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David Marcus, of Yahoo! gaming video magazine Playback, has said that after going from first to last place in just two console cycles, “Sony is in serious trouble this generation.”
Playback’s latest instalment is supposed to be a handy guide to buying a console this Christmas, and reckons that Blu-ray no longer justifies PS3’s high price tag as cheaper players are now entering the market.
On the other hand, Wii demand is going to stretch stocks again this Christmas, says the programme, and apparently “there’s never been a better time to buy Microsoft’s concave console,” after 360’s latest round of price cuts.
Full thing after the break.
By Mike Bowden
Viewing 106 responses
Quiiick said:
… but this time around this price point has to reached by a console which includes
a.) a HDD
b.) WiFi
c.) HD-movie playback
morriss said:
Which is why they’re in trouble Quiick. See?
Quiiick said:
No, because:
a.) they have all this right from the start. (albeit not at 149.99 now.)
b.) this price point does not have to be reached 2 (europe 1,5) years after launch.
If Sony manages to reach 149.99 in 2010, all will be fine. There is no need to hurry.
But if Sony can’t reach this price until christmas 2010, then they may be in trouble.
morriss said:
Ok. You carry on believing that.
Quiiick said:
Yes I do. And maybe, after all is said and done, I’m all wrong.
We’ll see …
No_PUDding said:
Gotta admit, I am with quiiick.
Future seems much brighter for Sony at the moment, and not even in relation to lineups, becuase that I believe will seriously chnage. MS have a lot to announce.
Vahn16 said:
I’m in Quiiick’s camp on this one. Just because the mainstream audience isn’t sucking your console off the shelves before it can even touch solid ground doesn’t mean that it’s “in trouble.” Like the Gamecube last generation, the HD consoles occupy a fairly lucrative niche. They’re both far from sinking, and attempting to out-Wii the Wii is utterly impossible anyway.
Plus, with the PS2 and PSP chugging along as well, Sony has a good deal of revenue to work with. The PS3 will reach the pricing “sweet spot” in time, but there’s no need to rush.
klanger13 said:
Also, the MS exclusives this year are Viva Pinata 2, Fable II, Gears of War 2 and Banjo.
Well gears of war 2 is pretty much a shooter along those lines really. Isn’t it?
Also, I don;t think that looks very strong. I love Viva Pinata – its genius I’m telling you – , Banjo intrigues me, Gears is good but I can;t be doing with the whole WWE thing, and Fable was rubbish – sorry Peter, its a lovely looking game but its really dull. But none of these – with the possible exception of Gears – are system sellers.
Syrok said:
Viva Pinata would be for me.^^
No_PUDding said:
Lineup is important but at the moment it’s irrelevant.
Especially arguing on a subjective point like that. Personally Viva Pinata is way better than half of the multiplatform shit.
Basically Sony is sarting to go after a wider audience that MS is tryign to please with products the PS2 introduced.
PS3 is bringing out news thigns for the casual, that will work as a backlog when it becomes affordable.
Basically First Party (when you can juggle it, as Sony is infamously good at) is a pivotal part of this market ‘war’.
Coheno said:
I think people put waaay tooo much on the price part of the weight… You know it’s not THE ONLY factor as to why people buy stuff?!
And the only one who had a valid point in this whole comment section was Quiiick, and he was dismissed fairly quickly, pun unintended! I think LBP, LittleBig Planet could make THE difference! That game COULD be the PS3’s Wii… It’s niche product that everyone will want! I think many underestimate that, if you’re a kid, that game is going to be the coolest thing ever!
No_PUDding said:
Don’t get me wrong the game seems like it will be superb, and can actually be the first step in a revolution.
But it’s certainly not a system seller or even a proven seller yet.
I’d say a price point has more effect over a single game. A lineup and a long term investment has more of an effect than a price point though. certainly in this country.
Coheno said:
Yeah a pricepoint has more effect, IF you have a line-up to back it up with! If you don’t have the games, nobody is gonna put out 300 euro’s for it, unless you have a niche, like just off the top of my head, maybe motion controls?!
Archaenon said:
People are so hung up on price more then anything.
@morriss , I can’t help to think you are waaaaay too biased twoards the 360. It’s got some good games , but lets face it it only has two mentionable Jrpgs , Infinite ( which isn’t really that amazing , but fun ) and Lost Oddysey which I expected to be good because of the team regardless of the system. ( I can’t mention tales , because I only played the demo and wasn’t overly impressed with the copius amounts of button mashing in the battle system )
I’ll agree with the space pirates shooters , so many of them on the 360. The Wii and the PS3 have more Original games with More Niche Markets and people to appeal to.
When it comes down to it , all the systems have awesome games. No system is better then the other. Esp for the whole “omg price” argument.
morriss said:
I said that the PS3 has a great line-up too. just said the days of 360=space marine shooter console aren’t as true as they were a year ago.
And another thing, this whole thread is an “omg price” argument it’s just some people want to debate which console is “best” and it was never about that.
Coheno said:
@Archaenon
Exactly!
morriss said:
I also think you’re all vastly overestimating the impact LBP will have on the market. Still, as quiick says, let’s just wait and see.
Syrok said:
I’m not to sure about LBP either. I somehow think that it won’t really appeal to “the kids” but rather to older people who are probably be more likely to enjoy creating levels.
wz said:
A shatnerful of comments, guys. Nothing to do on the weekends?
Coheno said:
@wz
Dude it’s a Sunday night…or at least it is in Denmark. So not much to do, but watch some NFL and discuss gaming on the net…
Syrok said:
I have to practice my English somewhere, wz.
wz said:
Folks, I’m not any better, no need to be all defensive about it.
Syrok: You’re from Germany too, right? IIRC, Ruhrgebiet, that’s where I’m from as well
Greetings!
Syrok said:
I used to life just east of the Ruhrgebiet. o/
Moved away just a month ago though.
Coheno said:
@wz
No_PUDding said:
So we agree, it’s not a good idea for Sega to release the Dreamcast?
wz said:
Well Pud, you know I /do/ love the DC. Maybe we could talk Sony into not releasing PS2 as a competitor?
Coheno: I’ll mail you a beer
morriss said:
I live in Denmark too, Coheno. Whereabouts do you live?
No_PUDding said:
wz, Id’ agree but for me it’s Shadow of the Colossus.
If Sony stay alive as SCEI/SCEE/SCEA then agreed. I can handle it on a Dreamcast just so long as it exists.
wz said:
So the plan is to travel backwards in time, tell Sony their third console will be beaten even by Nintendo (imagine that at PS2 times!), and talk them into releasing games for the DC.
ecu said:
Jeeeesus. Sony will be fine, of course they will be. I cannot believe the furore this has generated, from what basically is some hack from a shit website.
Blerk said:
‘kin hell!
patlike said:
Sunday funday
morriss said:
Nothing else to do was there? Sheesh! You people with lives are so full of yourselves.
Robo_1 said:
LOL
Yes I must admit, I did get a surprise when I saw 80 comments were attached! Nothing like an open attack on one of the console manufacturers to get the keyboards clicking
BartonFink said:
Wow this really has caused a bit of a shitstorm. Should be interesting in the comments section over on EG if they put the story up there today.
My 2c if you take the PS3 as a piece of consumer electronics then yes it’s great value as a Blu-ray player and games machine. If you take it just as a games machine in comparison with the other two then the price is not justified.
What’s so new about this anyway this type of thing has been said from the very inception of the PS3, it’s too expensive because of all this wonderful technology inside and Sony cannot afford to drop the price because they will crucify themselves. They have to bring the price down though if they ever want to come close to the other two this gen.
Caught between a rock and a very hard place. Are they in trouble though? Maybe.
morriss said:
Saying a console is in “serious trouble” isn’t really an open attack though is it? That’s what’s so funny about all of it.
morriss said:
Barton: it’s new because of 360s recent price drop. It’s an even less attractive financial proposition compared to the competition now. (in terms of being a games machine, not as a piece of consumer electronics).
BartonFink said:
Yup I know. Screwed if they do drop the price and screwed if they don’t.
Blerk said:
No doubt they’ll be ‘adding value’ any day now.
Robo_1 said:
@morriss
Well I agree there’s a difference between laying out the facts and attacking the console, but that Yahoo piece is anything but balanced. As I said earlier, the whole thing comes across as a 360 advert. Why mention the 360’s “great” Christmas line up and then not say anything about the PS3’s?
It undoes the credibility they have regarding the points that do stick. Anyway, using headlines like ’serious trouble’ is extremely provocative phrasing to use without any figures to back them up.
Until we know what sort of impact the latest 360 price cut has had on sales, it could go either way. Hell, I’d even go so far as to say that if the price cut hasn’t helped 360’s fortunes in Europe, then it’s MS who are in serious trouble.
No_PUDding said:
Blerk:
£399 PS3 500gb 3 games and £5000 credit in PSN store.
Eregol said:
@moriss from the 21st
I was only offering my point of view.
Granted, I overlooked Viva Pinata, but I still think that the 360 forthcoming line up is devoid of refreshing new ideas.
And to be honest, whenever we buy a games console aren’t we always paying for potential?
At release no-one knows what a console can do, it’s only towards the end of year 3 that the real power starts coming out.
And even at the point of a 5 year life span consoles continue to be pushed.
As the PS3 grows older the technology used to make it will become cheaper and Sony can drop the price.
Sony is improving the PS3 service year on year, and lest we forget that Microsoft suffered from poor software and severe hardware problems to begin with (How much did RROD cost and continue to cost?), so, all the money they mad eon the consoles must have been all but eradicated from that severe problem.
I don’t think Sony are in any trouble at all.
morriss said:
I think they could be in trouble IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT. i.e. it’s too expensive compared to the competition.
That’s all.
Shatner said:
All these comments about the woes of the PS3 and not a mention of back compatibility?
You lot are slipping.
DrDamn said:
I tend to think people buy a system more based on the games they want to play rather than the price as such. So you want to play game X on system Y – you wait until you can afford the system.
Having said that I walked past Currys today and they had signs in the window for both consoles. PS3 £299 next to 360 from £129. That looks pretty bad to be honest. If you are trying to decide between a 360 and a PS3 and have no deciding factors in terms of games the choice is obvious.
Eregol said:
I’ve actually just listened to that article, and I have to say it is a biased piece of claptrap.
As an article to help advise people on what to buy, they should concentrate on each console’s strengths and weaknesses.
No mention of 360 reliability issues, sub-standard 3rd party wii titles (Another party game with added waggle anyone?) and no mention of upcoming stellar PS3 line up.
You cannot advise when giving only one side of the story.
cookiejar said:
ooh no, I better sell my PS3 now then!
Thanks Yahoo!, you saved my life once again! Makes me regret using Gmail now
Psychotext said:
Wow… this has to be one of the longest topics I’ve seen here. Some massive overreactions to what is essentially an opinion piece.
Quiiick said:
One more post please!
Truk said:
I win.