The (Current) Generation Trilogy: Wii, PS3 & XBox 360 (Console Comparison & Discussion)

The article below is from a Wikipedia page about Playstation 3 but it's relevant to your discussion about the PS2. All console makers expect to take a bath on the sales of their hardware. The goal is to make it up on the publishing, software, and licensing side of the business. Companies like Sony and Microsoft understand this and are willing to take the risk. Moreover, Microsoft understands that in order to wrestle market share away from Sony they have to be willing to pay for it. In the bigger picture, Microsoft understands the potential that gaming presents and is willing to take a loss now for future successs. Also, given that both compnaies will take a loss on the production of their consoles who do you think is in a better position to abosrb those losses? Microsoft or Sony? My money is on Microsoft. In addition, both companies are publicly traded so why would Sony's stockholders be any more willing to hemmorage money than Microsoft's ?

"More recently, however, a report [3] compiled by Merrill Lynch Japan and published in the business magazine Toyo Keizai estimated the total cost of producing a PS3 at launch time at ¥54,000, or US$451 (£263, ?385) (the most expensive components, the Cell microprocessor, the RSX graphics processing unit, and the BD-ROM drive are each estimated to cost US$101 (£59, ?86), with the additional cost going into the motherboard, RAM, wireless chipsets, and probably system-on-a-chip implementations of the PS1 and PS2 systems for backwards compatibility). Sony is already making efforts to control manufacturing costs, and may even go as far as dropping the system's planned integrated router to reduce expenses. In the same report, Merrill Lynch predicts that Sony will initially sell the PlayStation 3 for ¥44,800 (US$374) in Japan, and US$399 (£232, ?340) in the USA, taking a financial loss (as it did with the PlayStation 2) in order to build the console's install base, losing as much as US$1 billion in the first year after release. Sony would later recoup this loss (as well as the Cell's US$1.8 (£1.01, ?1.53) billion ( R&D expenses) through software licensing fees and future reduced hardware manufacturing costs. The report also notes that Microsoft may plan to disrupt the normal console business cycle by choosing to cut the price of the Xbox 360 at the same time the PS3 launches, which the report estimates would cause Sony to lose an additional US$730 (£426, ?622) million in its second year, and US$457 million in its third. It is not known whether these hypothetical losses would be due to Sony being forced to further cut the price of the PS3 hardware, or suffering reduced revenue from game purchases due to stiff competition from Microsoft.

For the consumer this means one will be able to buy a PlayStation 3 at a lower price than its actual manufacturing cost.

In the same magazine, Ken Kutaragi was interviewed, and expressed little concern over the PS3's possibly high launch price, believing that customers would be willing to pay extra for a superior product, as they had in the past for the original PlayStation (Â¥39,800 vs. 12,500 for the Super Famicom)."

 

I'm confused alot about the PS3. It has 8 cores but will only use 7. And it has 7 controller ports. Whaaaa?

 

The best is when you try and sell an older sports game. When I went to sell back NHL 2003 a few years ago they gave me 93 cents. Ninety three freakin cents. What's the point?

 

THe point is so they can make EVEN MORE money. It's sad, really, and then there'e the better part. "Oh we can't pay you cash, it has to be in-store credit." Ah, so not only are you buying my game and selling it of 5 times as much, the little money yu give me for it has to go back to you. Sweet Deal.

 

They make money hand over fist on their hadware. And yet everyone says how they are doomed.

I wish I could be doomed like Nintendo. I'd be making the mad monies while everyone runs around saying how I'm failing. And then I'd make a Pokemon game and a billion dollars would go straight into my pocket.

 

What he said.

 

Yeah, well Nintendo HAS to survive on it's video games...because that is all it has. I didn't realise Sony lost money though. Still, 4 billion...wish I could lose 4 billion and it didn't bother me...

 

Wait a minute, Sony lost money on the PS2? I thought that the XBox was the first major-selling console to never turn a profit. I was under the impression that Sony and Nintendo still made money on PS2 and Gamecube sales, respectively.

 

I think Sony is losing money on everything but their game devision, Microsoft makes money on everything but their game division, and Nintendo makes money on everything they have ever done with the exception of the virtual boy.

 

Well when the 2nd gen consoles came out my borther sold n64 (and psx and all it's games) and all the games with it (perfectdark, goldeneye and all the good ones ) The prices are kinda insane here, especially during the launch of a new console. People seeem to be very excited tho. Where they get the money is beyound me. Lot's of people sell their old stuff now so I'm keeping an eye out for anything nice. Might get good games for real cheap now

For some reason tho the new xbox doesn't excite me that much tho. Perhaps later when they release Kotor3 (hopefully) I might have to consider buying the new console but for now; it's wait and see.

 

still no xbox 360

 

I probably won't get a 360 until Halo 3 or (hypothetically) KotOR 3. I see the launch lineup as pretty much abysmal, with Perfect Dark and Call of Duty 2 being the only games I would consider worth getting, and the latter I can easily get for PC.

 

Like I say. People who have been yelling Nintendo is doomed since the N64 are people that have no understanding of business. And you don't need a lot. I'm not a business orientated guy (being an artist) and even with my basic knowledge I find such strong flaws in such flase accusations.

 

Hmm. All Revolution details to be announced May 9th at Nintendo's E3 press conference. Damn

 

I have a couple of friends in the business and they tell me the secret that Nintendo will release is......

An all Pokemon line-up for the Revolution.

Here's a quick look at some of the laucnh titles:
Madden Pokemon 07
Resident Pokemon
Grand Theft Pica Chu
PokeKart
and in a coup for Nintendo: Pokemon of the Old Republic 3

 

^I'm waiting for "You're in the Matrix Pokemon!"

 

You joke, but I would kill for Pokemon Football. CHARIZARD QB!!!

 

Heres a news update I got about the Xbox 360, and it is not good news either. Apparently, the 360 has been having major problems lately, problems along the lines of their games crashing, not just freezing mind you, full on CRASHING and the system itself beginning to overheat after only about 3-4 hours of use. Mind you that I am not making this stuff up, it was seriously on the news down where I live (not that I care either way whether or not Xbox 360 works since I'll never buy one).

 

great just what I need. I have a 360 and cant play it till xmas so I wont know if its broken or not!!! grrr...

 

Me I am waiting for the xbox 360, and will only get it for a few games, kotor3(?), halo 3, and oblivion, that is it. The only reason for oblivion is because my comp would have a stroke if it tried to play that game.