"Sony walking a tightrope" another reason why no playable at tgs

[EndR]

A 3-4 year cycle isn't good for the industry.

Correct but who says this will be the norm in the future? MS *must* shorten the life of Xbox, to compete "on an even scale" against Sony on next gen. Xbox came 18 months after, MS cannot afford to come 18 months after PS3, the same thing would happen again. Now MS has the chance to closen the gape considerably to Sony marketshare-wise..

So, Xbox lifespan was shortened so that 360 could live longer.. is that easy..

 

[Titanio]

Sony's E3 showing didn't look like a company that didn't want to usher in the next gen of console gaming. The press conference seemed to be more PS3 and less PS2. Why all of a sudden are they backtracking? Perhaps the PS3 is farther away than they'd like to admit.

Seems to me like Sony's just buying time. They sure didn't pull any punches at E3. And with the system supposedly launching first in Japan in March, you'd think that the Fall TGS would be to Sony what E3 was to Microsoft. Some stuff just isn't adding up. Everytime a Sony exec gives a statement you better don the hip-waders.

Sony said at E3 that they were going underground about PS3 till next year. They had to come out swinging at E3 to mark their presence (they were already expected to show something in March, remember), that doesn't mean they'd continue to have E3-size knock-outs regularly and consistently throughout the rest of the year.

You can read it whatever way you like, really, but I think they've done a good job thusfar of balancing information with tease/mystery.

 

[Titanio]

Correct but who says this will be the norm in the future? MS *must* shorten the life of Xbox, to compete "on an even scale" against Sony on next gen. Xbox came 18 months after, MS cannot afford to come 18 months after PS3, the same thing would happen again. Now MS has the chance to closen the gape considerably to Sony marketshare-wise..

So, Xbox lifespan was shortened so that 360 could live longer.. is that easy..

Like I said, it was no loss to MS to cut Xbox now and go with X360. But on a successful mature platform with a large market, cutting that after 3 or 4 years would be crazy.

It's not like Xbox software sales were terrible last holidays or anything though! I do wonder how many publishers would have preferred for another holiday with just the current systems. I know as a gamer I'd have liked to see another final, very mature cycle of Xbox titles.

Hopefully MS can stablise now into at least a 5 year cycle.

 

[Alpha_Spartan]

Sony said at E3 that they were going underground about PS3 till next year. They had to come out swinging at E3 to mark their presence (they were already expected to show something in March, remember), that doesn't mean they'd continue to have E3-size knock-outs regularly and consistently throughout the rest of the year.

You can read it whatever way you like, really, but I think they've done a good job thusfar of balancing information with tease/mystery.

Of course you think they've done a good job.

I call PR BS.

 

[scooby_dooby]

According to Moore ~160 XBOX titles in development, so you can expect at least 1 full generation of titles over the next year if not more.

You may not be able to buy the system come 2006, but there are still 20million+ users loooking to purchase software.

Also, one look at X360's design and it should be completely obvious they are aiming for a more cost-effective product in the latter years of the lifecycle, so there's no reason to think they will repeat the short lifecycle of the XBOX

 

[Titanio]

I call PR BS.

You don't think they've generated an effective hype wagon?

That's what I'm commenting on.

 

[blakjedi]

Its not as if the current PS2 userbase doesnt KNOW that PS3 is coming already...and soon.



The logic in that article is rather bad.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

The cycle does not get shortened, PS2 already had its 5 years, right? With at least another half year to go until its launch, if not another 12 months... If anything, Sony wants to lengthen the cycle because they are the market leader and they want to milk every cent out of their advantage to cover up their losses.

Then again, it might turn out that MS has decided to shorten the cycle and defeat Sony using their heaps of money. But as the article states, the whole industry would turn into their enemies in this case, so it's not really likely to happen.

 

[Titanio]

Its not as if the current PS2 userbase doesnt KNOW that PS3 is coming already...and soon.

Have you ever worked in retail? Generally seen the average level of cluelessness amongst massmarket videogame buyers? Particularly those picking up consoles later, when cheaper..I'd say a lot if not most people buying PS2s now aren't very aware of PS3. Awareness amongst that group is probably very low.

 

[Mordecaii]

I agree that I just don't see why Sony is saying that it's early to release the PS3... if we go by a typical console life of 5 years, then that would put the PS3 releasing THIS year, whereas in actuality it's releasing sometime next year. (My typical console life numbers are based off the time between PS1 and PS2, and also between the time of the Genesis and Saturn, and other consoles where it works out that the average lifetime of a console is usually 5 years). Back to the point though, I honestly can't understand why Sony would be complaining about Microsoft bringing about the new generation early when Sony should have been ready for all of this anyway. If anything, Microsoft is releasing around the time that Sony should have. I won't even try to guess at the reasons that Sony is lagging behind (I'm sure their current marketshare and profits are a big reason), but I will say that I don't blame them since they are making quite a bit of money off the PS2, as are the developers. When it comes down to it, I don't like how MS ditched the Xbox because I think it hurts consumers and developers who were writing games for it, but since they were losing so much money with it and they couldn't reasonably expect to even remotely catch up to Sony, they did the only thing they could do. I think the comments about Microsoft cutting short the current generation would be true if the PS2 and Dreamcast hadn't been around for more than 5 years already, but this generation has had 5 years and the time to move to the next gen is now.

IMO Sony really had a tough choice to make... Keep with the PS2 and make a good profit but risk losing ground to MS since they are releasing the 360 first, or switch to PS3 and start losing a substantial amount of money (at first) but get a jump start on the next gen and hopefully repeat their market dominance. I have to wonder though, if Microsoft faces the same kind of gap between themself and Sony again this gen, will they come out with new hardware early again? If so, will the industry abandon them because of it? Because game developers do make more money towards the end of a console's life cycle since they can make games faster due to better tools and middleware.

 

[mckmas8808]

Of course you think they've done a good job.

I call PR BS.

Oh course because you don't understand business. MS cut their console life short due to business. Business is business and everyone has to make a buck without it nobody would be making videogames.

 

[mckmas8808]

Its not as if the current PS2 userbase doesnt KNOW that PS3 is coming already...and soon.



The logic in that article is rather bad.

No you just can't understand business. If they had pushed the PS3 at TGS like they did at E3, then the PSP would have been hidden compared to PS3's huge news. Why is this so hard for you guys to understand?

 

[Alpha_Spartan]

You don't think they've generated an effective hype wagon?

That's what I'm commenting on.

I admit that they generated hype, but now they're backtracking saying that they don't want to generate hype to take steam away from the PS2. But I think they failed in that regard. After seeing the PS3, I mean, who can go back to those PS2 titles? Hell, after seeing Xbox 360 games I can't go back to this gen.

 

[Mordecaii]

I do have to wonder, just how much do consoles and handhelds converge in terms of markets? Will the PS3 cut into the number of people who will buy a PSP or are the markets different enough to where it really won't matter? I just can't see people who are looking for a mobile game system go out and buy a PS3 and conversely I can't see someone who wants a console to hook up in the livingroom going out and buying a PSP. Of course, some people aren't quite so specific in what they're looking for and they just want the next "cool" thing, but overally I think people know what they want and I just can't see the two systems competing as much as some people might think.

Of course, I could be completely wrong since I'm basing this off my own opinions and thoughts which hardly ensure accuracy. But actually, now that I think of it I would think the PS3 would actually help sell the PSP since the two are supposed to work together to do some really neat stuff. I think the release of the PS3 will really just hurt the PS2 which is obviously Sony's biggest money-maker at the moment. I would feel the exact same as Sony if I was in their shoes and it is tough to decide whether to move on or not when your current product is doing so well.

 

[mckmas8808]

I admit that they generated hype, but now they're backtracking saying that they don't want to generate hype to take steam away from the PS2. But I think they failed in that regard. After seeing the PS3, I mean, who can go back to those PS2 titles? Hell, after seeing Xbox 360 games I can't go back to this gen.

Trust me Alpha it would have been worst for PS2 owners had they had the same exposure to next-gen games as you have with the X360 games. See if I seen NBA Live playing on the PS3 I probably wouldn't want to buy it for PS2. I'll just sit out a year personally.

 

[Alpha_Spartan]

Trust me Alpha it would have been worst for PS2 owners had they had the same exposure to next-gen games as you have with the X360 games. See if I seen NBA Live playing on the PS3 I probably wouldn't want to buy it for PS2. I'll just sit out a year personally.

Dude, can you HONESTLY tell me that you haven't skipped out on any PS2 purchases (if you own one) to put money aside for the PS3 launch?

 

[avaya]

And with the system supposedly launching first in Japan in March, you'd think that the Fall TGS would be to Sony what E3 was to Microsoft. Some stuff just isn't adding up. Everytime a Sony exec gives a statement you better don the hip-waders.

A trade show is only there to build up hype. Having playable games before launch is an irrelevance to 99% of the market.

Who will play those alpha kit games? Corporate schoomzers, gaming hacks and the odd booth babe.

Microsoft completely messed up at E3. They should have done what Sony did, the mind-set generated among casuals after E3 was that PS3 is more powerful than X360. It was a marketing disaster for Microsoft.

Trade shows are there to raise the public profile of your product prior to release.

If an early build does not look marketable as next-gen, you do not show it. PDZ and Kameo are the greatest examples of this.

First impressions are everything.

 

[MechanizedDeath]

There's a reason they won't announce any pertinent PS3 launch or price details until next year. And it's not b/c the system launch is further away, or that they lack this information. This is the last big holiday season for the PS2. This is the first big holiday season for the PSP. One needs to maximize its final sales, and one needs to see the first big sales of its life. The PS3 doesn't earn Sony a red cent this holiday. There's a reason we're hearing that CES will be the big show for the PS3 coming up. There's a reason the February show has been earmarked for over a year now as the major jumpoff. There's a reason the PS2's big coming out party was in February and not really the TGS before it.

For the PS2, Sony had no early competition and could take its time. For the PS3, the 360 poses a particular problem in the US, and Sony doesn't want to give them a year alone here. They'll at least plant some seeds of doubt for people to contemplate while they ready the platform for official release. But in the meantime, they still need to ensure their two other platforms actually on the market continue to sell. The article makes sense IMO. Playable PS3 does nothing but distracts from the PS2 and PSP. The video reels gave people something to look forward to, but didn't necessarily detract from the actual playable games. For showgoers, they could watch PS3, but they were busy playing PS2 and PSP. The gameplay experiences would all be tied to the coming holiday season, whereas next year we're bound to be inundated with nothing but PS3. PEACE.

 

[wco81]

I don't know if the argument is true but I can see it. Sony has huge revenue streams which could dry up if consumers think something better is imminent.

The games industry is one of the few that I can think off the top of my head which has to promote new products years or at least months ahead of time, basically telegraphing the obsolescence of products still in channel.

By contrast, look at how the iPod nano as an example was introduced. Sure there were rumors but when it was finally unveiled, it was available for purchase or order while the obsoleted product had limited inventory in channel. Apple is obsessive about keeping new products as hidden as possible. They are not the only company in the tech industry whose official policy is to not comment on unannounced products and these products aren't announced until they've ramped and are actually shipping to channel.

Another example is cars. There are new cars coming. While they've been shown in various auto shows (althought not in final form), they will not announce actual prices, colors, options until they are essentially at the dealers.

The console makers on the other hand have to announce specs months ahead and eventually, the actual date, price and launch lineup to produce buzz. This in spite of the fact that some companies plan to continue to support the existing product for years (although obviously they expect the volumes to decline steeply).

 

[mckmas8808]

Dude, can you HONESTLY tell me that you haven't skipped out on any PS2 purchases (if you own one) to put money aside for the PS3 launch?

Yes I own a PS2. It's the only console this gen I bought. And no I didn't skip out on any PS2 purchases to save for the PS3. I'm just going to cut my PS3 money out of my girl's fund for stuff like eating out and going to the movies. You know saying things to her like, "sorry baby can't go to Red Lobster tonight gotta get that PS3."