PS3 slims up

Sony, in an effort to keep their Playstation business alive and momentum and interest in their products, has cut the price and announced a slim version of the PS3. Not a moment too soon, either, as Sony being in dead last has hurt their profitability quite a bit. Now, 23 million units worldwide in 3 years is by no means bad, just not what Sony is used to, and because of that assumption of domination, their money is all screwy. By comparison, the XBOX 360 is at 31 million in 4 years, and the Wii is at 52 million in 3 years. What happened during this time? Lots.

I'm not really sure where to begin when it comes to a game industry discussion, but one way to start is with a few facts. First, the PS3 price has been reduced several times since its introduction, to half its original price as of next month. Second, several models have been discontinued in favor of newer models already, the slim version being the most drastic aesthetically, each one compromising the original design and taking a feature or two off to save money. Third, even the ambitious launch PS3 didn't have all the features and hardware that the original design had, so a change in direction had to have been clear late in development, if, certainly, not now. Finally, the Playstation division of Sony has eaten all of its profits from the first two Playstations, which were very successful machines, and then some more on top of that because of all the funny business that is the PS3.

The slim PS3 is more for Sony than it is for consumers. It cuts costs for them in terms of manufacturing and shipping and whatnot. Smaller die chips, cooler machine, smaller case, quieter fans, all sorts of stacking benefits like that. Don't get me wrong, ordinary people can benefit, too (says the guy who doesn't keep his 360 in his room because it's too loud), but largely, it's a positive cost-cutting measure for Sony.

The price cut will drive growth in the short term, catching all those people who were holding out on a price cut, or simply didn't believe the PS3 was worth 400 bucks, but afterwards, momentum will slow down again as far as I see. The reason #1 I believe this is the games. Not exactly the games themselves, more like the overall selection of games. The appeal is not quite there outside of the core audience. Look at the upcoming titles, and you might see what I mean.

I don't mean to be sour, here to bash on Sony when they're down. I'd rather see the company succeed, but the current plan and strategy doesn't seem to fit what interactive entertainment needs right now. The values they carry are the same ones from back then, what, 15 years ago. The game has changed since then, and they need to adapt with the times. From someone who loves games, I can't wait 'till the future Sony arrives.