Sounds of caution for Sony and PS3
Business Week has an article up looking at whether the PlayStation 3's many different features will confuse and put off buyers. I think the article is making a lot of fuss about nothing; while there are rumors of DVR functionality and more, this story pretty much seems to be talking only about the Blu-Ray DVD capabilities. The two examples given of where Sony has gone wrong by going down the multifunction road are the PSX -- a game system that had a 250 GB hard drive and a web browser -- and the PSP, which has sold far more UMD movies than expected and far fewer games.
But the problem with the PSX and PSP isn't too many options. It's that the PSX cost $800, and the PSP has crappy games. The PS3, on the other hand, will likely cost about $400, and it will have a launch lineup at least as semi-decent as the Xbox 360's. Blu-Ray will be nice; DVR and whatever else end up being offered will be nice. Neither will have a major effect on whether the PS3 catches on.
Even if the PS3 is a wild success, though, Sony could still be in trouble. This post at eHomeUpgrade looks into the real challenges facing Sony as it launches its new console. (Hat tip: Blue's News.) The added functionality probably won't confuse consumers, but it definitely will hit Sony hard on the bottom line. For example, the post points out that unless the Blu-Ray player is a lot faster than a first-gen player normally would be, we might see some unacceptable load times; a faster player means higher costs for Sony. Plus you have all the costs associated with starting an Xbox Live-like service, and it starts to look like Sony's digging itself a pretty deep hole.
If Sony doesn't botch the launch like Microsoft did with the Xbox 360, I don't think all of this will be a huge problem. But this article is a reminder that Sony's margin for error is small, and with each new announcement shrinks even further.
But the problem with the PSX and PSP isn't too many options. It's that the PSX cost $800, and the PSP has crappy games. The PS3, on the other hand, will likely cost about $400, and it will have a launch lineup at least as semi-decent as the Xbox 360's. Blu-Ray will be nice; DVR and whatever else end up being offered will be nice. Neither will have a major effect on whether the PS3 catches on.
Even if the PS3 is a wild success, though, Sony could still be in trouble. This post at eHomeUpgrade looks into the real challenges facing Sony as it launches its new console. (Hat tip: Blue's News.) The added functionality probably won't confuse consumers, but it definitely will hit Sony hard on the bottom line. For example, the post points out that unless the Blu-Ray player is a lot faster than a first-gen player normally would be, we might see some unacceptable load times; a faster player means higher costs for Sony. Plus you have all the costs associated with starting an Xbox Live-like service, and it starts to look like Sony's digging itself a pretty deep hole.
If Sony doesn't botch the launch like Microsoft did with the Xbox 360, I don't think all of this will be a huge problem. But this article is a reminder that Sony's margin for error is small, and with each new announcement shrinks even further.
1 Comments:
At 19:58, Jeremy said…
Your old roommate finally joined the video game age when his girlfriend bought him a PS2. The old 8-bit Nintendo hasn't been retired though, still at the 'rents. I wonder if Larry Walker will still kick ass on All Star Baseball 2006.
It was a difficult call between PS2 and XBox, but I went with the PS2 based upon other advice. Had I known that I had somebody with incredible video game reviewing skillz to advise me, I wouldn't have made the decision so rashly!
Come visit Baltimore. I'll bring you some posies.
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