Sony: "The Wii isn't hurting us"

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 1st September 2008
Comments (8) Stumble
Sony is adamant that the success and popularity of the Wii is not hurting the PlayStation 3.

Sony is adamant that the success and popularity of the Wii is not hurting the PlayStation 3.

Sony CEO Howard stringer is adamant that the rampant popularity of the Wii isn't hurting the last console to hit the market, the PlayStation 3, despite the fact that Nintendo may have adopted a 'superior business model'.

"The Wii is a well-made device that has found a new target group. For a while, we held the same target group with the SingStar karaoke game. But perhaps we neglected to pursue that avenue," Stringer told Die Welt (via Eurogamer).

Stringer though was happy with the way that Sony was tackling the market now, stating that the company was happy to focus effort more on the hardcore gaming audience.

"PlayStation games are rather designed for those who play a lot. Although it's a different strategy, it pays off. We currently have a production bottleneck with the PlayStation 3."

"You also know, however, that our business model is not perfect, and that we make a loss on every console we sell," admitted Stringer.

"Nintendo makes money with the hardware alone, which may be a superior business model. But the Wii is not succeeding at our expense - it is not hurting us."

Will Sony ever make back the $3 billion it spent developing the PlayStation 3 though? Stringer didn't think it likely, saying that he wouldn't expect to see that kind of return for as long as he lived.

What do you think of the PlayStation 3 and how it compares to the other consoles on the market? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Quote Paolo 1st September 2008, 10:34
What Sony said: "The Wii isn't hurting us"

What Sony meant: "The Wii isn't hurting us, we do that ourselves by making a loss on every console we sell!"
Quote liratheal 1st September 2008, 10:42
In recent generations it's only been the Nintendo stuff that sells for as much as/more than it costs to make. Pretty much everyone else makes a loss on the hardware AFAIK.
Quote docodine 1st September 2008, 11:07
Most people don't make the choice between an PS3 or Wii, they're targeted to different groups. Someone with younger children would likely buy a Wii, but with a PS3, I would be scared to let children play with it. They don't hurt each other, much. The Wii doesn't really have a competitor. The PS3 competes with the Xbox 360 alone.
Quote Yemerich 1st September 2008, 12:12
Paraphrasing alien versus predator:
"Whoever lose, we win"
Quote steveo_mcg 1st September 2008, 12:16
He is probably right they target different markests which don't directly compete, in fact the only person i know with a ps3 also has a wii.
Quote devdevil85 1st September 2008, 16:07
Quote:
Originally Posted by CardJoe
Will Sony ever make back the $3 billion it spent developing the PlayStation 3 though? Stringer didn't think it likely, saying that he wouldn't expect to see that kind of return for as long as he lived.
Not by straight HW sales, but if you start weigh in BR sales/profits, since the PS3 single-handily won the format war, I would bet you that they could make back their losses. BR is what held them back in the first place from debuting it when 360 came out, right?

I also agree that the Wii is not a competitor. It offers completely different games for a different audience. I thought the whole debate was which console would the Wii compliment the most back when it released.....funny how things change....
Quote Flibblebot 1st September 2008, 17:42
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
Not by straight HW sales, but if you start weigh in BR sales/profits, since the PS3 single-handily won the format war, I would bet you that they could make back their losses. BR is what held them back in the first place from debuting it when 360 came out, right?
Actually, it was the movie studios deserting HD-DVD that won the format war, not the PS3. Not even close to being anything to do with the PS3.
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
I also agree that the Wii is not a competitor. It offers completely different games for a different audience. I thought the whole debate was which console would the Wii compliment the most back when it released.....funny how things change....
The Wii may have panned out to have a different audience, but that's not the way it was touted when it first came out. I know of quite a few gamers (myself included) who got a Wii when it first came out, but have since sold them because there aren't the "proper" games available, only endless party games. Nintendo have alienated a large part of their gamer following by going down this path - but I'm sure that Sony or Microsoft aren't complaining!
Quote devdevil85 2nd September 2008, 07:13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flibblebot
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
Not by straight HW sales, but if you start weigh in BR sales/profits, since the PS3 single-handily won the format war, I would bet you that they could make back their losses. BR is what held them back in the first place from debuting it when 360 came out, right?
Actually, it was the movie studios deserting HD-DVD that won the format war, not the PS3. Not even close to being anything to do with the PS3.
Well, that too, but w/o the PS3, BR sales would have been a whole lot less. Either way, all I'm saying is that the PS3 isn't just a game's-only machine anymore; it's a BR player, too, and I feel a % of BR profits (how much idk) should be accounted for when they talk about overall PS3 profits; but that's my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flibblebot
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
I also agree that the Wii is not a competitor. It offers completely different games for a different audience. I thought the whole debate was which console would the Wii compliment the most back when it released.....funny how things change....
The Wii may have panned out to have a different audience, but that's not the way it was touted when it first came out. I know of quite a few gamers (myself included) who got a Wii when it first came out, but have since sold them because there aren't the "proper" games available, only endless party games. Nintendo have alienated a large part of their gamer following by going down this path - but I'm sure that Sony or Microsoft aren't complaining!
I just remember people wondering which console the Wii would compliment most (which now isn't the case), and yes Nintendo has lost a lot of their core gamers, but you gotta admit it sure paid off.... What about the news about them not forgetting about the "core" gamer? Or is core not equal to 'devoted Nintendo fan from the beginning'?
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.





Stats: 0.402 seconds