[avaincmolla]

Originally posted by Asher
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/biztech....ap/index.html

Father of Sony PlayStation steps down

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- The chief architect of Sony's PlayStation game console stepped down on Tuesday as the Japanese company struggles to defend its dominance in the video game industry and revive its reputation as an electronics pioneer.

Ken Kutaragi, 56, stepped down as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s chairman and group chief executive, the gaming unit said Tuesday. The unit is now headed by Kazuo Hirai, SCE's former president and chief operating officer.

Kutaragi had already been relieved of day-to-day responsibilities as president last year but stayed on as its chief executive and chairman.

Though no longer a board member, Kutaragi will hold an advisory post at the gaming unit, according to SCE official Sayoka Henmi.

The departure of Kutaragi, an icon among gamers, marks the end of an era at Sony Corp. that saw the company long dominate the video game industry with its flagship PlayStation consoles.

But it also highlights troubles at Sony amid a series of blunders over the rollout of its PlayStation 3 and intense competition from Nintendo Co.'s popular Wii console and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Kutaragi's most recent brainchild, the PlayStation 3, has been marred by embarrassing production shortages and a $600 price tag that some fans said was too steep, forcing Sony to give away free games and other marketing gimmicks to spur sales.

Sony has also struggled to expand beyond the young, male demographic of "hardcore" gamers -- unlike the Wii, which has actively targeted women, young children and older gamers. Sony's market share has shrunk as a result.

Tokyo-based Sony shipped 5.5 million PS3 machines in the fiscal year through March 31, fewer than the 6 million the company had targeted. Nintendo shipped 5.84 million Wii consoles worldwide during the same period.

In the latest slip up, Sony was forced to apologize to the Church of England for a violent computer game that features a bloody shootout inside an Anglican cathedral.

The PS3's hefty startup costs have weighed heavily on the company's fight to drive up profit in its core electronics division. Sony is not expecting to post a profit in its game business until the fiscal year ending March 2009.

The flop has added to the woes facing the maker of the iconic Walkman, which has also ceded its leadership in portable music players to Apple Inc.'s iPod.

[gorbasevhuynani]

I was actually surprised how close the Wii and PS3 are.

5.5 vs 5.8?

[vodaPlaps]

Originally posted by nostromo
Wow, that's old news, like 4 months old. Your losing your edge, Asher

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...ship-role.html

Crazy Ken got was coming to him. I heard that Sony execs learned how much the PS3 would cost only after it was too late to back down. It's not old news. I posted about him getting demoted last time.

But now he's stepping down from even his other positions that he kept before.

[irresseni]

It's all the same to Sony/Nintendo.

[jackie Obrian]

In terms of the bottom line, it doesn't matter if it's sold to consumers or sold to retailers. They sell to retailers.

[hhynmtrxcp]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Presumably they are concerned about future sales. Retailers with full stock arent going to be buying any more. Insightful...

[swwatch]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
More so than an alleged expert who thinks that the numbers shipped are more important to SONY at this point then the numbers sold at retail. Not what was said, I specifically referenced their bottom line and was emphasizing that it financially makes no difference since they sell to retailers, not consumers.

Please make an effort to read what is said.

[pumpineemob]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
It makes no difference to their bottom line THUS far from hardware, that is correct. Yes. Yes, it is.

[WeestDype]

Originally posted by lord of the mark

"It's all the same to Sony/Nintendo." It was made in context of shipped vs sold. It was further clarified explicitly for you after, which you still did not comprehend. This is something you need to work on.

[lidersontop]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I presume that SONY and Nintendo are not. A very stupid assumption given the business history of both companies.

[qd0vhq4f]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
again, you honestly think that SONY does not see the inventory pileup at retail as a matter of concern? Well that certainly explains the PS3's price increases since launch, if they saw the pileup as a matter of concern...doesn't it.

[daasayse]

Actually, Nintendo is back and doing quite well for itself. Or at least better than Sony even if that is a low bar to be setting. MS is probably going to be the big man on campus for the time being though.

[opdirorg]

Originally posted by Asher

Well that certainly explains the PS3's price increases since launch, if they saw the pileup as a matter of concern...doesn't it. have they increased their prices since the first month's sales figures were in?

[WhiliaStelt]

Who cares about the Canadian market?

[autoloanexpert]

Capitalists?

[Cd9JfGHR]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
IIUC thats because at the old price, they were cheaper in Canada than the US. You do not understand correctly, as usual.

Current CDN PS3 price in USD is $657.496.

Before, it was $610.465 USD.

In the US, it's $599.

[6M8PJigS]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
But thats because the USD has fallen relative to the loon, since the price increase, IIUC. It's been falling for years, but we're talking February. Even then the Canadian was slightly more expensive. You've no clue what you're talking about.

It's loonie, not loon...

At the time of the price increase, that was not so. Bull-****.

I think DD is on the right track though, I just dont think SONY is watching the Canadian market all that closely. If that were true, why did Sony discontinue the 20GB entry-level PS3 in Canada months before in US? Most people think Sony uses Canada as a testing ground for pricing/marketing strategies.

In any case, if Sony were truly concerned with all of the PS3s on shelves, they would not:
1) Increase prices
2) Eliminate availability of the cheaper, more accessible version

It also makes sense . Right now Sony loses tons of money on each PS3, they're not really interested in selling massive volumes of them until cost comes down.