Fortune Magazine: How Nintendo is beating Sony and Microsoft

[John Crichton]

Hmmm... looks like Sega and Ubisoft think the price is a problem. Square has sort of said the same thing.

Yes, but reading it tells us that price is an issue due to software not being up to snuff.

And as a PS3 owner, I firmly believe that it should fail if the system doesn't get any good games. I'll wait and see how it does when there is actually at least one game worth buying the system for.



EDIT: Added the owner part. I am not actually a PS3, although coincidentally I do play Blue-Ray discs...

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Yes, but reading it tells us that price is an issue due to software not being up to snuff.

And as a PS3, I firmly believe that it should fail if the system doesn't get any good games. I'll wait and see how it does when there is actually at least one game worth buying the system for.

Yeah, the price drop will do absolute jack if there are still no games. Sony's back themselves into a corner and the only way out is going to take action on multiple angles at the same time rather than hoping for one magic cure.

 

[Ranger REG]

Define "good game."

Is it the graphics?

Is it playability?

Is it the age range of playability?

 

[John Crichton]

Define "good game."

Is it the graphics?

Is it playability?

Is it the age range of playability?

In this case, a good game is one that sells well and is widely accepted as quality. But we aren't talking about just good games here. We are talking about games so good they'll make you drop hundreds of dollars on the only console they are available on just to play it.

 

[Ranger REG]

In this case, a good game is one that sells well and is widely accepted as quality. But we aren't talking about just good games here. We are talking about games so good they'll make you drop hundreds of dollars on the only console they are available on just to play it.

So a game that is exclusive to one console. I doubt many outside software developers would conform to just one console. Nintendo has to be the one to go ahead because they got known brands that date back to my heydays that are still working for them: Donkey Kong/Super Mario franchise.

Personally, I can recall Sony's iconic brand. You could say Final Fantasy but Sony don't fully owned that franchise, now do they?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

So a game that is exclusive to one console. I doubt many outside software developers would conform to just one console. Nintendo has to be the one to go ahead because they got known brands that date back to my heydays that are still working for them: Donkey Kong/Super Mario franchise.

Personally, I can recall Sony's iconic brand. You could say Final Fantasy but Sony don't fully owned that franchise, now do they?

Well, the PS2 had GTA, Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear really driving sales.

Of course, towards the end of its life, all three of those were branching out towards the other two major consoles. IF they had these kind of franchises still, and were exclusive to their system, it MIGHT justify the high price for many. Of course, it also still might not, but the lack of exclusive games for the PS3 is definitely one major change from the last generation to this one.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

At least MS has XBox Live, which I consider one of the biggest innovations in current console gaming.

I loved it back when it was Battle.net.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25736714

That right there points at what might be hurting the PS3 a great deal, too. It would be interesting if people just not knowing the full capabilities of the PS3 could account for its lack of sales at the price, rather than putting the blame soley on Sony.

Since it's Sony's responsibility to communicate that to the consumer via marketing, how is it not Sony's fault? The people who learn all the technical specs of all the consoles and what's coming out in 18 months and so on -- the console power users -- have already bought the PS3 or whichever console they prefer.

To succeed, a console needs to be successfully marketed to the mainstream. People can diss the Wii all they want, but the ads showing parents and grandparents playing Wii Sports bowling or tennis communicate what the console has to offer and what makes it different -- it's got stuff to offer to people other than guys in their teens and early 20s -- very explicitly. And the market has rewarded them as a result. I can't think of the last console my mom expressed an interest in.

Just as PCs didn't break out until the industry explained why ordinary people needed them -- Quicken, the Internet, etc. -- consoles need to explain why they're a must-have for someone other than unmarried dudes. Sony simply hasn't done that.

And as a PS2 owner, it amuses me how many games are still coming out for it, and how many great games are available for it, compared to the PS3. My wife and I would have upgraded to the PS3 if there was any compelling reason for us to do so, but between the problematic backwards compatibility and no new games of the franchises we're interested in -- not even the latest installment of the horrible things they've done to the Spyro franchise -- they simply didn't bother to upsell us at all.

And that's Sony's fault, and no one else's.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I loved it back when it was Battle.net.

While the concept isn't new, Battle.net was of course only usable for computer games. In this aspect, while MS didn't do anything innovative, per se, they certainly can be credited with the leap in popularity of online console gaming. Even if it was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, the PS2 had GTA, Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear really driving sales.

Of course, towards the end of its life, all three of those were branching out towards the other two major consoles. IF they had these kind of franchises still, and were exclusive to their system, it MIGHT justify the high price for many. Of course, it also still might not, but the lack of exclusive games for the PS3 is definitely one major change from the last generation to this one.

Well, Sony could try to revive/re-envision their EverQuest franchise. Then again, it has probably ran out of steam