Sony did not learn from the PSX failure

People won't pay $600 for an entertainment device, even if it encompasses $800 worth of technology. The PSX (Japan only, all-in-one multimedia device) sales were abysmal, and Sony still went forward with their all-encompassing PS3.

Many reports have been coming in that PS3's are sitting on store shelves. The hype is waning, but more than that, consumers simply don't have $600 of disposable income. The market of 'must have it first' technology buffs has run dry and that leaves Sony with consoles that no one can afford.

The PSX's $1000 price tag should have shown Sony that even though all the technology in the device was definitely worth the price, the general population cannot afford that high of a price tag. Even the lower priced 360 at $400 has had less than stellar sales (360 is doing good, but not near as good as PS2 did during its first year).

It seems that Sony has still not learned from the PSX and floundering PS3 sales, as they are readying a even more expensive version of the PS3 to have more functionality. Another Sony product people can't afford to buy, even if they really want one.

Now that Sony has run out of it's hardcore & rich fanbase, I'm not sure how they can proceed without taking more heavy losses. They really need to bring the system down to a more reasonable price, but they shot themselves in the foot by making all games use the expensive Cell Processor and Blu-Ray. If Sony tries to downgrade the system to save money, they will alienate their fanbase. On the other hand, if they lower the price of the system, they will bury themselves deeper into a financial hole. Either way, they need to do something soon or this could be one of the worst technological blunders of all time.

Sources
This argument has no sources attached.

Posted by Brian

Views: 1270     Votes: 2

Share