Live and learn.
When the PlayStation 4 was initially unveiled, it seemed clear that Sony had learned from past mistakes. And SCE CEO Andrew House would agree with that assessment.
During a recent MCV UK interview (as cited by Examiner ), House said the rough ride Sony experienced during the early days of the PS3 gave them invaluable feedback, and they acted on that feedback:
"Anyone can point out how those learnings have translated into the decisions we’ve made around PS4 –– selection of architecture, emphasis on ease of development, understanding PS4 had to be a highly connected and social experience. These were products of some tough learning we did on PS3."
Yes, in many ways, the PS4 was a complete 180 when compared to the PS3 at launch. It was cheaper than anticipated (in fact, $200 cheaper than the $600 60GB PS3 when it released), it featured off-the-shelf PC parts that allowed developers to get more easily acquainted with the hardware (PlayStation consoles have been notoriously difficult to design for), and Sony worked to make the system as available as possible. More units are on the way to retailers right now and they've already sold over 2 million.
At about this time in 2006, the doom-and-gloom headlines dominated the Internet. It really was tough for the PS3 out of the gate, but Sony is definitely at fault for that. And they have indeed learned.
The biggest thing Sony learned was not to let Microsoft launch a year ahead of the PS4.
My point about the 360 winning the U.S. and U.K. markets has always been that the 360 launched way earlier than the PS3.
As we are seeing with the PS4 and Xbox One, I truly believe that if the PS3 launched within a week or so of the 360, the PS3 would have won the U.S. and U.K. markets, especially after the dominant PS2.
Alas, Sony stupidly let Microsoft get a foothold in both markets. Now, it will be a fight to win either market but one that Sony can win.
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty certain PS3 has overtaken 360 in all markets except North America. That includes Europe, and I believe that took place in 2011.
I do think there's a number of things PS4 is doing well beyond release date, though. PSN was weak at the start. The social features were weak, and the little gimmicky things weren't set up yet. They seem to be firing on all cylinders this time.
Sony has overtaken globally in my eyes.
Resold Xboxes to initial buyers (were not just talking one but multiple consoles here) shouldn't be counted towards sales. It was merely a 'you have to buy it or you have no way to play your games' rather than more people saying yeah, this is the console for me.
In honest sales I'd say Sony would beat them 2:1 if not more.
@ Underdog – Sony's on top in Europe, but not the UK, where the 360 still has a multi-million lead.
According to an interview I read elsewhere with Andrew House, a three million lead in the U.K.
But as pointed out, how many of those are replacement 360s?
Say what you want, though, but the 360 versions of multiplats normally outsold the PS3 versions in the U.S. and U.K., regardless of how many replacement consoles were out there. That tells you all you need to know because that is what game publishers look at, in my opinion.
This is why you don't want companies going out of business after one bad run – because they'll often learn from it and come back stronger. As long as MS and Ninty stick around, you can bet good money their next home consoles will be more tightly focussed, better designed products :).
Maybe not Ninty. It was delusional if it thought all those soccer moms and retirement homes would upgrade to its new console when the Wii still serves the purpose it was bought for initially. There was no way Ninty was going to duplicate the Wii's success because it was a fad just like the Furby or pet rock.
I'm pretty sure they also learned that losing $200-$300+ on every console sold was pretty poor decision as well seeing how that basically wiped out everything earned from the previous two generations and then some.
yea, thats pretty clear and thats whats hurt the ps4 so much.
everything that made $ony the success they are they turned their back on.
and it will come back and bite them HARD!
Sony's biggest mistake with the PS3 was their ego. They thought they could just throw a new product out and the PS2 crowd would follow. I'm a marketing guru and I was amazed that they briefly touched on the price differences between it and the Xbox.
Even at it top price point, the PS3 was a cheaper system when you factor in Xbox battery packs, proprietary harddrive, XBox Live membership, HD movie accessory, etc. The PS3 was a steal. Instead, they let MS control the price narrative and when unsuspecting parents walked into the store they bought what appeared to be the cheaper system.
Free online was really the only price discussion Sony used and that came a good year after launch. Had they brought the price and value talk before launch, consumers probably would have been more receptive of the PS3.
To this day, I'm amazed that MS fans think it's ok to put batteries in their controllers or be limited to proprietary accessories. There's a sucker born every minute I suppose.
Last edited by jaybiv on 12/20/2013 12:24:28 PM
To me, the things that gave the PS3 a rough start was it's price, lack of features, late launch, and lack of good games on launch.
But the PS3 was more future proof than the 360, and Sony cares more about the games and what people want. I mean look what Microsoft did to Rare.
I'm glad the PS4 is so successful right now. Many features that I wished were on PS3 are now on PS4. Some of you may like a console only for the purpose of gaming, but I like the little extra features as well, like background downloads and cross game chat. What's even better is they still have more features to add in the coming years.
Now if only Playstation can get a racing game like Forza (I don't think DriveClub is the same), it would be perfect IMO.
Last edited by TeHPoPPer on 12/22/2013 6:17:49 PM
yeah well they learned and look what we have from that now its a fantastic ps4 so i'm happy with what they done
happy gaming =)