|
Home > Archive > Sony playstation2 > January 2007 > Soft sales troubling PS3 and 3rd party devs
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Soft sales troubling PS3 and 3rd party devs
|
|
|
|
| JoJo#1MSFanboy 2007-01-30, 8:00 pm |
| In article <FS7uh.18814$X72.11153@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
jonahnynla@mindspring.com says...
quote:
>
>This is serious:
>
>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/25/s...-for-ea-others/
>
>
I hope I didn't just spend $600 for a brick. It should do just fine once games
start coming out and especially well if they live up to the hype Sony has been
feeding us.
| |
| Jonah Falcon 2007-01-30, 8:00 pm |
|
"JoJo#1MSFanboy" <JoJo@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:439uh.2802$Lx2.1859@newsfe14.phx...
quote:
> In article <FS7uh.18814$X72.11153@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
> jonahnynla@mindspring.com says...
> I hope I didn't just spend $600 for a brick. It should do just fine once
> games
> start coming out and especially well if they live up to the hype Sony has
> been
> feeding us.
You know, most consoles, people wait til the Europe launch to buy. I early
adopted the 360 on a while, but...
| |
| JoJo#1MSFanboy 2007-01-30, 8:00 pm |
| In article <%e9uh.15296$yx6.1638@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
jonahnynla@mindspring.com says...
quote:
>
>
>"JoJo#1MSFanboy" <JoJo@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:439uh.2802$Lx2.1859@newsfe14.phx...
s/[vbcol=seagreen]
>
>You know, most consoles, people wait til the Europe launch to buy. I early
>adopted the 360 on a while, but...
>
>
What the hell are you talking about...your reply made no sense to me.
| |
|
| Sell it now.
One important take away from this article is that third-party
publishers are getting burned here. When game developers get burned
badly they go bankrupt, they often bet their future on each title. Most
game development companies are filled with passionate people willing to
take risk (well, the smaller ones anyway), but the big game publishers
(who publish for the small development companies) carefully watch where
consumers are spending, they take very calculated risk. You wonder who
pays attention to what the annalist firms print about game console
sales numbers; game publishers most certainly do.
Based on the PSOne and PS2's record, the PS3 was viewed as a low risk
investment. At this point, it's considered high risk, that means at
least a few of the games you're anticipating for PS3 won't materialize.
It's not unheard of to count losses and pull the plug mid-development,
in the video game industry it's very common.
There is a domino effect, game publishers get scared, they pull out and
so their are no games on the console. Without games the hardware,
regardless of who's brand is on it, sells in small numbers, which makes
it less appealing to third-party publishers.
It took a very creative, motivated and brilliant team combined with
some poor decisions made by the competition to launch the Playstation
into the stratosphere. The PS2 road the coat tails and it inherited the
#1 spot because of the great game library. Unfortunately, it is
apparent now the team behind PS3 has fumbled the ball.
Their arrogant position makes Nintendo's attitude in the early 90's
look quite humble. They are positioned for failure from every angle.
"Check mate" would be an appropriate metaphor. The customers out their
looking at their options for a nex-gen console aren't stupid people.
Some of them know exactly what they are laying out $600 for and all the
risk involved, but a lot of them are missing this information and just
trusting the Sony brand.
On Jan 25, 3:12 pm, J...@yahoo.com (JoJo#1MSFanboy) wrote:
quote:
> In article <FS7uh.18814$X72.11...@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
> jonahny...@mindspring.com says...
>
>
> start coming out and especially well if they live up to the hype Sony has been
> feeding us.
| |
| Jonah Falcon 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
|
"JoJo#1MSFanboy" <JoJo@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Tpcuh.2695$4W5.2461@newsfe10.phx...
quote:
> In article <%e9uh.15296$yx6.1638@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
> jonahnynla@mindspring.com says...
> s/
> What the hell are you talking about...your reply made no sense to me.
Sorry, I meant I early adopted the 360 on a whim.
| |
| Doug Jacobs 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
| RMZ <Jeremy.Deats@gmail.com> wrote:
quote:
> One important take away from this article is that third-party
> publishers are getting burned here. When game developers get burned
> badly they go bankrupt, they often bet their future on each title. Most
> game development companies are filled with passionate people willing to
> take risk (well, the smaller ones anyway), but the big game publishers
> (who publish for the small development companies) carefully watch where
> consumers are spending, they take very calculated risk. You wonder who
> pays attention to what the annalist firms print about game console
> sales numbers; game publishers most certainly do.
I don't think we'll see EA go bankrupt over the PS3 ;)
Granted, smaller publishers are a lot more sensitive to the ups and downs
of a console but only if they were banking on only one. With everyone
saying how expensive it's getting to develop games, are there really that
many 3rd party publishers left who are banking on ONE and ONLY ONE console
nowadays? We may see individual titles from a publisher appear on only
one console, but the impression I got for this was that we're going to see
a much larger amount of multi-platform titles.
quote:
> Based on the PSOne and PS2's record, the PS3 was viewed as a low risk
> investment. At this point, it's considered high risk, that means at
> least a few of the games you're anticipating for PS3 won't materialize.
> It's not unheard of to count losses and pull the plug mid-development,
> in the video game industry it's very common.
This is already happening, no? Isn't that why the some PS3 titles have
been delayed? Do publishers sign agreements with Sony (or others) about
releasing titles as exclusives? Could a company under such a contract use
a schedule slip as a delaying action to see if the PS3 starts to take off
- and if it doesn't, then renegotiate their contract? I know that if I
were a publisher, and had agreed to do an exclusive release I'd be very
pissed at Sony if the PS3 was languishing in sales.
quote:
> There is a domino effect, game publishers get scared, they pull out and
> so their are no games on the console. Without games the hardware,
> regardless of who's brand is on it, sells in small numbers, which makes
> it less appealing to third-party publishers.
A vicious cycle.
quote:
> Some of them know exactly what they are laying out $600 for and all the
> risk involved, but a lot of them are missing this information and just
> trusting the Sony brand.
Agreed. I'm still trying to convince the daughter of a family friend to
not ask for a PS3. She has a PS2, and figures the PS3 should just be
better. She also knows about a few upcoming games (Final Fantasy among
them) and wants the PS3 based solely on those - even though we're talking
about release dates that are 9-12 months (at least) in the future. After
watching the Dreamcast's demise, it became apparent to me that buying a
console based on possible future titles is an unwise gamble. Games get
delayed and cancelled for even the best of platforms. If you want to buy
a console, base your decision on the CURRENT library - not the ANNOUNCED
one. Of course, buying very early in the console's life still means
you're basically betting that there will be future games to play but at
least the current library should keep you busy...
--
Win cash and giftcards just for clicking your mouse!
http://www.netwinner.com/?signupCode=amuro98
| |
|
|
| Li'l Slugger 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
|
"Ghost" <night-rider@Cookieshaw.ca> wrote in message
news:Eiyuh.807658$1T2.529703@pd7urf2no...
quote:
> Jonah Falcon wrote:
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/25/s...-for-ea-others/[vbcol=seagreen]
>
> what the heck does a bank know about the gaming world?
> so PS3 is having a slow start.....
That's like saying the World Trade Center was in slight disrepair. The PoS3
is is proving to be the proverbial "Pluto Nash sized bomb."
| |
|
| Li'l Slugger wrote:
quote:
> "Ghost" <night-rider@Cookieshaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:Eiyuh.807658$1T2.529703@pd7urf2no...
>
>
> http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/25/s...-for-ea-others/
>
>
>
> That's like saying the World Trade Center was in slight disrepair. The PoS3
> is is proving to be the proverbial "Pluto Nash sized bomb."
>
>
lighten up for christs sake. get out of your parents basement and find a
girl.
mk
| |
| Jonah Falcon 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
|
"mikel" <mikel68@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:rtHuh.27385$sR.5112@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
quote:
> Li'l Slugger wrote:
> lighten up for christs sake. get out of your parents basement and find a
> girl.
The only girl you could find are the inflatable types, loser.
| |
| Jonah Falcon 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
|
"Ghost" <night-rider@Cookieshaw.ca> wrote in message
news:Eiyuh.807658$1T2.529703@pd7urf2no...
quote:
> Jonah Falcon wrote:
>
> what the heck does a bank know about the gaming world?
What the XXXX does it have to do with gaming? It has to do with MONEY.
M-O-N-E-Y.
What, did you think Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo make game consoles because
of gaming or they like gamers?
| |
| Doug Jacobs 2007-01-30, 8:01 pm |
| In alt.games.video.sony-playstation2 Ghost <night-rider@cookieshaw.ca> wrote:
quote:
> what the heck does a bank know about the gaming world?
> so PS3 is having a slow start.....
A "slow start" is one thing. You also have to look forward as well.
What, if anything, in the future will help the PS3 catch up and pass the
Wii and 360 in the marketplace?
The PS2 also had a slow start, but it was pretty well known that
eventually the manufacturing and supply issues would be resolved, and that
there were also bigger, better games coming down the pipe.
The PS3 is in a different situation.
It launched with way fewer units than announced - despite that, units are
sitting in stores and warehouses. Initial reviews from gaming related
publications have not been impressive. In the meantime, the Wii launched
at the same time, with much greater inventory and continues to sell out.
The Wii has overtaken the PS3, and stands to give the 360 some serious
competition. The 360, which was seen as the PS3's main competitor, has
been no slouch either. It might have had a shaky start like the PS3 and
certainly had its share of hardware issues but continues to improve.
True, the 360 has had a 1 year lead on the PS3 but if you look at where
the PS3 and 360 are now, and then look at both consoles' planned lineups
for this year, it's a bit hard to see what the PS3 will have in its
library that will not only be a AAA-rated game, but one that's capable of
convincing people to buy a PS3 instead of the cheaper-but-just-as-capable
360.
The PS3 just doesn't have the library or features to justify its $600
pricetag. If its graphics were better than the 360, the price could be
justified. If it was the one with all the must-play exclusive games, the
price could be justified. Heck, even if blu-ray was "the" definitive HD
movie format, the price could be justified. But right now, none of that is
true. The 360 has the larger, and arguably, better library of exclusive
games. The 360 has the better online experience. Games on the 360 look no
better or worse than games on the PS3. Finally, the 360 is $200 cheaper.
That pretty much sums up the PS3's problems.
The PS3 sits on the market with the smallest library of exclusive games, and
has the highest price. Blu-ray has not turned out to be a selling point for
the PS3 as Sony had gambled. Blu-ray has also not turned out to be the big
boon for gaming as Sony had assured us, either.
In fact, right now, you could say that Blu-Ray is one of the major reasons
the PS3 is so expensive, while being arguably the less technically capable
when compared to the 360 with its faster drive and more memory. Sony
claims the PS3's hardware is superior to that of the 360 - and that very
well could be true. However, if your console isn't getting the sales,
chances are, it's not going to get the attention from developers long
enough to learn how to use it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a
console failed to conquer the market despite having superior technology.
So, how can Sony reverse this trend?
Price drop: Sony has already flatly denied it will be dropping the price
of the PS3 in the foreseeable future. Even ignoring the business reaasons
for no disclosing price drops early, with Sony losing an estimated $300
per PS3, I don't see how they could drop the price until some of the other
components - namely the blu-ray drive - come down in price.
Drop blu-ray: Impossible. The damage Sony would do its reputation among
other studios, hardware companies, developers, etc. would be
immeasurable. This would pretty much doom blu-ray, as well as costing
Sony millions in exchanging all current PS3 games in stores with ones that
would run on the new, blu-ray-less PS3.
Get people excited about blu-ray: This was Sony's original business
strategy as far as I can tell. The idea was to use the under-priced PS3
as a "cheap" blu-ray player to get people buying blu-ray media - hopefully
causing HD-DVD to drop out of the market. The reality, however, has been
much different. Neither format has really taken off since the average
consumer still lacks the requisite HDTV. The high end AV market that
already owns a HDTV isn't interested in participating in a format war -
especially since neither format presents a clear advantage over the other.
This leaves...games! Sony has to do everything in their power to help
developers get those games out to the market. The only real reason to buy
a PS3 is for the games. Blu-ray maybe a cute gimmick, but anyone serious
about movies will just wait for the format war to die down, for the
libraries to improve, and for hybrid/combo players to emerge that can
handle both formts. Unfortunatly, with sluggish sales of the PS3 being
dwarfed by Wii and the 360, it could become increasingly difficult for
Sony to convince developers to produce games for the PS3 - much less
exclusive games.
--
Win cash and giftcards just for clicking your mouse!
http://www.netwinner.com/?signupCode=amuro98
|
| |
|
|