cliffbo
07-04-2008, 08:42 PM
this is what i was talking about when i said Sony are creating a perpetual gaming market
I have been reading a lot of financial reports and sales data lately, both old and new and I have noticed a very interesting trend. It is common knowledge that Sony Computer Entertainment was in big bright red two years ago with the launch of the PlayStation 3; it has cost Sony 3.3 billion since launch according to the annual filling with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Their operating cost narrowed from ¥232.3 billion ($2.15bn) in 2007 to ¥124.5 billion in 2008 ($1.15bn).
However if you look at the year-end profit report, while it is still in red, it was only 1.71 billion; so how did they manage to shave off 1.59 billions in 2007? Most of us would have figured out that it was all thanks to the younger brothers, the PS2 and PSP!
Some ignorant gamers (yeah I am sort of calling you out) have said in the past the reason the PS3 is not selling is because the PS2 is holding it back, and I have to say after reading all these data, not can the PS2 coexist with the PS3 and PSP but it can stand on its own to attract brand new gamers that have never thought they would ever buy anything PlayStation. Sony is the only company to date that has consistently kept old systems running while launching their new system and this is mainly due to forward engineering of their systems. The PS3 can be said to be “ahead” of its time in terms of console design. HD itself is ahead of its time, and with a 30% penetration rate, HD is still ahead of its time. Sony has unknowingly divided the market into the HDs and the non-HDs.
While PS3 is working its magic on HD gamers which continues to grow as we step into 2009, it will possibly start to peak around 2011 according to one research. Since the PS2 Slim with the lack of ability to install a hard-drive cannot be easily pirated. The PS2 is catering to three categories of gamers. The first category is the casuals who enjoys Buzz, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, SingStar, and EyeToy style games who doesn’t have a HDTV or doesn’t care for the PS3 or X360 because all they play are ‘casual games’. This is a very similar market to which the Wii is catering to but the demographics are older. The 2nd and 3rd categories of gamers are old Xbox and GameCube owners who have not upgraded their TV (X360) or the motion controls do not appeal to them (Wii) and have ran out of things to play because their systems are basically dead and the life support has been pulled.
The PSP itself is an interesting topic, one man, Dark_AleX, has single handily cost Sony millions of dollar each year in software revenue. However as we saw in the MediaCreate data, games like Monster Hunter still sells on the PSP so the market potential is still there, and Sony is now making a good profit on the hardware side for both the PSP and PS2; some may argue that Dark_AleX have single handily cost Sony millions in software but have also boosted PSP hardware sales by the millions. His contribution to home-brew cannot be overlooked, and Sony learned a valuable lesson from him. Up to date, the PS3, has yet to be hacked. With the release of the PSP2, and there will be one, because it has been a profitable business for Sony thus far. They will have yet again, divided the crowd into home-brew vs technology chasers; a market model that Apple has been catering for years. Even the iphone comes in different form factors to satisfy different crowds.
So let’s talk about Philip’s new 3D TV, why the hell am I talking about 3D TV? Sony PlayStation 4. Ok, I have zero proof and I have no insider info. This is purely speculation of the direction gaming is moving. If we close our eyes for a minute and assumes that the PS4 will cater to 3D TV, isn’t history repeating itself? Sony has then divided their gamers in HDTV vs 3DTV? The PS3 will assume the position of the PS2 and cater to old X360 and Wii players when PS4 launches (assuming N and MSFT drops support again).
Isn’t it funny that only now do we understand why Phil Harrison keeps on saying, “The PlayStation Family” is doing well? He really was referring to this multi-tier gaming business, and it was sad that amidst the fanboyism of yesteryear; none of us really saw what he was referring to. Everybody’s head was too far up next-gen gaming’s ass to see anything outside of the box.
http://www.diggingtheweb.com/wiki/SonyHarmony
I have been reading a lot of financial reports and sales data lately, both old and new and I have noticed a very interesting trend. It is common knowledge that Sony Computer Entertainment was in big bright red two years ago with the launch of the PlayStation 3; it has cost Sony 3.3 billion since launch according to the annual filling with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Their operating cost narrowed from ¥232.3 billion ($2.15bn) in 2007 to ¥124.5 billion in 2008 ($1.15bn).
However if you look at the year-end profit report, while it is still in red, it was only 1.71 billion; so how did they manage to shave off 1.59 billions in 2007? Most of us would have figured out that it was all thanks to the younger brothers, the PS2 and PSP!
Some ignorant gamers (yeah I am sort of calling you out) have said in the past the reason the PS3 is not selling is because the PS2 is holding it back, and I have to say after reading all these data, not can the PS2 coexist with the PS3 and PSP but it can stand on its own to attract brand new gamers that have never thought they would ever buy anything PlayStation. Sony is the only company to date that has consistently kept old systems running while launching their new system and this is mainly due to forward engineering of their systems. The PS3 can be said to be “ahead” of its time in terms of console design. HD itself is ahead of its time, and with a 30% penetration rate, HD is still ahead of its time. Sony has unknowingly divided the market into the HDs and the non-HDs.
While PS3 is working its magic on HD gamers which continues to grow as we step into 2009, it will possibly start to peak around 2011 according to one research. Since the PS2 Slim with the lack of ability to install a hard-drive cannot be easily pirated. The PS2 is catering to three categories of gamers. The first category is the casuals who enjoys Buzz, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, SingStar, and EyeToy style games who doesn’t have a HDTV or doesn’t care for the PS3 or X360 because all they play are ‘casual games’. This is a very similar market to which the Wii is catering to but the demographics are older. The 2nd and 3rd categories of gamers are old Xbox and GameCube owners who have not upgraded their TV (X360) or the motion controls do not appeal to them (Wii) and have ran out of things to play because their systems are basically dead and the life support has been pulled.
The PSP itself is an interesting topic, one man, Dark_AleX, has single handily cost Sony millions of dollar each year in software revenue. However as we saw in the MediaCreate data, games like Monster Hunter still sells on the PSP so the market potential is still there, and Sony is now making a good profit on the hardware side for both the PSP and PS2; some may argue that Dark_AleX have single handily cost Sony millions in software but have also boosted PSP hardware sales by the millions. His contribution to home-brew cannot be overlooked, and Sony learned a valuable lesson from him. Up to date, the PS3, has yet to be hacked. With the release of the PSP2, and there will be one, because it has been a profitable business for Sony thus far. They will have yet again, divided the crowd into home-brew vs technology chasers; a market model that Apple has been catering for years. Even the iphone comes in different form factors to satisfy different crowds.
So let’s talk about Philip’s new 3D TV, why the hell am I talking about 3D TV? Sony PlayStation 4. Ok, I have zero proof and I have no insider info. This is purely speculation of the direction gaming is moving. If we close our eyes for a minute and assumes that the PS4 will cater to 3D TV, isn’t history repeating itself? Sony has then divided their gamers in HDTV vs 3DTV? The PS3 will assume the position of the PS2 and cater to old X360 and Wii players when PS4 launches (assuming N and MSFT drops support again).
Isn’t it funny that only now do we understand why Phil Harrison keeps on saying, “The PlayStation Family” is doing well? He really was referring to this multi-tier gaming business, and it was sad that amidst the fanboyism of yesteryear; none of us really saw what he was referring to. Everybody’s head was too far up next-gen gaming’s ass to see anything outside of the box.
http://www.diggingtheweb.com/wiki/SonyHarmony