Rags to Riches: How Sony Transformed the PS3

No, I’m not another Playstation/Sony fanboy. No, I don’t own a PS3. No, I don’t have a Blu-Ray player. But I have to admit – doggone it, Sony seems to just have the formula for success. A year ago, the name PS3 would bring stenches of failure and skepticism. Now, the PS3 carries a much more appealing vibe – but how did Sony do it? From what I’ve seen and thought about, I’ve come up with 3 main factors:

Source: http://blog.chip.de/xbox-ps3-watch-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/meri-final-fantasy-xiii.jpg

1. Exclusive AAA Games

• God of War III
  • Planned to be released exclusively for the PS3 in 2009, you can definitely expect God of War III to cook up a few hundred (or thousand, even) units being sold.
• Gran Turismo 5
  • A friend of mine very recently ditched his Wii for a new PS3 (traitor). I asked him why he’d make such a ludicrous decision, and he told me that his favourite game Gran Turismo 5 was coming out for the PS3 soon. I guess that’s a valid choice on his part – after all, he did end up spending $300 on a steering wheel and a set of brakes. Wow.
• Final Fantasy XIII
  • My personal favourite will have to be Final Fantasy XIII – I played Final Fantasy X and that really drew me into the genre. Either way, it’s still a definite force to be reckoned with and I think that it’ll be something to look forward to. Hopefully some of you out there will agree with me.

Source: http://z.about.com/d/playstation/1/7/U/6/Img3669_tif_jpgcopy.jpg

2. Blu-Ray Player

With HD-DVD out of the picture, and Sony consistently marketing the PS3 doubling as a Blu-Ray player, the PS3 will definitely sell a lot more units. Being amongst the most affordable Blu-Ray players on the market (sadly), the PS3 could very possibly be the media-powerhouse of “next-gen” consoles. Heck, even Microsoft plans to integrate a Blu-Ray player into the next generation of their Xbox 360.

Source: http://www.cheaplaptops.org.uk/wp-content/laptopimg/2007/09/ps3.jpg

3. Pricing

The most major factor in this the transformation has to have been the change in pricing. By halving the price and the overkill specifications, as well as the drop in hardware prices, Sony has been able to manipulate the prices so that they become more affordable – somewhat in the range that the Nintendo Wii resides in. I find that this reason alone made it all the more appealing for me to entertain the idea of purchasing a PS3 – and thus, I think that this is the killer reason to get the PS3. The introduction of the 40GB version really popularized the PS3, and it earned a new place on the shelf next to the Nintendo Wii. Heck, I might even get a PS3 thanks to the price drop (I’m a starving artist, despite what you think).

Not only did Sony prove the general public wrong, they also retained their established position as a household, widely-known, mainstream household brand. By turning the PS3 around, they’ve found an alternate method to continue to generate income, and also continued the reputation of the Playstation legacy. Despite being a Wii supporter, I’ve owned a PSone and PS2 before, so it’s very possible that I continue my own Playstation journey with a PS3.