Why did Sony lose America?

1. It's price was too high at launch. Especially since it wasn't a more capable game machine than the competition, despite launching a year late and costing $200 more.

2. Your statement about exclusives carries much less weight relative to last generation when there were literally hundreds of third party exclusive PS2 games. You could probably count the number of third party PS3 exclusives on two hands. In other words, on the HD consoles third party exclusives are almost non-existant. This point shouldn't be underestimated. We all knew early on the PS3 would not be getting anywhere near the number of exclusives the PS2 received. Japanese RPGs were non-existant on the original X-Box for example, yet the 360 has just as many as the PS3.

As an illustration:

# of PS exclusives made by Namco last generation: more than 30

# of PS exclusives made by Namco this generation: 3

PS2 US launch: 29 Games, 20 exclusives, 1 1st party exclusive, 19 3rd party exclusives

PS3 US launch: 12 Games, 4 exclusives, 2 1st party excusives, 2 3rd party exclusives (RR7, a beefed up port of RR6 on the 360 and Mobil Suit Gundam: Crossfire)

360 US launch: 20 Games, 6 exclusives, 3 1st party exclusives, 3 3rd party exclusives

And as for the small category of games known as 1st party exclusives, it just caught up to the 360 in high scoring exclusives this year or late last year, which doesn't make that category, a category NOWHERE near as significant as SW thinks it is, as much of a no-brainer as SW seems to think it is. Further, the slight advantage it has in exclusives is somewhat offset by the much greater multi-platform support for the 360, which consistently sees releases missing from the PS3 library that are not exclusives like Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, Command & Conquer 3, Gears of War, Splinter Cell Conviction, and the upcoming Witcher 2.

3. Microsoft had superior marketing to Sony early this generation.

4. Console FPS took off in a big way this generation and the core base of that genre was better established with Microsoft.

at first the ps3 was expensive as hell. 360 came out first and at a lower price. ps3 at first had poor game choices.

but i think ps3 is starting to become very popular in america due to its reduced price and awesome exclusives coming out. and it has free online play. and the controllers come with installed rechargeable batteries.

oh and they are also sucker for media slur campaigns joel_c17

Americans are trying to buy from American companies. xhawk27

Sony didn't "lose" America nor did they "lose" ayone else either. Yes they are not as successful compared to their overwhelmig dominance last gen, but they are still doing pretty good and are neck-and-neck with the 360 at this point. But I think the reason why they got off to a slow start was because they launched an over priced system, $600 is SERIOUSLY insane, especially if your a college student like me. I would never spend $600 on video games, ever, much more important stuff to use that money for. And they didn't really havea strong lauch line up and PSN wasn't what it is today....

Today however PS3 is doing VERY well and is IMO the best console on the market. PSN my not have all the features of Live and it may be a little less integrated with things like messagig and invites ect... But damn it's a good service and it's free and it really makes you question the value of xbox live. PS3 also has a wide range of quality exclusives plus all the great multiplats, that despite what fanboys like to argue about, look EXACTLY the same as their 360 counter parts, invisble differences do not make one version "superior" or "inferior" IMO.

Overall the PS3 is a great system and is totally worth buying!

Sony didn't "lose" America nor did they "lose" ayone else either. Yes they are not as successful compared to their overwhelmig dominance last gen, but they are still doing pretty good and are neck-and-neck with the 360 at this point. But I think the reason why they got off to a slow start was because they launched an over priced system, $600 is SERIOUSLY insane, especially if your a college student like me. I would never spend $600 on video games, ever, much more important stuff to use that money for. And they didn't really havea strong lauch line up and PSN wasn't what it is today....

Today however PS3 is doing VERY well and is IMO the best console on the market. PSN my not have all the features of Live and it may be a little less integrated with things like messagig and invites ect... But damn it's a good service and it's free and it really makes you question the value of xbox live. PS3 also has a wide range of quality exclusives plus all the great multiplats, that despite what fanboys like to argue about, look EXACTLY the same as their 360 counter parts, invisble differences do not make one version "superior" or "inferior" IMO.

Overall the PS3 is a great system and is totally worth buying!

ShadowMoses900

[QUOTE="xhawk27"]Americans are trying to buy from American companies. Genesis-X

The 360 was released earlier and cheaper than the PS3. Therefore it had a larger base of users which persuaded others to buy the Xbox.

Americans are suckers for marketing.joel_c17

MS saw a smaller percentage growth in the US than in Japan or Europe relative to last generation.

at least 100,000 people buy ps3s a month in US....the real question is why the 360 only sells 1000 units a week in japan? they are more bias than US when it comes to this stuff it seems.

[QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

Sony didn't "lose" America nor did they "lose" ayone else either. Yes they are not as successful compared to their overwhelmig dominance last gen, but they are still doing pretty good and are neck-and-neck with the 360 at this point. But I think the reason why they got off to a slow start was because they launched an over priced system, $600 is SERIOUSLY insane, especially if your a college student like me. I would never spend $600 on video games, ever, much more important stuff to use that money for. And they didn't really havea strong lauch line up and PSN wasn't what it is today....

Today however PS3 is doing VERY well and is IMO the best console on the market. PSN my not have all the features of Live and it may be a little less integrated with things like messagig and invites ect... But damn it's a good service and it's free and it really makes you question the value of xbox live. PS3 also has a wide range of quality exclusives plus all the great multiplats, that despite what fanboys like to argue about, look EXACTLY the same as their 360 counter parts, invisble differences do not make one version "superior" or "inferior" IMO.

Overall the PS3 is a great system and is totally worth buying!

delta3074

I don't care about sells since I'm not a stock holder but I'm pretty sure the PS3 is doing alot better than you are making it out to be and I don't think it's getting slaughterd. Overall I would say that Sony is doing pretty well and these dooms day prophicies about them are just ridiculous, and the fact that the PS3 costs more than the 360 even with the price drop proves that the PS3 is in more demand than the 360. Honestly I don't see the reason of owning a 360 at this point unless you are a hardcore Halo or Gears fan, otherwise PS3 is the way to go IMO.....

at least 100,000 people buy ps3s a month in US....the real question is why the 360 only sells 1000 units a week in japan? they are more bias than US when it comes to this stuff it seems.

KBFloYd

sony: dam! we lost america!

me: where'd you see it last?

sony: idk, it was in the western hemisphere last time we saw it.

me: hmm, maybe you should check your couch cushions.

[QUOTE="delta3074"][QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

Sony didn't "lose" America nor did they "lose" ayone else either. Yes they are not as successful compared to their overwhelmig dominance last gen, but they are still doing pretty good and are neck-and-neck with the 360 at this point. But I think the reason why they got off to a slow start was because they launched an over priced system, $600 is SERIOUSLY insane, especially if your a college student like me. I would never spend $600 on video games, ever, much more important stuff to use that money for. And they didn't really havea strong lauch line up and PSN wasn't what it is today....

Today however PS3 is doing VERY well and is IMO the best console on the market. PSN my not have all the features of Live and it may be a little less integrated with things like messagig and invites ect... But damn it's a good service and it's free and it really makes you question the value of xbox live. PS3 also has a wide range of quality exclusives plus all the great multiplats, that despite what fanboys like to argue about, look EXACTLY the same as their 360 counter parts, invisble differences do not make one version "superior" or "inferior" IMO.

Overall the PS3 is a great system and is totally worth buying!

ShadowMoses900

I don't care about sells since I'm not a stock holder but I'm pretty sure the PS3 is doing alot better than you are making it out to be and I don't think it's getting slaughterd. Overall I would say that Sony is doing pretty well and these dooms day prophicies about them are just ridiculous, and the fact that the PS3 costs more than the 360 even with the price drop proves that the PS3 is in more demand than the 360. Honestly I don't see the reason of owning a 360 at this point unless you are a hardcore Halo or Gears fan, otherwise PS3 is the way to go IMO.....

[QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

[QUOTE="delta3074"]dude, they are far from neck-and-neck in america, the 360 is slaughtering the ps3 there, month after month since the ps3 released, except about 2 months,the NPD has shown the 360 outselling the ps3 at least 2-1, they may be neck-and-neck worldwide but the fact is that SONY lost a huge amount of marketshare to MS in america, the same can be said of the UK as welldelta3074

I don't care about sells since I'm not a stock holder but I'm pretty sure the PS3 is doing alot better than you are making it out to be and I don't think it's getting slaughterd. Overall I would say that Sony is doing pretty well and these dooms day prophicies about them are just ridiculous, and the fact that the PS3 costs more than the 360 even with the price drop proves that the PS3 is in more demand than the 360. Honestly I don't see the reason of owning a 360 at this point unless you are a hardcore Halo or Gears fan, otherwise PS3 is the way to go IMO.....

I'm an economics minor is school right now and while the 360 has outsold the PS3 in the US, the PS3 is still doing pretty well here. It's all about supply and demand, the PS3 is still more expensive than the 360 and people are still buying it, and that's because it is more in demand than the 360. If it wasn't the price of the system would be less....

Nevertheless, I don't care because I'm not a share holder so unless I get a paycheck from these companies it doesn't affect me. And if you want to argue sells than you should check out the Wii, not fair to leave that out now is it?

[QUOTE="delta3074"][QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

I don't care about sells since I'm not a stock holder but I'm pretty sure the PS3 is doing alot better than you are making it out to be and I don't think it's getting slaughterd. Overall I would say that Sony is doing pretty well and these dooms day prophicies about them are just ridiculous, and the fact that the PS3 costs more than the 360 even with the price drop proves that the PS3 is in more demand than the 360. Honestly I don't see the reason of owning a 360 at this point unless you are a hardcore Halo or Gears fan, otherwise PS3 is the way to go IMO.....

ShadowMoses900

I'm an economics minor is school right now and while the 360 has outsold the PS3 in the US, the PS3 is still doing pretty well here. It's all about supply and demand, the PS3 is still more expensive than the 360 and people are still buying it, and that's because it is more in demand than the 360. If it wasn't the price of the system would be less....

Nevertheless, I don't care because I'm not a share holder so unless I get a paycheck from these companies it doesn't affect me. And if you want to argue sells than you should check out the Wii, not fair to leave that out now is it?

[QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

[QUOTE="delta3074"]just look at the NPD reports for the last 5 years,trust me, in america the 360 is slaughtering the ps3 in sales dude, i am not saying the ps3 is a bad machine, it's slaughtering the 360 in most of europe and japan,and will catch up to the 360 in WW sales within the nxt 2 years IMO but the fact remains, in america the 360 is otselling the ps3 month after month buy at least 100,000 units even now and for a few years it was 2-1.delta3074

I'm an economics minor is school right now and while the 360 has outsold the PS3 in the US, the PS3 is still doing pretty well here. It's all about supply and demand, the PS3 is still more expensive than the 360 and people are still buying it, and that's because it is more in demand than the 360. If it wasn't the price of the system would be less....

Nevertheless, I don't care because I'm not a share holder so unless I get a paycheck from these companies it doesn't affect me. And if you want to argue sells than you should check out the Wii, not fair to leave that out now is it?

I wasn't angry, sorry if I came across that way. I just don't think the PS3 is a failure like alot of people try to make it out to be. And I'm only an economic minor, so I'm not the best. My major is criminology, so I'm good at understanding the market but not the best...

XBOX 360 came out first

Sony's $599 console

[QUOTE="delta3074"][QUOTE="ShadowMoses900"]

I'm an economics minor is school right now and while the 360 has outsold the PS3 in the US, the PS3 is still doing pretty well here. It's all about supply and demand, the PS3 is still more expensive than the 360 and people are still buying it, and that's because it is more in demand than the 360. If it wasn't the price of the system would be less....

Nevertheless, I don't care because I'm not a share holder so unless I get a paycheck from these companies it doesn't affect me. And if you want to argue sells than you should check out the Wii, not fair to leave that out now is it?

ShadowMoses900

I wasn't angry, sorry if I came across that way. I just don't think the PS3 is a failure like alot of people try to make it out to be. And I'm only an economic minor, so I'm not the best. My major is criminology, so I'm good at understanding the market but not the best...

Price at launch.

Timing of launch.

Online focus of this generation.

Shooter focus of this generation.

[QUOTE="Pug-Nasty"]

The 360 came out first, was cheaper, and had an excellent marketing campaign.

These things certainly helped MS gain ground in the U.S. But, the U.S. isn't all of the Americas, and i don't know how the other countries lean on console preference.

kuu2

History disagrees with you. Super Nes came out second, Playstation1 came out second, Playstations2 came out second. Strange how they were dominant and PS3 was not.

According to history, i.e. my previous post you just quoted, I said those things helped Microsoft gain a lead in the U.S.

Well, I guess its hard to predict tastes of a country that actually enjoys wrestling. :roll:

It came out first and it wasn't $600 dollars. Also, people would buy the console their friends had. I didn't personally see someone have a PS3 until fall 2008, my Junior year of college. My roommate had one. Most people either had a 360 or a PS2.

People are not really explaining why it lost North America. A lot of the answers seem to be "it came out first", "it was expensive" and "the online is better" but that is the same for Europe and still the PS3 continues to outsell the 360 there.

It's because of the same reason MS lost Japan. Americans are trying to buy from American companies. xhawk27

Oh, you Americans and your abysmal tastes.

Sagem28

Seriously i remember last GEN, Americans loved the PS2, it was the most sold system even tho it was the weaker/ the online wasnt as good compared to live etc.

But this gen americans totally ignored the ps3, even with its Free Online ( and i thought this was going to be a strong feature since the american economy is pretty bad) lots of good exclusives+fps etc.

Why, did americans abandon Sony this gen?

Solid_Tango

People are not really explaining why it lost North America. A lot of the answers seem to be "it came out first", "it was expensive" and "the online is better" but that is the same for Europe and still the PS3 continues to outsell the 360 there.

greenskittles

Console gaming in general including games is even more expensive in Europe and if your going to pay an outrageous price anyways you go with the brand you know.

Which brings up another point. MS has sold 2x as many 360s as original XBs in America, but its sold 3x as many 360 as original XBs in Europe. How fast do you expect them to grow in an established market where they've had a weak presence in the past.

If anything Europeans and Japanese are changing their minds toward MS at a faster rate than the Americans, who were already growing fans of MS late last generation.

Sadly no one thinks threw when buying there consoles they just go for what came out first and cheaper. Say you bought your xbox when it came out in Nov 2005 or hell say you bought it when PS3 came out in Nov 2006. You looked at the two and saw that xbox was cheaper but had to pay for online but PS3 is more expensive and has free online. The Xbox cost $299.99 without a hard drive or $399.99 with a 20 Gb hard drive. Now the PS3 was $499 with a 20 Gb hard drive at this time. Now lets say you bought a Xbox with out a hard drive and i bought a PS3. Ohkay well now you don't have a hard drive so i don't know the price they were back then but i'm pretty sure they weren't any cheaper then $50 for a Xbox hard drive. Now you have played your xbox to this day with LIVE. I'm gonna say 1 year of xbox would be around $40 since sometimes we would buy it at cheap and other times at full price. Now it's 5 years later and you are having fun pwning newbs on COD or GW3 and i'm having a good old time playing some COD and some Uncharted. I paid $499 for my system, hard drive, and to play online. You paid $550 for your system, hard drive, and ability to play online. PS3 was cheaper in the long run not to mention for some of those dedicated xbox people out there that had to buy a new xbox because theirs RROD on them. I know some people never had there xbox red ring on them but I know a large amount of people have, I would know i use to fix them for everyone.

Oh, you Americans and your abysmal tastes.

Sagem28

PS2 is abysmal :P

Easily explained..

PS3 comes out a year later than 360 at 200 bones more for what many knew was about equal hardware and that has been pretty much proved at this point so, ya might say, America is harder to fool then the rest of the world. 8)

Oh and plus, a severe lack of great games at and a good bit after launch. :o

Hey now, don't go shooting the messenger. :P

A cup of 599 USD, a couple pounds of GIANT ENEMY CRABS, a teaspoon of arrogance and a pinch of slow Blu-ray streaming speed mixed together with REAL-TIME WEAPON CHANGES and baked at RIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RAAAAACER for 60 minutes.foxhound_fox

Two major factors that Sony's PS3 didn't do as well in the US imo is that the 360 came out first, and when the PS3 did finally come out it cost to damn much. I did purchase a PS3 at it's $600 price point, but not everyone can afford to drop $600 on a gaming system...There are other factors in this equation as well...like the Wii's price, release date and the fact that it was more kid / family friendly. With everything going against the PS3 I'm happy that it did as well as it has in the past 4 to 5 years.

of my stand point as a 360 owner

i love the controller for every game it feels right the ps3 controller makes my hands feel to close together

RROD i got a 3 year warrenty i sent it in free and get it back and the warrenty restarts

i like the games.i enjoyed xbl when halo2 was the coolest game on the block i knew my choice from the get go

i like what online has to offer with dlc demos and videos netflix (both systems have) etc

though im all around gamer and i dont get bought in by exclusives but gears of war takes the cake as a 3rd person shooter it's so smooth and violent blood omg orgamsic!.

ps3 i see nothing but exclusives or they are taking ours (ninja gaiden castle crashers etc).though the games are fun just not bought in by the exclusives like batman AA the ps3 was the only one with the joker cmon....though for psn for what it's worth the ps1 games seem to be the only redeeming thing since with the upgrade(lawl wut?) they downgraded.

but in the end it's all opinion they both run on 1080p so thats the same graphical power so what system you love the choice is yours

america=ms

japan=sony

of my stand point as a 360 owner

i love the controller for every game it feels right the ps3 controller makes my hands feel to close together

RROD i got a 3 year warrenty i sent it in free and get it back and the warrenty restarts

i like the games.i enjoyed xbl when halo2 was the coolest game on the block i knew my choice from the get go

i like what online has to offer with dlc demos and videos netflix (both systems have) etc

though im all around gamer and i dont get bought in by exclusives but gears of war takes the cake as a 3rd person shooter it's so smooth and violent blood omg orgamsic!.

ps3 i see nothing but exclusives or they are taking ours (ninja gaiden castle crashers etc).though the games are fun just not bought in by the exclusives like batman AA the ps3 was the only one with the joker cmon....though for psn for what it's worth the ps1 games seem to be the only redeeming thing since with the upgrade(lawl wut?) they downgraded.

but in the end it's all opinion they both run on 1080p so thats the same graphical power so what system you love the choice is yours

america=ms

japan=sony

almasdeathchild

... Ninja Gaiden was Nintendo's first.... Give us back Grand Theft Auto.... How can you see nothing but exclusives? If PS3 had nothing but exclusives then Xbox would have nothing but exclusives unless they are only putting the same game out on Xbox and Wii?!....Xbox is an upscale from 720p to 1080p, PS3 is the only one with true 1080P

Seriously i remember last GEN, Americans loved the PS2, it was the most sold system even tho it was the weaker/ the online wasnt as good compared to live etc.

But this gen americans totally ignored the ps3, even with its Free Online ( and i thought this was going to be a strong feature since the american economy is pretty bad) lots of good exclusives+fps etc.

Why, did americans abandon Sony this gen?

Solid_Tango

I got PS1-2 because they offered me Japan

Now that FF, MGS, RE etc are all multiplatform this is gone and now 360 has the best of all worlds

For example, 360 gets Witcher 2 and Dark Souls, while no other system on this planet gets both

[QUOTE="almasdeathchild"]

of my stand point as a 360 owner

i love the controller for every game it feels right the ps3 controller makes my hands feel to close together

RROD i got a 3 year warrenty i sent it in free and get it back and the warrenty restarts

i like the games.i enjoyed xbl when halo2 was the coolest game on the block i knew my choice from the get go

i like what online has to offer with dlc demos and videos netflix (both systems have) etc

though im all around gamer and i dont get bought in by exclusives but gears of war takes the cake as a 3rd person shooter it's so smooth and violent blood omg orgamsic!.

ps3 i see nothing but exclusives or they are taking ours (ninja gaiden castle crashers etc).though the games are fun just not bought in by the exclusives like batman AA the ps3 was the only one with the joker cmon....though for psn for what it's worth the ps1 games seem to be the only redeeming thing since with the upgrade(lawl wut?) they downgraded.

but in the end it's all opinion they both run on 1080p so thats the same graphical power so what system you love the choice is yours

america=ms

japan=sony

Dead_Babies

... Ninja Gaiden was Nintendo's first.... Give us back Grand Theft Auto.... How can you see nothing but exclusives? If PS3 had nothing but exclusives then Xbox would have nothing but exclusives unless they are only putting the same game out on Xbox and Wii?!....Xbox is an upscale from 720p to 1080p, PS3 is the only one with true 1080P