Analyst: Sony Might Come To Dominate Consoles Exclusively

BY POPULAR DEMAND:

Analyst Eiichi Katayama, an analyst at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, believes Sony could dominate the home console market and make it its own.

In a recent report in The Wall Street Journal [paywall], Eiichi Katayama, an analyst at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said that Sony is looking to make the PS4 an entertainment hub, and believes the firm could dominate the console market.

“Sony has the potential to make the game console market its exclusive territory,” he said.

These statements could seem hyperbolic at first glance, but are really only based on the stellar sales records the console has been breaking since launching in November last year.

And just as soon as the curve went down somewhat, along comes Destiny and boosts it back to the top, and there’s no reason to believe that the sales won’t spike even further during the holidays, despite Sony not having any strong first-party titles for the period.

Thanks, Forbes.

From VG24/7

An analyst who works with Merril Lynch/Bank of America seems to believe that Sony might eventually manage to have an exclusive monopoly when it comes to consoles, driving out Microsoft and Nintendo entirely.

Personally, I think that's bullshit and unlikely to ever happen. Because, yes, I don't think people understand how soon fortunes can be made and reversed in this industry. Sure, the PlayStation, and Sony, is dominating right now, but who's to say that Xbox or Nintendo won't make an unexpected comeback next gen? or that PlayStation won't fumble badly? Or that there won't be an entirely new entrant altogether?

Ohh yes. Because Sony never fucks up. Looks at the Vita, the PS3, and the PSP go.

The day Sony is the only console maker out there is the day I exclusively game on PC.

Did you... did you actually read the OP?

Yes. I just like calling you silly. :P

lol analyst from bank of america

Merril Lynch. It's a huge investment venture (and I think it's an arm of BofA).

i dont give a shit....hopefully nintendo puts their games on it at least and ill be fine.... if nintendo sticks to handhelds and decides not to put their software on consoles...then i'll be handheld only guy :P

Shameless self-promotion, ninny.

Seems unlikely, but then again Sony is the only company that manages to 1) Generate worldwide appeal; 2) Maintain strong third party support; and 3) Provide strong first party support each generation. Microsoft and Nintendo occasionally accomplish 1 or 2 of those things, but Sony is the only console manufacturer that has accomplished all 3 every generation since the PS1.

Of course, that doesn't mean they're perfect. They screw up often, lack innovation and foresight, and are totally clueless about the handheld market. Nonetheless, I would never bet against a Sony home console in the long-run.

Playstation is an extremely powerful brand.....has been for 4 straight generations. Although, unlikely Nintendo and Xbox will just disappear like a fart in the wind, but despite a few bumps on the road, Playstation has consistently delivered in 3 important criterias:

1. Strong 3rd party support
2. Exclusives
3. Variety for everyone

@M8ingSeezun: @SakusEnvoy: Nobody is denying that PlayStation is a strong brand, hell, as far as consoles are concerned, it may even be the best brand. But being the best does not mean that it will somehow come to exclusively dominate the console territory (when the analyst says that, he is referring to a PlayStation monopoly, just to be clear)- Nintendo and Xbox will still be there, with their own offerings, and those offerings will still have a market.

Yep. And not just Sony... if any company became the sole manufacturer, I'd be gone.

If that happened, it would be a dark day for video games. It would be a dark day if any one company had a monopoly on the console market. Competition is always a good thing for the consumer.

yup, like what they always do. Sony always win exclusives

That'd be awful.

Consider the milking the consoles do nowadays with three of them competing. With just one I couldn't ever hope to afford to game on one.

I'd drop console gaming and go handheld only.

this thread is bad

@inb4uall: The PS3 sold over 80 million consoles and will probably be the best selling console of that generation. They missed up at the beginning but it was still successful.

The PS3 is suffering dramatic sales drops, and it is still more than 20 million units behind the generation leader. It will not end up at the top.

and people still says Sony is not even good company and it should bankrupt... im confused why people want that?

The PS3 was not the generation leader when it mattered. If the PS3 manages to pass up the 360 and the Wii only after Sony has shifted it's attention to the PS4 then there is obviously room for other companies in the market. Sony can't be lagging behind the generation leader if they are going to push both Nintendo and Microsoft out of the console market. They must have PS2 levels of domination generation after generation without fail. Something they have proven they can not do.

I think Sony is moving toward not having consoles anymore, really. I think they want to eventually just put games on the PS Now platform.

3rd party Nintendo, something we all want and can agree on.

I'm confused why you're still allowed to post

The PS3 will be around 90 million when it gets discontinued.It won't beat the Wii.

@charizard1605: Although I would never want to see one company dominate the industry you really have no idea how close Sony was to taking over the industry during the PS2 Era. MS lost billions off the original Xbox and if it wasn't for the success of the 360 they would have left it. Nintendo was struggling with the GC but was able to stay alive because of the success of the GBA. Is Sony continued to dominate the industry in the PS3 era the same way it did in the PS2 Era it's doubtful things would be like they are.

@charizard1605: Although I would never want to see one company dominate the industry you really have no idea how close Sony was to taking over the industry during the PS2 Era. MS lost billions off the original Xbox and if it wasn't for the success of the 360 they would have left it. Nintendo was struggling with the GC but was able to stay alive because of the success of the GBA. Is Sony continued to dominate the industry in the PS3 era the same way it did in the PS2 Era it's doubtful things would be like they are. Ms would have pulled out all together and Nintendo would be 3rd party.

My hope is they are all successful enough to stay in it.

Still making stuff up? Cool. PS consoles have a 10 year lifespan. It's very likely it will outsell the Wii.

@locopatho: It won't.

@AM-Gamer: I can agree with your sentiment.

lol if super says something, the opposite will happen.. dude doesn't know jack

He was directing that at super600, not at you.

I don't think the PS3 will have a sales curve anyway near the PS2 in the last couple years of it life.The PS2 still sold a lot after the PS3 released until about 2008/2009 I think. The PS3 will probably sell 5-7 million this year and it will sell less and less until it gets discontinued.The PS3 may be greater than 90 million in terms of ltd when it gets discontinued, but it won't be anywere near 100 million.

@charizard1605: Lols yea I just saw that and tried to delete it lol.

@super600:

PS2 got a huge proportion of it's sales after it became dirt cheap and started being brought out in secondary markets. Same deal for PS3, yo ;)

I think Sony would very much want to crack 100 million. Can't be the first of the PS consoles not to!

As hard as it is to imagine Sony has been running thing on the ps1/2 on 3 they fucked up and still came back and the ps4 is just killing everything. Nintendo is dying slow and the xbox brand has yet to turn a profit so it's possible they could throw in the towel. Investors are already making noise at ms and nintendo if Sony dominates again it might be a wrap.

As gamers we don't play sales but this is a biz to make money and they can't live on good will of fans.

Yes, but it's not getting sales when it matters in terms of being a competitive console that can push M$ and Nintendo out of the console market.

ps4 for some reason, is blowing everyone out of the fucking water. the wii who and xbox one gave people such a bad taste in their mouth that this Gen was already won within the first 6 months. its basically now a fight for 2nd and 3rd place between x1 and wii u.

@mems_1224: Bye bye :) no one gives a shit that you'd leave console gaming. . *Waits for typical "you replied to my comment so you must care" comment *

Bye bye :) no one gives a shit

Let me just put that in the right place for you

You're welcome

The PS3 is in dire need of a price cut to remain a competitive option for console purchasers. Right now, it still averages about $269 on most retail websites. Even the $199 12 GB PS3 (which no one particularly wants) is usually sold above MSRP and is out of stock at many retail establishments. It's currently $229 on amazon. The PS2 was being sold for $129 by this point in its lifecycle, which was well below the cost of the PS3 at the time ($399-$599).

Even ignoring the difference in popularity between the PS2 and 3, it's hard to imagine it'll have much of a tail in the developed world when it's priced so closely to the PS4. Well, perhaps that's the way Sony wants it now... I don't think they care much about the final install base of the system.

After the way Micro$oft fucked themselves up so bad this early gen, I doubt they'll even consider making another video game console. Nintendo will continue to make them though.

Maybe we'll see Sega make a hardware comeback with the absence of M$.

Yeah, right. That sounds hyperbolic and unlikely in the highest degree. If the all empowering and encompassing PlayStation 2, which had the full support of every single facet of the development community, couldn’t do it, what makes anyone think the Playstation 4 will? I think a lot of people forget how quickly fortunes change in the console industry- the PS2 was great, and then Sony went from that to the PS3, before pulling a comeback, and then releasing a successor with the PS4. Meanwhile, just five years ago, Nintendo was at the top of the world, and unstoppable, and look where they are now.

Well, that certainly said all that needed to be said.

That has always been sony's strategy and theyre sticking to it just like m$ exec said when he talked about sony.... Sony's been pumpin up with different variey of exclusive game when they dominated from ps1 and 2 and even when they didnt dominate with ps3, and thats all that matters to me

I've said it before, this is gen 6 all over again

Analysist: Sony will go under before they monopolize anything.

Only if it doesn't destroy them, and to guarantee that it would have to be on open platform. So on PC.

Which may not be as crazy as it sounds at first. No policies, they can make their own PC hardware, and they still have a handheld/console in the 3DS line that can sell to families and kids who don't have a PC or don't know how to operate a PC.

Indeed, nuff said.

@charizard1605: What a bunch of bullshit.