EA Q3 2008 Financials (Platform Sales & SKUs)

[Entropy]

People obviously don't care about it now, seeing as how the PS3 keeps lagging behind the X360 in the US; and it'll change very slowly as we move on...

It will?
I'd say that Blu-Ray hasn't had a good chance of having an impact anywhere due to the format war. Which was as good a reason as any for Microsoft to fund it. But the format war is pretty much settled, and this will penetrate into the public mind, which, combined with a lowered PS3 price, could very well spell a quite rapid shift.

This time next year, we'll know.
But I don't think EA is wrong in predicting an upswing for the PS3, mostly at the expense of 360 market share, with the Wii still outclassing both the lower volume platforms.

 

[bRoNx]

Interesting Q3 observation:

PlayStation 2 went from 400 to 301,
Xbox 360 went 172 to 196,
PLAYSTATION 3 went from 41 to 102.

In other words, Xbox360 only beat its number by a bit, PS2 went back by 99 and PS3 grew by 61. PS2 sales are slowly shifting to PS3 sales.

It also shows how much potential the PS2 market still carries and raises the question where those sales will end up after PS2 disappeares from the market. I take it EA is still betting that most of it will end up on the PS3.

Exactly. While the 360 has been selling, so has the PS2. So there's still a large number of the market still undecided as to which next gen console they'll take. My guess is, as well as EA's by the looks of their predictions, is that they'll go for the PS3.

After all, things are starting to fall into place:
*the price is finally coming down
*multi-plat game quality is getting better
*if EA truly believe that the PS3 will overtake the 360 in '08, hopefully that translates to more PS3 leads in multi-plat game development
*there's still the bonus BD player included (a major advantage that SONY have yet to fully exploit - which should come soon enough now that the HD DVD is as good as gone)
*people will be following their favourite PS2 franchises
*and although both games lineups have yet to be disclosed, I agree that the PS3 is looking better than the 360 (but this could always change with the announcement of one game!)

 

[betan]

Live is more of a selling point for gamers (even at $40 a year) than blu-ray imo.

If everything else is even, I'm not sure Live is a clear winner against free PSN for people who haven't used either before.

Blu-ray vs DVD is a little more obvious.
I'm sure Live helps game sales though.

Laa-Yosh, while you may not believe GT5 and FF13 are going to come out this year that is when they are scheduled for release.

FF13 officially announced for 2008? Good to know, but for some reason I doubt it.

 

[DJ12]

For Japan. Unless I have missed a recent announcement of course.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

For that reason I think it will be hard for 360 to do better in 2008.

With Blu-ray being the clear choice and Home coming, PS3 is bound to do better in 2008.

All this talk about Home is laughable. Do people actually think that Home is relevant to most consumers? It's barely more relevant than the X360 Vision camera.

I think due to delays, Sony's lineup will suffer and may actually be worse than Microsoft's as long as Alan Wake, Fable 2, and Gears 2 make it out.

 

[DJ12]

So, you don't think Mr. Casual-Gamer is going to want to hang around before a game maybe having a chat, maybe playing a quick game of ten pin bowling before a session online gaming with the people he's just been talking to?

It's all about opinions, but I personally find it laughable that people don't think it will be a factor.

The idea appeals to me, kick it for a bit at home with my friends, maybe share a few files, catch up, then get to racing/killing them.

It's far more useful than Second Life and that's popularity if off the charts. Last time I looked you actually have to pay a subscription for that too whereas Home will be completely free.

 

[Arwin]

Look, either Live is important, and then Home is too, or they both aren't. Because even if the layperson doesn't know, the importance of Home is two-fold - it will mark the point where the online part of the PS3 becomes mature in the SDK (very likely the SDK will also represent online enhancements to the XMB).

Then Home will be a graphical and extended services layer on top of that SDK, with some great potential for nice visual achievements (that they are coming is obvious from interviews with Naughty Dog for instance), and the virtual appartments where you can show your own pictures and videos and chatrooms with nice 3D avatars certainly is something that will be used a lot by everyone I know, including, by the way, my wife and female friends.

In fact, it's the most important feature that the PS3 has to compete with the 'casuals' on the one hand currently attracted to the Wii, and the hardcore online gamers on the other, currently attracted to the 360 (for the achievements, etc.). Similarly, it's a very important new inroads for commercial applications in the form of publisher/game areas, virtual items like clothing, furniture, static and video advertising, etc.

It's a tough thing to pull off, but they do have the working beta that proves it's really there and it works (and now has an end-date, suggesting that a launch is near).

 

[one]

All this talk about Home is laughable. Do people actually think that Home is relevant to most consumers? It's barely more relevant than the X360 Vision camera.

Have you tried a thing called an internet forum? Home is an interactive forum and myspace accessible without PC.

 

[Diamond.G]

Have you tried a thing called an internet forum? Home is an interactive forum and myspace accessible without PC.

Home has ties into MySpace? Wow, that may be my ticket to getting my wife to let me get one!

 

[Johnny Awesome]

So, you don't think Mr. Casual-Gamer is going to want to hang around before a game maybe having a chat, maybe playing a quick game of ten pin bowling before a session online gaming with the people he's just been talking to?

It's all about opinions, but I personally find it laughable that people don't think it will be a factor.

The idea appeals to me, kick it for a bit at home with my friends, maybe share a few files, catch up, then get to racing/killing them.

It's far more useful than Second Life and that's popularity if off the charts. Last time I looked you actually have to pay a subscription for that too whereas Home will be completely free.

I didn't say that no one would USE home, just that it won't matter in the marketplace.

 

[AlNom]

Home has ties into MySpace? Wow, that may be my ticket to getting my wife to let me get one!

I think he meant it was analogous.

 

[Diamond.G]

I think he meant it was analogous.

Aww, . Great justification *poof* gone.

 

[Titanio]

All this talk about Home is laughable. Do people actually think that Home is relevant to most consumers? It's barely more relevant than the X360 Vision camera.

How many cams did they sell?

If 1m+ people can download F@H on PS3, I'm sure a free 3D gaming and community tool will do at least as well And probably much better.

I don't think it's a killer app, it's not going to move hardware on its own, but I think it could well turn into a nice plus for the console for many people when they're thinking what console they want to buy. And it is much more relevant than something like a camera, given that it's supposed to provide pretty key functionality for any online, or indeed offline game (matchmaking etc. for the former, trophies etc. for the latter). Saying it'll be barely more relevant than XBL, for example, would be perhaps more realistic.

I think due to delays, Sony's lineup will suffer and may actually be worse than Microsoft's as long as Alan Wake, Fable 2, and Gears 2 make it out.

I remember around this time last year we had some people doubting games like Uncharted & R&C would make it out in 07. Indeed, I remember suggesting Sony would probably publish a dozen or more titles in 07, and being on the receiving end of some scepticism because of that, but that turned out to be about right. I'm SURE sony's lineup will be affected by some rescheduling here and there, but there's no reason to expect they'd be affected disproportionately.

 

[zed]

All this talk about Home is laughable. Do people actually think that Home is relevant to most consumers? It's barely more relevant than the X360 Vision camera.

its more relevant than super bros smash, GT5, GTA4, resistence2, halo4, GH4 etc.
FACT - the amount of hours ppl use my space etal dwarf the number of hours that ppl will play those games put together (when theyre released).
perhaps myspace doesnt appeal to you (or me) but for huge number of ppl, social networking does.
how many ppl predicted that GH3 would be the biggest selling title last year, or that the wii would be the success it is (elizibeth II is apparently playing one).
consoles have changed from the days of shooting or jumping over things
not cod4

 

[AlNom]

If people are so into social networking on a PC, why would said people buy a game console to do it

 

[Titanio]

its more relevant than super bros smash, GT5, GTA4, resistence2, halo4, GH4 etc.
FACT - the amount of hours ppl use my space etal dwarf the number of hours that ppl will play those games put together (when theyre released).
perhaps myspace doesnt appeal to you (or me) but for huge number of ppl, social networking does.

People won't buy a piece of hardware just for that, though. They are 'incidentals' on PCs, mobiles etc. and they'll be incidentals on consoles too. Or to put it another way, people will use it once they have the console, it might factor into their decision making when buying the system to some degree, but they won't buy a system just for that.

Then again, people rarely buy consoles just for one thing, so I don't know if we should be extra harsh on Home in that regard.

 

[Diamond.G]

its more relevant than super bros smash, GT5, GTA4, resistence2, halo4, GH4 etc.
FACT - the amount of hours ppl use my space etal dwarf the number of hours that ppl will play those games put together (when theyre released).
perhaps myspace doesnt appeal to you (or me) but for huge number of ppl, social networking does.
how many ppl predicted that GH3 would be the biggest selling title last year, or that the wii would be the success it is (elizibeth II is apparently playing one).
consoles have changed from the days of shooting or jumping over things
not cod4

AFAIK everything in MySpace (and I guess facebook) is free. Unless Sony makes all the customization stuff free it won't fly with the myspace crowd. Now if there are parts of MySpace you have to pay for then I retract my previous statement.

EDIT: IMO, Home is closer to 2nd life than MySpace.

 

[one]

Well Home has a web interface like MySpace too (See E3 2007 Sony conference) which is also open to cellphones.

Also, in the wildest possible version of Home, it may allow pasting an arbitrary HTML surface including a real MySpace web page in your home wall.

 

[wco81]

Didn't they say you could share music?

Can you have some obnoxious song playing when you enter a Home apartment like you do when you load certain Myspace pages?

 

[Diamond.G]

Well Home has a web interface like MySpace too (See E3 2007 Sony conference) which is also open to cellphones.

Also, in the wildest possible version of Home, it may allow pasting an arbitrary HTML surface including a real MySpace web page in your home wall.

Interesting, I hope that customization is more like myspace (read: free) than second life (read: not free).

Didn't they say you could share music?

Can you have some obnoxious song playing when you enter a Home apartment like you do when you load certain Myspace pages?

It is spacial as well, so you could have music bumping in one room and a movie going in another. It was shown off in one of Sony's demonstrations.