WereKitten said: @Smashchu2 As for the death spiral and MS vs Sony? MS have done what they could with their money. They bought additional contents and exclusives, they launched early and went for a cheaper machine. They marketed heavily. They supported HD-DVD. The result? Sony was hurt. How could they not, coming from a generation of total dominance and having MS against them? But many franchises that were PS2 exclusives are now multiplatforms, and still they sell more relatively on PS3 than on 360, when not in absolute terms. And the PS3 came into the game late and still is overtracking the 360, selling substantially in line with it during economic times that are about the worst imaginable for its pricing model, and still has equal stance in the eyes of the developers. So if it hasn't happened yet, when is the death by hand of MS going to happen exactly? The marketshare progression of the last 3 years doesn't exactly show a vanishing Sony. |
@Smashchu2
You're quoting me, answering someone else, not answering to anything I wrote.
I did answer you. Your claim is that software will make the division profitable, but the finnacial statement said that with software the division was still losing money.
As for the death spiral and MS vs Sony? MS have done what they could with their money. They bought additional contents and exclusives, they launched early and went for a cheaper machine. They marketed heavily. They supported HD-DVD. The result? Sony was hurt. How could they not, coming from a generation of total dominance and having MS against them?
But many franchises that were PS2 exclusives are now multiplatforms, and still they sell more relatively on PS3 than on 360, when not in absolute terms. And the PS3 came into the game late and still is overtracking the 360, selling substantially in line with it during economic times that are about the worst imaginable for its pricing model, and still has equal stance in the eyes of the developers.
A lot of problems here
- This always annoys me. It's MS has, not MS have. Microsoft is a single company. Just because multiple people work at Microsoft does not make it plural. Microsoft is a name, like John and Ashely. It is singular.
- The PS3 is not taking over the 360. The gap is too wide now and the current tends don't show a shift happening. The prediction is that it will take Sony 3 years to over take the 360 selling 51k more. It will take 5 years at 31k. The latter is more likely.
- The Wii came late too and is stomping both of them.
- I'm too lazy to look up all the games, but I can tell you the 360 sells a lot more software. Most big multiplatform games do better on the 360. GTA4 is on example.
- At the bolded line: it only has an equal stance in developers eyes because they an port. The 360 is still more profitable to publishers since it has a larger install base. The exception is in JRPGs since the system doesn't sell in Japan.
So if it hasn't happened yet, when is the death by hand of MS going to happen exactly? The marketshare progression of the last 3 years doesn't exactly show a vanishing Sony.
Truthfully, since Nintendo is disrupting the industry, both systems will die off or become small niches. MS is importaint becuase Sony overshot the market, allowing Microsoft to be a viable competator.
The industry is not decided on marketshares. Marketshare battles show a deadly red ocean where the companies will destory each other. They will fight for a shrinking user base. This is good for Microsoft as it ends Sony. It's bad for Sony as they are trying to make money. The problem is Sony's entire strategy is unsustainable. This is what ism killing the division. Sony overshooting the market allowed Nintendo to disrupt the industry. It allowed Microsoft to be a competator. It isn't a mystery that the system is between a rock and a hard place.
I suspect Sony will start talking about a new system at E309. It maybe shown at E32010. I suspect it in 2011, if there is another one.