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Sony's plan to compete with Xbox: Stay the course

Topher

Gold Member
The continuing phenomena of empty store shelves and inflated scalper prices over the past half-year or so already told us everything we needed to know, I suppose, but this week we got confirmation: both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are doing really rather nicely for themselves.

The financial results for Sony and Microsoft brought varying levels of detail about their consoles' performance, but both can be summed up as "strong" -- record-breaking, in fact. Hardware is selling as fast as either company can manufacture it, and while the global semiconductor shortage is putting a crimp on that supply chain, the volumes being moved are still enough to make this into almost certainly the fastest-selling console generation in history.

Moreover, both companies are also seeing rising numbers for their various subscription services, which is a big deal for them both -- especially for Microsoft, which has pinned much of its strategy for this generation on turning Xbox into a more hardware-agnostic gaming service.

The real contest between the two sides, the point at which they start swiping customers from one another for reasons other than stock availability, remains quite a way down the line
Everything is going great so far, then, but it's fair to say that the actual competition between these platforms hasn't really started yet. Even as the installed bases approach the ten million mark, few if any of the people who have braved the scalpers, the lotteries and the overwhelmed online retail sites to actually get their hands on a new console will have been making a serious choice between Xbox and PlayStation -- they're either early adopters who fully intend to own both at some point, or are super-fans who are deeply embedded in the ecosystem of one of the consoles and would never have seriously considered purchasing the other. The real contest between the two sides, the point at which they start swiping customers from one another for reasons other than stock availability, remains quite a way down the line.

Nonetheless, both companies are eyeing that future competition and setting their plans in place for it -- and while each firm has a slightly different vision of how the future of the console market will look, the need for high-profile, high-quality games to drive consumers to adopt their hardware and services remains crucial to both of them, just as it's been crucial to every console ever made.

Microsoft, starting from behind on this front but very clearly determined not to stay there, has made significant investments in development studios -- but perhaps tacitly acknowledging that most of those investments wouldn't pay off until quite a ways into this console generation, the company ultimately fired the biggest competitive salvo of the generation so far with the acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax. Doing so gave the company a major publisher with a pre-existing library of well-liked IP and a reasonably extensive product pipeline -- and while not all of that will necessarily be Xbox-exclusive even under Microsoft's ownership, it's obvious (and clearly stated) that the intention of the acquisition is to feed that pipeline into Game Pass, the crown jewel service of the Xbox ecosystem.

The industry is waiting for the other shoe to drop -- this is a major upset to the competitive landscape, and Sony has to have wargamed various possible responses. Don't underestimate how big a deal the Zenimax acquisition is; a platform holder buying a major publisher lock, stock and barrel is something genuinely new and a little unsettling for the industry.

Don't underestimate how big a deal the Zenimax acquisition is; a platform holder buying a major publisher is something genuinely new and a little unsettling for the industry
Previously, the most significant platform holder acquisition in recent decades was Microsoft's buyout of Rare, which had up until then been best known as a Nintendo "second-party" studio -- but that was just one developer, albeit a major one, and the move ultimately had a very limited impact on the competitive landscape. Bethesda is a much, much bigger deal; even if many of its games do also appear on PS5 (which remains possible, and even likely), "pay $70 on PlayStation or get it for free on Game Pass" is going to be a hell of an effective marketing line -- even before considering the likelihood of exclusive or timed-exclusive content and features on Xbox. Consequently, there's understandable interest in how Sony will respond to the challenge -- so Sony's results were of particular interest for any hints that might be forthcoming on that front.

The closest thing we got, in the end, was CFO Hiroki Totoki's comment about the company's plans to invest heavily in growing its internal studios -- a fairly boilerplate comment in an earnings call, but one that becomes a little more interesting when you consider the number that Totoki attached to that investment.

The increase in staffing at first-party studios carries a price tag of around $180 million this year, it seems -- that's just the year-on-year increase, not the total staffing budget -- which implies a pretty dramatic growth rate for Sony's existing studios and likely the creation of some new ones. Along with Totoki's mention of a renewed focus on second-party type relationships, the strategy Sony intends seems clear: exclusives, exclusives, exclusives, but with an emphasis on the kind that are created rather than acquired.

This makes sense -- after all, the major motivation for Microsoft in buying Zenimax must have been watching Sony drop hit after hit after hit for the PS4 in the latter years of its life and recognising how difficult it was going to be to match or exceed that kind of output.

The recent storm in a teacup over the decision not to greenlight a sequel to Days Gone only serves to highlight how extraordinary Sony's first- and second-party output has been in recent years; Days Gone was a perfectly competent and well-made game that only looks drab by comparison with the remarkable hits other Sony studios were turning out during this timeframe. Since it wasn't a highlight of the line-up, it's understandable that it's not getting a sequel; it's also not unfair to say that had Days Gone been an Xbox title, it absolutely would have been a highlight of the line-up, which only serves to illustrate the steep slope ahead of Microsoft and the reason it decided to spend billions on boosting itself uphill with a major acquisition.

Sony's plan is to stay the course, competing with Microsoft by continuing its journey to become not just a platform holder, but one of the world's biggest and most important game publishers
That major acquisition does change the structure of the industry -- it ups the stakes of platform competition and for Sony, it's arguably an existential threat. Various different responses will have been discussed and considered within the company, no doubt -- it's rumoured that an acquisition of Square Enix has been explored, for one -- but Totoki's comments seem to make clear that Sony's immediate response is going to be staying the course, doubling down hard on exactly the strategies that made the back half of the PS4's lifespan into one of the most dramatically successful periods, creatively and commercially, for any game console in history.

Whether that will be enough to see off competition from a Microsoft games division that's fired up, selling a fantastic console with a world-beating service offering, and willing to open its wallet and spend on exclusives of its own, is another question entirely. There is, however, a long-term logic to Sony's approach that's worth bearing in mind. The company wants PlayStation 5 to succeed, of course -- but ten, fifteen or twenty years down the line, it's almost impossible to say how the console business will look (or whether it'll even exist in anything that resembles its current form).

Of course, it's pretty certain that companies which hold major libraries of valuable IP and the skill and expertise to capitalise upon them will still be doing just fine. That's why, although Sony's investment will likely mean doubling down on some of the company's franchises, old and new, it's also likely to mean significant investment in more new IPs -- because expanding and building out its IP catalogue is one of the best ways it can hedge against competition and market upsets in years to come.

Not all of this makes perfect sense just yet -- the shuttering of Japan Studio and seeming willingness to let the remarkable talent that existed there just wither on the vine is something I genuinely can't wrap my head around in light of the company's intention to ramp up development elsewhere. That might be an artifact of the company itself still figuring out exactly what it needs to do to respond to the challenge represented by the Zenimax acquisition and the possible threat of even more major Microsoft acquisitions down the line.

For now, however, Sony's plan to compete in this generation is simple and audacious: it'll stay the course, competing with Microsoft by continuing its journey to become not just a platform holder, but one of the world's biggest and most important game publishers to boot.

Sony's plan to compete with Xbox: Stay the course | Opinion | GamesIndustry.biz

I can't really think of a reason for Sony to make drastic changes. Their first party output is stellar. Gamers obviously continue to invest heavily in the ecosystem. Sony could smooth out some bumps in their services, but for the most part, they continue to provide top notch games and that is what their customers clearly want.
 
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I don't understand why people think that Sony is gonna change their strategy if it works for them. More of the same and that's gonna be it.Sony won't compete with Microsoft directly in a way like they purchase publisher - we will do that and so on. Just like MS is not trying to do the same thing as Sony - they all have their own vision.

I am more curious about what other changes MS will bring to the table though. Very curious with all those rumours about big moves that MS made behind the scenes and their deal with Nintendo.
 
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MilkyJoe

Member
Sony's plan to compete with Xbox: Stay the course | Opinion | GamesIndustry.biz

I can't really think of a reason for Sony to make drastic changes. Their first party output is stellar. Gamers obviously continue to invest heavily in the ecosystem. Sony could smooth out some bumps in their services, but for the most part, they continue to provide top notch games and that is what their customers clearly want.


Oh God Reaction GIF
 
How can Sony possibly compete with Xbox - whom they've been dominating for 20+ years?
Because Xbox has completely reinvented itself over the last 4 years. They are a completely different animal now, Sony are actually losing studios, either closing them down or losing contracts with third parties who worked exclusively with them. All that and the market is shifting, Sony are not shifting with it unfortunately and it could be to their detriment.
 

CAB_Life

Member
I think Sony's road to success is reasonably certain this gen, however, they're not showing the mobility and adaptiveness of a company looking toward the future. Perhaps we'll see some more visionary strategy to tackle streaming and cross-platform ubiquity in the future. PC ports are a good start, but only a start, and it's not as if their competitors are going to politely wait for them to catch up, either.

I'm particularly worried about Amazon more than MS, since their a uniquely monopolistic and cancerous company who are focusing more and more of their resources and efforts on gaming.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Because Xbox has completely reinvented itself over the last 4 years. They are a completely different animal now, Sony are actually losing studios, either closing them down or losing contracts with third parties who worked exclusively with them. All that and the market is shifting, Sony are not shifting with it unfortunately and it could be to their detriment.

See what I'm talking about. Hopes and dreams are important.

Dream Big Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
 
Because Xbox has completely reinvented itself over the last 4 years. They are a completely different animal now, Sony are actually losing studios, either closing them down or losing contracts with third parties who worked exclusively with them. All that and the market is shifting, Sony are not shifting with it unfortunately and it could be to their detriment.
Meanwhile, PS5 is the fastest selling console of all-time.
 

ToadMan

Member
What else can they do?

MS is burning money trying to buy a market and making a loss (sorry “investing”) in the process. They can do that because they make money from other divisions, they can afford for games to lose for now.

Sony and to a larger extent Nintendo must make money from gaming. They don’t have other divisions piling up the cash to allow them to simply gift stuff to people.

So here we are - dealer one has good shit, is running a discrete business and has a good rep but it’s expensive, and dealer two is trying to get people hooked on their product by giving free shots now while hoping to corner the market and fuck people over with high prices and bad quality product later, once they’ve taken the turf.

Choose your poison. But I know which way the crack whores offering blowjobs for cheap games are heading.
 
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How can Sony possibly compete with Xbox - whom they've been dominating for 20+ years?
The thing is that Sony has never competed with Xbox having the full support of Microsoft. You should keep in mind that Sony is a conglomerate of 4 companies, where Playstation is essentially a pillar. It was akin Amazon Prime vs Netflix, where Netflix is the company dedicated to movie streaming, its lifeline - while for Amazon, Prime Video is something...That exists.

We have yet to see what this new Xbox can achieve, but making 7.5bln purchases is certainly something that MS would not do for its division just because it can.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
But Sony continues to be crushing the competition.

Why change anything? These articles makes no sense... MS that needs to change to find a way to try to fight back.

For more weird that looks MS needs to start to change the strategy to release games.... that over 6 years over promises, never delivers is not working.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
Okay Sony Fanboy. Jesus this reads like a fanboy. It’s worst then watching those stupid videos for Colt Eastwood. Dammit bro I’m so tired of fanboys. Just get it over with and just say daddy PlayStation has cum in me. Because it’s obvious when Sony and Microsoft and sometimes Nintendo does this? This is why the gaming community is a toxic waste of space. They put out these stupid articles just to spit a fanboy war and then people like OP posts these threads and acting like a corporate spokesperson.

Dude.....you need to chill out. If anyone is being toxic here it is you. If you disagree with what I said then fine. There is no need for this type of response at all.

Chill Leopard GIF
 
Because Xbox has completely reinvented itself over the last 4 years. They are a completely different animal now, Sony are actually losing studios, either closing them down or losing contracts with third parties who worked exclusively with them. All that and the market is shifting, Sony are not shifting with it unfortunately and it could be to their detriment.

While I agree with this for the most part, I think you're referring to Japan studios and the MLB wanting to go multi-plat to rake in more revenue? It's hard to to argue that Sony is dwindling with the amount of hype/excitement around recent releases/planned releases not to mention the insane demand for their consoles and the actual verifiable sales number of 7.8 Million units sold thus far. Sure, Xbox has some interesting projects in the pipeline, but when is that? When do they come? And what will the be competing against? The only thing I am even remotely interested in is Stalker 2, but that's coming to PC as well. Starfield could be interesting, but if it comes out looking like Outer worlds/Fallout, no thanks. But I have heard rumors of it being built on a new engine. I think the best thing, Xbox could do with their Bethesda purchase is to do a Bluepoint style remake of Skyrim. The formula works, you release a new edition, people buy it.
 

Drewpee

Banned
Sony's plan to compete with Xbox: Stay the course | Opinion | GamesIndustry.biz

I can't really think of a reason for Sony to make drastic changes. Their first party output is stellar. Gamers obviously continue to invest heavily in the ecosystem. Sony could smooth out some bumps in their services, but for the most part, they continue to provide top notch games and that is what their customers clearly want.
Nintendo has done the same thing for decades and it works for them so it makes sense for Sony to do the same.

Xbox had to change because the regular gaming model doesn't work for them, atleast in a way that makes it worthwhile for Microsoft.
 

Zeroing

Banned
What people never realized is that MS is not even competing with Sony… They been (since the Xbox one reveal) competing with imaginary “friends” like Apple TV. Google stadia etc…

for those saying MS is changing. They are actually doing what they think the competition ( google, Apple, Amazon) will do… 99% of the time they got it wrong.

We are reaching a state where Sony is not competing with MS, they (Sony ) the main company is embracing all platforms - Netflix, Spotify, epic store etc

what I mean by all this is, Sony and MS are much more than PlayStation and Xbox and much of their moves will not make sense if we view them only in the video game perspective
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
This is so obvious tho. Only ppl caught up in PR and us vs them mentality are looking for direct 1:1 responses to MS.

The contrast of articles now vs weeks ago is wild, lmao. There was even one the other day that basically said the changing face of Sony, is Sony doing what they have been always doing for some years now.

"They are changing, and thats OK."
"Also, they have been this way for years"

?
 

killatopak

Gold Member
But Sony continues to be crushing the competition.

Why change anything? These articles makes no sense... MS that needs to change to find a way to try to fight back.

For more weird that looks MS needs to start to change the strategy to release games.
Yeah but as customer, I would like Sony to follow MS in some of their strategies.

I would like them to at least pay more attention to BC titles. I mean it’s fine even if they aren’t getting those BC upgrades like Xbox but I would like for them to make it possible for me to transfer my digital purchases of PS1-PS3 to the PS5. I don’t want to bust out my PS3 whenever I want to play them. It was fine last gen because I seriously doubt the base PS4 could emulate the PS3 but the PS5 is much more powerful now not to mention PS1 and PS2 which they already did for the PS4.

I realize it’s not at the top of the priority list but I would like to at least know what they’re planning to do with it.
 

Papacheeks

Banned
Yet here we are 20 years later and xbox still competing now armed with far more studios than ever before. Gonna be interesting to see how this gen plays out!

Buying studios and managing them to produce results are two different things.

It's still a wait and see how this plays out for them.

Currently Returnal is on fire with reviewers, ratchet and clank looks eye melting in quality.

And none of this is including "other" titles they have coming and third party deals like Kena.
 

Aion002

Member
Okay Sony Fanboy. Jesus this reads like a fanboy. It’s worst then watching those stupid videos for Colt Eastwood. Dammit bro I’m so tired of fanboys. Just get it over with and just say daddy PlayStation has cum in me. Because it’s obvious when Sony and Microsoft and sometimes Nintendo does this? This is why the gaming community is a toxic waste of space. They put out these stupid articles just to spit a fanboy war and then people like OP posts these threads and acting like a corporate spokesperson.



You Are Amazing Love It GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
 

ethomaz

Banned
We've been hearing this "any day now MS will be dominant" for what, 20 years now?

Sony's plan is simple: keep selling the most consoles and the most games.
Because that simple plan is flawless... you need to sell hardware to sell software... if you sell more hardware more 3rd-party software will focus on you and everything will works.

It is crazy how fans even today believes that it is possible to have success selling low units of hardware.

Nintendo is a clear example that they only have success when sells higher numbers of hardware... every time they failed the hardware sold laughable numbers.

High revenue is important but only exits with higher units volume... it makes me happy when MS fans says the units are not important anymore for MS because that means my choose ecosystem will never fail to delivery.

Bigger userbase = more money = more investing in games = more gamers wanting that platform... it is a successful consoles complete circle.

Buying studios and managing them to produce results are two different things.

It's still a wait and see how this plays out for them.

Currently Returnal is on fire with reviewers, ratchet and clank looks eye melting in quality.

And none of this is including "other" titles they have coming and third party deals like Kena.
It is the forever waiting promises from Uncle Phil... each new year is “the best Xbox lineup ever”.
Dom Mattrik at least delivered goods.
 
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yurinka

Member
Well, with the exception of the first half of the 360, a couple of years where the PS3 wasn't released in the main PlayStation market (PAL lan) and some extra year where people was still managing how to make games with that alien hardware and people wasn't able to buy PS3 because it was too expensive, Sony dominated Microsoft.

Specially now, when PS4 sold more games than any other console in gaming history, it's 2.5M consoles away of being the best selling console ever at its point of lifetime, PS5 had the best launch ever, its 1st party exclusives are selling more than ever and Sony is making more money than any other platform holder ever did. Even in subscriptions they make more money and have more subscribers. Sony also releases more exclusives (1st, 2nd, 3rd, time or not, console or not), more new IPs and wins more awards.

I mean, this last quarter Sony almost made more money selling games and dlc only than the entire division where Microsoft has gaming. So no, they don't need to react and less giving away the games they sell because are giving them a ton of revenue and profit.



And if you are strictly talking about streaming its even worse:

dahcmUr.jpg
And xCloud is in beta, PS Now performs better and has a way bigger catalog.
 
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Derktron

Banned
I said what I said this sounds like next-level corporate speaking, it sounds like a fucking Colt Eastwood video, like stating the obvious to what WE ALL SHOULD KNOW about a company that intends to stay in completion. That is why I also posted "Water is Wet" implying to OP, no shit sherlock. Of course, Sony is going to be competitive with Microsoft and Nintendo.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Yeah but as customer, I would like Sony to follow MS in some of their strategies.

I would like them to at least pay more attention to BC titles. I mean it’s fine even if they aren’t getting those BC upgrades like Xbox but I would like for them to make it possible for me to transfer my digital purchases of PS1-PS3 to the PS5. I don’t want to bust out my PS3 whenever I want to play them. It was fine last gen because I seriously doubt the base PS4 could emulate the PS3 but the PS5 is much more powerful now not to mention PS1 and PS2 which they already did for the PS4.

I realize it’s not at the top of the priority list but I would like to at least know what they’re planning to do with it.
Well maybe we have different tastes in gaming... I’m Gemini after all.

I do want more and more games... I don’t care about games that I already played and completed... past games should live up in my memories... give me new experiences.
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
Because Xbox has completely reinvented itself over the last 4 years. They are a completely different animal now, Sony are actually losing studios, either closing them down or losing contracts with third parties who worked exclusively with them. All that and the market is shifting, Sony are not shifting with it unfortunately and it could be to their detriment.
It’s hyperbole mate.

I don’t even count Demon’s Souls as an exclusive game, as mechanically it’s the same as the PS3 version. I don’t count MM either as I truly believe it’s just a normal expansion.

However the PS5 already has Astrobot, Returnal and soon Ratchet and Clank. By the end of next year you’ll also be able to play GT7, God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West on it.

PlayStation is doing great.

In my opinion, Xbox is doing really well too. I own a Series S and love Game Pass, but Sony don’t have to follow suit. Both ideologies can co-exist.
 
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What else can they do?

MS is burning money trying to buy a market and making a loss (sorry “investing”) in the process. They can do that because they make money from other divisions, they can afford for games to lose for now.

Sony and to a larger extent Nintendo must make money from gaming. They don’t have other divisions piling up the cash to allow them to simply gift stuff to people.

So here we are - dealer one has good shit, is running a discrete business and has a good rep but it’s expensive, and dealer two is trying to get people hooked on their product by giving free shots now while hoping to corner the market and fuck people over with high prices and bad quality product later, once they’ve taken the turf.

Choose your poison. But I know which way the crack whores offering blowjobs for cheap games are heading.
Damn, what an edgelord. Make sure to not cut yourself on that edge.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Okay Sony Fanboy. Jesus this reads like a fanboy. It’s worst then watching those stupid videos for Colt Eastwood. Dammit bro I’m so tired of fanboys. Just get it over with and just say daddy PlayStation has cum in me. Because it’s obvious when Sony and Microsoft and sometimes Nintendo does this? This is why the gaming community is a toxic waste of space. They put out these stupid articles just to spit a fanboy war and then people like OP posts these threads and acting like a corporate spokesperson.
If you thought that was as bad as Colt Eastwood.....its time to step away from all this for awhile.

An opinion thats not a troll or a hot take that you dont agree with doesnt equal fanboy.

Just like Goliath blackberry laughing off the hilarious idea of apple gaining traction in the cell phone market.


lol Joking aside I think all 3 console makers are all in for a success gen.
I get whet you're saying....but using the smartphone market might not be the best analogy to use here...just saying....

For one, Sony was ahead of the game with streaming games and a downloadable games service. And they are doing VR on consoles. They are surely adapting, something BB..Palm....and MS either didnt do or did way too late in the smartphone market. And in MS case they tried to straddle Android, old Win Mo and iPhone when they should have just picked one direction. Their hybrid approach with Win Phone, WIn Phone 7 was the wrong idea.

And...IMO MS should have never let Google do what it did. MS was there before Google, with an updated UI on the HTC HD2 and somehow they let Android come in and outdo them on their turf. Android resembles the old Win Mo so much its not funny.

Android looks like what the evolution of what Win Mo should have been.
 
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Shmunter

Member
Ps+ getting heavy hitters each month seemingly. Competition is good as usual.

Once you’ve been in the system long enough you build up a huge library too. Got about 250 games from ps+ and a backing longer than my Schlong.
 
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