Sony feeling the strain - Bach

[wraggster]

Via eurogamer

Robbie Bach, the president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, has said that he believes Sony is focusing on too many different areas - and is feeling the strain as a result.

Speaking to the San Jose Mercury News, Bach defended Microsoft's decision to introduce new music player Zune to market, rather than a new gaming handheld.

At present, he said, the company's priority is to make sure that, "The second holiday for Xbox 360 is set up right, that we've got the quantities we need, that we've got the games we need, and anything I do to distract those guys is probably a bad thing.

"I think Sony, frankly, suffers a little bit from this problem, which is they're spread really thin across all these areas. And trying to do PSP, competing with Nintendo, PSP to DS; competing with us, 360 to PS3, I think it does strain - it would naturally strain any organisation," he added.

When it comes to competing with the PlayStation 3, "Right now we are thinking about how to cost reduce the Xbox 360. That seems to be the first order of business," Bach said.

"You have to ask the question, over the life cycle, who has the cost advantage? Who can price most effectively? Who can reach the price points quicker? That has a huge impact on what gets driven.

"Most publishers are doing their initial development work on the Xbox 360. That plays to our benefit. Because we are out there first, we have a bigger installed base of consoles. We can drive down the manufacturing curve sooner and faster. And because we designed a box that was fundamentally easier to manage on costs, we’re going to have that advantage," he concluded.

According to Bach, Xbox 360 will be "a great logical choice" for gamers who want to buy a new console this Christmas season, particularly as PS3 shortages continue - adding, "Our value proposition is just better."

He said that Microsoft's decision not to introduce a 2006 holiday price cut for Xbox 360 "was not that hard", explaining, "When your competitor is supply constrained, it’s not clear what price buys you.

"Sony is going to sell as many units as they can ship in the US. I don’t know that a lower price would make a difference in the outcome. As you go out into later years, cost and price are both important issues."

When asked how long it will be before Microsoft starts making money on Xbox, Bach replied, "To be clear, we have said that in fiscal 08, entertainment and devices makes money. That’s not exactly Xbox. We don’t break profit down by business. And there are parts of entertainment and devices that make money. Xbox doesn’t. Xbox has to make significant progress to enable E&D to get there."

However, Bach added, "We feel we are on track."

[steve-b]

Sony have always been 'spread thin' as he puts it. I mean, they make everything! I really don't see how adding a portable gaming device to their line up is going to cause the problems he is hinting at. I guess if he just means sony's gaming department it could ring true.

He does make some interesting points though. And if you think about all other distractions and bad press sony has had recently with batteries going pop, rootkits, shafting Europe with release dates (as usual), could the psp and ps3 failing be a nail in a coffin?

[danknugz]

bullsh!t . first of all, ds is no competition for psp, i wouldnt be caught dead in public with a ds. nobody says ninten'doh is spreading itself thin with its 2 biggest sellers, wii and ds. they complement each other. so do ps3 and psp. sure , it sucks now, but the ps3 has been out a week! and sold out i might add. look how much theyve added to psp in 1 year. MS is just trash talkin.seems like theyre scared of the competition now that they had a full year to dominate, theyre not the hot sh!t this season and they got nothing to do but whine. wheres THIER motion contorller eh? ( 6 axis is a load of sh!t tho, there was a MS pc joystick in 2000 that did the same thing, its a damn gimick, one that most smart people wont fall for. thats not inovation sony.)
spreading itself thin? has anyone read the reiews for the MS zune? steaming pile of sh!t that is, tring to rip people off.
anywayz......

[pt9087]

Sony suks anyways, f**k em

[danknugz]

the psp is a work of art. if they suck so bad, why is psp so good?

[TacticalBread]

PSP is the only good thing Sony has done since the PS1. I personally hated the PS2, and I'm sure I will hate the PS3. Even though they made the PSP, Sony still sucks. They may have made a good product, but that doesn't make them any less arrogant, in fact, I'm sure it has made them even more arrogant.

wheres THIER motion contorller eh?

Microsoft doesn't have a motion controller because they haven't sunk as low as Sony, to outright steal an idea from another company. They still have some decency left.

[Cap'n 1time]

the psp is a work of art. if they suck so bad, why is psp so good?

what it comes to is not whether you think its good or bad, its how it sells. Nintendo is completely dominating the hand held market and is rolling in the dough at the time.

The comment above about the ps3 only being out for a short time I can agree with. How the hell can you say a console is failing if its only been out for a very small amount of time. Also considering hte price, kids are more likely to receive it for christmas as its so close to the holidays. I am no sony fan, but I do know not to listen to everything MS (a huge competitor at the time) says.

[digitalpedro]

Microsoft doesn't have a motion controller because they haven't sunk as low as Sony, to outright steal an idea from another company. They still have some decency left.

Please... Microsoft av never made an original product in their life. Sony made the gaming scene wat it is 2day with the ps1. The ps2 was the outright bestselling console of the last generation why should things change now?

[mikebeaver]

The cycle continues, nintendo had 2 really successful generations before they had a bad patch, same with sega and now maybe sony are getting hit by a similar thing.microsoft will just buy market share as usuall with bills billions.

[Ichijoe]

Well I almost wish I could live in Japan right about now!
Personally I thought the first XBOX should have been dubed the FAILBOX for it's lack of J-Games.

But with all theses releases like:
DOAX2
Blue Dragon ... and
TheIdolM@ster

Make me want to believe in the 360.
Really it does!
Shame will likely never get to see such titles (like the last One), beeing exported. least it be *******ized to Hell with the latest American Idiot Idol or some-such Crap!

J-Pop FTW