Sony on Wii: 'It's not hurting us'
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Aug 28th 2008 at 5:28PM }
That Howard Stringer is a rascal, isn't he? The Sony CEO recently spoke to German publication Die Welt about the various pies Sony currently has its fingers in, and clearly wanted to shatter a few myths regarding videogames and the current console race.
First of all, the Wii isn't more fun than the PS3, no -- it's just different. PlayStation 3 titles are "designed for those who play a lot." And anyway, it could have been oh-so-different for Sony, as Stringer reckons his company was first to discover the new gamers who have flocked to the Wii. "For a while, we held the same target group with the SingStar karaoke game," opined our man in the know. "But perhaps we neglected to pursue that avenue."
Stringer then confesses that Nintendo may have hit upon a superior business model by selling more consoles and making more money on hardware, before weakly claiming, "the Wii is not succeeding at our expense -- it is not hurting us." For a console that's not hurting Sony, Howard sure likes to talk about the Wii a lot. But it's definitely not hurting them.
[Via Edge Online]
Malice, snide remarks, and backstabbing in a bid to reach the top. No, not another day in Wii Fanboy HQ, but the constant snipes between grown-up gaming CEOs happy to dismiss the Wii as a novelty, or pretend they never really wanted those customers anyway.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
evilfoxhound @ Aug 28th 2008 5:40PM
He's actually right about sony kicking off the whole "casual gaming" revolution. The PS 1+2 were the first consoles to reach the masses of casual gamers all over the world. The Wii is carrying on the legacy of what, I think, the PS2 started. The casual gaming market.
TWOO DEE @ Aug 28th 2008 6:37PM
the nes was pretty damn casual...i mean, i can't think of anyone, growing up, that didn't own one
and everyone in the family played it, too
guttertalk @ Aug 28th 2008 7:20PM
@Twoo:
I admit I didn't own one, mainly because I had just started college and wasn't as much into gaming. And then later I got into PC gaming, buying no Nintendo platform until the DS and Wii. Many games I have sadly missed.
Danny @ Aug 28th 2008 5:49PM
Playstation only sold so many consoles cuz they broke ALL the time I went through about 3 and my brother went through 2
Nigeria @ Aug 28th 2008 5:52PM
He's got a point: Sony did claim the Wii market first.
I remember when Parappa first came out for the Playstation. I saw the game and the Sega fanboy in me cried: that's no game, it's Simon says, stupid! Where's Akira?
But I slowly started to see a different type of group take up an interest in gaming. You could say it's similar to the current Wii gamer.
Of course by the time Sega released Samba I got over it. It suddenly became ok for me.
Nigeria @ Aug 28th 2008 5:56PM
If first post actually appeared - even after 4 refreshes - I wouldn't have bothered. He already made my point.
Also, whenever I see his face I think of stripclubs.
hellhammer @ Aug 28th 2008 5:59PM
"the Wii is not succeeding at our expense -- it is not hurting us."
This type of middle school, mouthing off, attitude is the opposite of what players want to hear. Sony, you're in a very specific business and Nintendo just happens to be dominating that very business, leaving you in the (low profit) dust.
Turn it around by promising better quality titles, more games overall, more features, and lower prices.
Not incredibly delusional PR statements. They're not helping anyone.
HiddenEmerald @ Aug 28th 2008 6:15PM
So his console is the one for people playing a lot? Not the way I see it. I quite literally play all day everyday on my wii.
RupeeClock @ Aug 28th 2008 6:12PM
So they're basically saying that it's not Nintendo's fault they're selling badly, it's their own fault for over-powering and then over-pricing the system, and not getting enough software onit.
Mr Khan @ Aug 28th 2008 6:16PM
I agree. This is a mature response for once, as opposed to a juvenile one
debaser @ Aug 28th 2008 7:28PM
It's not hurting them.
It's killing them.
Max Headroom @ Aug 28th 2008 7:47PM
In some ways I agree with him. It seems like Microsoft is hurting Sony a lot more than Nintendo is at the moment. If the XBox 360 weren't around, I'd say a lot more people would have a PS3, quite possibly along with a Wii.
Wii makes a good companion to either console. If you already have a 360 though, there's very little reason to get a PS3.
CJLopez @ Aug 28th 2008 8:17PM
The one being played a lot is the DS, on a demographic rate, then comes Wii, PSP, 360, and lastly PS3 (not counting PS2 here, we are talking about current gen)
RatMasterD21 @ Aug 28th 2008 11:15PM
i believe them..everything he says is true. I believe sony will come out in second place over the 360 when all is said and done...btw PS3 sails are on the rise and PSP is better then ever...still no match for wii/DS but still cool
Richard @ Aug 29th 2008 6:28AM
He's probably right - the kind of people who buy a Wii would never in a million years think about buying a PS3.
So it's not exactly a lost sale for them.
jenningsSan @ Aug 29th 2008 11:56AM
I just sold my Wii for a PS3 because I feel like the PS3 has more potential than the Wii. My wifes friends loved the Wii, but I grew tired of its simplicity.
This is what was amazing to me about the Wii though: Pretend you had Mario Kart on both Wii and PS3. When my wifes friends saw the Wii Wheel, they immediately wanted to play the game and they had a great time doing that. However, if I were to hand them the Dual Shock 3 controller, I bet you dollars to dildos they would quickly loose interest.
The Wii is a simple and fun and ultimately shallow experience that sits incredibly well with the 'wife's friends' demographic. These people would buy the 'Ice Age' game and have a great time. However, these people would also be overwhelmed/intimidated by the PS3 and thus never think of dropping $400 on it.
So in this sense Stringer is right, theyre not hurting from these people. But I think its is correct that they are most hurting from those who own the 360 dont have much of a reason to also get a PS3 what with the state of exclusive titles these days ... unless of course they want a more stable system that plays BDs.