Maybe to replace PS3/Vita games we get movies and music and rename Instant Game Collection to something else to reflect that?
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Sony’s Chief Plans to Make Entertainment Assets a Priority
- Thread starter OSHAN
- Start date
Sounds like Sony had some smart managers in their PlayStation division with the foresight to understand their customers. See exhibit A, the Xbone launch. Don't fuck this up Sony. The core message of PlayStation must always be games, games, games.
It is crazy how Sony still hasnt been able to do anything big with PSN in regards to movies and music...
They are huge on the music and movie industry and every other player in those respective industries would give their right leg for an 80 million active userbase platform
They are huge on the music and movie industry and every other player in those respective industries would give their right leg for an 80 million active userbase platform
i think they already tried something like that when they changed the PSN to the SEN (Sony Entertainment Network) late last gen but they changed it back once it didn't work out.
I wouldn't repeat that mistake or change PS+, as they should stay as game services, but I think there's room for other collaborations. Changing PS Vue to Sony Vue and then collaborating with Sony Pictures to make Vue, Crackle and Funimation have closer ties would make a lot of sense IMO.
Here's the thing: making movies and TV shows available on a game console doesn't actually make it worse at playing games. I don't like it when gamers get pissed off at that sort of functionality, because it doesn't require any sacrifices in the hardware. It's just another piece of software on the system that plays media.
And really, from what I can tell most owners are already using their PS4s and Xboxes for Netflix. It really just sounds like Sony wants in on that. I think there's a way Sony could play this right, but probably not on the same level as Netflix or even Apple's streaming ambitions.
And really, from what I can tell most owners are already using their PS4s and Xboxes for Netflix. It really just sounds like Sony wants in on that. I think there's a way Sony could play this right, but probably not on the same level as Netflix or even Apple's streaming ambitions.
Sony's three consumer electronics pillars under Kaz Hirai were mobile, digital imaging and gaming. And the keyword there was 'consumer electronics pillar'
Kaz very much viewed Sony as a consumer electronics company at heart and his strategy revolved around using exclusive entertainment content as a differentiation factor for their electronics.
What has changed since then?
Mobile strategy has gone bust. Digital imaging, while incredibly successful - is a B2B business for Sony where they sell imaging sensors to other companies, not so much directly to consumers. And while gaming is a successful pillar, the elephant in the room for Sony's gaming business is the massive growth and success of the PSN side.
On the other hand, thanks to Fate/Grand Order among other things, Sony Music has been on the up-and-up, and Sony's movie business has turned itself a bit in the past 2 years, going from major flops to having a solid movie base in Homecoming, Jumanji, Venom, etc.
Basically - whereas the Sony under Kaz was 'consumer electronics company with an added advantage of entertainment content creation... the direction that has been hinted by Kaz's successor is that they're an entertainment company with music, movies and games at the forefront.
And if we needed any more proof that that is the direction that Yoshida is going with, his big moves that he's taken ever since he became CEO were:
https://www.funimation.com/blog/201...s-acquired-sony-pictures-television-networks/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-worlds-biggest-music-publisher-idUSKCN1IN01F
https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/14/news/companies/peanuts-dhx-sony/index.html
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-sony-ceo-kenichiro-yoshida-outlines-shift-content-1113823
They've been the biggest name in console gaming since they got in the business. As long as they release an affordable box they will always be fine with games (especially with their first party stable on lock). But they have these boxes that they've gotten into tens of millions of homes, every generation. I don't think brand dilution is an actual thing they need to be worried about, what they have to figure out is how to properly integrate their services. I do believe one of the issues is that PlayStation is just a home console. There are more established names in media streaming, that have built their brand while being offered on a multitude of devices. Vue may be available on other devices, but at this point it is too late. So this makes their struggles more marketing oriented. Content, price, access, and branding.
Microsoft's biggest problem was putting that stuff at e3. If they saved all the entertainment stuff for something like Ces, there wouldn't have been a backlash about it.
Who cares about box office performance? Using popularity to determine whether or not something is garbage is a bad idea. I mean Big Bang Theory is a putrid shit manifested as a sitcom and it somehow gets high ratings.
(I always get suspicious when people use the term "fun" to describe a film)
You mean when they unveiled a new platform to a gaming crowd, and emphasized features they didn't care about? Yeah, totally the same thing.
Nah.
PSN's 80 million userbase has maybe around 50% attach rate when it comes to PS+ subscription, so it's around 40 million paying customers for PSN.
Netflix has close to 150 mil subscribers, and Spotify has 80 mil.
Sony has a huge paying base, but it's still not at the level of the top dogs in the movie/music space.
Not really, the issue with microsoft was the always online and no used games.
Of course sony do need to be careful to not fall to the same errors microsoft did in 2013.
They are going to use their console to push their movies and music.
But it means that there are people out there that find value in it. Not everyone has tastes as refined as yours, doesn't make it trash, doesn't make you right and them wrong.
This isn't oversimplifying the situation at all.
Nothing to do with one another.
This isn't just you but what's with all the "durr hurr XB1" shitposting? Were you all asleep in 2013 or are you just trying to twist this into something it isn't because console wars? The problem with the XB1 reveal in regards to the multimedia capabilities was the messaging, not the fact it had them (as it's not like the PS4 doesn't have Netflix, Spotify, Vue, etc), and that's because Microsoft seemed to think marketing the XB1 as a multimedia hub would sell it to a larger audience than just a gaming system. Sony never did this, they had the multimedia stuff there but they focused the PS4's marketing around the games. Sony Music, Pictures and Interactive collaborating more isn't going to change that.
I'm gonna laugh so freaking hard if the PS5 announcement is full of TV and Sports references ala the X1.
Time is a flat circle indeed.
The thing about those ~80 million users is that you might be able to sell them some TV/Film/Music content, but they got those millions of users by specifically focusing on gaming stuff, transitioning to selling them 'entertainment' as a general thing instead of focusing on improving their gaming experience is a risky move.
Time is a flat circle indeed.
The thing about those ~80 million users is that you might be able to sell them some TV/Film/Music content, but they got those millions of users by specifically focusing on gaming stuff, transitioning to selling them 'entertainment' as a general thing instead of focusing on improving their gaming experience is a risky move.
Yep, presumably they'll keep the latter in mind. I don't mind admitting that my PS4 is used primarily for films and TV these days (family life...), but the important thing is I use apps like iPlayer and Amazon Prime for that which are available everywhere. The console I pick up next gen, despite no doubt still being primarily for films and TV, will be chosen based on what's best to me for gaming.
I'm sure Sony knows that for a games console, games still need to come first. Especially when it's revealed. They saw the impact of appealing to the core with the PS4 launch, and saw what happened when Microsoft ignored the core. I will be amazed if history repeats itself with flipped roles.
While I would like that it seems like replacing apples with oranges and I'm not sure how people would react. Instead of an old Soul Calibur, here's a copy of the Karate Kid.
In no universe is Playstation going to suddenly announce a PS5 whilst using movies, music, and digital marketplace cohesion as the primary selling point.
If anything this would be an additional benefit similar to Playstation Vue where the core functionality is emphasized but the additional ecosystem options are highlighted.
The alarmism suggesting Playstation's future endeavors and Xbox of 2013 are remotely equivalent is baffling. The negative press alone, the myriad of articles telling them to avoid the dumpster fire, and the historic self immolation of the Xbox brand in 2013 is enough for them to not attempt something this stupid
If anything this would be an additional benefit similar to Playstation Vue where the core functionality is emphasized but the additional ecosystem options are highlighted.
The alarmism suggesting Playstation's future endeavors and Xbox of 2013 are remotely equivalent is baffling. The negative press alone, the myriad of articles telling them to avoid the dumpster fire, and the historic self immolation of the Xbox brand in 2013 is enough for them to not attempt something this stupid
Omg....Sony. Do not pull an Xbox One launch debacle.
It wasn't even that long ago for anyone to really forget....
It wasn't even that long ago for anyone to really forget....
Back of my mind I thought great I look forward to seeing them push this on stage at E3 ( Like Xbox ones awful TV TV TV )
Then remembered Sony aren't even showing up this year.
Then remembered Sony aren't even showing up this year.
Movies and TV shows on PS+ would not be as bad since they removing PS3 and Vita games
Sony could have a streaming service that offered everything from games to music to movies. Lots of potential.
Yeah. There's a large gap between what's in the OP and where MS positioned itself. It's the difference between distributing entertainment on your network versus turning your game division into a general entertainment company. Sony already has large movie/tv/music businesses. Microsoft didn't, and the Xbox division lost focus trying to cover those bases - Mattrick himself was signing tv content deals when he should have been signing game deals. They also let those ambitions materially affect hardware design in ways detrimental to game performance.
It's very hard to see Playstation getting into that kind of position today - where they would be given the reigns over movie/tv/music operations leaving execs with limited attention for game content deals, or where hardware would take a turn based on those demands.
My guess: having more entertainment apps from the start than PS4 did, with preferred visibility for Sony apps/services and perhaps cross-marketing/bundling with PS subscriptions. Perhaps more leveraging of premium movie assets in games ala Spiderman.
Not Kodera/Layden et al spending their days working on movie and music contracts while game companies hold on the phone, or Cerny designing something into the PS5 hardware in a way that compromises game performance...
Nuance is possible even if historical analogies are more tempting/simple. I think one big consolation those protective of the game business should take from the OP is that Playstation seems perfectly aware of the traps you might worry about. If they were unaware I might be more worried.
This. Also, they've made their WWS initiative the cornerstone of their PlayStation business. It wouldn't make any sense lmao. Gaming will always be the centerpiece of their platforms.
They just have to go all out on ONE Playstation App that is compatible to many different types of devices. Make it a smooth running app. That adjusts it's GUI with the hardware's capability.
This app has
Playstation Store
Playstation Vue
Playstation Now
Playstation Video
Playstation Music
Sure the PS4 has all of these... but more so for other devices. All of these services right there. Seemless.
This app has
Playstation Store
Playstation Vue
Playstation Now
Playstation Video
Playstation Music
Sure the PS4 has all of these... but more so for other devices. All of these services right there. Seemless.
Sony/Colombia movies are like Adam Sandler - absolute lowest common denominator garbage that is often successful precisely because of that demographic they're aiming for.
But as others have pointed out, whilst this is awfully reminiscent of TV TV TV, the fact that they're discussing this stuff now at CES means the focus will be on the games at the PS5 reveal. Microsoft's mistake with XBO was using the actual pre-E3 reveal of XBO itself to talk about TV TV TV, and then wait until E3 to discuss the games. Which was borderline insanity for a games console.
But as others have pointed out, whilst this is awfully reminiscent of TV TV TV, the fact that they're discussing this stuff now at CES means the focus will be on the games at the PS5 reveal. Microsoft's mistake with XBO was using the actual pre-E3 reveal of XBO itself to talk about TV TV TV, and then wait until E3 to discuss the games. Which was borderline insanity for a games console.
Jesus, I don't know what I expected but this thread is a dumpster fire already.
The reason the Xbox One cost $500 is Microsoft's insistence on including a new version of the Kinect, which indirectly led to the console having worse specs as well and a whole host of other problems.
Microsoft's vision for Xbox One wasn't just about movies and music, the damn box had HDMI pass through for your cable box when the future was already clearly in Netflix and streaming services, they featured a $400 million (which granted was more than just Xbox) at their reveal and devoted resources to stuff like Xbox Entertainment Studios.
Had Microsoft showed a bigger commitment to gaming at launch and made it their main point while simultaneously having these features, most people wouldn't care.
With all that said, the always online DRM and no used discs fiasco was a far, far bigger issue than the multimedia focus. it's not even comparable.
Not only is there nothing to suggest Sony is going in this direction (and plenty to suggest otherwise, like common sense, and that fact that stuff like cable is even less relevant now than it was in 2013) , the article itself specifically talks about Sony utilizing PSN to offer their movies/shows and music
What could this be? Releasing Sony movies/shows/music first on PSN, perhaps at discounted rates? An all in one Sony streaming service for all their media offering? better synergy between their divisions so they can finally make that Uncharted movie and make better use of their gaming IP's in their film division? Oh, the horror!
The reason the Xbox One cost $500 is Microsoft's insistence on including a new version of the Kinect, which indirectly led to the console having worse specs as well and a whole host of other problems.
Microsoft's vision for Xbox One wasn't just about movies and music, the damn box had HDMI pass through for your cable box when the future was already clearly in Netflix and streaming services, they featured a $400 million (which granted was more than just Xbox) at their reveal and devoted resources to stuff like Xbox Entertainment Studios.
Had Microsoft showed a bigger commitment to gaming at launch and made it their main point while simultaneously having these features, most people wouldn't care.
With all that said, the always online DRM and no used discs fiasco was a far, far bigger issue than the multimedia focus. it's not even comparable.
Not only is there nothing to suggest Sony is going in this direction (and plenty to suggest otherwise, like common sense, and that fact that stuff like cable is even less relevant now than it was in 2013) , the article itself specifically talks about Sony utilizing PSN to offer their movies/shows and music
What could this be? Releasing Sony movies/shows/music first on PSN, perhaps at discounted rates? An all in one Sony streaming service for all their media offering? better synergy between their divisions so they can finally make that Uncharted movie and make better use of their gaming IP's in their film division? Oh, the horror!
Yeah this is how I see it too. The service sub etc etc for the entertainment content would the primary focus while the hardware would be use as accomodating platform. Which I believe is a good news for gamers since Sony would definitely focus more on creating games and They might even willing to sell their hardware for example like PS5 cheaper.
Other X1 reveal nonsense similarity are more driven by majority people hoping Sony to fuck up their next gen reveal.
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