Dear Sony, a note from the wise. When you make a mistake, you learn from it, not act stubborn and repeat the same bad decisions over again like you’re hard of learning. Eventually, your boat will sink; and that’s something none of us would want to happen.
Yeah I know, my introduction was kind of grim, but it had to be. Has Sony forgotten what happened in the early days of the PS3? I’m sure they haven’t. In fact, it was just last month the company announced that it’d started making a profit from the console. The boys at the top of the chain at Sony should really think hard before allowing Microsoft and Nintendo to release their next generation consoles before the hardware giant. Not for one, but many reasons.
The PS3 cost Sony billions of dollars in losses and I’m sure they haven’t made that money back. Many sectors of the hardware giant had to be shut down so others, the more viable ones, could be saved. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs while the company was in its restructuring process, and while there were other issues coming together to forge a perfect storm for Sony, (including the recession and Japanese currency exchange issues), the PlayStation was the brand that ate up the most cash.
Things were really bad. See, what people seem to forget is that even when Sony’s PS3 was being sold for over $600, it was still selling decently globally. Think about it, had Sony released it’s third major console at the same time with Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the PS3 would have a substantial global lead over it, even at its expensive price. So the problem here is not even pricing, it’s more about strategy.
Think long term. Games sell better on Microsoft’s console in the US only because it has a bigger install base, it beats the PS3 by millions, sometimes. So although some have argued that Redmond should have taken its time to release a better system, none can go against numbers. With almost every multiplatform title that’s released, more sales are realized on the Xbox 360. From Red Dead Redemption, which has sold over 500,000 more copies on the Xbox 360, to titles like Modern Warfare 2, that game has sold millions more on the Xbox 360.
Again this has nothing to do with gamers liking the Xbox 360 more, it’s about gamers wanting new hardware, and the company that comes out first will be the one to reap the most rewards, the most fruits. That’s exactly what has happened with Microsoft. Last month, according to the NPD, the Xbox 360 contributed the most profits to the industry. Say what you will, but that’s just amazing.
So when Sony’s Worldwide Studios boss, Shuhei Yoshida, told Develop that his company would release its next gen console later than Microsoft and Nintendo, it struck me as odd, and unwise. Probably they’re just fooling around with us right? Because if they allow the two aforementioned giants to release before them, I’m sure, I’d give up on the company’s ability to strategize.
Now, I know an argument can be waged against my stance. One could simply counter by saying: “Well since Sony has yet to make back the money it spent on the PS3, it’s wise for them to milk it for as long as possible, and when they break even, then they could move forward into the next gen.”
This argument is a valid one no doubt, but isn’t the PS2 over ten years old? Yes. Is it not still selling millions yearly? Yes. Has Sony stopped supporting said console? No. In my opinion, they should do the same with the PS3. Go ahead, release PS4 before, or simultaneously with the “Xbox 720″ or “Wii 2″, grow your install base while PS3 continues to grow too. If the company from the land of the rising sun can accomplish this, there’s not doubt in my mind the glory days will come back once more.
But if they choose to go against the wind, or kick against the pricks, we can kick the PlayStation’s great days away.
A GamesThirst Original.
There is some logic to what you have to say. But you need to remember that if the PS3 generation has not become profitable, spending research & development $$$$ on PS3 will cost. So, it makes sense to wait and realize the potential of PS3 before pushing PS4 out the door. With developers now using the SPU’s to full potential (Uncharted 2, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5 soon, Infamous 2 soon and Killzone 3 soon) you can see the future looks great. When you add motion controls (Socom 4, Killzone 3, along with casual games) and ushering in 3D games and movies, you can see there are years left for PS3.
The other consoles are running out of steam fast. Microsoft never had HDMI planned in the early consoles, they were plagued with RROD and still are, they took a $3billion charge to swap with used consoles and their Kinetic is Pathetic.
Wii was a runaway success, who knew! They made up for in numbers even with lack of HD. They will be first out of the gate with another console in 2012, then Microsoft, then Sony.
i Get what you’re saying Sbains. But by the time Sony comes on the scene, if they allow Nintendo and Microsoft to jump out before them, the two giants install base would be very substantial, and that would give them power, especially Microsoft, to pull a lot of “exclusive” strings.
Developers themselves would not see the reason to bring their games to the PS4 in its early stages. Sony would lose more money waiting and diving in Think.
But you’re right, the console still has massive potential!
LOL clearly Ernice knows absolutely nothing about business, the games industry, or why Sony is struggling in the console race.
The reason sony is not doing well is because they lost a lot of their biggest exclusives, a big one being GTA4, and it was made known (albeit a big lie) that Microsoft had exclusive deals put together, when they were only timed exclusives. Software sells systems, rarely is it hardware. Learn that. The PS2 was inferior technically speaking to the first xbox but it had way better software, and we all know how that battle ended up. Plus, the Wii was out after the 360 too, its amazing how many people forget that, and its wiping the floor with the entire industry, its turned the industry on its head to the point where move controls are now the big thing, it was all over E3, that’s what Sony and Microsoft have finally learned – the Wii was successful because they are marketing to a whole different market of consumers – people who have never picked up a videogame controller. The PS3 and 360 aren’t even close to touching that market, and now they’re trying to attract that market via motion controls – it will all depend on how well it’s marketed to that market of consumers.
Also, being last out of the gate doesn’t mean you can’t start making exclusive deals early on when the console is still being developed, you’ll be talking with developers and can make whatever deal you please with them, however it is known that Sony doesn’t do business this way, developers used to be loyal to them but with the rising cost of development they have gone multiplatform to balance the budget. Believe it or not, the consumers do not come first when it comes to a company’s profitibility, the balance sheet and income statement determine whether that company is successful, and going multiplatform to appease stakeholders makes sense from a business standpoint most of the time. Other times in the case of Metal Gear Solid 4, its impossible given the hardware limitations of the 360.
Plus there are a lot of developers who would be excited about switching to PS4 given the chance – Uncharted developers, Hideo Kojima, Polyphony Digital, all of them would love the extra hardware to make something great, these are developers with vision, and new hardware means they can achieve more of that vision, it allows them to expand their creativity with fewer and fewer bottlenecks.
Plus, the PS3 had a lot of PR problems in the beginning. The immature gaming media chastized them for charging 600 dollars on a console that cost almost 900 to manufacture. I think Sony should’ve given a big FU to all of those pricks and just charged 900 bucks, it would’ve been the best thing ever. That’s about what 360 gamers were paying after they bought a wifi adapter, a bigger hard drive, a high def DVD drive, an extra controller and a few games, why not market yourself as the all in one package rather than the box that people should, as that stupid Ken Kutaragi said, “work more hours for just so they can afford it”. That was the stupidest PR move I’ve ever seen. Clearly the Japanese don’t know shit about PR, especially when marketing to anyone who isn’t Japanese, but I can tell you this for sure, the only people who agreed with him are people living in Japan. Their PR practices just didn’t mesh, neither did their horrible advertising campaigns that did nothing to communicate the advantages of the PS3. Noone really knew what features it had, none of that was well communicated. Plus the extremely immature gaming industry proved to the rest of the world that it is not to be taken as seriously as any other industry when it cried over a system that cost 100-200 bucks more than its competitor, even though the extra features were at 900 bucks worth of value. When the gaming media largely run by unemployed bloggers pulled down its pants and shat all over Sony, it was just downhill from there. Sony now has by far and away the best lineup of exclusives, thats not even up for debate anymore, and they still struggle to get their reputation healed from the bile that has tarnished it spewn by the immature gaming media. They still have the most feature rich console with free online. When I found out the 360 came with a wireless controller that ran on AA batteries I thought I was living in the 50′s, yet people still buy it because of the massive amount of marketing Microsoft does for that system. This is why that system has still enjoyed the larger number of software sales excpet for times when Sony has a clear advantage with exclusive content ie. Batman Arkham Asylum. When sony’s rep went down the toilet they suffered financially and at the end of the day, they completely depleted their marketing budget. This has resulted in the AAA Sony exclusives that are far and away better than anything the 360 has to offer winding up with mediocre sales. Sony is broker than Michael Jackson right now, so a new console would need to be clearly technically superior, with more support to 3rd party devs, which they didn’t have this generation, which resulted in lackluster 3rd party multiplatform games which still exist to this day.
they have to be careful, if they release too late developers are not going to want to release their games on it.
why did ninja theroy decide to go multiplatform?
if sony release too late after the other 2, those will have a larger install base and developers will release their games on those and ignore the ps4.
not to mention the technical issues developers had this gen with the ps3 since sonys machines are always a pain in the a$$ to program for!
the ps3 was so late into developers hands, it took them a good 2 years after release to get multiplatform games on level terms.
is that what they want with the ps4?
having fewer exclusives is one thing, but having inferior multiplatform games is the perfect way to send your company bankrupt!