14 DAY TRIAL // The console war is full of very tough three-way battles between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, but in 2008, the sales charts showed the winners and losers. Needless to say, the Wii enjoyed the same huge popularity, the Xbox 360 became very attractive to users, thanks to its price cut, while the PlayStation 3 failed to live up to the expectations of its producer, Sony, as well as those of a lot of fans.
However, 2009 looks like it might be a very good period for the big black Japanese console, as, along with the fact that Sony will finally break even with the PlayStation 3, a lot of new feature will be implemented in it. This is all part of the new strategy, which focuses on added value than on a lower price for the features the product already has.
David Reeves, the president of Sony's European branch, has revealed on the United Kingdom PlayStation blog that he believes this new year “will be a prime example of PlayStation at its very best.” He is basing his statements on the fact that, along with the profit the console will make, platform exclusives like Killzone 2 or Heavy Rain will attract a lot of people.
“The most important thing for us as a company in the very short term is for us to start making money. This is a pledge that was made last March and is something that we are still very much on target to achieve. Once we have achieved this, I think it will be a very exciting time for PlayStation. Once we have alleviated that specific pressure, we can move forward at a rate of knots. 2009 promises to be a very exciting year for PS3, with blockbuster titles such as Heavy Rain and Killzone 2 coming out, whilst we have the music and video download service becoming available towards the end of the year.”
While such exclusive games might make some people buy the PlayStation 3, Sony still doesn't seem to grasp the fact that customers who are affected by the financial recession will focus on less expensive products, like the Xbox 360 or the Wii, despite the fact that the PS3 is more powerful and provides more features. Let's hope that the Japanese company will make the right decisions during this new year.