I have said it before, and I will say it yet again. I sincerely doubt that Sony is actually competing in earnest anymore. They have seemingly moved from that towards a lets see if we can survive mentality. The situation changed, and they reevaluated their goals. You can see it in their press statements. No longer do you have bold spin, or promises of great things. They are beat and they know it, and further more they know they cannot do anything about it, and really do not want to do what it will take to make up the ground in the short term to lose ground in the long term.
Which leads me to the only thing that can or will work. They need to cannibalize their game studio. Sell off their teams, sell off their properties, and move to a subscription based online model. I know a lot of members go off on a tear about this, but this is the only way for Sony to get what it needs.
The reality throughout this generation has been that the PS3 has never been comparable to the 360, and will probably not be throughout this generation. No it is not just the price. The reality is that Microsoft is winning the software war as well. I am not ignoring Nintendo. I am just pointing out one bridge at a time. Sony simply must start to win the software war. It is actually less expensive to fight a war here. Then it would be to have hardware price reductions which will still not catch the thrifty.
There is a small window of opportunity for Sony winning in the short term on this front, but it would take real bold steps, and they would have to reconcile themselves to long term losses. What is called for is selling studios to bring in a quarter of a billion dollars. Then they would need to move that cash towards securing ten to twelve decent exclusives for their console. Then assure that the titles they purchased arrive in the January, February, and March next year. Then above all else make sure Microsoft doesn't know what they are doing.
That is what would work for Sony. Imagine Sony being the headline for three months. Every week being a new exclusive game for their platform. Marry that with a decent advertising campaign, and you have the public perception that the PS3 is coming back big time.
I know people will bitch about the thought of losing God of War, or Gran Tourismo especially to another console manufacturer, or of their best exclusives going to multiple platforms. Though I will say this right now it might help Sony get some momentum. Later it will be about cost cutting, and saving the gaming division. Eventually if the recession lingers Sony will demand that the Gaming division cover its own losses, and that means they will have to sell studios to cover costs. This when the market for that will be excruciatingly thin. Selling now might be the best bet for Sony. Especially if they have a good eye for content.
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