Why Sony is winning

An opinion piece from Digitally Downloaded. Quote "So, while I believe (and certainly hope) there’s room for all four vendors to have a slice of the very big gaming pie, I do believe that Sony is poised to capitalise best on the gaming market and that lucrative mindshare."

[SactoGamer]

It's the tiger blood.

[darthv72]

its the drug called: playstation

[360ICE]

PlayStation is a brand covering a series of video game consoles created by Sony Computer Entertainment. It's not a drug.

At least according to Wikipedia. I know it's not all that reliable.

[gameplayingfool]

PS3 is my favorite console ive ever owned. It's at least a winner in my book.

[MaxXAttaxX]

This^^

You don't need "proof" to let you know some obvious things.
If you're enjoying and getting the most out of your PS3(or other PlayStation systems) then there you go. That's all you need to know.

It's mostly subjective really.

[chadwarden]

Sony always wins baby.

[BlackTar187]

I don't know how ps3 beats out ps2 or even ps1 for that matter. sorry i love PS3 but it imho doesn't stand with the past 2

[BlackTar187]

disagree system should require at least something.

[rezzah]

The advantage the PS3 has over the other 2 is that it can play their games as well.

The only issue is that it doesn't play all.

Still i can play my favorite game on the PS3 (SOTC) which gives me reason to pick PS3 over PS2.

[BlackTar187]

Rezzah that has nothing to do with what i said.

PS2 games in genral where better games sorry that is my opnion the GTA's the GOW's the Socoms . Just cause this system can play them is actually quite irrelevant.

PS2 is one of the greatest systems of all times which is heavily documented on opinion pieces all over the web. PS3 is a great system but has not accomplished in terms of games anything close to PS2.

Of course this is all opinion but your comment does not really even go together with my comment.

When ps2 was ut could you pick up a ps3 back then? No of course not no one debating backwards compatibility were comparing merits of one system and that should always be the games that released for its platform and sorry but ps2 games in numbers and overall exp of all of them outweighs ps3 games by a country mile. IMHO

[-Alpha]

The article is all over the place, the title is never once proven since all it talks about is the future of Sony.

Since this is an article about the market, I expected to see some objective facts, but all I see are weak predictions and a lot of assumptions. We can at least wait to see MS's plans for next gen or actually wait for next gen to roll out before declaring anyone poised for victory

[tiffac008]

Thank you for seeing the same problem that I do with the title. I too think its misleading.

I mean I'm fine with opinions and predictions and all that but with that kind of title... I just don't know if its proper.

[gamingdroid]

Yeah, the article is pretty poor and didn't do much "proper" analysis other than citing at best some trends and jumping all over the place.

[Bathyj]

Why do you need objective facts?
Why does the title have to be backed up or proven?

Those are the sort of things I want to see in reviews but I keep getting told reviews are simply OPINIONS.

Now that someone writes and actual OPINION PIECE, (says it right there under the photo) its suddenly the time for some sort of consistancy or integrity? Hard facts to back up predictions and assumptions?

Its an opinion guys. It cant be wrong. Your just supposed to respect it.

PS
I dont know if what he said is bollocks or not, I didnt read it and therefore, I'm not defending it, just seems like theres a bit of a double standard here.

[Ryudo]

"Its an opinion guys. It cant be wrong. Your just supposed to respect it."

So if someone hates someone else simply because of there skin colour am supposed to respect that?

Opinions can be wrong and downright misinformed, anyone saying otherwise is a twit. Also why jump to the defence of an "opinion" piece you didn't even read or are you simply jumping to the defence of Sony like usual.

Not that this effects Sony in anyway it's just nonsense written by a halfwit.

[-Alpha]

@Bathy

That's a complete red herring. Of course reviews are opinions, the same standard applies in both cases: opinion pieces need to be backed up with reasonable support from the writer.

An opinion can be proven wrong depending on what the person says, just because you have one doesn't mean that it should be respected. I expect opinion pieces to have some form of critical construction, not just a pointless series of statements.

Why does the title need to be proven? Because you can't just slap a title onto something and then not follow through with it. That's known as bait and switch, misleading the reader, not supporting the conclusion, etc. He makes a claim, I expect him to back it up with reasonable premises

In this case, the writer puts a title that is completely flamebait to begin with, and then writes in a way that doesn't even back up his point.

"Sony is Winning" implies Sony is currently "winning", yet that's not what the opinion piece is even about. The opinion piece talks about the future, and how Sony is "poised" to win. On top of that, it's based on assumptions that do not guarantee or even relate to the topic.

[Bathyj]

Thanks for clarifying guys, you said alot of things I think people need to hear.

And just so we dont get any further wires crossed I will NOT being using any sarcasm in this reply.

For starters, no Ryudo, I'm not defending Sony, or the writer. I'm making a point about what everyone keeps telling me about reviews.

About how even the most poorly written (3 paragraph long) reviews with the most inaccurate scores are mearly opinions and that we all just have to accept them, as if that means some guy with a laptop is beyong questioning because he writes for a blog or website.

I'm glad we can all agree that opinions (and therefore by extention, reviews) can be wrong, misinformed or even down right corruptted, and I dont have to agree with it just because they have the privilege of being printed on the internet.

People talk about proof and facts. So if I see a review that I believe is hitseeking in its mediocrity, is it unreasonable to expect some sort of justification or facts to back up shabby treatment of a game, when the vast majority is overwhelmingly positive? I think it is.

I only thing I have to pay to a review like that, is not respect for the review itself, but respect for the writers right to expess it, which I do even if I think its wrong, but then all in turn have to pay me the same respect to my right to express that I think he might be off the mark.

Sorry if this got off topic, it was more a reply to your post then to the article, so I think it has its place in this context.

[kaveti6616]

Opinions can be wrong.

It's a matter of perspective, is it not?

Someone could say Sony is winning and point out the auspicious future of their upcoming products as evidence.

Another person could say Sony is losing and point out that Sony has lost a lot of marketshare to Nintendo and Microsoft since their last console cycle.

I would say both are wrong because Sony as a company makes many products that are not associated to the Playstation brand or to gaming at all. Like Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony has a diverse portfolio of products, and when a game enthusiast tries to argue that a company is winning based only on game-related products, I conclude that their opinion, or at least how they formed their opinion, is wrong.

Being objective when talking about this topic takes time and research.

People who write opinion pieces just want to get their views out there without making too much of an effort.

[rezzah]

In the eyes of the beholder the opinion is fact, however the one who receive the opinion are left to decide based on perspective, if they see the opinion as fact or false.

What else needs to be said?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

yeah... not a big supporter of this article. Author says MS is focused on non-gaming alliances...and completely ignores all the Sony moves like the MLB and NFL Direct Ticket deals... or partnerships with Hulu, Netflix. Heck even Sonys PSN website talks about more than just games:

PlayStation®Network is your all-access pass to a world of entertainment. Get games, movies, TV series and community all in one place. PlayStation®Network is full of exclusives like new games, add-ons and video and, best of all, it’s free for everyone.

Yup, sounds very focused on games.

Face it, both MS and Sony are trying to be the all in one box for the living room.

[MaxXAttaxX]

They both do it.

But I think it's the focus that makes a bigger difference.
Microsoft made it a big event at E3 showing off ESPN, for example.

[retro]

WINNING like Charlie Sheen? ^^

[death2smoochie]

"An opinion piece"

That sums it up.....

[ForROME]

sike

[Dwalls1171]

Is psn still free ?? Then yes its winning ...all i need is my uncharted3 my modernwarefare3 and my 2k12 :)

[Khordchange]

its winning because everyone is losing. 360, wii, and ps3 are losing sales this year. And if you want to go on profit, sony lost 300 plus million through september.

[C0MPUT3R]

attributed to their poor TV Sales and buying Eriksson for 1.3 Billion dollars.
.
PSN is very lucrative, its the best thing they got going at the company.

[clrlite]

Sony DID spend $1.5 billion on Ericsson recently....

...I think they will be okay.

To me they are winning,

but that's MY opinion.

[BrightFalls76]

Sony is winning because they lost 50% of their market share world wide to Microsoft this generation and an even larger margin in North America? Give me a break, I like my PS3 but I can call a spade a spade.

[Parapraxis]

...and a troll a troll.

[InTheLab]

50%? So we're pretending the Wii didn't happen and the PS2 sold 90 million after 5 and a half years?

[gotgame1985]

they should write a article about why sony is so over hyped.
any time sony announce something people are all over it like
white on rice. I really ust to think sony had something in their console that brain washed their customers into being so loyal, But then I remember I also had a ps3.

[rezzah]

All based on opinions, if you wish write a opinion piece of what you think about Sony.

If this opinion receives more positive attention than negative then it means the majority who commented or "agreed" or "disagreed" on specific comments are in favor of this opinion, nothing more.

If the majority were in your favor of this opinion, those who disagree, then you would be receiving more "agree" than "disagree". Also you would feel more accepted and happy as you would see that people like your opinion as well.

In the end it is all opinions and none of them really matter. What does however, is what you personally think on the matter.

Edit: BTW i disagree with your opinion

[gotgame1985]

Thats not a opinion it is a proven fact that when ever sony announce something it's always over hyped. Look at home, psp, and vita, When psp launched it was suppose to just whipe it ass with ds, but ds destroyed them. Home was suppose to be this second coming of second life, Does any one still us it cause it seem like it was a waste of a download. Vita is being over hyped into being a 3ds killer, but this is one time that i will have to agree, But if you look at history the weakest gaming system always win even in the hand held market. And a while back there were news that sony had started working on ps4 games, As soon as this was announced there were already sites claiming that the ps4 will bee more powerful then the xbox next. How can they make that assumption when there are rumors of the next xbox having avatar graphics realestic crowd reaction with their own AI and so own, While there were rumors of the ps4 only been a little more powerful than the ps3. Bottom line anything sony announce will be held up in the sky like it has come from god by sony fanboys.

[rezzah]

Since this is my last bubble if you wish to continue pm me.

You say it is a fact that everything released by Sony is over hyped, that is a matter of perspective based on the individual. In this case, you see everything Sony as over hyped.

To say if anyone still use Home is to be ignorant, and I say this because millions of Home users who play it everyday will object to your opinion of Home. Also it is a waste of a download to you because you dislike it, your opinion does not count for the rest of the world.

You say Vita is being hyped into a 3DS killer when right after you say, "but this is one time that i will have to agree" and then you state "But if you look at history the weakest gaming system always win even in the hand held market". This shows you that it is all perspective and personal beliefs, despite what you argue against you also believe. If you think the weakest systems always beat the more advance systems, and yet you believe an advance system (Vita) will beat out a weaker system (3DS) then you contradict yourself, thus making no sense.

Not only that, but I can prove that you statement of weakest systems beating all is false. Last generation the weakest of the 3 systems was Gamecube, the most powerful being Xbox and the in the middle PS2; yet PS2 beat out both in sales and best gaming library.

"Bottom line anything sony announce will be held up in the sky like it has come from god by sony fanboys."
Well of course, they're fanboys. Any fanboy will regard their specific choice as the best even if the opposition is greater. Basically no matter what they are all ignorant, nothing else needs to be said about them.

[Godmars290]

IMO, "Next Gen" is going to be an adjustment of the mistakes made during this one. Hopefully.

HD and graphics wont be a main, overwhelming focus, though online multiplayer and social gaming will still be causing problems. Especially for single player gaming. Sony has the better, perhaps the best, physical foundation and solid library while MS has marketing.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Godmars, I have to agree. I too think the "next gen" is going to be more about shifting and adjusting of hardware to meet demands of software and social community aspects more than it will be about pushing graphical upgrades.

Simple examples, MS will for sure have the hdd issue sorted out to where every system will have a hdd of some sort. Sony for sure will make sure the next systems OS footprint for RAM will be large enough to truly let it grow as needed.

Online mulitplayer and social gaming wont be viewed as problems, but as the current and new frontiers to explore.

[gamingdroid]

Here are couple of things to ponder:

a) Sony has IPs, but MS has all these services like LiveTV with a more social platform.

b) Sony's issue with the OS footprint isn't the "lack of RAM", it is the inefficient use of RAM. The PS3 thing started off at 120MB footproint and got reduced down to 48MB. Xbox 360 OS has always been 32MBs.

c) MS lack of hard drive is actually a benefit to the consumer i.e. a choice. You can pay more get the full experience or pay less and get less.

d) If there is one thing MS hopefully will have learned by next generation, it is damn well that hardware defects isn't something that you can easily patch up later.

[MaverickStar7]

No side is actually "winning". Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all had great success. All have won and lost to the other in certain areas. You can make an argument for any of the 3 depending on what topics you want to focus on and if you have any alignment with one brand or another. At this stage in the console cycle, even 3rd place has been a great success. Anything else is just fanboy talk.

[Neomic]

Great article!

[showtimefolks]

why do we want one console to do 100 million while others loose money? This gen wii has sold the best does that make it the best console hell no.

If these gaming pundits are right they have predicted that ps3 will sell 129million lifetime sales and xbox360 at i think 117-119 million while wii around 104 million

That means 3 console makers can achieve the 100million console marker and means all 3 had success and for us gamers that means better products. Juts look at the wii with its wii motion and now kinect and move have sold quite well. Nintendo has to take lessons from MS and sony on what is the right way to creat an online network where people can play and download stuff with wii-u

World wide sony has a much much bigger name than MS so ps3 will sell as long as its in the market, here in the states i think the whole let's support our american company has a huge impact on xbox360. Now i know MS never ran a campaign to sell xbox360 like that but living in this country for 13 years now one thing i have seen is people will support an american company more than others even though that american company moved to India.

Xbox720 will be more of a home entertainment for living room than just a core console and a lot of people want that and good for them

After a very very long time NIntendo is about to step up and play with the big boys so i hope they took some notes from sony's early start with psn and how MS messed up xbox360 with RROD. So if nintendo can take those lessons and improve upon those than it will be fine

Sony has kept going hard after 1st-2nd party studios because they know as long as they have software to support their system people will buy it

This gen i have ps3/xbox360. next time around i will have a ps4/and most likely xbox720 but if wii-u actually caters to the core gamers i may have all 3

let's put it like this each company has made big mistakes this gen but each also has recovered nicely and brought something fresh to gaming market

[Tanir]

Because they have the most variety of games and most exclusives

[MasterCornholio]

Sony has won me over because they make the games I like. Also I love having free multiplayer as well.

XperiaRay

[drsnobby]

Another one of these misleading articles on n4g.this article is nothing more than journalistic masterbation.i agree with alpha,there is no proof of what the author claims.my beef is not with sony,but with this awful article and its lack of facts.when submiting an opinion piece,please be honest and truthful in your writings,and by all means have proof to back up your claims.how these articles get approved is beyond me.i hope i didn,t offend anyone in my honest opinion of this article.take care gamers and keep gaming. :)

[BitbyDeath]

If it's about sales then Nintendo wins, if it's about games then Sony wins. But really who cares. Just enjoy what you got.

[kingPoS]

Everyone corporation needs a rival Even if it just to keep the other party from hoarding the market share.

Burger king/ Mc Donald's/Subway, AMD/Nvidia/Intel or Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo & Apple/Samsung.

A prime example of one product is the ipod and its sea of accessories....where's it's rival? Creative labs tried with the Vision M, only to suffer the same fate as Sega.

Thanks to Netflix the cable guys no longer enjoy the monopoly once they had.

[Adolph Fitler]

hahahaha...News10's 1st comment sums it up best, "the tigers blood". Sony certainly ain't winning by any stretch, & neither is MS as the fact is that Nintendo is beating them both, & if you take into account that they released the wii at around the same time as ps3, then they gave Sony a sales 101 lesson,..............and gave MS a sales 101 ass whipping. Basically Nintendo flogged both machines sales wise, & all with a shiny new plastic outer shell, with 2nd hand, shitbox, underpowered, last gen. internals.......basically with a shonky, innacurate, gimmicky controller that a few games managed to implement well by working to its strengths whilst hiding it's weaknesses.
And the unfortunate part about this, & the phone game phenom is that hardware manufacturers may see this as a sign that we don't neccesarily want as powerful a console as affordable tech at the time dictates, but they instead can lump us with supposed next gen hardware, that is just last gens innards arranged in a different way, with a connection on front, that allows whatever latest half baked gimmick to plug into as a substitute for a real controller.......hell, maybe it will have some kinda low res screen on it. So while Ninty won the gen thus far, it is easy to fathom that either or both ps3 &/or 360 may surpass wii in overall sales, due to it's current sales stagnation, most part due to no new games & successor announcement, as well as the obvious visual shortcomings the limited, aged before it even released hardware, & not only these, but also people finally coming to the realization that the controller is gimmicky at best, & better motion based peripherals are available for both the HD, more powerful machines, which were the deathblows to Ninty & consequently forced Ninty's hand into moving forward to next gen.

So really, no winner can be determined at this stage, & if Ninty ends up winning, as they are not out of contention yet considering Skyward Sword has not released worldwide, & is looking to be pretty special, which in turn can easily sell console units pretty well even though it's a waaaay outdated piece of tech.....
So the point I was taking so long to get to is that, WE MAY ALL be the losers here if Skyward Sword & a miniscule couple of other Ninty exclusives can get the win of overall hardware unit sales, & they beat out the other 2 by a substantial ammount,........then fact is, MS & Sony are gonna stand up & take note, & in turn they may be inclined to re-allocate much of there r&d teams, & engineering staff onto gimmick projects reminiscant of wii-remote & nunchucks, putting less finances & emphasis on power & graphical prowess.
Then theres this whole phone game craze, & too many of these games are transitioninh to 360 & ps3, & while they are great little timewasters on buses, trains & in dr's surgeries, they are not console worthy.........yet it happens more & more & is a sure fire bad sign of things to come if people keep buying these things.....which also valdates the whole "no need for overly powerful consoles" worry, that is looking dangeroulsy likely for future hardware manuacturers.

[SDF Repellent]

Sony definitely won N4G. There is no argument there.

[Adolph Fitler]

Sony went from 120+ million selling machines, to a machine that is still yet to hit half that no. when it is also almost time up for the gen...I'd say 1yr from now until we can own a PS4 & Xbox720 (1.5yrs tops).................

So Sony will have to sell another 60+ million PS3's in 1-1.5yrs.......yeh right, not gonna happen. I mean, the PS3 is still yet to hit the magical price point that gets even the most casual of casuals to fork over the green....but even when that day arrives, they won't sell 60million in that time I don't think.

So unless they get close to the no. of install base from last gen & the gen before, then they ain't winning didlee squat.
Next gen maybe they can claw there way back to the top by releasing around the same time as, or before the 360, as well as not too far behind wii. It's obvious now that MS have proven themselves a contender on there 2nd go, even with an incredibly faulty product for at least 3yrs straight with 360......but they survived that & did the only thing they could with 3yr warranty extension.....but they are here to stay for a while, as they are making money with 360, have some good exclusives, & released at a crucial point, which enabled them to get a massive 15-18 month launch headstart over Sony's console, which was all the difference & very smart of MS. I don't think either of the 2 will allow this large a headstart ever again in this biz, as it could mean a huge difference in sales, or potentially kill off one of them.

Saturn & PS released 1 week, or less, apart from one another here in Aus. & although it isn't a great example as the Saturn was notoriously hard to develop for, Sega was slipping at this stage, & were virtually non-existant in the marketing department.....but, if they had of marketed the living hell out of Saturn & made sure more good developers were making more good games, as well as some exclusive 3rd party deals, some inhouse development shifting, then Saturn would have put in a much better turn than it did in the end & also given Sony a better run for there money & we would'nt have seen PS1 get to over 120+ million install base.
Sega started out of the gates/stalls at the same time as Sony did, the Saturn was a capable machine & could have more than competed with PS1. It just goes to show the power of marketing, as basically lack of was one of, if not the single most important component in Saturns early demise.

Fact is, Sony are highly skilled at all the elements that are important to sell, & fact is also that when your at the top, there is only one way to go from there & Sega started the decline & allowed themselves to keep free falling until they hit rock bottom & were unable to recover, whereas Sony started the descend (moreso than reality dictated in many fanboys minds), but when Sony started falling, they played the PR stunt many times, none more infamous than poor Ken Kutaragi's farewell, & they steered the ship away from the Iceberg that Sega couldn't avoid. They did so with games, cont'd free online, home, & many things that go hand in hand with the aforementioned.... they are also clever enough to have there own production plants, or partnerships in this department (at least), like with cd's before they also like to have a hand in the pie when it comes to new disk media, as there partnership with Toshiba & many others with Blu Ray & Cell technology, provides.
And in my opinion, these 2 technologies will & should return in PS4, as Blu Ray holds up to 200gig (last I heard, but probably more now), & Cell technology was created to be adaptable. tbc

[Adolph Fitler]

cnt'd from above psycho rant:
In other words, all Sony has to do for PS4 is add a much faster read speed blu ray, heap a few Cells together (even 2, as Cell isn't limiting PS3 yet, instead it's the gpu & ram that prohibit it), so 2 to 4 cells should more than suffice for the next 5-7 years for PS4, as long as Sony include at least 4gigs of ram & a monster powerful gpu that is the most compatable with the cells. Easy right, well maybe not,............but because Sony has already paid for Blu Ray & Cells production, they will save those costs mostly for PS4's development & production.

I want my PS4 by Christmas 2012 (yep, next year)....I'm adament that Sony needs to release PS4 next year, otherwise Wii-U may smack the taste outta both Sony & MS next gen..
I mean, with a more than 12month handycap in releasing after 360, they smashed them is sales in no time at all, all with an overpriced, underpowered, gimmick riddled machine that had minimalistic 3rd party support.
Nintendo got this PS2 with a new plastic cover & dumb ass controller out to market, then marketed the hell out of it using the whole age old "family alltogether now" advertising campaigns, also tapping into the health benefit bs by waving around your arms like an epileptic having a seizure..... smart...very smart....so fricken smart that I thought it was stupid & would fail....but it didn't & Nintendo basically won this gen, then called when the next one will start.