90°

Sony's steep learning process

Can the firm grasp how much the market has changed - in time to save the floundering Vita?

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gamesindustry.biz
DiRtY4949d ago

The Vita is the very definition of how Sony lost the connection to the market.

It is a complete failure (saleswise). It is selling below Dreamcast sales figures.

majiebeast4948d ago ShowReplies(2)
Catoplepas4948d ago Show
zebramocha4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

@dirty Yeah,one year sells tells us that the vita is a failure,once you finished running your console business you should acquire Sony's game division and better than they can.

@Cato Majie comment was a counter to dirty's,I don't know what your post has to do with majie because his comment wasn't as bad as dirty.

@cato at one point it was but looking at the post number I see that I was wrong my bad.

Catoplepas4948d ago

What are you talking about? I was obviously replying to Dirty.

If I were replying to majie then my post would of been under his.

wastedcells4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

So tired of these articles. They said the same thing about psp, 3DS, ps3 and so on. First year sales on a new console or hand held can be slow sometimes, so what, people buy in when prices drop or their favorite games come out. These stupid articles are just a desperate cry for attention. They will get hits on their site and that's all they are looking for.

InsaneChronos4948d ago

Sales is not a definition of connection to the market. Vita is great portable gaming platform with a growing number of great games. What else do you consumers want?

Anon19744948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

I asked this in another article and perhaps you could comment as you've obviously got it all figured out.

Looking at Nintendo and Sony's figures, since the PS Vita launched worldwide at the end of Feb it moved approx 2 million units to the end of June (bear in mind, these are rough estimates). The $80 cheaper 3DS moved approx 2.5 million in the same time frame and given that no one is complaining about 3DS sales during this period, it's assumed that's an acceptable figure for the $170 3DS.

We know the Vita is doomed and sales are dismal because we're reminded of it multiple times a day. Realistically, it's not going to outsell the 3DS with an $80 price difference, so what would be acceptable figures for the Vita? Where's the line between "doomed" and "hey everyone, it's ok!". If it had sold an extra 100k during that period? 250k during that period? What are we talking here?

Everyone seems to have it made up in their minds that the Vita is a sales disaster (except Sony and industry analysts. Those fools!) but I've never seen anyone say what the Vita should be selling.

I'm not saying the Vita is selling great by any stretch of the imagination though, don't get me wrong. Back in Feb, analysts said it'd be great if the Vita hit 12 million for the fiscal year, but they could only do that with a price cut. Sony revised their forecast to 10 million with no price cut in sight, which really isn't that far off initial analyst predictions that no one seemed to take issue with at the time. I'm just wondering of those who think Vita sales are terrible, what should the Vita be selling? It's a legitimate question.

Blankman854948d ago

Can we haz a source on that 2.5 million for 3DS, cause last I checked 3DS was in the double digits millions already and you do not achieve that by selling only 2.5 million in 4 months.

wastedcells4948d ago

People seem to forget the 3DS came out with really bad sales and they ended up discounting $100. Then had to give the people that paid full pop like 10 free downloadable games or something.

profgerbik4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

This is so wrong you dumb asses said the same shit about the PS3 oddly it has been the most sold console for about two and half years now.

OK... I'll listen to your idiotic prejudgement even though the Dreamcast wasn't even a failure. Everything you know and love today about gaming came from exactly just that the Dreamcast, whether you choose to believe it or not it did, all your Nintendo crap was on the dreamcast first even the crap Microsoft and Sony use all started from the Dreamcast.

So if that has anything to do with your analogy of Sony then I guess they are doing good in my eyes even if they did fail.

I can't stand idiots like you who cannot appreciate that instead all you care about is throwing numbers around like it means shit in todays society.

Sales aren't everything. Only Nintendo people give a shit about sales, I give a shit about good games and Playstation offers and always has offered just that.

Regardless I have never played any other consoles more than Sony's and that says something and I am sure many others can say the same.

I am still rehashing through old Playstation games that truly defined gaming as a whole. Take it how you want it but sales aren't shit especially not in this age of stupidity.

That is like saying 50cent is actually a good musician because he has sold a lot of records. How dumb are people these days? It doesn't mean shit other than the saddening fact there are bunch of morons that exist in this today's world.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4948d ago
Gridloc4948d ago

Vita's first holiday season is close and we'll see what Sony has learned.

telekineticmantis4948d ago

Hardcore gaming suffers, so I'll get a vita first and get a WiiU later, can't really get a WiiU now anyway.

stragomccloud4948d ago

Agreed. Without any of the big 3 gaming suffers though. They all keep each other on their toes.

MrDead4948d ago

Another Sony doom article from JadedXGamer, you would think only unbiased members would be allowed to post on N4G otherwise the site just turns into a s**t slinging contest.

Catoplepas4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

I happen to agree with you, but since there's no empirical measure of "bias" it's impossible to discern the bad eggs from the good.

Besides, bias and hate and the viscous greases used to keep the cogs of N4G turning. Without them this place would be a veritable ghost town.

Depressing ain't it?

MrDead4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

bias and hate have made a once good site into a mess. You have to trawl through endless flamebait articles and opinion pieces to get any real news and the comment section has turned into a playground where kids are running around hating and flicking each other in the balls because they own different systems.

"it's impossible to discern the bad eggs from the good", just look at the comment history.

stragomccloud4948d ago (Edited 4948d ago )

Just thoght it as funny the name matches the feeling I get from this guy: "JadedXGamer."

maniacmayhem4948d ago

Well then we have to ask, "who is truly unbiased on THIS site?"

I would like to to think i am unbiased but even I admit that I lean more toward the 360 side. Does this mean I shouldn't post or submit any news about sony or only post if it's good news?

MrDead4948d ago

I myself lean more towards the PS3 but I don’t hate every other system because of this. Read JadedXGamer's comments and post, if you’re anything like him I wouldn't let you post anything about any system. I think if you've lost all your bubbles because of trolling then you shouldn't be allowed to post.

I think posters should have a balance in their articles and opinions not just be on some vendetta because you don’t like a company, I think members that do just turn this site into a slugging match.

I don’t have any issue with this article just the poster and his lack of balance.

stragomccloud4948d ago

Honestly, I think the Vita is a slow burn. I think it'll be like the PS3, sure it might have a rough time out of the gate, but it's library is going to become something truly unique, and it'll remembered as one of the greats.

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80°

Former Xbox Exec Says Developers Didn't Want a Sony Monopoly

Former Xbox executive Ed Fries comments on the early days of Xbox, the opinion of Japanese game companies, and more.

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insider-gaming.com
9d ago Replies(2)
Reaper22_9d ago

I dont think that'll ever happen. But i must say back in the day, they were definitely trying because they were more cash rich than their competitors.

CosmicTurtle9d ago

I think MS were and still are the richer company. They tried to acquire Sega back in the day (and considered doing so again more recently), they obviously bought exclusivity to Halo which was originally shown as a Mac title. I don’t think as a company MS can claim the moral high ground here. It’s a wilful lack of self awareness.

Of course Sony would try exactly the same if they had the resources, but when the PS2 dominated the industry was in a much healthier place with an abundance of great third parties.

This has been a depressing generation as far as first party decisions are concerned. The fact we are debating business plans rather than which game is better is a sad reflection of the state of things.

Darkseeker9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

There was Nintendo as well, Sony wouldn't have had a monopoly. In fact, the world would be better today if Xbox never existed in the first place. They pretty much brought all bad practices we have today. We might have gotten all of it either way, but not this early. In term of franchises, I don't think there is anything Microsoft released that would actually be missed if it didn't exist. Even Halo the world wouldn't notice if Halo didn't exist.

S2Killinit9d ago

MS was definitely a bad influence on gaming.

raWfodog9d ago

I think almost everyone will agree that a monopoly is not good for the industry. But that being said, the competition needs to be smart and strategic with their business. Simply buying up publishers and traditional third-party studios just to keep them out of the other companies reach is not a sustainable practice. That goes for all parties so don't think I'm just referring to Xbox.

I'm no business guru by any stretch of the imagination but I firmly believe that the best way to drive consumers to your software and hardware is to invest smart in your first-party studios. Give them full support and guidance in making unique, fun games that are only available to play in your ecosystem and the gamers will come.

Reaper22_9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

But first party studios aren't enough. They only make up a small portion of the industry. Without 3rd party there would be no industry for Microsoft or sony.Developing games take time and money and sometimes you gotta make moves to stay competitive.

raWfodog9d ago

Nah, I never said first-party was enough. I said it’s the ‘best way’ to drive gamers to your platform. 3rd-party is a free-for-all and there’s no guarantee that gamers will use your hardware to play the game. If you want to push your own software and/or hardware you need first-party, or at least exclusive deals with third-party studios.

SimpleDad9d ago

They Shure did a great job... 25 years later Xbox is dead.

Reaper22_9d ago

Then why be so emotional and continue to talk about it. Xbox will never die be ause it stays in so many people's head.

lodossrage9d ago

How can you even see him being "emotional" in that comment?

If anything, you're the emotional one, constantly trying to go at anyone that says anything against Microsoft. So when you call him emotional, it comes off as deflection

Elda9d ago

I own an XBSX & I can say it's becoming irrelevant out of the 3 current consoles.

9d ago Replies(2)
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40°

Sony Shows Off 20 Minutes of Crimson Desert on a Base PS5

Sony uploaded gameplay footage of Crimson Desert on a base PS5 running in what appears to be Quality Mode at a stable 30fps at 4K.

Read Full Story >>
powerupgaming.co.uk
BlazedKong35d ago

looks god awful on the base systems

90°

PS5 Sales Pass 92.2 Million Units, Beating Nintendo Switch 2 in the Holiday Quarter

Sony announced its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, alongside the traditional update on PS5 shipments.

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simulationdaily.com
78d ago Replies(5)
italiangamer77d ago

Sony and Nintendo are both thriving and I'm happy, thank goodness for them or otherwise the whole gaming industry would be in shambles if they only had PC to rely on!

dveio77d ago

• Total G&NS revenue: 10.5 billion USD
• Operating profit: 900 million USD
• Hardware sales: 8M units shipped
• Software sales: 97M units
• PSN MAU: 132M

vs. Xbox:

• Total gaming revenue: 5.96 billion USD
• nothing else gets reported

__y2jb77d ago

Xbox operating costs are without a doubt eye wateringly high, way way way higher than Sony. GP is costing them an absolute fortune to operate.

Tapani77d ago

That is a very solid operating profit. It's not net, obviously, but still a very healthy amount of cash you make after cost of debt and taxes (+ other expenses), and can invest into R&D and future endeavours. And give back to your shareholders or buy back shares.

DivineHand12577d ago

It would be in Sony's beat interest to not rush next generation. Let 2029 or 2030 be the start of next generation. There is clearly plenty of demand for the PS5 and gamers are not asking for more at this time.

S2Killinit77d ago

Yup especially with the price of tech going up. They already have the PRO to hold them over.

__y2jb77d ago (Edited 77d ago )

Exactly this. Let Xbox wither on the vine for a couple more years and there will be nothing left.

fr0sty77d ago

I fully agree for 2 reasons:

1. Microsoft seems to be in a hurry to release the new Xbox, if they do at all... AMD speculates a 2027 release. This will hurt them in the long run, because:

2. Datacenters are buying up ALL the RAM, and some RAM manufacturers have stopped making RAM for consumer products entirely, while the other remaining ones are scared to ramp up their production capacity to make more RAM because they're worried this whole AI thing is a bubble that is about to pop, and they don't want to be caught holding the bag when it does pop. So, for now, it costs $300-400 for 32GB of DDR5. That's the MSRP for some entire consoles.

If Microsoft drops the new Xbox now, it's going to cost them a fortune. If Sony holds their cards a moment and lets PS5 cook for a while, as it's showing no signs whatsoever of slowing down in sales, then by the time PS6 is ready to drop, RAM prices should have stabilized, allowing Sony to devote much more of their budget towards making PS6's CPU and GPU more powerful, in addition to the tech itself maturing and the available CPU and GPU parts being much more powerful for the same price point than they would be if released today. So, we'd get a super powerful PS6 in say, 2029, that won't have to cost $700-800. They speculate, based on the current specs, that the new Xbox will cost north of $1,000, and that was before the RAM shortage came into the picture. It's definitely going to be even higher now that RAM costs so much.

MS will be shooting themselves in the foot (again) if they try to drop a new Xbox now, and Sony would be wise to capitalize on that mistake by holding their cards a while longer, raking in more of those PS5 profits, and then dropping a new console as soon as the hardware market stabilizes from this AI datacenter BS.

darthv7277d ago

7 years is a hurry...? Its the same amount of time between XBO and series. The same amount of time between PS3 to PS4 and PS4 to PS5. The 360 was 8 years between it and XBO.

If they do release first, and then Sony a year or two later... is it not possible for prices to come down in that time?

repsahj77d ago (Edited 77d ago )

I think Switch 2 beat PS5 during December 2025 that is why the gap decrease to 1m units. Because during black friday, I know PS5 sales is 2:1 against the Switch 2.

And I just want to add that the PlayStation 5 is currently 1.94 million units BEHIND the PlayStation 4 when you align launches. While Switch 2 is 10M ahead against the Switch 1 when you aligned covering it's first 7 months.

S2Killinit77d ago

I think you are forgetting to mention the chip shortages for PS5.

salis84477d ago (Edited 77d ago )

No one wants the Switch 2 to do badly.

PS5 being less than 2m behind PS4 is not a big deal; PS5 had to deal with COVID and ongoing supply and pricing struggles that clearly still exist today. Sales of software are incredibly strong, and the size of the community is bigger than its ever been.

PS5 is well on pace to exceed its early (2021) estimates of 110m by end of life even if that's 2027. PS5 will hit 100m before November and then sell another 6-8M in November + December.

PS5 is doing great, and so is Switch 2, it's good for everyone that they succeed, pitting the two against each other is more damaging than anything related to the sales of the two consoles individually.

repsahj77d ago

"No one wants the Switch 2 to do badly."

majority on this site tells otherwise.

Dexterio77d ago

@repsahj
Yup because they’ve been the anti consumer they are for so long and needs to be humbled 😆

CrashMania77d ago (Edited 77d ago )

I'd be lying if I said I didn't regret my purchase a bit. I mainly bought it for Mario Kart World, but I find it pales in comparison to 8. I'm annoyed that Nintendo charged money for a super barebones 'upgrade' to Jamboree, no new minigames? No new boards? Just some gimmicky low res camera mode. Oh and Midtroid Prime 4 let me down as well, yet to go back and finish it.

I don't want the Switch 2 to fail, it's contributing to a healthier console market with the death of xbox consoles. I'll get use out of mine long term, but some of Nintendo's decisions like the ones above just annoy me lol.

jznrpg77d ago

@respahj the only thing I want Nintendo to badly is the 80$ games so they lower the price.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 77d ago
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