OT: Playstation in Trouble....Sony can't sell these things

Sony's PS3 A Sinking Ship: Sales Plummet

By Eric Krangel
December 12, 2008: 09:21 AM ET


Sony's (SNE) PS3 is dying on the shelves.

Alone among the three major videogame consoles, sales of the PS3 are down about 19% from November 2007, according to the latest stats from the NPD Group. Sony was only able to sell 378,000 PS3s this November, compared to 466,000 last year.
And the problem for Sony isn't the recession, it's the PS3. Microsoft (MSFT) put up respectable numbers with its Xbox 360, selling 836,000 units vs 777,000 in November 2007. And Nintendo's (NTDOY) Wii continues to dominate the market, more than doubling sales from 981,000 to 2.04 million.
So why is the PS3 flopping so badly?

1. It's the most expensive console on the market, $150 - $200 more than its rivals. Even if you believe the video game industry is "recession-proof" (it isn't), a tanking economy makes consumers more price-conscious.
2. The PS3's big bonus is its ability to double as a Blu-Ray player. Too bad no one seems to care about hi-def DVDs. The differences between Blu-Ray and DVD are hard to see on a TV less than 50".
3. The PS3 just doesn't have any must-have titles exclusive to the console. "LittleBigPlanet" has generated decent buzz but isn't a game-changer, and neither is Sony's new virtual world "Home."

There's really only one option left for Sony to remain in the game: deep price cuts, and not just for people with good credit. Tell yourself the PS3 has superior graphics if it makes you feel better, but a $400 console with a mediocre game library simply cannot compete against an Xbox 360 priced at $200 in this economy.

What is it with the Wii. There is like nothing appealing for adults on that system.

RobFunk said:

What is it with the Wii. There is like nothing appealing for adults on that system.

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Fully 38% of adults report playing games on desktop or laptop computers. This percentage compares with 28% who play on game consoles like an Xbox, PlayStation or Wii; 18% who play on a cell phone, Blackberry or other handheld organizer; and 13% who play on portable gaming devices like a PSP, DS or Gameboy.
http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ID=17270


Your right but there are so many more kids that play the wii that it outsold xbox 3-1 last month:toast:

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Xbox's strong Thanksgiving sales didn't help Microsoft outpace Nintendo in November.
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By Paul McDougall
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<NOBR>December 12, 2008 08:50 AM </NOBR>
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The Xbox 360's strong performance on Black Friday wasn't enough to help Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) close the sales gap with rival Nintendo in the gaming console market, according to research group NPD.
In fact, Nintendo's red-hot Wii system outsold the Xbox by almost 3-to-1 in November. Wii shipments in the month totaled 2.04 million, while Xbox shipments came in at 836,000. Sony (NYSE: SNE)'s PlayStation 3 ranked a distant third, with shipments of just 378,000 units, said NPD.
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-->In the portable market, the Nintendo DS ranked first with 1.57 million shipments--easily topping the Sony PSP's 421,000 shipments.


Xbox 360's middling performance may come as a shock to Microsoft.
Last week, Redmond said sales of its Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment console increased 25% on Black Friday compared with last year's post-Thanksgiving shopping binge, and outpaced sales of PlayStation 3 3-to-1.
Microsoft said console sales were spurred by the recent release of hot-selling games like Gears Of War 2, Fable II, and Lips.
In its most recent quarter, Microsoft reported that Xbox 360 shipments increased 22% year over-year to 2.2 million units. The jump comes as Microsoft takes steps to reinvigorate the Xbox platform and position it as more than just a gaming device.
Last month, the software maker officially launched New Xbox Experience, a service that combines the company's Xbox 360 gaming console and Xbox Live online network into a platform for streaming Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) movies, holding chat sessions, sharing photos, and engaging in other online activities.
For many consumers, the most compelling feature of New Xbox Experience will be the ability to instantly stream HD movies and TV episodes from rental house Netflix. Among the 360 titles available are La Vie en Rose, Flawless, and Heroes.
The Xbox 360 is currently the only gaming device capable of providing a direct link to Netflix.
Microsoft in September slashed the price of its Xbox 360 video-game console by almost 30% for some models. The cuts saw the price of the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade system fall from $279 to $199. The basic Xbox 360 model, which features a 60-GB hard drive, dropped to $299 from $349. The high-end Xbox 360 Elite, which includes a 120-GB hard drive, now sells for $399 -- down from $449.

RobFunk said:

What is it with the Wii. There is like nothing appealing for adults on that system.

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Cause game systems are supposed to be for kids Rob hno:

haha TTP... actually Rob when you are married and have friends who come over and hang out a Wii can be pretty fun.

Timetopay said:

Cause game systems are supposed to be for kids Rob hno:

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Yeah but most of the good games are rated M for mature: 17 and older.

They are always the ones I end up playing.

RobFunk said:

Yeah but most of the good games are rated M for mature. 17 and older.

They are always the ones I always end up playing.

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You are making me laugh Robbie

You like those games because you are an adult and made for you(hence that is why the are "good games") and kids like under 16 game because they are kids.

They dont make Barney for adults and Grand theft Auto for 7 year olds

Uno said:

haha TTP... actually Rob when you are married and have friends who come over and hang out a Wii can be pretty fun.

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I grew up playing video games with friends all the time. Was a blast. I can see how the wii is great when you have a group. But now at 35 I like the intense single player expierence more. That's just me though.

sure, when i was single i was a halo and xboxlive addict. only took a couple months of marriage to see that it was the wife or the xbox.

Timetopay said:

You are making me laugh Robbie

You like those games because you are an adult and made for you(hence that is why the are "good games") and kids like under 16 game because they are kids.

They dont make Barney for adults and Grand theft Auto for 7 year olds

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I just like the violence and simulated realism of it all. It's immersive. I don't live for video games, but it's a great escape.

Uno said:

sure, when i was single i was a halo and xboxlive addict. only took a couple months of marriage to see that it was the wife or the xbox.

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If I ever grow up all the way. I'm sure that will be me.

Could PlayStation get the axe?

Some Sony "sacred cows" scheduled at slaughterhouse


Drastic cost-cutting is in Sony's future, and the games division could be one of the business lines on the chopping block.
That's the specter raised by a Times of London piece published Monday, which credits anonymous company sources with news that a massive restructuring program, beginning in a few weeks, will "abolish or fundamentally alter many of Sony's long-established business practices."
That doesn't necessarily mean the end of the PlayStation, but it's hard to see Sony quitting any of its major markets, PlayStation or otherwise. Can you imagine shopping for a TV without checking out the Bravia line, or for a laptop without looking at Vaio?
Although Sony's games division reported improving performance last year, it still lost over $400 million in the third quarter of 2008, and although the PS3 is the most expensive of the three major consoles, it's by far the costliest to produce. After a disappointing holiday season and the prospect of harder economic times on the horizon, could Sony's games division be contemplating a software-only future?

Goodbye, Sony PSP

We barely knew ye

By Mike Smith

Whatever happened to the PSP? The device that Sony once touted as "the Walkman for the 21st century" is fast disappearing from popular consciousness, and if you believe the rumors circulating just three-and-a-half years after its launch, it's up for a major rethink in 2009.
Over the crucial month of November, the Nintendo DS shifted a jaw-dropping 1.5 million units in the US alone (up 20% from last year) while the PSP languished, managing just 421,000 sales -- actually down 27%, in what was in general a tremendously strong month for video games.
Even the software support is eroding. Despite the PSP's healthy install base of around 13 million consumers, only six 2008 PSP releases scored better than 80% on review aggregating site gamerankings.com, compared with 16 on the DS. There's a good reason for that: nobody's making PSP games, because outside of one or two hits like this year's Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, nobody's buying them. That's only going to worsen when the superheavyweight Grand Theft Auto series (previously exclusive to the PSP on handhelds) releases its first DS title early next year.
In a lot of ways, it's a shame. The PSP is a far more capable hardware platform than the DS. It's a phone, a portable music player, a pocket-sized movie device, a mobile web browser, and when paired with a Playstation 3, a remarkably capable remote control for the system, capable of streaming music and movies from a PS3 over the Internet to wherever you happen to be.
Time to put this gaming warhorse out to pasture?


Next to it, the DS looks like a product of another age. It's barely capable of 3D, let alone delivering a suite of mobile applications of the PSP's caliber. Not, in fact, unlike the contrast between the Playstation 3 (modern, immensely powerful, and pricey) and the Wii (underpowered, basic, and cheap.) Oh, and phenomenally successful. The parallels you can draw between Sony and Nintendo's offerings go deep.
But then, set the PSP next to the iPhone or iPod Touch, the year's other big winner in portable gaming, and the PSP's hardware design suddenly looks old hat. Where's the touchscreen? What are all these buttons for? What on earth is the point of this useless analog nub of a joystick? And why, in an age when flash memory is so cheap it practically comes in Cheerios boxes, are we still stuck with a huge, bulky, slow, and noisy optical drive? If you're going to compete by offering a powerful hardware platform, you actually need to outperform the competition. As the iPhone steps into the portable gaming ring, it's already got the PSP on the ropes.
Guess what, Sony: Apple already made the Walkman of the 21st century, and you missed the boat.

hoping theres another 100 dollar price drop on the ps3. the ps3 is a way better machine then the 360, thats why it costs more. if they cant sell them though theyll bump it down.

gtc08 said:

hoping theres another 100 dollar price drop on the ps3. the ps3 is a way better machine then the 360, thats why it costs more. if they cant sell them though theyll bump it down.

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There is going to be price drop on the ps3 in march from what I heard from a game designer...

I just got a ps3, I love it. Think its a lot better than xbox and will be down the road once they price drop and the games are in demand more..

d1g1t

wii is awesome till its late at night and you're drunk and don't feel like standing up non-stop to play video games.

Love my PS3 and log like 20 hrs a week on it. I've had the Wii and the 360 and they don't compare. And as for no BIG NAME games on PS3 thats just bullshit. Resistance was great...And for the most part, PS3 has all the same titles as XBOX, with the exception of the almighty HALO. Def was worth the 400 or so I payed for it

seriousaddiction said:

Love my PS3 and log like 20 hrs a week on it. I've had the Wii and the 360 and they don't compare. And as for no BIG NAME games on PS3 thats just bullshit. Resistance was great...And for the most part, PS3 has all the same titles as XBOX, with the exception of the almighty HALO. Def was worth the 400 or so I payed for it

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Im a ps3 guy and got to admit, halo is some good shit though.

Wii (with the exception of Mario Kart) was awful. The first person shooters had graphics on base with Atari and the sports games were terrible. The free game it comes with was fun for a few hours , but then it just got boring. Not to mention the graphics absolutely blow. Great system for kids under 14-15 range, but outside of that it is horrible.

Can't wait for RE5 on PS3