4 ms·

Sony didn't see the PS3 as a console. It was a heavily subsidized Blu-ray player, that also happened to play games. So they lost that generation's console war,

Sony didn't see the PS3 as a console. It was a heavily subsidized Blu-ray player, that also happened to play games. So they lost that generation's console war, even though they were losing money on every sale, but won the much more strategically important video format war. Also, thankfully for them, the PS3/Xbox360/Wii generation lasted twice as long as previous generations, so they had plenty of time to recoup this initial loss. Interestingly, now the roles are reversed, with Microsoft trying to push a post-disc content delivery system that plays games, and Sony releasing a console hardcore gamers are already raving about.

DannoHung 13y ago
If that's the case, then Microsoft isn't going to be very happy with how this generation is going to turn out for them. I mean, if they're banking on post-disc, then they don't have a competitive advantage over PS4 in real terms. The complaints gamers had about the DRM system is that it turns your discs into digital but doesn't really give you any actual benefit from doing so.
- rubinelli 13y ago
  Yeah, from what I understood, Microsoft's original plan was to have the disc as a convenient way to prevent a lengthy, multi-gigabyte download and to save space on the console's hard drive, but they failed to sell this vision to the developers.
josephlord 13y ago
Did Sony lose the generation's console war? On a global basis it looks[1] like a stalemate between Xbox 360 and PS3. MS clearly won the US and maybe just about the UK but Sony won in many other markets. Sony burnt cash on it as an early loss leader and MS on warranty replacements. I haven't checked whether they both eventually reached profitability. [1] http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/10/report-ps3-surpasses-xbox-360s-worldwide-shipped-total http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/10/report-ps3-surpasses-x... Of course the Wii was the sneak attack from the previous generation that made Nintendo possibly the real winner although they are looking vulnerable now.

DannoHung 13y ago

If that's the case, then Microsoft isn't going to be very happy with how this generation is going to turn out for them. I mean, if they're banking on post-disc, then they don't have a competitive advantage over PS4 in real terms. The complaints gamers had about the DRM system is that it turns your discs into digital but doesn't really give you any actual benefit from doing so.

rubinelli 13y ago
Yeah, from what I understood, Microsoft's original plan was to have the disc as a convenient way to prevent a lengthy, multi-gigabyte download and to save space on the console's hard drive, but they failed to sell this vision to the developers.

josephlord 13y ago

Did Sony lose the generation's console war? On a global basis it looks[1] like a stalemate between Xbox 360 and PS3. MS clearly won the US and maybe just about the UK but Sony won in many other markets. Sony burnt cash on it as an early loss leader and MS on warranty replacements. I haven't checked whether they both eventually reached profitability. [1] http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/10/report-ps3-surpasses-xbox-360s-worldwide-shipped-total http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/10/report-ps3-surpasses-x... Of course the Wii was the sneak attack from the previous generation that made Nintendo possibly the real winner although they are looking vulnerable now.