E3 hardware

[Silent_Buddha]

Recession or not, people still buy their gadgets and toys.

How are the I-gadget sales holding up in this recession? How about android devices? Tablets?

How about the xb360? PS3? In contrast, how did the cheapest "nextgen" console do this past December?

Heck even Starbucks has flown through this recession with brisk sales. I predicted the exact opposite for most of the above when the economy tanked, but ... people still want the things they want and will find a way to get them.

Recession will not be a damper on sales of what people want.
The same will hold true for xb720/ps4... as long as the hardware is desirable ...

Sure the hardware still does well as things like that are great at distracting you from how bad things might otherwise be.

But if you notice, software sales took a downturn despite higher console sales as more people looked to the used games market for something to play on those consoles.

That indicates that while demand is still growing for X360 and PS3, the available cash that people have to spend on the platforms (console, software, and accessories) is going down.

With a newly launched console, how many used games are there? Not that the sale of used games would be any consolation if they are still launching with consoles at or below cost to manufacture.

I won't even go into the silliness that is smartphones and such. My cousin last year was willing to get evicted from her apartment to get the iPhone that she absolutely NEEDED as well the data plan that again she absolutely NEEDED.

Regards,
SB

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Sure the hardware still does well as things like that are great at distracting you from how bad things might otherwise be.

But if you notice, software sales took a downturn despite higher console sales as more people looked to the used games market for something to play on those consoles.

Are you dumping Wii software sales into this as well?

Imo the global macro situation has had very little to do with console sales during the whole thing. The only relevant factor it has helped to cause is the strong yen and the problems that has caused, but the end user consumption has seen little if any symptoms.

Your post also makes it seem like these companies are just holding a console in their pockets and can launch it on a moments notice as soon or hold it as late as some random conditions outside the company changes. I'm quite sure both of these companies know pretty much exactly when their next consoles are going to launch and the tech is pretty much locked in as well.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Are you dumping Wii software sales into this as well?

Imo the global macro situation has had very little to do with console sales during the whole thing. The only relevant factor it has helped to cause is the strong yen and the problems that has caused, but the end user consumption has seen little if any symptoms.

Your post also makes it seem like these companies are just holding a console in their pockets and can launch it on a moments notice as soon or hold it as late as some random conditions outside the company changes. I'm quite sure both of these companies know pretty much exactly when their next consoles are going to launch and the tech is pretty much locked in as well.

No, in that post you responded to I was mainly talking about the X360 and PS3 as the Wii is hardly showing growth in hardware.

As well to the second point. I'm fairly confident that by now both Sony and MS have plans in place for a console should one be needed sooner than they would like. That doesn't mean they have necessarily started prototyping or building alpha level hardware designs.

But I'd be surprised if they don't have basic ideas with regards to what hardware would be feasible for each year up until the year they actually do intend to launch. As well as infrastructure related items such as the potential developement ecosystem (programming, requirements, etc.).

Custom hardware would obviously need X amoount of lead time. And things like that are unlikely to be given the green light until there is a more firm launch date in mind. But I have little doubt there are contingency plans in place in case a console ends up being needed in 2013, 2014, 2015, or whenever.

Although considering the cash reserves that MS has, I wouldn't put it past them to have prototype hardware for each year consisting of mostly off the shelf PC parts.

Regards,
SB