Sony saved by success of Wii

[HDDRuss]

Momentum cake...
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/05/an...ss-of-the-wii/

If you haven't heard, the PlayStation Wii is so successful, it pretty much prints money. Wait, Sony didn't make the Wii? Then how did the market analysts of DFC Intelligence come to the conclusion that "Sony was saved by the success of the Wii?"

According to DFC, the Wii's mainstream appeal forced Microsoft into a successful, but not entirely dominant position. "The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice. Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft anywhere near a breakout market position," the report explains.

Should enthusiasm for the Wii wane this holiday season, the recent price drop, coupled with with impending release of God of War III, finally positions the PS3 as a viable choice for mainstream consumers, the report notes. EEDAR's Jesse Divnich agrees, pointing out that Sony can finally utilize its leverage from the previous generation. "People who purchase a PS2 are more likely to purchase a PS3 in the future. Consumers, believe it or not, are pretty loyal."

Three years after the launch of the PS3, Blu-ray is also finally becoming a marketable feature for mainstream consumers, the report argues. "This holiday season Blu-ray movies are finally getting a major focus at retail ... Blu-ray clearly now becomes a strong selling point for the PlayStation 3." Undoubtedly, SCEA will create an ad that focuses on this aspect of the system that "only does everything."

While DFC's report comes off as incredibly bullish, it's understandable to see why there's some doubt over Sony's ability to capitalize on the moment. Let's not forget, this is a company that managed to fall from first to last place in the course of a year. "The cards are in Sony's favor and now is the time to make the most of them ... Now is the time for Sony to shine ... or else."

PS3 = System of choice...mmm sounds so good doesnt it.

[RedRedSuit]

Your fanboyism is not a pretty thing to behold.

[Slayer]

I think the OP should just skip the debate thats to come and go directly to building a PS3 shrine.

[Gr00v3r]

Well I can see some of this. I mean the Wii took everyone by surprise. The 360 and PS3 are clearly a generation ahead of the Wii in terms of power. People could see the PS3 as an upgrade from their Wii. What is not mentioned is the Sony Motion Controller that comes out this spring. People could also see that as the Wii HD. If Sony wants to make that a success they need to come out of the gate swinging with that release this Spring.

If anything this console war is going to get to be a closer race overall. That would be good for all of us.

[vinnie97]

Originally Posted by HDDRuss

Momentum cake...
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/05/an...ss-of-the-wii/



PS3 = System of choice...mmm sounds so good doesnt it.

When avid PS3 fans are calling out your ridiculous bias, it might be time to re-assess your plastic/silicon-worshiping position.

[murphjp]

I do disagree with this due to when the 360 had no (current gen) competition it didn't sell that well.

I think the 360 and PS3 would be in a similar spot if the wii didn't exist.

[CorruptedDragon]

I dont think the wii matters as far as "taking" sales from the ps3 or 360. Because they have totally different types of games, you would have bought the 360 or ps3 regardless of having a wii if you wanted those games. Most of the casual people who bought a wii, bought it because of the motion control gimmick, not because they wanted to necessarily own a video game system. Would there be a few % points of extra sales on each system if the wii didnt exist? maybe. Most likely not enough to make a difference. I dont see how the wii sales falling helps either system.

[rm082e]

So God of War is a huge mainstream success that is going to push PS3 hardware? Sorry but no. It's a successful seires, but it's popular among people who already play games. No soccer moms are going to rush out and buy a PS3 so the whole family can play God of War 3.

And if Consumers are so loyal to brands as he says in the third paragraph, why did Sony go from first to last?

Article is contradictory and lame. The PS3 will sell well to the core gaming audience because it's now a great value proposition. Good games, Blu-ray, reliable hardware, solid price; these are the things that will sell the system, not some new PS3 fad.

[BStroms]

I'm in the Wii doesn't really count camp myself, but despite that I do believe had the Wii not been there, the combined total of the other two console's sales would have been significantly higher.

Quite possibly the 360 would have gotten a much larger share of that, as it was significantly cheaper than the PS3 for long periods of time.

Sure you have the people just drawn into the fad, who wouldn't have bought a PS3 or a 360 even without a Wii. However, there is another demographic. Namely, parents and other gift givers who desire to get a console for Christmas, birthdays, etc, and no little about the market in the first place.

Many of them would have picked the Wii after all the positive buzz it had going for it and because of its price point, especially early on. But had it not been there, many of these would have picked a different system, as they still had set out to buy a console as a gift.

[TheAnalogKid]

I believe the WII cut into them. You have millions of casual gamers who had the PS2 - which had a very, very large library of casual games, who saw the WII as some sort of upgrade.

The PS2 probably had the largest segment of casual gamers ever, and a good majority of them probably bought into the WII - and still kept the PS2, as they kept seeing new releases hitting the shelf for it.

[Dennis M.]

It's the same old discussion about whether the Wii matters or competes with the other two. I think it clearly does matter and it has taken a lot of sales away from the other two. Entertainment budgets and gaming time are not endless.

According to DFC, the Wii's mainstream appeal forced Microsoft into a successful, but not entirely dominant position. "The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice. Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft anywhere near a breakout market position," the report explains.

I think this has some merit but they overstate its importance. Sony blew its dominant position by launching late and at a very high price. Almost all multi-platform games are developed for the 360 first, and the PS3 suffers because of that. The Wii had very little impact there, most big name third parties ignored it and the major publishers only assigned their "B-teams" to Wii development.

EEDAR's Jesse Divnich agrees, pointing out that Sony can finally utilize its leverage from the previous generation. "People who purchase a PS2 are more likely to purchase a PS3 in the future. Consumers, believe it or not, are pretty loyal."

The consumer loyalty argument I think only applies to the core audience and not casuals. Sony had a massive casual fanbase that purchased the PS2 to play Guitar Hero or Buzz etc. but these people have by and large moved to the Wii. Then again, multi-platform games are the norm these days so consumer loyalty means much less than it used to even among "core gamers".

Should enthusiasm for the Wii wane this holiday season, the recent price drop, coupled with with impending release of God of War III, finally positions the PS3 as a viable choice for mainstream consumers

That's BS, GoW is not mainstream at all. In fact if you look at the past releases its fame and footing in the gaming world always greatly exceeded its sales which are pretty good but nothing major by AAA standards. I do think however that it is the kind of game that will make some people who are still on the fence about the PS3 go out and buy one.

[cuco33]

I can sorta see the point being made but it's a tad extreme. I think gamers still would buy a PS3 and/or a 360. The Wii would still have been purchased. I mean how many own a Wii and an HD system together compared to just owning a Wii? Wii only owners tend not to really be gamers and will admit many jumped on the fad. It's a fun system and one that broke boundaries. My mother, for example, still can't use the remote control right and I had her bowling with WiiSports in minutes. She had fun for the first time with a video game (yes it was a proud moment for me lol) but nothing on 360 nor PS3 could ever do that.

[hdinred]

PS3 has been "saved" by Sony continually pricing the system below cost and taking on huge losses.

To think that Wii stopped some huge Xbox momentum that "would become embedded as the system of choice" is rewriting history. Microsoft was hardly concerned about the casual gamer until they saw what Nintendo was doing and the success they were having.

[cuco33]

Originally Posted by hdinred

Microsoft and Sonywere hardly concerned about the casual gamer until they saw what Nintendo was doing and the massivesuccess they were having.

Fixed for you

[miDnIghtEr]

confirmed. Macd is back. possible HUS3.