PlaystationX: Should Sony And Microsoft Join Forces?
The enemy of my enemy is my friend…
by dkpatriarch
© 2009 David Hilton
I have previously argued that both the Xbox and the Playstation must survive and that the competition between them is beneficial to gaming. However, with the current economic crisis worsening and with Nintendo happily counting its blessings (and money), perhaps the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is something both companies may eventually consider.
Recently we’ve seen reports that Microsoft has cut 5000 jobs (according to Dean Takahashi approximately 30 percent of Microsoft’s internal video game testers have been laid off), closed another game studio (FASA, who made Crimson Skies for Xbox and Shadowrun for 360), and reported one of the worst quarters in its history in a surprise, pre-market disclosure, which includes an 11% slump in net income for the second quarter.
Sony isn’t faring much better either: after recently cutting 8000 jobs in December and promising more cuts, it expects to report a record annual operating loss of nearly US$3 billion because of the rapid deterioration of the global economy. Sony chief executive, Howard Stringer, told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo that business worsened across every major line, including games. It is no secret that Sony’s PS3 is trailing the console race.
There are, though, some analysts who point to the fact that the gaming industry should not be suffering from the recession as badly. First there is the fact that video games had their biggest year yet in 2008, eclipsing combined DVD/Blu-ray sales.
Then there is the opinion of Vancouver-based gaming industry analyst Steve Boscka, who says:
“”The industry is seeing great sales right now. Any company that’s attributing layoffs to the economic downturn is looking for excuses, because the numbers don’t back it up.”
However, it has to be said that though much of the sales success has been due to the incredible quality and value-for-length entertainment that gaming provides, it is Nintendo who is grabbing much of the success with their Wii and DS consoles. Nintendo accounted for 55% of all hardware sales in the U.S. last year, and saw its own sales figures jump 59% year-over-year.
Microsoft and Sony are companies with varied products beyond gaming and are increasingly under the financial pump and it could make sense for them to join forces in the gaming sector, cutting the expense of having to fight each other.
Of course they are each other’s greatest enemy in the console ‘war’ but by banding together they would be fighting two other common enemies: the economic enemy (the current crisis and the increasing costs for game console and software development) and the clever, rapidly rejuvenated Nintendo gaming empire, with its almost single-handed creation of a new casual gaming market with the Wii and DS.
There are thousands of practical reasons why this will most likely never happen and they would rather stubbornly fight until the other abandons console hardware as Sega did, but it is an interesting hypothetical if the economy continues to hit them hard and Nintendo keeps trouncing them in sales.
What if Microsoft and Sony were able to co-operate and form a new gaming-only focused company, each holding equal shares and influence?
What if, instead of planning Xbox Next or PS4 they banded together to create a ‘PlaystationX’ console, the greatest console collaboration ever?
They would streamline production and marketing costs, reduce their market competition, and keep both bands of loyal fans.
The Wii market may be different, but they may together do what each other separately has so far failed to do: seriously attract both the new and old gaming markets together for one console and pose a threat to Nintendo’s sales dominance.
This is ‘pie in the sky’ of course- each wants victory for itself, and I still wonder how innovative and powerful a console only competing with the Wii would be, but one thing is very attractive about this idea: I’d love to see the end of the ‘Fanboy Wars’ between the Xbots and Sony Droids which has divided gamers so much lately. (ed: Amen to that mate)
What do you think?
• Do you think a ‘PlaystationX’ console would be a good idea or a disaster? Comment below.
© 2009 David Hilton
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Filed under: Console gaming, Editorial, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Crimson Skies, Dean Takahashi, FASA, MGS, Micorsoft, Microsoft job cuts, playstation PS3, SCEE, Shadowrun, Sony, Sony job cuts, Xbox 360
i think it would be cool to see them join forces because the actual system itself would first of all have blu ray and on top of that the two companies have amazing grafics and microsoft has kinect right ? so you would need the sony playstation move. so that’s my opinion
I think they should set up a joint server for online play. This can be an added service that people need to subscribe to. Both companies can charge some type of small subscription fee for this and, with the millions of users, have the potential to make a ton of money. On top of that, the gamers get to enjoy playing with all their friends, regardless of which system they own
Well, I am a PS3 owner, however, I also like the Xbox 360. I thought about it, and that would be a great idea. No competition means big time market gain, they are each colossal companies which means they’ll will be able to invest lots, they’ll split a heck of a lot of costs, and probably one of the best things is the side companies. Microsoft and Sony have so many connections, Nvidia, ATI, Intel, Samsung, Insomniac, Bungie, and so on. I believe these connections will allow for an incredible system, however, it isn’t too likely it will happen unfortunately.
YEAH they should join forces! think about it: sony would benefit from a large fanbase and a range of succesful titles and series, and microsoft would benefit from the (almost) equally large ps3 fanbase and not only blu-ray drive technology but also better build quality.
It’s not like this could possibly threaten nintendo, since more housholds have a wii than running water. the fact is that even combined, the fanbases for the PS3 and 360 are about half of the wii fanbase (judging by total console sales), and the gulf between the two consoles in terms of sales is much less than some fanboys would lead you to believe. they should team up, for the preservation of both consoles, if only in the short term for conveniance.
You do know the economic crisis, is good for games and game consoles, due to the lack of money people will be transferring their money from holiday and nights out to media and home entertainment purposes…therefore games will only be doing better.
The only reason why the companies have been having problems was to do with the bigger product side of it….expecially with the research and development that goes into products behind the scenes. Fusing together would be good from a business standing, but to be honest i can’t see it happening.
This one console future is by means no new idea. We all know that the outspoken Dennis Dyack has predicted a future of the all for one console, but we all know that this seriously can’t happen cause without competition there is no progress.
M$ is not in as bad of spot as you have mentioned… Yeah the have cut a few jobs and debunked a few studios… but it’s all about productivity and saving some money where you can and none of these announcements posses the doom and gloom as some of Sony’s of the past month.
But lets look at the positive here.. Xbox production is breaking even… M$ has an amazing accessory attachment… amazing game attachment…. has seen a major boost in Live Subscription and Live activity. M$ are following the old hat formula which is 3 year loss 2 year profit… and now that x360 is into its 3rd year they are looking solid… but nothing is always cut and dry.
Sony are in trouble… don’t get me wrong here the PS3 is selling… but the problem is not how much they have sold, it’s the fact that they can’t turn a profit. Now usually Sony would have other areas in which they could pull money from to R&D in the gaming sector but given the latest forecast they don’t the money this time round. Which means that can’t look for ways to make the PS3 cheaper. Now The PS3 won’t die.. I can’t see that happening… but what I can’t see at the moment is a PS4…. as there is no money to R&D, design, produce, distrubute and sell. I truly believe that this 10year lifecycle is an area in need of review. Cause I firmly believe that while the PS2 does still sell… it’s not a 10year console. The original purpose of the 10yr was that a console is future proof for 10yrs… I would like a PC futureproofed for that long and so would many others… but technology moves to fast. At the end of the day, if the PS2 was a true 10yr console, the PS3 would not be out till next year.
It may never happen but it is a very attractive prospect. Both consoles are fantastic but are not without flaws. Fortunately the flaws on one console tend to be pro’s for the other. Imagine them working together and removing the flaws, bringing together just the best each console has to offer. The result could be amazing.
As you pointed out the real opposition for ms and sony is the economy crisis and of course nintendo, who are vastly changing the market with the casual gaming approach. Even if they dont team up to make the playstation x, they should at least team up with their consoles to tackle the difficult times ahead together
They closed ACES recentlty, the FASA closure is ancient history.
It would be a good idea from a business standpoint I’d think, but that, if it happened, wouldn’t happen overnight. If it happened, we would be waiting 10 years before we actually would see the final product.
It’ll probably never happen though. They both would want the higher % of the money.
I’d be all for it if they actually did/tried to do it though. I wish I could play Gears and Resistance on one system heh.
Obviously, something like this could never realistically happen like you describe. The nearest thing to a one console world would be something like computer which can run several different operating systems, and you choose which you like (yet on the same piece of hardware). That’s how far I can see it going. I would love for there to be one system united and all, but it just wont happen.