Sony Leading With A Hardware Emphasis For The Holidays
See Full ImageGoing into this holiday season, I think Sony is a little light on the software. Beyond PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for the PlayStation Vita, it seems like a thin schedule.
And it still does. However, Sony has taken an interesting - and likely effective - approach to succeeding big time this holiday season: They're emphasizing their great hardware.
At least two and possibly three new PlayStation 3 models will be available in the fourth quarter of this year, and that includes two versions with much bigger hard drives. The machines are also a little smaller and lighter, and there will be a couple really attractive bundle packages as well. That Uncharted 3 Game of the Year PS3 bundle is fantastic, especially with its inclusion of DUST 514.
Some could argue the respective prices could've fallen a bit farther, but you have to remember what kind of value the PS3 is currently offering. Late in the generation, there are a ton of games, several of which are considered to be the very best of the era, the PlayStation Network keeps getting better and remains free, the stats say it's a plenty reliable machine these days, and the system is hardly wearing thin. Some of the best stuff is still to come; The Last Of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, and God of War: Ascension come readily to mind.
But let's not forget that Sony did launch a new piece of hardware this year. The PlayStation Vita had a relatively slow start, but it just recently enjoyed an excellent showing at Gamescom, the big-name software is definitely coming, and Sony obviously seeks to gain some traction in the handheld market this holiday season. There's no doubt that they're hoping to see the PS3 and Vita do well on the sales charts, and it wouldn't necessarily be due to new software. No, it'd be about the past and future games, which should be quite appealing to consumers who do their research. The bottom line: You don't always need an Uncharted to have a great holiday season.
Tags: ps3, playstation 3, new ps3, vita, playstation vita, sony
9/19/2012 9:58:06 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (35 posts)
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 10:36:18 PM
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I think bringing that little 12gig PS3 to the US would be a good idea to help push hardware, then customers can be informed about the huge hardware bundles.
3 up, 0 down
jlch777
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 10:53:13 PM
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daus26
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 2:07:29 AM
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jimmyhandsome
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 9:21:01 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 10:02:21 AM
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daus26
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 5:02:12 PM
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Dancemachine55
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 12:14:37 AM
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1. Advertise PS All Stars Battle Royale and LBP Karting everywhere and the new PS3 consoles like never before and hope more non-Halo fans will be hooked. This is a great time for the Vita to shine too! Get the message out to everyone!!
2. Let MS have this one, keep quiet, save money, stay low and then dominate early next year and next holidays.
With Halo's ridiculously huge fanbase and MS' truckload of money to spend on advertising, my bet would be on option number 2.
But hey, at least Sony will have more to boast next year!
0 up, 5 down
Dancemachine55
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 5:17:25 AM
I'm not into Halo. Too much of a generic shooter to me that hasn't changed much since the first one 10 years ago. But my friends LOVE Halo and all of them will be getting it.
If I wanna play a game with friends, I'll be forced to play Halo. Unfortunate but true.
I'm just looking at things realistically here. Halo is the biggest thing on 360. Sony would be nuts trying to fight against it!! Only Uncharted, MGS 5 or Gran Turismo could take on Halo, and they're not coming til next year. (The Last of Us, not Uncharted)
1 up, 4 down
PoopsMcGee
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 10:52:27 AM
If MS wanted Halo to make as big as a splash as it used to they should've waited to release it.
edit/ BTW I didn't thumb ya down ;)
Last edited by PoopsMcGee on 9/20/2012 10:53:06 AM
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Temjin001
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:35:39 PM
So while I think exclusives play a factor, particularly for the ardent platform specific gamers who hang out on system fan sites, I really don't think the majority of game players are going to really care much for who is publishing what and will just go to the hottest names and software getting the most shelf space this holiday season.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant, I'm just a little leery these days of hearing about "who wins" some holiday season. Aren't we beyond that these days? Just the same for who "wins" sales contests for hardware. Haven't we seen enough already that where the masses buy their stuff is not actually where the best content is? Really, by this mindset, I hope PS4 gets outsold to the next Xbox because if the PS4 was doing better, sales wise, wouldn't it mean Sony was creating gimmicks?
Last edited by Temjin001 on 9/20/2012 6:36:17 PM
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daus26
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 2:14:54 AM
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frylock25
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 3:23:04 AM
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Qubex
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 5:36:21 AM
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
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xnonsuchx
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 4:38:14 AM
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4 up, 0 down
Dancemachine55
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 5:18:41 AM
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frylock25
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 8:03:58 AM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 11:19:21 AM
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firesoul453
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 12:32:27 PM
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BikerSaint
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:09:44 AM
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I believe Kevin Butler's days at Sony are long gone, because he's now in a Wii-U commercial
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Casual Friday
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 7:50:22 AM
It's not a Wii-U commercial, it's for Bridgstone tires. I've seen him in two or three others for them. They are advertizing a special where if you buy tires you get a free Wii (not even a Wii-U).
It still looks odd though seeing him celebrate a first place finish in MarioKart. I can't imagiine Sony's pleased but the guy's got to make a living.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 10:04:12 AM
Then again, now I see NO Playstation commercials.
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BikerSaint
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:06:36 PM
You are correct that it's actually a Bridgestone ad & not a Wii-U ad, but I'm not sure now about whether it's a Wii or a Wii-U being given away since it's been a week since I saw the ad & only 1 time at that.
Plus, I just checked the ad's already been completely taken down from both Google & YouTube, at the request of Bridgestone.
And as of this time, the ad isn't even being shown now on Bridgestone's own YouTube site either.
But, either way I agree with you that even though it's a tire commercial, I'm sure Sony's can't be too thrilled with it too.
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shadowpal2
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 12:07:34 PM
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BECAUSE THEY make GREAT designs - not just for PlayStation but for nearly all of their technology and this comes along - and HONESTLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A SONY PRODUCT. Maybe from the side it does, maybe from the bottom - BUT NOT FROM THE TOP - WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE ALL GONNA BE SEEING EVERY SINGLE FREAKING TIME BECAUSE IT'S WHERE YOU PUT THE DISK ON.
...I need to calm down...but honestly...I just don't get it
Last edited by shadowpal2 on 9/20/2012 12:07:49 PM
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Killa Tequilla
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 2:34:35 PM
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firesoul453
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 12:33:27 PM
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Highlander
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 1:40:56 PM
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The question in my mind is therefore, are you netter off with this flap covered top loading drive or the slot loading PS3 slim in the larger casing? If the components are largely the same, I am leaning towards the larger casing with the larger HSF as the better option for now. At least until someone does a breakdown and shows a compelling reason to buy this new one.
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Highlander
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 2:27:14 PM
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Killa Tequilla
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 2:36:34 PM
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Highlander
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:46:25 PM
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Temjin001
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:47:34 PM
Slot loading drives are more attractive, plus they help conceal mechanical noise generated by the bd player itself. The only down side I have with the slot drive is the capacity to trap your game in the drive if major system malfunction happens.
For now, I'm plenty happy with my PS3 Slim. Once this gen gets closer to dusk, I'll consider buying a Super Slim for long term future use.
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Temjin001
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 6:53:10 PM
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If you don't want to impress anyone just keep calling them dust ridge collectors =p
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BikerSaint
Thursday, September 20, 2012 @ 7:25:52 PM
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It's a top loader where the right side of the top flip up to expose the disc holder.
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ZettaiSeigi
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 10:28:08 PM