Sony's Big Mistake: Launching PS3 One Year Too Early

Hatchetforce - 640 days 7 hours ago

They are grossly in error. A $399 PS would not be launching today. Manufacturing doesn't work like that. Waiting to launch doesn't allow you to suddenly be able to launch cheaper. It requires the actual manufacturing to occur over an extended period before methods and techniques, based on extensive analysis, can be implemented that lower cost.

Such erred thinking believes if MS had waited two years they could have had the same prices as now also. No, that is wrong. The production process is vital to reaching a point where cuts can be made.

This is all machs nights anyway. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Everyone in the industry is watching Sony because they see HALO 3 has come and went. A great game but it didn't change the industry and Sony is gathering steam. Things will alter drastically over the next year as the technology in the PS3 finally begins to show a very large edge over competitors and many developers, now familiar with that technology begin to unveil some amazing work.

Now how about a new article called "Launching before your hardware is ready. Why MS should have solved the RROD error first."

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ip-student - 640 days 5 hours ago

Sure - there is the basic issue that hardware doesn't magically get cheaper by itself. So Sony would probably have trouble launching at $399 - but some of the things would have gotten cheaper (bluray - HDD - cell) so the cost would have been lower. And the PS2 is still doing great so there would have been little reason to push to the next generation quite yet. Plus the GPU could have been tweaked a little so Sony had an advantage rather than a disadvantage. The idea being that the developers would continue to develop for the PS2 and the XBOX 360 would see less of an advantage because most users still have SD tvs. So the the author has a point - but it is hard to see how well the PS3 would have done in view of a 11 million console lead - so I think waiting would have been a problem unless the PS3 could seriously blow the XBOX 360 out of the water (maybe an additional year would be enough - not sure).

But the author is ignoring something huge. Sony wants Bluray to win the format war. Without the PS3, Bluray dies. So Sony was not only concerned about the console sales but also wanted to own the next format. That is the real reason for the Bluray drive (as every PS3 has a HDD you could easily store 2 gigs of info in the cache and everyone would have great games even with a DVD drive). So I think Sony had to launch when it did. Interesting thoughts though. And this article isn't hating on the PS3 - it is questioning the strategy of Sony. You can love the PS3 and still think Sony screwed up from a strategy standpoint.

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agent864 - 640 days 2 hours ago

One of the observations from the failures of last gen launches were that launch systems were priced too cheaply thus massive shortages ensue making it difficult to obtain a console at launch. Everyone suggested that consoles should launch at a higher price point to let early adopters subsidize costs and minimize shortages -- which Sony was more or less successful in doing. Now, within a year of its launch -- less in Europe -- a significant price drop is occurring. The quality of the machine is absoulutely stunning, from that aspect alone it lives up to its price.

Granted games were slow but not entirely non existent and i think a lot of the first party launch games like Genjii and Untold were underrated, even Resistance -- which is a million + seller -- was underrated. Springtime should have seen the launch of games that were delayed until now.

Sony's mistake is that they protrayed what the machine was capable of 2 - 4 years down the road rather than what the system was going to be at launch. I think MS was smarter in that they limited previews to launch titles and didn't show fantastic target renders of games 2 - 3 years out.

This holiday / winter / spring tho we'll see a juggernaut of games and hopefully all the promised features of the PSN / Home realized I think that will put to rest all but the most ardent of fanboys. Sony still commands more development resources than the other 2 combined and is using those resources innovately and creatively. Hopefully the PS3 wont end up just being a cult classic and will gain the true mass market audience i believe it deserves.

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jackfatal - 639 days 21 hours ago

if they waited most probably 360 will have even sell more!! by introducing a new machine it shifts demand from a system to another!! and because 360 had a year start they managed to sell that much in 1 year!! since the ps3 and wii is out the 360 is selling very bad except in the USA!
and most probably the ps3 price wont be as cheap to produce as now(because when the factories start rolling out machine after a while it becomes cheaper)!
also Mr writer dont forget about the blue ray campaign!! if they didnt sell ps3 last year then HD DVD would have over taken the blue ray!!

so Mr writer thing at least twice before u say!! sony has people with brains working for them!!

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MrTangent - 640 days 12 hours ago

Agreed.

The linked article's author apparently does not understand the concept of "economies of scale".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

He thinks that magically the PS3 would have arrived at a price much lower than it was released at if Sony had only waited. The only way Sony was able to pass on to the consumer a lower price was by making LOTS of units, thereby the economies of scale kicked in and made it cheaper to manufacture. Time is not what makes technology cheap, it's mass manufacturing. Waiting a year won't magically allow a price to necessarily come down.

The article was also disingenuous in other areas and ill-informed. With that said, it's an opinion piece and he's free to write whatever he wants. However, we are free to disagree.

I think that Sony needed to launch when they did, if not sooner. Waiting a year allowed them to have a technological advantage over the Xbox 360 (like how the original Xbox had one over the PS2 due to launching later) but if they had waited much longer then there was a very real possibility that they would lose the war. Same thing with the Wii.

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kalel114 - 640 days 17 hours ago

And the price obsatcle seems to be getting fixed next week. I laugh when people say the PS3 was rushed out early, when Microsoft rushed theirs to beat it. Proof is in the build and subsequent failure rate. Enough said.

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Snukadaman - 640 days 15 hours ago

Imagine the hype....the anticipation..for a year older ps3..yea as everyone should agree...the ps3 is slowly catching up with the xbox in the graphics department..almost after their first year...exactly the point this article is stating...there could of been some revisions with the graphics card...blowing away the xbox 360...who knows...I think games were just a afterthought with bluray being the number one reason the ps3 came out when it did. hell imagine a ps3 with no blu ray...you think they would be third?

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felman87 - 640 days 16 hours ago

Define AAA

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GIJeff - 640 days 16 hours ago

All of those games are amazing in my opinion, and the opinion of everyone who has actually played them. Warhawk is the only game since the launch of BF1942 to ever take me away from the series. Lair(while everyone doesnt agree with the controls) is still a window into an amazing future. Where games are breathtakingly beautiful and filled with hundreds of enemies, nonstop action, and ear pleasing sounds. Motorstorm, well, everyone who plays it thinks its a blast. Smashing things has never been so fun. Heavenly sword, OMFG. Blurring the lines between hollywood and gaming. RFOM, proving that hosting a lag-free 40 player shooter on a console is acheivable; and whats better, this is possible with a launch title. I must say, I have never been so impressed by a first year of a console's life...ever.

Except pong, pong rules.

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-_-_-_-_-_-_- - 640 days 11 hours ago

Yeah GIJeff, agreed! When I remember PS2's first year...my God, that was disappointingly funny.

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boodybandit - 640 days 1 hour ago

TSIA

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wageslave - 640 days 14 hours ago

Its not a matter of opinion about "a year early" or a "year late". The Playstation 3 missed it original shipping announcment by a year (roughly).

One interesting thing to note, the Developers have had the dev kits on the original shipping time line -- the Dev Kits shipped on time, but not the console.

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Lumbo - 640 days 11 hours ago

What are you talking about ?

Sony did not "kill" the PS2 on the PS3 launch, i guess you mixed up X-Box with Playstation here. Sony is still developing and releasing 1st party titles for the PS2 wich still sell great. Even 3rd party devs are still on PS2 games (wich is a bit bad for the Wii, cause devs atm make new PS2/Wii games as they are roughly on the same graphical level)

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ShiftyLookingCow - 640 days 8 hours ago

certainly not like xbox I agree, but you got to admit PS2' appeal was permanently decreased when PS3 was released

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WafflesID - 640 days 3 hours ago

???

I've seen a lot of valid points brought up in this discussion, but ... this is hardly one of them.

PS2 is STILL outselling the hell out of EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING.

PS2 is still a VERY valid option, and you better believe that nobody knows this more than sony.

The problem is that sony hasn't made the PS3 a MUST HAVE over the PS2. Sony would love it if all those people still buying a PS2 had a good enough reason (read: an incredible game that you absolutely must have) to NOT buy a PS2 and instead spend more and buy a PS3.

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pwnsause - 640 days 16 hours ago

if you think about it they did rushed it, not hardware though (except for the SixAxis) the OS software and the PSN was rushed. thats all I can think of. I have my PS3 right beside my computer and its great, it will sell, not as much this year though.

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ceedubya9 - 640 days 7 hours ago

The 360 had to launch early. It was the only way that would have gotten any type of advantage. The 360 would not have been able to compete with a Sony console if they both came out at the same time. The Playstation brand name is too strong in gaming. Sure, its possible that the 360 MAY have had a slight lead over the PS3 (maybe by a million units or so) due to price, but that's still a long shot. Sony would probably still be raking in all of the games just like they did with the PS2. And before long Microsoft would have been playing catch up instead. The early lead has given the 360 more games, including games that have never left a Sony console before, which makes it a legitimate threat to Sony. Tell me, how this did not help Microsoft again?

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WafflesID - 640 days 3 hours ago

Not if it plays worse on the PS3 than the 360 (and vice versa).

If you own both systems, which version of Madden do you get right now? 360 has smoother gameplay.

Now which version of Rainbow Six? PS3 version has better graphics.

IF both versions are completely identical in every possible way (which just isn't the case with multiplatform games RIGHT NOW) then that is the best case scenario for MS. First, it doesn't give people an excuse to jump ship, because the grass is the same shade of green on the other side of the fence. Second, there are twice as many 360s out there than PS3s, so twice as many possible buyers for that title.

The only way PS3 wins the multiplatform situation now is if their version looks better and has more features. Which just isn't the case most of the time.

As much as some of you like to make it an issue, the RROD hasn't really affected the 360 as much as it should have. I'm personally dumbfounded by it. Only sony fanboys seem to care about it, while people who love their 360s will keep on sending them in to get fixed (which is no longer an issue with the revised hardware). You assume that everyone on the planet reads gaming forums and news sites and even knows about the RROD.

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chester - 640 days 2 hours ago

and every cross-platform game that comes out that i've wanted i've gotten for the 360 for my own reasons.

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wageslave - 640 days 14 hours ago

Folklore has a 9, 8, 6.9, 6.6 and a 5 for reviews on Metacritic:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

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Covenant - 640 days 1 hour ago

Five reviews are hardly a definitive sample. Wait until it has fifteen to twenty reviews before passing judgment. That will be the best way to determine if it stinks or not.

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Lumbo - 640 days 11 hours ago

The thing that you conveniently forget is that it would NOT launch for $399 now, it would launch for the same price it did last year. 3rd party devs would be nowhere in developement, as they would look at a Wii:12 million, Xbox360: 11 million, PS3 zero console distribution.

Especially the Wii success would already have moved developers completely off the HD scene into the Wii thing.

From a business point its also garbage, you do not sit on a huge pile of brand new hardware for a year to wait for time to pass, new hardware is old hardware faster than you can imagine. So when you are done developing and into manufacturing you release the thing.

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wageslave - 640 days 14 hours ago

I guess you didnt get a launch PS2 then. One thing to note when the motherboard on my first PS2 fried, Sony didnt pony up for a free repair. I paid for it.

When the drive in the second unit failed, I had to pay to have that fixed.

Now, my second PS2 has been dead for about 12 months, I suspect a PSU circuit (magic smoke came out).

So, dont bother about the failure nonsense. The drives on the PS2 were an insult and a tragedy, they failed left and right. Did Sony send everyone free drives?

Hell, cottage industries popped up in every city with "Fix PS2" signs in the windows for F-sakes.

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SlaughterMeister - 640 days 13 hours ago

I've had my PS2 for six years, and I don't even think it's ever frozen on me once.

You probably just had a run of bad luck, and considering all the issues people have with the 360, I'd choose a Sony product over a Microsoft product anyday.

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gololo - 640 days 6 hours ago

@wageslave
sucks for you dude...i had mine from launch date, and it still works!!!

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ThaGeNeCySt - 640 days 2 hours ago

Gotta agree with wageslave... i went through 3 PS2's... all due 2 faulty lasers... ironically... my original xbox still works that i got a month from launch, and my launch day xbox360 still works.... very odd i know.

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