Sony Says Profits More Important than Beating Microsoft

[Logan Westbrook]

Sony Says Profits More Important than Beating Microsoft

It would be great if the PS3 took the lead from the Xbox 360, says Sony, but it's not a priority this year.

Despite the Xbox 360 having a year's head start, the PS3 has gained a lot of ground on it and now only a few million units separate them. This fact is apparently a secondary concern for Sony, however, as the company says that making money is more important than edging ahead of its main competition.

PlayStation software brand manager Scott McCarthy said that profitability was Sony's goal for the PS3 this year. He said that the company had an aggressive plan to achieve that goal, helped by a strong lineup of exclusives that included the likes of LittleBigPlanet 2 [http://www.amazon.com/LittleBigPlanet-2-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0K780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298379262&sr=8-1], Uncharted 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Uncharted-3-Drakes-Deception-Playstation/dp/B004EQCCI4/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379288&sr=1-1] and the new Twisted Metal [http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Metal-Playstation-3/dp/B003O6KWZK/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379309&sr=1-1]. McCarthy said that Sony obviously paid attention to what Microsoft was doing, but that while taking the lead from the Xbox 360 would be a bonus, the plan wasn't a failure if it didn't happen.

It's not really surprising that Sony would prioritize its own profits over getting the bigger install base. Sony is, after all, a company, and making money is kind of the point. Selling a lot of new consoles is obviously good news for Sony, but making money on the units its already sold is even better. Besides, with so many PS3 exclusives coming out this year - McCarthy also mentions Infamous 2 [http://www.amazon.com/inFAMOUS-2-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0GX88/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379331&sr=1-1], Resistance 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Resistance-3-Playstation/dp/B003O6E67A/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379364&sr=1-1], SOCOM [http://www.amazon.com/SOCOM-4-U-S-Seals-Playstation-3/dp/B002ELCV00/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379385&sr=1-1], and the recently released Killzone 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Killzone-3-Playstation/dp/B002I0K6DG/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1298379411&sr=1-1] - the impact of the Xbox 360's install base on Sony's profitability will be diminished anyway.

Source: Industry Gamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/sony-profitability-more-important-than-passing-xbox-360/]








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[Calcium]

There does seem to be a lot of good exclusives this year for Sony. Although a few million units seperate them, I'm unconvinced new games will result in Sony overtaking on the console side though. Move and Kinect seemed to be the drivers of console sales late last year, and I havn't heard the PS3 Move got anywhere near the success from Kinect.

 

[Zenode]

Wouldnt they WANT to sell more PS3's or do they still make a loss on every console sold?

They have a "10 year life cycle (or was it 5?)" for the PS3 so i guess pumping out as many PS3's as quickly might be a bad thing as people will get bored of it as newer technology (Xbox720?, Wii 2?)comes out, so having them pump out slowly over a large period of time makes a certain amount of sense, and using the exclusives to make money of whats already been sold makes even more sense.

Seems like Sony knows what its talking about

 

[Little Duck]

It's stuff like this which is why I think the people who run play station don't have souls. They're not passionate about the industry they're in. They just seem to want to turn profit.

 

[JEBWrench]

It would be great if the PS3 took the lead from the Xbox 360, says Sony, but it's not a priority this year.

"Lead" is such a strange, strange word for second place. Fourth if you count handhelds into the mix.

 

[Moriarty70]

Wasn't it supposed to be "Year of the Playstation"? Or was that last year? Or maybe the year before? Either way, I give them credit for focusing on the thing a business should be focusing on.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

It would be great if the PS3 took the lead from the Xbox 360, says Sony, but it's not a priority this year.

"Lead" is such a strange, strange word for second place. Fourth if you count handhelds into the mix.

That assumes, however, that all those devices are in the same market, which they're not.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

It's stuff like this which is why I think the people who run play station don't have souls. They're not passionate about the industry they're in. They just seem to want to turn profit.

Do you really think anyone else in the industry is?

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Wouldnt they WANT to sell more PS3's or do they still make a loss on every console sold?

They have a "10 year life cycle (or was it 5?)" for the PS3 so i guess pumping out as many PS3's as quickly might be a bad thing as people will get bored of it as newer technology (Xbox720?, Wii 2?)comes out, so having them pump out slowly over a large period of time makes a certain amount of sense, and using the exclusives to make money of whats already been sold makes even more sense.

Seems like Sony knows what its talking about

SONY is a company, the main goal of a company is creating a profit margain and having a competitive advantage. You don't NEED to outrun your competitor with millions of unit to have a competitive advantage. The exclusives do that for them, and the free to play PSN. So they don't care if they run the 360 nto the ground, long as they make money at the end of the year and don't have a net negative

 

[Jumplion]

Well, if they concentrate on profits, that entails beating Microsoft. If they beat Microsoft, that entails more profits.

So, yeah, win-win for them anyway.

 

[Saltyk]

I often wonder how many of those consoles purchased are people repurchasing for broken consoles, or replacing their old one with a new model. Does anyone know? I'm talking about all three, not just Playstations, by the way.

It's a wise decision to focus more on being profitable and proving your brand, than trying to overtake other competitors. If Sony keeps releasing top quality games, I'm sure they will get both in time.

It's stuff like this which is why I think the people who run play station don't have souls. They're not passionate about the industry they're in. They just seem to want to turn profit.

I hate this kind of comment. Do you work solely because you love your job? Do you think other people do? If Sony is not making a profit, there is no reason for them to continue making games. Not only because they aren't making a profit, but can't afford to make more. This is why Sega stopped making consoles. There was no profit in it. The head of Sony, or the head of the gaming division, may not be passionate about games, but as long as the people that develop the games are, what does it matter?

For that matter, what in this article gives you the impression that Sony is not passionate about games?

Actually, the more I think about your comment, the more I realize it makes no sense. I'm sorry, but the truth hurts.

 

[The Lost Big Boss]

Has any one considered that the install base for the Xbox is smaller than said? I would love to see the numbers of Xbox vs PS3 if we include RRoD and the less prominent YLoD,. IE. multiple consoles sales to a single user.

 

[Harklen]

I still think Sony is sitting on a HD remake of Final Fantasy VII just waiting to unleash it and roll in all the money on the planet....but probably not.

 

[Calcium]

There does seem to be a lot of good exclusives this year for Sony. Although a few million units seperate them, I'm unconvinced new games will result in Sony overtaking on the console side though. Move and Kinect seemed to be the drivers of console sales late last year, and I havn't heard the PS3 Move got anywhere near the success from Kinect.

That's because MS spent half a billion telling everyone and their mothers that Kinect rules, and giving them away. And Sony simply launched theirs with a few commercials. From my experience however, Move's pretty fun and is definitely usable for FPS'...better than a controller imo. Though, controllers are just plain lame when it comes to FPS'.

Huh? Giving them away? Not from the prices I've noticed.

I've seen just as many advertisements for Move as for Kinect - both deciding to show the people playing the games rather than what's being played. Everyone I know myself included are cynical over these motion controls though. None of us have invested in Kinect and won't be willing to unless there's something more substantial than party games.

Seeing as a vice president in Sony only announced developers were "starting to really get to grips with the console, and are figuring out how to get the best performance out of it." October last year, we'd better hope it takes developers slightly faster to master the motion controls - for both consoles.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

It's stuff like this which is why I think the people who run play station don't have souls. They're not passionate about the industry they're in. They just seem to want to turn profit.

Do you really think anyone else in the industry is?

Depends, we talking game developers or console ones? Because I can guaran-damn-tee you that Bellevue, Washington contains two developers who are in it for the game making and not the money.

Console makers. The big three. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. He said the guys who run playstation are only in it for the money and I replied by asking whether he honestly thought that anyone else was in it for something more than that. I am well aware that a lot of developers are passionate about the games they make.