Sony and Microsoft to exit console wars after PS3 and Xbox 360?
By Dave Parrack
Just last weekend, I spoke about the next generation of consoles and who is likely to be involved. I think all three current players, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are likely to play again, but some feel differently. Could it be that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are the last consoles from Sony and Microsoft respectively?
Nintendo is guaranteed to be in the next generation console war. For starters, it is a company which only deals with video games, so even if the big N decided to get out of console manufacturing, it would still develop and publish games, much like Sega has done since the Dreamcast crashed and burned. But it’s unlikely to drop out of the console manufacturing business any time soon because the Wii and DS are both phenomenal successes.
But there are question marks over Sony and Microsoft’s long-term plans. And one person who thinks that both companies future isn’t going to involve consoles is Alex St. John, CEO & Founder of WildTangent, a PC game network.
According to GameTopius (no, me neither), St. John was recently part of a panel titled ‘Debate Club: Is the Console Entertainment Hub of the Future or Fighting to Stay Alive?’ at the first annual New York Games Conference.
The pro-console team first argued that consoles are the future thanks to the cost of high-end PC gaming, the ability to play from the comfort of your couch, and consoles becoming media hubs. But then it was the anti-console team’s turn, and the views expressed by St. John were controversial and explosive. He said:
Sony is not the company they use to be and the Playstation 3 is a market failure. Sony will never recover the billions they lost on the current generation of consoles. Sony says we’re not making another for ten years, which is code for we can never make back the billions we lost on PS3, let alone convince our executives to make one again.
Microsoft has a hole mile deep dug in the middle of Microsoft’s Campus to bury the billion dollars of broken Xbox 360’s they’ve got. The Xbox business is not a profitable business for them. It’s only become incrementally profitable for them after many years, and billions invested. To give you some perspective the Xbox 360, which is the second most popular console in the U.S; All Xbox revenues combined; create less revenue than World of Warcraft subscriptions. The entire 360 software business is minuscule compared to one PC game.
So the interesting observation, is that both Microsoft and Sony are in a position where they’re unlikely to ever have the motive to invest the billions into making another generation of consoles.
It’s easy to dismiss St. John’s comments either as the ramblings of a madman, or of a man whose business is solely reliant on PC gaming, of which the latter is ultimately correct. But, everything he says is factual, and deserves some thought.
The PS3 is a market failure at this moment in time. Although that failure may ultimately be turned around in the end, with Home and LittleBigPlanet possibly kick-starting a sales climb this Christmas, will it be enough to turn around the losses Sony has already made on the Playstation 3 hardware?
Microsoft has also lost a fortune on this generation console war, with the great Red Ring of Death debacle costing the company over $1 billion to fix. And with the recent price cuts across the board, each console unit sold is likely costing the company more than ever. Will the impressive software attach rate be enough to tempt Microsoft in to another round of console wars?
I foresee the Wii 2 making an appearance in the next couple of years, but then my crystal ball goes a bit cloudy and I’m not sure of the future. There could be another console generation beyond this one, but nothing is guaranteed at this point. I hope you’ll all be content to only own a Nintendo console in ten years time.
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September 27th, 2008
That guy is an idiot i laugh my ass off when i read was he said. PS3 a failure lmfao he should be fire but stupidity. You have to lose in order to fight like they did with PS2 which has sold over 40 million units. Wii is gonna crash and burned when everyone starts noticing how crap the console is.
September 27th, 2008
I’ve got something to put in you, i’ve got something to put in you….at the gaybar gaybar gaybar waaaaaaaaaah. Lets start a war, start a nuclear war….at the gaybar gaybar gaybar.
September 27th, 2008
THANK YOU MIKE!!! SOMEBODY HAD TO SAY IT. IVAN_FAG, you will never die you Sony bi*** boy.
September 27th, 2008
The 360 SLIM will be shown by the end of the year in India as reports are coming through now.
As Sony have done before, they have also trimmed down thier consoles, expect the same with the PS3 sometime next year.
Let’s get some good use out of these suckers before we worry about if there will be another machine or not to play games on……
September 27th, 2008
Wait, the 360 is “scucesful” at 21M units sold worldwide, and the PS3 is a failure at 16-17M? Where’s the cut?
Wii is the #1, yes, but it’s not PS2 units sold #1 either at the moment.
Little factoid: The PS2 sold more than 120million units over 8 years. The wii is only at its 2ndyear, and a mere .. what.. 25 million units worldwide tops?
The PS2 still sells lots (including games), and the PSP too. The PS3 is on the way upo. So for Sony, I don’t think it’s much of a problem, the $3billion will eventually be recoup.
Now for MS .. they only have the 360 in their game division. No handhled, and they stopped the Xbox (on which they lost $4billion due to high production cost). They have lost $3b+ on the 360 (including the $1B for RROD, which is stil la problem), and at the moment they were starting to make a little profit per console sold, bam, they have to drop prices again.
Frankly, how long will MS investors be ok with those kind of expenses to be eternal #2 or #3 on a market, with no sign of being #1 in sight?
It’s still way too early to call for victors and failures people.
September 27th, 2008
Posers i love winning and seen the bitter fanboy poser crying lmfao struggle Xbox 360 is pure trash with no good games. Write all you poser amuse me words can’t hurt me lol i know you wow gotta love Xbots criers sorry you had to own unreliable garbage. Keep dissing mean you just One Man Army furious full of JEALOUSY. PS3 is the king #1 brand with the best games and exclusives the most reliable system the stronger the best hardware the most love gaming beast from gaming developer and publisher with the best design a truly most have master piece just $399.99. http://www.sonystyle.com go there and make your DREAMS a reality. PlayStation 4 LiFe. Live In Your World, Play In Ours. Sony like.no.other
September 27th, 2008
i love the smell of cock in the morning.
September 27th, 2008
Yeah, Ivan’s an idiot, all he does is praise the PS3 (btw, I like the PS3) and bash the 360 and Wii. He even goes as far as saying that all people who own 360s are idiots. No one on the internet pisses me off more than Ivan.
September 27th, 2008
ivan u log out sign back lets play resistance or warhawk. o lord more bad words oh well.
September 27th, 2008
Xbox 360 is lagging,,,,,,,, Mike be quiet already
September 27th, 2008
Wow, Wii is not a failer but its not a winner. PS3 will be the winner in long term term sale. If microsoft dont make another console, PS3 will walk all over the xbox with its potential and games being already the best and most empressive so far(exclusives). ps3 OWNS, IT WILL NOT BE A FAILER. The only reason why its in last is because some people are to lazy to do the math and see that the xbox is the most expensive console and ps3 is the only tru console the you can just get it and need nothing else. When it hit next year PS3 should be ahead of 360 and should be neck and neck with the wii, just like how the 360 and PS3 are neck and neck now. PS3 is the best and even if it comes in second, It will still be the best console ever thought of and made. It’s a dream come true for real gamers. Not this wii crap that you just move the controller. It you what to play sports, play it in real life , not just play it and moving your hand and watch simulated stuff happen on screen. Its robbing you form the real thing.
September 27th, 2008
i hope sony and ms stays in the gaming business, cant imagine me buying a wii or ds craps.. i think the next generation console from sony and ms will be more casual friendly and be a lot cheaper then this generation.. they be stupid to release their console at a premeir price again.. next year they both have a wiimote like control and this will help them take some sales away from nintendo..
September 28th, 2008
You know, being gay isnt a bad thing. please stop using homosexual terms to insult someone.
Btw, ps3 and wii ftw. =D
September 28th, 2008
Btw i dont like Xbox 360. =D
September 28th, 2008
HI, this guy dont know what he is talking about, very bad jounalism.
1st Sony didnt sy they wont come up with a new console till 10 years after PS3, thats a lie
they said the lifespan of the PS3 is 10 years. that means they might still come up with another console like PS4.
they did that with the PS2 which is still in the market and selling very good.
2nd: just by what Sony made by the PS2 they can go 3 more generation of consoles. dont forget that the PS2 is still selling and it probably doesnt cost the more than 20$ or 30$ to manifacture.
3rd: now that Bluray won and getting in mass production it cost them less for each PS3, so even if they bring the price down to 350$ im sure they will not be losing a sent.
4th Sony, like Nintendo, also specialise in making software which sells ALOT. if we count all the series exclusive to Sony’s console and we count M$ exclusive software i wont be surprised sony will win by a margin of 10 to 1.( atleast colse to that)
So yeah very unprofessional journalism
September 28th, 2008
I think it’s a little too early to say Sony or MS is screwed.
Btw, 10 year plan means Sony will be supporting the PS3 for 10 years, like they’re doing for the PS2 right now.
September 28th, 2008
Jack,
You mean softwares from PS3 versus Xbox 360, would sell 10 to 1! WOW! Such exaggeration! PS4 is on the works now, not 10 years after, I suspect that they’re are going to reveal after 5 years. Sony is losing money with every PS3 sold due to manufacturing cost. Actually, Sony and MS really should exit the console wars because Nintendo is winning this round. But i heard MS is buying Nintendo, if that happens I wonder what would be of PS3.
September 28th, 2008
Wow PS1 and PS2 have won wars. Sony is never gonna drop out maybe Microsoft might. Just because a lucky console is selling well doesn’t mean anyone should drop out. Some people need to learn the business before they write crap. Nintendo will never be sold especially not to Microsoft.
September 28th, 2008
The ps3 is a piece of shit, The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think It’s really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I’d say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a ‘do over’. Just say, ‘This was a horrible disaster and we’re sorry and we’re going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it.’”
September 28th, 2008
We are 3 years in to PS3’s 10 year cycle. So this guy is an idiot that doesn’t pay attention (or has a ulterior motive). Sony has far too much onvestment in gaming to NOT develop a successor product.
September 28th, 2008
yh the ps3 has lost alot of money in the R and D stage of the ps3 but ppl seem to forget the bigger picture sony developed the cell processor along with ibm n toshiba so for every cell processor produced and they are the future for any computing unit either it being a ps3, pc even tv’s ok they will not have the power of the ps3 one but still . in fact any processor that uses a simular arcitechture sony have a right due to the pataint (unsure wht it is tho)
they created blu-ray and the ps3 help them win the format war thus earning them more than they would ever dream of cos with every blu ray disc produced who gets a nice slice of the pie….sony. the the ps3 lost money but the big picture is that sony will make much much more with the cell n blu ray pataints….. u may think im talkin a loads of horse shit but o well
September 28th, 2008
xbox … i ent got a clue lol…they have window lol
September 28th, 2008
“Alex St. John, CEO & Founder of WildTangent, a PC game network.“. Who’d a thunk it? a PC network gaming manager throwing rocks at Sony & Microsofts’ Houses. What a surprise!
Anyway Huge amounts of money are clawed back through software & other downloads. Although I don’t have Sony or Microsofts financial spreadsheets to hand, they’ll eventually come out smelling of roses, although it’s gonna take a long time.
And to be truthful. Neither would want to pull out just in case the other decided not to. Kind of a Mexican stand-off. Ah, bless em’.
September 28th, 2008
This one of the last great console wars, I mean seriously in the next 20 years graphics will become indistinguishable from real life and at that point it all will come down to game design and user interface designs and story telling.
So Nintendo has one that war hands down this generation, but Sony has also obtained over the past years a lot of patents exclusivity rights to used new user interface designs for in games, meaning only they can used that technology for game.
And I still think Sony eye toy 2 is better technology and allows more exciting possibilities which is not be explored right, partly because it does not come with every console as standard, something that will defiantly change in the next console war.
As for the ps4, I suspect that Sony will used virtually all the same components except the graphic card which will get a major update and a whole lot more memory. They will probably just further develop the processor or just put to of them in the machine. And apart from probably new SD cards slots, if any come out and probably update their USB ports to USB 3
If anything it the Hand held market that I could see both Nintendo and Sony pulling out of, meaning their will not be a market. With both turning to general mobile type gaming devices instead. And games will become available across a wider range of phones. This allows them to both make money from contracts and of games downloads and so fourth.
With their own in house designed phone being released.
September 28th, 2008
The playstation 3 may have failed as a video game console, but it did succeed in ensuring that blu-ray won the high definition media disk war. Blu-ray was the reason the PS3 failed, however, the PS3 was the reason blu-ray succeeded. If (and this is a very big IF) blu-ray is able to penetrate deep enough and have a sustainable mass-market appeal, the revenue stream from blu-ray disks could, hypothetically, justify the billions they invested in the ps3.
The difference between Sony/Microsoft and Nintendo, is that Sony and Microsoft can sustain a heavy financial loss in their gaming division, while still being profitable in the long-term for them overall. Both Sony and Microsoft are giants in their own right: Sony when it comes to electronic devices/hardware, Microsoft when it comes to software. In a sense, the PS3 and the xbox 360 are marketing pieces that highlight the capabilities of each respective company. They are also mediums for pushing their own technologies. The PS3 helped push blu-ray, and the 360 is pushing digital downloads and windows media center.
September 28th, 2008
Wow LMFAO @ mystik the PLAYSTATION 3 is in 3rd place for now but that doesn’t mean it was a failure. The PS3 is selling very well and it has the most exclusives plus the highest rated games. Soon Sony will convert the 140 million army they created with PlayStation 2 and bring most of them to the new 5 Star General PLAYSTATION 3. Sony you theory is flaw and yes we all know Blu-ray Disc is a brilliant success well duh is next gen just like Sony. Also Microsoft invested billions on Xbox 360 and they can hardly make a profit. They are barely getting by. As for Nintendo we will just have to wait and see how long people can last playing dated awkward mini games on a crappy bad design toy. Sony and Microsoft can eat Nintendo alive true they have more than just video game consoles unlike Nintendo. PS1 has CD Brilliant victory over Saturn and Nintendo 64 PS2 has DVD another still going victory over Dreamcast Xbox Gamecube soon Wii. As for PS3 i think they might continue the winning streak in the long run the one that truly matters. Nintendo needs to stop being cheap and come out with a worthy opponent. I think i should be a gaming journalist for PlayStation LoL.
September 28th, 2008
sony will still be there next gen, they’re still goin to make mgs5 for the ps3 and mgs6 for the ps4.
September 28th, 2008
*LOL* no way Sony is leaving. PS3 had a rough start but it’s going to succeed. PS3 not only is it a kick-ass gaming machine but an awesome Blu-ray player as well… PS3 also contributed to society by helping tremendously in the cure for disease.
I own a 360, my first one broke, upgraded to an elite, lost all my saved games, hardly play it anymore.
As for the Wii, I would never buy that console due to the lack of HD.
September 28th, 2008
Yo dipshit fanboys, it’s about PROFIT not numbers sold. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo aren’t here to provide you entertainment at their expense. Plus I’ll be glad if Sony and Microsoft pull out, it’ll mean a single console with all the franchises. This is coming from a PS3 owner.
September 28th, 2008
Sony will still be around. The PS3 may never make up the losses, and it may be unlikely that the PS4 will, either, even if it is popular.
However, their first two consoles were so successful, they can take a loss this gen and still be in the black, overall.
MS, on the other hand, has been bleeding money with the Xbox. There was no success before the failure of this gen, like Sony had, so they’re ONLY in the red.
MS will likely not be around next gen.
Sony has only 1 more generation unless they learn from their failure like Nintendo did.
September 28th, 2008
Matt, you douchebag. MS is not bleeding money in this generation, they are actually turning a profit, and have been doing so for quite some time. Why don’t you stop being a dipshit and get your head out of your arse, dickhead?
And my friend still thinks you are an idiot.
September 28th, 2008
“As for the Wii, I would never buy that console due to the lack of HD”
I would hardly call 530p upscaled to 1080p HD. PS3 graphics sucks.
September 28th, 2008
Wow, Nintendo does it right I guess. I own 360 and wii but 360 is way better.
To bad they don’t know how to make a system correctly.
September 28th, 2008
Wow, People actually get PAID for writing that drivel ? LOL, Sony AND Micro$oft actually not thinking about making sucessor’s to their consoles ? Despite the losses the Xbox division has made, it is now profitable once again. As for Sony, they’ve made a console or two before (if you know what I mean) and are in it for the long haul, their business model will be profitable before-long.
The Living room is THE place these guys (Apple too!) want to be. Their not gonna quit because their not selling quite as much (partly due to recession?) Theres already rumors around all three companies are developing components for PS4 (Triple Cell anyone?) Xbox360, think your new Quad-Core PC is pretty flash ? Wait til you take home your brand new 16-Core Xbox…as for the Wii..probably a Quad-Core Wii capable of 720p HD.
Games are either going Direct-Download or Flash Memory, not just Blu.
Anyone remember the jump Intel made in the early 80’s, from the 486 or the 586 CPU ? Same thing, reloaded. But don’t watch this space if they run news like this, lol!
September 28th, 2008
For all you Xbox 360 haters i got good news. Tomorrow im playing the shit outer my xbox 360 i’ll be playing gta iv and saints row and maybe gears of war or phantasy star ok My fucking gamertag is Ivan PSP. I still love ps3.http://home.earthlink.net/~ivan-playstation/
September 28th, 2008
Wow i meant for all u ps3 haters fucking mistake.
September 28th, 2008
Wow i’m lost wtf and i trying to say lmfao.
September 28th, 2008
This article is so packed full of BS, it is clear it is only meant to make intelligent people scratch their heads, then click on an ad into a more sensible direction.
Sony stated that they were on the road to a 10-year-plan WELL BEFORE the PS3 was even released. It wasn’t an after-thought… it was a plan. With the PS2, they recognized that this market is about the long tail. You lose a lot of money in the beginning and don’t recoup most of us until the 5-year-mark. Then, in the following 5 years, you reap the rewards and use that surplus of money to develop the next replacement.
I don’t believe Sony is even going to stop. In fact, it is safe to say that the PS4 will support most of the same things the current PS3 supports (Blu-ray, etc…) but will focus a lot more in the areas of internal storage. It may have a solid state drive, and a large one at that. Another possible feature would be DVR-like functionality. So, their hopes might be that people will replace their TiVos with PS4s.
It is also very unlikely Microsoft will be leaving the console game anytime soon. For every console they are having to replace within warranty, they are also likely replacing consoles outside of warranty. This is another potential revenue stream for them. Also, it helps cement the next generation of console (computer) users to use Microsoft-based products. This is vital as they are starting to be heavily attacked on the Windows front.
The future of computing is leading to less and less powerful computers being connected to the cloud. Computing power is being put outside of the home. As a result, computers need less and less power to accomplish the same tasks. The exception is gaming. Gaming has always and will always require the processing power to be within the home. As we see powerful gaming PCs decline, we will see powerful gaming consoles go on the rise.
Also, with the introduction of a keyboard and a mouse (and the proliferation of hi-def televisions,) consoles are slowly becoming computers. This is not a market Microsoft can afford to leave. It is also not a likely market for Sony to exit. Sony and Microsoft did not lose to the Wii. Nintendo created an entirely new market entirely. As a result, Nintendo has no real competition during this round.
Lastly, there is no point in comparing World of Warcraft to another product to try to prove winning or losing. WoW is a phenomenon that is in a world of its own. Consoles were never supposed to be money-makers. They were supposed to push games. Games are supposed to be the money-makers. So, as long as games are important to people, consoles will continue to thrive.
September 28th, 2008
For anyone to say that PS3 and MS to stop selling consoles is to say that Nintendo should have made the Wii since the Game Cube was a complete failure. Sony and MS are in the game and they sell to a different group of people, people that still comes back to my more gamees.
I have all three systems, and I know I am not alone when I say the Wii is sitting there collecting dust compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Can any Nintendo fan tell me about any exclusive “must” have game for the Wii? I know I will be buying Gears of War 2, Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, Fallout 3, SoCom, and many more games for my PS3 and Xbox 360. As of now, the Wii fit is my last “game” and there is nothing left to look forward to. If the Wii even supported 720P in graphics I would say it has staying power, but it doesn’t and I think by next year you will see the Xbox and PS3 battle it out for the long term.
September 28th, 2008
“I would hardly call 530p upscaled to 1080p HD. PS3 graphics sucks.”
Spoken like a true moron. Atleast 90% of PS3 games are 720p native or 1080p native. 720p and up = HD. PS3 and 360 graphics blows Wii’s graphics out of the water.
September 28th, 2008
“Spoken like a true moron. Atleast 90% of PS3 games are 720p native or 1080p native. ”
The PS3 has a wholly inadequate GPU for rendering games at 1080p. The few examples get away with it by cutting back on features like AA.
The difference between a Wii and a PS3 isn’t much compared to the difference between a PS3 and a modern PC. Face it all your consoles have crap graphics.
September 28th, 2008
Ok, i think all the fanboys includin Ivan_PSP should shiut the F**k up.
The PS3, is not profitable YET, the PS3 is not a failure, and as someone said before it is only 4- 5M units behind, and the 360 had a 1 year head start.
Sony know what they are doing, almost all thier products are launched at a loss, and the ps3 was a major case of this. the Cell and bluray really jacked up the price, but sony expected their customers to be smart enough to see they were getting a peice of future proof tech. It didnt really work, not yet anyways. maybe they had some genius japanese style plan that no one sees coming, i wouldnt put it past them.
The 360 is good, but has reached its limit, not just in terms of power, but majorly in terms of disk space. 8 gigs isnt enough.
the 360 has great games, and microsofts great business tactics have seems to work, and they seem to be paying off every one for exclusives.
I like the 360, and i will say that right now in terms of gaming it is the better console, but that will change, and the ps3 has much to offer interms of Blu-ray etc.
the PS3 seems like a console designed by people who would want to USE it, not just sell it, Wi- Fi, memory card slots, online playing, HDMI bluray, the ability to use any keyboard or headset, these are all things that came standard, and when you pay for the wifi, Xbox Live, HDDVD (useless now), Proprietary headset and keyboard, the 360 actually ends up MORE expensive, for something which has serious reliability issues.
The PS3 from the start was a great deal, and was a blu-ray player with a 60 gig HDD, that is automatically updated to the latest formats(blurray 2.0, dolby true HD), has one of the best video quality of any bluray player (tested by CNET) and cost less than the cheapest. thats before you even consider games. These are the things that draw me to a product, and make a good peice of Technology an amazing thing.
It is sad the Developers are too lazy to take advantage of the Cell, and the space from bluray, and it is possible, just look at MGS4, unrivaled grapghics, gameplay and detail of any console game. there was not a single flat texture, and amazing uncompressed audio. that is what the ps3 can deliver. Dont get me wrong, the 360 is brilliant, i love gears, and halo, but i would wish to see how brilliant they would be if they were developed for ps3.
the wii is just a toy, not a game console, it goes backwards in so many ways, it has PS2 graphics, and just has a pair of wavy controllers, that you can act as if you are playing golf or bowling with and look like a retard while doin it. woopedy doo.
the wii should be a peripheral, not a console. it is for little girls and old people, an is fun for the first five minutes.
sony is being dissed for going beyond what was required, expanding the horizon, investing in a whole hord of new technology.
as for sony and MS quiting- NO WAY. sony made a killing with the PS2, and have wony the format war, and are set to pocket billions from bluray, because of the PS3. MS willl make a fair profit too i think, and i just dont get nintendo, why not stretch the boundaries, not save money, and give toys to little kids, that shit is sad. the wii is all play, no work.
oh and as for that retard the ps3’s games are almost all atleaat 720p native and alot are 1080p, eg COD4, which was only 720p on 360, and id like to add, that halo 3 was 640p, but that is the best selling game on 360
September 29th, 2008
Wii is for casual gamers. Games like Assassin’s Creed, GTA4, etc. would look terrible on it. The 360 and PS3 provide way better quality. The 360 is better value for money and the large software library (my opinion!) will turn the system profitable. Consoles can sell at a loss provided the software sells and recoups the losses.
September 29th, 2008
@Gdog
You need to read my comments more carefully, I did NOT say PS3 has a lot of 1080p games, about 10% are 1080p native, most are 720p native. 720p is the minimum resolution for HD. You should call the other guy a tard since he said games on the PS3 are at 530p which there aren’t any.
September 29th, 2008
i agree with ibble,
the slim 360 is coming out. now it make sence, MS is trying to get the 360 out of the way by dropping the price, and make room for the slim 360. wow, very nice =o). he might be right, or maybe MS may go with a cheaper affortable system? maybe even use Vista as a counsel?
Gdog,
in regards to your disc space, there is always two disc games. your so called PS3 super computer outputs blue ray movies at 60Hrz when a real blue ray player does 120hrz refresh rate. i can go on but what ever. waste of my breath
September 29th, 2008
@Steve
GTA IV was at 530p you fool.
You obviously don’t know the difference between rendering resolution and displayed resolution. Get a Wii, good graphics are wasted on you.
September 29th, 2008
PS3 will not be su[perceded by a more powerful PS4,Sony and MS have both learned that success likes in the thinking of Nintendo.Old tech but imagination= fun= lots of profits.So PS# will be here to stay for quite some time as it will still be more powerful than Wii 2 and XBox 720,and developers would have learned to code for it andfinally exploit its potential.
September 29th, 2008
that guy above is a faker trying to be me just in case you didnt realise- can some mod or someone delete that shit.
@ steve, yea i was calling the other guy a retard, not you lol
September 29th, 2008
I got bored reading all the fanboy nonsense above, so apologies if this has been covered.
But cumlative worldwide sales since launch of the PS3 are about 3-4 million units AHEAD of the 360’s cumlative sales for the same point in it’s lifecycle - this despite the fact the 360 launched with no “next-gen” competition!
This is not fanboy ramblings, these numbers are black and white hard facts, so if the PS3 is deemed a failure the 360 by token must be an absolute sales disaster!!! It means the 360 has sold less and breaks more - so maybe they will reconsider their position for the next generation.
Also it is true that Sony lose money on PS3 hardware - but what do they gain in other areas? What is the value of PlayStation as a brand? How much does the PlayStation brand drive sales in other areas like the hugely popular Bravia LCD’s? How much do they make from advertising and developer fees? How much did they make (or avoid losing) by ensuring Blu-ray won the format war? How much do they get from Blu-ray sales? How much do they continue to make from sales of the profitable PS2 hardware?
Sony are a business, they are not complete idiots, business doesn’t work by saying “the PS3 loses $200-300 per unit it’s a failure!”, it’s much much more complex than that, and some of the examples above illustrate the point.
Look at how much it cost Toshiba to kill HD-DVD - the share price impact, the profit impact (95% loss in profit), the brand impact, and any R&D written off (some reports say as much as $1 billion were wasted on HD-DVD).
So you tell me - would Sony have wanted to take that sort of hit on Blu-ray or continue to sell the PS3 at a loss which would spread the losses over several years and probably not add up to anywhere near what it would have cost them to kill Blu-ray and sell a cheaper Blu-rayless PS3…?
One last point, the PlayStation brand is far more valuable than the XBox brand. There is no way Sony would bury it - it would be like Microsoft deciding to abandon the Windows brand!!!
September 29th, 2008
He may have a point because Google is look at online gaming so imagine if Google joins the industry by bringing a online console.
September 29th, 2008
Besides every TV comes with PC hook-up now.
September 29th, 2008
I don’t get it with the Xbox 360, they have a high failure rate and most people are to stupid to keep their Xbox 360, sending it in and waiting weeks to get it back, then back to the same oh! same oh! If I was Microsoft, I would invest on the same games they have now and later for the PC and make accessories along with it to.
But years from now, Hey! Microsoft could end up having a better efficient system, then gamers would be more happy. Me, I’m just pissed off of Microsoft and there stupid RROD xbox 360 system, sucks hard!!!
September 29th, 2008
@PS3owner
Cumulative sales sounds like your reaching. If you consider how much market Microsoft has taken from Sony, who I might add have sold well over 120 million Ps2’s and made playstation a household name, then Microsoft has pretty much accomplished what they set out to do. The Playstation brand name is not an easy thing to overcome, wouldnt you agree?
September 29th, 2008
Whilst Microsofts endevours in console gaming have been a total failure (9billion loss to date, Xbox, RROD and Xbox360 development losses), Sony have always made money each generation.
I wouldn’t be suprised to see Microsoft throw in the towel, as they have a really bad name when it comes to making hardware. The PS3 is massively on the up, they are close to breaking even on the PS3 hardware, already, and the attach rates per owner are the best of any this-gen console.
September 29th, 2008
This article, from a PC fanboy, is no different than any other fanboy rant. Blu Ray won Sony the format war but at what cost? And the cell processor, as advanced as it is, was slow to be adopted by developers and I’m still not sure if they fully grasp it. I had been a happy owner of the 360 from launch day, and yes it RROD’d on me twice but all in all the experience wasn’t as horrific as many made it out to be, and I got some free stuff to boot. The the launch of the Wii & PS3 came up and I was lucky to get a Wii strictly as an impulse because of it’s price tag. It sits mostly quiet now next to my Karaoke machine. The PS3 left me kind of feeling like I was shelling out some big bucks to be a guinea pig so I held off (I was never a fan of playing movies on my consoles anyway). So I decided to wait to see how it fared. Only now after a couple of price drops and good first party titles finally are on the horizon do I have new interest. Now I know the PS3 could not be what it is without the Cell, but the Blu Ray player should have been an option. IMO that revenue could have been better used shoring up the system memory which, lets face it, we all know is lacking. The price tag is what has kept Sony from destroying MicroSoft. Don’t get me wrong I still would have purchased my 360 but I also would have gotten a PS3 at launch if not for this issue. BTW, this PC fanboy circle jerk is clueless to our market.
September 29th, 2008
Vic B.- The blu-ray couldn’t of been made an option on the PS3. Sony wanted the games on blu-ray. Its not just about movies. What’s the point of having it as an add-on. That’s why the 360 add-on sucked. It could only play movies, no hddvd games. Blu-ray is bigger than just the PS3. It will bring in sales of movies. It could also enter the pc market. It can help to push other hardware such as TVs and home theatre electronics. Sony was thinking much bigger than just the PS3 sales. You may find it expensive, but to me it has been worth every penny!
September 30th, 2008
I speak perfectly you just bitter because Xbox is trash.
October 2nd, 2008
My personal view, and I own all 3 systems and don’t wish to align myself with any of these greedy companies, is that Microsoft is set up better for the future.
Nintendo, well they played their big card of motion sensitivity (which isn’t exactly a new tech) so they really aren’t able to come up with anything new next gen except a more precise motion system, larger memory, better online functionality, and High Def capabilities to go with their already stated doubled graphics power (which will still make the new Wii less powerful than the current 360 and PS3). The problem is both MS and Sony will have already been there and will be doing these things 10x better than Nintendo again.
Sony can make a come back, however they need more than 3 exclusive franchises and need to fix/drastically upgrade their slightly broken online network. But they are also going to have to make some serious leadership changes within their company.
Microsoft has done a great job stripping Sony of its exclusive titles (Ace Combat, Guitar Hero, GTA, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, and so on) and creating a seemlessly smooth online network worth the mere $7mos. When it comes to the RROD, MS has done a masterful job covering up the true 68% failure rate while at the same time getting massive developer support. This is another advantage of releasing your system first, not just sales, but developers learn to design on your hardware first. This is why many games are ported over to PS3, at times look worse, and sometimes run a little poorer as well. Expect MS to increase their lead next gen with an even better online service, more reliability, and will hit shelves first yet again.
PC gaming is just too complicated for most casual gamers, lacks many mainstream exclusives, and nobody wants to spend the time and money upgrading their tower/laptop every year. Let’s not forget the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of modern gaming, being part of a community. Many gamers hate being isolated in a room staring at a monitor when they could be playing split screen or online with friends on the couch, on the big screen, surround sound, and eating food.
The only wrinkle for the next gen would be if EA decides to make their own console. If they could pull it off, Microsoft would be the only company with the capital to try and compete.
October 2nd, 2008
wylie - sony NEVER touted bluray for gaming, pre launch. they only wanted to rule the movie format (HD) market and tried using the ps3 as the trojan horse to sneak it into homes. please do some research that doesn’t involve IVAN PSP or the Sony Defense Force.
bluray “won” ONLY because sony bought off toshiba by selling them the cells manufacturing. the ps3 did NOT create a bluray “win”. Again, learn first, post second….
October 4th, 2008
if sony and microsoft are gone, sega could move in that means nintendo and sega again:)