What does Sony need to do to make 2009 the year of the PS3?

[ediddy999]

I am still a little annoyed that they PS3 still hasn't caught up to the 360 in terms of sales. I am really wondering if 2009 will be the year of the PS3. I really want it to be, but what do they need to do to catch up?

I really would like to see a better chat system and a party system. Although they would be copying the 360 who cares? It works and I would use it!. I believe that the games are going to come and we will be playing great titles in 2009, that doesn't worry me at all, but the masses seem to be tricked into buying the 360 because of the price. Now that Sony is really close to breaking even is it really time for that price drop? They need to get closer to the competition.

Just some of my thoughts, what do you guys think?

[Jared]

The games are all there this year but sony needs to lower the price of the ps3, fire it's marketing team, get a better team and put more money into advertising its great games this year like killzone 2

[bsmith3258]

I think the first thing they need to do is a price drop. I know that is old hat, but they are being undercut so badly by a system that is at least comparable it is almost offensive. I love my PS3, despite the fact it just quit on me, but that being said, is it really two-hundred dollars better than the 360 arcade? I like to think so, and I do not have a moments regret over buying one, but even I have to question it. In terms of exclusive software I think the PS3 has the 360 beat hands down, I have not heard one game on the 360 as an exclusive that draws me in the way Killzone 2 does, but I guess we will see. I think that the unfortunate fact is that Sony may have lost this round, but Microsoft recovered from its loss in the previous bout and look at them now. Of course all this could be moot if the market does collapse from Wii-ification like you guys observed on the last podcast. Please game manufacturers, whether you be Microsoft or Sony, don't become addicted to the crack-like-income of the casual gamer market, eventually it has to end right?

[AustinD]

I don't think they should drop the price yet, because Sony is loses enough money on the hardware side as is. I believe it should at least gain enough money this console generation, to make the next one better than the Microsoft. The only thing Sony has to gain by dropping the price is market share, and the transition from ps2 to ps3 proves that market share doesn't mean shit. The second thing Sony needs to do, is advertise their console. The Ps3 is defiantly not worth 200$ more than xbox360 arcade, as a game machine. I know all of you at there will be saying, that it can do so much more, but multimedia doesn't mean anything to the mainstream. The main stream only wants games. But, If by some unlikely circumstances Sony's marketing actually does something right, it can make people believe that the ps3 is worth 200$ more than the 360. They should have an aggressive ad campaign reminiscence of Sega trashing on Nintendo like back in the day. I mean the American public isn't that hard to manipulative viva television , just look at fox news, fair and balanced my ass.

[bsmith3258]

AustinD said €I don't think they should drop the price yet, because Sony is loses enough money on the hardware side as is. I believe it should at least gain enough money this console generation, to make the next one better than the Microsoft. The only thing Sony has to gain by dropping the price is market share, and the transition from ps2 to ps3 proves that market share doesn't mean shit.

Yeah you make a good point about the lack of carry over in market share, with one caveat, listening to Emilo on the podcast, in addition to the ungodly high number of other playstation propaganda that I do, people are still playing the hell out of their PS2s. I think that a lot of the video game intelligencia you see out there, podcasters and listeners alike, tend to forget that there are an awful lot of people still playing the PS2, it is no longer sexy, and Sony is not supporting it anymore, but it is still popular. If Sony through better marketing, and through a better pricing model, can make those people trade up, well then maybe they can salvage respectability out of this round of the console wars. I tend to be as pessimistic as you are Austin, as I said I love my PS3, its the only console I own, but I think the most Sony can do is stay in the game. That being said Microsoft have set themselves up pretty nice, because they came out quicker with this generation, they are not committed to any type of release schedule like Sony's 10 year plans. Microsoft could bide their time until the economy started to swing around, release their new console with incremental performance improvements, better reliability, and be what two, three, or four years ahead of Sony again, who would be surprised or blame them? Considering their consoles hardware is utter shit, and they are at best negligent, at worst openly contemptuous of their customers when it comes to the product they produce, you have to say they are really doing a lot of things right. Sony may just have to write off profitability of their hardware in the short term to sell more software and keep themselves in the game.

[ediddy999]

When Sony's online service enhances to include some of the standards that Live has created would be good too. I know that Sony doesn't charge addition cost for online, but I would like to see them copy some of the features that Live has. I would love to send messages from the web, and the party system in Live would be great on the PSN.

[bsmith3258]

Up until a few month's ago I did not realize how cheap live was, as I understand it, it is $60 a year. Just thinking about what I get, in terms of value added, playing online I think that is probably worth it. If Sony could come up with some enhanced features, I will take your guy's word for how much better it is, and charge half that, that would be some powerful revenue. I bet they hope that is what Home is going to get for them, but I don't know how wide a market that Home is going to be though, from the sound of the Podcast you guys have been to it a few times, I tried it once, and then got back to real games. Austin has made the point a few times on the cast that Xbox Live is worth it for what you get, maybe Sony should be listening to things like that.

[ediddy999]

Your objectivity on this subject is refreshing. I know that we are a PlayStation podcast, and don't get me wrong I love my PS3, sometimes when someone has the upper hand on you you chuf it out and try harder. I really think that's what Sony will do in the end. We really love all games at the end of the day and soon this will all be over and the PS3 will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes. Ok maybe that was a little over the top, but you fell me right?

bsmith3258 said:

Up until a few month's ago I did not realize how cheap live was, as I understand it, it is $60 a year. Just thinking about what I get, in terms of value added, playing online I think that is probably worth it. I Sony could come up with some enhanced features, I will take your guy's word for how much better it is, and charge half that, that would be some powerful revenue. I bet they hope that is what Home is going to get for them, but I don't know how wide a market that is going to be, from the sound of the Podcast you guys have been to it a few times, I tried it once, and then got back to real games. Austin has made the point a few times on the cast that Xbox Live is worth it for what you get, maybe Sony should be listening to things like that.

[bsmith3258]

That might have been a little over the top you are right, but I agree with the sentiment. I mean Jesus, I just spent 400 bucks for this damn thing, plus probably at least that much on games, I don't want to see the system fail. Beyond the hardware issues with the Xbox, which are terrible, and they should be ashamed, you cannot fault them. Free online is great, but you do get what you pay for. Up until lately most of my time online was with randoms, I do not have a ton of friends on the PSN, but I have heard terrible things about the party system. In addition playing with jerks can just about ruin your online experience. I was playing Coop COD WaW last weekend with some incredible douche bags, I wanted to rip through the screen and kill the bastards, it just about soured me on playing coop with randoms. Deathmatch is fine, but if you are going to play as a team, you need to be able to like the people you are with, and if the party system is that much better on the Xbox, I guess I would pay for that.

ediddy99 said:
We really love all games at the end of the day and soon this will all be over and the PS3 will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes. Ok maybe that was a little over the top, but you fell me right?

bsmith3258

[HamsterFist]

How 'bout this? Advertise the Fuck out of it! By advertising I mean showing actual games, like I hope we see with Killzone 2. I never saw ONE television commercial for Resistance 2, hell I have NEVER seen a TV commercial for LittleBigPlanet. If I was Sony I would have commercials for that gaming running all the time. Every 'casual' gamer that has come over to my house is drawn to this game and love it. (Same goes for Rock Band 2, it is that kind of draw for those that actually have friends that come over and maybe hangout sometime, know what I mean.) While the commercials of the dude downloading a chick flick for his girlfried work, they are not what is going to sell the system. Also how about this, a partnership with Blockbuster similar to Xbox and Netflick. Only Blockbuster could also advertise this partnership in store. Really get out there with the media center that the PS3 could be if only supported...... also Skype on PS3 would be sweet.