While Sony has some serious challenges ahead, I certainly don’t think them to be insurmountable, and I think the gaming industry really NEEDS the playstation 3 to have some gracefully landing in the coming years.  I might be a 360 fan, and I’ve never owned a playstation, but I’m not fool to not realize the significant and incalculable contributions of Sony to the industries success.  I kinda view this Sony/M$/Nintendo battle, much as I view the Marvel/DC/everybody else debate, since I’m a marvel fanboy, but I support all comic-based genre movies to be released.  The perception that video games are perhaps waning and dying, just as the comicbook movies “fade” was suppose to be fading a few years back.  My point is that completion is healthy and good, and having multiple plays will along drive M$ to innovate more for my pleasure, and STRIVE to keep prices low.

But I digress, since these two articles create a serious disconnect on what options sony has:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ps3-price-will-drop-soon-predicts-ms

Now, Greenberg talks a lot of smack, but they have a real perception that Sony’s hand will be forced, but then there’s also this perception at Sony:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sony-bigwigs-bigup-ps3-for-2009

So, maybe Sony thinks software will deliver the results needed, but I have some doubts about that.  The ps2 has been an ATM for sony, in their misguided pursue to KO the competition in the gaming environment.  The built a system that was extremely expensive to produce, and one that would take many many years to establish efficiencies and lower cost.  They also tied the console too closely with new technology in an attempt to claim media dominance.  While the ps3 isn’t an failure, it has failed to deliver the promise of what the ps2 established.  Look it this way…most people work hard and do the necessary things to ensure you provide an opportunity to make things easier for your children…no logical person say, oh, I’m going to squander all of my hard work to make sure my kids have it rougher than I did…that’s just crazy, but that’s what Sony did from the ps2 to ps3!

Imho, if ps3 can’t start hitting profitability by eoy 2009…Sony might start looking very hard at moving on, since Nintendo and Microsoft will be releasing new console in short order, and having a console that’s still losing money, and market share, while rivals are launching newer models would be a total disaster…maybe even a fatal one.

Move on lmao right, cut the pipe use dude.

Ain't they said to be profitable in 09, so there goes that. And all they have to do is get their software out to market and drop the price which is heavily rumored..

In my mine this is another PS3 is doomed thread... it would be nice if theyd stop.

I wish I could read a new thread like this one every day...

*sigh*

If investors (who in the end is what Sony as a corporation works for) thought that Sony as a corporation and SCE as a division was in serious serious trouble, their stock price will head to zero. A lot of the bad news that Sony has dished out is already reflected in its stock price, that why when it announces bad news, the shares have gone up recently. Companies do not live in the past, if problems arise, they restructure in the form of cost controls, reduced investment, job cuts, all three or bankruptcy. When times are good, investment increases, cost go up due to more hiring, more R&D research etc, its a cost of running businesses. If Sony was idle and did nothing, that would be more of a concern. The fact that the are taking step to restructure means they are addressing the problem (supposed) head on.

What I see for Sony is a better Yen Dollar/Euro exchange rate as the Japanese tries to stimulate their entire export base and flood the world with Yen, its already gone from 87.xx to 94.xx in the space of a month, and better margins as the cost of producing the PS3 will continue to come down...

The OP has a nice avatar, which is the best thing about this thread

If Sony does not reduce the price of the PS3 until Q4 2009 (at the earliest) they should be in a position where their game division is profitable on a quarterly basis; so I don't really think there is much of a risk of Sony giving up on the PS3 in the near future.

Now, a few years from now Sony will need hundreds of millions (and potentially billions) of dollars to fund the research, development and start-up costs of a new handheld and home console. With Sony as a whole being unprofitable, the PSP underperforming in terms of software sales, and the PS2 seeing rapidly declining sales this means that the only place Sony can look for this cash is from the PS3 ... What this tells me is that Sony will (probably) be very reluctant to reduce the price of the PS3, and will try to delay releasing a new system as long as they can.

The point is what if they are NOT profitable?  They are expecting the boost from games like Killzone, God of War and Heavy Rain to drive them into the black...what happens if that doesn't materialize?  What then?

Then there shall be big steaming piles of sh*t.

Luckily we don't have to wait until then to see, the results for Sony Q3 come out end Jan, and of those games you mentioned, only two or possibly only one will release in time for end of year.

the Q4 release games should hopefully help keep them going after this holiday season, which looks like it might have made a nice swelling in the coffers, but with the sinking PS2 and PSP software sales only time will tell.

Three more weeks and we'll get a tate of whats to come.

If the Japanese gvt. can sort this crappy exchange rate nonsense out soon (as mentioned by Train wreck), it could possibly leave Sony smiling.

sony won't be smiling anytime soon. They continue to lose money on the ps3 at a staggering rate. Especially since the ps2 and psp sales are down yoy. With the unfavorable exchange rate sony could be looking at bankruptcy soon.