think it was a very telling moment for the industry when Nintendo was the only company to not announce movies at E3. They only announced games.



Reasons why PS3 is having a hard time - in summary:

  1. Initial price point - A barrier to everyone besides early adopters, Sony faithfuls and / or those eager to play the next installment of their favourite game series. For those interested in an affordable Blu-ray player, there are now standalone units for half the price of a PS3 (see: Samsung) which integrate better into a home entertainment setup (WHOO! YEAH! lozenge form factor which doesn't take kindly to having things stacked on top of it).
  2. Too many model variations - SCE (apparently) understimates the value of backwards compatibility; yet overestimates the public's ability to discern which model is best for them - which is especially difficult when the specifications are so unstable. In certain regions (Europe, for example) you don't even get the choice.
  3. Over-reliance on past success (reputation / brandname) to push their new product, as well as an apparently weak grasp of WHAT IS GOING ON by the executives in SCE and Sony itself - their Public Relations statements and advertising campaigns are often confusing, patronising and disgusting. Perhaps they DO know what is happening, but are attempting to instigate Damage Control to keep shareholders happy.
  4. Over-reliance on third-parties - MGS4 and FFVIII have enjoyed over two years of constant hype. Perhaps the former was worth it, but Square-Enix's recent move has left SCE with egg on their faces. If they nurture their acquisitions over the next few years, they may be able to pull a Nintendo-esque survival plan by relying on their own IPs to see them through to the next gen, a la Nintendo64 / Gamecube.
  5. A combination of hype and and, by comparison, an underwhelming end-product in the case of Heavenly Sword, Lair and Haze.

Edit: Ahahahaha I HATE RICH TEXT EDITORS.



WHERE IS MY KORORINPA 3

Rock_on_2008 said:

It's not because it's the worst game console on the market. The truth is the PS3 is the best gaming console on the market. Has it ever occurred to you that this gen of gaming is more focused on other things? The more focused on gaming a console gets, the further back in the race it gets. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Well, let me explain.

Since it isnt you that wrote this but post this from another forums why didnt you give source?

The Wii console has almost nothing to do with the focus on games. Does it have games? Yes. Is that what they're selling. No. Ironically the leading console of the gaming industry is focused on bringing new customers in. It is marketed toward nongamers..of all things. The Wii is shouting it's sales pitch to the world: "Come on in and play games, we made it so easy, and innovative that anyone can play it. The Wiimote looks like your average TV remote and moving it is all you have to do. If you come in, maybe you'll start to like games." The Wii has remained in 1st. Don't forget that it makes a great piece of exercise equipment.

Interesting outlook. The Wii does have games but I can see where this part is aiming but failing to state properly. The Wii is aimed at an audience that arent gamers and present games that arent mainstream games. There are mainstream games like Mario and Zelda but they are not on the forefront of Nintendo's game line-up unlike previous consoles.

The #2 spot goes to the Xbox 360. It has a little more focus on games. Is that what they have? Yes. Is that what they're selling? Not exactly. You see, the 360 is considered the social gamer's machine. Everything it has surrounds Xbox Live, an online social club where gamers play games with friends. The 360 is shouting it's sales pitch only to the U.S.: "Hey, come on in, and get together with your friends. We made it convienant and superior. We're revamping our Xbox Live Marketplace, all for you. Oh, by the way, you can play games too. But we try to focus with the online aspect. Pick a color and start shooting". Don't forget, we make a great sidekick for your PC.

Also interesting and mostly right but I would exchange social gamer to inexperienced and hardcore gamer.

The #3 spot goes to the PS3. It has the most focus on games. Is that what they have? Yes. Is that what they're selling? YES. The PS3 is considered a real gamer's machine. It doesn't excel at much else. Though it tries. But that's okay. The main goal of the PS3 is to achieve Realism, Immersion, and Presentation inside a game. The hardware is strictly focused at providing a realistic experience. The PS3 is shouting Riiidge Raaacer to the old and outdated gaming crowd, because we can't hear very well...

Sony is aiming at a social vibe. LittleBigPlanet, UT3 w/ Mod Support, MAG, SOCOM, HOME, etc are all perfect examples of this. Sony added in a Blu-ray player so people can sit around and watch HD movies and play HD games. As for the old and outdated crowd, I will say that statement is far out of line as there will always be this crowd. The former average age of gamers was about 33. Sony always marketed that the PS brand brings out the 19 year old in all of us. This is just as true today then it was last generation.

The sales pitch" Come on in to familiar territory. True, we still have AI enemies...but it's still better than those 8 year old online brats screaming annoying sounds into the mic...at least AI enemies shoot at the opposite team. We have games that make you feel like you're they're. We want you to experience the adventures of the character...through their eyes...and as the creator envisioned it.

Umm... ok? There is no way to get away from this totally.

And still, the gaming industry is not really about gaming anymore. Let's throw in our once PC rival, along with movies, TV, a little cable, and some music. Make it all into one box and change the gaming industry. Should we even call it the gaming industry anymore....or the online entertainment industry? Is gaming so unpopular that everything has to be scrambled together on one plate just to survive? Or can we eat our eggs, bacon, and toast seperately?

 

 



PC gaming is better than console gaming. Always.     We are Anonymous, We are Legion    Kick-ass interview   Great Flash Series Here    Anime Ratings     Make and Play Please
Amazing discussion about being wrong
Official VGChartz Folding@Home Team #109453
 
Godot said:
The Fury said:
alpha_dk said:
The Fury said:
alpha_dk said:
The Fury said:


The key point about why they are third though, it was (and maybe still is) too expensive for general populace, 360 was released a year early and Wii is a fad. (my opinion based on general populace)

Just a question; what would Wii have to do to not be a fad in your eyes, if (almost) completely selling out in its second summer after release isn't enough?

Sales are not what defines a fad, something could sell loads and not be a fad. The speed of which it has sold those units, maybe.

To not be a fad it would have to do more then sell consoles, it would have to make those people who bought it seriously play games, not just party games but all kinds and on more occasions then just when your friends are round (or in the case of my housemate 'the winter'). Once those people seriously consider buying a Zelda or Metroid game, then things might have changed.

 

So, 2 years (or 1/5th of the generation according to sony) isn't a long enough time to be completely sold out? If it had sold this many units over 3 years, would that make it less of a fad? More software sales by this point in its life than any console in history doesn't show that the people buying a Wii are seriously playing games?

10 year plan is for the life of the PS3, not how long sony expect the generation to go on for. It's not about being sold out, the almighty PS2 had sold 14million units by this time in Wii's life, 29 million is a fair wack more. Remove WiiSports and WiiPlay then tell me about the software again.

Again, software sales mean squat about people using the dang things. Like I said, i have a housemate, he has a Wii, he has Mario Galaxy, SSX and the common Wii Sports. He hasn't touched his Wii in about 3 months, except about once a month ago when a mate of his came round.

I'm not saying, however, that it's not success. It more then a success that i think Nintendo could dream and good to them.

 

 

 

Fad: a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.

Trend: the general course or prevailing tendency; drift: trends in the teaching of foreign languages; the trend of events.

A fad is all about time and not about "buying a lot of games". Since, the Wii has been sold out for all its 1 year and 3 quarter existence, I would call it a trend, not a fad.

 

Amazingly enough, per VGC software charts, http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly.php?page=4&date=39642&console=&maker=

the 2 fads, Wii and DS have 21 Nintendo games in top 50 that have been selling for 10 weeks or more, of which 20 have been selling for 20 weeks or more.

Only  4 Non-Nintendo (ie PS3, PSP, PS2 and X360) have done the same for 10 weeks or more.  And only 1 for 20 weeks or more.

There are 8 Nintendo games with more than 100 weeks of sales and still in top 100 selling games.  Yet only 1 non-Nintendo. 

Seems to me that Sony and MS are pushing the fads.  None of their games can keep selling for long.

 



Torturing the numbers.  Hear them scream.

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I think that these are the reasons why PS3 had problems at the beginning:

1) Not enough first-party games. Sony could have predicted that they will lose most of the third-party ones.
2) No rumble in Sixaxis. That decision was weird, and they looked like idiots when they announced the DualShock 3.

I don't think that they could have avoided $599 price, because they would have lost a hell lot of cash with production costs at $840. Also it would have helped if the PS3 was a region-free Blu-ray and DVD player. They would have been sued, which would have attracted media attention, which would have helped PS3 sales. Their motion picture studios wouldn't have lost a lot from it, I think.



I think the exact opposite of what you said is true. Wii is all about games, and is brining new games to new audiences.
360 is about games, but has a large focus on online stuff, and is trying to bring in new audiances (limited sucess). PS3 has alot of games, but its focus is split between BD, online stuff, and games. Also, PS3 is making the least effort to court new audicnes and is in fact losing PS2 fans to Wii/360.



Rock_on_2008 said:
With the PS3 and the PSP now working together. With excellent games on the horizon and currently have great games already available on all three platforms PS3, PS2 and PSP and growing online PSN library games and improvements with introducing HOME and updating PSN the PS3 has the most to offer this generation and long into the future.

 

Jack Tretton said this at E3. lawl lul lol lawl lawl



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyLhpUPNPIs

360 IS OPERATIONAL AFTER 37 DAYS!

no one went against my comments? odd, everyone agrees then, cool.



PC gaming is better than console gaming. Always.     We are Anonymous, We are Legion    Kick-ass interview   Great Flash Series Here    Anime Ratings     Make and Play Please
Amazing discussion about being wrong
Official VGChartz Folding@Home Team #109453
 
Rock_on_2008 said:

The PS3 is considered a real gamer's machine. It doesn't excel at much else.

Its a superb, top of the line BluRay and DVD player, and also plays music files, displays photos, browses the Web, downloads movies and TV content, has a free online access service, has built-in wireless, and has an upgradeable hard-drive. Plus, all this hardware is solidly built and reliable. And best of all, its price will drop to $299/299EUR this fall. What's not to like?