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Sony Hit by Drop in PS2 Sales
sdw3u writes "Falling sales of PlayStations contribute to a 23% drop in profits at the Japanese tech giant, while rival firms see profits surge." Perhaps it may be time for Sony to lower prices again, which has helped fuel another console's sales. They've also reported a 40% drop in game sales to accompany the drop in console sales. According to the article, they don't see things changing for the better anytime soon, though, and are now focusing on development of their PSP handheld system. Update: 04/27 16:08 GMT by S : A GameGossip news story has more info from Sony's conference call, noting "Sony cited expected lowered production shipments for both PlayStation 2 (from 20 million to 14 million) and PSOne (from 3 million to 1 million)... total software shipments this year (including PS2 and PSOne together) were at 254 million, ahead of its 250 million estimates."
However they also have to expect that there are only so many sales out there. I mean how many PS2's does a family need? It was bound to happen. PC sales also saw a drop a few years back, no real surprise.
E.
Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
people are starting to realize that sony and microsoft release 99% crap.
Grand Turismo 4 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are going to be released this year as PS2 exclusive games. I don't think Sony is worried at all. The only reason I bought the PS2 is to play Grand Turismo 3.
as my playstation 2 is starting to die on me. it doesn't automatically load games anymore (have to browse) and dvds stutter. hell, my dreamcast is more than twice the age of my ps2 and it's still going well (bought it on 9/9/99)
what's up with that?
How about PS2 *games*?
There are two ways to sell games: Increase the userbase (which always has an upper limit) and increase the user consumption rate (which also has a realistic upper limit, free time and free cash).
GPL Deconstructed
What sony needs to do is drop the price down to 160 bucks and include the hard drive and network adapter with the shiny new Final Fantasy 11. Lets see Xbox compete with its Halo bundle then?
-Dipster
Whie I'm no fan of Sony or Microsoft, that's just stupid. 98%, tops.
Olson twins shocked at poor sales of their PS2 game "Manic Mayham Mall". Sony blames Olson twins, Olson Twins blame Acclaim. Acclaim blames "Ralf" Acclaims the cuddly mascot, for peeing on the original game specs.
Sony: "Olson twins Bad!"
Olson Twins: "Acclaim Bad!"
Acclaim: "Ralf Bad!"
Bet this is exactly how it all happened.
E.
Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
But I've played all three, and I can certainly understand why they're dropping. You just don't get the bang for your buck that you get with the XBox (better hardware, better controller, better price, etc) or the exclusive titles that you get with the Gamecube. Nintendo's learned through harsh reality that you have to stay nimble in this business, Microsoft has never forgotten that, and it now looks like Sony's in need of a reminder of this truism. They've been resting on their butts and now it looks like they're starting to get bitten on them.
Yup. This is why sony cant sell anymore PS2s. Theyve already reached full market saturation. Everyone who wants one, has one.
no
Sony needs to watch itself, and not pull a Nintendo. Nintendo was on top and then got stomped by the new guy, Sony. Sony's got the oldest console at the highest price. They need to avoid becoming arrogant.
...people are finally realizing that these POS consoles break about as easily as toothpicks, have warranties that last about as long as an orgasm, and pale in comparison technologically to the other consoles for the most part (who cares about exclusive games - we all know that 95% of titles nowadays are on every platform conceivable to man).
Eh, sorry, I'm just peeved. My damned PS2 was treated like royalty and still died on me.
First, Sony really needs to lower the price. Soon. The PS2 is the least powerful of all the three major consoles (it's more than beginning to show it's age) and yet it's the most expensive. This year is a big year for the PS2, with many high-profile games. I think they should drop the price to at least $149 ($129 would be better, but Sony knows they just need to match the Xbox, so...). Second, Sony should build a PSTwo. You know, a smaller, cheaper version. They should price it at $99 (generous for Sony, but here's hoping...that's also the "impulse buy" price point, and if they price it there, some PS2 owners will pick one up) and release it around Christmas. Finally, they should hurry up with the PS3. Some will disagree, to be sure, but as I said before, the GC and XB are really showing their advantages, late in the game, but age is only emphasizing the PS2s flaws.
Playstation2 isn't worth $200 any more. I like the system, but over time I've experienced life with a planned-obsolecense hardware model which is intentionally made to keep owners touching base with the company. Am I paranoid, sure a little, but when you clean the dust out of your game console (a fan is a dust magnet)and suddenly the DVD/CD-ROM doesn't work any more and nothing will correct it you end up paying $75 and getting it "serviced".
Anyone else have this experience? I think there's legions of "Serviced" Playstation2 owners who have been 0wn3d by that crappy DVD/CD-Rom drive but nobody is publishing numbers.
I think the GameCube has much greater value, even though the controller is crap (SSX3--the "Y" button is a nightmare), the hardware is better and the software is worth the $$$. I wish someone would develop a Playstation2 style controller for the Gamecube. That would be a money-maker. Think I'll go check Lik-Sang.
I've rented and beaten 90% of the games I've played on the Playstation2, other than that I have a meager library of PS1 titles and used Playstation2 games. I have only two games I've ever purchased for the Playstation2 at "new" price levels.
My console has been in the shop twice (once every 18 mo.) and when it came back last time the controllers no longer recieve a "vibration" signal, so there's something wrong inside of it. Didn't find this out until I was out of warranty again. This recently influenced my purchase of SSX3 for the 'Cube instead of my Playstion2. My inability to purchase a "single" multi-tap and play both PS1 and Playstation2 games was another sour note. Nothing like being gouged. Customers don't appreciate $40 purchases for hardware which shouldn't be seperate. The ability to play 4 player games without being boned also influenced my purchase of "Double-Dash"...I would have rather played "Crash Team Racing" for the Playstation1 on my Playstation2--what happened to CTR for the Playstation2 is an abomination and I feel for anyone that purchased "Nitro-Cart".
Before I pay $200 or more for another game console it's going to be more than just a DRM device, it had better talk across the 'net without requiring a bolt-on card, use a memory card bigger than 8mb (what a freakin' joke!!! Nyko makes a 64mb memory card for the 'Cube!!!), have some kind of secondary storage (memory stick or HD), do PVR duties, and use a DVD/CD-ROM which is top-loading (THIS CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH!) like the Playstation1 or the 'Cube, or be something which can be easily swapped out for something that works. The DVD/CD-Rom for the Playstation2 is a showstopper--it sucks sucks sucks.
If Sony can fix these issues, I'll be interested.
If they can't, screw-em. I'll wait several years and buy one for $50.
And The X-Box isn't an option.
Why? I refuse to do business with a blatantly criminal, "Daddy Warbucks", development-house buying company.
They have a warchest of billion$, other people can feed the monopoly monster.
Every new form of media has it's own Requirimento
I work at a GameCrazy in suburban Chicago, and I think that one of the more major reasons for this drop in sales is the Xbox. Shoddy quality hurts them too...
Since the XB price drop and Halo Xbox, that's all we sell. For the last 2 weeks we have only sold 2 PS2 units, and we have had multiple people come in to trade in their PS2 and game collection for an Xbox. I have personally handled about 10 of these type of customers in the past 2 weeks, a quite unprecedented amount of switchers. For some reason, the Xbox has become a hot commodity. Now, I'm not a fanboy of any current system (I sure love my DC though!), I'm just trying to report on trends. Combine this with the good chance that EA games will be Live this year, and things are starting to turn for Sony.
Added to this is the numerous customers I have come in complaining that their PS2 won't read a certain type of disc anymore, or maybe their PS2 doesn't read any discs. Some of these customers have only had their PS2 for a year or less, and a significant amount ditch their PS2 for a different system, following the lines of older audiences going for an Xbox, and younger people going for the 'Cube.
Yes, Sony still has the largest game library, but the 'Cube does have superior exclusives and connectivity, and the Xbox games library is gaining at a healthy clip.
I agree with some earlier comments that Sony does need to stop resting on it's laurels, and attack the market again. FFXI did not turn out to be the killer app that Sony was hoping, and being the most expensive console in the market hurts, especially when you also have to add $25 to your console price just to save games.
Maybe the 2 console rule is true. Maybe no company can be successful for more than 2 generations. All I can comment on is my own experience in video game sales. Take it for what it's worth.
I'm a little confused on the details (one million PSOne's or one million dollars of PSone sales?), but either number is amazing for a market that I can't imagine consists of anything more than spendthrift aunts and grandparents buying presents that amount to little else than a disappointment. That's a heck of a lot of back closet electronics. Personally, I'd be more interested in whatever it was they were smoking that got them to believe a three million dollar or unit projection, but that's just me.
The PS2 is getting a little long in the tooth, and it shows in the visual quality of the games and some of the system's "limits." Four megabytes of dedicated video RAM was never enough, people with a Dreamcast know that those old Dreamcast games look better than anything on the PS2 because it was able to display gorgeous textures that the PS2 cannot. Xbox and Gamecube blow away the PS2 when it comes to visuals. Lack of a built in hard disk and ethernet adapter put it at a serious disadvantage against the Xbox, where players can buy three more games for the cost of the PS2 hard disk an ethernet adapter.
Sony really needs to think a little harder about the PS3 feature set. To really compete with Microsoft's next loss leader, it will need four controller ports, a lot of video RAM (anyone who really believes those stories about Xbox 2 having only 10 megs of video RAM is a moron.), a hard disk, and a built-in network adapter. Dump the useless firewire port and USB ports-K.I.S.S.