Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox

[SlimJim]

I saw very little mainstream reporting on Sony.



I think this is way overblown. As a PS4 owner (I've still not seen an Xbox One in the flesh), I can appreciate the differences in graphics side by side, but it's not like somebody looking at the PS4 and Xbox One versions are going to see an abundant different in quality. In some cases the differences are subtle.

But surely it doesn't matter what others think, it's what you as an owner thinks!?!

Well, a business Approach for a developer could be: don't make exclusive deals with next-gen systems that have only 30-20% market share.
If everybody knows what the most powerful, not to mention: Best, system is, then everybody will buy that, and the other, less competent platform will get less exclusives or even no exclusive deals, resulting in my system, the superior system, getting all the exclusives and games are developed primarily for it, and THEN downported for weaker systems.

That way I only have to spend 399 and get all the content, and all the best games, at the best possible quality. So yes, it matters what others think

 

[Deleted member 11852]

If everybody knows what the most powerful, not to mention: Best, system is, then everybody will buy that, and the other, less competent

The entire history of consoles and gaming devices suggests that idea is flawed. Remember when more powerful Xbox outsold PS2? Remember when the more powerful PSP outsold the DS? Remember when the more powerful 360 and PS3 outsold Wii? Remember when the more powerful Vita outside the 3DS?

That's because it's never one single factor that defines success. You have price performance, game library, your console history (PS2 DVD drive issues, RRoD), ecosystems (developer support, including exclusives), added value above gaming, like Netflix, iPlayer support, media support (CD, DVD, Blu-ray), public perception, your friends, and probably a dozen other factors.

The "best" system for you may not be the "best" system for somebody else.

 

[mrcorbo]

I personally know few Xbox fans that converted to PS4. I live in Holland though: but in general their argument was: I am not going to wait for a slower, more expensive system, that won't even support voice-control in our country!

So if Microsoft made a better system, better yields/more production capacity: releasing in a top tier country, at a normal price, and supported the Dutch language. Then these people would not have switched.

So if I were Sony, I would deliver a big cake to MS headquarters saying:

The numbers of consoles covered so far easily is covered by the ultra-enthusiast gamers who will buy both consoles. MS could have been hand-delivering XBOnes for free to peoples' homes and the PS4 would have still done those numbers.

 

[dobwal]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2013/12/03/sony-playstation-4-sales-top-21m-globally/

ps4 sales hit 2.1 million.

Xbox One number one console for Black Friday at Walmart and Target outselling both the 360 and PS3.

 

[MrFox]

Xbox One number one console for Black Friday at Walmart and Target outselling both the 360 and PS3.

but... but... I thought all stores were completely sold out two days before black friday?

It's just like magic.

 

[mrcorbo]

but... but... I thought all stores were completely sold out two days before black friday?

It's just like magic.

Not magic at all. That's probably exactly what happened. What exactly do you think is implausible about that? The entire channel could easily go from empty to stocked in a matter of hours. It makes perfect sense that a second shipment would be prepared to insure Black Friday availability.

 

[MrFox]

Not magic at all. That's probably exactly what happened. What exactly do you think is implausible about that?

It was sarcasm. The out of stock situation at any moment doesn't mean anything tangible. The most profitable moment to have stock replenished is on black friday, even if they had it thursday, this is to be expected.

Sony did the same thing with preorders, they kept a lot of console for launch day walk ins.

 

[dobwal]

Well, I picked up my Xbox One from ToysRUs because they decided to release their Xbox One shipment on Sea Green Saturday at 7am. LOL.

Most amazing holiday shopping experience ever. Walked in at 8:15 am with 3 other people in the store. Solicited and made my purchase from the cash register as their XBox One shipment, accessories and a portion of games were behind the counter.

Ten minute drive to the store so left at 8:05 and returned home by 8:40.

 

[mrcorbo]

It was sarcasm. The out of stock situation at any moment doesn't mean anything tangible. The most profitable moment to have stock replenished is on black friday, even if they had it thursday, this is to be expected.

Sony did the same thing with preorders, they kept a lot of console for launch day walk ins.

The issue is that the channel is empty all the way back to the factory. Until supply catches up to demand and the systems are readily available more often than not, the stock sitiation at any moment means everything.

 

[tuna]

That way you can let the market dictate peoples price points. if I want a 16 CPU quad slip setup... it will run Ryse at a certain level. if I just want a $200 system because 1080p/60 is not that big a deal to me I can purchase that and appreciate my choice.

Then you have to redesign certain games. Games like Bayonetta will not be possible (or will play like the Batman games) in order to cope with the lowest spec.

 

[MrFox]

The issue is that the channel is empty all the way back to the factory. Until supply catches up to demand and the systems are readily available more often than not, the stock sitiation at any moment means everything.

okay, but since production is continuous, stock replenishment like this one is planned for big events. 700,000 PS4 were not produced in a single day, they had to be accumulated for the EU launch. There are still people waiting for their preorder, most stores won't ship remaining preorders until January. How can these stores (which rely on black friday frenzy) break records with walk-ins? The out of stock situation wasn't real?

 

[Bigus Dickus]

For gamers, who live and breath games and generally have a better understanding of technology, such reporting can be weighed and bias and ignorance discounted but for others, like your average mom and pop, they may well believe this stuff.

As far as I can tell speaking to friends and family, only the gamers who live and breath this stuff have even heard about this "anti-MS" reporting which for the most part is limited to the tech media. Mom and pop only know what they see on TV and hear word of mouth from others who have the XB1, and this seems universally good.

Not that core gamers are a market MS wants to ignore or push away by any means, but I think the impact of a few fanboys and biased tech outlets repeating poorly thought out arguments is greatly overestimated by some here.

Lol, even heard a gamestop employee the other day telling a few friends (not at work) who were asking his opinion something like "PS4 is supposed to be faster or something, but the XB1 can do some cool stuff..."

 

[Scott_Arm]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2013/12/03/sony-playstation-4-sales-top-21m-globally/

ps4 sales hit 2.1 million.

Xbox One number one console for Black Friday at Walmart and Target outselling both the 360 and PS3.

That report from infoscout could be total nonsense, but I would expect MS has sold every Xbox One they can make.

 

[joker454]

Then you have to redesign certain games. Games like Bayonetta will not be possible (or will play like the Batman games) in order to cope with the lowest spec.

C'mon, of course you can make the game work on multiple platforms, just like you can play Devil May Cry today on everything from a tablet to a fully decked out pc. As a side bonus, publishers would always be launching their games to tens of millions of potential customers all the time instead of just a handful of buyers at launch. Looking at the sales figures for games like Ryse, Forza 5, etc, it looks like most every one of those games will lose money, bleeding the publisher due to not being able to sell enough units since there are so few launch units out there. That's been status quo on consoles for ages where publishers bleed money for a few years after a new console and hope to make it back later, it's supremely dumb. Having two compatible boxes on the market at all times at different prices tiers would solve that problem. As a further side bonus, then maybe you guys wouldn't have to worry about micro transactions as much which publishers have to resort to now to deal with the market brutality of launching multi million dollar games to a new incompatible box available only at one price point to a precious few early adopters, then hoping they can survive long enough to maybe make some profit in 3 years time.

 

[mrcorbo]

okay, but since production is continuous, stock replenishment like this one is planned for big events. 700,000 PS4 were not produced in a single day, they had to be accumulated for the EU launch. There are still people waiting for their preorder, most stores won't ship remaining preorders until January. How can these stores (which rely on black friday frenzy) break records with walk-ins? The out of stock situation wasn't real?

When the entire supply chain is empty, retail replenishment is at the mercy of the first link in the chain which is the production facility. Given where these factories are located, the method that stock is moved from the factory to the next link in the chain is usually container ship. To be cost-effective, a large amount of stock has to accumulate before they will send out a shipment. The time to make enough units to fill a shipment and then for those units to actually be transported is why replenishment is so slow. It won't be until units start accumulating at a closer point in the supply chain to retail before we can expect stock on retail shelves to be more quickly replenished.

Right now the supply situation is more like waves crashing on a shore than a steady stream.

 

[temesgen]

That report from infoscout could be total nonsense, but I would expect MS has sold every Xbox One they can make.

Depends on who they spoke to, these days American mom's say Xbox when they used to say Atari then Nintendo then Sega then PlayStation to refer to the game machine bc that is currently the number one brand in US. So if they were shopping and asked most moms would say XB1 or 360 simply out of brand recognition although most of them would notactually be the user of any platform.

Similarly when I was a kid I wanted Guess jeans but my mom would buy the acid wash Levi 550s I was begging for last spring - she wasn't in tune with latest fad. OTOH the Air Jordans I wanted to go with my Guess jeans she would buy and I would be very happy about that. It doesn't mean much, the demand for both should be out pacing supply and time will tell which platform the consumer actually prefers. Still early days.

 

[wco81]

How is the X1 doing the auto login?

Does it scan the face each time and match some signature to determine the identity of the person who walked into the field of view of the camera?

Where does it store such a signature?

For comparison, Apple claims to store the fingerprint signatures or scans of the users on the SOC of the device, supposedly a secure location that only the security/authentication frameworks which processes the fingerprint authentication can access.

Is MS promising similar secure storage of the digital representations of the users' faces?

 

[scooby_dooby]

If your track record isn't maximising profits and staving off the competition, it'd be wise to change tactics. No company is locked to doing things the same way, especially when it experiences a significant leadership change.

While past behavior doesn't not guarantee future behavior, it is the single best indicator of it. You can come up with any wild theory you like, but it needs to be based on something.

MS has shown nothing that indicates they would move this aggressively, or are even that concerned at all with raw performance.

I think it's funny how circular the console's are. Every generation they build expansion packs, slots, add-ons, abstracted api's, and generation after generation, none of em ever get used, or if they do, they are total failures. Lets face it, console add-ons will never work, fragmentation is doomed to always fail in this market.

 

[Rangers]

If we're discussing the old refreshed/BC console model, not going to happen for a million strategic reasons that define what consoles are.

XB1 is not far behind in power and MS will have to sink or swim with it as it is. As long as the resolution gap is only one step (900/1080 or 720/900, rather than 720/1080) 99% of people will never notice or care, especially when all effects and textures are essentially identical, which seems to be the way multiplats are going. And this even assumes the resolution gap isn't a temporary situation.

X1 isn't the Wii U, it's a nice capable system. If things go bad they'll have to compete on price (which is why you shouldn't build a weaker console to start with, it ends up costing you more).

Part of me also continues to think Kinect is an actual hindrance rather than a help. Mentally, a streamlined, games focused console seems more appealing.

I also think the TV integration is quite possibly a losing bet for multiple reasons.

But Kinect and TV dont make the X1 bad hardware, they can be jettisoned.

There's nothing to prevent MS from making X1 a streamlined, games focused console at a lower price (possibly much lower, which is where the DDR3 decision can pay off) should they eventually conclude the Kinect idea is a failure. I am sure the current idea is to give the current course a chance to work.

Overall much of Microsoft's strategy is currently looking pretty silly. What they've got is a hardcore fanbase that loves the superior online service of Live, but they are making it rather difficult for those people to continue on with Xbox, starting with front and center the biggest barrier, 499.

But I think the current strategy (Kinect/TV/499) should, has to be, given a chance.

 

[blakjedi]

If we're discussing the old refreshed/BC console model, not going to happen for a million strategic reasons that define what consoles are.

XB1 is not far behind in power and MS will have to sink or swim with it as it is. As long as the resolution gap is only one step (900/1080 or 720/900, rather than 720/1080) 99% of people will never notice or care, especially when all effects and textures are essentially identical, which seems to be the way multiplats are going. And this even assumes the resolution gap isn't a temporary situation.

X1 isn't the Wii U, it's a nice capable system. If things go bad they'll have to compete on price (which is why you shouldn't build a weaker console to start with, it ends up costing you more).

Part of me also continues to think Kinect is an actual hindrance rather than a help. Mentally, a streamlined, games focused console seems more appealing.

I also think the TV integration is quite possibly a losing bet for multiple reasons.

But Kinect and TV dont make the X1 bad hardware, they can be jettisoned.

There's nothing to prevent MS from making X1 a streamlined, games focused console at a lower price (possibly much lower, which is where the DDR3 decision can pay off) should they eventually conclude the Kinect idea is a failure. I am sure the current idea is to give the current course a chance to work.

Overall much of Microsoft's strategy is currently looking pretty silly. What they've got is a hardcore fanbase that loves the superior online service of Live, but they are making it rather difficult for those people to continue on with Xbox, starting with front and center the biggest barrier, 499.

But I think the current strategy (Kinect/TV/499) should, has to be, given a chance.

Its amazing that I usually agree with your posts. But in this case I don't agree with any of you points except your last sentence. I'm probably just old now... But I care much more about overall entertainment in an easy to use package. Movies games tv. I'm not one of these newly minted self righteous types decrying people who have cable... I have fucking cable and I watch it. I watch tv live, I time shift and DVR, I goto movies, I watch movies, I video game, I YouTube. I can finally do all of that in one place. I think its a great ploy... Which doesn't mean it'll work. But I'm glad MS actually made a box that fits my entertainment lifestyle.

More people watch tv than play video games so all the statements we constantly hear about cable cutters is really overblown.