NPD February 2007

Chef, hope you don't mind that I searched your name for old posts around june-may 06.

:) from your search...

10-Jun-2006, 11:25 Tap In
Senior Member




FTR, I think that the $600 price will be long gone by the time demand for it runs out so the price itself is not an issue of sales but of preceived demand at that price point. It makes no difference what the price is if you're selling as many as you can make anyway.

OTOH, I'm actualy starting to suspect that Wii may take a bigger share this gen than any of us expected
so I may have been wrong about PS3 (expected sales to be extremely brisk up to 8 million or so) bu I was right on with Wii. :D
 
I've no idea how psp is doing software wise, I've just heard it was doing poorly but no numbers. I did research a few months ago on the ps1 to ps2 transistion software wise and tracked the software sales over the past few years to see how the market was adapting.

I posted it here so you should be able to find it if you're interested.

I'm not sure how you conducted your research, but I can (nearly) prove you wrong.

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/viewer/06q3/slide/image/15_image.jpg
 
If anything, 360 is shaping up to be the PS2 of this generation (well, if I ignore Wii as a non-competitor to PS3/360) (though I dont think Xbox360 will, or has, done nearly as well as PS2). So in that regard, I'd have to expect it to have a longer life than PS3 if anything. Also, while it's no Xbox, PS3 Hardware does also show a lot of cost problems (even beyond Blu-Ray) so it's actually going to be closer to an Xbox1 position in 2011+ than 360 will I'd wager. Struggling to get the price down to <149.

Would it be fair to say you think things will be all roses for Microsoft and a devastation for Sony?
Would it be suprising to say I'm not suprised?


Of course not, I was exagerrating. I imagine most of these companies are diversified enough that as long as the gaming industry as a whole doesn't flop they are relatively safe. The big thing I see this doing is companies looking very seriously at what they need to do to make their big IPs multi-platform (dropping resolution and physics for the Wii and seeing what they can cut up for the 360).

Oh yeah, no doubt. We agree, then. I'm just seeing the two products reaching parity, in contrast to so many voices singing about the crumbling of the Playstation brand. Sony's not going to retain the position the held in the PS2 era. How on earth could they?

Some people are going to have 360's and some will have PS3's. So most games will come out on both. Contrast with the PS2 cycle where everyone had a PS2 so all the games would go there.

It's a much healthier state for the industry, and I'd say more "normal". The really nice thing about it is that Sony and MS are alot more multi-faceted and dynamic than Nintendo and Sega where back in the early 90's.

Sony is no longer the only game in town, but the "OMG PS3 doomed $600 lol" echo chamber is hollow and tiresome.

Oh, and by the way- around the time of those threads you looked up, I totally thought the PS3 would be selling like crazy. Back then I believed its functions as a media device would be alot more fleshed out than what they actually are.
 
I can't fault your assuming that. I mean, there is no reason why the 360 can't stick around that long, besides the short history of the XBox brand showing otherwise. I appreciate that the XBox killing was a special case, but it's still the only case we have to look at.

No, we dont have to look at it. Its simple finance, if the projects brings in money, and the future cashflow has a positive NPV, you keep it going.

History of the Xbox brand is irrelevant, the theory that they will "kill off" the Xbox 360 just because they killed off the Xbox 1, is mostly based on f@nboyism. Its not based on any real world situation, it simply doesnt work that way.

It doesn't make sense in a real world. No company is going to kill a project that gives them a positive NPV. Say what you want to say about MS, but i believe their Finance department are filled with something smarter than a 5 year old.

The reason the Xbox 1 got killed of, was because they were loosing money on it. Negative NPV. If the X360 is sold at a profit in 2011 or whenever, and the numbers are significant, they are going to keep selling it until it stops being worth it.

The people who buy a current-gen console 5 years later than the rest @ $149 arent in the market for a brand new $400 console, so your not drawing attention away from your potential costumers of the Xbox 3 either..


PS2 is going a freaksih 10 years (so far!) by design.

Um. Let me do some math here (*counts on fingers*) 2000, 2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007. Thats 7 years...


Would you agree that the PS3 is likely to last longest in retail?

What lasts longer in retail is what keeps earning money the longest. It has nothing to do with Sony's history of overlapping things or anything. Right now, the PS3 is the least likely to last longest in retail, if you look at its sales levels.
 
Don't know what is so amazingly out-of-this-world surprising that a 500-600 piece of plastic and metal without much interesting software is selling less than something much cheaper and more accessible (Wii) and something cheaper and with a LOT more software (360, PS2, DS and the rest).

Also, how are Sony in trouble? Look how well PS2 and PSP are selling, relatively speaking. Does everyone forget the profits they make out of those? In a sense, it's better for them to sell more of those two to offset their massive losses.
 
... I believed its functions as a media device would be alot more fleshed out than what they actually are.

You were not alone with that belief.

This is one reason why I think EU will be interesting to watch for Sony over the next 3-4 months. At the moment, most Europeans can only go on their expectations of what PS3 is/will be. Once some (more than the few that are there now) start trickling into users hands, perhaps the reality may not exactly meet the expectation (at the current price point).

I suspect a greater success will come for Sony with PS3 after a price drop coupled with a successful execution of fully fleshed features and services (such as home and other online services) and some more solid GAMES, GAMES, GAMES.
 
Ostepop, you're refuting a bunch of stuff that I didn't actually say.
Again.

I can't give anything more than a loosely formed opinion because A) We don't know that much and B) I don't care that much. You respond to my open -ended opinion with some firm predictions that are obviously (yes... it's obvious) more based on wishful thinking.

I'll probably not take the bait on your upcoming reply, just to let you know. Unless you feel like being wrong about cars again. :p
 
Would it be fair to say you think things will be all roses for Microsoft and a devastation for Sony?
Would it be suprising to say I'm not suprised?

I was just trying to point out a flaw in your arguments, which you had perhaps not realized.

Yeah I have my biases, like you, but most of it isn't worth posts. However, I'm not sure you were really aware of why Xbox 1 was cut off so quickly. That was worth a post.

I dont know what will happen. I think if latter gen PS3 games start showing a clear graphical superiority (which I have doubts will happen, but again, I cant see the future), that could mean a lot for Sony's fortunes. And, if I wamt to look at positives for PS3, I would point out that it has a stronger worldwide standing than Xbox, such that it has a easier time matching 360's sales WW, because it has a easier time in Japan and to some extent EU. When the worldwide tallies are totaled in 5, 6, years, PS3 has a much stronger chance to equal or exceed 360.

But yeah, it's hard to beat a dead horse, but Sony has done a tremendous amount wrong with PS3. Starting with the fact imo, it's not the 360's clear hardware superior.

Also, dont forget that PS3 has already gone a long way towards winning Sony the Blu-Ray war, which I guess is at least as important to them. I dont think they wanted to trade the videogame war for Blu-Ray though, if they could help it, but to me that's pretty much exactly how it's working out.
 
Ostepop, you're refuting a bunch of stuff that I didn't actually say.

What you did was point out the history of the Xbox, which is completely irrelevant to look at, (look in above post for explanation why its irrelevant, and silly to even bring up that) .

I can't give anything more than a loosely formed opinion because A) We don't know that much and B) I don't care that much. You respond to my open -ended opinion with some firm predictions that are obviously (yes... it's obvious) more based on wishful thinking.

I didnt post any predictions at all, i just ripped your theory about the PS3 lifetime and the Xbox statement to shreds, because what you said isn't based on logic.

Again, project with positive NPV, will keep getting produced, as long as it bring in a cashflow with positive NPV. What Sony or whoever else has done in the past is irrelevant, and actually wishful thinking.

I'll probably not take the bait on your upcoming reply, just to let you know.

There isnt really much for you to reply with...
 
On a more productive note:

Could PS3 sales actually drop below six figures? (seems unlikely, given March releases)

And, will Sony react with a slash and burn $100 price cut (that is what I hope will happen, just to inject some life into things)

If I was Sony, desperate measures, I would ditch the 60GB version, and try my hand at $399 20GB alone. You have got to get that thing to a reasonable price, pronto.
 
I can't fault your assuming that. I mean, there is no reason why the 360 can't stick around that long, besides the short history of the XBox brand showing otherwise. I appreciate that the XBox killing was a special case, but it's still the only case we have to look at.

Since you seem to read only what you want to read...

There isnt really much for you to reply with...

....then yes, there really isn't much to reply with.

Yeah I have my biases, like you, but most of it isn't worth posts. However, I'm not sure you were really aware of why Xbox 1 was cut off so quickly. That was worth a post.

A) Speak for yourself about biases.

B) I've already said that I understand why the XBox was halted.

C) When you can acknowledge both sides of an argument and construct your side using all of what you know instead of jsut selective bits of what you know, that is called intellectual honesty. You were starting to show it in that post!

D) I allways appreciate any and all replies, and I appreciate yours. But some are not intelectualy honest and well.... they just suck and I guess I don't really appreciate those ones.
 
If you want to speculate that 360 will have a strong sales presence 7 years from now then feel free, but it's just speculation.

Would you agree that the PS3 is likely to last longest in retail?

I would agree that both systems will last generally the same amount of time. The only thing that really dictates the longevity of a platform is install base, and software development.

I expect PS3 and 360 to be within 5-10% of eachother in the end, and as such, both systems will get the majority of games, and they'll both sell for a very long time.

What is it about Sony that makes them exclusively qualified to sell a platform for 7+ years? PS1 and PS2 both dominated their respective markets, they recieved the majority of 3rdf party titles, so it's understandable they had more legs than the competitors.

But the market is much more even this time. It makes no sense to think MS will simply stop selling 360's in 3 years when they have reached the sweetspot of $150-$99, have a huge install base, and tons of software development.

I haven't heard anyone give one logical argument as to why MS would cut the lifecycle short, other than the old "well they did it last time", which you just repeated. What happened to Xbox1 has essentially no bearing on the 360 when you look at the specifics of the situation.
 
(too crayon) At the risk of continuing a dreaded argument, your original post was not very educated. I dont see why you would simply assume that somehow, Sony supports it's platforms for ever and microsoft never does, because the PS2 has had a long life and the Xbox did not. There was reasons and forces behind that, that will probably be reversed this generation.
 
Now i see you have a hard time dealing with it.

I'm done dealing with it. All I had to do was point out that you are trying to put words in my mouth for the sake of being argumentative and I'm not interested in playing your game. I'd say I dealt the shit out of it.

This quoted comment doesn't reflect kindly on your character. You are underestimating this forum if you think otherwise.

It makes no sense to think MS will simply stop selling 360's in 3 years ...

Sorry, Scooby. While I agree for the most part with you, but I don't remember anyone saying MS would "simply stop selling 360's in 3 years". You lost me there.
 
Also, how are Sony in trouble? Look how well PS2 and PSP are selling, relatively speaking. Does everyone forget the profits they make out of those? In a sense, it's better for them to sell more of those two to offset their massive losses.

Lol, talk about spin. Ya, it's better now in the short term, 6 years from now, when they want to repeat the same profit making cycle with PS3...totally different story. It's extremely important for Sony that they build up an install base fairly quickly or MS will cement it's domination as the lead platform for 3rd party developers.

Sorry, LB, but youre argument that Sony getting outsold nearly 2:1 by 360 is actually a good thing for the company rings a little hollow :p
 
Sorry, Scooby. While I agree for the most part with you, but I don't remember anyone saying MS would "simply stop selling 360's in 3 years". You lost me there.

Shoulda said 3-5 years I guess...

At this rate, the PS3 won't pass the 360 by 2010, but it will by 2014, because the 360 will have been gone for years.

Seems you're saying 360 will be gone by 2011 or 2012 at the latest? Not gonna happen.
 
Lol, talk about spin. Ya, it's better now in the short term, 6 years from now, when they want to repeat the same profit making cycle with PS3...totally different story. It's extremely important for Sony that they build up an install base fairly quickly or MS will cement it's domination as the lead platform for 3rd party developers.

Sorry, LB, but youre argument that Sony getting outsold nearly 2:1 by 360 is actually a good thing for the company rings a little hollow :p

If Wii continues to sell as it has, the 360 won't dominate as the lead platform for 3rd party developers. ;)
 
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