All purpose sales and sales rumors/anecdotes thread next gen+

[dobwal]

How much brands matter can vary by type of product. I am very brand-sensitive for some items and for others I couldn't care less.

Yeah, its person dependent but mostly all of us are guilty of it to some degree. About the only time it isn't applicable is when you are basically brand ignorant about a particular product market. Even then most will seek out someone versed in those products and try to parse out quality and other variables by brand.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

...try to parse out quality and other variables by brand.

Let's put it a different way; I choose products based on the functions that appeal to me.

You're right inasmuch as I will buy a Nintendo, Xbox, or a PlayStation - not some random Chinese console. The rest of my choices come down to the hardware, the services, and the software.

For me, one of the manufacturers came out trumps on each of those.

(I love my WiiU too - my children prefer that thing over the PS4! Foolish boys)

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Sony have also made public acknowledgement that they've noticed a number of gamers have come from Xbox. So while you're certain that 360 gamers wouldn't upgrade to a PS4 and are instead "waiting", I'm more inclined to believe that the shift from one to another is significant. So significant in fact that Microsoft are constantly creating deals that entice gamers back to them.

Way to put words into my mouth that I never said.

I beg you...I urge you to find anywhere that I've stated that X360 users aren't upgrading to PS4. Please, do tell. Find me a link, I'd be extremely grateful.

Instead of jumping to conclusions, it'd help if you actually took the time to READ.

Here, just in case you've already forgotten the post that this is all about...

It's also a bit of anecdotal evidence showing that more Xbox owners are staying with their X360's rather than upgrading to a new console versus PS3 owners who are likely upgrading much sooner.

IE - Xbox One take up is hampered not only by a stronger competitor but also by existing owners not upgrading nearly as much as the owners of the competitor's previous console.

Regards,
SB

Hmmmm, no mention of WHAT console they are upgrading to, because it is irrelevant to the statement.

That statement being...

It's also a bit of anecdotal evidence showing that more Xbox owners are staying with their X360's rather than upgrading to a new console versus PS3 owners who are likely upgrading much sooner.

I've bolded the important distinction since you seemed to have missed it. And I'll even help you out by explaining it further.

More of one thing than another thing isn't an absolute statement of quantity. It could be something large like 70% all X versus 30% of all Y. Or it could be something like 20% of all X versus 5% of all Y. Now which do you think is more likely?

Basically it boils down to, anecdotal evidence that more X360 owners decided to not upgrade to any console (not the PS4 console, ANY console) than PS3 owners. With no guesses as to how many more or even what percentage of X360 owners that would be.

Is it absolute evidence? No, that's not what anecdotal means. Does it denote absolute certainty on my end as you seem to think? No, again that's not what anecdotal means.

Snarky comments like that and putting words into people's mouths does nothing to analyze the dynamics in play. Feelings don't mean jack squat. Your friend does this means jack squat. Market dynamics can provide hints and indicators but are imprecise. Hence the lack of certainty.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shortbread]

If this helps any, more XB360s have been traded into GameStop towards PS4 purchase. However, most of the XB360 users (trade-ins) were previous PS2 gamers.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

IE - Xbox One take up is hampered not only by a stronger competitor but also by existing owners not upgrading nearly as much as the owners of the competitor's previous console.

Why would the Xbox One be hampered by existing owners not upgrading, if existing owners were upgrading to both machines? It reads like you're suggesting that current owners will only upgrade to an Xbox One, while also suggesting that PS3 owners have more quickly begun adoption of the PS4.

I agree that you never said "Xbox 360 players were not upgrading to PS4", no doubt, but it did read as if you implied it. If that was not your intent then accept my sincere apologies.

 

[eastmen]

Patcher has been telling people not to buy an xbox one due to amazing promotions around the holidays. Anyone have a clue as to what they could actually do ?

I don't think a price drop is possible or is it ?

 

[DieH@rd]

Patcher has been telling people not to buy an xbox one due to amazing promotions around the holidays. Anyone have a clue as to what they could actually do ?

I don't think a price drop is possible or is it ?

Maybe they will bundle free Minecraft with console.

[the only "amazing" news I could see is arrival of subsidizing plan for USA]

 

[Rangers]

Maybe they will bundle free Minecraft with console.

[the only "amazing" news I could see is arrival of subsidizing plan for USA]

Yeah, $349 or bust really.

Bundling Minecraft would actually be a great no brainer idea though. People love that game.

Give me $349, Master Chief Collection, and Minecraft bundle this holiday. Something grand is needed to live up to Pachter's statements

 

[djskribbles]

Yeah, they'll most likely have a Minecraft and MCC bundle. Possibly a FH2 bundle as well. But the question is, will it be 399 or 349? I'm guessing 349 with a digital download for black friday.

Sony better have something decent. I'm guessing the Destiny bundle will go on sale, and that there will also be a GTA V bundle... both $399 for black friday. Possibly a Far Cry 4/LittleBigPlanet/DriveClub bundle as well.

 

[eastmen]

I wonder if with sony's financial struggles now isn't a good time for ms to get more aggressive. A $300/$400 price point (no Kinect / Kinect) with a launch title or two added in could really put pressure on sony in a way they might not be able to combat right now.

 

[Phil]

I wonder if with sony's financial struggles now isn't a good time for ms to get more aggressive. A $300/$400 price point (no Kinect / Kinect) with a launch title or two added in could really put pressure on sony in a way they might not be able to combat right now.

I honestly don't think so. A lower price will only get you so far if the perception isn't really in your favour - which I think is part of the problem Microsoft is facing. Even if they offered a $300 price-point with a title (some may or may not be interested in), I don't think Sony would react to it. They are confident in their product and its selling well, so no need to react to everything your competitor does.

Also - the US might be really sensitive to console prices - the EU isn't. Not really. We've been used to paying way more for our consoles, so a better deal on a bundle isn't exactly going to get us running out to buy a different product simply because it's cheaper. If that logic accounted for anything, then the Dreamcast likely would have never died off. And any place outside the NA - the PS4 is selling like hotcakes compared to the Xbox One. So even if Microsoft did lower the price, the only thing they might achieve is perhaps better sales relative to the PS4 in the US. And if it would be enough to sway people that have already set their minds on getting a PS4? Perhaps those that are on the fence, but I'm thinking those people are getting less and less by the day...

 

[eastmen]

dreamcast doesn't factor in. It had horrible piracy. No hacking or anything you'd just download a cd sized game burn it to a disc and put it in your dreamcast. I was in college during the dreamcast and people had cd books full of dreamcast games and would just copy them for friends.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Even if they offered a $300 price-point with a title (some may or may not be interested in), I don't think Sony would react to it. They are confident in their product and its selling well, so no need to react to everything your competitor does.

I think that was his point. Whether or not Sony would want to react to it, they may not be able to given the state of the rest of the business.

Also - the US might be really sensitive to console prices - the EU isn't. Not really. We've been used to paying way more for our consoles, so a better deal on a bundle isn't exactly going to get us running out to buy a different product simply because it's cheaper. If that logic accounted for anything, then the Dreamcast likely would have never died off. And any place outside the NA - the PS4 is selling like hotcakes compared to the Xbox One. So even if Microsoft did lower the price, the only thing they might achieve is perhaps better sales relative to the PS4 in the US. And if it would be enough to sway people that have already set their minds on getting a PS4? Perhaps those that are on the fence, but I'm thinking those people are getting less and less by the day...

Console sales have historically peaked in the 3rd / 4'th year of their lifecycles, in otherwords when the reasonable price drops happens. I don't believe that is a US only phenomena.

 

[Shortbread]

Players Logged More Than 100 Million Hours of Online Play in the First Week

Destiny Becomes Best-Selling New Video Game Franchise Launch of All Time

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that its highly anticipated new franchise Destiny sold-through more than $325 million worldwide in its first five days, according to Chart-Track, first parties, retail customer sell-through information and Activision Blizzard internal estimates.

According to Bungie, Destiny players logged more than 100 million hours of online play by the end of the first week and participated in 137 million activities. The game has won over 180 awards and nominations to date.

"Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours of the game in the first week. That's on par with the engagement levels of our most popular Call of Duty® games, which obviously is an industry leader," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing. "Millions of gamers are having a great time playing Destiny and can't put down their controllers. And this is just the beginning. Destiny is a platform that will grow and evolve and we will continue to work closely with our partners at Bungie to bring a long line of new experiences and content to life in the game."

Hailed by Game Informer Magazine as "one of the first true event games of this new generation," and lauded by Yahoo! Games as "gorgeous, slick, and finely tuned, a technical knockout," Destiny casts players as a Guardian of the last city on Earth, able to explore the ancient ruins of our solar system in a social, living universe filled with other players. Players will journey through environments spanning the red dunes of Mars to the lush jungles of Venus while creating their own legend as they and their friends venture out into the stars to reclaim the treasures and secrets lost after the collapse of humanity. Over the course of their adventures, players will become more powerful as they wield rare and exotic weapons, gear, and super abilities.

In addition to the story campaign, players can take their unique character into any co-operative or competitive activity, including the ability to compete with or against their friends in The Crucible, Destiny's competitive multiplayer mode featuring numerous playlists and maps spanning diverse environments across the galaxy.

Destiny is rated T for Teen by the ESRB (Animated Blood and Violence), and is available now for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system (PlayStation Plus required for some features), PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft (Xbox Live Gold required for some features).

For more information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com. For exclusive updates, follow the official Destiny social channels at www.facebook.com/DestinyTheGame and @DestinyTheGame on Twitter, and interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I think that was his point. Whether or not Sony would want to react to it, they may not be able to given the state of the rest of the business.

Given today Sony issued a financial 'alert' because of poor sales in the mobile phones, I can't imagine that Sony would be looking to reduce profits in other areas of the business.

But as others have said, I can't see Sony reacting to what Microsoft do. Sony will only react (i.e. revisit pricing) if demand drops below a level they are happy with. And no doubt Sony have close to a realtime feel for that. Their distributors who provide big retail will know day-to-day, week-to-week, what demand is from restocking volumes. It's not like they have to wait for NPD before noticing any drop in demand.

 

[eastmen]

That's the point DSoup. An xbox one at $300 could reduce demand for a ps4 @ 400 globaly which would mean sony would have to stick with the current price and thus allow ms to start to catch up or sony would have to reduce the price which would cause them to loose more money.

 

[Goodtwin]

In the past, the Playstation division didn't need to be all that profitable since Sony was an electronics giant, but now they do need it to make good money, and it seems like it make be their primary money maker going forward. If Sony wants to make sure the PS4 doesn't loose momentum, I think making attractive bundles make more sense than price drops. Making a bundle that has Killzone, The Last of Us, and Infamous pre installed on the hard drive would add tremendous value without costing Sony much money. Price drops come directly at the expense of the profit, where as software bundled in doesn't have the same negative effect.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

That's the point DSoup. An xbox one at $300 could reduce demand for a ps4 @ 400 globaly which would mean sony would have to stick with the current price and thus allow ms to start to catch up or sony would have to reduce the price which would cause them to loose more money.

Depends on whether it'll make a difference for them. People still bought a PS3 when that thing came out. It was crazy money too.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

That's the point DSoup. An xbox one at $300 could reduce demand for a ps4 @ 400 globaly which would mean sony would have to stick with the current price and thus allow ms to start to catch up or sony would have to reduce the price which would cause them to loose more money.

Well that's a Godzilla-sized IF. Thus far Microsoft haven't been able to anything to slow demand for PS4. Unofficial/retailer price-cuts, removing Kinect, bundling games, combinations of all three.

It may be, as Phil speculates above, Microsoft have an image/perception problem that goes beyond usual consumer pricing differentials. If as a consumer you are dead set on chocolate ice-cream which sells for $4 would you settle for Pistachio that sells for $3? When your product in is the several hundred dollarpound range I think many people would save a bit longer and get what they really want, rather than get what they don't want just because it's cheaper.

But Microsoft would need try this to find out. And here's Microsoft's dilemma. If they cut the price, they cut the price. It wouldn't be easy to put it back up if demand for Xbox doesn't pick up, so they have to settle for thiner profits (if not actual loses) on hardware sales for a while. Can Microsoft afford to do this? Or rather, can the Xbox division afford to do this? Microsoft clearly have a vocal segment of investors who want Xbox gone. Decreasing profits (relative to the effort of running the business) or losses would do Xbox under Microsoft more harm than good.

As for what Sony would do? My guess is that Sony, who have just completed four years of dumping/selling areas of the business that aren't profitable and have no prospect of becoming profitable, are likely reviewing their phone business just as they did their Vaio business. In years past Sony would allow profitable businesses to float unprofitable businesses but those days are past.

And sure, Sony would cut the price of PlayStation 4. In a heartbeat. If they felt Xbox traction was unacceptably gaining relative to PlayStation decline. You can do that kind of thing when you have a successful product and PS4 is crazy successful, exceeding everybody's expectations. You can do that because you're betting on future return from a highly profitable, dominant closed ecosystem. It's a licence to print money.

 

[Phil]

Depends on whether it'll make a difference for them. People still bought a PS3 when that thing came out. It was crazy money too.

It was. And it was crazy money for quite a substantial amount of its life span - at least in Europe. As I said - in the US, people may have been shocked at the concept of paying $499/$599 for a console. In the EU, at least in my country, the PS3 was not more expensive than the PS2 at its launch - a far cry away from it cost in the US at $299.

Actually makes the PS4 a bargain - I don't think we've ever had such cheap consoles at launch as long as I can remember.

Which is why I believe that the PS4 has a very strong selling argument. The graphics are at least equal or on average better than what you get on any competing console, it's small, quiet and has the strong brandname and fanbase to back it up. And the price is very reasonable - it certainly is in the US where the last PlayStation was considerably more expensive and it is here as well.

Then there's the point that the PlayStation brand is very strong - at least outside the US. If it weren't - there'd be no way the PS3 could have gotten anywhere close to reaching parity on world-wide sales. I'd say that most people who were happy with a PS3 are likely to upgrade to a PS4 than jump ship - and I don't think price would play a major factor in it.

Perhaps if Microsoft started to give away Xboxes for free or way below $300, but I don't really see that happening. The Xbox has a image problem, that's for sure, but I don't think it's the price. If they lowered the price, perhaps they could stop or minimize the trend that there seem to be more people willing to upgrade from a X360 to a PS4, but I don't think it would have much effect on those that had a PS3 and are looking to upgrade. The Xbox doesn't suddently become more attractive with a lower price tag for everyone.