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Sony and Microsoft can spin the results any way they want, but Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel says that the sales are just flat out disappointing, and that in Sony's case a price cut is "critical" in order to stimulate the market.
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(Link to GameDaily.com)
Watch them cut the price by like, $20 or something, or offer a ton of coupon rebates or something.
I seriously doubt Sony can afford any real kind of price cut so soon.
I doubt they're going to do it, they would piss of their customers big time if they cut the price already, and it's going to take a huge price cut to make a difference.
In the long run, they can't afford not to.
No, they can't afford a price cut.Quote:
Originally Posted by LordPerrin
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technolo...s_isuppli.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by guardian
A generation of game hardware that's crazy-expensive, offers nothing over the last generation, and adds $10 to the price of each game is underperforming? Color me fucking shocked.Quote:
Originally Posted by analyist
Plus isn't Sony in Chapter 11? The only thing thats keeping them alive is the gaming department?
I said something similar about a year ago. $400 and $600 are too high. With as bad as PS3 is doing, you might think 360 is destroying, but it's not doing a whole lot better than the original Xbox over parallel periods of time. Even PS2 didn't really, really take off until Sony dropped the price (and it launched at $299, not $599).
The console pricing of this generation is making things pretty weird. PS3 is so far tanking really bad, which means the most proliferated "real" next-gen console is 360. But 360 is an even bigger bomb in Japan than PS3, and with a good half of game development going on in Japan, where do developers put their games? Fortunately, software sales for 360 have been very good in the US--sort of reminiscent of Nintendo 64 exclusive stuff back in the day. But I wonder if the huge software sales will continue as the software library is more saturated (along the lines of PS2-levels of software) and hardware sales continue at their current pace.
Wii is the only system really selling like a leader right now, and whether or not that continues is hard to say. It's priced right, which may be the determining factor. But then where do developers that want to push technology put their games? Wii will have the worldwide hardware base but such low tech. 360 will sell games in the US but not anywhere else. And PS3 won't be doing much of anything until they lop off at least $200 from the price.
Like I said, the pricing of this generation is making things very, very weird. PS2 and Wii are going to continue to be the top sellers until Microsoft and Sony drop price.
Who gives a crap about wanting to push technology? Cube and X-box 1 games were beautiful. PS2 games were acceptable. It's not like we're trying to pull ourselves up from the 3D hell that was PS1.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkRyan
If Wii software picks up I'll get one, but for now my PS2 and DS keep me quite happy. Seems most of the gaming public feels pretty much the same way.
For everybody's sake, I hope the 2011/2012 gen gets it's head on straight and goes back to making $250-$300 consoles. Anything above that just does not fly in console gaming. Look at the 3D0...
Aren't you the guy who can't comprehend HD?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheebs
yeah.
Well, a lot of people care, including important developers. I don't think hardware tech is the end-all be-all, but I do think it's the logical step forward for the industry and the art. There's a lot of stuff--not just graphics--that could be done on better hardware than PS2 and Wii. I haven't seen much but better graphics so far (okay, nothing but better graphics so far), but there're definitely gameplay avenues clever developers will find only possible on the 360 and PS3.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheebs
There was nothing logical at all about this step forward. The PS3 and Zboz hardware have so much more "omph" than the last generation that they've gone and priced themselves right out of casual console range. And they're still losing $800,000 on every system sold. On top of all that, the insane processing power unfortunatly hit a huge wall of diminishing returns and the results aren't even that big of an improvement over the original Xbox.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkRyan
This generation really had to wait a good long time until the hardware could be done for $250 - $300.
The 360 is kicking ass, this is stupid. Forget whether you think they're selling enough systems at $399, they freaking own the software charts which is where all the money is made anyway. I don't think anybody at Microsoft is upset at the way things are going, they're going to sit back and wait for the GTA/Halo money train to ride on through while they collect phat margins on their Live subscriptions and now profitable hardware. They can worry about a price drop next year.
As for Sony, they can't afford it, and this analyst should know it. They can spend the next year waiting for memory prices to drop, getting fab sizes down and removing/integrating components. Nobody's buying it because the games aren't there, a price drop won't accomplish anything. Nobody's going to buy a $499 console just for Resistance either.
Jeetil Patel is now on my list of "guys who just say stuff without really thinking it through."
Excellent point, really.Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo
Is there ANYTHING the mainstream gamer gives a shit about these days thats going to be a PS3 exclusive anytime soon? The big games on the horizon that the mainstreamers would buy are, GTA4, any future madden release, and Halo3. Lair is not going to sell consoles. Madden is not going to look significantly better on the PS3 anytime soon, so why bother with the $100-200 more PS3? A good Grand Turismo sequal would get the interest up, but how far off is that? Forza 3 would be out before it at this rate. The PS2 had madden while the Dreamcast didnt, and it killed it. It then had GTA3 over a year earlier than the Xbox, and you can be damn sure that hurt the XBox in the early days. Sony needs something, anything that will get the casual gamers attention, that MS or Nintendo can't offer. And they don't have it.
How are the PS3's software sales? Id be interested to know how many of them are just detined to be a clunky Blu-ray player.
Hay, MarkRyan
that guy sure called you out.Quote:
6/11/06 11:13am, CMoriarty posted:
You make some good points, though I disagree. I think the problem is much simpler with Xbox360's lackluster overall performance; no one likes it. I don't mean NO ONE, but NO ONE compared to how many people still play their, say, Playstation2. Playstation3 is going to dwarf the 360 in sales in a matter of one month. Millions and millions and millions of people around the world, in all three "districts" if you will, are anticipating it. People in Japan could give a damn about Xbox360, it's not selling well in Europe, and it's not selling well in the US. The PS3 is sure to sell well in all three places continuously for some time.
Yah he got me there. I actually know him personally and he's a cool dude, but clearly his prediction did not quite pan out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thief Silver
I don't know what some people were thinking with their nutty PS3 predictions. Even if PS3's sales greatly outpaced the 360's, it'd still take a while to overtake a 1-year headstart. How can anyone seriously think that anyone is capable of pumping 10+ million units into the market in a MONTH? Real brain trust there.
I didn't know people like this were still around.Quote:
offers nothing over the last generation
The majority of consumers still don't have HDTVs, and so the statement is pretty much entirely true.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sega saturn x
They're not going to cut the price in the next six months, and they're going to end 2007 just fine. There are way too many chicken littles out there. We are in month 5 out of 60+ for the system.
I think Sony and MicroSoft are going to have to revisit pushing new technology for their next systems. These prices wouldn't be so high if the current technology in each system wasn't new and costing tons to produce. Sure they're convenient but they are driving up the prices on systems to the point where casual gamers are pushed out of the loop.
They shouldn't take the Nintendo route, either, and gimp the system to the point where it resembles the previous generation but with a bit more power. Finding a medium where Hi-Definition is being used while using affordable graphics hardware and making the sytem an attracitive price between $300-400 is where to go.
I hate video games, though, so whatever.
So, what exactly does it offer?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sega saturn x
The reason to get a Zboz is Live Arcade. I'm pretty sure the original Xbox could have emulated TMNT just fine, so I don't see why the hardware upgrade was needed for that.
The reason to get a PS3 is blu-ray. Nobody gives a shit.
As far as better graphics... Resident Evil 4 looked amazing because the developers took the time to make 1,873,463 unique textures and rendered unique "clutter" for every room. Cranking the hardware power isn't going to make nearly the difference it did before since the Xbox and the Cube already had the power to take all the developer's budget had to throw at it.
"Good graphics" these days depend on how much time you take to render every goddamn twig and coffee mug in your virtual world. I don't care if the resolution is through the roof and the engine is throwing around 2,000,000 triangles on each frame if I'm seeing the same texture over and over and every desk in the house has the same three knick-knacks on it.
Hardware power pales in comparison to time, money, creativity, and more time and money when it comes to graphics ever since the last gen.
So again, what does this new gen really offer for your hundreds/thousands of dollars?
I have two HDTVs, and I still don't see the reason for the upgrade.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkRyan
Month's 6 -- whenever they drop price are probably not going to be much different.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
The need to drop the PS3 to $199 and include a pack-in game and a free PSP with a 4GB memory stick duo.
Piss off the people who are so firmly attached to Sony's knob they already ran out and bought a PS3? How is this a valid business concern?Quote:
Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv
It's a concern if you're thinking long-term- customers don't like getting fucked in the ass. They'll remember it next time and maybe they won't be so quick to run out and buy Sony's next system.Quote:
Originally Posted by burgundy
Shit like that happened to Sega and guess who's not in the hardware business anymore? You might not think that's possible with Sony, but Sega was king of the hill too at one point. Already some cracks are showing...
"As far as better graphics... Resident Evil 4 looked amazing "
It looks like utter crap compared to the real next-gen games.
Nobody fucking thinks that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheebs
I'll say it again...Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
CHEEBS CAN'T COMPREHEND HD.
Thereby nulling any idiotic argument he might make.
It is stupid to think that PS3 could outpace 360 by now but I see/hear quite a few peeps babbling about MS headstart all the while forgetting that the same headstart (and arguably better games) and the DC was still raped silly by PS2 w/in a relatively short time frame.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
Not that the situation is entirely the same but a headstart doesn't count that much in a console race.
The DC didn't have Madden, used a terrible controller, and had no games the general public was all that interested in outside of Soul Calibur.
Hence "situation isn't entirely the same" Sony can't use the "It's a DVD player too" or the "we have shitloads of exclusive content" cards anymore. I think MS headstart will be harder to beat out than SEGA's but by no means impossible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schlep
Well, if Sony continues selling 1 PS3 for every 2 360's sold in the US, it's just a matter of time before they catch up.
Maybe they'll catch up in reverse!Quote:
Originally Posted by Schlep
IMO Sony shot the shit out of itself in the foot by using the PS3 to strong arm its Blu-Ray shit into the market, a market full of people that still hook their $35 Wal-Mart DVD player into their 21 inch RCA with a co-axial cable that won't give shit for bricks about Bluray for years to come. PS3 is a great Idea for maybe 2010 or 11.
Odds are they could have made a great 360 killer even if they ditch BR to keep the costs down and maybe made a greater effort on the controller or less arrogance or whatever.
Blu ray alone has a very good chance to make more money for Sony than the entire Playstation's history. They didn't make a mistake with it. The real mistake would have been passing up royalties on the dominant HD format just to keep control of the piddling home videogame console industry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bojack
Not entirely true.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schlep
NFL2K1 was the best selling game in North America at @ 900,000 units. Phantasy Star Online had over 650,000 (Online)users at its peak. Along came PSOVer.2 and NFL2K2 and Sega decided to start charging for online play. They had a golden opportunity and blew it when they decided to start charging for it.
If Blu-ray is a success. That's a mighty big if, and they wagered the PlayStation on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo
The closest thing to a successful format from Sony is the MemoryStick, but it shares a market with like five competitors.
Its the library stupid. Sony made some good bets on relying on its history, a strong hardware showing and past titles. But without new titles that people find wtf awesome, no one wants to buy a new PS3 right now and play God of War 2 on it when they can keep their old system, pay nothing and play God of War 2 and wait for that wtf awesome game and a price drop.
It sure does but not being crammed onto an already expensive device. A stand alone Blu Ray as well as the BR format ... yeah it could make crazy bank. But I will feel that shoving it onto the PS3 will be a bad move unless it all of a sudden becomes a conclusively good move (i.e. PS3 AND BR sales going ape shit).Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo
I don't see why they could have sold a 3~400 buck PS3 and made a 150 or 200 buck or so BR adapter or some shit like the XBox HD adapter. That way they still have a cheap ass BR player AND an affordable game system. As of now they've priced themselves far too high for their near laughable line up. Maybe things will pick up for them as of now they're walking a very tight rope.
I'd totally buy one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite