Sony blames high launch price for trailing PS3 sales

[Sub-stance1]

""But we absolutely have no regrets,"" says platform holder
Kotaku asked Koller rather bluntly why, after the complete dominance of PS1 and PS2 in their eras, is the PS3 tagging along in third place this generation.
"It's a lot of factors," said Koller. "We've been pleased with overall sales. And also very pleased with just how well then consumers who have purchased PS3s have attached and buy software. We have a very profitable consumer. If you're a retailer or anyone else that sells PS3s, you're more than pleased with the PS3's performance. We've been very pleased."
Koller went on to gently suggest that the console's high launch price, and it's later release were key factors.
"Why we're in third... you know, there's a lot of things that happen in the market that cause sales to occur. I think we've been very staunch in our belief that there's a certain value behind the PS3 and there's certain kinds of games for the PS3 that have stood behind that. There's no secret that we opened behind a high price point. And certainly others got a relatively nice head start on us because of that. That's certainly been part of it," he said.
"But we absolutely have no regrets. This has been a very good cycle for us, and I think if you ask any publisher they'd say the same thing. It's been good, and we think it does portend good things for the future for PlayStation."
http://m.computerandvideogames.com/3...ing-ps3-sales/

[TGO]

This interview=so many interpretations

Sent from my Xperia Ray

[chumdiddy]

Let me interpret this quote/interview/answer:

"We (Sony) f#cked up and we know it. We have the best console and went from top dog sales and perception wise to 2nd fiddle because of our own mistakes and we won't make them in this next generation. Nintendo dominated all because the Wii was cheap and had a gimmick control system that allowed casual gamers from kids to grandparents alike to jump in and have fun at a low price point. It was basically a Gamecube with motion controls. Kudos to them.
The 360 beat us because it launched first, appealed to the same audience that likes "extreme" things like energy drinks, wrestling and things with the letter "X" in it (young teens). However, kudos to them for getting out first and also winning on the bet that people will buy a cheaper machine (in cost and build) and not realize that adding the perfs needed to save info, game with wifi, play HD discs and such will end up costing more than our machine. Kudos for banking on public stupidity. Oh, and somehow getting people to pay to play the game they just bought online with a monthly fee. That really shocked us to realize people would not only DO it but support it with devotion.
We messed up by putting all of our well built hardware and perfs in one package. This (sheer economics) put a high price tag on the single "all-in-one" unit as opposed to bleeding the customer to buy a different perf for features like a HDD, WIFI, HD Disc players, etc. Also, we never thought we would actually be mocked for letting all of our games be played FOR FREE online. Our bad.
Still, the Playstation brand is the Rolls Royce of console and we prefer to keep it that way as long as we don't lose money at the end of the console life cycle. The Wii and 360 are floating corpses in the water at this point and we have a few more years of AAA titles coming out for PS3 so we're pleases overall and expect to catch up."


Hope that helped, lol. (again, not a fanboy. I dont pledge allegiance to any game company but I don't understand the backlash towards the PS3 by ignorant people who celebrate being bled to death slowly as opposed to one flat payment. In fact, if next gen is a bomb for Sony when Im ready to buy the new consoles, I may buy a different brand. However, since PS1 I just have the same personality as Sony seems to take with gaming. Before that, I went from NES to Genesis to PS1 to Dreamcast to PS2 and then PS3. No fanboy. Just like the best console and this gen it is the PS3.)

[Ghost-Rhayne]

Let me interpret this quote/interview/answer:

"We (Sony) f#cked up and we know it. We have the best console and went from top dog sales and perception wise to 2nd fiddle because of our own mistakes and we won't make them in this next generation. Nintendo dominated all because the Wii was cheap and had a gimmick control system that allowed casual gamers from kids to grandparents alike to jump in and have fun at a low price point. It was basically a Gamecube with motion controls. Kudos to them.
The 360 beat us because it launched first, appealed to the same audience that likes "extreme" things like energy drinks, wrestling and things with the letter "X" in it (young teens). However, kudos to them for getting out first and also winning on the bet that people will buy a cheaper machine (in cost and build) and not realize that adding the perfs needed to save info, game with wifi, play HD discs and such will end up costing more than our machine. Kudos for banking on public stupidity. Oh, and somehow getting people to pay to play the game they just bought online with a monthly fee. That really shocked us to realize people would not only DO it but support it with devotion.
We messed up by putting all of our well built hardware and perfs in one package. This (sheer economics) put a high price tag on the single "all-in-one" unit as opposed to bleeding the customer to buy a different perf for features like a HDD, WIFI, HD Disc players, etc. Also, we never thought we would actually be mocked for letting all of our games be played FOR FREE online. Our bad.
Still, the Playstation brand is the Rolls Royce of console and we prefer to keep it that way as long as we don't lose money at the end of the console life cycle. The Wii and 360 are floating corpses in the water at this point and we have a few more years of AAA titles coming out for PS3 so we're pleases overall and expect to catch up."


Hope that helped, lol. (again, not a fanboy. I dont pledge allegiance to any game company but I don't understand the backlash towards the PS3 by ignorant people who celebrate being bled to death slowly as opposed to one flat payment. In fact, if next gen is a bomb for Sony when Im ready to buy the new consoles, I may buy a different brand. However, since PS1 I just have the same personality as Sony seems to take with gaming. Before that, I went from NES to Genesis to PS1 to Dreamcast to PS2 and then PS3. No fanboy. Just like the best console and this gen it is the PS3.)

LOL great interpretation. +rep.

I can relate to the underlined sentiment in particular. All products resonate on different levels with the consumer community. Some people may find a product or service "meh", others find it Ok, and others find it perfectly suits their wants and needs. Seems that me and Sony are on the same wave length, or I guess I am just part of the demographic they have in mind for their console which is why I have been with them so long. Sony's philosophy on gaming and their attitude towards their customers resonates with me.

[Super_Lilith]

The main thing is they have learnt why they were third: too high a launch price, launched later so gave everyone else a head start and had a weird server processor that meant initially inferior ports.

They can continue this way and keep fans like us happy but finish 3rd again, or they can change and finish 1st but upset us.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

I don't think Sony really care about being first in sales, just being the best, and I'm fine with that. You can talk about sales till the cows come home, I'd rather talk about all the new experiences that even now keep coming.

[Super_Lilith]

Look at the title, this thread is about trailing PS3 sales...

[coolguy]

high price is one part but being a year behind hurt them the most.. sony cant afford to launch a year after then next xbox again if they do they are done

[MATRIX 2]

I don't think Sony really care about being first in sales, just being the best, and I'm fine with that. You can talk about sales till the cows come home, I'd rather talk about all the new experiences that even now keep coming.

hmm, interesting.

[Sub-stance1]

high price is one part but being a year behind hurt them the most.. sony cant afford to launch a year after then next xbox again if they do they are done

I really don't see them beating MS to launch, but I could be wrong. It's better to launch late thnn to launch unprepared. All the people saying that they don't care about sales are just believing the PR hype. They care about sales just as much as they care about losses.

[davin_g]

high price is one part but being a year behind hurt them the most.. sony cant afford to launch a year after then next xbox again if they do they are done

That wasn't the main problem. Price and perceived value was the entire problem. When you are more than $100 and $200 more than your competitor and their games look almost if not better (3rd party-wise) and they have a better online feature (at launch...I don't see it better now) then you realize why they trailed and couldn't catch up.

That all said they aren't upset. They got blu-ray adopted which more than makes up for their loss in the hardware war. PS3 was a trojan horse in winning the format wars for next gen videos. They will be reaping the rewards of that long after the ps3 is gone.

I don't think at the time Sony thought the price would be a problem. Stand alone blu-ray players were over a grand and people were spending $400 on phones and any other gadget they could get their hands on....gps etc...but then the entire world crashed and went into a recession literally a month before they launched....and the view of a $600 console became very very different. We no longer live in the world that the PS2 and PS1 existed. Greater competition and a shrinking economy simply was a lot to overcome...but overcome they did and now they are basically on equal field as that console that launched first.

I will also say if the PS3 rushed launch like Microsoft did with the 360 and they had the same red ring of death issues....Sony would have had a much much worse backlash then Microsoft and also they couldn't risk the loses that Microsoft did with insuring all those broken consoles. Sony was more interested in maintaning their high quality goods than being first to market.

Basically the article is right....not the only factor but I fully agree it is what slumped sales initially and allowed Microsoft a bigger market share. That said what they gave us and what it meant for their company I don't see how they could have known it would be too expensive or if they could or should have done anything differently.

[Sub-stance1]

Personally, i don't think we will see PS4 until 2014 or 2015 because the PS3 came to profitability so late into this gen.

[MATRIX 2]

Personally, i don't think we will see PS4 until 2014 or 2015 because the PS3 came to profitability so late into this gen.

Next xbox launches in 2013, you will see the ps4 no later than 2014.

[DreDayDetox]

I better start playing the lottery and looking for a job then.

[Soldier 95B]

Next xbox launches in 2013, you will see the ps4 no later than 2014.

I see both out in 2013. Both are going to battle hardcore for first place sales.

[MATRIX 2]

I see both out in 2013. Both are going to battle hardcore for first place sales.

Sony may not want to rush.

[Soldier 95B]

Sony may not want to rush.

The PS3 will be in it's 7th year. I don't see that as rushing.

[ToonAssassin]

i think Japan in late 2013 as PS4 launch date, followed by march 2014 for US/EU. but they are just getting over the Vita launch, they may want a little break from new machines for a while.

[MATRIX 2]

The PS3 will be in it's 7th year. I don't see that as rushing.

It should have been replaced in 6 years. But since they are already behind the norm, what is another year or 2.

[davin_g]

I believe them 100% on this. They are being careful to launch when they have enough hardware under the hood to make a significant case why people should upgrade or buy the new console. Also so that in year 5 and 6 it will still be capable of doing the things they see necessary for it to be successful. It isn't how powerful it is out of the gate...but years down the line when they want to add peripherals or release features...they don't have necessary hardware yet to make that possible for their vision...so they will continue to ride the ps3 out.

Lets be honest...while the PS3 has its short comings it still is giving us beautiful games and new features. I like many other people love the newest gadgets and so on....but I'm not worried and I fully believe they are being patient until they have the necessary power to show a clear improvement in quality of software and features and that will have the legs to be relevent the way the ps3 is in its 7th year.

There is still so much more the PS3 can achieve and with the Vita being released...much more possibilities. I'm in no hurry. Games look and play wonderful when the devs put the effort in.

[Shin Asura]

It wasn't just the price point, it was that developers had issues programming games for it. Sony should've done a better job making sure developers were comfortable with the system beforehand

[DarkNemesis]

Sony is actually in the best position for next generation.They have learned from their mistakes,built their first party franchises and survived without all of the third party exclusives that people said would cause the console to crash and burn.Sony has not abandoned the PS3 the way the 360 and Wii have been dumped.Nintendo has already showed their underwhelming hand and MS is only focused on Kinect and will pick from this generation to the next except they will not have the head start or price advantage.Sony has all of the cards and mystery on their side.The PS4 will be cheaper to manufacture + retail at a cheaper price = affordable console.Their marketing should be better and they will not have to build their onlione community so they can just focus on advertising.All they need from the launch are games like GT6,U4,Jak4,LBP3,Infamous 3 and/or Dark Cloud/Rogue Galaxy 2 and the PS4 will be hot on the first day.

[Sub-stance1]

It wasn't just the price point, it was that developers had issues programming games for it. Sony should've done a better job making sure developers were comfortable with the system beforehand

I agree . Let's hope they don't make that mistake next gen.


IRONRANGER6 Tapatalk

[CMac21]

And then they did it again with the Vita.