Panasonic not adopting Sony strategy

[TTP]

2003/6/6
Yuri Kageyama, TOKYO, AP

Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has no plans to develop new "crossover" gadgets that straddle video-game machines and electronics appliances, a senior official said Thursday.
The Osaka-based company behind Panasonic-brand products is taking a clearly different approach from longtime rival Sony Corp., which unveiled a new PlayStation 2 last week that combines features such as a DVD recorder and TV tuner with the game console.

"We think the demands are subtly different so in our strategy we will develop them separately," said Kazuo Toda, Matsushita senior managing director.

Toda said the company's analysis shows games and entertainment don't really mix and products that tried to do that didn't sell too well. Matsushita will continue to work with Nintendo Co. on game machines and there is no change in that strategy, he told reporters at a Panasonic showroom in Tokyo.

Matsushita started selling a product called Q only in Japan in 2001 that combines the Nintendo GameCube with a DVD player, but sales have been small.

In contrast, Sony showed its beefed up "crossover" console called the PSX as a key part of its product strategy. The machine goes on sale in Japan this year and is planned for the United States and Europe early next year. The Sony PlayStation 2, which includes a DVD player, is the No. 1 video game machine, with 52.5 million sold worldwide.

Toda said a key part of Matsushita's strategy is to invest 20 billion yen (US$169 million) to 30 billion yen (US$253 million) in a global advertising campaign to promote the Panasonic brand. He showed reporters a new TV ad for a Panasonic DVD recorder starring film director Oliver Stone.

The DVD recorder, which has been selling well since February, is Matsushita's first product launched under its new strategy for simultaneous global marketing to maximize profits and sales.

But Toda acknowledged the move carries risks because any recalls or failures will strike on a larger scale. "The preparations must be excellent," he said.

Toda refused to say how much the company hopes to save by unifying global product sales.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/busines...?ID=38240&GRP=E

 

[Squeak]

They’re dead!

 

[Phil]

"We think the demands are subtly different so in our strategy we will develop them separately," said Kazuo Toda, Matsushita senior managing director.

Funny, I think the demand is actually there, it's just that Panasonic is trying to sell a fugly looking Cube with DVD playback functions to a market that obviously wants something that might just fit in with their other electronics. Not surprising they're not selling any.

 

[Cyborg]

They’re dead!

The #1 consumer electronic company in the world? Naw

Im pretty sure PSX will flop, too costly for the mainstream, it wont be the PSOne thats for sure.

As for giving DVD/Blue ray and other gadgets in the next generation consoles, thats a big at this point, will blue ray pick up? Licensing fees that will rise due to it? Just how far are you willing you rise your console's cost for gadgets that arent related to gaming itself?

DVD playback was important this gen, it sorta took a while for DVD players to drop in price, so the mainstream was playing the waiting game, PS2 comes, a console they would of bought likely anyway BUT it has a DVD player as a bonus, BAM! Instant mainstream luv.

Blue ray though will still be a baby by 2005, the mainstream will likely have no clue about its existence and movies supporting it will be rare and likely more expensive than DVDs. I dont think it will play the same role DVD did in this one, heck, i dont think the mainstream will move from DVDs to blue ray, mainstream like to keep their stuffs for long periods, like VHS players, until something cheap and WORTH the upgrade comes out, blue ray wont be that one. Its a neat technology and all but the mainstream wont give a damn, the image quality difference might seem huge to geeks like us but its going to take a lot to convince the mainstream.

We'll see..

 

[Fafalada]

Im pretty sure PSX will flop, too costly for the mainstream

I'm not sure if PSX price was announced yet, however, we can review standalone DVD recorders already out there.
Current DVD recorder lines from various manufacturers (none of them includes a game console) start their pricing around 500$ for the lower priced models.
Panasonic's own top of the line 2 models that arguably compare to PSX specs sell at 799$ and 999$ respectively. (and they still have smaller HDD and support DVD-RAM instead of +R/RW).
I don't know whether these products are flopping, but I do know new models are getting announced all the time. (PSX from Sony, 2 new models from Panasonic for this summer... etc.) so I guess at least someone sees a market there.

it wont be the PSOne thats for sure.

You really sure about this? I mean, it'll only cost around 10 times more then PSOne 8)

 

[marconelly!]

I couldn't care less is movie industry is going to support Blu Ray as long as:
a) It has the large capacity (which is good for games)
b) It plays standard DVDs (that's pretty much a granted)
c) It allows for saving the HDTV broadcast signal

c) is not that even important, as long as the console is going to have hard disk and HDTV tuner, but I'm not sure what else are they going to put in the new console? Surely not a DVD again? That storage capacity will be pretty low by then...

 

[Phil]

Cyborg:

The #1 consumer electronic company in the world? Naw

Not anymore. I believe Sony overtook them a while ago.

As for giving DVD/Blue ray and other gadgets in the next generation consoles, thats a big at this point, will blue ray pick up? Licensing fees that will rise due to it? Just how far are you willing you rise your console's cost for gadgets that arent related to gaming itself?

The thing is, Sony is not going to sell their next PlayStation as a Blue-Ray player - they're going to sell it as a next generation Entertainment System with the brand new Blue-Ray technology. Even if people haven't heard much of the medium before, thanks to good marketing of the new console will quite ensure people know about it. And if they do start to like what they're seeing, you bet they'll notice all the other Sony blu-ray players. Just think what happened with PS2 in Japan. Sure it picked up and sold like mad because it was the next PlayStation, but I'm quite sure you will remember that software sales weren't that good and people seemed to have bought the console as a cheap DVD-player. I guess that's the result of DVD not being that successful at the time and quite expensive at that to. Partly thanks to PS2, people bought it and actually made it a market. I don't see PS3 and blu-ray being much different at this point.

Blue ray though will still be a baby by 2005, the mainstream will likely have no clue about its existence and movies supporting it will be rare and likely more expensive than DVDs. I dont think it will play the same role DVD did in this one, heck, i dont think the mainstream will move from DVDs to blue ray, mainstream like to keep their stuffs for long periods, like VHS players, until something cheap and WORTH the upgrade comes out, blue ray wont be that one. Its a neat technology and all but the mainstream wont give a damn, the image quality difference might seem huge to geeks like us but its going to take a lot to convince the mainstream.

Heh, and guess what: VHS is still officially around and won't die for some time I'm sure. Also, old audio cassets are still being used. Minidisc was a great successor, but it never killed the analog cassets off. DVD hasn't really killed anything as far as I know. It's doing great, but it still has a long time to completely wipe out VHS AFAIK. I think PS3 (or any other next gen console) could actually play a big role in the initial success of blue-ray.

 

[Vince]

So people are comparing PSX to PSOne now? What ever happened to that thing called Common Sense? (and not the book, to all you smart asses )

I know people such as Chap will jump on this, calling people like I PSkiddies or some such rubbish for speaking against Cyborg - but how can I not when his comments are so very insane?

And about the DVD lifespan, it's not recordable. If you want to record something, we're still in the VHS generation! Unless you have a DVR, but that's totally unacceptable for HD recording. So, that another baseless comment.

 

[archie4oz]

Not anymore. I believe Sony overtook them a while ago.

Nope, Matsushita is still larger... A larger portion of their business is still CE oriented than Sony's. Plus they participate in a lot of sectors that Sony doesn't like lighting, applieaces (e.g. wash machines, stoves, microwaves, fridges, etc...), they're more extensively involved in communications, ecological manufacturing (climate control, solar power systems, water treatment, waste disposal), and they have more extensive industrial manufacturing resources... Sony is big in consumer electronics, but a large portion is dedicated to film/TV production, music publishing, and networks.

Minidisc was a great successor, but it never killed the analog cassets off.

Well that sort of depends on where you live...

If you want to record something, we're still in the VHS generation! Unless you have a DVR, but that's totally unacceptable for HD recording.

Well there is D-VHS if you want HD...

 

[Phil]

Nope, Matsushita is still larger... A larger portion of their business is still CE oriented than Sony's. Plus they participate in a lot of sectors that Sony doesn't like lighting, applieaces (e.g. wash machines, stoves, microwaves, fridges, etc...), they're more extensively involved in communications, ecological manufacturing (climate control, solar power systems, water treatment, waste disposal), and they have more extensive industrial manufacturing resources... Sony is big in consumer electronics, but a large portion is dedicated to film/TV production, music publishing, and networks.

Thanks for clearing that up, I stand corrected. I guess I was mislead by the amount of assets that each company has, but that of course doesn't tell the whole story.

Well that sort of depends on where you live...

Heh, well I've heard it's doing exceptionally well in Japan. It's okay in Europe - I think it used to sell better, but as mp3 players get cheaper by the month, I think it's only a matter of time until minidisc's market slowly decreases. It's a shame actually, I love the format (not to mention the tiny size of my Sony MD player). Just too bad that the sound quality leaves a lot to desire (thinks back at my first huge portable MD, a Sharp (1997)..)

Oh and it's dead in America. I guess that only leaves Japan then...

 

[Cyborg]

Phil-

Even if people haven't heard much of the medium before, thanks to good marketing of the new console will quite ensure people know about it. And if they do start to like what they're seeing, you bet they'll notice all the other Sony blu-ray players. Just think what happened with PS2 in Japan. Sure it picked up and sold like mad because it was the next PlayStation, but I'm quite sure you will remember that software sales weren't that good and people seemed to have bought the console as a cheap DVD-player. I guess that's the result of DVD not being that successful at the time and quite expensive at that to. Partly thanks to PS2, people bought it and actually made it a market. I don't see PS3 and blu-ray being much different at this point.

Do you even see what you're writing? Customers were waiting for a cheap and affordable DVD player for years before PS2 was even in production. Can you say the same about Blue ray? Nope. Sure, peoples migth pick interest about the technology by buying the PS3, but it wont be the same effect as DVDs did. You just repeated what i said, simply came with a different and illogical conclusion that DVD (which was in demand) helped PS2 and that blue ray (which you think is somehow in demand, but is not) will help PS3.. I dont see them as being similar at this point. Sony will push a new technology, the mainstream though isnt waiting for blue ray, nor do they even know what the hell it is. Totally different situations compared to the DVD.

Heh, and guess what: VHS is still officially around and won't die for some time I'm sure. Also, old audio cassets are still being used. Minidisc was a great successor, but it never killed the analog cassets off. DVD hasn't really killed anything as far as I know. It's doing great, but it still has a long time to completely wipe out VHS AFAIK. I think PS3 (or any other next gen console) could actually play a big role in the initial success of blue-ray.

Wooo, thanks for telling me the obvious..
Seems like peoples in this particular section of the forum read a couple of lines and come to a conclusion. Where did i say anything about VHS' state? Or mentioned DVD killing anything?

The point is if peoples have been sticking with VHS for so long, and took their sweet time to buy DVD players, simply slapping "blue ray technology" wont help anything anywhere near what DVD did for PS2, at least not on mainstream levels. DVD is still quite young, and sales for it have hit a peak since only what.. 2 years and a half, 3 years maybe? You think the mainstream will go into the next gen console with "I MUST HAVE THE NEW THING I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!"? Damn, it took long enough to convince them that DVDs were the next step for movies. Know what will happen? They'll go in the store for a PS3 and see something about blue ray and ask what the hell it is, the guy will give him some gibberish and in the end, the mainstream guy will ask "can i watch my DVDs on this?" and the answer will be yes, and he'll buy the console for the console itself, maybe to continue watching his DVD collection in case he's selling his PS2, but not for blue ray.

Vince-

So people are comparing PSX to PSOne now? What ever happened to that thing called Common Sense?

Whatever happened to reading comprehension? Where did i say that PSX was the PSone? Im just saying that some peoples, not exactly here but throughout the forums i've been reading are seeing the PSX as the PSone of PS2 and that it will reinvigorate the sales with the mainstream.. They're in for a reality check when they see the price.


Blue ray will serve as the gaming format more than a trojan horse to move units, large space, faster transfers, etc. They could always do like microsoft and not have movie playback, just using the format for games and selling the remote to enable it, saving additional costs on the units, which i have a feeling sony will be carefully considering with the cost of R&D and manufacturing it will take for PS3. Doubt they want to go in the red again like they did early on PS2's life.

 

[Tsmit42]

If PS3 comes with a blu-ray drive, I'll be the first person in line to pick one up if it's in the $300-$400 range. I think that almost everyone that knows anything about blu-ray and is a little interested in games will also. Plus this thing is 2-3 years away, 3 years before the ps2 was released was the beginning of 1997. Like you said, dvds have hit its sales peak only 2.5-3 years ago, so I wonder how it was doing 6.5 years ago. If sony can pull off putting a blu-ray drive in the system, blu-ray will become a very popular format because it will drive down the price of the technology tremindously.

 

[jvd]

honestly i doubt anyone will be oh i gotta get that ps3 over the xbox 2 cause it has a blue ray player. The only thing for moves that it has an advantage over dvds is that u can fit more on 1 dvd. Of course the only movie i have seen that does not fit on once dvd is lord of the rings extended version and gone with the wind. Most people don't mind having 1 dvd for the movie and the other one for the features since the cases don't take up more room . And well i can argue that on the longer movies like lord of the rings getting up to change the dvd is a good bathroom break.

Otherwise its nice having a blueray player in the ps3 if it doesn't effect price .

 

[Tsmit42]

honestly i doubt anyone will be oh i gotta get that ps3 over the xbox 2 cause it has a blue ray player. The only thing for moves that it has an advantage over dvds is that u can fit more on 1 dvd. Of course the only movie i have seen that does not fit on once dvd is lord of the rings extended version and gone with the wind. Most people don't mind having 1 dvd for the movie and the other one for the features since the cases don't take up more room . And well i can argue that on the longer movies like lord of the rings getting up to change the dvd is a good bathroom break.

Otherwise its nice having a blueray player in the ps3 if it doesn't effect price .

Actually blu-ray will most likely be used to play HD-DVD movies instead of the usually DVD's we have now. HD-DVDs will need tons more space and blue-ray is said to hold around 3 hours of video and AC3 sound of HDTV @ 1080i. The competing format, AOD, is said to only hold about 2 hours of video and audio. www.blu-ray.com has some information about blu-ray, but not much.

 

[jvd]

honestly i doubt anyone will be oh i gotta get that ps3 over the xbox 2 cause it has a blue ray player. The only thing for moves that it has an advantage over dvds is that u can fit more on 1 dvd. Of course the only movie i have seen that does not fit on once dvd is lord of the rings extended version and gone with the wind. Most people don't mind having 1 dvd for the movie and the other one for the features since the cases don't take up more room . And well i can argue that on the longer movies like lord of the rings getting up to change the dvd is a good bathroom break.

Otherwise its nice having a blueray player in the ps3 if it doesn't effect price .

Actually blu-ray will most likely be used to play HD-DVD movies instead of the usually DVD's we have now. HD-DVDs will need tons more space and blue-ray is said to hold around 3 hours of video and AC3 sound of HDTV @ 1080i. The competing format, AOD, is said to only hold about 2 hours of video and audio. www.blu-ray.com has some information about blu-ray, but not much.

I was under the impression that the t2 that i just bought was hd-dvd .

 

[Cyborg]

If PS3 comes with a blu-ray drive, I'll be the first person in line to pick one up if it's in the $300-$400 range. I think that almost everyone that knows anything about blu-ray and is a little interested in games will also. Plus this thing is 2-3 years away, 3 years before the ps2 was released was the beginning of 1997. Like you said, dvds have hit its sales peak only 2.5-3 years ago, so I wonder how it was doing 6.5 years ago. If sony can pull off putting a blu-ray drive in the system, blu-ray will become a very popular format because it will drive down the price of the technology tremindously.

Hell, i'll also be interested, but i dont consider myself a mainstream consumer, nor would you be if you hang around a site like this.. 2 to 3 years ago was around PS2's launch, DVD players dropped in price considerably a few quarters before PS2's launch but they were still in the 170 to 200$ for a good one. Thats the point, consumers were waiting way before DVD players hit a nice price, they knew about it but didnt feel like spending a little fortune on it. Blue ray will have been out for how long by PS3's launch.. 1 year.. 1 year and a half depending on the regions, high prices.. You seriously think that its the same situation?

*sigh*

 

[maskrider]

Bringing the PS name to its DVR and media products has gotten so many people to talk about it all over the places than seeing it as what it should be seen (HD and DVDR based DVR, Media player, Media storage, I suppose it will be one of Cocoon networked devices with some more software support). Too many people are taking it as a console successor to PS2 and saying it is an overpriced console with a hard disk.

Sony has successfully gotten attention from lots and lots of people by using the PS name, and people will start talking more about the other Sony life style products later on when people understand more about the domain of PSX.

If it is just another life style product like the Cocoon media server or the video processor for its Plasma TVs, it will certainly not be getting that much attention.

 

[Tsmit42]

The first dvd player was released in Novemeber 1996, the ps2 was suppose to release in Japan around the same time in 1999, which is only 3 years apart. The first blu-ray player was released March 2003, the ps2 will most likely release in 2006, 2005 at the earliest. I don't see where you are getting this 1 year or 1.5 years figure from, i see 3 years as the most probable or at the very least 2 years. I don't know if blu-ray will drop in price before the ps3 will be released, but if it follows the same pattern that dvd players did, then it is a high possibility that it could. Since the ps3 is about 3 years away, blu-ray has more than enough time to drop the price down to a considerable amount.

 

[jvd]

The first dvd player was released in Novemeber 1996, the ps2 was suppose to release in Japan around the same time in 1999, which is only 3 years apart. The first blu-ray player was released March 2003, the ps2 will most likely release in 2006, 2005 at the earliest. I don't see where you are getting this 1 year or 1.5 years figure from, i see 3 years as the most probable or at the very least 2 years. I don't know if blu-ray will drop in price before the ps3 will be released, but if it follows the same pattern that dvd players did, then it is a high possibility that it could. Since the ps3 is about 3 years away, blu-ray has more than enough time to drop the price down to a considerable amount.

I don't see many people upgrading thier dvd players so soon. Most people expect it to last as long as vhs did or at least half as long . Consumers in the usa are very fickle and things don't allways take off here. Look at the mini disc it was huge in japan. Sony released it and it failed here then they tried again and again it failed.

 

[zurich]

I was under the impression that the t2 that i just bought was hd-dvd .

From what I understand the 'HD' portion of that DVD is for PC only, and requires a pretty insane rig to run it w/o dropped frames (P3 3ghz+). Not sure if its MPEG2 or high res DIVX or something. Pretty wierd release IMO.