Console War Just Sony's Side Quest

Next Generation is running two pieces today about Sony's upcoming console. In 'Console War a Side Quest for Sony?', they examine an analyst report suggesting that the company is more interested in winning the movie format war than in taking the lead on this generation of consoles. They also have a piece wherein some industry figures weigh in on the PS3. From that article: "The impact will be enormous. Digital distribution will allow for new ways to generate excitement for these games - from being able to purchase new game packs that extend the life of gameplay and purchasing cool new items that make your character and experience unique, to the emphasis the consoles will showcase linear programming much like an iPod or OnDemand service does. With something like Steam, the entire console channel is avoided, and suddenly the game developer is selling directly to a consumer. "

Comments

Well duh

[Doomstalk]

It's been obvious the PS3 is Sony's trojan horse for Blu-Ray since they accounced that the it will use the format. Gaming may be profitable, but becoming the standard format for movies and possibly data is several orders of magnitude more profitable. Between hardware and HUGE cash cow on their hands.

Re:First-mover Advantage??

[Anonymous Coward]

Shipping numbers mean absolutely nothing.

Microsoft will of course hit their meaningless ship numbers for the 360 even if they have to ship them from one business unit to another up in Redmond.

Sell through is all that matters. And the 360 actual sales numbers are utterly pathetic for its first five months.

The 360 might just be able to hit 2 million sold by mid-June. That is an unprecedented disaster in console market history.