Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox

[Cranky]

Right, it looks like Sony has won the battle but lost the war. They are getting huge hype at the expense of desperately needed dollars by launch too cheap. As soon as MS announced $499, Sony should have done likewise. Anything else is utterly foolish, especially in the launch window. They gain absolutely nothing by launching at $399 as both consoles will be supply constrained. As soon as they are not, MS will launch the sub-based model and undercut them on price.

however the potentially catastrophic mistake was the DRM policy and general infrastructure. Without those policies built into the system and infrastructure from launch, Sony is going to be in a world of hurt in a few years.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Right, it looks like Sony has won the battle but lost the war. They are getting huge hype at the expense of desperately needed dollars by launch too cheap. As soon as MS announced $499, Sony should have done likewise. Anything else is utterly foolish, especially in the launch window. They gain absolutely nothing by launching at $399 as both consoles will be supply constrained. As soon as they are not, MS will launch the sub-based model and undercut them on price.

however the potentially catastrophic mistake was the DRM policy and general infrastructure. Without those policies built into the system and infrastructure from launch, Sony is going to be in a world of hurt in a few years.

I disappear for a bit and all the fanboys are allowed to run rampant? WTF?

Do you see M$ as having done anything wrong so far in the next gen console launch? I'm truly curious.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I disappear for a bit and all the fanboys are allowed to run rampant? WTF?

Do you see M$ as having done anything wrong so far in the next gen console launch? I'm truly curious.

Calling people fan boys while typing M$? Maybe you should go back into hiding.

 

[eastmen]

I disappear for a bit and all the fanboys are allowed to run rampant? WTF?

Do you see M$ as having done anything wrong so far in the next gen console launch? I'm truly curious.

MS should have swaped e3 with the launch announcement.

Infact MS should have had a few first party games and cod at the announcement and no mention of online / drm or tv stuff.

AT e3 they should have blown it out with some more first party stuff and a ton of 3rd party stuff (to a bigger extent than they did here)

At build they should have done the tv and drm/ online stuff.

I'd have rather gotten $400 than $500 of course but I don't mind the $500 price tag . MS could still make the price tag sweeter by adding in say Kinect sports or another game.

Actually i'd prefer $500 and $50 games mandatory pricing vs $400 and $60 games. First year i'd easily recoup the costs

 

[TrungGap]

Are we even sure they lost money on PS3? Yes, Sony put a lot of r&d money in bluray and cell, but it's not all sony's money. PS3 helped Sony won the format war. So, I'm not so sure they got screwed by it. Could they made more with a cheaper ps3, sure...

OTH, MS made a buttload of money...it was a lesson learnt from original Xbox. Somehow I feel MS is in a better situation/place...as they seem so execute on their gameplan. Whereas Sony seems to be more reactionary...waiting to make their moves instead of forming a gameplan ahead of time.

While I think there isn't anything the Xbox One can do that the PS4 can't do...however it's the market perception the will dictates how they evolve. I can see it possible that Xbox takes a larger market mind share of stream media services and PS4 takes the gaming...and because of this you won't see Sony investing building alliances/partnership as vigorous as MS. Or that MS won't be investing in 1st party game studio as Sony...

 

[AlphaWolf]

Yes we're very sure they lost money on ps3.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Calling people fan boys while typing M$? Maybe you should go back into hiding.

Sorry, I always have typed it that way...I mean for over a decade. I'll try and stop, my apologies.

MS should have swaped e3 with the launch announcement.

Infact MS should have had a few first party games and cod at the announcement and no mention of online / drm or tv stuff.

AT e3 they should have blown it out with some more first party stuff and a ton of 3rd party stuff (to a bigger extent than they did here)

At build they should have done the tv and drm/ online stuff.

I'd have rather gotten $400 than $500 of course but I don't mind the $500 price tag . MS could still make the price tag sweeter by adding in say Kinect sports or another game.

Actually i'd prefer $500 and $50 games mandatory pricing vs $400 and $60 games. First year i'd easily recoup the costs

Thanks, I do appreciate that. Follow up question since I'm still sort of thinking, (again, just my opinion), that Sony had their perfect game so far at E3: what did Sony do wrong this launch?

 

[Cranky]

I disappear for a bit and all the fanboys are allowed to run rampant? WTF?

Do you see M$ as having done anything wrong so far in the next gen console launch? I'm truly curious.

Disregarding the lol-lol-tastic media coverage and bandwagoning as business as usual click-mining, MS crushed Sony at their own game, i.e. games, at E3. As it stands now, XB1's total package is vastly superior to PS4. Whether or not PS4's technological advantages ever manifest in meaningful way is debatable given diminishing returns in 1080P and probably won't be answered for a couple of years at least. However, the converse is not true, PS4 will never be able to match the XB1 advantages of cloud, services, and architecture.

Price is a bit high, but given the post IPAD world not that big a deal for a launch price. Sony on the other hand committed a horrific mistake launching at $399. So much money left on table that the board should fire whomever made that decision. The one caveat to this is if they can really get 20 million consoles out the door in the first year like some announcements suggested. Then, the price is probably a good idea, but if they have 5 million for the first 6 months, then it was disaster financially.

The XB1 DRM issue is already a net win for consumers with the potential to grow into a huge win. The current trade off is a couple of very low value options like person to person resale for massive wins like the family plan. Unfortunately, folks aren't approaching the system rationally and hate change. Plus, MS really bungled the messaging so far. however, I expect DRM issue to be backburnered by launch and completely irrelevant by the second holiday. 3 years from now Sony is going to be crying in their sake over their outdated business model.

 

[Deleted member 7537]

Disregarding the lol-lol-tastic media coverage and bandwagoning as business as usual click-mining, MS crushed Sony at their own game, i.e. games, at E3. As it stands now, XB1's total package is vastly superior to PS4. Whether or not PS4's technological advantages ever manifest in meaningful way is debatable given diminishing returns in 1080P and probably won't be answered for a couple of years at least. However, the converse is not true, PS4 will never be able to match the XB1 advantages of cloud, services, and architecture.

You have to be kidding.

 

[MrFox]

Cranky, would you accept participating in a Turing test?
I'm worried here.

 

[AlphaWolf]

You have to be kidding.

If you find value in the casual gaming or non gaming aspects, I'd agree with his assessment.

 

[Phil]

I think we need to be careful that opinions are voiced as such - and if not, then at least to underline them in some constructive way so that it becomes obvious to why someone might make that point.

IMO - the market is vast and many have different needs and requirements. Xbox One might cater to some, less to others - and the same applies to PS4. The market will ultimately decide which one is the more successful one in the end - although success can be meassured in many different ways...

 

[Johnny Awesome]

If you find value in the casual gaming or non gaming aspects, I'd agree with his assessment.

That's true so far, but Kinect 2 seems to be good enough to offer some use in hardcore games as well. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with. Smartglass integration is also very interesting...

 

[Deleted member 7537]

If you find value in the casual gaming or non gaming aspects, I'd agree with his assessment.

You always have to put value in relation to price, if both consoles were priced the same i would agree. But a 100€ more, you could say the overall value of both platforms is pretty much the same.

 

[Cranky]

You have to be kidding.

No, I just have family of 4 and sister in another city. We use the current xbox about 80% media consumption. Voice control and TV integration are game changers and have high value to most consumers, just not necessarily to most forum denizens. Skype and family plan will be a big deal from me. I can have all of the games on my XB1 and control access from there for my boys for their machine. Huge win.

Plus, I believe in the cloud as I live in a big data world and use it constantly. Therefore, MS' message RE cloud resonates with me. Sony can't begin to compete on that front. Finally, the Yukon document seems to be the playbook that they are using. I really liked what I read in that document.

On the other hand, PS4 brings nothing to the table for me. I would rather have a steambox or X51 than a PS4. Those are PS4's competition just as much as the XB1

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Consumers will decide.

The difference with MS is that they can recover from a high price by simply lowering it. Sony can never go back and make voice and motion controls standard features across all units. That genie can't be put back in the bottle. That gives MS more flexibility going forward.

 

[dlm]

Thanks, I do appreciate that. Follow up question since I'm still sort of thinking, (again, just my opinion), that Sony had their perfect game so far at E3: what did Sony do wrong this launch?

Sony made the best possible marketing pitch with the cards that they were holding.

Something that's been lost in the narrative is how much their exclusive AAA support has been eroded. Last generation, things like a numbered MGS on Xbox would have been unheard of. Insomniac making a 360 exclusive came out of nowhere. SE now basically fully multi-plat (that one less surprising, they need the cash and that move has been coming for awhile).

Sony was very smart to play up what they have in the indie space. That's always been a huge strength. And they still have a pretty solid stable of first-party. But there's a door left wide open for MS to snap up exclusivity (full, console, timed, DLC or otherwise). The narrative that somehow only Sony cares about games anymore has been pretty much completely torn down at this point.

Honestly, as a Comcast subscriber, the Xbox One is already more attractive to me than the PS4 simply because I'm currently input constrained on devices, and the Xbox One will not require changing my AV setup to integrate without removing other devices. If the Xbox version of the guide works out, it's a double bonus since the Comcast guide is garbage. And that's not even including the fact that as a parent of a young child, Kinect is a big selling point for me.


If the policies that MS are putting in to place right now mean that they can continue to drive more and better deals for their digital downloads (which honestly have been the vast majority of my purchase history in the last 6 months), that represents an incredibly compelling package for my particular use case. I know that I am not alone.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Price is a bit high, but given the post IPAD world not that big a deal for a launch price. Sony on the other hand committed a horrific mistake launching at $399. So much money left on table that the board should fire whomever made that decision.

What colour is the sky in your world? I mean, you seriously believe that the One being $100 more than the PS4 is an advantage?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Plus, I believe in the cloud as I live in a big data world and use it constantly.

What is "a big data world"? (That could explain a lot...who mentioned a Turing test?)

 

[joker454]

Btw am I the only one thinks both consoles look good? I really dig the design..flat, simple, clean and stackable. I hate that I can't stack stuff on my ps3.

They both look better in person than in pics, I thought they both looked pretty cool. The xb1 is definitely bigger though although I guess that's because they wanted it to be totally silent hence put a monster fan in it.

Do you see M$ as having done anything wrong so far in the next gen console launch? I'm truly curious.

- They should have allowed more room in the Kinect area in their e3 booth. That area was so packed I couldn't get close enough to see the presentation properly.

- I wish they had a more details on how their cloud setup will be used, but I can understand that it's all in it's infancy right now.

- It's still not clear to me if it will run regular Win8 apps from the regular Win8 store, or if it will only run select approved apps from it's own custom xb1 store.

- I wanted to see a bit more on how the voice recognition works. Is it only tuned to the built in apps on the console, or could I say "play Commando" and it would be able to go play my bluray rip of the movie Commando from a network raid drive. I'd like to know how flexible voice control is.

- Not enough Kinect 2 apps shown

- I'dl ike to have seen how it handles 3 way Skype calls while Skype is snapped.

Cranky, would you accept participating in a Turing test?
I'm worried here.

Just remember that perception of "The Whole Package" is different from person to person. One man's chocolate is another man's anchovies.