Can you remember? I sure can, articles about the PS3′s doom and gloom were circulating carelessly across the web. ‘PS3 is dead’ some would say, betting on the demise of Sony’s flagship console. But where are they now? No place to be found, palely they hide behind the scenes or have made a 180 and suddenly singing PS3 praises. lessoned learned? Never bet against the PlayStation brand.
It’s a brand that has been around for decades, making games long before some of us could even read; far less write, but now things have clearly turned around for the hardware giant and we all should feel good about that.
Just yesterday, we learnt in a report from Japanese new paper Nikkei (via reuters) that Sony is poised to announce a Â¥100 Billion ($1.1 billion) surge in profit for the period of October through December 2009. Not only that but the profits will be much higher than the company’s own forecast, great news which will surely send its stock shooting for the stars. The reason for the profits? Well the same console that some journalists weere singing its swan song, is the same one responsible for this burst of growth. See how fast things could change?
Ever since PS3 launched back in August of last year and with a new lower price tag of $299, Sony has seen its PlayStation business went from struggling to reach its goals to struggling to keep up with high demand. For consecutive months the PS3 outsold Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii in all regions making the Slim down console an instant hit. Great job Sony, we’re proud of you, but now you must keep up the pace, you can’t sit and get comfortable, there’s no room for complacency. So we want to know you have big things and big plans in store for us, we hoping to know…. what’s next?
Keep Bringing The Exclusives One thing that separates PS3 from its competition is the sheer amount of great titles that are available for the system. Think Killzone 2, Resistance 1 & 2, Uncharted 1 & 2, MAG are just some available now and coming soon are: Heavy Rain, God Of War III, Gran Turismo 5 and White Knight Chronicles just to name a few.’ If Sony can keep the exclusive content coming to PS3, then it’ll do good. Keep Advertising Japanese companies are known for creating commercials that are so weird you’d think they were catering those commercials to aliens, creatures from outer space. I feared Sony would take the same path to introduce the PS3 Slim and they did exactly that! However those creepy ads aired only in Japan. Something then suddenly happened (fan outcry) and the department responsible for advertising PS3 debuted one of the most smart and successful ad campaigns ever waged. “It Only Does Everything” is the tag line and has become synonymous with the PlayStation 3. That ad campaign has, and is continuing to raise awareness of the many capabilities of PS3. From Blu-ray, to 1080p output to Netflix streaming amongst other things. The advertising must continue if they expect profits to stay up. Keep Pushing That’s all. If it keeps pushing, finding ways to make its fans happier with the brand, forge new ideas to keep the features unique and set apart then they’ll grow mighty. So what’s next Sony? I hope one of your representatives reads this.
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Nice article EG.
The news about Sony making profit was great news, and for it to be even more than they expected was that much better. It has been rough, and its great to see the turn around. The Exclusives line up to start 2010 is really going to get things going I think. And I’m excited to see what they bring to the table in 3D! The vibe that I’ve gotten is that alot of users want to see some nice additions, customization options, and reworking of the system itself (if that’s correct?) – the Music player, integration with other social networking (Last.fm), avatars, etc. I’m excited because I think it’s going to be a great year. (Pssst…don’t forget about Modnation Racers!…awesome!)
Do we know if the PS3 is profitable? Or just the games division?
Also, when you said, “For consecutive months the PS3 outsold Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii in all regions making the Slim down console an instant hit.”
I thought it only outsold both the Wii and 360 for the month of September only, then fell back behind the Wii once again in October and even the Xbox 360 in November.
So it wasn’t for consecutive months in a row, just one month, after its price drop. Then it was behind the Wii like normal after that.
That’s not saying it’s not successful, I just don’t know if the PS3 is making profit, or the entire games division.
The entire games division is making a profit but it’s because of the PS3, go through the link to read the full thing.
And also, it outsold the Wii and Xbox 360 for more than just the month of September, it went through October.
Plus you said things went down back to normal thereafter.
From the time PS3 Slim launched, things never went back to “normal” for the PlayStation devision… It has been selling better now than any other time in its entire history…
“And also, it outsold the Wii and Xbox 360 for more than just the month of September, it went through October.”
According to the NPD data, the Wii outsold the PS3 in October.
PlayStation 3 320.6K
Wii 506.9K
Alright Coffee, for some reason whenever I talk about the Wii in a manner you don’t approve of you get defensive..
That’s okay man, it’s only a console…
If you’re going to look at NPD alone of course the Wii was NO. 1 but may I remind you that NPD don’t check for online outlets and the biggest retailer of all: Walmart.
We’ll never know the accurate figures in the US..
Whatever the exact numbers are the future is really bright at Sony and the Playstation brand. 3D HDTV’s coming,3D compatability coming to ps3,Arc coming, and awesome exclusives keep on coming like there is no end in sight(Although I want them all mulit-platform but I guess that’s business)The price cut is helping tremendously and rumors I’ve been hearing though not confirmed is by Christmas 2011 there will be another cut to 249.99 and I can see that as the manufacturing costs keep dropping but we will have to wait and see. Sony and Playstation are in for a heck of a future and if they are right about this 3D which I think they are then they are in the drivers seat going into next gen of consoles.
Couldn’t have said it any better DL, you were on point!
I don’t get defensive. I was just pointing out that one thing, based on the NPD’s numbers.
No hard feelings about anything, like I said, I own a PS3 as well as a Wii.
While we may not ever know exact figures the NPD is designed to give us an idea. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, as well as many 3rd Parties use the NPD data for sales estimates.
@DL:
“Whatever the exact numbers are the future is really bright at Sony and the Playstation brand.”
I agree. I’ve also read the “rumors” about another price-cut, and I believe them 100%. Whether the new price is $250, $200, or $150, price-cuts happen. The question is, how soon and how much will it be.
Like I said in the first post, I don’t deny the PS3 is/will be successful, I’m just a numbers guy, so that one line stood out to me.
I don’t know where you get your “Facts” but you need to re – check them. Worldwide hardware figures show the PS3 ahead of the Xbox 360 every month since the launch of the slim and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change anytime soon.
As for the Wii – i don’t know what the worldwide figures for it were for the month of October but the PS3 has definetly been ahead of the Xbox 360, not just for consecutive months but for EVERY month since the slim launched.
Sony have yet to play their trump card – Gran Turismo 5. A franchise that no Xbox exclusive has ever come close to in terms of sales. Not only will this game shift well over 10 million (10 million being a conservative guess, it could easily hit 15 million) copies but it’ll move a substantial amount of PS3 hardware as well. Once GT 5 hit’s shelves (Whenever that is) the PS3 could well go into overdrive.
Of course games like GOW 3, WKC, Heavy Rain, Yakuza 3, The Last Guardian and The Agent will all make an impact too but in reality Sony could only release GT 5 this year and still make a huge profit.
Sony’s exclusive lineup for 2010 is second to none and with Blu – Ray slowly eliminating DVD to become the #1 form of physical media Sony have a lot to look forward to.
“…and with Blu – Ray slowly eliminating DVD to become the #1 form of physical media Sony have a lot to look forward to.”
I agree with that, each week in the advertisement circulars, I see more and more Blu-Rays being advertised.