Sony confident despite lower than expected NPD data
by Blake Snow 
{ Dec 8th 2006 at 7:45PM }
After delivering just half of the expected 400,000 PS3s promised for its US launch, Sony remained confident on its tried-and-true PlayStation brand while responding to last month's sales data. "Very pleased" is the official response concerning the crippled PS3 launch. 1UP highlights last year's Xbox 360 shortage in comparison to paint the contextual picture: "Sony's PlayStation 3 shipments for the month of November took the term 'shortage' and redefined it. The tight shortages that suffocated the Xbox 360 last year seem overblown compared to the 197k units that Sony sold in November (Microsoft sold 326k units in November of last year), according to the reports."Could the company actually be "very pleased" that shortages kept them from capitalizing on the biggest shopping month in American? Of course not. But this is a press release. And what alternative statements could they have realistically given? So in that vein they bust out their 112 million strong PS2 big gun, the second most sold system for the month of November, and the surprisingly solid PSP sales that have traditional been dwarfed by other platforms. Oh, and they said PS3 manufacturing issues have been "resolved." Let's hope so.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Einhanderkiller @ Dec 8th 2006 7:47PM
That face is crazy.
Vince @ Dec 8th 2006 7:49PM
"Oh, and they said PS3 manufacturing issues have been "resolved."
Maybe that's why they are pleased.
Eggroll @ Dec 8th 2006 7:59PM
Rofl, that's the funniest face I've ever seen. Nice pic.
Kevin @ Dec 8th 2006 8:03PM
I actually laughed out loud at that pic, haha.
Jay @ Dec 8th 2006 8:04PM
Too bad most of those PS3's were bought to re-sell!!
Where as the Wii most people are keeping and some re-sellers...... lol.....
Pedro @ Dec 8th 2006 8:04PM
" "Oh, and they said PS3 manufacturing issues have been "resolved."
Maybe that's why they are pleased."
Or they are lying....again.
Embassy @ Dec 8th 2006 8:03PM
anyone else think he resembles the governator in that pic?
Bizzaro Stamos @ Dec 8th 2006 8:04PM
Well i'm glad that sony wasnt just blowing hot air when they said that they would learn from microsoft's mistakes and provide customers with a smooth launch!
MosquitoControl @ Dec 8th 2006 8:15PM
Microsoft's poor showing is reason enough for them to be happy.
Microsoft did marginally better without a shortage than they did last year with one.
It's kind of frightening. They should have been able to sell more. We'll see how the launches effected them this month, now that Wii and PS3 panic have died down.
But if you compare how the PS2 did in its first christmas with competition...
The PS2 sold 919k in November 01 (its second November.)
The GC sold 662k in November 01 (it's launch.)
The Xbox sold 722k in November 01 (it's launch.)
So the 360 got destroyed by all three 01 consoles.
They needed a price drop, to recognize that their major competition is the PS2, not the PS3 or Wii.
v1cious @ Dec 8th 2006 8:13PM
why would they be upset? the reason the Wii had sold more is because they had more supply on demand. it's obvious there is a higher demand for the PS3, as evidenced by the extreme lengths people are going to get one. sure people are gonna say "but they bought them to sell on Ebay", but the fact that the people on Ebay are willing to pay these huge prices should tell you something right there.
biltmore @ Dec 8th 2006 8:19PM
"anyone else think he resembles the governator in that pic?"
I do ... plus, it looks like somebodies got this poor bastard by the balls, that's one hell of a face ...
jgrey @ Dec 8th 2006 8:43PM
It seems they're digging in for a long fight. I think that's right too. I don't think at their price they can model their business like a normal console. Instead, they have to model it more like selling TVs and cars. They obviously know that.
The rest is down to how solid they can make the software support for PS3 in around 2007/2008. If they can get 4+ exclusive world beaters, I reckon they will survive.
It's a deadly line to walk though.
Silver R. Wolfe @ Dec 8th 2006 8:48PM
Hey Jay, something you might not've thought of. Yes they were sold and put on ebay, but that does mean that there were people on the other side of those transactions dishing out mad cash for PS3s. Either way, they would've sold one way or the other.
Gavin @ Dec 8th 2006 9:03PM
Sony is using the same long range plan they used with the transition from PS1 to PS2. This should come as no surprise. The PS2 continues to sell in large numbers, and this holiday season will be no different. The PSP is far from dead, despite what people on the internet would have you think, and it will do decently this holiday season as well.
People predicting Sony's demise have their head up their ass. If they are smart, next year they'll have a special PS3 and Spider-Man 3 blueray pack-in.
MS is going to have a serious fight on their hands come next holiday season, but they are off to a strong start.
JRM @ Dec 8th 2006 9:18PM
Wasn't Sony also "pleased" after their dismal E3 showing?
The Sony spin doctors always get me dizzy...
Matt @ Dec 8th 2006 9:23PM
it looks like Kaz is about to cry...
TheRealist @ Dec 8th 2006 9:21PM
@8 "Too bad most of those PS3's were bought to re-sell!!"
Why would they care about the reason they were bought?
They sold and that's the point. Regardless of the "reason" Sony did sell out, and managed to command record prices on ebay. They'll be fine. Perhaps the reason that Kaz is smiling with the intensity of a white hot sun is that he knows most people are lemmings(Tm) and will lap up anything branded as Playstation(Tm).
ex-ps3fanboy @ Dec 8th 2006 9:59PM
well I gues they won't say "oh..ps3 launch was a tremendous failure(as it truly was)" they will of course say that they are happy and f@#%k who would be happy after being promoted...
Luckydob @ Dec 8th 2006 10:37PM
What? The 360 outsold the Wii and the PS3 during their launches. The 360 numbers were solid and will only get better since they are the ONLY "next-gen" system available with less than 3 weeks till Christmas. We'll see what happens with the December #'s (I have a feeling that the 360 will dominate the numbers there). Nintendo is looking good now, but what happens when the novelty wears out on their revamped GameCube? PS3 will be lucky to have 1 million consoles shipped by April of '07. What happens to their numbers when they add the European market? Will they even see Europe at this pace in 2007? Just when PS3 gets more availability you will see a 360 price drop. The real question is what does the 360 do the next 3 weeks when there is no competition to be bought in the stores or online?
James @ Dec 8th 2006 11:03PM
While on the subject, let me say that Kaz Hirai is a terrible spokesperson for Sony. You knew it when he yelled out a forced "RIDDDGE RACCCER" at E3. The guy is a car salesman, very cheesy and it's hard to take him serious. Unlike Reggie Fils-Aime, Reggie seems more genuine, albeit kind of goofy. Not to mention he is more likeable. Don't get me started on that bald devil of a guy Microsoft has working for them. I don't even know the guy's name, but I read many interviews with him and I can say he also isn't very likeable.
ManekiNeko @ Dec 8th 2006 11:22PM
Yikes. He looks like he's doing his best Paul Lynde impersonation!
JR
raycosm @ Dec 9th 2006 12:08AM
Kaz looks like he got kicked in the jewels, lool
GalileoAce @ Dec 9th 2006 11:03PM
Feel free to caption this
http://members.optusnet.com.au/tmbourquie/GA/sony-crykaz.jpg
bearattack79 @ Dec 9th 2006 1:18AM
Sony paid him to have that face surgically implanted permanently. It’s true!
Pretty Obvious @ Dec 10th 2006 10:37AM
As of right now Sony is in deep shit. Regardless of what Sony wants you to think. They blew the PS3 launch big time. Microsoft had a better launch, the Wii had an even better launch.
Sony took out loans just launch the PS3, they are losing around $280 per console on each system sold. Their system is overpriced, the future of Sony will be decided on the success or failure of BluRay.
When 07 comes and the price of the 360 drops another 100 bucks, itll be a wrap for Sony.... Oh yeah and Halo 3.....
erac3rx @ Dec 11th 2006 8:36AM
A quick point. If I'm a kid and I ask my parents for a Nintendo, would they get me an Xbox? No. If I asked for a PS3 would they get me an Xbox? No. They'd say "look we couldn't find it anywhere, but as soon as we do it's yours." Sure there are plenty of people getting 360s now, but they aren't ncessarily doing it because they can't find a PS3.
Axel @ Dec 9th 2006 10:05AM
Why is it that when a next-gen console comes out, everyone seems to just forget about common sense. Shortage? Don't make me laugh. I think what Sony learned from Microsoft's 360 launch was that people are still suckers for new hardware, especially when you add a little something called "ebay" to the equation.
Go with me on this one people. Everyone knows that this is an industry, not some kind of charity. This is business we're talking about here, so it shouldn't be any surprise that Sony wants to optimize the amount of money it can make losing as little of stock as possible. Think about it:
197k, right? What if Sony only sold a fraction of those units to actual consumers and the rest were given to "scalpers" to be put up on ebay for ungodly(I saw them going for nine-thousand for crying out loud) sums of money?
If you do the math there, it's easy to see that Sony could very well have fooled everyone. Or I'm just an insomniac who has been up for a few days again.
real_gamer @ Dec 10th 2006 3:55AM
Possible reason Kaz is grinning like that -
Hardware Sales, end of Sept 2006:
PS2 - 111.25 million
Xbox - 24.5 to 24.6 million
GameCube - 21.2 million
Xbox 360 - 6 million
Game Boy Advance - 76.79 million
Nintendo DS - 26.82 million
PSP - 22.94 million
Software revenue, Nov 2006:
PS2 - 34%
360 - 19%
PC - 10%
NDS - 10%
XBX - 6%
GBA - 6%
Wii - 5%
PSP - 5%
GCN - 4%
PS3 - 1%
ackmondual @ Dec 10th 2006 4:33PM
@ #11 and any1 else who brought up the "governator"
Same thought here. He's like some Japanese Schwartzinagor (sp!). Gasp!! Maybe that's what really is Sony's new hit product! It's a fully working t800 terminator! The bad press with the PS3 was just to fool the public into thinking there was no way they could make a successful t800 let alone a PS3!