Howard-Stringer
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PS3 to make or break Sony forevermore
More recycled analysis brought to you by Bloomberg. A key point to keep in mind: Sony predicts a 5-year recoup for losses due to the PS3's manufacturing costs and price point. That's going to hurt, especially since the average console life is around five years (a few exceptions noted). Masafumi Oshiden, from Merrill-Lynch, said "PlayStation 3 will be a huge money loser in the beginning." Spoken adequately enough. It's true -- we all know it's going to be very hard for Sony. Estimates show that about 200 billion yen was invested into the development of the cell processor alone.Another point to keep in mind is the notion that "Sony's PlayStation 3 introduction in November may be hampered by fewer and less-powerful games because the company hasn't given final technical details of the new console, according to video-game publishers." So, is delivering 10,000 dev kits not going to cut it? Will IBM be able to pull better yields for the cell processor in time for the PS3 launch? If not, Sony won't even have the chance to recoup in five years -- they may pull the plug sooner than that, unless we give them our support.
Sony gets double-taxed, PS3 sheds a tear
Sony, what's going on with all these tax issues? Friday, Japanese tax authorities commanded Sony Corp. to pay an additional 27.9 billion yen (about $243 million) relating to Sony's game consoles and other operations in the U.S. after finding mistakes in old tax files. Sony will write up a protest claiming this is double taxation under U.S.-Japan bilateral taxing treaties.Why are they being asked to pay so much more? What were the mistakes? It seems Sony had been claiming it had made less profits than it really had -- based on the tax bureau's findings, 74.4 billion yen in income was not reported. That's about $647 million! This may mean bad news for the PS3. If the double-taxation angle fails and Sony ends up having to pay this extra amount, losing $300 on each system will hurt just a little bit more. However, with the extra income after taxes anyway, they've still got a bit of cash to fall back on.
Stringer says PS3 is "future proof."
According to 1Up, Sony head honcho, Howard Stringer, claimed yesterday that the PS3 is "future-proof." Speaking of the 360, Stringer said that it was a "cheaper transitional" product. Stringer re-emphasizes the idea that PS3 is going to magically break the console cycle and last for decades: "When you bring into new technology, do you go for a cheaper transitional [product], or do you take a chance on future-proof, higher technology which will keep you going for many, many years?" Concerning PS3's incredibly egregious price, Stringer stated, "The price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential." Really? Potential? And all this time I thought I was paying for something that plays video games. Of course the PS3 will be successful, but come on. Lay off the shtick, Howy. You're starting to sound like Krazy Ken. [Via Aggravated Gamers] By the way, Weblogs Inc. started having server problems as I typed this post. It happened at about the same time that I uploaded the pic of Howy there. I'm not saying the two things are related. I'm just saying is all...
Stringer: The Xbox 360 is an "obsession"
Well, you know what they say about what to do when you have nothing nice to say ... erm, say that the competing gaming platform (in this case, the 360) is an "obsession"?That's exactly what Sony CEO Howard Stringer had to offer in an interview with Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal recently. While sharing how The Da Vinci Code from Sony beat up on "X-Men 3" (aka The Last Stand) over in Europe, he seemed to mistakenly throw in "Xbox 3" in the stead of Fox's great summer blockbuster hope. Following Mossberg's correction, Stringer is reported to have retorted, laughing, "There's an obsession!"We don't know if he's referring to the media's obsession with the corporate gaming rivalry, his own obsession with the console that would dethrone the PlayStation, or some combination of the two (irony really doesn't help here), but he does seem to at least outwardly admire Bill Gates' salesmanship (as well as his hypocrisy in delaying Windows Vista while lambasting the PS3 delay). Of course, a lot of supposed compliments could go both ways, so we've provided a few handy links below to check out what other "nice" things hardware execs have had to say about their competitors lately. We're sure it's all in good fun.[Thanks, JC & SickNic; also via GameDaily BIZ]See also: Nice words -- "Thanks," "flattered," and "flattering." Not-so-nice words -- "Plagiarism," "no need for PC," "not mainstream for most games," and "same old experiences with new graphics."
NYTimes examines Sony's worldwide appeal
Though not directly about the PlayStation 3, this profile of Sony's worldwide appeal in Sunday's New York Times dovetails nicely with my look at the lead up to "the price." Titled "Cutting Sony, a Corporate Octopus, Back to a Rational Size," writer Martin Fackler examines the marginalization of Sony in the international marketplace. The company's name was once synonymous with not only portable music, but electronics in general; now, faced with increased competition, they're looking to "restore" their image "to prevent the problems in Japan from spreading overseas."A Merrill Lynch analyst said, "What is Sony? We don't even know anymore. Consumers used to pay more because the brand meant something special." Another echoed that sentiment, saying, "Sony has to trim its premium ... The brand equity, although still high, is clearly on the decline in consumers' minds."One way to improve that brand image: trim the premium (sorry little buddy) and focus on "champion products." CEO Howard Stringer says "[they] need to rebuild the brand seriously in terms of energy and perception around the world" and the PS3 and Blu-ray are a serious part of that strategy.[Thanks, Stephen](Update: Merril is spelled Merrill)
Variety.com PS3 report confirms absolutely nothing
OMFG, Variety scooped the PS3 release date?! There's a deceptive rumor circulating various gaming sites that Variety.com's profile of Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer reveals official information about the PlayStation 3 release date. Numerous claims report that within the article Stringer confirms that the PS3 has been delayed until the holiday 2006 season. Let's take a closer look:"Sony's new PlayStation 3 was widely expected to be introduced this spring, but will be delayed as the company fine-tunes the chips that are crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray function... Sony will roll out the PS3 by year end, in time for the holidays. If PS3 "delivers what everyone thinks it will, the game is up," Stringer boasts."Stringer has said absolutely nada (on record) to Variety.com about the PS3 release date. Instead, the article simply offers further speculation about the console's debut. Sorry folks, we're still in the dark. The question is, why does Sony want it that way?
