Rumorama: Sony Slaying 'Sacred Cow' At CES?
UK's The Times reported yesterday that corporate upheaval of nearly cataclysmic proportions is coming to Sony, in the form of desperately needed cost-cutting moves. According to sources, Sony is looking at "sacred cow-slaying measures" that "will abolish or fundamentally alter many of Sony's long-established business practices."
Word is that the big shakedown will become public knowledge sometime before CES ends on January 11.
It's hard to imagine that the PlayStation brand - or even just the money-hemorrhaging PS3 part of the business - could ever, ever be "abolished." But with sales of the PS3 tanking even as Wii and Xbox 360 sales continue to rise compared to the same period last year, and in such a dismal economy, it's hard to imagine that the PS3 isn't on the Sony bigwigs' list of troubled properties.
As the PS3 enters its third money-bleeding year in a row, the facts are almost moot - never mind that it now has a respectable game library and features on par with the 360, it's price is still far higher than the 360, its capabilities as a Blu-ray player continue to be undersold, and Blu-ray itself on shaky ground... who can say?
One bone-chilling possibility is that Sony might end up taking the same dose of medicine it once forced upon Sega: dropping manufacturing to focus more exclusively on content production.
Other things that could be on the block: the PSP, continued investment in Blu-ray hardware (there are likely to be huge contracts with studios regarding Blu-ray disc development), or a massive shift from within Sony's consumer electronics business.
"Sacred Cow Slayings" Rumored at Sony... Is PlayStation In Jeopardy? [GamePolitics]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 6 January 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: consumer electronics, playstation, ps3, psp, rumorama, sacred cow slayings, sony
http://www.developmag.com/news/31033/No-new-drastic-cost-cutting-says-Sony
They need to do something, and fast, the biggest problem the PS3 has... that one is easy, the price tag!!!!!, how can they not see that?? The second one is bad marketing. Really bad one.
The 'no new drastic' is not very compelling. "We do not plan to announce additional restructuring measures at this time," said Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari. "We don't have any such plan." Even if you were willing to trust any corporate spokeshole, that isn't a very strong denial.
On the other hand, I can't see them dropping the PS3 either. At the least they need that as a Blu-Ray trojan horse. That's the entire reason it exists. PSP? Sure.