This CEO sounds worse than the last. With a declining brand, making games exclusive is only going to make the brand tank harder.
Their next system needs to be free, or nearly free (~$100), but with a required subscription. Game pass needs to switch to a model that has a lowest tier at $10 or $15 per month that allows 3 games per month (from the whole catalog, you pick the game and it uses 1 credit, resets at end of every month) up to a premium tier at $35 per month that has unlimited play. Free console with 3 year subscription to the premium tier.
Console specs should be 4k at 60 Hz. $900 without subscription. Announce this the day after Sony announces the PS6. Sony would be screwed, especially because they are already releasing most of their games to all consoles simultaneously (per the most recent summer games fest).
In 3 years, raise the price of the lowest tier to $20 with 5 credits per month. Offer a 6 month discount on a 1 year contract for any accounts which have completed their 3 year subscription.
Thankfully you aren’t CEO then because this is the worst take I’ve heard about consoles.
MS just spent the entire generation proving exclusives matter and are reversing course now. Sony are also reversing course on going multiplatform with their major single player focused releases. If titles are all multiplatform they will go PC if they have it as it multi purpose and lots of people have dreams of being a successful streamer, or they stick with the platform that they already have to not lose their library which is overwhelmingly Sony.
Aim for 60hz 4k at what quality? Next Gen? Current Gen can barely do it for the biggest AAA titles. Meanwhile hardware costs are exploding and you’ll get that 1k ish worth of hardware paid back on 10 then 20 bucks per month? So people rent your console for 6-8 years, the average span of a generation basically at cost?
It might be cool for an end user but it doesn’t make an ounce of business sense, and you’re naive if you think it would be a surprise to Sony if they did go ahead with it.
The problem with the model of exclusives driving console purchases is that it only worked when people could afford multiple consoles. The combination of consoles and games being more expensive and them trying to double dip by requiring subscriptions for online play means most people are going to pick a platform instead of getting several like they used to, even if they would want to play some exclusive they can’t.
The problem is the opposite. Your console has no purpose without exclusives if others have them.
You have money for 1 console. Console A has a set library. Console B has the same library plus 5 good games unavailable on A. Assuming price, quality and features are on par which they generally are: why would you choose console A?
You summed it up pretty well. Consoles are basically dead at this point. Sony is hurting too.
Both companies badly mismanaged this last generation and there’s a significant sentiment that the value of the consoles wasn’t justified. Why would consumers want to buy another one?
Sony should have done the subscription model in the last generation. They would have buried Xbox.
Xbox has a chance now if they become a competitor to the steam machine, but the price will have to be much better than that system. If it isn’t free, then it will need to offer steam as a marketplace.
The only way either system could survive any other way is if they went handheld like steam deck or switch, but that might be even harder.
This CEO sounds worse than the last. With a declining brand, making games exclusive is only going to make the brand tank harder.
Their next system needs to be free, or nearly free (~$100), but with a required subscription. Game pass needs to switch to a model that has a lowest tier at $10 or $15 per month that allows 3 games per month (from the whole catalog, you pick the game and it uses 1 credit, resets at end of every month) up to a premium tier at $35 per month that has unlimited play. Free console with 3 year subscription to the premium tier.
Console specs should be 4k at 60 Hz. $900 without subscription. Announce this the day after Sony announces the PS6. Sony would be screwed, especially because they are already releasing most of their games to all consoles simultaneously (per the most recent summer games fest).
In 3 years, raise the price of the lowest tier to $20 with 5 credits per month. Offer a 6 month discount on a 1 year contract for any accounts which have completed their 3 year subscription.
This is the funniest bait I’ve ever seen, I’m crying holy shit. The only thing it’s missing is Drink Verification Can.
Thankfully you aren’t CEO then because this is the worst take I’ve heard about consoles.
MS just spent the entire generation proving exclusives matter and are reversing course now. Sony are also reversing course on going multiplatform with their major single player focused releases. If titles are all multiplatform they will go PC if they have it as it multi purpose and lots of people have dreams of being a successful streamer, or they stick with the platform that they already have to not lose their library which is overwhelmingly Sony.
Aim for 60hz 4k at what quality? Next Gen? Current Gen can barely do it for the biggest AAA titles. Meanwhile hardware costs are exploding and you’ll get that 1k ish worth of hardware paid back on 10 then 20 bucks per month? So people rent your console for 6-8 years, the average span of a generation basically at cost?
It might be cool for an end user but it doesn’t make an ounce of business sense, and you’re naive if you think it would be a surprise to Sony if they did go ahead with it.
The problem with the model of exclusives driving console purchases is that it only worked when people could afford multiple consoles. The combination of consoles and games being more expensive and them trying to double dip by requiring subscriptions for online play means most people are going to pick a platform instead of getting several like they used to, even if they would want to play some exclusive they can’t.
The problem is the opposite. Your console has no purpose without exclusives if others have them.
You have money for 1 console. Console A has a set library. Console B has the same library plus 5 good games unavailable on A. Assuming price, quality and features are on par which they generally are: why would you choose console A?
You summed it up pretty well. Consoles are basically dead at this point. Sony is hurting too.
Both companies badly mismanaged this last generation and there’s a significant sentiment that the value of the consoles wasn’t justified. Why would consumers want to buy another one?
Sony should have done the subscription model in the last generation. They would have buried Xbox.
Xbox has a chance now if they become a competitor to the steam machine, but the price will have to be much better than that system. If it isn’t free, then it will need to offer steam as a marketplace.
The only way either system could survive any other way is if they went handheld like steam deck or switch, but that might be even harder.