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Memento

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
8,129
I thought Fate and Order was included in their mobile results? Isnt it doing gangbusters?
 

kitzkozan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
442
PS4 is my favorite PS console, even if the industry isn't what it was in the sixth generation era and probably won't be again. Cost have exploded to the point where it's much more time demanding to churn out AAA games along with AA mostly going extinct, but we have hit a nice compromise imo. It's mostly the Japanese companies that are filling out the AA space since they can't compete with the budget of the biggest western developers. It's leading to this nice combination of AAA and AA along with indies for those who want experience focused on the mechanics and there's also an increased focus on competitive multiplayer games which a lot of people love obviously. They achieved this balance of pure multi focused games, huge AAA games along with AA filled by the Japanese and a healthy dose of niche genre such as fighting games or jrpgs and even Megaman is back. :P The other important factor is that Sony is having more success than ever in terms of marketing and publishing exclusives that are very popular (they will have several selling over 10M+ copies) to the point where Microsoft need to adapt and change their strategy.
 

ArmGunar

PlayStatistician
Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,527
If I'm hitting my volume & margin targets at $299 please explain why I sacrifice margin for volume sales on potentially lower lifetime value customers?

Why would I pay more (marketing + loss of profit cost) to acquire customers who will generate less revenue over the long term?

Because volume sales attract more new people, so :
- more potential PS+ subscribers
- more new consumers to buy games physically or digitally (so Sony get royalties on each copy)
- more new consumers to buy Sony exclusives (especially this year with God of War/Detroit/Spider-Man)
- more new consumers to spend for digital content (DLC/cosmetics/etc...) on popular game (Fortnite/BO4, soon RDR2 Online)
- more new consumers attract new consumers (you will and want to buy the same console than your friends)

So these new consumers will generate more revenue in the long term.
Black Friday/Holiday is the perfect season to grow your install base for future purchases on your ecosystem (especially when your console is dominant and have big exclusives released in the year)

And it doesn't matter if you keep or lower the price because no matter what choice you make, you will have to pay to promote the PS4 during BF/Holiday, so it doesn't change anything for the marketing.
 
Mar 17, 2018
2,927
Because volume sales attract more new people, so :
- more potential PS+ subscribers
- more new consumers to buy games physically or digitally (so Sony get royalties on each copy)
- more new consumers to buy Sony exclusives (especially this year with God of War/Detroit/Spider-Man)
- more new consumers to spend for digital content (DLC/cosmetics/etc...) on popular game (Fortnite/BO4, soon RDR2 Online)
- more new consumers attract new consumers (you will and want to buy the same console than your friends)

So these new consumers will generate more revenue in the long term.
Black Friday/Holiday is the perfect season to grow your install base for future purchases on your ecosystem (especially when your console is dominant and have big exclusives released in the year)

And it doesn't matter if you keep or lower the price because no matter what choice you make, you will have to pay to promote the PS4 during BF/Holiday, so it doesn't change anything for the marketing.

I tend to agree with this. Sure, if they were at 140m this would probably, not assuredly, be pointless. But we are not even at 90m. They do need at some point to hit the masses at the bottom because that is a HUGE potential sales base. A hundred bucks on a console is something, but it is nothing to getting someone hooked on PS Plus and other services.
 

Sol Mori

Member
Jun 10, 2018
221
Because volume sales attract more new people, so :
- more potential PS+ subscribers
- more new consumers to buy games physically or digitally (so Sony get royalties on each copy)
- more new consumers to buy Sony exclusives (especially this year with God of War/Detroit/Spider-Man)
- more new consumers to spend for digital content (DLC/cosmetics/etc...) on popular game (Fortnite/BO4, soon RDR2 Online)
- more new consumers attract new consumers (you will and want to buy the same console than your friends)

So these new consumers will generate more revenue in the long term.
Black Friday/Holiday is the perfect season to grow your install base for future purchases on your ecosystem (especially when your console is dominant and have big exclusives released in the year)

And it doesn't matter if you keep or lower the price because no matter what choice you make, you will have to pay to promote the PS4 during BF/Holiday, so it doesn't change anything for the marketing.

At the risk of putting words in his mouth, Kyser73's point is that the people coming in at the lower prices are those that are less likely to invest in new games and digital content. That is, they'd be more likely to purchase used games and be unlikely to invest it cosmetics specifically because they are price sensitive consumers.
 

Penny Royal

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,158
QLD, Australia
At the risk of putting words in his mouth, Kyser73's point is that the people coming in at the lower prices are those that are less likely to invest in new games and digital content. That is, they'd be more likely to purchase used games and be unlikely to invest it cosmetics specifically because they are price sensitive consumers.

This is exactly what I said, thank you.

Clearly Sony have decided that hitting volume over holiday is a goal, and my god they're going to hit it and more with that Spidey bundle!
 

ethomaz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,851
Santa Albertina
3.9m is inline with the actual FY shipment they planned but it is glad to see they are increasing their forecast to 17.5m.

I believe Sony will end shipping 18m or more this year now with the $199 PS4.
 

gofreak

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,737
The new operating income forecast for the year in the game business is pretty insane. I mean, relative to where it started. They were forecasting 190bn yen at the end of the last fiscal year, bumped it to 250bn yen at the end of the first quarter, now bumped to 310bn yen.

For some perspective - if they meet that target, the cumulative operating income during these six years of the PS4's life (741.1bn yen) will exceed the cumulative loss of the seven years of the PS3 (443bn yen, ish?) and the cumulative profit of the five years of PS2 (264bn yen), combined. With another FY of PS4 to go.
 

Celine

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,030
The new operating income forecast for the year in the game business is pretty insane. I mean, relative to where it started. They were forecasting 190bn yen at the end of the last fiscal year, bumped it to 250bn yen at the end of the first quarter, now bumped to 310bn yen.

For some perspective - if they meet that target, the cumulative operating income during these six years of the PS4's life (741.1bn yen) will exceed the cumulative loss of the seven years of the PS3 (443bn yen, ish?) and the cumulative profit of the five years of PS2 (264bn yen), combined. With another FY of PS4 to go.
Yes, operating income is the most impressive part (a record in PlayStation history).
 

Syysch

Member
Oct 30, 2017
422
At the risk of putting words in his mouth, Kyser73's point is that the people coming in at the lower prices are those that are less likely to invest in new games and digital content. That is, they'd be more likely to purchase used games and be unlikely to invest it cosmetics specifically because they are price sensitive consumers.

Not to mention, the lower the price, the higher the chance you get people opting for a 2nd console for their home who then spend literally zero dollars more on software and services compared to what they would have with just their 1 console.
 
OP
OP
Noobie

Noobie

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
755
3.9m is inline with the actual FY shipment they planned but it is glad to see they are increasing their forecast to 17.5m.

I believe Sony will end shipping 18m or more this year now with the $199 PS4.
Sony lack of interest in increasing market share at the expense of profit make me not to expect too much from Sony. I expect drought of bundle quantities thus don't expect Sony going over their Target shipment. They didn't go over their Target last year also when they easily could have.
 

Y2Kev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,865
The new operating income forecast for the year in the game business is pretty insane. I mean, relative to where it started. They were forecasting 190bn yen at the end of the last fiscal year, bumped it to 250bn yen at the end of the first quarter, now bumped to 310bn yen.

For some perspective - if they meet that target, the cumulative operating income during these six years of the PS4's life (741.1bn yen) will exceed the cumulative loss of the seven years of the PS3 (443bn yen, ish?) and the cumulative profit of the five years of PS2 (264bn yen), combined. With another FY of PS4 to go.
There are so many ways to monetize games now and Sony's main franchises are huge now. Wow.
 

Ryng™

Member
Nov 2, 2017
3,641
Italy
sorry but, the quote say "9.2 million PS4 shipped between January to September 2018" ... I have 9.6 million.

Q1 = 2.5 million
Q2 = 3.2 million
Q3 = 3.9 million
Total = 9.6 million

?
 

jroc74

Member
Oct 27, 2017
29,003
The new operating income forecast for the year in the game business is pretty insane. I mean, relative to where it started. They were forecasting 190bn yen at the end of the last fiscal year, bumped it to 250bn yen at the end of the first quarter, now bumped to 310bn yen.

For some perspective - if they meet that target, the cumulative operating income during these six years of the PS4's life (741.1bn yen) will exceed the cumulative loss of the seven years of the PS3 (443bn yen, ish?) and the cumulative profit of the five years of PS2 (264bn yen), combined. With another FY of PS4 to go.

That's some perspective, cot damn...
 

stryke

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,347
They've announced a new 2TB SKU to release in Japan in November. No news about other territories.

 

ArmGunar

PlayStatistician
Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,527
At the risk of putting words in his mouth, Kyser73's point is that the people coming in at the lower prices are those that are less likely to invest in new games and digital content. That is, they'd be more likely to purchase used games and be unlikely to invest it cosmetics specifically because they are price sensitive consumers.

This is exactly what I said, thank you.

Clearly Sony have decided that hitting volume over holiday is a goal, and my god they're going to hit it and more with that Spidey bundle!

I don't think this is right and I think there is no study to sustain this claim

And with the $199 Spider-Man bundle confirmed, it seems Sony tends to privilege volume sales this black friday
 

Sol Mori

Member
Jun 10, 2018
221
I don't think this is right and I think there is no study to sustain this claim

And with the $199 Spider-Man bundle confirmed, it seems Sony tends to privilege volume sales this black friday

Unfortunately we do not have access to the data of the console makers. You have to ask yourself a question though, would a person who's main concern is price be the same type of person to be willing to invest heavily in new games and/or DLC? Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all probably have data that indicates how much a customer is expected to buy in (new games, add-ons, subscriptions) based upon the price they're paying for a console and how long into a console's life it is. Early adopters would more than likely be your best* customers compared that come in late and after price cuts.

The $199 Spider-Man bundle being a Black Friday sale doesn't really mean that Sony is preferring volume sales. If they wanted volume sales they could do a permanent price drop and not a Black Friday special. Though speaking of price drops, do we have any analysis on how much the expected cost of each PS4 is to produce? A quick google only shows the initial bill of materials cost provided by IHS and not one for the present model.


*Best meaning most profitable overall
 

Sol Mori

Member
Jun 10, 2018
221
To expand upon my previous post; the bill of materials for PS4 is also extremely important in the price discussion.

15 million ($199) versus 10 million ($299) is similar revenue (2.985 billion vs 2.99 billion), but not the same profit. If the BoM cost + other associated costs with selling the PS4 is greater than $199, then Sony isn't actually even making a profit off of each unit sold. This means each new customer at the lower price needs to spend more for them to be equal to just a single purchase of the higher priced console itself just to make a profit. This is also making assumptions on how many more Sony would sell at $199 vs $299.

The $199 Spider-Man bundle may not even be making Sony any money unless the person buying it is also buying extra accessories, a PSN sub, and more (new) games.

After all this is only really a thought experiment for us, because we lack too much information to be making a real analysis.
 

Ichi

Banned
Sep 10, 2018
1,997
It's really important to emphasize again how ridiculously important the video games segment has become to Sony Corporation.

C4ryEFK.jpg
damn, that mobile operating income tho - literally wiped out what they made in insurance (their 2nd highest earner). I remember Insurance was their highest earner before PS4. Damn.

also, holy guacamole their expenses on games is 400+ million?
 

Bundy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
20,931
The new operating income forecast for the year in the game business is pretty insane. I mean, relative to where it started. They were forecasting 190bn yen at the end of the last fiscal year, bumped it to 250bn yen at the end of the first quarter, now bumped to 310bn yen.

For some perspective - if they meet that target, the cumulative operating income during these six years of the PS4's life (741.1bn yen) will exceed the cumulative loss of the seven years of the PS3 (443bn yen, ish?) and the cumulative profit of the five years of PS2 (264bn yen), combined. With another FY of PS4 to go.
That's crazy :O
 

Sol Mori

Member
Jun 10, 2018
221
damn, that mobile operating income tho - literally wiped out what they made in insurance (their 2nd highest earner). I remember Insurance was their highest earner before PS4. Damn.

also, holy guacamole their expenses on games is 400+ million?

All of the amounts listed in that are in billions of yen (see top right corner), so their expenses for that period are 459.5 billion yen ($4,057,392,636 Dollars). I'd imagine a significant portion of that is just the bill of materials for 3.9 million PS4s.
 

Astronut325

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,948
Los Angeles, CA
All of the amounts listed in that are in billions of yen (see top right corner), so their expenses for that period are 459.5 billion yen ($4,057,392,636 Dollars). I'd imagine a significant portion of that is just the bill of materials for 3.9 million PS4s.
If we assume $140 COGS per PS4 base, then that's about $550 million USD. Now, I understand the Pro very likely has a higher COGS, but I doubt it's more than 30% more. So I think their COGS for PS4 overall is likely under $800 million USD. What is Sony doing with the other $3.2 billion USD?
 

Sol Mori

Member
Jun 10, 2018
221
If we assume $140 COGS per PS4 base, then that's about $550 million USD. Now, I understand the Pro very likely has a higher COGS, but I doubt it's more than 30% more. So I think their COGS for PS4 overall is likely under $800 million USD. What is Sony doing with the other $3.2 billion USD?

Employees, marketing, maintenance costs (e.g. server infrastructure for PSN, actual buildings).

Also do we have any tear downs for PS4 slim (or Pro) to even come up with a bill of materials?

The most recent article I could find is about the XB1 S with an estimated BoM $324 in 2016 with the 16nm SoC. I'd imagine the PS4 Slim which also moved to the 16nm SoC in 2016 was not too far off as well, but that question is how much cheaper have the major component costs become over the past 2 years?
 
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OP
Noobie

Noobie

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
755
If we assume $140 COGS per PS4 base, then that's about $550 million USD. Now, I understand the Pro very likely has a higher COGS, but I doubt it's more than 30% more. So I think their COGS for PS4 overall is likely under $800 million USD. What is Sony doing with the other $3.2 billion USD?
Running world wide Sony game development studios ?
 

v_iHuGi

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,155
damn, that mobile operating income tho - literally wiped out what they made in insurance (their 2nd highest earner). I remember Insurance was their highest earner before PS4. Damn.

also, holy guacamole their expenses on games is 400+ million?

Sony is keeping Mobile for the next big thing, whatever it might be.

Thank God all other divisions make up for it.
 

Harris Katz

Member
Apr 9, 2018
1,138
I'd be shocked if they bring out ps5 in 19, there's no need to, ps4 still selling like hotcakes. No way they going to want to transition earlier than 20-21

Well, that depends on what Microsoft is going to do. No matter how well PS4 is selling, If Microsoft is planning the next Xbox for 2019 (who knows at this point), I can't imagine that Sony would want to cede a year or more to it going into the next generation. Sony is likely going to want to get a "jump" on MS like it did this generation.