Jul 20 / Ozymandias

Gamesindustry.biz Email Update: Sony Begins PS3 Manufacturing

game-hardware, gaming-industry, nintendo, playstation-3, sony

I posted a bit earlier on the good news for Sony regarding the PS3 beginning manufacturing. In the same vein, it appears Gamesindustry.biz just sent out their weekly email news update with some balanced commentary on what this means for Sony. I thought it was a really good perspective and so I wanted to share some excerpts. Note that I’d usually link to the full article but can’t find it on their website; if anyone has an URL I’m happy to include it as well.

The article starts as follows:

“Depending on who you choose to believe, the production process for PlayStation 3 is either running smoothly with plenty of redundancy built into the plan to ensure that sufficient units are ready for the market in November – or is the greatest nightmare in Sony’s history as an electronics manufacturer, with low yields threatening to make the company’s expensive albatross about as rare as rocking horse faeces come Christmas.

The two points of view – and let’s not pretend that either of them is actually a fact at this point in time – don’t reconcile terribly well with one another. Media reports supporting both of them are well distributed around the Internet; on the one hand, we have comments from IBM a few months ago indicating that yields of the Cell processor were great, whereas a directly contradictory article more recently cited an anonymous source saying that yields were far lower than expected. Some sources have reported that PS3 chipsets are already being shipped; others seem to believe that they won’t ship until late August. And so on, and so forth.

In other words, nobody outside of Sony and its closest manufacturing partners actually knows what on earth is going on with the PS3 right now – but one very strong pointer in favour of the “everything on track” camp came this week from Chinese manufacturing firm Asustek, one of the companies which has been contracted to build the console.”

All-in-all I think this is a fair assessment. There’s a distinct lack of knowledge around the reality of Sony’s manufacturing plans, and the rumors out there could point either way. While I have definite opinions on certain rumors (and attempt to bolster those opinions with a clear analysis of how and why I’m reading the tea leaves as I am), on something like this there’s really not too much to say at this point. Sony needs to be manufacturing now if they want to make their November street date. If they indeed are, that’s all goodness for them. If not, it’s a problem. We’ll find out for sure in the coming months.

On a general sidenote, while I don’t shy away from pointing out inconsistences in Sony’s (or others) messaging, strategy, and tactics, it is important to remember that there are very few facts out there that we can all point to. This is why it’s important to be clear on what’s a theory, what’s factual, and what supporting evidence you’re using to bolster your argument(s). Remember, at the end of the day it’s all opinion until proven one way or another. I’d love to see discussions on this site using more support material when possible.

Anyway, to sum up on a positive note:

“Manufacturing units well in advance and engaging with retail to discuss pre-order schemes isn’t the kind of thing we’d have expected from “old” Sony – these actions, if true, are the actions of a company that has learned some very hard lessons from its own mistakes (with PSP and PS2) and indeed from the mistakes of its rivals (such as Xbox 360′s under-supplied launch last winter). Of course, none of this changes the fact that PS3 will still have to compete with a lower-priced Xbox 360 with a wider catalogue of games, and with Nintendo’s fascinating and bargain priced Wii – but if the firm can sort out the problems which have traditionally dogged Sony hardware launches, this Christmas’ retail battle suddenly becomes much more interesting.”

And again, it’s a fair point. We used to say “never count out Nintendo” because they tend to be very good at coming up with original, innovative concepts that somehow reignite that old gaming magic. Although I’m down on a lot of what Sony has done with the Playstation 3 (E3 renders, changing system specs, pricing, etc.), I think I need to state for the record that I personally am not counting Sony out of the game. This holiday will be key, but if Sony can ship 4-6 million units as promised and have at least 1-2 “must have” titles, they’ll remain in the game in my opinion.

sublime78

Things aren’t looking so hot for Sony right now. When only less than 30 percent of Japanese gamers are interested in a new sony system, that alone speaks volumes. I just think its funny all the anti-xbox people laughed and laughed and laughed when the 360 had hardware problems, not realizing that Sony was not immune to such things. Simple fact is putting this much power in a small plastic box is not easy no matter who you are. If the PS3 launches without even so much as a hint of the problems the 360 had… well, that just won’t happen. But trying to tell the fanboys that the PS3 might not be all that and a bag of chips is impossible because for some reason Sony breeds rabid fans who believe sony (constant PR liars) always tells the absolute truth. Yeah, and the original Playstation was supposed to have "Toy Story quality graphics" my pixelated butt.
http://www.myspace.com/thelandofsand thelandofsand

they may remain in the game, but at what level?
Ranger7722

Without some hard information, it is hard to tell whether the PS3 will succeed or not. Everything depends on its launch. If the PS3 is successful at launch, then its yields will carry over into the future and create a subtle market for Sony fanboys. However, if the launch fails then consumers will simply defect to the Wii or Xbox 360 with their ingenuity and plethora of titles, respectively.

It will not be easy for Sony to prevail in this war, especially with hardcore pricing and odd personalities (Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddgggee Racer!!!!) behind the scenes.

Sony needs to get their act together if they wan’t to pull anything off in the next-gen wwars or in the format wars.
Tezian

I just want to say that I’m a big microsoft fan and I refuse to buy a sony product of any kind. But after reading all the articles on this site it just seems like this site was made to monitor and pick at every little thing you hear about PS3.

I agree with pretty much everything you say about PS3 and how Sony is a bunch of question dodging liars because I dealt with that first hand for many years. But I guess I agree also with a lot of the Sony fan boys on here about microsoft being scared because I just don’t get the point of this site except for Subtle sony bashing.
http://www.rossgilmore.com r0ssta

I respectfully disagree, Tezian.

I think this site is brilliant. Thanks to a link from IGN, I stumbled across this site last night. I have already read through every post, and will begin to read daily. Ozymandias provides a very intelligent, insider view on the industry of gaming that you can’t get from your typical gaming sources like IGN, Gamespot, etc. Of course he has a slight bias towards the Xbox (seeing as he does work for them), but don’t you? Why else would you be reading this?

As an avid gamer and technology lover, I’ve learned so much from this site and greatly enjoy it. Keep posting Ozymandias!
Ozymandias

It’s important to remember this is my personal opinion site, paid for by myself, and hosted at webhost4life.com (ie, not Microsoft). I know many simply won’t believe that this purely <i>my</i> opinion, but frankly, there’s not much I can do about that. If there comes a day when I move on from Microsoft to some other job, I’ll still be working on this site and posting what I believe… maybe then some of those guys will think differently.

There’s a lot of Sony posts simply because there’s a lot of news, and not all of it is good. I’m trying to be fair and highlight good news, but right now the majority of news around the PS3 tends to be negative… and you’ll notice I link to sources for everything I post so people know what I’m working from.

If you guys have any other suggestions I’m happy to hear them!
http://www.mdxinfo.com Rim

While I do find the posts on the PS3 very interesting and I understand it’s your own opinion, I have to agree with Tezian. You’ve got so many nice other things to talk about with your work over at MS, why not highlight that instead of joining in at speculating on the PS3 and rumaging through other Sony news?

What are you looking forward to at Gamefest for example? Gamefest will be for pro’s, does that mean we’ll have an indy/hobby Gamefest version as well, following the Coding For Fun efforts? What’s happening with D3D10 atm? How will this affect XBox360/Vista portability? Will XNA help there?

A lot more interesting than Sony IMHO
Teph

Right on Ozymandias.

After all, didn’t the guy say he’s getting a PS3?

What ‘Pro-Microsoft Biased and influanced site’ would say that?

Obviously, this guy is… well, just that… a guy.

He knows what he knows and what he wants, and he writes about it.

He’s not major nelson.
Misframed

I have to agree with r0ssta. I also stumbled on this site from IGN and have enjoyed all of the posts so far. It is very interesting hear about the gaming industry from someone on "the inside". If he was truely into Sony and PS3 bashing, Ozymandias would not be pointing out that much of the talk going on about the PS3 cannot be confirmed and at this point only rumor.

Keep up the good work and I will be waiting for the next post!
Yellow Gorilla

I believe what you need to relly look at here is the people driving the machines that they are producing. Microsoft Representatives that were on the Xbox Team will tell you, "There were some good days. There were some great days. On the other hand, there were some days that really worried me."

When a company like Microsoft makes a video game console, there’s an image behind it. Their drive comes from knowing what the future holds for the very company that they strive to make better. Xbox 360 will never be the greatest invention, equal of the light bulb. It will be the console that gave people the opportunity to have fun, and share their experiences with their friends the world over. Why are they having fun? Because the people behind the system knew what they would like in their own dream console. They made a concept, a vision on a board, and tried as hard as they could for 3 years to make what consumers would love most.

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have one MAIN difference. It’s not the technical power or the graphics in a game. It’s the people behind it. I hate to stomp on anybody’s day, but SONY is already regretting a system that hasn’t even launched. The Presient and CEO called it a "gamble" himself. You know why? It’s because SONY’s vision is, in the end, to make their chunk of the industry the largest chunk. You know that about 75-80% of SONY’s profit comes from the PlayStation brand?

Consider when you insult any part of Microsoft’s vision, that Sony has overpromised their technical specifications before. Microsoft did not. And 3rd party developers have very little choice but to develop for both the 360 and the PS3 because of a game we call "risk." Games will niether look nor play better on PlayStation 3 when compared to the Xbox 360. The controller has foreseeable problems, and the vision they had is not clear.

The Xbox Team had a vision, and everybody sees that it was spot on, given the tons of developer support. We’ve not only got games that won’t be coming to PlayStation 3, but a lot of them.

Sony is a fine company, going soon where other’s fear to tread. They are taking a risk that, in my own opinion, is far too big. A $500-$600 price range is not justifiable. Hence, you will see games on the PlayStation 3 that are truly not anymore breath-taking than their Xbox 360 counterparts.

I believe that Xbox 360 could rightfully have held that price point. Why? Because, with Xbox 360, there are no "hidden" costs. There is a subscription fee for services like Xbox Live because the consumer can’t be forced into the online service. Some people just can’t afford it, and so, that cost can’t be hidden in the console price, while it’s labeled as being "free." As well, you cannot add the cost of wireless networking into the figure. That would be rude! And, the components of the PlayStation 3 are going to have to be rather on the "not-the-best-quality" side of things. This is because of the Blu-Ray disc drive, Blutooth Wireless, and the whole rest. The Blu-Ray alone drives manufacturing costs way up because Blu-Ray is still not widely accepted, nor is it widely available.

On the other hand, Xbox 360′s components are all of great quality and give the consumer a great value, especially when the capabilities that expand the experience are taken through. Media Center Extender, custom sountracks, Multimedia capabilities, Chat, Friends, Xbox Live, games(hoo-rah!!), and the community at large, are the forces that drive the Xbox 360. We can already smell 10 million, but it’s not that we smell it because of greed. We smell it because we know that as soon as someone opens up that box, the next generation begins!
Ozymandias

Re: Gamefest

Unfortunately I just can’t talk about anything we’re disclosing at Gamefest at this time, even around XNA. There will be cool stuff, but the teams are still working on details and it’s usually only pretty close to the event itself that everything is locked down. So I want to avoid making false promises or anything of the ilk.

That said, letskilldave.com focuses on the game development community, and I’m sure Dave is going to have a ton on Gamefest just as soon as we can talk about it. I’d keep an eye on there – and I’ll be sure to link over to anything he posts as well!
Claws

This is what it all ammounts to.This Christmas and very likely the Christmas of ’07 also, there is going to be one or even 2 competitors that can give a better or equally good expirience than the PS3 can for MUCH LESS MONEY both in hardware and games.There will also be ALOT more of a selection to choose from(360 and Wii)than there will be from the PS3.Sony put the final nail in it’s coffin when they made it financially impossible for smaller studios to be able to afford to develop for the PS3.

With it stocks falling to all time lows and it’s investors screaming bloody murder, after this Christmas season passes by Sony and it’s PS3 will lilkely be on even thinner ice than it is now.We all get to sit back and(gleefully for some) get to see it happen.
TickTock

Not sure why you keep saying Sony NEEDS to be manufacturing now if they’re to hit their street date in November. This is really early, by all accounts. Correct me if I’m wrong, but MS was not at the same point until September last year.

The report is almost certainly true, by the way. More than that, Sony is likely also assembling themselves at the moment in addition to Asustek. I saw another report on this that asked Sony to confirm the news, and they would ‘only’ say that assembly had begun in China and Japan in the summer. See the end of this report here: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2006/07/20/2003319649
Tephlon

The yellow gorilla speaks the TRUTH! Fun for all to be had!

Hooray!
ViewtifulJ

Great bit of commenting. I guess my position on Sony is that the only i have ever seen them able to stand on, in regards to the promotion of their upcoming console, is that fact that the console is more powerful than that of their nearest competitor (ps-x>saturn…ps2>dreamcast .. ps3>xbox360). And often the claims that they make are end up falling short, if not remarkably so. Thats not really something i have enjoyed watching the last 10 years. So on that note i have to say that i hope the ps3 is destroyed by the less powerful 360 and Wii.
http://melchezidek360.blogspot.com Melchezidek

I think Sony was a little bit over confident going into this year’s E3. Last year’s E3 was such a success from them (mostly due to CG footage – gasp! controversy!) So this year they just kind of expected for things to keep rolling along smoothly and of course they didn’t. Since the hype for PS3 was somewhat of a disappointment and the hype for Wii was so huge as was the hype for Gears of War, I think this has caused Sonyt to be a bit worried. The possibility that this console war might not end in their favor has to be disconcerting to them. I think some of their statements are motivated by the fear that this launch could be a disaster for them. Of course they are going to announce that they will have four million units available in 2006. That way a lot of customers will feel confident in pre-ordering one. Sure, they will sell out no matter what. I mean even if Sony announces that the PS3 doesn’t work, but they will fix it later, they will sell out. But no matter what, their start in the next generation will be slow. They plan on overtaking Microsoft rather rapidly, but they are in for a rude awakening. Once the PS3 fanbase is satiated and they all have their precious consoles (well into late spring/early summer of 2007) they will be left with the predicament of selling a $600 console to "an average consumer" against the Wii and the 360, which by then will certainly have dropped in price a little, plus the advent of Halo 3 and GTA, I mean come on, that is a hard sell to the average consumer.
wazupchief@yahoo

Microsoft Strategy for World Dominance, right here:

1. Forget Japan, for now. Microsoft needs to concentrate all their efforts in Asia with China and Korea. There’s something called the Korean Wave, popular culture (music, movies, tv shows etc) that is sweeping across Asia. Use the phenomenon. The stars are well recognized, especially in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This is where the main marketing efforts should be. Read that last part again, it’s that important. Divide and conqueor, don’t attack the strongest well defended areas first. Also, support budding game development companies both in China and Korea, this is where the future of Asian games lie. The millions of gamers in both those countries would love to be supporting their own developers vs. those from Japan. Make this a selling point too. Plus, it is just bad PR everywhere to suck up to the Japanese and fail miserably. Once the rest of Asia turns to the Xbox 360 Japan will come around.

2. Stop creating enemies and more partners. Link up iTunes with Xbox Live. Even without iTunes, start selling music, tv shows, and movies on Xbox Live. May want to also offer a "Media Package" with an upgraded hard drive or the ability to upgrade the hard drive.

3. By-pass the next gen DVD wars. Agree on a high compression HD video encoding format and rent downloadable movies over Xbox Live. I’m sure the numbers on the downloaded movie trailers speak for themselves.

4. Offer a web browser on the 360. With all the HD tvs being sold, it’s just natural for people to browse the internet from the comfort of their sofa. Plus Microsoft can sell more input devices like keyboards and mice this way.

People balk at Sony’s $600 price point. In a world where HD TVs cost $2K and iPods cost $300, a $600 next gen game system with a next gen DVD format isn’t unrealistic. Microsoft needs to implement the ideas above, ASAP, especially #1 this can be done today. Forget Japan, seems like everyone but the heads of Microsoft’s game studio know this!
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Gamesindustry.biz Email Update: Sony Begins PS3 Manufacturing

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