Games a big part of Sony profit woes
The Japanese PS3 price cut and slower-than-expected sales of the PSP are among the reasons being cited for Sony's announcement yesterday of a 62 percent drop in profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March. The revised numbers include a 200 billion yen expected loss for the games unit, nearly double the initial estimate for the fiscal year, and costs incurred during the recent recall of many Sony laptop batteries.Sony also announced reduced shipment targets for the PSP, down from 12 million units to 9 million units for the fiscal year. The reduction mirrors a recent increase in DS sales expectations from Nintendo from 17 million to 20 million units for the business year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
deaftly @ Oct 19th 2006 12:02PM
they are just getting what they deserve. fuck em
clo1_2000 @ Oct 19th 2006 12:05PM
But everything is fine over at the Sony camp, really it is!
riskbreaker @ Oct 19th 2006 12:05PM
at least sony has actually made money off their consoles
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:06PM
Not good news, but hopefully after the launch, PS3 will make them more money and recoup those losses.
Not everything is a financial hit unfortunately, and not every thing they make is destined to make money off the bat.
I mean even microsoft has had problems turning a profit on some of its divisions and they're the one of the wealthiest corporations ever.
No matter how ya feel about Sony, They bring competition, as does MS and Ninty, so losing either one of them would be bad for us all as gamers.
Even you should realize that deaftly. Just because you dont like the PS2 doesn't mean you should wish financial ruin on a company. Thats fanboyism to a stupid degree.
Saiclone @ Oct 19th 2006 12:08PM
I dont want SOny to fail, but it seems like they are making some pretty bad business decisions.
mykie @ Oct 19th 2006 12:08PM
Who didn't expect Sony to have losses? At least they're coming out and admitting it.
Now we just need Kaz's Kids (the Sony PR branch) to put a cheerful spin and/or flatout denial on this information.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:09PM
Personally this gen, I hope Sony, MS AND Nintendo pull off their respective plans.
I mean as a gamer i plan on getting all 3 (its amazing how much you can save up when your only vice is gaming) So i expect good things from all 3 as well.
But i'm sure development for the PS3 hit them hard, as did the battery recall. But hey, if they believe in the PS3 that much, more power to them... i mean its not like they're selling it at a tremendous profit to themselves. You gotta at least love Sony and MS for giving you a lot of system for your buck.
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 12:09PM
#3 as opposed to Nintendo who pretty much nothing but makes money off their machines :P
JodyAnthony @ Oct 19th 2006 12:10PM
I agree with JJ. I am like king nintendo fanboy, but I dont want to see ANY of the 3 companies drop out of the race. Of course, I don't want to see any new companies either, though. 3 is healthy competition, more would just be oversaturation
Scott @ Oct 19th 2006 12:10PM
Before they announced the delays and reduced shipments, Sony was projecting something like 3-5 years before they made a profit off the PS3. I wonder what that number is now?
clo1_2000 @ Oct 19th 2006 12:12PM
@ #3, Nintendo has always made a profit off of their consoles. They are the ones who will be making profit from day 1, since they are selling the Wii at a profit as well.
NovaTard @ Oct 19th 2006 12:12PM
Sony doesn't need your money, they can retire comfortably from us fanboys alone.
err, if Sony is losing approx $300 per PS3 console, how many do we have to buy in order to get Sony back on track??
maximus @ Oct 19th 2006 12:13PM
Yes let's all wish Sony a speedy demise because we don't want a choice, we don't want competition to drive prices down or companies to have to innovate to get to the top.
As for the PSP 9 million is no shabby figure, a damn sight more than the 360.
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 12:18PM
#13
drive prices down? Um haven't all the prices this generation have gone up? games are $60, systems are stupidly high. I don't see that competition price mark.
innovation...little to no people are doing that. i mean look at ea/madden games, same game every year. splinter cell, same game but different levels. alot of these games arent that different.
this competition right now between ms and sony is just about pushing the price tag for more pixels and polygons, not much innovation too.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:19PM
9 million aint bad... it aint great either.
Now the real kicker is going to be what MS can sell when they decide to make a portable gaming machine as well.
Its not a matter of IF, but when. Even if they do make one however... i still think its going to be damn near impossible to topple Nintendo.
legacy and all.
LaughingTarget @ Oct 19th 2006 12:23PM
Console competition isn't doing a lot ot drive prices down. $200-400 increase in console costs. $10 (minimum) increase in software costs, all overnight.
NovaTard -
To answer that question, this is a situation where the fewer PS3's sold, the better. Given the estimated losses, Sony has to sell 30 games just to break even on the manufacturing costs. We aren't even into the R&D costs yet. Since the PS3 is going to be in such short supply, this is a situation that would actually benefit Sony to delay the release until after the year-end numbers. Every PS3 sold is an additional loss for Sony, so if they wait until March, this year's losses won't be as high. Sony can then launch with a decent quantity and start stronger in pushing the software sales. All of the launch games are doomed to financial failure. Too many of them launching to too few units, and games rarely sustain sales past the first month (exceptions are mega-hits, but only Nintendo has been putting them out lately).
Plus, the holiday is already lost for Sony and a delay won't damage sales since the early adopters are getting the unit regardless of the holiday season or not.
The battery recall almost dictates the delay. Adding another $200 billion or more loss on top of the already $420 billion loss is foolish. However, when does Sony listen to the accounting department? Didn't do that when taking on the overly-expensive PS3 design.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:24PM
blindside dork... yeah prices have gone up because developers say the prices of developing have gone up, it happens. What magical world do you live in where prices stay the same for years on end? We should be lucky the prices haven't gone up more actually. But i do agree with you.
As for madden and splinter cell... you can blame consumers for that... i mean why fundamentally change a game when as consumers have spoken they'll buy a simply refreshed game every year for the same price? Why kill the horse that's winning the races?
Still, competition IS competition, it lights fires under respective console makers to make bigger and better systems for us as gamers. Sure the prices may seem like a lot, but never the less you're getting a lot of system for what you pay for from both MS adn Sony and even you should realize that. Its not like being an avid hobbyist of any type is exactly cheap anyway.
potato @ Oct 19th 2006 12:24PM
things may be bad but
watch out for the upswing
clo1_2000 @ Oct 19th 2006 12:30PM
9 million is good, until you compare it to the fact that nintendo raised their shipping estimate to 20 million, more than double what Sony is doing.
reguy @ Oct 19th 2006 12:34PM
@ JJ
while i agree that wishing a company like sony financial ill for no reason is fanboy junk i still want them to crash and burn. my reason: racism
im not talking about the billborads in another country im talking about those damn psp commercials
i mean the hispanic gangster wannabe dustballs
hey mang you wanna play some psp? hell yeah vato!!!
i mean is that what they really think?
or how about the african american squirrels?
yo!!! you can watch nuts outside. yeah? for reals?
i'd hit that, i'd hit that!!
go to hell sony
Mal F4cti0n @ Oct 19th 2006 12:35PM
Gosh!
Why does Joystiq hate Sony. Why don't you talk about the Xbox profit losses.
Gosh!
/sarcasm
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:38PM
reguy... as an african american i have no problem with those commercials... actually i find them a bit funny myself... but thats because i dont take everything personally and have... a sense of humor.
Wanting a whole company to burn over the basis of 2 or 3 commercials... is almost as stupid as fanboy junk i feel.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 12:38PM
but clo, Nintendo has also been in the handheld business for how much longer than any other company?
9 million isn't bad for a first time console as opposed to Nintendo's 6th iteration of gamboy in the DS?
Like i said its not great, but its not bad either. Considering it has a bit more media functionality than the DS, but then the DS IS cheaper too and has more games and is likewise backwards compatible. So that helps it a lot too.
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 12:39PM
Well I admit I love Nintendo and with them until the day I die. But I was thinking of getting a PS2 until my brother offered me his cause he is getting a PS3.
And I would buy a PS3 if it was cheaper and there was more than like 2 games I wanted (Resident Evil 5, heck yeah! I will just steal my bro's PS3). But I really don't like MS.
But you forgot to mention Wii and how it is a good price. Now you may think I am crazy but i have done the math...
Gamecube system nowadays is $100 and everyone says Wii is a suped up gamecube.
So $100 for console
$30 for Wii Sports
$60 for the NEW/innovative Controller
That leaves the price to $60. And what do you get with that extra $60?
Sleaker design with stand.
Graphical upgrade and CPU and all that jazz (might not be a lot but it is more than nothing).
512MB SD card.
Sensory bar.
Wii Channels that include Weather, News, Virtual Console, Mii, that Photo thingy, and I think there is more.
I feel that there is something I am missing but just look at that and tell me it is a HORRIBLE deal. Granted you might not want a Gamecube but with Wii you have one and you can play ALL the old Gamecube games like Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Eternal Darkness, and others!
Bored @ Oct 19th 2006 12:42PM
**YOU GUYS ARE MISSING THE POINT**
Everyone *knew* that SONY was going to initially lose money on the PS3. They had those losses estimated ahead of time and adjusted their profit projection accordingly (based on what they *planned* to lose).
Now they're telling their investors, "Oh, boy. Were we waaayyyy off. The *real* projected loss on the PS3 is about double that figure. And we're only going to make less than half of our previously forecasted profit as a company." That’s the *real* problem.
63% off on their total prediction?? That's ridiculous. This is very bad news for SONY. They lied to their investors in their previous forecast.
This just shows how full of themselves and out of touch with reality the SONY Executives are. Where did they initially think all of that profit was going to come from?
sports fan @ Oct 19th 2006 12:47PM
I wish I could say I was surprised but that would be a lie. If anyone can turn it around its Sony thats for sure.
maximus @ Oct 19th 2006 12:47PM
The PSP being a success or not has nothing to do with the sales figures of the DS so the comparison is pointless. For a start the PSP is sold at a higher price, aimed at a different audience and Sony make money off the back of accessories like Memory Sticks. If the 360 had sold 9 million this year it would be lauded as a massive success so why not the PSP?
We need Sony to keep the gaming industry competitive, without them or opposingly without MS as competition then the remaining company can charge whatever prices they want. Without the Blu Ray player in the PS3 the 360 HD-DVD drive would be much more expensive. MS have to price it competitively purely because of Sony. As for innovation being non-existant what about XBox LIVE then? Trundling out Need4Speed4Chavs vol.15 is purely down to EA and their policy of churning out sequels, that's nothing to do with platform.
crono141 @ Oct 19th 2006 12:58PM
There are plenty of reasons to wish financial ruin on Sony besides the playstation. Plenty.
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 12:58PM
#27...different audience?
DS is aiming at....EVERYONE. PSP is aiming at..I heard 16-23 year olds or something like that. It could've been a post but I feel it is true. Shooting for a level of people who just want the highest pixel count or something that will make them feel older cause they have some older friends and want to be cool and tag along so they get the "latest/hipest" thing.
Kind of like that annoying little brother who always wanted to hang out with you and your friends.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 1:03PM
Crono did sony kill your father and rape your mother?
Cuz then i could understand. Otherwise unless they somehow directly ruined your life, i'd never wish financial ruin on a company that probably employs more people than i know.
Oro @ Oct 19th 2006 1:10PM
@ #17
"As for madden and splinter cell... you can blame consumers for that... i mean why fundamentally change a game when as consumers have spoken they'll buy a simply refreshed game every year for the same price? Why kill the horse that's winning the races?"
Right, because producing nothing but Space Invaders clones during the Atari era never hurt the video game industry...
crono141 @ Oct 19th 2006 1:13PM
Yes, they did.
Not really. Its actually the whole sony vision of the future that makes me want them dead. They have this great vision of sonyworld where sony owns all the consumer electronics in your home (sony TV, sony Surround, Sony Playstation), and on top of that, owns the content that you'll be playing on your electronics (sony music, sony movies).
Their vision of the future is a trap for the consumer, because once all this happens, then sony content will all of a sudden only work on sony hardware (UMD, MD anyone), and if you try and move that content to other hardware, they want to make you a criminal (DMCA et al, anyone).
Sony wants to be the communist ruler of entertainment, and get rid of all consumer rights regarding content and content purchaced. Why do you think sony is talking up "digital distribution" all of a sudden, because then they control the hardware that gets the content, the content itself, and the way in which you GET the content.
They didn't kill my father and rape my mother, but their trying to put me and everyone else into entertainment bondage, where they are the masters and we are the willing slaves to them.
Fuck Sony. I used to hate microsoft for similar reasons, but Sony's plan is just 10 times worse.
Usedtabe @ Oct 19th 2006 1:19PM
@JJ
I agree with you about competition, being someone who owns all "previous-gen" consoles, but I do want Sony to fall on their asses just hard enough to lose that ignorant arrogance they have. I don't want them to go under, but I want them to know what its like to respect your competitor, as MS and nintendo seem to do, despite all of the Sony wisecracks
LaughingTarget @ Oct 19th 2006 1:27PM
While inflation can explain the increased costs of games (not the overnight $10 hike though), inflation is a terrible excuse for the increase in console costs.
For all intensive purposes, the PS3 today is roughly what the Xbox was in 2001. Using a handy-dandy inflation calculator, the PS3 60 gig model should only cost $340. A $160 boost over inflation.
Even the 360 is a bit out of line with inflation, which should be around $300 for the Premium. The cost is $100 over inflation.
Only the Wii is beating inflation. The base Wii, without game, should be $230. Given a game is $50, the Wii is beating inflation by $30, more if factoring in the motion sensing tech.
However, these numbers are assuming technology costs increase. They don't, high end tech is generally stagnant, and has dropped in relative price over the past 16 years. A top of the line Pentium when it first hit the market was $1,000. Today's top of the line Pentium is also around $1,000. Relative drop given inflation.
Since computer technology functions outside the inflation norm, there is no reason why the PS3 or 360 should be straight line more expensive than the previous versions. The only reason would be a combination of wasteful project management and attempting to push the technology envelope a little too fast.
chimp o death @ Oct 19th 2006 1:40PM
This is the way the numbers should work:
Xbox 360:10 million units sold by the end of the year, more or less. No real profit yet, but costs seem to be under control, and MS claims to have a business plan that profitability sitting just around the corner. I'll consedrvatively estimate another 7 million units sold through 2007, although there's no reason to think that they shouldn't at least equal 2005-2006 numbers.
Playstation 3: Launching with 500,000 units. at a conservative loss of $300 per unit, the total launch loss on sales of the hardware alone will be $150 million. If they meet an additional planned shipment of 1 million units, that'll be another $300 million.
Total hardware loss on a successful launch? $450 million, or nearly half a billion.
Sony also plans to ship an additonal million units per month through 2007. That would equal 12 million more in sales. I'll be generous and assume Sony has cut the loss on hardware to $200 on these units. Every month Sony will lose $200 million on a complete hardware sellout. In 12 months, the loss will be 2.4 billion.
And that's a complete sell out of all units until Jan.1st 2008. Giving Sony an installed base of 13.5 million units to Microsoft's (conservative) 17 million.
In 2008, I won't try to estimate Sony's profit or loss on hardware, but let's say they sell another 12 million units. Again I'll be generous, and assume only crazy people are still buying 360s, and estimate 5 million for 2008. Sony's installed base will now be 29 million, Microsoft will be at 23 million.
What I'm trying to point out is even if Sony has the most staggeringly successful launch in console history, it will still take a huge loss only to catch up and possibly overtake Microsoft in late 2008. Even skewing the data in Sony's favor, this really seems to be inescapable. Maybe Sony will get their costs under control. Maybe they'll manufacture more than 1 million units a month. But even if every single thing goes Sony's way, they're a long way off from total domination for this console generation.
Even making up the loss in other gaming divisions will be slow going. Lughing Target estimates sales of 30 games to make up for the loss on those launch units. I'm not sure if that's accurate, but it's probably going to be high. Couple that with the fact that traditional Sony has had a lower attach rate for games and accesories than Xbox (no link to support this, but I've seen it time and again}. Why would we have any reason to think that should change this generation, even with micro transactions, especialy when considering the higher initial cost of the system.
I'm not a terminal Sony hater. I've owned a PS1 and PS2, as well as an Xbox and many other systems. I even bought a PSP. Why I choose to concentrate on the negative picture of Sony's finances is a reaction to the wa Sony themselves portray this generation of gaming. "The next generation doesn't start until we say it does" is , without arguement, a cocky thing to say. It requires you to back it up with an experience like no other. They've said they'll go head to head with Xbox Live, feature by feature. They've said we'll need 25+ gigs of storage to truly enjoy what this generation has to offer. They've indulged in an elaborate naming ceremony for their controller, for cryin' out loud1 They've pretty much painted themselves into a corner where just to reach the phyrric victory of a slight lead in the market they're going to lose billions of dollars. As a gamer, I've found myself thinking that a game like Resistance:FOM would have to be one of the best FPSs ever, and that's not based on my own expectations but on the full-crack of the PS3 lifestyle. By contrast, Gears of War is in the position only of having to satisfy me by being one of a handful of awesome 360 exclusives. If it's one of the best games ever, that'll be gravy.
To make a long story slightly longer, my point is this: a company that's acknowledged a future drop in profits, and has set up a situation that may see a blight on profits even beyond this forecast, definitely has something to prove.
So after not destroying the hearts and minds of the other systems at both E3 and TGS this year, Sony will have one more chance today in San Francisco. Can they prove that the PS3 is the only logical choice for a gamer?
PS: Yes, I know I didn't factor Wii into my numbers above. That would make my brain explode.
PPS: Random thought- you know how Sony says they're shipping an additional million PS3s after launch? What If Japan gets ALL of those since they were shat upon during the initail launch?
Ryan LN @ Oct 19th 2006 1:41PM
All the vitriol directed at Sony seems a bit misplaced- what is happening at Sony is something that happens to virtually all industry goliaths eventually; from AT&T to AOL/Time Warner to Nintendo to Enron to Worldcom to Apple to IBM, the story is always the same: company starts out small and hungry, gets big fat and bloated, gets cocky, and gets comeuppance. It is as predictable as the rise of the sun and the change of season, and no one should be shocked. AFter decades of sucess and dominance in consumer electronics, it should come as no suprise that perhaps Sony got caught looking at themselves in the mirror, admired their beauty and thought they could do no wrong. When that happens, all it takes is for some other entity that is smart, hungry, and innovative to come along and snatch the food from their plates when they're not looking or when they're making ridiculously idiotic decisions. While the criminals at Enron are gone and AT&T and Worldcom are shadows of their former selves, the above list is illustrative of the fact that having billions upon billions of dollars in revenue makes it unlikely that we'll see them go the way of the dodo any time soon. But we should all expect Sony- if not in this generation, at some point, to come back to the middle of the pack and hopefully continue to provide the big three with competition that spurs innovation and results in a win/win for all of us gamers, who (being one of them) are the only people I really give a fip about.
JJ @ Oct 19th 2006 1:49PM
Crono you do realize MS pretty much wants to do the same thing right?
Except they have more of a monopoly on their main resource than any other company (except maybe big oil companies), so how come sony gets all your ire and not MS?
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 1:49PM
#35
After reading the first part of your thingy with numbers I realized it was pointless to read the rest. There is NO way XBox 360 will sell 10 million or total that much by year's end.
You have a 360, huh?
crono141 @ Oct 19th 2006 1:55PM
JJ,
yes, but MS doesn't own the content. There is no MS: Music, or MS: Movies. Thats why an MS monopoly will never be as bad as a Sony one. Don't get me wrong, I hate MS almost as much as sony. Until very recently, I kinda liked sony and loathed MS.
My feelings have been reversed due to not only Sony PR, but a few articles I've read concerning Sony's vision, which I already outlined.
Sure, MS wants to own your computer, and they want to own electronics, but at least they have the consumer (mostly) in mind, at least more so than sony does.
Jeff @ Oct 19th 2006 2:01PM
Couple things:
1. A 62% drop in *profit* is not a "loss." A loss is a loss.
2. Sony's games division is losing money right now. No dispute there. The company as a whole, however, is not.
This is akin to saying MS is losing money because the Xbox is losing money. No, MS is still making more money in one day than most *countries* collect in taxes in a year. This is how the Xbox manages to still even be on the market - they sell *other things*. So does Sony, though the game division is obviously a drag right now.
3. The drop in PSP sales should be no surprise to anybody, other than the "analysts" who initially said (and I remember this well) that the DS would have been drummed out of the market by now. I've been saying since day 1 that the PSP was basically DOA, for a whole host of reasons (price, load times, battery life, size, etc.) - if anything, I'm surprised it's hung on this long. But it is a dying system.
That doesn't mean I think the same of the PS3, though. They are two totally distinct entities. Sony knows what they're doing in home consoles. In the home, I really see the race being between the PS3 and Wii worldwide, with the Xbox 360 a distant third. Of course, financially, Nintendo will continue to reap the profits while Sony and MS slug it out in the red for a while. And in the end, with the DS/Wii combination, it may very well be that Nintendo ends up with a majority of the overall market, and a majority of the industry's profits.
chimp o death @ Oct 19th 2006 2:09PM
"38. #35
After reading the first part of your thingy with numbers I realized it was pointless to read the rest. There is NO way XBox 360 will sell 10 million or total that much by year's end.
You have a 360, huh?"
As I said, those numbers are all estimates. Andf I don't believe that the 360 will sell that much BEFORE the PS3 launches. Never did. But as someone who works in retail, with units available it sure is possible that, once christmas is over, it's pretty likely. At least I give equal credit to Sony's claim of shipping whatever they say they're shipping.
And yes, I do own a 360. But I'm not going to take to the streets in a personal armed struggle against all other consoles. I've enjoyed lots of games on all consoles and hope one day to enjoy them on my own PS3 (can't afford one right now, but then I can't afford a Wii either). Some of my all-time favorite games were either PS2 or PS1 (I think Disruptor was one of the best console FPSs ever). I'm not too impressed with my PSP a stictly a gaming machine, but oh well, that's just me. I used to own a Vectrex once, so you kids leave me alone, consarn it!
My point was a long-winded way of saying that after a couple of years of Sony saying they will "crush" the competition in every way conceivable, they've finaly created a situation where they HAVE to do exactly that to keep their heads above water. I simplified the math a little, but if anything it was in Sony's favor.
I mean, Sony finances = not so hot right now. This may change. At their event today they may blow minds. North Korea may give up their nuclear program in exchange for a PS3 and a copy of Everybodys Golf. And maybe their online will both robust in features and totaly FREE. This would be great for me as a 360 owner , since it will create more competitive pressure on Live services.
So please read my posts. I get lonely when you don't. SIgh...
LaughingTarget @ Oct 19th 2006 2:11PM
chimp o death -
I got that number from remembering the royalty fees averaged around $10/unit sold. My assumption is my memory is a bit faulty and the per-unit cost is a lot lower. Utilizing the $300 estimated per-unit loss, each unit will have to sell 30 titles ($300/$10) to break even, and this is assuming it costs a publisher $10/unit to put the game on the console. If the fees ARE lower, then PS3 units are going to have to sell a lot more than 30 titles each.
chimp o death @ Oct 19th 2006 2:19PM
42-Laughing Target:
Yeah, that sounds abou right to me too. I just threw in that qualifier ("I'm not sure if that's accurate") because it wasn't my number, and so the SDF couldn't accuse me of perpetratin' the hatin'. Alas, it looks like it will be all in vain.
BlindsideDork @ Oct 19th 2006 2:22PM
I own Disruptor, but I got a bum copy!
Never said it was impossible for MS to sell 10 million, just UNLIKELY. They haven't been selling much recently and with PS3 and Wii both being released...they are LARGE names in video games and sometimes I feel a bit more known to gamers than XBox (known well but more towards the college age "frat boy" types), they just might not get a strong recognition as they would need to push themselves over the 10 million mark.
I mean they have Gears of War coming out...possibly a great game but that is only ONE game and that is again focused at the college age "Frat boy" types as well as action gamers, but it is possibly limiting itself. Nothing really else stands out that can't be found else where. So it is possible just doesn't seem likely with this situation.
joe smith @ Oct 19th 2006 2:32PM
OK -- the thing I really don't get here is why anyone would "hate" or "love" a corporation? You can like or dislike the company's actions or products, but why waste a lot of energy working up HATRED toward a company? If you really like a product, buy it. If you don't don't buy it. This stuff isn't religion -- it's just games and hardware. People need to get a little perspective and relax.
joe smith @ Oct 19th 2006 2:39PM
Ouch. That's gotta hurt the stock. It will be interesting to see how the numbers look this time next year. Launches are always costly, but Sony doesn't have very deep pockets right now so they need to turn it around a lot quicker than someone like MS would.
chimp o death @ Oct 19th 2006 2:48PM
44-Blindside:
Here's what my list looks like:
*Fear
*Gears of War
*Call of Duty 3
*Rainbow Six Vegas
*Tony Hawk Project 8
*Viva Pinata
*Rayman 4
*History Channel: Civil War
*DOAX 2
Now, I'm probably not going to buy all of them. I know nothing about Civil War except it sounds interesting to me. And Viva Pinata could be utter crap.
But there's two or three games to keep me more than occupied until the next wave hits. I work in retail and have very little extra time around the holidays, so I'll be happy with one or two big games.
And even though the same games are out for both systems, some like Project * will only be online on the 360. Will that be a big selling point for new adopters? Who knows? Maybe the PS3 versions will look better, which would be a selling point as well.
But even if both sytems have pretty much the same games with the same features, it's exclusives that set them apart. You may disagree, but so far Resistance is the only launch exclusive that has a guaranteed excitement factor. It seems that it's going after exactly the same demographic as Gears.
Not really arguing against your points, just saying unless the PS3 kiosk sitting in the store delivers the killing blow, maybe people who can't get PS3s (ie. most of us) may grab a 360. Once people see with their own eyes and hear the firsthand reports, the "unknown" factor of PS3 will be gone for the fence sitters. I speak from experience, having once gone into a store to get a N64 and walking out with a PS1.
PS- Isn't Resistance developer Insomniac's first FPS Disruptor? It all connects...
The1 @ Oct 19th 2006 2:49PM
No props for me; I sent this to Joystiq and PS3 Fanboy early this morning and no props.
Wait, didn't SONY say they were satisified with the volume of PSP sales. Hummmm
VampireHunter Z @ Oct 19th 2006 3:02PM
I'm definitely not a Sony fan but IMO the PSP numbers are good. The PSP is selling very well. It's not fair to compare it to the DS. The DS is doing RIDICULOUSLY great and is not a good metric for measuring other systems. The DS is not even the real successor to the GameBoy but it's success is phenominal. It sells every week like it was just launched. If you disregard DS numbers the PSP has a huge user base.
joe smith @ Oct 19th 2006 3:12PM
Laughingtarget -- one thing in your analysis to remember is that they make a lot more on 1st party titles. So if they can crank out some big hits, they will make up some of the lost ground. But Sony 1st party has a pretty dismal history of producing good games (with a few big exceptions like the GT series) I would guess that publisher royalties are likely to be aroun $8 a disc. Sony traditionally has had ownership of all the fabs where the discs get made. If that is true this time, then they also get a small profit off the cost of goods. SO your $10 is probably close to correct. Fully loaded, they probably make $15-20 on 1st party titles.
But it still will require a damned big game attach.