Sony not competing with Microsoft, Nintendo
by Justin Murray 
{ Nov 18th 2006 at 6:53PM }
You'd think that after the buzz the PS3 has been getting lately, Sony would be a little more confident in itself. Analysts are predicting major victory for the PS3 and it even got a (pseudo) political endorsement. Yuichi Ejiri, general manager of sales and marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong, wasn't completely ecstatic about his product.
According to Dow Jones, Ejiri "conceded that competition in the game console market is intensifying with rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. offering cheaper devices," an odd concession from a Sony official on the day the PS3 launched in his own territory. The Hong Kong 60GB PS3, priced at HK$3,780 (or $485 US, those lucky bastards), is competition for HD-DVD, or so Ejiri says.
Sony is sending the consumer base mixed messages on what the PS3 is supposed to be. Is it competing against the Xbox 360 or against HD-DVD? Sony is going to have a difficult time trying to split loyalties between the two abilities. We suggest they pick one main feature (go for the games!) and treat the other as a value add.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jecrell @ Nov 18th 2006 7:00PM
Is it just me or did that kind of imply that the PS3 was fighting against Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD-DVD player?
That sounds kind of silly.
... unless they're serious
nick @ Nov 18th 2006 7:05PM
Thing is, Sony is now stuck with Blu-Ray (or better) for future generations of Playstations.
That it cost more is going to be a long term hurdle in meeting the sales expectations of a 10 year cycle. I suspect this may be the first Playstation to sell less than it's previous incarnation.
So, I think some people at Sony have a right to be concerned. They're betting the company on the product. The Playstation has long been the cash cow for the company, even during lean times. They need that more than ever now.
teatime @ Nov 18th 2006 7:06PM
Playstation 3 is jack of all trades, master of none.
It's processing power is unsurpassed, but lack of decent memory makes it pointless.
Blu-Ray is definetly cutting edge, but too costly and imperfect.
In essence, there is a better device out there for any of the Playstation 3s tasks, media functionality, gaming and HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive.
And at 600 bucks, and shit avaliability, it is totally too much of a hassle to bother. I could grab a HD-DVD drive, a 360 and a few games/movies and still have change left over. And I could do that now. Right now. Not in 5 months, not waiting in a line outside a shop[ for 3 days.
With GTA4 coming to 360, and nearly all of the PS3 launch titles on 360 too (I think 4 games were PS3 exclusive), and Konami making strong rumors of MGS4 coming Microsofts way, and with the 360 having an OPTIONAL HD-DVD drive for those who don't have a HDTV or dont want one, a 360 is totally the way to go for next gen gaming.
That said, I'm off now to pick up my Wii and it will change my mind in about 3 seconds. Cya
United Artists @ Nov 18th 2006 7:20PM
Wow first I hear the Wii is not supposed to competing with anyone now the PS3 is not a competing? Who the hell is against who?
Like a potroast out of a pringles can @ Nov 18th 2006 7:23PM
No kidding Sony aren't competing. You actually have to have hardware in the marketplace to do that. Less thatn 400k units in the world and a whole lot of software that nobody is really buying doesn't exactly make you much of a competitor.
JohnQAnonymous @ Nov 18th 2006 7:24PM
United Artists:
I think they're just giving themselves individual "console classes" like they do with cars and trucks.
Then Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are all legally able to make statements like, "The most storage space of any console in its class."
Neebs @ Nov 18th 2006 8:02PM
Wait, so if Wii isn't competing with PS3 and Xbox 360, and PS3 isn't competing with the Xbox 360...
Monopoly? Of course, we have to figure out who has the monopoly.
Dux @ Nov 18th 2006 9:15PM
They are still competing for the gamers money, despite anything they say.
mesocool @ Nov 18th 2006 9:16PM
LOL crazy article huh! Sony the company sucks Liars!
Z inator @ Nov 18th 2006 11:36PM
Sony is just trying to hopelessly confuse you so much that you will just end up getting a PS3 in the end.
Rare Hare @ Nov 19th 2006 12:51AM
This is ridiculous for one huge reason.
Sony doesn't have any say in what the PlayStation 3 competes with. Consumers do.
What the PS3 will compete with is determined in the same way as any other product. If someone will buy another product INSTEAD of the PS3, or vice-versa, then the PS3 is competing with that product. End of discussion. It's ludicrous for Sony to assume that it has the ability to decide whether or not their console will compete with the Xbox 360 or anything else.
S10304 @ Dec 1st 2006 4:58PM
both are good and their own right however the rumble when you shoot get tackled hit a bad golf shot etc. the switch to 1080i cause i was hd ready before it was ready 4 me {ps3's lack of switching a 720p to only 480p} and for the simple reason i am glad i realized that the microsoft xbox was better than the ps2 but the ps2 had better software but i still bet on the best software and American based company MICROSOFT!
Joe @ Nov 19th 2006 3:25PM
So in that case, is the PS3 competing with the PSP?
mietha CAG @ Nov 19th 2006 11:55PM
The PS3 has been all about getting Blu-ray into homes from the start. About time someone at sony admitted that.
jacobsjlw2 @ Nov 19th 2006 6:39PM
All this talk is stupid. In the future, it won't even matter who is competting against who. Xbox will alway have a better online experiance for big online players. PS3 in general will always harbor more variaty of games, which means more games period, and big exclusives. the Wii will be so much more unique than any thing out there, that it will have its own exclusives that just won't be fun on any other console. There for making each system standout in classes of there own. There is no better console, its just up to the individual to deside which gaming life style he/she preferes. Oh but i quess we wouldnt be human if we didn't make big deals out of nothing.
Rare Hare @ Nov 19th 2006 9:15PM
"So in that case, is the PS3 competing with the PSP"
If the PS3 loses sales based on consumer decision to purchase a PSP instead, or vice-versa, then yes.
Jason @ Nov 20th 2006 6:27PM
Regardless of what any company says they are all competing against each other with each console offering it's own sort of "gimmick" to attract the consumer. What I personally think is going to happen is that Sony will win this generation too. Because for the most part, it is the most powerful system and from what developers are saying it is easy to program for (yes, I know id Software said that the Xbox 360 is easier to develop for than PC's). Also, the Cell processor is a beast with 7 cores (+1 spare), 5 of which are programmable and 9 threads across the whole cpu. A little more memory in that and it would be nice but I think they'll do just fine. But anyways, back to my thought, Sony will win this generation I believe but not as much as they have in the past. I also believe that because of this Nintendo will do very well because of just how much fun the Wii is, thus in the upcoming generation (in about 4 to 5 years) Nintendo might come out on top. Now the I don't believe the Xbox 360 will come in second this time. I just don't see that company getting too many more good games exclusive to the console. And no, MGS4 is not going to the 360. Konami was sort of "pressuring" Kojima to port the game due to the fact that production costs are so high on the PS3. On that note if anyone can explain what goes into "production costs" (besides just paying programmers and paying for advertising) I would like to know. Plus Microsoft is at the biggest disadvantage, they are an American company. The Japanese typically support THEIR companies over ours so most of the Japanese games are going to go for the Wii and PS3, and as history shows, most of the best games have come from Japan. But I will say something positive about the 360 though, it has a great online experience. With the Xbox Live Arcade, video chat, voice chat, and playing games over the internet with your friends, it really does create a great online community. But I don't believe that is going to be enough to take first place this generation. Again these are just my opinions on who's going to win and whats going to happen. So, flame on! :)
Pince @ Nov 20th 2006 5:07PM
So the PS3 is a Hummer, the Wii is a Mini Cooper, and the 360 is a...?