Sony's Jack Tretton has been talking about just how tough it is to sell an expensive piece of equipment at a time where many people have lost their jobs and are too scared to spend exorbitant amounts of money on a game device. Likening the experience to weathering a storm, Tretton's crossing his fingers and hoping 2008 isn't as bad as 2009.
"It's like being out there in a storm - it does cause you to question your conviction, and tie yourself to the mast and weather the storm," he states. "We have hit a very challenging period of trying to sell future technology, a high-end device, but is on the high-end retail pricing spectrum, at a time when people's disposable income is limited. But I think the fact we were successful in that says people are getting the message, that you get tremendous value when you buy a PlayStation product.
"Yes there are cheaper machines out there, but not ones that deliver the degree of value for the money that ours does."
Value is a subjective thing, of course, and it's quite obvious that gamers are perceiving superior value elsewhere. I'm going to have limited sympathy for a company that ripped out PS2 backwards compatibility, especially since being able to play old PSOne games is where my PS3's current value comes from. Still, I guess if there's one thing you have to admire Sony for, it's the conviction to do whatever it wants, even in the face of a world telling it that it's wrong.
Oh, and the PS3 isn't "future technology," because it already exists, you pretentious little man.
Contest:
11:20 AM on 07.09.2009
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I love it.
Why are we all playing nice?
I don't get it. Is it because Tretton's a time traveller, brought back "FUTURE TECHNOLOGY" for PS3's, Lived through 2009, never used the internet once so never realised how it turned out for PS brand in 2008, realised 2009 sucked and went back to 2008 to see if it would be better?
If so, I think Tretton might be pleasantly surprised with 2008...
The PS3 was obsolete shit when it came out. Thanks alot, technology curve.
Like back in the Sega Vs Nintendodays! Woo! Blast Processing!!
Also, inb4 fanbois.
Am I really the only one that DOES see the value? It's not hard to compare the specs of the PS3 (especially when it first came out) to the specs of the competition. And see that for the money you are getting more than if you were to spend that much money on accessories for the other consoles.
If you don't want all that stuff, then don't buy the PS3. If you DO want all that stuff, you gotta pay for it either way. The question is, do you wanna pay for it in pieces? Or all at once at a slightly lower price?
C'mon people. I'm sick of hearing about how the PS3 is "too expensive" because YOU can't afford it. I don't understand how the price of the PS3 is hurting the games industry. Get over it.
Has the most expensive of a generation ever sold the most significant numbers?
Also, it just dawned on me that Jack Tretton kinda looks like John Bobbitt. You know, the loser that had his dick cut off in the 90s.
i'm so happy i won't have to kill my dog who make it fell in the first place...
if my ps3 died it would have take me month to buy a new one.
Instead, I get to sit here, and enjoy my superiority complex, because, I have a 60g BC model. Hey Jim, you know, in the amount of time it took you to write this article, you could've mowed someone's lawn, and set aside that revenue for a PS3. Instead, you'd rather bitch about it on a website. LoL.
Still, trivial complaints. I <3 my PS3!
Huh? Is he going to go back in time to sell his device?
Before you get on your high horse about Tretton, perhaps you should copy edit your own material.
Because as in all industries, times change and things happen. Your competition today might be your partner 6 months from now or your boss in 3 years. While you are always looking to get the upper hand, one must not be an idiot or prick about it, as things can always change.
I feel lucky that the PS3 I got has PS2 backwards compatibility, but it doesn't work will every game. For some reason I couldn't play Shadow Hearts Covenant.
shouldn't it be "and hoping 2009 isn't as bad as 2008"
30 months? That's 2 and a half years for games I could be playing in half that time, if I went and got a 360.
30 Months for cross game text chat being the next big thing?
30 Months for a machine that does some basic functions at a ridiculously slow rate, for what's touted as "Future Technology"?
You do know Jim has a PS3, right?
30 Months?
Then again, if I didn't have one or couldn't get one, then maybe I'd bitch about the price like everyone else.
To be fair, Tretton started it this time.
Even with general corporate respect being all the rage, even the most factual of ads could do wonders for Sony.
Imagine the Arakune Bee Combo that wold result from Sony putting out an ad, simply stating "Why ARE you paying for Xbox Live anyway?" and showing a two column graph with a smaller PS3 column.
Tv watching consumers would raiee an eyebrow
Bloggers would blog.
Micheal Pachter would form and opinion
Bloggers would blog.
Forumites would rage
Bloggers would blog.
Microsoft would form a low profile response
And Bloggers would blog.
You could make that ad for, like, $100 and send a ridiculous ripple through at least the core gamer collective.
Of course, what do I know about advertising, though.
Just seems like competitive advertising just doesn't exist anymore, even though people really eat that up.
Actually, I used the money earned from writing articles like this to buy my PS3 last year.
LOLZ LOLZ LOLZ.
If was so fucking worth it to.
I forgot to add, 30 months for a console that can't do HD out of the box. That pissed me off so much.
At that time there were some terrible wars between the Sumarian people of Ur and Amorite.
No one tell Tretton, but I don't think that conflict ends until 2004!
If I was a new gamer I'd get a 360. The better firmware plus a bigger community would sway me. But I have a PS3 and I'm very happy with it.
The problem for the PS3 is that if they want sales they're going to have to be a second system for a lot of gamers. The $400 price tag on it's own isn't much, but it is daunting if someone already has a 360. That's really the reason the PS3 has to lower prices for higher sales. As a standalone system, though, it's a pretty good value.
Ironic, coming from you... (Definitely not the "little man" part)
LOLZ LOLZ LOLZ.
I did not realize we had the king of originality in the house. My liege, it's an honor to be in your presence. Now just as soon as you learn what the word "pretentious" means, all will be right in the Kingdom!
People don't seem to understand how pricing works. To the average lay person, regardless of salary, most of the bells and whistles don't freaking matter. What matters is out of three systems that play games, one looks more expensive than the others. Period. End of story. The average person doesn't care about wireless for the most part. The average person doesn't see the value in paying twice as much for the same movie they already own on Blu-Ray. They don't care.
You can whine and ketch however long you want, but value adds don't matter if they come in at a prohibitively higher price. 3D0 was a beautiful piece of technology at the time, but who the fuck cared? MS and Nintendo can nickle and dime because they understand this. Sony could, but they seem dead set on pricing themselves into third place. Why isn't there a stripped down 20 GB unit? Get your foot in the door. Third parties won't care about the PS3 if the user base is lower than that of other systems.
I enjoy my PS3 quite a deal, but stop being functionally retarded in understanding why people are waiting for the price drop. I sell servers for a living and I played the game like Sony did, I'd be out contracts. PSN being free is a step in the right direction, but they can do better. I know they can. They just need to step out of their castle and play the game like an underdog should.
As a game console however, it's not very good. Xboxs are cheaper, have many of the same games (plus DLC depending on which game), and some games run/look better on the 360. Sony needs to stop pushing the game console side so much (clunky XMB, trophies) and start showing off what this beast can actually do multimedia-wise.
Of course you get alot for your money, but again:
Average person sees Call of Duty on 360 and PS3. They look the same. They look at the price tag. One's $100 less. Sold. That's it. All the extra features in the world don't matter if to the consumer it has nothing to do with *playing games*. And they don't. And MS wins, because anything else is *after the fact*. Xbox Live costs $50? You already have the system, so it's easier to get you to take the plunge.
Btw, I bought mine on eBay for $250 in great condition. Good for me, but Sony never got a red cent of it, which is bad for them.
And that's why the average consumer can go die in a fire(ok that's a little strong but you get the point).
Why does our market or anything have to compensate for the thick crowd,the general rule of thumb is if you exceed 50$ you should know what your buying and why and what it does, it baffles me that people still think like that.
If I'm spending over a 20 I want to know who made it,why,what's its weighs, why it exists. You don't need to go as indepth as me, but you should have done some kind of research( and you'd think a recession of all things would have taught people that just impulse buying is a stupid way of going about spending your money).
If you didn't think a ps3 was worth it because the extra value didn't Seem worth it I can understand that, if you chose a 360 over ps3 becaquse it suited your taste better I can understand that, however if you chose
The 360 because it was 200 bucks and didn't bother to look at the facts or what it does or do any kind of research what so ever, go strand yourself on an island infested with land sharks.
This is a recession, there should be a single average consumer on earth and it pains me that there is.
I get what you mean about people seeing the initial cost when they walk into the shop & choosing the cheapest option. On the other hand the PS3 has been selling at pretty much the same pace as the 360 so it isn't failing in any way.
The problem is that it's not selling in America, & it's the American websites that are constantly bitching about the price. Because there's so many of these internet news articles being banded around it's perceived as "world news" when it's really not. The rest of the civilised world (yes it does exist outside of the US) is buying the PS3 & in some places faster than the 360.
Maybe Americans are just tight with their money. Maybe Americans only understand inital price, & not value for money. Maybe I'm just speculating - it's just a thought.
Not to mention it's brighter.
Are you effing kidding?? PSOne games are the only value?! You must be incredibly proud of yourself to post such inflammatory crap on your blog.
Killzone 2
LittleBigPlanet
Ratchet and Clank
Pixeljunk Monsters, Eden
Resistance
Buzz
Disgaea
Flower
Uncharted
MGS
Infamous
Valkyria Chronicles, etc. not to mention all the new ones coming out
In agreement for the most part, but sadly Sony *can't* ignore the average consumer, misguided and ill-informed as they may be. They need to make sure that when people upgrade from a PS2, it's not to a Wii or 360. They flubbed their position of strength, while Microsoft being the underdog, was playing purely to undermine Sony.
@Kaden101
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=Japan&cons2=PS3®2=Japan&cons3=X360®3=Japan&start=39635&end=39999
On the Japanese charts, the PS3 has retained a comfortable lead. But the chart tops out on 160,000 units (per week).
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=Total+Other&cons2=PS3®2=Total+Other&cons3=X360®3=Total+Other&start=39635&end=39999
Going by "Total Other" (sales everywhere else but America and Japan) You see that for the most part, the consoles sell propotionally the same, with the PS3 in 3rd place. The 360 spikes at near 200,000 units near Christmas, which is higher than the Japanese charts even list.
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=America&cons2=PS3®2=America&cons3=X360®3=America&start=39635&end=39999
The American charts are much the same as "Total Other". Sales are proportionally the same. The PS3 isn't catching up, it's just mostly keeping pace. Christmastime, 360 sales top out around 500,000 in one week.
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=X360®3=All&start=39635&end=39999&weekly=1
Cumulative sales show much the same thing. Sales remain proportionally the same for all three systems. The PS3 isn't catching up. It's keeping pace.
Japan matters from a developer perspective, but even then, many developers are changing the way they work in order to reach out to Western audiences. They cannot survive on the Japanese market, because the market in the US is much larger. Hence why many news articles only care about US sales.
The problem for Sony is this translates into sales differentials between titles. Again they've gotten better, but a difference in 1.5 million units (GTA4), 2.2 million units (World at War), or 3.15 million units (CoD4) can be staggering to a developer depending on the development time put in. Whereas differentials in the other direction measure around 100,00 units (SF4) or 200,000 units (RE4). So they assume they'll make less profit on PS3 titles, so they don't try as hard. In turn, the PS3 port is bad, which means the system itself looks bad. Many have started turning it around by developing on the PS3 first, but it's still a problem.