BaldB3lper78

Industry is in total disarray

Exclusives still work.

This industry is on its knees

I just do not see the point of this at all. At a time when PlayStation’s profit margins are as tight as they have ever been, and a time when generational leaps are now limited, to release a mid gen console that will cost silly money, seems risky, greedy and lacking in any sense.

Sure, it will appeal to a very limited number of people and be a niche hardware product but the money for this could be used to put into what matters and that is games - and I’m not talking about AAA blockbuster stuff here as that needs to be cut down.

PlayStation are becoming so obsessed with hardware that the games are drying up.

I don’t know why they don’t just shelve the idea of a PS5 Pro and just release the PS6 when the time comes and he market is ready as a whole.

If they release just a limited amount of the PRO console, then maybe that will be fine but they also risk making losses on the console and that could very easily push PlayStation into the red.

It’s a risky game they are about to play and one that they do not need to take at all.

It’s a huge risk and pointless. It could easily send PlayStation into the red.

@nocdaes I have gamed more and more since having the Portal.

I was sceptical when I first got it but have been blown away by just how brilliant it is. Even connected to my mobile phones hotspot it works so well.
As long as PS5 is hard wired the results are amazing.
Can’t wait to have this for playing on PS5 Pro and then PS6. Compared to streaming from
Xbox this is a whole new game.

Superb.

So a company that is so close to slipping into the red financially is going to release yet more hardware.

Madness!

They will sell this at over £600 to try and make it viable but with a lack of games to utilise the tech, this is a risky move for PlayStation and it seems they are not learning that we need games more than hardware.

A Pro just isn’t necessary at this time when PS6 will be here by 2027 more than likely.

The tech is fine but they haven’t supported it. It’s been about as well marketed as the Xbox Series X/S. It is one of the reasons that PlayStation profit margins are so tight.

They have become increasingly obsessed with hardware and are not learning lessons. The PS5 Pro will lose them money as well.

They just don’t seem to understand that the games are always what brings success.

They need to drop the obsession with hardware because it they don’t, it won’t just be Xbox who are 3rd party only publishers soon.

So more hardware for less games. That makes sense - not.
With PlayStation profit margins being so weak, this seems crazy as they will lose money on it and potentially push themselves to the red.

Just wait a couple of years for the PS6.

No wonder Nintendo are holding back on a Switch 2 when it’s still outselling PS5 despite being over 7 years old. I know Nintendo is massive in Japan but it’s crazy that it’s still selling those numbers.
This gen isn’t next gen - more like dead gen.

The industry - and Sony in particular - have become so obsessed with hardware and AAA blockbusters which have less substance than a Boris Johnson house party - that they have totally forgotten about value for money.

I buy less games than I have ever done before. Why? Because there is a lack of creativity and originality. There is an over-saturation of mega bucks productions that are lacking in substance and it is bringing the industry to its knees.

The prices of games is ludicrous. £60 and £70 is a disgrace. It’s pure greed but it is desperate greed. Desperation to make back the money they are losing on these huge budgets that even when selling well, they simply can’t make back.

Gaming is about to hit a brick wall. And if it does not change direction soon, it will never be what it once was ever again.

I doubt there will be many day 1 PC releases. Exclusives will still exist on PlayStation and then go to PC 18 months or so later.
Xbox hardware will do one more turn and then cease in ten years time.
Nintendo will always stay exclusive.
Literally no need to worry about consoles going anywhere. PS and Nintendo will continue with consoles.
But day one PC will be few and far between

A number of things. AI is replacing humans but that is killing creativity and imagination.
Sony have been poorly managed from a basic business point of view. To have such shallow profit margins is down to bad , bad business management. Anyone with even the smallest business knowledge knows this fact.

Xbox is just bizarre. Buying up studios only to start going 3rd party. What’s the point in having an Xbox if you will ultimately get the games on PS5 anyway? It’s a strange business model and the praise that Phil Spencer gets from some is bizarre.

Greed, poor management and more greed is ultimately to blame. Sure, there are other factors such as the global economy but like the rest of us, gaming needs to learn to live within its means.

Pretty poor. Yet again.

And now more layoffs at EA

The industry is in huge trouble

Also, be aware that should Sony lose the lawsuit which has 90,000 signatures on it in the UK, it would amount to $7.9 billion.
That far outweighs the profit margins recently announced.

Sony lose that case and PlayStation is more than just trouble. I am not sure reading some of the comments on this that people are fully aware just how precarious the situation is right now.

A loss of that lawsuit would mean pretty much no 1st party games for, not just a year, but for a number of years to come. More layoffs would be all but inevitable.

Hopefully they can act and change things but I actually fear for PlayStation’s future if they are not very careful indeed.

@Ralizah This was real leadership. This was a hands up, we have made a cock up. Rather than sacking loads of staff who were not responsible for the mistakes , they took the hit.

Look at them now. They kept the creative minds and the positive energy and they won’t be moving away from exclusives any time soon!

When things go wrong you act. Sony need to act now because selling loads of hardware is great. If the profit margins are not sustainable, as the article says, you are one moment in time away from a huge problem.

@get2sammyb Hmm, that's just conjecture. MS can handle losses easier than Sony can.

The key aspect is the profit margins.

When a film is made, a budget is set and predictions made of minimum profits to make the film make enough money to do the next and so on.

What PlayStation have done is made the gap too tight. They will have to change the types and sizes of games they produce for the foreseeable future.

Releasing a PS5 Pro this year, which simply is not needed , would be financial madness. But I suspect that they will still do it and it could be that error that pushes them into the red.

Dangerous game being played.

@get2sammyb It depends. Loss leaders can work if marketed right. Cut £5 off a game price and sell more of that game - doesnt take long for that loss to become a healthy profit.
Yes there are risks attached but looking at how Sony have been running the PlayStation business, they could do worse than this with some of the bigger games.

The issue of currency is correct as well. That's a huge impact.

@ZhuckelDror True enough.

@ZhuckelDror PlayStation needs to change otherwise it will be. If those margins drop into negatives , they are totally f00ked.

@Flinch Fees for actors in the huge games have risen a lot. These could be replaced by AI but no one wants that.
It’s all about poor business management. Marketing from Sony is everywhere. Yes it’s sold them lots of consoles but you can’t sustain that.
They’ve spent big to sell hardware but let their margins evaporate.
Xbox was supposedly dead a week ago. It’s far from dead and PlayStation needs to change it will be they who become the next Sega.

Nintendo are doing just fine and they will be keeping their exclusives.
This is about spending too much on game budgets but also about appalling business management.

And Sony want to bring out a PS5 Pro?!! It will sell fine but will only make the profit margins even tighter!!

Who do they have making these decisions? It’s madness. Anyone who knows even the tiniest bit about business can see that , whilst PlayStation sells well, it’s going to have to cut huge corners to avoid imploding altogether.

This is all caused by greed and totally mismanagement.

All the talk recently has been around the death of Xbox , yet in reality, Xbox is not the one that is anywhere near its grave right now.

Sony must change and change quickly.

The industry is on its knees due to greed, overinflated gaming budgets and poor management.
It’s an absolute mess

@GeminiReign I hope not but if things don’t change soon, that’s where we are headed.

If the industry keeps going the way it is, it will eventually implode in on itself. It’s gotten out of control.
Sony are at the point where they will soon be haemorrhaging money if they don’t act. Xbox is clearly going multi platform despite its recent announcements. Only Nintendo has manageable profit margins and they are still flogging the Switch with little interest in updating it anytime soon it seems.
Mergers, takeovers, lack of willingness to collaborate have all led to the industry becoming more and more toxic ever day.
Jobs being cut in favour of AI is disgraceful and not ethical.

We have a multi billion pound industry that has been badly managed and badly run and now it stands facing into a fire.

We should be under no illusions that gaming is on a precipice of disaster. It’s so close to hitting the red button.

People need to stop worrying about what consoles have what games and actually consider just what an absolute mess the industry finds itself in.

Warnings need to be heeded.

@cragis0001
https://mattjarviswriting.wixsite.com/mjjmedia/post/is-gaming-doing-as-well-as-we-think

Those margins are tiny. PlayStation is on the precipice of a financial distaster.
You can have the high revenue, but if your margins are this low, you are one small step from entering the red and finding yourself very close to game over territory.
Worrying that they haven’t got that margin bigger.

It’s a great game. Really chaotic fun. Glad it’s coming to PS5

@PsBoxSwitchOwner With COD alone they will bring in even more money with it being on PE5. In fact they will bring in more money from the PS5 version than Xbox.
That’s why they will bring more games to more platforms.
It’s all about money. And nothing else.

@cragis0001 This is the key point and really the only point. If they keep Game Pass and make consoles then fine. If they put game pass onto PS5 - they won’t as Sony won’t allow it for a start - then yes, that would make Xbox consoles pointless.

@Yozora146_ MS gaming revenue is now bringing in more money than Windows.
Whether they make more consoles or not, gaming will be one of the biggest areas for MS now and in the future.
How they go about it we will see but I suspect we will hear very little this week at all.
A quick update to confirm the new all digital Series X and confirmation of Hi Fi Rush and SoT coming to PE5.
And that will be it.

Please God no.

Not for me as I already have a Logitech G Cloud but The #PlayStation brand is unstoppable now IMHO. The loyalty and the strength is crazy.
You could sell a pencil case for £200 if it had a #PlayStation logo and fans would buy it.
They have obliterated #Xbox and I can’t see any way back. Not now, not in twenty years.

Been playing on my mates since yesterday and today and I’m really not impressed.
Looks nice enough and good feel but far too much lag.
Will sell well but just not worth it.

@Sakai Yeah I guess but it’s still grim really. And n US and Europe they are struggling.

I don’t see how Xbox can keep this going. They are floundering with console sales , GamePass subs and even cloud usage.
Even the Acti/Blizz deal isn’t enough I don’t think.

Whatever people may like or dislike about it, it’s sold our everywhere.

The Xbox model is simply only sustainable due to their deep pockets.
Game Pass has nowhere near as many subscribers as Nintendo online - a service on a nearly 7 year old console! That’s actually ridiculous.
The notion that COD on Game Pass will suddenly make people buy an XBSX/S eventually isn’t going to work.
Sure, via PC they may pick up more subs but even the Acti/Blizzard deal isn’t guaranteed to change the momentum now.
Xbox May as well go Cloud only asap tbh.

They are a total mess and I play Xbox! We will then have the new Switch and I can only see sales tor Xbox deteriorating even more.

@Pranwell I won’t.

PlayStation - The most expensive way to play.

@sammy just to clarify as per PlayStation themselves / it can ne used anywhere with a wi fo connection or 4G 5G etc.
Many have reported that this can only be played at home. Which is false.

And it CAN be played anywhere with wi fi. I have seen many saying it can only be played at home on the same network as your wi fi and this is NOT true! Just read the PlayStation website where it is clear that it can be played anywhere!

So where are all these exclusives that PlayStation has that Xbox doesn’t?

@StonyKL exactly - if Xbox want to make gaming more accessible and it’s at their cost, that’s not for me to worry about. We all know that Xbox is going down the cloud route and it’s not a secret. Never was.
Also leaks are never accidental. Ever. Usually PR ‘accidents.’

@RedShirtRod exactly!!!

@BusyOlf The Nintendo news is so old. And dull. It’s not new news.

April 1st comes round quick

Can we all stop using the phrase ‘next gen.’ Next gen was when we went from 8 to 16 bit, 16 to 32 etc.

We are now just in the world of PC style upgrades. Next Gen is old hat.