Sony takes big step into home entertainment - PSX Announced

Perfect Stu · 05-28-2003, 11:53 AM

Quote:

TOKYO, May 28 (Reuters) - Sony Corp <6758.T>, under heavy pressure to cut costs and roll out hot new products after dismal earnings last quarter, unveiled plans on Wednesday for a new game machine for Japan and big savings.

The world's largest consumer electronics maker and creator of the hit PlayStation 2 home game console said it would launch the "PSX" in Japan this year with a TV tuner, hard disk drive and DVD recorder to create an integrated entertainment platform for games, music and motion pictures.

Earlier this month Sony unveiled the "PSP" hand-held game machine, to be launched by the end of 2004, which spurred a tumble in the shares of GameBoy maker Nintendo Co <7974.OS>.

The products are Sony's first offerings under a strategy to inject some of its hugely successful games technology into its languishing electronics division, which has recently been hit by sluggish sales of Vaio PCs and conventional home electronics.

Sony said on Wednesday it would focus on products that promise rapid growth, such as flat-panel TVs, DVD recorders, camcorders and digital still cameras.

It also plans a thorough shake-up of its manufacturing operations in high-cost Japan, which now accounts for 50 percent of its costs but only 30 percent of its revenue.

Sony shocked investors a month ago by posting its biggest quarterly net loss in more than eight years, far worse than the market's expectations, and warned that its operating profit in the year to next March would slip to its lowest in nine years.

At the same time it unveiled a 1.3 trillion yen restructuring and investment plan and vowed to achieve a 10 percent operating profit margin after three years -- better than both last year's 2.5 percent result and arch-rival Matsu****a Electric Co's <6752.T> five percent target.

But investors, upset that Sony had given no early warning of the dismal earnings and dismayed by the prospect of several lean years while it restructures, rushed to unload its shares.

Sony lost one-fourth of its market value in the two days after the announcement and its share price has since languished near seven-year lows.

Chief Executive Nobuyuki Idei has chided the market for what he sees as a fixation with the short term.

"We are always taking a longer-term approach than the market does," he told Reuters at an industry event on Tuesday.

Lingering market pessimism was evident on Wednesday when UBS Warburg cut its investment rating on Sony to "neutral" from "buy" and its target share price to 3,400 yen from 6,690 yen.

"We do not foresee a significant improvement in profitability from FY03 to FY05," UBSW analyst Kazushige Hata said in a note to clients.

Sony's shares ended flat at 3,000 yen while the Nikkei average rose 1.40 percent to a two-week high.

What do I see from this?

-Big price tag ($499?)
-Ability to play PS2 and PSone games
-Ability to play DVDs, DVD-Rs, CDs, CD-Rs
-Ability to record anything from your TV (shows, movies, etc.) onto either DVDs or the HDD

-USB 2.0 technology opens possibilities of connectivity with things like the upcoming PSP, Digital camcorders, digital cameras, Sony's EYE TOY technology, etc.
-a late 2006 PS3 launch

And I must say...that is one sexy piece of hardware. The blue LED light looks great, and it would fit right into my home entertainment center

TheGame · 05-28-2003, 12:10 PM

That looks cool, but I'm not messing with the hefty price tag. Hopfully Ps3 is much like this... or has a version like this from the gate at least.

Jonbo298 · 05-28-2003, 12:14 PM

Interesting, but I doubt I will be getting that.

One Winged Angel · 05-28-2003, 01:13 PM

I need a TIVO type of system. If my Ps2 ever breaks down I'll consider buying it actually.

Haha... the topic title makes me laugh. Sony has been in the Home Entertainment business for years.

Shadow_Link · 05-28-2003, 01:30 PM

That will cost a bomb. 120 GB h/d + DVD recording abilites + ability to play PS2 s/w (while also backwards compatible with PSOne games (maybe even PSP games?!)) + broadband modem (I think that's right), and who knows what else.

I don't know how much it will cost by the time it is released, but say if it were released now, it wold cost in excess of £600 methinks.

It does look quite sexy, definately as sleek looking as the Panasonic Qube. Makes you wonder how Panasonic will reply to this. There could be a possibility of them releasing an updated Qube, with similar capabilities to the PSX. (That is rather confusing, don't people call the old PSOne the PSX?).

Xantar · 05-28-2003, 01:44 PM

Yeah. I thought for a moment that Stu had dug up an article from 1995 to show us how much the world has changed since then.

Also, I knew Sony was in trouble, but I didn't know things were that bad. I thought they were making a profit, but it turns out they're losing money. Then again, that's the entire corporation, not just the gaming division which is probably profitable.

Perfect Stu · 05-28-2003, 02:28 PM

Maybe I should have said that they took ANOTHER big step into home entertainment...

anyway, could this be any indication of what features PS3 may include? At some point in the future, I'd love to record television programs and movies onto DVDs and a HDD. With all of the technology involved in this ambitious system, one could only imagine what kind of features it will one day offer. Hook up your digital camera, keyboard and mouse and create your own movies. Add photoshop-like software, attach your digital camera and a photo printer and make your own photo album or pieces of art. Throw in full internet support and possibilities are literally endless.

Sony (see: not SCE) is smart by incorporating the all-powerful Playstation name with their electronics field. The PS2-playback feature could be a big selling point.

gekko · 05-28-2003, 02:34 PM

This sounds as bad as that thing MS wanted to do, only it's no longer just an idea

Perfect Stu · 05-28-2003, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gekko

This sounds as bad as that thing MS wanted to do, only it's no longer just an idea

please explain.

I see this as the VCR of the next generation. Was the VCR a bad idea? If you wanted all of the features the PSX offers, you would need to buy a DVD player, a Playstation 2 (the new models that are coming out soon), and a TiVo with DVD recording abilities. These are all features that are part of the future of home entertainment, and Sony is offering all of them in a single piece of hardware. Where's the " bad idea " part?

Joeiss · 05-28-2003, 03:03 PM

What gekko, that HOMESTATION thingy? lol.. i remember that

Shadow_Link · 05-28-2003, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
Maybe I should have said that they took ANOTHER big step into home entertainment...

anyway, could this be any indication of what features PS3 may include? At some point in the future, I'd love to record television programs and movies onto DVDs and a HDD. With all of the technology involved in this ambitious system, one could only imagine what kind of features it will one day offer. Hook up your digital camera, keyboard and mouse and create your own movies. Add photoshop-like software, attach your digital camera and a photo printer and make your own photo album or pieces of art. Throw in full internet support and possibilities are literally endless.

Hmmmm, those features are already available on PC's.

Bad Religion · 05-28-2003, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
please explain.

I see this as the VCR of the next generation. Was the VCR a bad idea? If you wanted all of the features the PSX offers, you would need to buy a DVD player, a Playstation 2 (the new models that are coming out soon), and a TiVo with DVD recording abilities. These are all features that are part of the future of home entertainment, and Sony is offering all of them in a single piece of hardware. Where's the " bad idea " part?

Some analysts were skeptical about PSX's prospects.

Jed Kolko of Forrester Research said the machine was trying to do too much. The overlap between game-players and people who want DVD recorders tends to be small, he said.

"The actual demand for the device is likely to fall short of expectations," he said.

Sony officials acknowledged the company overall is falling behind the competition. Even Sony's prized Vaio personal computers have lost their edge and domestic rival Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co. outsells Sony in DVD recorders in Japan.

Like other Japanese electronics makers, Sony has taken a beating from emerging competition in Asia, especially China, that can produce gadgets at cheaper prices. "

also, Perfect Stu, in your previous post it sounded like you were talking about a PC... another thing is that devices like Tivo are the VCR of this and the next gen, not this. I think they should have waited and made this the PS3 Deluxe or something like that, seriously, what are they gonna do, introduce this, tell everyone it's $499 and then show off PS3 at E3 and piss off the people that bought one of these? that being said, at least Sony is mixing things up a bit and trying something new and i love the ethernet hook up.. i just don't see people dropping $500 for this

Perfect Stu · 05-28-2003, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shadow_Link
Hmmmm, those features are already available on PC's.

You're telling me I can pick up a PC that can play DVDs on my television with DTS sound, PS2 games, has TiVo functions, can record anything from my television onto the HDD and DVDs? If so, sign me up...and give me some proof (a link?)...but when the PSX's pricing is revealed, I'll be picking the cheaper one.

*edit* nevermind, you were just referring to the digital photos and movies

Shadow_Link · 05-28-2003, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
You're telling me I can pick up a PC that can play DVDs on my television with DTS sound, PS2 games, has TiVo functions, can record anything from my television onto the HDD and DVDs? If so, sign me up...and give me some proof (a link?)...but when the PSX's pricing is revealed, I'll be picking the cheaper one.

Quote:

At some point in the future, I'd love to record television programs and movies onto DVDs and a HDD. With all of the technology involved in this ambitious system, one could only imagine what kind of features it will one day offer. Hook up your digital camera, keyboard and mouse and create your own movies. Add photoshop-like software, attach your digital camera and a photo printer and make your own photo album or pieces of art. Throw in full internet support and possibilities are literally endless.

Ok, lets see, from the post I quoted:

It IS possible to watch DVD's from your PC on a TV which has can act as a moniter (my 36" Toshiba can) with DTS/DD 5.1 sound.
You CAN hook up your digital camera to a PC, and use the mouse/keyboard provided to create your own moves. Photoshop software? I wont even respond to that. Full internet support? You know the answer to that.

And since PC's have DVD writers, and the function to act as a TV, I assume you can record what you watch.

Perfect Stu · 05-28-2003, 05:29 PM

Well put, Shadow. What are you trying to get at, though? None of this is completely new technology...but it is the first do take such technology and put it into one convenient, set-top box. Much more feasable than a PC with loads of software, wired connections and heap loads of $$$.

I wonder how Sony will incorporate the ethernet/USB 2.0/memory stick technology other than the obvious online PS2 play and PSP connectivity...