As we discussed in previous articles there has been a wave of backlash from the gaming community. We have three consoles on the market and the only one that has shown to sell in great numbers can be found collecting dust underneath a television or still in its original box. The others are either broken half the time or are still on the store shelves.
What has moved me to write this post is the foreboding nature of the present financial circumstances of Sony's latest console .....................the PS3.
Since its creation Sony has bet the farm on this huge black box. Just like its predecessor it doubles as another media device. A fancy Blue-Ray player. Now this is all fine and dandy in theory but who do you know that has a Blue-Ray player? And if they do own one, How many Blue-Ray movies do they own? I would think not many if any at all.
So where are we now? Well since a year and a half ago Sony has officially lost over 2 billion dollars on their new device. This a huge financial blow to this once technological giant. Every quarter that goes by Sony loses more that a hundred million dollars on their creation. Now that is just the profits, dear friends. Sony has had to let go over 20-30 percent of their workforce just in their gaming department. I ask. How long can they last? And that’s what brings me to this poorly written article that was posted earlier today in the Sega of America forums. An ironic place to have a conversation about bankruptcy and financial problems.
What has moved me to write this post is the foreboding nature of the present financial circumstances of Sony's latest console .....................the PS3.
Since its creation Sony has bet the farm on this huge black box. Just like its predecessor it doubles as another media device. A fancy Blue-Ray player. Now this is all fine and dandy in theory but who do you know that has a Blue-Ray player? And if they do own one, How many Blue-Ray movies do they own? I would think not many if any at all.
So where are we now? Well since a year and a half ago Sony has officially lost over 2 billion dollars on their new device. This a huge financial blow to this once technological giant. Every quarter that goes by Sony loses more that a hundred million dollars on their creation. Now that is just the profits, dear friends. Sony has had to let go over 20-30 percent of their workforce just in their gaming department. I ask. How long can they last? And that’s what brings me to this poorly written article that was posted earlier today in the Sega of America forums. An ironic place to have a conversation about bankruptcy and financial problems.
"Sony May Quit Gaming Market Claims GIN "
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/M5B6J5L3?page=1
Immediately after reading it I made the comparison, the PS3 is the new Sega Saturn. It all came together so clearly now. The two systems are literally identical in terms of financial short comings. The sales for both are quite depressing and the system is not only hard to develop for but overpriced.
Now if you think that I'm being to harsh on the PS3 and Wii and not to the XBOX360 I must say that Microsofts console does fair much better. Yes, some gamers prefer the XBOX360 to the Wii and PS3 but I can tell you right now that consumer confidence in the XBOX brand has almost been chiseled to nothing. Microsoft is going to have an extremely tough time making sales whenever the new XBOX console comes out. People are not happy that their expensive new age gaming console can be turned into a hunk of useless plastic and circuits just because the temperature in the room goes up 2 degrees.
So is Sony out of the race? You would think me being a die hard Sega Fan I would scoff at this news but in all honesty I feel somewhat upset. I don't want Sony to go out like this. I feel that they did so well with the PS2. Yes, their games weren't as colorful, entertaining, or creative as some Dreamcast games but I still think it’s a good system none the less. I still have my second PS2 (first one broke) and I'm quite pleased with the variety of games I still have for it.
So is Sony out of the race? You would think me being a die hard Sega Fan I would scoff at this news but in all honesty I feel somewhat upset. I don't want Sony to go out like this. I feel that they did so well with the PS2. Yes, their games weren't as colorful, entertaining, or creative as some Dreamcast games but I still think it’s a good system none the less. I still have my second PS2 (first one broke) and I'm quite pleased with the variety of games I still have for it.
Now at the end of the article the writer muses that Sony may end up like Sega. A publisher of software after calling it quits in the hardware arena. Its completely understandable why Sega went down for the count. The trail of mismanagement was blatant and obvious. The 32X, Nomad, Sega Saturn. The Sega train ran out of coal right after the second year of the Dreamcast. Sony doesn't seem to have a beaten trail of folly like Sega had, what they had was bad luck. It was a gamble to them and they came up short. They bet it all on red and the roulette wheel turned up black. From an Electronics company that wiped the floor with the veteran video game corporations like Nintendo and Sega to a ravaged hulk a drift on the oceans of debt and misery.
I can't imagine what can come next but we all know that there is no Hope & Change in this economy. People don't have the time nor the money to invest on a new console and a $60 dollar game every pay check. People are saving, their using their money to pay off bills, pay off debt, medical costs, food, electric, oil, gas. The farthest thing from the peoples mind right now is to buy a giant black block to put it in their living room to collect dust because they can't afford the software.
Now who is to blame? The people?
No.
The Sony Employees?
No.
The Sony executives, CEO, and Board Members?
I guess. If blame needed to be hung around the neck of anyone it must be them. They are the decision makers. They are the signers of contracts and the designers of products.
Will they lost their jobs?
Probably not. They don't care if the company burns to the ground. They signed their contract. Its the little people that work for them that will suffer.
This is a lesson that everyone should take heed. The detach of upper management from the ground levels and consumer wants causes needless havoc. Not researching how much the average person is willing to buy and allowing Olympian like corporate elites to decide the life and death of an company only ends in disaster.
Note to all hardware manufacturers. Listen to your fans and ask them what they want.....and for what price they are willing to spend.
I can't imagine what can come next but we all know that there is no Hope & Change in this economy. People don't have the time nor the money to invest on a new console and a $60 dollar game every pay check. People are saving, their using their money to pay off bills, pay off debt, medical costs, food, electric, oil, gas. The farthest thing from the peoples mind right now is to buy a giant black block to put it in their living room to collect dust because they can't afford the software.
Now who is to blame? The people?
No.
The Sony Employees?
No.
The Sony executives, CEO, and Board Members?
I guess. If blame needed to be hung around the neck of anyone it must be them. They are the decision makers. They are the signers of contracts and the designers of products.
Will they lost their jobs?
Probably not. They don't care if the company burns to the ground. They signed their contract. Its the little people that work for them that will suffer.
This is a lesson that everyone should take heed. The detach of upper management from the ground levels and consumer wants causes needless havoc. Not researching how much the average person is willing to buy and allowing Olympian like corporate elites to decide the life and death of an company only ends in disaster.
Note to all hardware manufacturers. Listen to your fans and ask them what they want.....and for what price they are willing to spend.
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