110°

Sony on PS4 vs. Xbox One pricing: 'Any price war in any market can be dangerous'

Sony discussed the dangers in getting caught up in a price war, no matter the market or asset.

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examiner.com
ZaWarudo3265d ago

But a $50 cut wouldn't hurt (my wallet)

RocketScienceLvlStuf3265d ago

This something I have said myself. Price wars are dangerous to the market. I got marked for trolling for saying it when MS desperately cut the price of the xbone last year. I even argued with the mods about it.

I turns out what I said was true

mhunterjr3265d ago

But there has been no price war... Just market adjustment.

In a healthy market, supply and demand influences prices... That is exactly what happened with Xbox price drop.

A 'price war' would imply that all parties are racing to the bottom in knee jerk reactions to each other's pricing. That was never going to happen here... Sony is going to keep the price high enough to continue making a profit. They have so much market share, they need not be worried about MS' prices. When demand for the PS4 drop to below optimum, they well adjust the price accordingly. And not a moment sooner.

Yetter3264d ago

hold on, can I get an XB1 with Kinect for less than 499$ US at major retailers??

I just checked, no I can't.

There was no XB1 price cut, only the unbundling of the Kinect.

KryptoniteTail3265d ago

Hit $299, watch more records break.

Humans have a tendency to oover analyze and rely on statistics, and make what they call "informed decisions" but the proof is in the pudding; that doesn't always (or I submit, often does NOT) work in practice.

There's no alternative to common sense. If you can afford to hit $299 then do it. More games and more fans, you can't go wrong.

ABBAJESUS3265d ago

$299 You get PS4 + one game, end of this year.

WickedLester3265d ago

PS4 349.99 will be announced at E3.

G3n3raL863265d ago

Hopefully. I'm waiting for this year's E3 for confirmation, since i want a PS4 in order to enter da next-gen:)

ABizzel13265d ago

@2WickedLester

I think E3 has a 50% chance for a price drop or a 1TB SU.

Gamescom has a 100% chance for an entire PlayStation brand price drop PS4 $349 / $399 (500GB / 1TB), PSV $149, PS3 $149 / $199, and PSTV $49. The only reason I think Gamescom is more likely is so that they can keep a big announcement for the show, but more importantly so they can maintain max summer profit off of games like Batman and possibly MGS5 (both are likely Summer games), and keep momentum going throughout they year with the Announcement in late August and the price cut happening then or the first week of September.

It also gives space between the XBO price cut which I'm almost 100% sure is dropping down to $299 at E3 for the 500GB model, and allows them to see just how much impact the new Xbox price will make, as well as a potential Wii U price cut. Let them duke it out for summer sales, then they can steal the holiday season with their own price cut.

BiggerBoss3265d ago

Sony isnt going to Gamescom this year

WickedLester3264d ago

@BiggerBoss,

Yes they are. They're just not doing a press conference.

BiggerBoss3264d ago

@wicked

Yeah, and a press conference would be where theyd announce a price drop...

lemoncake3265d ago

This is why you never want a monopoly situation, great for the company but bad for consumer. Good to see some healthy competition in the console market so these companies cannot rip off the consumer and maintain inflated prices for entire lifecycle.

WickedLester3265d ago (Edited 3265d ago )

The PS2 monopolized the gaming industry and I never heard anyone complaining. It's often regarded as having the best, most prolific library of games of any platform ever.

IcicleTrepan3265d ago

Monopoly means you have no other choice. The company with a monopoly can set whatever price they want and be as crappy a company as they want in the scenario of a monopoly because they don't have to worry about competition.

There were several consoles available from different companies other than Sony at the time of the PS2. They had no choice but to compete against the likes of Nintendo, Sega and Microsoft.

wakeNbake3265d ago

That gen was really only better for RPGs and platformers, everything else was better last gen.

MasterCornholio3265d ago

Anyone thinking that Sony is saying this to catch the competition off guard?

Reminds me of when they said they wouldn't announce the PS4 anytime soon and they did.

I just hope Sony doesn't do anything crazy because the PS4 is selling great and doesn't really need a price cut. But a 50$ cut for the holidays wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Immorals3265d ago

I just think they're resting on their laurels, when it's selling as well as it is, why sell for cheaper?

That said, they may drop the price after last months NPD

MasterCornholio3265d ago

The difference was only 10k though so I doubt they will drop the price because of the puny difference in sales. I'm guessing they are waiting to see how many PS4s The Witcher 3 and Batman will sell before deciding to drop the price.

Bathyj3265d ago

I think we may get a 1TB HDD first, with maybe a $50 price cut before Christmas.

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers5d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken4d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g4d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing4d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H94d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola4d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn6694d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle4d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg5d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos5d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola5d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies25d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken25d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga25d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken25d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6425d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long25d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197225d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic25d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 25d ago
DivineHand12525d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91325d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer25d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit25d ago (Edited 25d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91324d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit24d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

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Christopher25d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6925d ago (Edited 25d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit24d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal25d ago (Edited 25d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher25d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken25d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197225d ago (Edited 25d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic25d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2325d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218325d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder25d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts25d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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