Sony: Wii U Launch Lead Isn't Important

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

You remember how Sony and Microsoft let Nintendo go first with motion controls? Yeah...

In the case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, Sony is unknowingly aiming a gun at its own foot.

 

[Davroth]

They are in financial trouble with the other sectors of Sony then the gaming division as a whole.

So you are saying the company as a whole making tremendous losses for several years in a row wont have any impact on Sony's gaming division?

The gaming division of Sony is really the only profitable sector they currently own. Will it bleed over to the gaming division? I will say its a possibility and I don't see it yet happening in the foreseeable future.

If Sony wants to cut the loses they need to rethink the strategy on the marketing side and cut off some of the Sony products that don't sell very well. Also, Wouldn't hurt if they dropped the price of the Sony TVS.

But if you want to sell systems at a loss to establish a consumer base, you need a lot of money. I'm not so sure the gaming division of Sony can pony up that money all by themselves. (If it was MS, they could do pretty crazy stuff with their Windows money for sure)

But that's really besides the point. We pretty much already know the range of hardware that's going to be in the next Sony console, and it's not lightyears ahead of the hardware of the Wii U.

 

[AgentCooper]

They are in financial trouble with the other sectors of Sony then the gaming division as a whole.

So you are saying the company as a whole making tremendous losses for several years in a row wont have any impact on Sony's gaming division?

The gaming division of Sony is really the only profitable sector they currently own. Will it bleed over to the gaming division? I will say its a possibility and I don't see it yet happening in the foreseeable future.

If Sony wants to cut the loses they need to rethink the strategy on the marketing side and cut off some of the Sony products that don't sell very well. Also, Wouldn't hurt if they dropped the price of the Sony TVS.

But if you want to sell systems at a loss to establish a consumer base, you need a lot of money. I'm not so sure the gaming division of Sony can pony up that money all by themselves. (If it was MS, they could do pretty crazy stuff with their Windows money for sure)

But that's really besides the point. We pretty much already know the range of hardware that's going to be in the next Sony console, and it's not lightyears ahead of the hardware of the Wii U.

The PS3 is finally profitable for Sony and I expect a price cut later this year. It all depends on what kind of profit Sony is seeing in the gaming division and how much they are willing to spend. I don't expect the next Xbox or PS3 to be MAJOR powerhouses to any degree.

 

[Yopaz]

I have to admit that Nintendo's early release is very similar to the story about DreamCast. I have to hand it to Sony that for once they are making a good point, but their plan of keeping PS3 for another 4 years (I haven't heard their newest updates on when they plan to release PS4) will leave them a massive step behind. If they go through with that plan they might manage to crush the market when they finally decide to join Microsoft and Nintendo, but as it is now it's anyone's guess. Sony has been able to do just fine sticking with outdated systems. There are still a few games coming out for the PS2 meaning that market still isn't abandoned. True, the number of games dwindle each year (I think there were 3 games scheduled for 2012 combined), but they're still releasing them. Sony has had some struggled making the PS3 a success, but Sony's in it for the long run.

 

[Dryk]

The WiiU isn't even that innovative. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's gimmicky, not innovative, just like the 3DS.

The difference between a gimmick and an innovation is how it's implemented, and how many people use it. If there's enough GOOD third-party games that actually use it for something then it should be considered a success. Only time will tell.

Which is why I really don't think that developers are ready for a new generation just yet.

The ones trying to make advancement in AI and world-building are, but that's because they do actually need the extra power to make the game they want beyond flash.

 

[Beautiful End]

The WiiU isn't even that innovative. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's gimmicky, not innovative, just like the 3DS.

The difference between a gimmick and an innovation is how it's implemented, and how many people use it. If there's enough GOOD third-party games that actually use it for something then it should be considered a success. Only time will tell.

Indeed, time will tell. I'm just disappointed by Nintendo. it seems they had a good idea with the Wii, the whole motion controllers. Even Sony and Microsoft copied them! But this is like a step backwards; as if they're trying to fit in what with the tablet/controller hybrid and adding better third party games to their library.

Anyway, it is too early judge, I'll agree. But right now, the WiiU looks like a Wii and a DS combined. To me. And that's not appealing at all. I can already do that, play with both. So...yeah.

 

[BBboy20]

No but making sure your console ain't priced at 600 dollars and not leaving your portable version in the dust is.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Haha, that guy is so wrong. Well he's right that the Wii U may not be "the best"...in fact it almost certainly won't be. But it will be the most successful. By a long way. Sony and Microsoft are gonna be on the back foot for the entire lifespan of the next gen. Nintendo will have the largest market share, the biggest head start, the biggest games library, lowest price, most powerful console at its time of launch and backward compatibility.

 

[Vrach]

What I hate about it is that now that Nintendo has this stupid new console out, Sony and Microsoft just HAVE to present the next gen. console by next year. So we're talking about another year and a half of life for our PS3s and 360s, more or less. I'm just not ready to trade in my consoles.

The WiiU isn't even that innovative. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's gimmicky, not innovative, just like the 3DS.

I get you mate, hell, I'm only set to get a PS3 in a month and will get less out of it than most people, but there is nothing bad about it. We need the next gen, the PS3 has had a long, LONG run and same for the 360. It's time to move on, get some better hardware and open up a ton of possibilities for... well every platform, even the PC will benefit from it.

It's not just the graphics either (but yes, it's also time for stuff like CryEngine to become a reality and not just a ton of pretty videos). We're getting to that point where they're slowly reaching their peak and we can do more than that. More and more games are becoming more CPU reliant than graphically demanding. We need more processing power for stuff like better AI, livelier worlds and so on.

OT: I just hope one thing and that's that the new generation consoles will not try to incorporate a control system to support the currently standard MMOs. They need to start dying out and we need to move away from the hotkey system and onto better combat systems and the consoles could have a large role in that as they expand the possible market. The shooters are one thing, but a real (real, not the current piss-poor excuses for it) action combat MMO could easily be a cross-platform thing and I think the companies would see the large potential market from it (DCUO has tried it already and it's not bad... but we need to do better).

 

[Suave Charlie]

The ones trying to make advancement in AI and world-building are, but that's because they do actually need the extra power to make the game they want beyond flash.

Personally I want the more advanced AI and worlds, but above all I want a bitchin' draw distance.

 

[Torrasque]

What I hate about it is that now that Nintendo has this stupid new console out, Sony and Microsoft just HAVE to present the next gen. console by next year. So we're talking about another year and a half of life for our PS3s and 360s, more or less. I'm just not ready to trade in my consoles.

The WiiU isn't even that innovative. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's gimmicky, not innovative, just like the 3DS.

While I hate the word "gimmicky" attributed to video games, I'll let it slide this time because I just want to address your complaint about Sony and Microsoft coming out with new consoles.

I saw somewhere that Microsoft is planning on keeping the 360 running until at least 2015 and just keep updating it with little quirks here and there. Sony will probably do what they always do and wait a year or two so they can copy from Nintendo (like they always do) and say "oh hey, check out our totally original idea for a console, and look at how much better it is than Nintendo's console"

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Hey, does that WiiU remind anyone else of the Sega Game Gear? That big, clunky turd that hardly anyone ever bought because it was too bulky to casually haul around, and used six batteries which got drained so fast you could hear it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Game_Gear

 

[satsugaikaze]

I think the 3 competitors need to stop trying to play to their competitors' strengths, and refine the core things that draw their consumer bases to their consoles.

You know, just saiyan'.

Also, by the end of the cycle the hardware itself will probably be only part of the legacy we will be judging in our memories. The software, the games, the things that defined the use of all that ingenious hardware, will be just as important as whatever new features this next generation of consoles will have to offer.

The Wii (and the DS) proved that quantity did not equal quality. For every single good game that came out for the Wii, there was a legion of bargain-bin-quality titles behind it. Not to say the same wasn't true for the other consoles, but by just looking at a numbers-crunching site like Metacritic will generally show how Nintendo's products had a public image of quantity-over-quality.

By the end of this current generation of consoles, we'll probably look at the Xbox 360's one-year head start and go, "well, yeah. Funny how that turned out, huh." It's good to see a developer not entirely worried about the business end of things, and more focused on their own issues.