Hirai aiming to 'quickly' break-even on PlayStation hardware, looking to double PSN sales
by Majed Athab 
{ May 29th 2009 at 10:30PM } 
So, he's laid out a set of milestones to accomplish, but how's SCEI going to get there? Hirai said Sony needs "a strategy where buying a [sic] hardware is not the endpoint but instead a starting point that can offer new experiences." This includes, according to him, bringing the PlayStation Network to traditionally non-gaming electronics like televisions and digital cameras -- shades of what Howard Stringer said weeks before. And speaking of PSN, part of the strategy is aimed at boosting digital sales from ¥20 billion ($209 million) last year, to ¥50 billion ($523 million). We guess this means expect a lot more content spread across a lot more devices.
[Via Kotaku]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jon @ May 29th 2009 10:37PM
I would have to guess this means no price cut...
p07h3ad @ May 29th 2009 10:41PM
No price cut....unless Chuck Norris, Macgyver, and Jack Bauer all team up to make an exclusive kickass awesome game just for PS3. Then there be no need for a price cut
slickbwoi @ May 30th 2009 7:31AM
i think sony knows what their doing, they're not stupid...
Mychas @ May 29th 2009 10:40PM
Or maybe it means they're going to go all Microsoft on us and release a cheap PS3 with no-wifi etc, and force people to buy add-ons (it would help the PS3 slim case)
You start with a PS3, and purchase a wi-fi dongle to offer yourself new experiences.
Luckily I already have a non-gimped PS3. :)
tmacairjordan87 @ May 29th 2009 10:57PM
Nintendo does that too. You buy a wii, then you likely buy wii play for that controller, then you buy motion+. Since the wii is a party machine you'll probably want more controllers with motion+ so that's like $70-$80 a controller.
Before you know it, you just spent enough money to buy a ps3 even though you didn't want to get one cause it was "too expensive".
(not talking about you btw, just using it in general).
Timstew @ May 29th 2009 11:05PM
I also see PS3 will go that route and profit from the average consumer.
Consumers need to learn that they get what they pay for. I would love an Xbox for some of the games, but I can't convince myself to pay for the extras.
OnToGloryReturns @ May 30th 2009 12:03AM
That's funny - I bought a 360 and wasn't 'forced' to buy anything. It came with a hard drive, I had no need of the wireless adapter, I did buy the play and charge kit for $20 but that isn't exactly a bank breaker. I've been on Live since the original XBox and never thought twice about the annual cost - a service which blows away the PSN, by the way. And yes, I also own a PS3 which I enjoy.
What moronic fanboys don't understand is that the modular strategy worked. More than any other time of year systems are bought during the holiday season. And you know what happens? And by no small coincidence I think it contributed to the success of the 360; people buy the 360 for their son or daughter or significant other - maybe the Arcade or Pro and don't bother to buy the other peripherals. Why? Here's what happens: they tell friends and relatives what they are getting for the reciever and the others items, if needed, are bought by them or gift cards that are later used for them.
There you go - the initial outlay is reasonable for the primary gift giver, say $200 for the Arcade over $400 for the PS3, and the other things are taken care of through gifts and gift cards.
I've been in the specialty gaming retail business for a long time and that is exactly how it plays out over and over again. Parents or a girlfriend/boyfriend usually don't have or don't want to lay out $400-$500 for a game console; some can but it is far from the norm. When they learn that they can go for $200 and let other givers take care of the rest that is exactly what happens. The modular approach that PS3 fanboys so often criticize is one of the major reasons for the success of the 360 - in addition to a fantastic library and the definitive online service.
By the way, when customer balks at $100 for the wireless adapter (which I completely understand) I just tell them go to Radio Shack, buy a modem for $30, hook it up in the room with the 360 - call your service provider for a second IP address and bingo, you're done. A better connection at less than half the cost.
OLDMIKE @ May 30th 2009 12:17AM
can some one tell me whats you get from gold thats worth the $50
paying to play mutiplayer is a joke
WREturns @ May 30th 2009 12:25AM
Hey tmac, how much do three extra PS1...excuse me, PS3 controllers cost? And you complain about Nintendo making you buy the same thing year after year?
sukru @ Jun 3rd 2009 1:51PM
@Timstew: Extras are usually worth the price.
Controller are cheap (
j.howlett @ May 30th 2009 1:39AM
i'm more than happy for people are willing to pay to talk to others no matter what they're doing on the system and that gold allows them to pay for netflix etc. etc., but i strongly feel that if you buy a game that has online multiplayer you shouldn't have to pay to play it. i tried live when it first launched and didn't see the worth.
bm @ May 30th 2009 5:47AM
Oh lollerskates, I always love when people go "yeah well this console might be expensive but it really costs costs [insert price of cheapest base unit] while this other console might seem cheap but it really costs [insert price of console + 3 extra controllers + cables + every fucking addon ever made + twenty games + sofa + etc]." Fucking idiots.
Alzheimers @ May 29th 2009 10:49PM
Quick, push God of War 3, Trico, Kingdom Hearts 3, and Metal Gear 6 out the door!
And get EA on the phone, ask them how much to make Madden exclusive for a month!
Shingo_E_X @ May 29th 2009 11:35PM
We already had Metal gear 6...
Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear Solid 4 (part 6)
R @ May 29th 2009 10:53PM
"...traditionally non-gaming electronics like televisions ..."
I dunno dude, my TV is a pretty important gaming electronic to me....
Chip1337 @ May 29th 2009 11:01PM
this
Ashitaka @ May 30th 2009 1:37PM
Your tv is not a gaming electronic. You can't do a thing just with your tv.
R (XBL: Esoteric Lord) @ May 30th 2009 2:03PM
Cha, but I cant do anything with my game console without a TV or equivlant (monitor, etc).
For most people with consoles, putting a psn feature on the TV would be redundant, because odds are if they have a console its hooked up to a TV capable device. The only realy exception is if you do poor mans HD and use a computer monitor.
Shingo_E_X @ May 29th 2009 11:07PM
They're gonna have to release a slim version if they wanna break even
Guinea Rabbit @ May 29th 2009 11:26PM
Has Sony's strategy up to this point been how not to make a profit?
j.howlett @ May 29th 2009 11:34PM
it be cool to have psn features accessible through a ubiquitous xmb, i'm just wondering about storage space. how will it work for those without a psp or ps3?
Griffon2k @ Jun 1st 2009 4:21AM
The PlayStation brand has had it's day, and I say that as someone who owned a PS1 and PS2. With the same third party catalog, great exclusives and a deep online offering, all at a significantly lower price, there is no reason to skip over the 360 for a PS3. And the Wii offers an experience so different, you have to own one to get it.
The PS3 got a nice bump when Blu-Ray won the format war and it was the best and cheapest Blu-Ray player available, but now that you can get a final profile BD standalone for around $200 less than a PS3, there's no need to buy a PS3 for Blu-Ray either.
It's a console without a cause.
Ashitaka @ Jun 1st 2009 11:21AM
no U
tyetheczar @ May 29th 2009 11:56PM
I still remember his E3 messup. It's Ridge Racer. Riiiiiiiiiiiiidge Racer!
Professor Lario @ May 30th 2009 12:03AM
I am not sure how spreading content over other devices will bring the PS3 or PSP sales out of the red? Am I missing something here? Wouldn't Sony need to do something to THOSE devices to make them successful?
TruthBringer @ May 30th 2009 12:59AM
Putting content on to other devices is going to help them attempt to boost PSN sales. They will do other things to boost sales of devices.They would make more money if they charged for online play. It is a commodity item, that you can pay for. Sony fans may not like the fee for XBL, but it is better than PSN, has more online content, and people happily pay for it. We get Netflix, and Hulu (upcoming). Charging for online play allowed Microsoft to add more features that users want. Sony is slow about new features because they don't get annual money from PSN, their revenue depends completely on how many pieces of content are sold.
Ashitaka @ May 30th 2009 10:09AM
The fact that PSN is free makes it so that PSN > XBL.
The only thing that XBL has over PSN is that all games have a demo first. That's what I'd like to be improved on PSN.
rruss79 @ May 30th 2009 1:29AM
Sony can never charge for PSN. Once you go free, you can never go the opposite. Even if Sony tried to create premium services and try to charge for them they will get a very negative feedback.
On the other hand, MS can continue to add premium features to GOLD subs making the GOLD sub more attractive and worth the money. Actually, it would be smart for MS to do this as it would increase GOLD subs. I can think of a dozen things MS could do for the GOLD sub to separate it from the Silver and make it worth while to get.
rruss79 @ May 30th 2009 1:32AM
As to the PS3 slim. If Sony can really reduce the cost of creating the slim and bring it out at a price point to compete with MS, then I can definitely see them picking up sales with such a device.
Azariel_z @ May 30th 2009 3:55AM
Wowo..we are on the middle of 2009 ...for Ps3 not making profit and not selling well at this point, doesnt give the impression SOMETHING IS WRONG????? Last year was the first time Sony got a big Loan from the Sharks..( Bank),,, and they lsot exactly what they got.. on japan is oen of the few companies doing lay offs... Still they are pretty sure their game division can stay afloat.. Is slow and painful tiems for SCE,,,
lets see what happens...
OLDMIKE @ May 30th 2009 4:20AM
not realy with it are you
there loses were mostly from there arm that makes TVs and the like
thats were there cuts have been not in there gameing area
hell MS has made a LOT of cuts in there gameing area
thats why sony has soon many games comeing out vs MS
most of japan is hurting not just sony so stop the fanboy crap and game on
Azariel_z @ May 30th 2009 5:03AM
Why fanboism? They are not doing fine on Japan, and the games coming out on Japan arent that big deal...other than FF everyone is avoiding the Ps3.. THEY ARE in a bad situation with their gaming company, and they loose on TV s and other areas, would n t be big deal, if they didnt need to use those resources to invest and pump their hardware/games Division.
Rask @ May 30th 2009 7:35AM
Sony - Here's a quick primer to the Razor/Razorblades strategy.
THE RAZOR NEEDS TO BE AS INEXPENSIVE AS POSSIBLE!
The sad thing is that you have the right price(although dropping it to 129$ would make it really appealing) with the PSP but the developers just aren't following along.
(Did I mention I bought a PSP 2 weeks ago. I love the thing)
Also, I wish you guys would move away from the weekly updates to the PSN and just put stuff up as it gets released (at least for Demos and Videos). Put DLC on one day, PS1 Classics on another and PSN on another still. There's a lot of love to be spread here and waiting till Thursday to out it all out is a bit ridiculous.
j.howlett @ May 30th 2009 10:37AM
way to regurgitate corporate speak. they do sometimes update psn throughout the week like the modern warfare trailer went up monday, as did the uncharted 2 multiplayer beta video a week or two before it.
MattLive @ May 31st 2009 8:53AM
Well, start making PSN a competitive platform like Steam and iTunes. Let users SYNC the content they've bought for free with the devices that supports it. Especially portable devices where users may need to change content plenty of times due to memory limits.
I doubt you will get the hardcore to put in any large amount on games if PSN doesn't not support some kind of virtual book shelf for all the games, movies and so on that user's bought from the PSN store.
Having a 5 download limit is ridiculous. And NO 16 GB on a PSP Go! is NOT enough to allow a 5 limit download on the PSN store. It's just plain bad customer support.
So give us a virtual content shelf that is syncable, Sony. Don't mess around or it will take a long time for users to adobt to a true PSN cloud solution which I hope is the strategy we will see on E3. (Although I doubt it)