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Nintendo Profits Up 72%, Sony's Down 94%
Gamasutra is reporting on reporting, with financial information from some of the large gaming companies becoming available this week. Nintendo, who had already previously raised projections, saw their profits up 72% over last year. This dramatic increase was credited largely to the DS, with 10.9 million units sold in the first six months of this year alone. Sony, on the other hand, dropped profits by 94% over this time last year. The company attributes this largely to the battery recall and PS3 start-up costs. From the article: "The company's games division reported a ¥43.5 billion ($366.6m) loss, from a ¥8.2 million ($69,000) profit in 2005, thanks to research and development, manufacturing and marketing costs related to the launch of the PlayStation 3. Sales and operating revenue were down by 20.5 percent to ¥170.3 billion ($1.43bn). A decrease in hardware sales worldwide was attributed to a drop in price for the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Software sales also decreased overall, although individual PSP sales were up on the previous year. Combined profit from the PS2 and PSP business was described as 'relatively unchanged'."
Nintendo is garnering a great deal of good will (though the one controller in the package is a little bit of a setback) while Sony continues to tick off its customers. With Sony's latest move against Lik-Sang, the movement to boycott Sony is stronger than ever. So even after Sony can no longer claim the PS3 launch as a major cost, their profits are liable to keep dropping. Which will only cause them to make another stupid move (perhaps incarcerate their customers?) which will draw even MORE boycotts. Their profits will drop, and the investors will start getting nervous. And then....
Well, he're hoping for a bright future with the current lot of executives FIRED.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
If you think that the people that Sony have pissed off with their rootkits, lawsuits, and causing Lik-Sang to shut down aren't the same people that they're relying on as early adopters for the expensive ps3, then you need a reality check.
I think those are really the least significant blunders of theirs. The first and foremost problem they're facing is the price of the PS3 along with arrogant comments like "You'll want to get a second job to afford the PS3!" and "Europe loves waiting.".
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Seriously though, at some point gaming became like sports teams and pickup trucks.
I half expect to start seeing 360 faceplates that say "Sony Sucks" and DS stickers that show Calvin pissing on a PSP. Gamers seem to be so caught up in the rhetoric these days that it's getting harder and harder to find sites where people are actually discussing... what are those things called.... oh yeah, games.
You guys are both right. Sony has managed to piss off the analysts with their poor performance and information sharing, mainstream customers with the PS3 pricing, and early adopters with their other shenanigans. Taken individually, "people" tend to write these things off as a screw-up. Taken together, people interpret this as a corporate culture that is in serious trouble.
This is one of those (-1) + (-1) + (-1) = (-5) public perception situations.
Actually, any marketing they do at this point is going to be a waste. They already know their initial (and pre-Christmas) shipments will sell out many times over to the people who are already planning on buying one. Spending money trying to get more people to go out to the store and buy something that isn't there is a waste.
So I agree that they haven't ratcheted up the "buzz-meter" like they could have ... but with such a massive shortage already likely, they would just be throwing away any money they spent. Expect their marketing expenditures to go up significantly next year once there are boxes on the shelves for "casual" purchasers to buy.
"95% of all Slashdot
It's like they're trying to fail or something ...
Sigh.
Look, can someone just drop by their offices and tell Sony something like "It's the games, stupid!" and wake them up?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Good point. While I agree that Rootkit fiascos, Lik-Sang shut down, and even press blunders are only going to be heard by a very small percentage of their customers (even the public address blunders require that you be constantly tuned into tech news), it DOES reach the press, who starts to get an increasingly negative view of their products. When the press starts rooting against a console (or a politician, or anything), then the console's got problems, because that inherently negative attitude from the press will start to affect the popular consensus. A huge majority of tech news sites online have a very bad impression of the PS3. Hell, I was in GameStop yesterday, and one of the clerks was even voicing his feelings against the system... and when you have the very people who are supposed to be pushing your system's, voicing their opposition, you're SCREWED.
It's all a snowball effect. Maybe I was wrong to overlook the small, geeky concerns of one tiny demographic. Sure, in the end maybe only 0.1% of the population will know what a Root Kit is, but the negativity that trickles down through tech news sites because of that could have a huge impact on the long-term popularity of the system. Now, the people that are suggesting that a Root Kit debacle itself will have any impact on the minds of the masses, need to get their heads out of their collective asses... but it might be a bit short-sided to overlook the larger problems it could cause.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.