Non-gamers buying PS3s?

[ilnadmy]

I was talking to my ex-boss today and he was saying how he just came back from a business trip, and that he had bought a PS3. He has two little girls, but he didn't even buy any games for them. The reason he bought it is because it's an all-in-one multimedia solution. But the main reason why he bought it? Blu-ray.

That's right people, there are peeps out there who buy PS3s for the Blu-ray and not the games. Some people might say, "Well this loses money for Sony!" Not true, since Sony makes money off Blu-ray just as much as they make money off games, so even if someone buys Blu-ray movies but no games Sony is still making a nice profit. Plus, he likes that you can stick in your SD card and upload images and videos, and that you can hook it up to your TV and surf the internet. Keep in mind this is a well-positioned executive who doesn't have much free time on his hands, yet he sees the value of this system and is willing to give it a go. Hell, he said he might buy the Formula One game since he'd like to try it out.

So the PS3 isn't selling like hotcakes right now. Give it time. It's got value in its own way, it just needs the games to complete the package, and those will come. Just like the Wii is branching out to new markets, so is Sony. It's more than just a game console, it's an all-in-one living room multimedia solution. I don't see someone like this buying a 360 since it doesn't offer all that the PS3 does.

[Mochan]

It's a nice piece of hardware, just not in the right time and the marketing for it isn't working. We can't expect to see Wii numbers for it because the time is not ripe and the market isn't ready for it. Well once the PS3's games come out, the really good ones, I hope I can afford to buy one along with a nice Bravia.

[Fivespot]

I'm really into HDTV and frequent a few other forums and websites specifically geared towards any related new tech. And I know from experience that many are buying PS3's just for the Blu ray functionality. I'm one of them since the gaming on that machine is still lacking in my opinion (although it will get better). I didn't purchase the PS3 specifically just for the Blu ray but considering how 360 is running laps around it gamewise it's just ended up being that way for me.

The PS3 is the best Blu ray player available for the price especially when the 20 gig model was still available. Most other Blu ray players are still $799-$999 so you can see where the PS3 would be attractive to HD movie buffs.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

I thought it was designed for playing games first and other stuff kinda as a bonus. When you design a product the best case scenario is not for its primary use to be a secondary feature. How many games is this guy gonna buy? You always miss the software part of the equation. Yes he bought a console, all that means is Sony lost about $300. What is Sony gonna do to make this guy buy software?

Publishers are also looking at this. If they feel PS3 is only going to be used as a movie player by half the people who buy, that influences what games they are gonna bring to the console. Let's say PS3 and 360 both have installed bases of 10 million users. But 5 million users on PS3 are the type of casual fan your boss seems to be, but all 10 million users of the 360 are true gamers. If you are making any game, where are u gonna put that game first?

Really you can see this happening now. PS3 actually is performing somewhat ahead of 360 when it was launched in terms of hardware sales. But when 360 launched it was pushing much more software and games like COD2 and GRAW and Oblivion were individually moving like 300,000 units a month. PS3's best game, RFOM, never did that. It simply is not enough to get the console into the living room. And focusing on Blu-ray movie sales is a joke. Blu-ray movies just went over the 1 million sold mark, a good game like GRAW2 will sell 1 million copies in a few months, just one game! GH2 sold 290,000 on 360 in a few days!

I guess you think well if Sony gets a big installed base it will then sell games. Well at $600 the question is which has to come first, the good games or the installed base? I think at that price, the games have to come, in order to entice a big installed base. Sony bet the otherway around. They thought people will buy it and a few years later we will give them the good games. Bad strategy.

[PapaSmurf]

I made a post about this not too long ago. Part of Sony's strategy is indeed working though since they have the patent for Blue-Ray and they are getting BR into people homes. Should BR win the format war, that's just more money for Sony. Not now but probably 10 or so years later. It's know fact that Sony was taking a long term approach with the PS3 and to be honest I favor having one console for a long time than having to upgrade my console every 4-5 years. I'll leave that for my PC, and even then I don't need a newest PC to play the newest games.

A ten year plan for a console seems to be a good plan especially for the consumer, but in the age of everyone wanting things now, it might not pay off.

[ilnadmy]

TMG you bring up some good points, but I don't think it's to the point that 50% of the PS3 user base is non-gamers. Sure some people buy the PS3 for its multimedia capabilities, but not a vast majority that it should factor heavily into the devs' equation. My boss said that he was thinking of getting Formula One and Tiger Woods Golf, and he's never touched a video game in his life; since he has a PS3 and it can play games, he is enticed to try out the games that have a more sophisticated audience in mind. Hell I even suggested SingStar for his daughters since that seems the kind of game they would enjoy.

[Gadfly2317]

I was talking to my ex-boss today and he was saying how he just came back from a business trip, and that he had bought a PS3. He has two little girls, but he didn't even buy any games for them. The reason he bought it is because it's an all-in-one multimedia solution. But the main reason why he bought it? Blu-ray.

Give it time.



So what happens if the Ps3 continues weak penetration of the gaming community, poor software sales, continued loss of exclusives. . . and then less expensive Blue-Ray and HD-DvD players start coming out, as they obviously will?

This is electronics we're talking about. Give it TIME? There is no such thing as time in consumer electronics; things move FAST. Yuppy daddies aren't going to be buying the Ps3 mainly as a blue-ray player for long, and in the meantime, that's one more factor helping make this less viable as a system for those of us who are gamers.

[ilnadmy]

There's no such thing as time in the console market? You mean where the cycle for each generation reaches up to 6-7 years? Uh-huh.

[Gadfly2317]

There's no such thing as time in the console market? You mean where the cycle for each generation reaches up to 6-7 years? Uh-huh.

I think you know what I meant, though. If you expect 2-3 years wait while everyone is buying 360's and Wii's, that's just not good for Ps3. Typically, you win or lose these things pretty quickly.

Ps3 as a product will continue to sell over the course of its lifespan, but it better start taking the lead by the end of this year or it probably never will.

[ilnadmy]

I'm not so sure about that. Towards the end of this year you're going to start getting some good games, then next year some other blockbusters are going to start coming out, and then it snowballs from there. I don't agree that if they don't take the lead now they never will.