The PlayStation Company: why Sony should ditch almost everything else

Started by 7H3, Feb 20, 2015, 01:34 AM

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7H3

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/19/8068607/sony-should-focus-on-ps4
Quote
It's funny how times change. Twenty years ago, the PlayStation was a skunkworks product that a renegade faction within Sony had just fought to get released. Now here we are in 2015, and Sony CEO Kaz Hirai -- a former boss of the PlayStation division -- has announced that the company is essentially going to stop trying to grow its consumer electronics businesses beside the PlayStation 4. The PlayStation isn't only Sony's last great product; it might as well be Sony's only product.

Sony is The PlayStation Company.

Sony has always been the crown jewel of Japan's once-dominant technology industry. The company made beautifully designed, highly profitable devices in just about every category imaginable and imagined a few categories of its own. But the one invention with the potential to unify the company -- the internet -- proved to be its undoing. Sony botched the shift to digital music, it missed the move to smartphones and tablets, and has consistently failed to create a compelling ecosystem for its products. Now the smartphone -- other companies' smartphones, usually -- has replaced almost everything it sells.
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PlayStation is different. To be clear, the PS4 is the only truly compelling product that Sony sells today. That's not to say it's the only good product -- almost everything the company makes is at least fit for purpose. But the PS4 is the only Sony product with genuine differentiation. Everything about its launch was textbook; Sony created a sleek, powerful, affordable console and targeted it right at the heart of a clear demographic while Microsoft sank its own credibility with boneheaded decision after decision.

Today, the PlayStation brand stands for the cool, futuristic gaming experience as much as it ever did in the '90s. The PS4 isn't a do-everything box -- it is simply ruthlessly efficient at what it is intended to do, offering unbeatable performance and design for the price. The Xbox One will continue to do fine in North America, but Sony is right back at the forefront of the colossal video games industry.


This is a really interesting article and a great read.
"It's hip to be square." - Eurogamer<br />"Shut up its art!" -Legend

7H3

Other articles circling around sony right now talk of it ditching / spinning off basically everything else from movies / music to smartphones and tv's
"It's hip to be square." - Eurogamer<br />"Shut up its art!" -Legend

Raven

Sony will probably be ditching anything that is costing them a lot of money. Whatever isn't currently costing them much and has potential to be very profitable will likely remain. Their financial arm and the components production will almost certainly stick around. If Sony is going to no longer make smartphones then the next best thing for them to do is make the parts for them. They already produce half the CMOS image sensors in the electronics industry and are supposedly on the verge of expanding on that. Their shift to focusing on PlayStation is an obvious move considering the current situation and their planned expansion on the brand name is something I'm surprised didn't happen sooner. Though considering how clearly incompetent the last guy was I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

If Sony can start offering great, competitive streaming services and increase its presence in the video game industry intelligently they may very likely find themselves with a ton of money in the bank within the next 5 years. From there they can make careful, calculated decisions and take some risks but this time with enough money in their wallet that they can afford to have it be unprofitable in the short term if it means very good long term gains. They would just be wise to end what looks like a losing venture before it becomes an infected wound on their financials like so many divisions they had were.

What could also be a huge gain for them is if Microsoft exits the console market like some people are speculating. A lot of Microsoft's studios are supposedly shifting to HoloLens, PC, and mobile development. If this happens that would leave Sony and Nintendo to battle in the console space while Microsoft wins by essentially being a third-party developer for that market. There may always be some other companies that try their luck with consoles but Sony would clearly be in the advantage in such a scenario. They would be pretty much the undisputed king of that hill and the market would practically be their playground.

7H3

good points, and with the other article i posted about MS earlier it seems likely that MS might be going back to its roots of strictly being a software development company rather than hardware.
"It's hip to be square." - Eurogamer<br />"Shut up its art!" -Legend

FLGibsonIII

Weren't they doing decent in the movie department?
All aboard the hype train.

Legend

Yeah they are focusing more and more on playstation, but they need to watch out. Gen after gen it shows anything can happen. The ps5 could be a flop and Sony could go under.

Sony can focus on playstation, but they also need to focus on expanding gaming itself. Increase the console market, figure out a way into smartphone gaming, and even create the next type of devices ala VR and injectable games or something.

darkknightkryta

Sony more or less is already doing this.  Vaio has been sold off and T.V. is being spun off.  Everything else in Sony is profitable.  Plus as others have mentioned, Microsoft is probably exiting the console space.  They've wasted too much money over the past 10 years on chasing the boogie man (Games, Music, etc).  When the real threat arrived, they did fudge all.  Pumped 8 billion in Bing, 8 billion into Xbox, 7 billion into Nokia.  23 billion dollars wasted.  You could buy a small country with that money.

7H3

I think if their tvs were better priced they would do better. The thing that hurts the phone division the most is most are only sold at t mobile which was until recently only the fourth largest carrier. They could recover it if their phones were sold at more retailers for every carrier
"It's hip to be square." - Eurogamer<br />"Shut up its art!" -Legend

Xevross


I think if their tvs were better priced they would do better. The thing that hurts the phone division the most is most are only sold at t mobile which was until recently only the fourth largest carrier. They could recover it if their phones were sold at more retailers for every carrier

I don't know if its different over there but I see Sony phones a lot in the UK, at most stores

Legend


I don't know if its different over there but I see Sony phones a lot in the UK, at most stores


Uk an Europe in general still like Sony.

It's only dead in America.

darkknightkryta


I think if their tvs were better priced they would do better. The thing that hurts the phone division the most is most are only sold at t mobile which was until recently only the fourth largest carrier. They could recover it if their phones were sold at more retailers for every carrier

I don't know where you live, but Sony TV's here are priced competitively.  You'd have to go to cheap brands to get cheaper, like RCA and others I can't think of right now.  From what I understand, there's a competitive problem that prevents Sony from getting their phones into other carriers.  Like, Sony would either have to give the phone away or pay a lot of money.  Apple and Samsung don't because the other carriers want their phones.  I think this is also the reason why other phone developers are hurting.  Plus phones have reached saturation, it's difficult to make money off of cellphones anymore.

Raven


I don't know where you live, but Sony TV's here are priced competitively.  You'd have to go to cheap brands to get cheaper, like RCA and others I can't think of right now.  From what I understand, there's a competitive problem that prevents Sony from getting their phones into other carriers.  Like, Sony would either have to give the phone away or pay a lot of money.  Apple and Samsung don't because the other carriers want their phones.  I think this is also the reason why other phone developers are hurting.  Plus phones have reached saturation, it's difficult to make money off of cellphones anymore.


Yeah. Samsung is practically synonymous with Android and everyone knows Apple. Windows phones are a small percentage of the pie. The only way for other companies to break into the market and have it be worth it is if Samsung was toppled and other Android-based brands started duking it out. Even then it's only a matter of time until one gains the lead. It's just not a good time for Sony to try and force their way in. Samsung is too strong right now and Sony can't afford the massive investment needed to challenge it and likely fail.

darkknightkryta


Yeah. Samsung is practically synonymous with Android and everyone knows Apple. Windows phones are a small percentage of the pie. The only way for other companies to break into the market and have it be worth it is if Samsung was toppled and other Android-based brands started duking it out. Even then it's only a matter of time until one gains the lead. It's just not a good time for Sony to try and force their way in. Samsung is too strong right now and Sony can't afford the massive investment needed to challenge it and likely fail.

It should also be worth noting that sales of Samsung phones are also down.  It's probably on the start of being unprofitable for them as well.

7H3

Sony TV's are usually 200-300 more than samsung tvs
"It's hip to be square." - Eurogamer<br />"Shut up its art!" -Legend

Xevross

Yeah, sony TVs are the most expensive here too. They make the best quality ones for the sizes but way too expensive for anyone on a budget