Sony Playstation 3 Gets Played

[Gikoku]

The console upgrade cycle hasn't been smooth sailing for Sony and its PlayStation 3. Last week, the electronics giant announced it's cutting jobs in its European gaming division, and since then, there have been a lot of rumors and conjecture (and perhaps damage control?) related to what may or may not happen with the strategy for the PlayStation.
Word of Sony's restructuring in its European games division generated buzz, which the company later apparently denied, that similar job cuts could be forthcoming in Japan and the U.S. Even more interesting, a Financial Times interview with Sony President Ryoji Chubachi fired up the idea that a North American and Japanese price cut for the PlayStation 3 isn't out of the question, although there's word circulating that Sony has denied the idea.
Will it or won't it? I suppose a statement by such a high-ranking individual being contradicted by another company spokesperson could be a good example of the kind of damage control that's necessary when a company is so big that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. At any rate, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Sony ended up cutting the price on the PlayStation 3, whether it's currently being denied or not; given the fact that Sony has often denied certain rumored events that did indeed come to pass (the PS3 launch delay springs to mind), maybe it's a matter of "when," not "if." It's long been known the PS3 was a pricey machine, and rivals have been aggressive in their simpler, less expensive consoles. (Apparently Sony shouldn't have pooh-poohed the Wii.)
The timing's interesting, too, since Sony recently announced it's discontinuing its less expensive, low-end PS3 model so it can instead push the pricier high-end version. Recent data from NPD Group reveals the console wars are pretty bloody, and maybe in unexpected ways. In March, Nintendo's DS was No. 1, selling 508,000 units. Sony's PlayStation 2 sold 280,000. Nintendo's much-ballyhooed Wii came in third, with 259,000 units sold. Microsoft's Xbox sold 199,000 consoles. Sony's PSP sold 180,000 units, and the PS3 was dead last, selling 130,000. It's not just that the PS3 is lagging -- it's also interesting that the last-gen PS2 is still outselling the brand-new version, despite all the hype.
A possible price cut for the high-end PS3 would certainly be of interest to investors, since most of us already know the PS3 costs more to manufacture than it brings in. Last quarter, the gaming division dragged down Sony's quarter. This was partially because the company cut the price on the PS3 in Japan right out of the gate, although at the time, the company also said that advertising and shipping costs for the PS3 could continue to be a drag on profits in the current quarter.
Sony reports its latest quarter in May, so it should be interesting to get a better idea of what's going on with the gaming division. At any rate, though, the battle's just begun for Sony, as it's forced to rethink rivals it previously underestimated, not to mention consumer preferences that appear to have been misinterpreted as well.

[droded]

Hmm... Ok it looks really weird without the top picture but that kind of sucks for Sony...

(

[Albion Knight]

Interesting
Micosoft could do some serious damage if they beat Sony to the punch with a price drop.

[Tsuyu]

since most of us already know the PS3 costs more to manufacture than it brings in.

That's the PS3's curse that will doom it - they are so expensive most won't buy them, and even if in a rare event someone buys one unit, they still "lose" money.

[droded]

Unlucky I guess. I still don't see why people hate sony.

[Tsuyu]

Originally Posted by droded

Unlucky I guess. I still don't see why people hate sony.

Because they treat their customer's like... well, I remember a nice gif Fablefreak linked to once where a big butt with the name "Sony" on it that "answered the call of nature" on a crowd of people named "Customers" or "Fans".

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

[droded]

But they still 'lose money' from selling it. They are taking one for the team.

[Tsuyu]

Originally Posted by droded

But they still 'lose money' from selling it. They are taking one for the team.

More like it is a very stupid way of designing a gaming console, hells, any product in general.

[droded]

Alright... But I bet that Microsoft will screw people over in the near future anyway...

[Tsuyu]

Originally Posted by droded

Alright... But I bet that Microsoft will screw people over in the near future anyway...

Haha - Microsoft has been doing it for years, little by little constantly. We've simply accepted it!

If you are such a little nerd like I am, you might recall the whole "open/closed source" conflict which eventually lead to the creation of Linux and many other open source programs.

[droded]

Yeah I was sort of wondering why no one was complaining about Microsoft

But I have accepted Sony, so I don't really mind.

[Albion Knight]

I think If Sony had come out with the PS3 before the 360 than it would be romping despite the price. I've said many times it's all about the games.

Came out first = more consoles
More Consoles = More games developed
More Games = more people want to buy it
More people Buy it = More Consoles

One interruption in this equation is if the console isn't worth the price and it stops selling.

The real test will be when the prices do drop to where "average gamers are willing to buy them (IE the price of the PS2)

Would the W!! have done as well if there was an comparatively priced 360

[Tsuyu]

Originally Posted by droded

Yeah I was sort of wondering why no one was complaining about Microsoft

Complaining about Microsoft screwing with you is like complaining about rain saying that the weather is screwing with you - it's been like that forever, and it aint going never going to change.

But I got to give them this though, the consoles Xbox and the Xbox 360 aswell as Xbox LIVE they've handled pretty nicely in a very un-Microsoft manner.

[Vegeta]

It also sucks for sony because most of the games for ps3 are on 360 too so just get the cheaper console if they both have almost the same games.

[droded]

I sure hope Sony will triumph...