Why Sony and the Playstation brand is in more trouble than you think

[radgamer420]

http://penny-arcade.com/report/edito...than-you-think

[Ghost-Rhayne]

Sony is in a tight spot but the article was dribble.

[radgamer420]

The title was definitely way over the top but I do agree with some of his points. Especially regarding the holiday lineup and pricing strategy.

[DeviousOne]

Sony isn't in that bad of shape but they could obviously be better....smh

[radgamer420]

2013 will be off to a great start with TLOU and GOW. But 2012 exclusive lineup looks pretty weak except for Dust 514. A price drop after the hardware revision would have helped too but I understand the fact that Sony is trying to recoup some heavy losses.

[mynd]

My biggest problem is the price of the system still isnt competitive.
What I will find more concerning is the PS4.
I am really starting to think this system isnt going to be ready to launch any time soon.
And that is going to be far worse for them than what currently is going on.

Do I think they will announce the PS4 next year.
Yup.
Will I belive their launch date?
Nope.

In short, Sonys future is up to them, and I would like to think they are already looking well beyond the PS3.
If they are stuck in this PS3 rut for another 2 years, well all around them launch newer things...dunno...

[radgamer420]

My biggest problem is the price of the system still isnt competitive. What I will find more concerning is the PS4. I am really starting to think this system isnt going to be ready to launch any time soon. And that is going to be far worse for them than what currently is going on. Do I think they will announce the PS4 next year. Yup. Will I belive their launch date? Nope. In short, Sonys future is up to them, and I would like to think they are already looking well beyond the PS3. If they are stuck in this PS3 rut for another 2 years, well all around them launch newer things...dunno...

Agreed. I think the very fact that Sony made the PS3 even cheaper to produce with this new Slim and yet still did not pass that savings onto the consumer tells me that theyre nowhere near ready to launch PS4. Instead we keep hearing the old value in the box mantra as a way to gloss over the fact that Sony isnt really in a financial position to do a price cut.

[imINxile]

The Playstation brand still has a good history and loads of fans. Hope they can pull it together on the business end. Sony has provided me my greatest gaming moments of my life by far.

[Sub-stance1]

That's a pretty good read. Sony definitely have some challenges ahead. I still say we won't see PS4 until 2014 or 2015. 4 years of operating in the red really hurt them.

[AaronSOLDIER]

Still offered me the best entertainment in the industry over the years.

[Sub-stance1]

Still offered me the best entertainment in the industry over the years.

No doubt it has been entertaining. I'm not surprised because it was predicted years ago that they would reach this point. Kaz also hinted that there will be rough times ahead when he took over.

[Morganator]

Entertainment and offerings mean little right now. Those who haven't jumped in by now will likely never do so or are simply cheapskates. But Sony is in a tough spot right now. The company has to take austerity measures to ensure that it survives the long haul. Obviously, recouping the losses is first priority. The world economy, earthquake, stronger yen and general lack of confidence in the state of affairs worldwide has put a beating on Sony. Then there's dealing with the aftermath of assholes like Howard Stringer who really did not do the company any favors and Sony has to regain mind-share before regaining market-share.

[Silver_Knight]

I think Sony will be fine.
They are making the Ps3 the most likely choice. There bringing out a new slim and they are taking some of the best games and making them into the best deals around. I mean you can get all God of wars for 39.99 and you can get both infamous for the same pice with the DLC. Also, there supporting the playstation plus well imo. I don't have it but the content is looking good. There even pumping out triple AAA games so late in this generation while others are riding out multiplatform games.(No offense to anyone).Sony support for there systems are just unrivaled. I think there going to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. They just didn't get a PS2 do over again.

[mynd]

Still offered me the best entertainment in the industry over the years.

We need them to be around longer though.
Microsoft needs competition to keep them honest, and lord knows Nintendo are not doing that.

I think Sony will be fine.
They are making the Ps3 the most likely choice. There bringing out a new slim and they are taking some of the best games and making them into the best deals around. I mean you can get all God of wars for 39.99 and you can get both infamous for the same pice with the DLC.

For 20 pounds more than the 12gb model this holidays you will be able to pick up a full 250gb 360, Forza 4 and Skyrim bundle.
There is no way in hell thats competitive.

Also, there supporting the playstation plus well imo. I don't have it but the content is looking good. There even pumping out triple AAA games so late in this generation while others are riding out multiplatform games.(No offense to anyone)

I suspect there is a few more AAA exclusives coming out from the competition this Xmas than Sony.

Sony support for there systems are just unrivaled. I think there going to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. They just didn't get a PS2 do over again.

[radgamer420]

I think Sony will be fine. They are making the Ps3 the most likely choice. There bringing out a new slim and they are taking some of the best games and making them into the best deals around. I mean you can get all God of wars for 39.99 and you can get both infamous for the same pice with the DLC. Also, there supporting the playstation plus well imo. I don't have it but the content is looking good. There even pumping out triple AAA games so late in this generation while others are riding out multiplatform games.(No offense to anyone).Sony support for there systems are just unrivaled. I think there going to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. They just didn't get a PS2 do over again.

The others are riding out multiplatform games? Halo and Forza Horizon are two AAA exclusives coming to 360 this holiday season. If anything its PS3 that will rely more on 3rd party to supply the big games this xmas. Now if you were to say new exclusive IPs then you would be right. I commend Sony for investing in two new IPs for early next year. But Sony's holiday 2012 exclusive lineup looks pretty weak. Xmas holiday sales belong to MS and Nintendo imo.

[Fijiandoce]

what did i read? that article was utter garbage! whoever wrote it should feel bad. his idiocy is now emblazoned for the whole world to see.

is Sony in a bad place? NO! HELL NO! if Sony flop entertainment will follow it. Sony have hands in every thing from tiny little semi conductors all the way through to Music artists and Hollywood Blockbusters. the entire point of this structure is to minimise losses in other sectors. now mainly focused to Sony Computer Entertainment (why TV's and such were added to this subsidiary is beyond me)

considering their similarities to Samsung, its surprising they haven't capitalised. i guess that's what you get when you position yourself as the "premium" electronics manufacturer and have a corporate structure akin to a disjointed Lamellibranch

if anything, Sony are in a better place than Microsoft. where they fail is dissemination. and its easy to see why

[mynd]

what did i read? that article was utter garbage! whoever wrote it should feel bad. his idiocy is now emblazoned for the whole world to see.

is Sony in a bad place? NO! HELL NO! if Sony flop entertainment will follow it. Sony have hands in every thing from tiny little semi conductors all the way through to Music artists and Hollywood Blockbusters. the entire point of this structure is to minimise losses in other sectors. now mainly focused to Sony Computer Entertainment (why TV's and such were added to this subsidiary is beyond me)

considering their similarities to Samsung, its surprising they haven't capitalised. i guess that's what you get when you position yourself as the "premium" electronics manufacturer and have a corporate structure akin to a disjointed Lamellibranch

if anything, Sony are in a better place than Microsoft. where they fail is dissemination. and its easy to see why

I don't think they are referring to Sony as a whole, just the PlayStation division.
As for MS, the current undercurrent and realization that the current round of tablets really aren't all that they are cracked up to be is setting Windows 8 up for a pretty good launch. But I really don't think this article is about the other parts of Sony.

[Fijiandoce]

I don't think they are referring to Sony as a whole, just the PlayStation division.
As for MS, the current undercurrent and realization that the current round of tablets really aren't all that they are cracked up to be is setting Windows 8 up for a pretty good launch. But I really don't think this article is about the other parts of Sony.

Sony's position as a conglomerate is directly opposing the article's position that SCE's margins are somehow "lesser", that's simply not true. people paid to go watch Battle: Los Angeles

im not under any delusions that Sony HQ aren't facing difficult times with their restructuring, but its no where near as bad as the article makes it out to be. its one of those doom mongering articles that only scratch the surface and creates misinformation. especially when SCE isn't wholly comprised of the PS3 and games. VAIO, Walkman, and Bravia all come under SCE. all were making a loss when they were merged if i recall correctly.

[mynd]

Sony's position as a conglomerate is directly opposing the article's position that SCE's margins are somehow "lesser", that's simply not true. people paid to go watch Battle: Los Angeles

Well they arent making much if any profit as an entire company these days.

im not under any delusions that Sony HQ aren't facing difficult times with their restructuring, but its no where near as bad as the article makes it out to be. its one of those doom mongering articles that only scratch the surface and creates misinformation. especially when SCE isn't wholly comprised of the PS3 and games. VAIO, Walkman, and Bravia all come under SCE. all were making a loss when they were merged if i recall correctly.

If you took the Playstation division on its own merits, it would have been shut down years ago. But there is a lot more to factor in than that.

[Fijiandoce]

Well they arent making much if any profit as an entire company these days.


If you took the Playstation division on its own merits, it would have been shut down years ago.

true & true

but again, strictly speaking about the article. i didn't like it. it started out with a biased intention and it was clear to see.
i just showed windows 8 to my mum. i got lol'd at, apparently im lying to her when i tell her windows 8 will look like it does.
Microsoft have invested in quite a sizeable risk, and this was no where to be seen in the article. Microsoft's very being is OS's (personally i like the mobile version, not the desktop one though) Microsoft could very easily find themselves in a similar position if the new OS isn't adopted with gusto.

as for Sony, i've always wondered how they operated how they did for so long. i said it before, dissemination seems to be a really big issue with them o.O
however, ~50% of manufacturing for Sony was done in Japan, and they were majorly affected by the tsunami. this also attributes to the operational loss seen last fiscal year. this years SCE quarters though have been rubbish if i recall haven't had much time to turn my gaze in this direction this year.
for my part, i wouldn't say Sony are in trouble until it becomes a recurring pattern year on year.

i do know however that the Bravia line could end up like Sharps LCD's.

[Silver_Knight]

We need them to be around longer though.
Microsoft needs competition to keep them honest, and lord knows Nintendo are not doing that.


For 20 pounds more than the 12gb model this holidays you will be able to pick up a full 250gb 360, Forza 4 and Skyrim bundle.
There is no way in hell thats competitive.

I suspect there is a few more AAA exclusives coming out from the competition this Xmas than Sony.

I think the factor of it being new will sell new consoles personally. It's like the 3ds because the 3dsxl does the thing besides battery life and a bigger screen. Now the slim will is slimmer and has different hdd sizes which IMo is on par which the changes of the 3ds. The reason is say this is because i believe it's selling well with minor changes. Also, i mean we're talking about little big planet, dude. This games sells well already but you if you throw karting in there then it's gold. We know people, especially casuals, love karting. So you have the nostalgia of karting, a already popular game, and a new system and that's got selling all over it. Also, you have playstation all stars which is a popular game it seems. I'll grant you that the pre orders aren't high but it hasn't announced the most requested characters yet like cloud, crash, spryo, tidus etc It's a fan based game so characters are the sellers. Nino kuni or whatever is coming to i think. So MS has 2 games aforza and halo. I mean that's good but little big planet won't sell as good but we two decent games and a new console there not doing bad. The wii has a new console so i really think there all doing good. All Sony has to do is hype some things up(Won't happen. So i think competing wise there not doing too bad. As for support i was just talking about hardware that's just a fact. We all know it.

@Rad, Sony will play the last of us and Gow cards and probably just announce a couple of things before the game events start. I mean they have kingdom hears coming and i really think versus and last guardian should be coming. I think consoles are nearing anyways but Sony is still investing and that's why i love them.

Sorry for grammar and other stuff and my Computer is going slow. Not much time to detail

[Fenix]

Don't agree with the pricing nonsense, I dont think a 4 GB 360 is really meaningful for actual gaming.

[admartian]

@Title

[sainraja]

The next PlayStation system must be on the horizon. The doom & gloom topics have started already so it must be. People do this every generation.

I guess if you keep predicting the same thing over and over until it comes to pass....you can always say we said so!

[coolguy]

Crazy ken is the blame for the mess of the PS3.with him puting a blue ray player in it. The price and hard to program for..