It’s arguable whether Sony had a successful E3 because of what it showed, or because of Microsoft’s own personal PR nightmare, but regardless, the PlayStation 4 left E3 smelling of roses and Sony is revising its projected sales targets accordingly.
They didn’t state any official targeted sales figures, and we wouldn’t expect them to, but it is interesting that Sony believes a good E3 could have such an impact on overall sales. I remember the PSP having a great E3 pre-launch, and the DS having a complete disaster, and we all know how that turned out.
That said — general enthusiasm for the PlayStation 4 is at an all-time high and I do expect that sentiment to filter down towards the mainstream. According to SCE’s CEO Andrew House, the console may end up selling out in stores.
“Demand may well outstrip supply,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Sony Boosts Internal Sales Estimates for PlayStation 4 [WSJ]
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52 responses to “Sony Looking To Increase Sales Forecasts For The PS4 After E3”
Sony absolutely did win E3 because of Microsoft. Think about it, They won of something they’re not doing, disc based DRM. Their showing was a success because of something they’re not doing, because of something the PS3 already doesn’t do.
It was like this:
Sony: “We’re not changing a thing about our current DRM policy, PS. we are now charging you to play online”
Everyone: “Sony wins E3”.
Both MS and Sony introduced measure that make things worse for the consumer but Sony’s was less horrifying. Makes you worried about consoles huh?
Sonys wasn’t a worry because there’s still a major value to PS+. The free games each month and 5 dollars a month isn’t a burden on anyone realistically. Some will be miffed but once you see that unlike XBL there is actually immediate value to PS+, that offsets the difference in a big way.
Yeah, PS+ already pays for itself in free games, discounts etc – I certainly wouldn’t be without it.
Although XBL is now giving Gold members free games in response to PS+. Although it remains to be seen whether the quality and quantity is up there with PS+. It’ll also be interesting to see if Sony maintain the standard of PS+ content now that everybody will need it for online play. If everybody has it then they might well get cheap in terms of how much they give away with it. Hopefully MS’s freebies will keep Sony honest.
So far XBL Gold is absolutely not up there in quality. Halo 3 and AC2? Hello 2007, nice to see you, because I have been under a rock.
I could swear I had read that wrong and they meant to include Halo 4 and AC3. But I kept on seeing it as Halo 3 and AC2. Which seems weird because I’m pretty sure when EB games is having a 2-for-X special you can probably pick the pair of them up together for $20 or something.
I wonder if they’re trawling through their collected user activity data to see if they can only make the ‘free’ games ones which are in the top-20 list of ‘things everybody in the world has already played to death’.
It’s also not an ongoing policy like PS+, it’s only up until the end of the year. Here’s the fine print from the Xbox website “Terms & Conditions: *“Games with Gold” bonus games offer available 6/10/13-12/31/13 for paid Gold members only. Each participating Xbox 360 game (selected by Xbox) available for download from Marketplace only during specified half-month window;” I mean, granted it’s better than a kick in the teeth and I can’t complain much about free games, other than the fact I already own the free games, but it’s no PS+.
Do you lose the games if you don’t renew your Gold subscription, like PS+?
They said in the conference that you keep them forever. My wife is going to “purchase” them with her account (I don’t currently have gold since I haven’t played any online multi since Halo 4 came out) even though we already have them, just in case we ever lose our discs and need to access them in the future.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just buy H3 and AC2 these days?
Didn’t they say at the Sony conference that Drive Club would be free to PS+ subscribers from launch?
I’ll be pre-ordering and paying in full for a PS4 as soon as my tax refund comes in.
Yep it sure will be. My 700 rebate in July for my son, I always spend it on him. He asked if we can order a PS4. I said it may not come out for another half a year or so, he said he doesnt care.
I LOVE MY SON SO MUCH!!!!!!!! lol!
I think if I ever have kids, my most fervent hope for them will be that they end up bigger geeks than me.
I can only imagine how terribly that could work out though. Can you imagine if, one day, your kid comes home from university and confesses that they only really like playing racing and sports games plus a bit of CoD, and maybe a little Angry Birds on their Windows phone? And that they don’t own a PC, just an ebook for porn and xbone…
I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of heartbreak.
“I HAVE NO SON!”
*rips shirt*
“I’m sorry Dad… I just can’t live this lie anymore. All those times we played XCOM and Civilization? I was really bored. And when my clan-mates come over? They’re not laughing at your xbone jokes. They’re laughing at how much of a Casual you are. For God’s sake Dad, YOU STILL PLAY WOW. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me, growing up? Having to lie and say I was doing homework, when you were really making us all raid? When I told you I couldn’t heal for you because I was beta-testing Titan? I was really out at a music festival. With a girl. I’m sorry Dad. I play guitar, now. A real one, not a plastic one. I sold the Guitar Hero ones you gave me. This is my life, and I have to live it.”
“Drive Club PS+ edition”. It’s only a subset of the cars and tracks in the full game. Kind of like the Gran Turismo “Prologue” games… a taster of the full product.
MS freebies will end once the Xbox One comes out, they’re trying to keep people using their 360’s in the lead up to the next-generation.
Yeah AC2 and Halo 3, although classics, have definitely had their day. I want to see what the future of free games looks like on Xbox. This excites me cause there’s some healthy competition going on. Sony is looking to match XBL’s cross chat and superior interface and MS is responding by giving free games. It’s win/win. Just out of curiosity, do you have to remain a PS+ member to keep the free games? And if so, how is that enforced? I’ve tested the free games system on XBOX and you don’t need to remain a gold member, once you redeem the game you own the license like you would any game you purchase digitally.
Yes. Any digital games you got for free from PSN+ require an active PSN+ account to be playable.
Paid games, including games that were on discount from PSN+ however do not require an active PSN+ account.
So, how is that enforced? Do you have to check in online to launch a free PS+ game in order to verify that you’re a current PS+ subscriber? Or could you, if your account lapsed, just play free PS+ games offline? Cause like I said, once you redeem a free game on XBL Gold you own the license outright, online, offline, silver, gold, it doesn’t matter. Not trying to say that Xbox is better in thiss regards cause obviously if PS+ is good value then you’d want to maintain your subscription regardless.
As far as I can tell, you don’t need to be online in order to verify (though obviously you subscribe online. I’m guessing it runs off the internal clock.
I tend to think of PS+ as a rental service. For the quality of titles and the relatively small yearly fee, its good value.
Yea, I wouldn’t disagree about it being good value. I would be really excited about a netflix style games service where you get new release content, smorgasboard style. that way you wouldn’t have to amass a huge collection of games you are committed to woning, and in the long run you’d get to play more games.
MS will really need to do better than AC2 and Halo 3 if they’re trying to mirror what PS+ offers.
You have to phone home every month or so.
The way it works is that you have access to the games as long as you’re a subscriber. If your subscription lapses then you lose access to the games. If you then renew later on, then all your old games that you got from PS+ become available again.
That expiry thing put me off getting PS+ for a long time after it first launched. But then I stopped and thought about how many games I actually still play 6-12 months after I’ve bought them, and figured I wouldn’t actually be losing that much even if I did let the subscription lapse. But over the past year or so, the quality and quantity of free games has just gone through the roof. It’s a really good mix of old and not-so-old and (in the case of some PSN games) literally brand new, day 1. It’s had free games of the calibre of Mass Effect 3, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 3, Infamous 2, Bioshock 2, Demon’s Souls, etc.
And that’s just the PS3 stuff, not counting Vita. I don’t even have a Vita but I’ve still grabbed some of that stuff free when it’s been up there. If they ever cut the price to something I regard as reasonable then I can grab a Vita and I’ve already got a library of games ready to go – stuff like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Rayman Origins and Metal Gear Solid 2+3 HD.
EDIT: Found a full list: http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/general-ps3-discussion/198601-list-eu-playstation-plus-igc-free-games.html
Just started downloading Uncharted 3 free from my PSN+ account.
Nuff said.
$5 a month is not that much less than $6.66 each month for XBox Live. Plus you get free games on both. I’m getting a Xbox One and my housemate is getting the PS4 so I’m sorted, but the comparison isn’t so bad really.
Agreed, I am happy to pay for anything that gives me great value.
PS+ being needed means Sony can turn over more money without it being from ripping us off. They stay strong – we get a great service.
It is the same consumer first logic that made Steam (a drm based store) a huge success.
Just another reason to go PC. I don’t mind used game restrictions and DRM. It’s a reality I already live with on PC, but paying for the privilege of playing online? That’s inexcusable in my opinion. I’ll pick up a Wii U eventually to compliment my PC, but won’t be bothering with either of the other consoles this time round. Was very encouraging to see so many titles at E3 with PC versions. Given how similar the PS4 and Xbox One are to a PC architecturally I’m sure its a trend that will continue into the future.
The pay wall for Multiplayer on PS4 will only be a good thing for users, and people have proven that they don’t ACTUALLY care that much. The features of PSN+ make it well worth the price BEFORE you add Online Multiplayer to it. The reason why Xbox Live is aparently ‘so good’ is because it is a subscription service, which funds the improvement of the service. Sony’s policy in regards to online gaming has always been to ‘keep costs as low as possible, to keep online gaming free of charge’, however, they have realised that if they want to start providing the kind of services that the PS4 will have, they need to start increasing their operating costs, and the easiest way to recoup those costs is by putting a pay wall behind online gaming, which in itself provides a better overall experience for the user based on the PSN+ features alone.
Oh, I think it’s a great idea. Multiplayer gaming is an absolute cornerstone of modern gaming and it makes sense for Sony to start charging cause in the end you get what you pay for.
I’ve never pre-ordered a console in my life but the PS4 is the first console that has me considering it. I get the feeling that if I don’t pre-order these babies will sell out in 10 seconds flat and I’ll have no PS4 under the Christmas tree. : (
They are right to increase their sales forecast. All my gaming friends are considering PS4 but I don’t know anyone looking to pick up the XBone.
Indeed, I have not spoken to one person (in real life) that’s interested in the Xbone.
Pre-order now!! And maybe do it at a less prominent retailer like Dick Smith, I know for a fact that some EB games stores have over 100 pre-orders for the PS4 already.
None of my friends have done any serious console gaming since the early PS3 days. Faggots.
But yeah, I would go pre-order a PS4 asap. Not only is consumer demand increasing exponentially for this console, but we live in Australia haha. We always get the short end of the stick, and you can almost guarantee that when we get the console, we won’t get a large piece of the stock pie.
You can try one of the lesser retailers, but the problem with that is that they are also at risk of not getting any consoles at all on launch. A retailer like JB Hi-Fi would be good, there is a new store every 10 meters.
I think the difference between this and the DS/PSP situation is that most gamers will buy at least one console. Handhelds are more of a “if this scratches the right itch” situation for most people.
People were trying to decide if they wanted to get the XBone or the PS4 and based on what they’ve seen, most would lean towards the PS4. Basically, they nabbed pre-order sales from Microsoft, they didn’t create new sales which is how Nintendo has sold so well with the Wii and DS.
Also, Sony’s history of getting a HUGE number of absolutely must-have games is a hell of a lot better on their home consoles than it is on their handhelds.
Yep. Even if the Xbone years later turns out to be good you will still get your monies worth with a PS4.
Also being so similar to XB1 but slightly more powerful means it should have the better ports.
MS’ shitty attitude makes it hard not to want to dance on the Xbones grave.
I talked to a worker at EB games yesterday while buying the Last of Us. Before E3, the Xbox One had 10 preorders and the PS4 had 5. After E3, the PS4 had over 60 preorders and the One had 5. This is just one store.
If Microsoft doesn’t do anything to provide value for non-US customers, the next-generation will be a massacre…
Seems a touch contradictory, why increase your forecast if you can’t manufacture enough units?
They are probably talking about end of financial year figures instead and not specifically units available for launch, but at the same time hopefully it does mean they might have a few more units for the launch.
I assume they’re all coming out of Foxconn. So maybe as MS lower their forecasts and cut their production, that’ll free up capacity to make more PS4’s? 😛
Rumour has it that the PS4 is being manufactured by Foxconn, while Xbone is being manufactured by Pegatron Technology.
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130611PD207.html
I got a really nice slice of counter-points about the E3 showing from Giant Bomb’s E3 DAY 2 podcast.
Anyone saying “Sony won” is either too young to remember what happened at E3 in 2006, has a terrible memory, or is very short-sighted. I’m not defending Microsoft, I don’t care much for X1. But the E3 announcements don’t mean jack, especially if Sony launch the PS4 and the OS netcode is as balls as the PS3’s launch code was. Watch everyone jump ship to the X1 then.
Too many undetermined variables; the smartest people are sitting silent and watching.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Sony lose E3 2006 pretty badly? Isn’t that where the infamous “get a second job” statement was made.
Sony had a really bad press conference in 2006. Some said (like you just did) that they had “lost”. How you reckon the PS3 has gone since then? Pretty good imo.
And that’s my point.
A bad E3 press conference doesn’t mean shit. Sony ate it hard in 2006 and still managed to fight back to a pretty good market share. Microsoft failed this year, but it doesn’t mean they’re as screwed as all the Nostradamus Jr.’s here and elsewhere are prophesying,
You need to thin about this from an economic perspective: The PS3 was a disaster. Sony went from 75% market share to third place in 1 generation, and thats with an admittedly strong last three years. It wasn’t until 2009 that they even started looking like a player. There’s nothing about E3 that makes it an inherently good predictor of course, but the reason Sony struggled this gen is the same reason they ‘lost’ E3 in 2006. I think MS poor reception at E3 this year is likely to be consistent (not necessarily predictive) with the reception on release of the console.
It only matters up until the day the console launches.
Things that Microsoft still have on their side: solid network infrastructure and dev tools for their system (when looked at in comparison to Sony.) Regardless of the poor conference, devs will feel more confident about the X1’s backend’s integrity than they will with Sony, when coming out of the gate.
Thinking about it more, it all sits in Sony’s court. They’re leaving the door open for Microsoft if they have nothing less than a perfect launch for the initial 6 weeks.
Sony could definitely mess it up, but assuming they provide a quality product, they’ll maintain the consumer sentiment and dominate sales for the first few years.
Sony only dropped to 2nd in terms of market share. PS3 has outsold the 360, just took a while to get there after giving up the 12 month head start.
I’m fine with Microsoft playing the long game. I’m confident there will be more innovation on the Xbone than on the PS4. PS4 is a hardware upgrade, XBone has some vision. But as a PC gamer (and ex PSX/PS2 and 360 owner) not enough for a day one buy, I’d love my console to be more like my PC.
3 years time a lot of Xbone haters will be eating some humble pie. The world will be a different place by then… the iPad was only released in 2010 and look what that’s done to the industry.
People fearing change more than anything. Vitriolic bile by the truck load.
Microsoft are setting up the X1 as the hardware peripherals for your house’s operating system. Go search “microsoft home 2.0” if you want to know more.
Apart from the idea of cloud services, I am not sure what the new vision is here? I don’t think there is anything stopping the PS4 or any other console from implementing such services in the future anyway. The best thing for owners of both consoles is if they are fairly evenly competitive. If one console failed, you should expect to pay more for everything and see less money spent on research.
“3 years time a lot of Xbone haters will be eating some humble pie. ”
Having some experience with Microsoft, I don’t expect them to change course quickly. They are large and powerful with a habit of getting stuff done (you can’t make any money if you don’t ship), but nimble they ain’t. If I had to place bets, I would expect a very similar situation to the last gen, only in reverse – with the One catching up later on. The problem with anticipating schadenfreude is that it might end up being you eating some not so delicious pie.