Crayon
Member
A sound strategy. Sony should try to copy it.
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Will Sony Go The Same Path As Nvidia Now That They Will Longer Have Direct Competition As A Console Seller?
- Thread starter Mister Wolf
- Start date
A sound strategy. Sony should try to copy it.
kungfuian
Member
Their is no such thing as true lack of competition, even if they are all alone in that space.
Hardware pricing would ultimately be kept in check by what ever else people like to spend their money on. So of course they can charge as much as they want, but that would be relative to demand and their sales targets. If they they want to sell a lot of consoles they will still need to come in at or close to the typical console pricing.
If on the other hand they are willing to sell less and go more premium with their branding, then they can charge more of course, but they make their money on software sales so that would keep them in check a bit.
I would be more concerned about getting less for your dollar regarding the tech in the box. For example the hardware may end up lower speced or with less innovation and features than if they were being forced to compete. And even then, fear of the PC market eating some of their lunch might help curtail this.
Point is people always have options of how to spend their money, and even without a direct competitor Sony would still be kept in check by the basic economics of selling an entertainment product.
Edit- a few problems that you might see regarding pricing would be them trying to gouge early adopters more than normal, say for the first year or so, and prices would likely not drop as fast (nothing to make that happen unless their sales slowed).
Hardware pricing would ultimately be kept in check by what ever else people like to spend their money on. So of course they can charge as much as they want, but that would be relative to demand and their sales targets. If they they want to sell a lot of consoles they will still need to come in at or close to the typical console pricing.
If on the other hand they are willing to sell less and go more premium with their branding, then they can charge more of course, but they make their money on software sales so that would keep them in check a bit.
I would be more concerned about getting less for your dollar regarding the tech in the box. For example the hardware may end up lower speced or with less innovation and features than if they were being forced to compete. And even then, fear of the PC market eating some of their lunch might help curtail this.
Point is people always have options of how to spend their money, and even without a direct competitor Sony would still be kept in check by the basic economics of selling an entertainment product.
Edit- a few problems that you might see regarding pricing would be them trying to gouge early adopters more than normal, say for the first year or so, and prices would likely not drop as fast (nothing to make that happen unless their sales slowed).
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midnightAI
Member
I'd say wait until MS announced what their plans are before saying XBox consoles won't matter anymore.
TheTony316
Member
Sony's making money on software sales. They need the console to reach as many people as possible. Nvidia doesn't have to worry about that.
Mister Wolf
Member
Perhaps Apple, Intel, or Valve.
If xbox no longer matters my predictions are:
Game prices will NOT increase. There is competition with f2p games, subs and the same games for sale on other platforms like PC, or even Switch depending on the game.
control over how long a gen is. They will no longer need to end a gen because a competitor is planning to release a new one. They will let the gen run its course until sales decline and the threshold would be longer.
less subsidy on the console as a result of competitor pricing but it won't be out of control like nvidia since they still maintain cost to sell more for the better install base and software sales. They have a store unlike nvidia.
The only benefit I can think of is that they will take more risks with hardware. Barebones with feature parity will be less of a concern. They can maybe try exotic things again. Have a PS3 type "it only does everything" console with more packed in because they aren't trying to compete with ultra low cost subsidised stuff like XSS. This is less likely to happen because they will still want the install base for support but they're less likely to get ridiculed in comparisons if they sold a feature packed console at a higher price compared to a barebones one.
Game prices will NOT increase. There is competition with f2p games, subs and the same games for sale on other platforms like PC, or even Switch depending on the game.
control over how long a gen is. They will no longer need to end a gen because a competitor is planning to release a new one. They will let the gen run its course until sales decline and the threshold would be longer.
less subsidy on the console as a result of competitor pricing but it won't be out of control like nvidia since they still maintain cost to sell more for the better install base and software sales. They have a store unlike nvidia.
The only benefit I can think of is that they will take more risks with hardware. Barebones with feature parity will be less of a concern. They can maybe try exotic things again. Have a PS3 type "it only does everything" console with more packed in because they aren't trying to compete with ultra low cost subsidised stuff like XSS. This is less likely to happen because they will still want the install base for support but they're less likely to get ridiculed in comparisons if they sold a feature packed console at a higher price compared to a barebones one.
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StueyDuck
Member
Could be either, valve would make the most sense and have the best shot if they were clever about it. but honestly I see it being a Chinese company.
Tencent or Netease or bytedance. One of those mega Chinese companies taking over the world.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
To be fair, Nintendo hardware IS incredibly overpriced (in terms of what you actually get for your money - those profit margins must be pretty huge), and their games never drop in price.
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bitbydeath
Member
PS1 and 2 were without competition. It was with competition where they became more expensive. That said, if it means pushing tech advancements I don’t mind the extra cost.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
No they weren't lol. They both had two serious competitors. Competitors that comparatively failed, but only because Sony hit it out of the park with their offerings.
bitbydeath
Member
I mean without Xbox as competitors.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Huh? PS2 had Xbox as maybe its most direct competitor.
Mister Wolf
Member
RoadHazard
Gold Member
I own everything.
A USED PS5 for over $800? Holy hell...
Mister Wolf
Member
You gotta pay to get what you want. I'm expecting to pay for a Super Switch.
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yurinka
Member
I think Sony will continue with the same strategy they have now and that they had in the works for many years: to continue focusing on consoles and on increasing their exclusives lineup having more than ever before. Plus as secondary goals and focus, to also grow in GaaS, VR, game subs, cloud gaming, GaaS, PC,, movie/tv show adaptations and soon mobile. In addition to continue growing in the typical console countries, they'd continue pushing to grow in the biggest & fastest growing gaming markets (China, India, Korea, LATAM, etc).
Maddoxswe
Member
Holy smoke @ that price.
I own everything.
GHG
Gold Member
Looking at current trends and sales for consoles globally, is there genuinely room for another console if Xbox were to exit? The market can't sustain all of Sony, Nintendo and Xbox consoles as it is.
Because that's what these companies would be asking themselves. How much addressable market is there and what problem are they attempting to solve?
Unless someone can innovate and come up with something unique (thereby offering a solution to a "problem" we didn't even know existed) then I'm not sure the market will be receptive to anyone else making an entry. I would like to see someone come up with something fresh and interesting though and I think most people would welcome it.
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Mister Wolf
Member
Tencent is bold enough to try.
bitbydeath
Member
Xbox wasn’t a thing when PS2 was announced/built/priced.
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DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I legit think someone will step in, be it apple, Google or Amazon if MS bows out but even without that...this is what happens if you are rhe market leader. Like sony will be.. it is exactly what nvidia does.
It's simple maths really, all that matters to these companies is profitable and growth. So you have wiggle room to find a base and if brand loyalty is high enough you can pull an apple.
You create a stack of products offering multiple buy in options.
Playstation lite
Playstation
Playstation pro
Similar to what MS attempted with series s, but they don't or didn't have the brand loyalty and power sony has.
You then "offer" an option for most buying groups. If sales stagnate somewhat, which I don't think they will you increase the price of software to balance out the loss of sales. Or move games to pc day one, or within 6 months. There's no future where sony bins off their PC initiative.
So yeah, it will be like cigarettes. Less buyers, hike the price up to make the same profits and revenue. But I don't think they will lose too many fans to pc but the problem for aony is the new generations of buyers, not the man babies we all are arguing over plastic at 40 years old who are invested in an eco system. They need to win those who are currently buying pcs.
So I'm sure it will all play out OK.
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RoadHazard
Gold Member
The "DirectX Box" was talked about long before it actually released. Pretty sure Sony knew it was coming.
Either way, it was then a direct competitor to the PS2.
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Crayon
Member
Nintendo makes a great effort to make those switches worth $299. They can't just put out shit, because they do in fact have competition. Just because they aren't trying to be playstation doesn't mean they aren't competing for users and dollars.
bitbydeath
Member
There’s about a 2 year gap between them getting announced, their wouldn’t have been anything to know.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Sony was very much in a battle with Nintendo then and nintendo were attempting to be direct competition with Sega and sony. It was a completely different landscape back then.
Sony were still massively hungry for market share. It was their second outing and they were after blood.
bitbydeath
Member
Back to status quo.
Lucifers Beard
Member
How many threads do we need about this potential Xbox move before any official announcements have been made? Don't bother telling me the number, I can see by looking at the front page.
I think the point is that they dominated with PS1 and PS2 but still launched at $299, even when sales of competitors collapsed thereby essentially having no real competitors to the PS2 they still price reduced it to $99. Contrast that with how fierce competition was with 360 yet they launched at a higher price even if heavily subsidised, cost cut by reducing components to compete and make up for less than expected software sales that they lost to xbox 360. They couldn't rely on software sales to drive that subsidy and ultimately the cost reduction didn't work as well.
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There is only so much they can charge before it begins to cost them customers who would otherwise be spending a lot of money on games and services. So a price hike? Yeah, probably. 3DO levels of craziness? I don't see it happening.
As for the question of Nintendo being direct competition - they are not. The way western developed games make money these days doesn't align with the products they put out. It isn't some weird accident that Activision sold for four billion dollars more than Nintendo's (historically high) market cap.
As for the question of Nintendo being direct competition - they are not. The way western developed games make money these days doesn't align with the products they put out. It isn't some weird accident that Activision sold for four billion dollars more than Nintendo's (historically high) market cap.
Zheph
Member
Just like Nintendo or Steam facing insane competition, eh?
you sad little console warring people don't think about it when your favourite manufacturer is going down and you are all mad
the competition for entertainement especially video games is actually very intense
Sakura
Member
I really don't understand these takes.
Even if we pretend that Sony's only competitor was Xbox, what exactly has this competition given us? There is less innovation than in the past. There are less exclusives than in the past. The leaps in performance between generations have been getting smaller, as the companies are no longer interested in selling consoles at losses. Ultimately we just ended up having two very similar products that share 99% the same library of games with the same feature set. Xbox is charging people to pay to play online? Great idea, we should do that do!
People are acting like Sony and Microsoft have been fighting tooth and nail to give consumers the best product possible, when that really hasn't been the case.
Even if we pretend that Sony's only competitor was Xbox, what exactly has this competition given us? There is less innovation than in the past. There are less exclusives than in the past. The leaps in performance between generations have been getting smaller, as the companies are no longer interested in selling consoles at losses. Ultimately we just ended up having two very similar products that share 99% the same library of games with the same feature set. Xbox is charging people to pay to play online? Great idea, we should do that do!
People are acting like Sony and Microsoft have been fighting tooth and nail to give consumers the best product possible, when that really hasn't been the case.
MonkeyClaw36
Banned
You can't become what you still are - Chinese proverb
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
We're jumping the gun here.
How do we know the Xbox will be obsolete? Nothing has been confirmed officially yet. Even when it does, it's probably just a few games going to Nintendo/Sony platforms. Nothing to stress about.
Mister Wolf
Member
It's crazy how much they were charging for those 3DOs back in the day. I forgot all about that.
Mister Wolf
Member
Mercenary09
Member
A lot of people jumping the gun. I don't think Microsoft is going anywhere. My guess is they'll announce certain games will go to PlayStation later. They are still going to have exclusives and keep making hardware.
Mister Wolf
Member
I was specifically referring to their price gouging due to the absence of competition.
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Excellent point. All this "competition" has gotten us two $499.99 consoles, with no price drops before the recent XSX fire sale before the holidays. Games and accessories are more expensive. Subscription services top out at roughly $360 combined annually for the best tiers. More and more games are trying to be the title you spend 100+ hours with and pump more cash into. "Competition" has failed the consumer for quite a while at this point.
Soodanim
Member
I can't tell what you're trying to say - are you saying I'm console warring for Xbox?
Silver Wattle
Gold Member
It might change their PS6 plans, for the worse.
Crayon
Member
I predict multiple pro steps to stretch out true generations. That would get a lot of complaints. Idk how I'd feel about it. I'd rather not be waiting that long for a true new generation to come out. The only reason besides declining sales to jump a gen would be some breakthrough technology that they have to incorporate. So, less exciting hype cycles, I guess. We'll live.
And hopefully they can do more interesting things with hardware that will be used more by developers. I wouldn't mind having a ps5 pro 2 instead of ps6 if they can still introduce new controllers and vr headsets and things like that.
Things are going to change but I'm really not seeing these skyrocketing prices in the mix. All of these displaced xbox users are not automatically going to playstation. They can go to nintendo, pc, or develop a hard drug addiction.
And hopefully they can do more interesting things with hardware that will be used more by developers. I wouldn't mind having a ps5 pro 2 instead of ps6 if they can still introduce new controllers and vr headsets and things like that.
Things are going to change but I'm really not seeing these skyrocketing prices in the mix. All of these displaced xbox users are not automatically going to playstation. They can go to nintendo, pc, or develop a hard drug addiction.
kungfuian
Member
All great points. Of course it's way too early to see how the whole thing shakes out, but like you said strong chance we see another large competitor come in if Microsoft exits.
Obviously the fear would be Sony all alone in that space and the Disneylandification of our favorite hobby; even more than it already is. If a scenario like this played out, and hypothetically Sony position PlayStation as a premium only brand like Apple, then I'll just give my money to Gaben and crew. I love PlayStation as much as the next guy, they have some of the best game development studios in the world, but at some dollar amount I'd just skip them and go all in on PC.
I know it's not a luxury everyone enjoys, but once you have a taste of high end PC gaming the console proposition only remains viable if it's reasonably priced. If not I'll just spend my money on my rig and play where I get the very best graphics, a library that always follows me and gets better looking every time I upgrade, where I can mod to my hearts content, play the very best of VR, etc. etc.
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The_Observer
Member
They absolutely will. They are already doing that since the PS4 dreamteam is gone. Now they will have nothing to slow them down
MonkeyClaw36
Banned
And Dreamcast.