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Forums - Sales Discussion - Yahoo to masses: Don't buy a PS3 til April

Slimebeast on 17 January 2009

Thanks for your kind words Mummelmann. ^^



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gebx on 17 January 2009

Can we start an Official List of "PS3 hating" news sources.... just for our own reference??



Proud Member of GAIBoWS (Gamers Against Irrational Bans of Weezy & Squilliam)

                   

Slimebeast on 17 January 2009
NJ5 said:
Slimebeast said:

 

 I think it's too narrow minded to just look at a company's economics as a whole and currency levels.

Often companies in trouble drop the prices of their product to be able to compete, take marketshare and be profitable in the long run. Ford and AMD come to mind just from the top of my head.

To drop the price of the PS3 is part of a much bigger strategy.

Actually I believe that Sony as a whole will drop prices of most of their electronics products, to be able to compete with Samsung etc.

Instead the cost reductions will be by laying off factory workers, re-structuring the organization and whatnot.

I'm 100% sure the PS3 will drop by Spring.

 

Sony's problem is that they are offering "premium" products that people aren't as interested in as in the past. "Brand" ain't as much of a huge thing anymore. If Sony ain't dropping and adapting to the market, they will look even more as a "premium" brand and thus will be stuck in a corner and keep shrinking. I dont beleive they will chose that path.

 

Those cost cutting measures you mentioned only take effect about a year after they're launched... A rule of thumb is that when a company lays off workers to save $1 billion a year, they will spend around $1 billion in that year in severance pay and restructuring costs... The way Sony is bleeding cash, they could well run out after a year or two, so I don't think the decision of cutting prices is as automatic as some people are suggesting.

Last year, I was having similar arguments with some people. I saw Sony telling investors that they're not going to cut PS3 prices until SCE is profitable and I based my prediction of "no price cut in 2008" on that. I was right that time, so I think I'm going with the same strategy now.

 

 

 Yeah, restructuring and cutting measures don't have immediate effect, I know that.

But I serously believe that cash won't be a big problem for Sony. It hasn't even been a big problem for AMD despite losses for years. Yes, the shareholders are pissed off by the losses, but somehow AMD always have managed to get more loans and investments for their big development projects and for building new fabs.

Sony is much healthier than you (and others) portray. One or two years of losses (especially in economic turmoil) is normal for companies.

IMO Sony only has a little image problem, they're slightly too much of a premium brand for being such a huge company. But with strict cost cutting (lay offs preferably in the Japanese factories) and re-structuring (maybe drop one business segment or two, say laptops or memory production, I dunno) and they'll be able to compete soon.



 



NJ5 on 17 January 2009
Slimebeast said:

 

 Yeah, restructuring and cutting measures don't have immediate effect, I know that.

But I serously believe that cash won't be a big problem for Sony. It hasn't even been a big problem for AMD despite losses for years. Yes, the shareholders are pissed off by the losses, but somehow AMD always have managed to get more loans and investments for their big development projects and for building new fabs.

Sony is much healthier than you (and others) portray. One or two years of losses (especially in economic turmoil) is normal for companies.

IMO Sony only has a little image problem, they're slightly too much of a premium brand for being such a huge company. But with strict cost cutting (lay offs preferably in the Japanese factories) and re-structuring (maybe drop one business segment or two, say laptops or memory production, I dunno) and they'll be able to compete soon.

AMD got those loans under a very different economic climate in which economic growth was expected to go on for a long time. The situation is the opposite now, and it's going to be increasingly more difficult to get loans, especially since Sony's debt rating is getting worse and worse (I remember seeing a few articles at yahoo finance about that).

I'm not saying Sony will go bankrupt or anything like that. They still have time to restructure and in the worst case I'm sure the Japanese government would save them from going under... What I am saying is that we can't apply the paradigms of the past to this situation, it's a whole new game now. A much rougher one too.

 



My Mario Kart Wii friend code: 2707-1866-0957

Mummelmann on 17 January 2009
gebx said:
Mummelmann said:
Slimebeast said:
NJ5 said:
Slimebeast said:

Do people seriously believe Sony will not cut the price of the PS3 by Spring??

(even a measly $50 is a price cut)

I would bet that they won't, even if it's not certain. Unless Sony figures out a magic way to get out of the mess they're in, it's going to be hard to justify price cuts.

 

 

 I think it's too narrow minded to just look at a company's economics as a whole and currency levels.

Often companies in trouble drop the prices of their product to be able to compete, take marketshare and be profitable in the long run. Ford and AMD come to mind just from the top of my head.

To drop the price of the PS3 is part of a much bigger strategy.

Actually I believe that Sony as a whole will drop prices of most of their electronics products, to be able to compete with Samsung etc.

Instead the cost reductions will be by laying off factory workers, re-structuring the organization and whatnot.

I'm 100% sure the PS3 will drop by Spring.

 

Sony's problem is that they are offering "premium" products that people aren't as interested in as in the past. "Brand" ain't as much of a huge thing anymore. If Sony ain't dropping and adapting to the market, they will look even more as a "premium" brand and thus will be stuck in a corner and keep shrinking. I dont beleive they will chose that path.

 

 

That was a truly good post, Slimebeast, maybe you are Nordic after all!

I agree with this.

 

I don't know who I should be shaking...

The one who says to employ the same strategy as Ford??

Or the one agreeing with him??

 

 

There's a Ford motor company in Europe and they're doing quite well... There are actually companies outside of the UK and the US, you'd be surprised to know!



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NJ5 on 17 January 2009


My Mario Kart Wii friend code: 2707-1866-0957

MrBubbles on 17 January 2009
ssj12 said:
i would laugh if April comes and goes with no price cut. That would make everyone reporting this look like fools.

not really.  this person reported on what an analyst said.  he makes that clear and he speaks about the analysts success rate.  he is just reporting on news in the vg industry(doing his job).

 



"I like my steaks how i like my women.  Bloody and all over my face"

"Its like sex, but with a winner!"

MrBubbles Review Threads: Bill Gates, Jak II, Kingdom Hearts II, The Strangers, Sly 2, Crackdown, Zohan, Quarantine, Klungo Sssavesss Teh World, MS@E3'08, WATCHMEN(movie), Shadow of the Colossus, The Saboteur

ZenfoldorVGI on 17 January 2009
DMeisterJ said:
The Cell and RSX are going to start getting manufactured at 45/45 in a few weeks (Feb) per a report a few months back.

I'm more in line with thinking that a PS3 slim with the new innards at 350 or lower at E3 2009.

 

I could work with that. Regular old PS3 at 399 not so much, though.



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

ZenfoldorVGI on 17 January 2009
ssj12 said:
i would laugh if April comes and goes with no price cut. That would make everyone reporting this look like fools.

 

It would also make me happy. I'm openly hoping that Sony does come in third in this console race, and being stubborn about a price cut would certainly seal the deal quicker than any other mistake they could make at this point.



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

Lurker on 17 January 2009

The more pressure on $ony the better. Everyone is waiting for a $100 price drop and people will continue to be stubborn.