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Nintendo, Sony Take Big Financial Hits
The Installer writes with news that Nintendo is seeing a significant financial downturn to match the general slowdown in the rest of the industry. "Sales of the once unstoppable Wii console have tumbled for the first time since its launch three years ago, sending the gaming giant's quarterly profit down 61 percent." Meanwhile, Sony is feeling the pain as well; the company sold 500,000 fewer PS3 consoles than in the previous quarter, and PSP sales saw an even bigger drop. Interestingly, Sony also revealed that the manufacturing cost of the PS3 has now dropped 70% since it was released. The drop in sales has caused the resurgence of rumors about console price cuts.
Will Nintendo lay people off in a "Wiistructuring?"
Nintendo's the only one not surprised by this. They didn't have a single major release, save for maybe Wii Sports Resort (which came out when, 2 days ago?), this year. By Christmas they'll release New Super Mario Bros. Wii and next year brings Mario Galaxy 2, possibly a Wii fit expansion or whatever they're doing with the pulse sensor, and lo and behold, those months will do ridiculously well for the Wii, and the year afterward, on the same month, analysts will worry about Nintendo's downfall when the sales aren't as high due to a lack of major titles.
It's the same dumb shit with Hollywood. Half a dozen studios release films in June with quarter-of-a-billion budgets+marketing campaigns and when all of those types of films don't come out 'till August the next year, there's an article about how the film industry is failing, all because it's easier to make up "Sky is falling" predictions than to actually wait a whole fucking fiscal year and take into account the number major releases that hit a particular year.
Games and film have 2-3-year production cycles, and many times projects get delayed. The money still comes in (albiet with a higher cost due to the delay, which, for better companies, tend to result in more revenue for a better product), but as it doesn't come in steadily, it gives "analysts" plenty of fuel to predict doom whenever there is none.
If I hadn't already bought a Wii, I wouldn't buy one either. I'm disappointed with the game line up. 3 years have passed and I can name 3 games that I'm glad I bought. I can also name off a dozen names I deeply regret having ever bought/rented.
Back in the 80s and 90s, any schmuck could decide to go make a game. With enough dedication and talent, he could really make something awesome, too. I mean one day Robyn and Rand Miller decided to sit down and make a game. And that game (Myst) was the best selling game for the better part of a decade.
Now, it takes millions of dollars for the spoiled consumer to even *consider* playing a game. So now we see less and less games being made by the inspired and talented, and more and more games being made by corporate committee.
As time marches on, I have a feeling we'll see a (relative) dieing out of the multimillion game and the rise of the $10-20 household device game. (Cellphones and computers to be specific.) It takes inspiration and talent to make a good game, not millions of dollars of art assets.
Context matters.
"Meanwhile, Sony is feeling the pain as well; the company sold 500,000 fewer PS3 consoles than in the previous quarter, and PSP sales saw an even bigger drop."
500,000 units is just a number; losing a sandwich is less of a tragedy if you had two of them to begin with. FTFA:
"Sony did release console sales numbers for the period, which also painted a bleak picture. Quarterly worldwide PlayStation 3 sales dropped from 1.6 million units in the first quarter of the past fiscal year to 1.1 million units in the most recent fiscal quarter, while PSP sales plummeted from 3.7 million units to just 1.3 million units. VAIO sales and profitability were also down, though Sony did not offer specific figures."
So selling 500,000 fewer units this quarter in this context means that Sony has sold approximately 30% fewer units than last quarter.
Between installing malware on it's customers' machines, using draconian DRM, constantly trying to shove proprietary crap down our throat, and the recent denial of fair use by it's customers despite using fair usage as an argument to defend against Universal Studios' lawsuit against them, I have decided that Sony can go @#$% itself. I will go out of my way to avoid doing any business with them. I urge everybody else to do the same.
One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces. - PF
Old consoles aren't selling as if they were cutting edge. Fascinating.
"Meanwhile, Sony is feeling the pain as well; the company sold 500,000 fewer PS3 consoles than in the previous quarter, and PSP sales saw an even bigger drop. Interestingly, Sony also revealed that the manufacturing cost of the PS3 has now dropped 70% since it was released."
That's just weird. I suppose that everyone who wants a PS3 has bought one. Similarly, I notice Ford has not sold many Model T cars recently.
Poor Sony, not selling as many, but making more money, because the cost has dropped to one-third.
Here's a similar story. Housing prices in the U.S. did not continue going up indefinitely. If they had, Goldman Sachs would have made more money.
It just don't have the horsepower needed for top games and since they want to release on pc at the same time, they can't really make two versions with huge differences inbetween.
They can make a version for Wii and a version for low-end PCs with an Intel GMA chip. That would especially appeal to people who own laptop computers or older desktop computers. In fact, a laptop can be carried into the living room and connected to the TV through a VGA cable.
Between installing malware on it's customers' machines, using draconian DRM, constantly trying to shove proprietary crap down our throat [...] I have decided that Sony can go @#$% itself.
What console doesn't use "draconian DRM"? What video game published by a major label isn't "proprietary crap"?
I have not encountered any malware or draconian DRM being installed on my PS3.
All PS3 games must be signed by Sony, or they won't be allowed to use the RSX chip and half the console's RAM. And I've read that it's harder to get approved for a PS3 game on Sony's PSN than for an iPod Touch game on Apple's App Store. How is that not "draconian DRM" for hobbyist developers and small businesses?
...I still think Sony is working on a new PS3 model with far more integrated chipsets to cut the cost even further.
With more integrated chipsets, the circuit board production cost goes down dramatically, and if properly engineered it may even run cooler than the original. This could result in a PS3 Slimline like what Sony did with the PlayStation 2 hardware redesign.
This is because of everyone downloading pirated gaming consoles off the Internet. Everyone, say hi to the GIAA (Gaming...)
All Japanese companies are seeing sales slowdowns. The Yen is strong against the dollar, which means costs for Japanese companies are higher, which means that they can't reduce prices to the extent their non-Japanese counterparts can. This, coupled with a huge recession which is already causing consumers to belt tighten leads to huge sales decreases. In other words, this has little or nothing to do with the games industry in particular.
Hitachi, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi also all saw sales decreases of the same magnitude as Sony and Nintendo.
The cake is a pie
Second the Pinball game and raise you Wii Active. Williams Pinball HoF is the first pinball game to displace 3D Ultra Pinball Thrillride on my playlist. If they come out with 2 or 3 more of these I will line up to get them.
As you suggest, we stocked up on games and controls and it got the whole family using it. I've settled on Pinball (which doesn't have to be noisy...adjust your TV/monitor volume to taste), and my wife loves Wii Active. It goes a lot further than Wii Fit (which started off great but fizzled for all 5 of us) by offering a much smarter workout schedule/program, and the resistance band helps too. I think it needs to be said that Wii Fit/Active is kind of like getting a stationary bike to use for a few months until you are (back) in shape so you can ride a street bike again for more than 100 yards. I did this way back when and it is nice to see my SO doing it now.
I have also seen the Wii convert non-singers into singers. Their talent level didn't really increase, but their confidence level does.
Our youngsters are not as hooked on the Wii, in part because they are such dyed-in-the-wool gamers. This is fine because we bought it as a family investment and it has more than paid for itself in the 4 months we have had it.
Wii gaming is different from xbox/PSx/DS/gameboy/PC gaming. It is more like a amusement park carnival than an electronic game, and brings different rewards/benefits.
I come here for the love
This is shaping up to be a very interesting generation of video games. Only a few years left!
News Flash: Sony makes more than just PS3's!
You're right: it also makes PSP and PS2. The article on GameSpot is mostly about Sony Computer Entertainment, the division that makes PlayStation products, not Sony Music or Sony Pictures.
All PC games that use the "Games for Windows" or "Games for Windows Live" must be signed by Microsoft.
But unlike games for Xbox 360, Wii, and PLAYSTATION 3, games for PC need not use the "Games for Windows" logo; there is a freely licensed alternative logo that reads "PC DVD-ROM SOFTWARE".
From the consumers point of view there is no malware or draconian DRM.
I would argue that the very concept of a "consumer", meaning one who just consumes and doesn't interact, itself arises from DRM and other aspects of copyright. With a few notable exceptions such as RPG Maker 2 for PlayStation 2, console games are not moddable, which forces players to be consumers.
I would argue that the very concept of a "consumer", meaning one who just consumes and doesn't interact, itself arises from DRM and other aspects of copyright. With a few notable exceptions such as RPG Maker 2 for PlayStation 2, console games are not moddable, which forces players to be consumers.
Well yes, that is the point. If you want to be able to mod a game or even make your own level you buy the PC version of the game. That has been the rule for who knows how long. It is stupid to assume you would be able to mod a game on a console because no one expects to be able to.
When people talk about DRM it is normaly in respect to not being able to resell games or other media (DRM iTunes music, PC games that require activation online like Spore or Call of Duty).
DRM does not exist on the console yet. You finish a game you can take it to GameStop and sell it to them, no questions asked. The only thing that would come close to DRM is the DLC which is tied to your account and not your game disk.
If you want to be able to mod a game or even make your own level you buy the PC version of the game.
Then what if I also want to have multiplayer without buying four PCs and four copies of the game?
Nintendo's the only one not surprised by this.
It seems only the analysts are surprised... this happens every year, it's called the post-E3 drought.
If you are talking about split screen multiplayer then again, you should not expect that from the PC version. Console games having split screen multiplayer and PC games not having it has also been the rule for who knows how long.
Again:
If you want to mod and make your own levels: Get the PC version.
If you want to play split screen multiplayer then get the console version.
These are the standards that have been around for as long as I have been playing games. Would it be nice for them to change? Yes. Do I expect them to? No.
Again:
If you want to mod and make your own levels: Get the PC version.
If you want to play split screen multiplayer then get the console version.
If I want to play split screen multiplayer inside of my own levels: Get what version?
As of right now you cant. Like I said, it would be nice for the standards/traditions/rules-of-thumb to change but I dont expect them to. At least not this gen, no clue what the next gen will bring.
On that note I know of a game that does not follow these standards: LittleBigPlanet. It would be nice if this is the starter of a new trend in multiplayer and user-generated content, however it currently is one of a kind.
I have not encountered any malware or draconian DRM being installed on my PS3.
tepples wrote:
I do not own a PLAYSTATION 3
P0ltergeist333 wrote:
This was your original reply to my comment.
Whose reply to whose comment?
if you want to avoid substandard, overpriced, and proprietary hardware that is not upgradeable [...] then avoid consoles.
I'm starting to agree more and more. But PCs have another problem: not enough games designed for four gamepads and an HDTV. My friends can't always bring gaming PCs when they visit my home.
any games development house using OpenGL ES in a production game are going to seriously suffer... it just isn't fully featured or has the performance required.
Graphics engines used by low-budget games don't need to be fully featured or high performance; they just need to work. A lot of games on Xbox 360's marketplace could have been made for the original Xbox, but there just wasn't an app store on that platform. Likewise, I'm guessing that some PS3 games on PSN could have been done on the PS2 except that PSN was never made available for PS2.
(Speaking as a person who works in a games software development house that devs for Xbox/Xbox 360/PS2/PS3/Wii/PC. )
What platform did this software development house's first title run on, and what are the steps from PC development to becoming licensed for a console?