PlayStation Assault Begins on Xbox Ahead of PS4 Launch

It’s been quite apparent from early 2013 that PlayStation is a different company than it was in 2012, let alone the years prior. While the PS3 launch was plauged by a company who was overconfident and cocky of their competitor, the years since have been turbulent as well with odd or lacking advertisement and side projects like the Wonderbook. I should also point out that I believe the idea of the Wonderbook is quite fantastic but that the PS3 hardware, including the PlayStation Eye, were not adequate for the platform. Still, it’s also hard to ignore that things have been steadily improving for the brand. While the PS Vita has not caught on with consumers, there are many things Sony did right during launch. Abundant supply, very powerful specs, lower price point that many anticipated (though still too high for what consumers wanted), and an array of games that were not just PS3 ports. The PS3 has also been a savior for gamers who don’t want just another CoD game with more exclusives each year while it seems like Microsoft stopped developing games for the Xbox 360 nearly two years ago.

With the PS3 now edging the Xbox 360 in sales, despite still costing more and having been out for one less year, it seems that now is the time for PlayStation to truly surge ahead of Microsoft in the current gen race and next gen with the PS4 launch.

Just this year alone, Sony has given us God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, and a series of indie games while other heavy hitters like Beyond: Two Souls and Gran Turismo 6 have yet to come out. This means that much like the PS2, the PS3 still has many years left ahead of it. In fact, just last week, Sony announced a new pay-per-view app called Live Events Viewer for the PS3. With a new entry model PlayStation 3 on the horizon for just $199 and continued first party exclusives and full 3rd party support with games like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, the PlayStation 3 is going to be a hit this holiday season. Even with $100 Xbox 360s out there, we can’t deny that they are crippled systems and a shell of what the 360 is, which is still a lacking machine when compared to the PS3. It has no easy upgradable hard drives, no Blu-ray player, and the continued fees are required to game and enjoy content on it, all which are free on the PS3.

With the PS3 (78.6 million) ahead of the 360 (78.1 million) by 500,000 units prior to this new entry model and Microsoft’s usual trend to completely forget their past consoles (remember how many new games MS made for the Xbox when the 360 came out?), Sony and PlayStation are poised to continue to push ahead of Microsoft in PS3 sales. It’s also worth noting that people tend to stick with consoles they are familiar with. Meaning that each PS3 console sold today is a likely PS4 owner in the future. That and the continued adoption of Blu-ray and other Sony services is why the PS3 will continue to be an important part of Sony’s strategy. Most importantly, the PS3 with its free PSN services will be a gateway for Sony to bring you into its ever growing ecosystem which is free on the PS3 and PS Vita but will be fee based (meaning you will need to upgrade to PlayStation Plus on the PS4 to enjoy some of its online functionality) on the PS4. But with a created account already and money invested in the ecosystem, you’ll likely be sticking around.

On the other front, Sony is finally dropping the PS Vita to $199. While the powerful portable has had its fair share of blockbuster games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Assassins Creed III: Liberations and the upcoming Killzone: Mercenary and Tearaway from the creators of LittleBigPlanet which also has a original, not ported Vita version, it’s the indie games that are starting to steal the scene. Giving small developers an easy to program console and the ability to self publish means the Vita gets to enjoy games like Thomas Was Alone, Retro City Rampage, and Guacamelee! to name a few. While I remain skeptical of Sony being able to really take on the 3DS, the Vita might not have to in order to be successful. In the end, the two portables are two very different consoles and again, Sonys hook needs to be that the Vita is an extension of the PS4. With a rumored PS4/PS Vita bundle for $500 and a price drop, the reality of the Vita might finally be achieved with its capabilities to stream almost any PS4 title. Now if Sony can only gain some traction with it and release a revised version in years time with a thinner design, 4G LTE capabilities and maybe even a further reduced price or drop the price of the current units down to $149 while the new and improved version sits at the $199 price tag.

Sony has a unique opportunity that will likely never present itself again

As I touched upon earlier, the true task of the PS3 and PS Vita at $199 respectively is that they will hopefully keep you in the PlayStation brand. After all, who is more likely to buy a PS4, an Xbox or Nintendo owner or somebody who is already invested in the PlayStation brand? This of course brings us to the PlayStation 4 and Sony’s grove. From the time the PlayStation 4 was officially announced, Sony has beaten Microsoft at every punch. While Microsoft has backpedaled on many of these issues, the damage has already been done to the brand. In short, the PlayStation 4 is seen as a more powerful console, with less restriction on gamers/developers that continues to have more exclusive titles like Killzone: Shadow Fall, inFamous: Second Son, and Drive Club, and still costs $100 less than the Xbox One. With recent rumors indicating a launch as early as mid-October while the Xbox One is not expect till at least a full month after that, Sony has a unique opportunity that will likely never present itself again to truly push past Microsoft on every front that matters in the gaming world.

That’s not all: Microsoft has also decided to delay the Xbox One in many territories till 2014 while the PS4 launch will take place in those same territories in 2013. While it may seem that these cries for victory for PlayStation are coming from a biased perspective, (after all, I do run a website that covers the brand), for me, this is more of a David vs. Goliath tale. You see, when Microsoft is able to offer the NFL $400 million for a 5 year deal, another $50 million to Rockstar to delay Grand Theft Auto content for the PS3 and famously spent $500 to advertise and promote the Kinect in its first year, you suddenly have an imbalance in power. Sony has famously been hurting financially for nearly a dedicate and for them to still be in the fight against Microsoft who seems to have an unlimited supply of cash is impressive enough. But for them to truly continue to out pace Microsoft on every front when it comes to the PS4 vs. Xbox One is nothing short of astonishing and makes me wonder what else they could achieve if they had just a bit more funding to advertise their games properly. Just a bit more funding to win back some of those 3rd party exclusives. Then again, that lack of cash may be the reason the team at PlayStation was able to bunker down and truly out blitz Microsoft instead of sitting at a boardroom meeting and seeing who they could throw cash at to bring to their side.