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[Izzy]

Last week, at CEATEC event in Japan, Sony Corporations Chairman and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, made a keynote speech regarding Sony's revitalization and it's role in the ever changing Consumer Electronics world. We bring you the most interesting part of his speech that elaborated Sony's role in the consumer electronic business and also in the next-generation console race.

Some of the things discussed in his 30 minute keynote speech were concerning Playstation Portable, PS3, CELL, Blu-ray, High-Definition and the future of Sony. First time ever in Sony's history, a foreign CEO is going to lead the Japanese consumer giant. To make it less boring for our readers, we only took the parts that would concern you the most, gaming related stuff. So here it is, a breakdown of some of the main points of Sir Howard Stringer's keynote speech.

Link

Playstation Portable
Sony's PSP, only 9 months after it's launch has sold six million units

The device's functionality is set to expand further in the future. Users of the current PSP will soon be appointing the device's built-in WiFi to watch video from home entertainment terminals anytime, anywhere in the world.

Expect to see a PSP with a high capacity memorystick, in which users will be able to browse the television and film content and can also be synchronized with a digital video recorder. The PSX has the capability to move content to the PSP and currently is available in Japan.

Playstation is one of the rare devices to have obtained the status of a popular item. And if you wonder why we speak of Playstation Nation, listen to this, the no. of Playstations in the world now equals the combined populations of Japan, South Korea and Australia. That would be about two hundred million machines. And no matter where in the world we are, they are all speaking the same language.

Sony has the world's no.1 console game business. Sony's playstation portable had a blockbuster debut especially in Europe and US. The customers didn't have to take a leap of faith. They can see the quality with their own eyes with the included Spiderman2 UMD. Demand for additional UMD movies grew instantly.

Sony Pictures and MGM are now enjoying with major hollywood studios distributing UMD movies for the Playstation Portable. The chinese film "House of Flying Daggers" took only 3 months to ship nearly 100,000 UMD copies.

No other format has got this much content support since DVD's launch about 8 years ago.

 

[Wario64]

DS

 

[Reilly]

bs or no?

 

[Kleegamefan]

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=66927

 

[maynerd]

I call bs

 

[GDJustin]

I honestly can't believe that a community like GAF, which (reletive to places on the net like GFAQS) has a reletively solid head on its shoulders, STILL sees so many topics like this.

Sold clearly = sold to retail (IE shipped).

 

[Jado]

Reletivilely.

 

[Vennt]

I honestly can't believe that a community like GAF, which (reletive to places on the net like GFAQS) has a reletively solid head on its shoulders, STILL sees so many topics like this.

Sold clearly = sold to retail (IE shipped).

Yes, and retail has made such an art of stocking & restocking shit they can't sell that Sony are using them as free warehousing, oh wait...

Seriously, this argument is bunk, retailers don't hold masses of units in storage after it's shipped to them, they either sell their shipment and restock or they hold onto it until it does & therefore wouldn't need more shipping out to them.

Granted there will be a small difference between shipped & sold, but certainly not enough to shout "shipped" every time someone releases figures.

 

[Izzy]

All those people who call BS - how many PSPs are out there?

 

[Bigfonzie]

How many DS's have been sold/shipped?

 

[conker]

WHOAMG 6 MILLION
PSP FTW

Or not.

 

[kenta]

Come on guys, why would he lie?

 

[neptunes]

I believe it's around the 5 million WW mark.

around 2 million in japan and nearing 2 million (if not already) in North America.

around 1 million in Europe and 500k+ in Korea and the rest of Asia,

 

[jarrod]

How many DS's have been sold/shipped?

DS has sold through just over 6 million iirc. By comparison PSP has probably sold through 4.5 to 5 million.

 

[Wario64]

All those people who call BS - how many PSPs are out there?

less than DS lol

 

[Bigfonzie]

The tides are turning, soon Europe will fall and all eyes will be lookng to the west.

 

[maharg]

Yes, and retail has made such an art of stocking & restocking shit they can't sell that Sony are using them as free warehousing, oh wait...

Seriously, this argument is bunk, retailers don't hold masses of units in storage after it's shipped to them, they either sell their shipment and restock or they hold onto it until it does & therefore wouldn't need more shipping out to them.

Granted there will be a small difference between shipped & sold, but certainly not enough to shout "shipped" every time someone releases figures.

Indeed it is overused. At the same time, though, the opposing argument that "retailers don't hold masses of units" isn't much better. No one thinks the Walmart in Topeka, Kansas is holding a million units. That doesn't mean the combined amount held unsold *around the world* can't be up to a million, though. All it would take is 500,000 stores holding 2 units in stock.

Essentially, shipped numbers are a good snapshot of where real sales WILL BE at some point in the near future, but care should be taken in comparing shipped to sold. Shipped gives a glimpse into the future, while sold gives a glimpse into the past. A comparison of the two is apples and oranges.

Not that I think most people in this thread are thinking along those lines. No comparison was made yet, so anyone bitching about shipped is tilting at windmills.

 

[Izzy]

less than DS lol

But that's not an answer.

DS has sold through just over 6 million iirc

Try 7 million.

 

[CoolTrick]

What an unneccesary topic.

 

[DCharlie]

"The PSX has the capability to move content to the PSP and currently is available in Japan. "

lol - steathfully avoiding the fact that it takes FOREVER to encode anything from the PSX to the PSP! Four times the run length i believe, so that 30 minute tv show will be done for you in about 2 hours - PSX FOR THE BIN!

 

[GDJustin]

What an unneccesary topic.

 

[Izzy]

By comparison PSP has probably sold through 4.5 to 5 million.

No. Try 2M+ in the US, ~2M in JP, and ~1M in EU. And then remember there are Canadian, Korean (PSP had a VERY successful launch there. ), and Asian sales to take into account.

 

[Wario64]

What an unneccesary topic.

so why did you click in it

 

[Varian]

Sony's PSP, only 9 months after it's launch has sold six million units

Sony's PSP, only 9 months after it's launch has sold "Six million" units

Way to misrepresent Howard's body language Izzy.

 

[Dante]

:lol @ the damage control. Guess the PSP isn't going anywhere anytime soon

 

[Izzy]

lol - steathfully avoiding the fact that it takes FOREVER to encode anything from the PSX to the PSP! Four times the run length i believe, so that 30 minute tv show will be done for you in about 2 hours - PSX FOR THE BIN!

You shouldn't have bought that trash - hell even I didn't buy it!

 

[Legal Step]

Don't trust the welsh!

 

[Mihail]

:lol @ the damage control. Guess the PSP isn't going anywhere anytime soon

What do you mean by that? Is it going to stay in stores' warehouses?

 

[bishoptl]

so why did you click in it

Good question. Answer it, please.

 

[DCharlie]

"You shouldn't have bought that trash - hell even I didn't buy it!"

wow - not even with a company discount?

I foolish believed that it would do what it said it could do. Call me a nutter, but when sony says "it does this" i always expect it to do the "this" they were talking about...

I'm sure it'll be the same with the TV anywhere and the Phone functions of the PSP. They'll be here ASAP... Just in a bit... just a couple of more months... probably by the end of the year... eventually... with a firmware upgrade... sometime... maybe...

 

[Error Macro]

Using my PSP will be so much more enjoyable once I have confirmation that it has outsold the competitor's handheld.

 

[CoolTrick]

Amazing how this thread will still reach 3 pages even though there's nothing new or discussion worthy in it.

 

[Dante]

What do you mean by that? Is it going to stay in stores' warehouses?

Certain people would love to see the PSP fail miserably as evidenced by some reactions in this thread. Strong sales say otherwise.

 

[btutterrow]

Amazing how this thread will still reach 3 pages even though there's nothing new or discussion worthy in it.

I see the hand writing on the wall for CoolTrick...

ANYWAY, 6 million is a nice number, and I am very interested to see what the number will be after the end of this year. Seems like a good start by Sony, and whether they end this portable generation in the lead or not, they have done pretty good so far.

 

[Speevy]

and whether they end this portable generation in the lead or not, they have done pretty good so far.

That's just the thing. There's no portable generation. There's the Nintendo DS, GBA, and PSP.

Nintendo's DS will be outsold. PSP sales will keep steady in the US, while continuing to soar in Europe, and Japan won't be enough for the DS.

At that point, we'll just say "Well...uh...good job Sony...30 million sold?"

And everyone will have a good laugh.

 

[btutterrow]

That's just the thing. There's no portable generation. There's the Nintendo DS, GBA, and PSP.

Well, I don't really care about a debate about the whole generation thing.. I am still confused about how the Dreamcast and Xbox are in the same generation, but in my mind, DS and PSP (and Ngage and Gizmondo) are the same portable generation.

I bet they will end up selling more than 30 million PSPs, but I could be wrong

 

[bishoptl]

Amazing how this thread will still reach 3 pages even though there's nothing new or discussion worthy in it.

run along now

 

[sonycowboy]

I honestly can't believe that a community like GAF, which (reletive to places on the net like GFAQS) has a reletively solid head on its shoulders, STILL sees so many topics like this.

Sold clearly = sold to retail (IE shipped).

Well, I can tell you that they had shipped 5M as of June 30th and that when they announce shipments later this month, through September 30th, it will be WELL over 7.5M units.

And we can already account for (by sales tracking estimates) well over 5M units for the regions that we have a good idea about.

Seems to make the 6M seem a bit high, but plausable to me.

~1.9M US
~1.9M Japan
~1M Western Europe
~??? Rest of Europe
~??? Canada, Australia, NZ, Korea

 

[Sho Nuff]

Hes BRITISH
British people LIE

 

[Speevy]

Bloody liars.

Bloody hell.

 

[Varian]

HE USED SCARE QUOTES. Of course he's lying.

 

[DCharlie]

That's just the thing. There's no portable generation. There's the Nintendo DS, GBA, and PSP.

Nintendo's DS will be outsold. PSP sales will keep steady in the US, while continuing to soar in Europe, and Japan won't be enough for the DS.

At that point, we'll just say "Well...uh...good job Sony...30 million sold?" "

well, it'll be interesting to see how Sony market two machines next year.

If we work on sony fans presumptions, next year we'll see the $249 PSP (i assume the $199 value pack is still AWOL?) and the, get this, $299 PS3...

Surely, at $50 more, people are going to be more likely to plum for a PS3 ? then you are going to obviously want games... and then of course you are obviously going to want to try the new hidef movies...

I dunno - if the PS3 does launch when they say and at the price people are predicting, then i think Sony would be eating into their PSP sales (and sales of everything else no doubt) - so how on earth do they balance it?

"And we can already account for (by sales tracking estimates) well over 5M units for the regions that we have a good idea about."

Kutaragi claimed 1.8 million shipped in Japan by end of January and that by feb they'd be shipping 1 million a month to keep up with demand (in Japan)... which given we are only just hitting 2 million seems a little odd.

 

[Flo_Evans]

while a $299 PS3 does sound like a hellva deal, $350-400 is my bet.

 

[Izzy]

and the, get this, $299 PS3...

Highly unlikely.

 

[GitarooMan]

while a $299 PS3 does sound like a hellva deal, $350-400 is my bet.

Man, I wish PS3 was 299 at launch, that would be one big launch. I'd be shocked at anything less than 400, it very likely could be more...

 

[Speevy]

A $500 PS3 announcement would be the funniest moment in gaming forum history.

 

[Mrbob]

Highly unlikely.

So is a $249 PSP unlikely next year too. Only in DCharlieland where every opportunity for Sony to fail occurs.

 

[Izzy]

~??? Canada, Australia, NZ, Korea

Link#1
Link#2

 

[sonycowboy]

well, it'll be interesting to see how Sony market two machines next year.

If we work on sony fans presumptions, next year we'll see the $249 PSP (i assume the $199 value pack is still AWOL?) and the, get this, $299 PS3...

Surely, at $50 more, people are going to be more likely to plum for a PS3 ? then you are going to obviously want games... and then of course you are obviously going to want to try the new hidef movies...

I dunno - if the PS3 does launch when they say and at the price people are predicting, then i think Sony would be eating into their PSP sales (and sales of everything else no doubt) - so how on earth do they balance it?

1) I think you're probably the only one presuming that the PSP will be $249 next year.
2) And I'm sure you're the only one presuming a $299 PS3
3) Will the PS3 be eating PS2, Xbox360, GCN, Rev, NDS sales as well, or is it exclusive to PSP/PS3 combos?
4) Where do Hi-Def movies come into this. Are you saying there's a finite amount of money and that Blu-Ray movies will hurt game sales (which we've heard with DVD & UMD, but hasn't happened)

I do agree thay they certainly have a hell of a balancing act, with the various businesses that they are in:

1) PS2
2) PSP
3) PS3
4) Blu-Ray movies
5) UMD movies
6) DVD movies
7) Memory stick
8) CELL

but, I think what we're seeing is that they believe that there is (and please excuse the word) synergy in all of this. They all feed each other and when combined make the combination stronger than the individual pieces. At least that's the hope.

Blu-Ray helps PS3, and PS3 sure as hell helps Blu-Ray, same for CELL, same for UMD (w/ PSP) and so on. And why should Sony yield the handheld market because they have a desktop system?? Should DELL get out of the laptop business because they might push someone who was considering a DELL desktop?

I'm finding your arguments a bit one-sided, which is fine for a devil's advocate role, but hardly fair if we're trying to provide even-handed analysis. But I guess, my mongoose to your snake.

Kutaragi claimed 1.8 million shipped in Japan by end of January and that by feb they'd be shipping 1 million a month to keep up with demand (in Japan)... which given we are only just hitting 2 million seems a little odd.

Well, that was just about the time that the PSP market bottomed out for them (in relative terms) I think ~most folks thought that the PSP would have a much better run in Japan than they've had, especially with the shortages and good sales early in the year giving that impression.

 

[Flo_Evans]

I wonder if they will announce launch dates and pricing before x360 launch? I am very much an 'instant gratifacation' type of person. If I know the PS3 is launching in 6 months and is $400 or whatever, I could probably resist busting out the plastic for an x360...

but with no launch date or set price, I may have to go with what is right infront of me