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Title: Sony losing its way Post by: Roac on August 01, 2006, 06:14:21 AM There is a news article (http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/07/31/sonyat60.ap/index.html) out about issues with Sony in general. It doesn't mention the Playstation directly, although it does give good insight into the company mindset over the last few years, and how it might be changing in the near future. In particular is the notion that Sony has lost touch with its consumer, and has developed tech for tech sake. Things like Aibo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aibo) which made me wonder who buys this stuff has been canned months back, but it sounds like there are few sacred cows. No plasma TVs? That's surprising.
This makes more sense when looking at the blu-ray they have been pushing for the PS3, and the exorbitant pricetag that goes along with it. It's not just consoles where Sony has lost touch, it's all over the place. If so, that's bad news for the console since it means the company isn't just doing one head-scratcher, it's doing tons. Meaning, it's probably not due to "we know something you don't", but due to them really not having a clue. It's the sort of thing that a year or two from now may have worked, but the brand itself is probably not strong enough to pull customers in face of the cost. Title: Re: Sony losing its way Post by: Sky on August 01, 2006, 07:53:01 AM I don't the problem is BluRay or the PS3. Of course, I'm interested in both, so I'm biased.
But they definitely have myopia when it comes to proprietary formats like UMD and memory sticks. What Microsoft needs is a PSP-style device that allows you to play PC games :) Title: Re: Sony losing its way Post by: Engels on August 01, 2006, 08:14:54 AM You'd think that Sony would have stopped thinking it was god's gift to mankind after the betamax fiasco in the 80s. They're still trying to be apple while missing the crucial component of only having one competitor.
Title: Re: Sony losing its way Post by: Righ on August 02, 2006, 03:22:20 PM Does Apple have just one competitor today? A sizeable chunk of its income comes from iPods, for which there are numerous competitors. Outside of the iPod world, most of the money revolves around the Mac thing, which is a case of a desktop operating system being used to leverage sales in hardware and application software. There, their primary competitor would be Windows, but Linux is another sizable one, which itself has as much market share as Apple does.
I'm also not convinced that Sony are trying to be Apple. However, their boardroom got horribly out of touch with the market, and they've had to react to quite a few punishing wake-up calls recently. On the plus side, they appear to be changing faster than Apple did when under similar pressure a decade or so ago. Title: Re: Sony losing its way Post by: Sairon on August 02, 2006, 05:29:48 PM Yea shame on Sony for pushing new technology like CD etc :roll:
Title: Re: Sony losing its way Post by: Sky on August 03, 2006, 07:40:11 AM Saw a Blu-Ray player at Best Buy on a 1080p DLP. That is the shiz. Can't wait until I can get some concerts where you can see a guitarists fingerings and the subtleties of bent strings the way I can on Music Lab (an HD musician show).
If I buy a console this generation, it'll be the PS3. My dad, who has gotten into the xbox way more hardcore than I am, is going to buy one (he has a 1080p DLP). My buddy the ex-eqholic just bought a DLP and will be getting a PS3. At least in my smallish circle of experience, it's all about the PS3. I think that's Sony's gamble. Of course, I'm planning on building a new pc rather than get a first-gen PS3... |