The rise and impending fall of the Playstation

Article - Is Sony's future increasingly overcast?

Sony first elbowed its way onto the home console gaming market on 3 December 1994 when its Playstation launched as a rival platform to that of the SEGA Saturn and the greying Super Nintendo (SNES). An unknown performer in terms of the videogame industry, Sony duly offered console gamers the chance to immerse themselves in genuine 3D environments while assuming the position of genuine 3D characters. Such advanced gaming meant that it didn't take long for the Playstation to carve its demographic foothold, prompt the first rumblings of doom at SEGA, and cement its place in videogame history. As of March 2005, the original Sony Playstation and its more compact PSOne derivative have sold over 103 million units globally. The Playstation was, and always will be, a defining moment in console development.

The Playstation 2 launched to the sound of golden trumpets on 4 March 2000, and its arrival marked an overlap of superiority for Sony's console armoury as the original Playstation was still performing well-and would continue to do so for a few more years. Sony's dominance leading up to the release of the Playstation 2 had all-but put pay to the SEGA Saturn (which discontinued at the end of 2000 and had already been replaced by the next-generation SEGA Dreamcast), and also the Super Nintendo (which had itself been superseded by the Nintendo 64). Yet, despite both the Nintendo 64 and SEGA Dreamcast surpassing the performance power of the Playstation, and launching some time sooner than the Playstation 2 (1996 and 1998 respectively), Sony's grip on the market share was unshakeable, and faithful affection for the Playstation brand was showing no signs of waning.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise to discover that the Playstation 2 has, as of the close of 2005, sold more than 100 million units worldwide, which beats the original Playstation's landmark 100 million achievement by a staggering three years and nine months. Sony's DVD-equipped Playstation 2 effortlessly sauntered to the head of the console pack in March 2000 thanks to stealing a massive jump on its direct competitors (now Nintendo and Microsoft following SEGA's hardware closure) by reaching retail some 18 months before the emergence of Nintendo's GameCube (September 2001) and Microsoft's Xbox (November 2001). However, Sony's follow-up console would prove to be a disappointment in terms of gaming power, despite the overwhelming brand loyalty. Indeed, both the GameCube and Xbox duly delivered better performance and, in the case of the Xbox, an innovative Live multiplayer subscription service that opened-up gaming parameters far beyond anything on offer from Sony or Nintendo. Regardless of the competition, be that in terms of Nintendo's respected gaming history, or Microsoft's bottomless pockets and willingness to take massive Xbox profit slashes just to survive in the arena, the Playstation 2's 18-month advantage meant that a considerable catalogue of software had already amassed and consumers subsequently only had eyes for Sony's wide-ranging choice and proven pedigree.

The next six years, up until present day, saw the Playstation 2 leading the console pack with undisputed authority, even though the Xbox and GameCube managed to shift roughly 20 million units of hardware each since launch, and the Xbox (has thus far) racked up some 6 million subscribers to its Xbox Live service. However, neither products have come anywhere near touching the Playstation 2 in sales statistics, and rumours of Nintendo's hardware demise even circulated before the arrival of the next generation of consoles, whereas Microsoft have never turned a profit from the original Xbox.

The spread of next-generation consoles (namely the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360) have caused a massively dramatic shift in the gaming battlefield, one that certainly pulls away from Sony's current favour. The 2005 E3 Expo in Los Angeles highlighted the first rumblings of trouble for Sony's dominance, when Microsoft's revealed its second console, the Xbox 360 (cleverly named as to avoid using Xbox '2' and appearing evolutionarily insufficient beside the Playstation '3') which visually outperformed the 'rendered PS3 sequences' that were passed off as genuine gameplay footage by Sony. Furthermore, the Playstation 3's now infamous 'boomerang' controller was hastily scrapped after E3 following terrible feedback, and it was also announced that the Xbox 360 would be arriving at retail at the close of 2005. This must have been a one-two combination that slammed Sony in the corporate ribs as usually affable consumers puffed their chests at a Sony peripheral and Microsoft swiftly turned the 'first to market' tables. But Sony seemed unworried by Microsoft's eagerness to spring from the gate and start nurturing the Xbox 360 consumer base, and claimed that a new and improved controller was in the pipeline. By contrast, it was a subdued E3 for Nintendo, the Japanese gaming legend remained quiet and reserved concerning its latest console, which was simply known as codename: Revolution.

The Xbox 360 launched on 22 November 2005, priced 299 USD/219 GBP and 399 USD/279 GBP for the Core and Premium packs respectively, and it immediately hit supply and demand problems, which quickly led to choking tailbacks in advanced orders (some registered as far back as the summer), which wouldn't eventually even out until well into the spring of 2006. Again, Sony offered no outward signs of distress concerning the obvious power of Microsoft's system, or its HD capabilities, or its media hub features, or its portable 20GB hard drive, or its advanced Live Marketplace component for the download of game content. If anything, Sony took a look under the 360's hood and openly scoffed that the Playstation 3 would surpass its performance. Meanwhile, Nintendo said nothing.

Outside the continued peacock grandstanding that both Sony and Microsoft are guilty of, as the scheduled November 2006 release date of the Playstation 3 looms ever larger on the horizon, there is a mounting catalogue of black marks forming against Sony's reputation. The videogame industry and actively interested consumers are acknowledging the fact that Sony is, perhaps, losing the plot. Sony, of course, remains staunchly ignorant of its own destructive tendencies.

Various news sources recently reported that Sony is seeking to implement a licensing patent on Playstation 3 games whereby the consumer will not 'own' the game they've 'purchased', but only the 'license' to play it. The software would therefore remain the property of Sony and, more importantly, it would be illegal for retail outlets to sell second-hand PS3 games. Other reports indicate that UK retailers have already received notification from Sony that second-hand sales of Playstation 3 games will be prohibited. Sony denies this. Further to the software licensing, which would force more full-price sales from Sony consumers, and make it nigh on impossible for those who cannot always afford full-price games to invest in the Playstation 3, the individual coding scandal continues to surface, whereby Sony would specifically code PS3 games to only play on the console they first boot on. Again, another attempt at driving down second-hand sales, to which Sony has also issued denials.