Post by Lucy Youngblood on Jan 17, 2013 19:37:32 GMT -5
"Kaz Hirai said Sony will target customers willing to pay more and won't get sucked into a price war."
I really hope that this quote pertains only to Sony's TV business. People won't pay premium prices for devices unless it has an Apple logo on it. And even as we speak the shine is coming off that apple, as people turn to cheaper alternative Android phones, the noteworthy stand outs being the Galaxy Note/Tab/S3. Hell, even in the TV market Sony's insistence on trying to promote it's TV as premium products is exactly what has lead to it being in bad shape already thanks to cheaper tv sets made by korean makers, and Samsung/LG largely taking over the "budget tv" price point.
Has Sony learned nothing from the PS3's biggest mistake, the huge price which lost most of Sony's market share to people who ran out and bought a 360+Wii for the same price as the upcoming PS3? Oh, Ye Olde "people gonna wanna have 2 jobs to buy our shit" strategy. Good luck with that one, Sony. Or how about the PSP? Or PSVITA? Or Betamax? Or the countless other times they tried to sell their items at luxury prices and ended up getting beaten like redheaded step children by the competition, whom provided cheaper, more practical products? Charging a premium price for a games console is all well and good if you're offering a product that's substantially superior to your immediate competition. If you're offering a system that is either on par with the Durango - or so minutely superior that it doesn't benefit developers financially to take advantage of what your system is capable of doing better - then you CAN'T charge premium pricing. You HAVE to get dragged into a price war just to compete outside of Japan.
My gut instinct tells me that Sony will be Sony. They won't change, and they can't compete with a Microsoft contract subsidization price plan that incorporates Xbox LIVE or a cable subscription. I don't care how many years of free Plus they price into a purchase model. They will not be cheaper. They won't even be at a price equivalent. They will be more expensive. Substantially so. And not have Halo. And not have Gears. And not have timed-exclusive COD maps. And not have whatever exclusives Microsoft elects to moneyhat going forward. And customers (outside of the diehards) will not support it. His statements to the effect of 'we won't compromise on hardware and go all in because that's what people expect from us' make me lose faith and confidence. It's like Sony doesn't WANT to learn. The company needs to start making cost effective products that the market wants, and that it can profit off of, otherwise it is headed for a catastrophic decline. And that pisses me off. Stop being stubborn, Sony.
I really hope that this quote pertains only to Sony's TV business. People won't pay premium prices for devices unless it has an Apple logo on it. And even as we speak the shine is coming off that apple, as people turn to cheaper alternative Android phones, the noteworthy stand outs being the Galaxy Note/Tab/S3. Hell, even in the TV market Sony's insistence on trying to promote it's TV as premium products is exactly what has lead to it being in bad shape already thanks to cheaper tv sets made by korean makers, and Samsung/LG largely taking over the "budget tv" price point.
Has Sony learned nothing from the PS3's biggest mistake, the huge price which lost most of Sony's market share to people who ran out and bought a 360+Wii for the same price as the upcoming PS3? Oh, Ye Olde "people gonna wanna have 2 jobs to buy our shit" strategy. Good luck with that one, Sony. Or how about the PSP? Or PSVITA? Or Betamax? Or the countless other times they tried to sell their items at luxury prices and ended up getting beaten like redheaded step children by the competition, whom provided cheaper, more practical products? Charging a premium price for a games console is all well and good if you're offering a product that's substantially superior to your immediate competition. If you're offering a system that is either on par with the Durango - or so minutely superior that it doesn't benefit developers financially to take advantage of what your system is capable of doing better - then you CAN'T charge premium pricing. You HAVE to get dragged into a price war just to compete outside of Japan.
My gut instinct tells me that Sony will be Sony. They won't change, and they can't compete with a Microsoft contract subsidization price plan that incorporates Xbox LIVE or a cable subscription. I don't care how many years of free Plus they price into a purchase model. They will not be cheaper. They won't even be at a price equivalent. They will be more expensive. Substantially so. And not have Halo. And not have Gears. And not have timed-exclusive COD maps. And not have whatever exclusives Microsoft elects to moneyhat going forward. And customers (outside of the diehards) will not support it. His statements to the effect of 'we won't compromise on hardware and go all in because that's what people expect from us' make me lose faith and confidence. It's like Sony doesn't WANT to learn. The company needs to start making cost effective products that the market wants, and that it can profit off of, otherwise it is headed for a catastrophic decline. And that pisses me off. Stop being stubborn, Sony.