PS3 is toast Bank Of America says...

[sladesurfer]

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate...Bamp%3B+design

Dropping the price of the PS3 won’t ease Sony’s woes, says BoA analyst

[xsbb]

"While Sony could cut the price by $150 - $200, we view that as less likely given that it is already losing approximately $200 per console at $599, based on our estimates," Savner said.


Ouch.

[turbox997]

They really shouldn't have released the PS3 until they have exclusive titles ready at launch, otherwise no one has much motivation at all, to buy this thing.

I only bought the PS2 for Tekken Tag Tournament, just like many bought the Wii for Zelda(reguardless of its innovative controller), and people bought Xbox 360 for Halo.

[AAbenson]

i still dont get it why they created a console that costs them $800 to make.
a console was supposed to be much cheaper than a PC in the past now they put all the additional stuff like blueray etc and want to sell it for the price of an average pc

[perkam]

i still dont get it why they created a console that costs them $800 to make.
a console was supposed to be much cheaper than a PC in the past now they put all the additional stuff like blueray etc and want to sell it for the price of an average pc

Because Sony wants the PS3 to last a decade or close to it...and in that time, they'll be amazingly cheap, selling like crazy, and developers will be utilizing its power to its full extent.

I despise the PS3 as much as the next guy, but to underestimate it is a big mistake.

Perkam

[Envydia007]

ouch again, I still aint buyin.

[Stuperman]

I despise the PS3 as much as the next guy, but to underestimate it is a big mistake.

Perkam

Why? did one kill your dog?

on topic: I've always hated when a guy with a financial analyst certificate (BoA analyst) starts talking tech.

[situman]

In 10yrs who's to say MS or even Nintendo won't exceed the PS3? In fact I woulndn't be surprised if Nintendo or MS coming out with a full body motion sensor to make games totally interaction. Imagine actually "running" away from an enemy or squatting or jumping to dodge attacks? The Wii-mote and the nunchuck thing is just the beginning. When all this happens in a few years, where would the PS3 be?

[situman]

Why? did one kill your dog?

on topic: I've always hated when a guy with a financial analyst certificate (BoA analyst) starts talking tech.

These financial analysts may not be as tech savvy as us on the technical side but they are also simply stating the obvious that the PS3 is a wound that will almost never heal.

[Kunaak]

this year will be very bad for the PS3. very... very bad.
but sony will live and fight another day.
they are getting thier ass kicked, cause lets be honest here...
while they may have the best gaming console on the planet, no one wants to spend $600 on a console.
the 360 is already well past the point most people are comfortable spending for a console, and thats only $400.

honestly, what sony needs to do... is the exact opposite of what they are doing.

2 months ago, they killed off the 20 gig PS3.
a few months before that, they killed off the emotion chip.

heres what I would suggest for them.

the 20 gig PS3 is $399 or so isnt it?

kill off the emotion chip.
screw it. its nice and all, but its not the driving force to the PS3.
sure, people will about. but let them.
the reason people buy next gen consoles... is for next gen games.
atleast, most do.
so cut off the emotion chip, let them , but its a small segment they lose, but they have to lose, in order to maintain a profit that insures some chance of survival.

lose the chip - less cost to make PS3's = good in the end.

next, cut down the 20 gig drive to the absolute lowest end drive you can.
sure, it wont be great, but its still better then memory cards. a super cheap hard drive may not be great as a bragging point, but lower costs, will help sell PS3's. more PS3's getting sold, more game companies want thier games on the consoles.
if anything, the WII should prove, that people dont want absolute futuristic stuff. cheap consoles sell...

small hard drive, no emotion chip, + 100 dollar price drop = $299 PS3.

tell me, wouldnt you buy that?
hell yeah I would.
especially since us modders know we can put our own drives in it.

now, heres the second punch...

online games.
get a online arcade, and start porting every cheap old SNES/Gensis/Neo Geo... just old classic games, and get them on there cheap.
sell them cheap, $2 a day or something.
get people hyped on Sony Online.... just like Xbox Live.
then Undercut MS by making it cheap.
no Silver, and Gold and such.
just one price, for full access for a year to all content.
then classic games cheap.
then start porting every TV show that has some following, star gate, hercules, xena, futurama, star trek, x files, wrestling... everything thats "guy related".
then get movies, lots and lots and lottttts of them.
not 150 like Xbox live, but 2000 or something.
just undercut the competition.

thats a definate weakness sony has... sony online is just bland.
they need to get it 10 times more evolved.

cheap PS3 + better overall online experience... will bring the gamers back.

make me a PS3 tommorow, with a 10 gig hard drive, for $300 and I'd be buying it tommorow, without a doubt.

[d3fc0n5]

The PS3 would of been much more successful if they didn't push the Blue-Ray drive with the system. Not only would that of lowered the cost of the system it would of lowered there losses per system....
O and if they launched with at least One game that was good.

[Ub3r-L33ch]

I myself think that while the cost of the console is part of the problem, it is not the only problem or even the main problem. I think the main problem is the lack of decent games for it. Even if they lowered the price by $200 who is going to buy it that hasn't already? No one ... there will still be the same crappy selection of games. Within the span of another 8-12 months things will get much much better for the PS3.

[Kunaak]

the Blue Ray Drive is a unavoidable part of the system now.
the games are made on it.

[[XC] riptide]

Guys you have to realise that a lot of companies that sell products like this budget in losses to the units at first sale and hope to make profits off the games/accessories afterwards. For example cellphone handsets.

i think Sony had budgeted for a breakeven/small loss, but things got out of hand. neverthless it'll probably turn some profit in the medium term. But if i was a cash flow analyst for Sony, I'd be carving people up. Whatever gain they make could be at a big oppurtunity cost for future innovation.

[Kunaak]

this hasnt been a small loss for sony. they are definatly not making a profit this year from anything, cause the combined loss from the PS3 has eaten up all profits from thier other products, from PC's to the Bravia...
this isnt small news, as they said a few times, the PS3 could very well kill sony from the losses are so massive.

what I am saying... is if they can make it 2 more years... they can survive.
but they need a ton of help in various ways.
start selling them TV's like crazy... and every other product they got, cause the PS3 is not gonna be thier bread winner anytime soon.

but if they can make the PS3 far more attractive to customers... which in my opinion, will take some drastic measures to do...
could very easily get them to the point, where the gaming, becomes again, what makes them a profitable company.

companies like sony, dont go outta business...
its not in countries interest to let major companies that employ hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, go outta business.
but, it could very well lead them to becoming either a smaller company... or getting taken over, cause of how weak they are as a company.

for sony to survive, as they are.... they gotta really get the PS3 into peoples houses. thats the short end of it.
no if, and, or buts about it.
the trick is... how to get people to buy the PS3.

[Ub3r-L33ch]

The easiest way for Sony to increase the demand for the PS3 is to get more decent games out for it. The 360 was in a similar situation when it came out, although not quite as bad, but when they started getting good games out for it, it started to move along nicely.

[frankR]

Because Sony wants the PS3 to last a decade or close to it...and in that time, they'll be amazingly cheap, selling like crazy, and developers will be utilizing its power to its full extent.

I despise the PS3 as much as the next guy, but to underestimate it is a big mistake.

Perkam

In 10 years the PS3 will be extremely obsolete. It would be like comparing the PS1 to the PS3.

[sladesurfer]

Why? did one kill your dog?

on topic: I've always hated when a guy with a financial analyst certificate (BoA analyst) starts talking tech.

why? His job is to study companies, talk with reps, and study market data. Other than Sony, analyst have the 2nd best information for the most part.

[Revv23]

i think kunaak has the best business plan for the PS3 right there. undercut MS on things that won't give you a larger loss then you are already taking. Add features that will add profit, not huge profit, but any profit, meaning, online experience. price drops on the console wont help because the increased sales volume won't make up for the loss in profit.

[Kingcarcas]

What's funny is how when everyone knew the PS3 was going to be a flop, the analysts would say "Yes, by 2010 PS3 will have sold 200 Billiion consoles and be on its way to victory" Now they're finally changing their tune. The PS3 needs a game that's a system seller otherwise how will Sony make all their money back? Thing is MS can drop the price on the 360 any day now, so i see the PS3 coming in last place this gen.

In 10 years the PS3 will be extremely obsolete. It would be like comparing the PS1 to the PS3.

QFT, by then it'll be getting owned by the Xbox720.

[Ub3r-L33ch]

What's funny is how when everyone knew the PS3 was going to be a flop, the analysts would say "Yes, by 2010 PS3 will have sold 200 Billiion consoles and be on its way to victory" Now they're finally changing their tune. The PS3 needs a game that's a system seller otherwise how will Sony make all their money back? Thing is MS can drop the price on the 360 any day now, so i see the PS3 coming in last place this gen.

They do have some good looking games coming out for it in the next 8-12 months. Some are multi-console but they do have a few exclusives left too. I really think that will help them turn it around. Whether or not they can go back to #1 I dunno ... I think they do still have a chance though.

[vudoodoodoo]

So... why is a BoA guy talking about PS3?

[Cobalt]

no Silver, and Gold and such.
just one price, for full access for a year to all content.

So you think Sony should introduce a system like the old Xbox Live where you couldn't get online at all if you didn't pay? Silver/Gold is a much better system because even if people aren't playing multiplayer games (and therefore not chewing up bandwidth) they can still buy stuff from an online store.

Other than that point I agree with you.

Sony really needs to have a cheap PS3 out there. Blu-ray was their biggest mistake and its one that they can't fix now. They tried to win the format war with the PS3 but it backfired and now they need to win it in order to stop the console from leaching all the money out of the company.

[mcflurry4321]

Sony is not going to go down. Anyone who thinks that is just silly.

I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing all of this. The PS3 is losing Sony money??!??!? WHAT?? Since when?!?!

Seriously, yeah it got off to a rough start, but as soon as FFXIII and games like that are released everything will pick right up and HOPEFULLY everyone will STFU.

[sladesurfer]

Sony is not going to go down. Anyone who thinks that is just silly.

I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing all of this. The PS3 is losing Sony money??!??!? WHAT?? Since when?!?!

Seriously, yeah it got off to a rough start, but as soon as FFXIII and games like that are released everything will pick right up and HOPEFULLY everyone will STFU.

Pretty convincing argument