Five Reasons Sony Isn‘t Quitting Gaming Anytime Soon

Sony has seen themselves many blows to the gut over a lengthy period of time this season, and it‘s unsurprisingly attracting a huge mass of media attention. It could be said that the company is definitely struggling to keep its head above water and re-define its core elements – but it‘s one thing to acknowledge that Sony is undoubtedly in trouble, and a totally different matter when people start to believe that, somehow, the end is irreversibly nigh for them. If you‘ve been around the net lately, you‘ll probably have seen that many proclaimed gaming sites are jumping aboard the bandwagon that declares Sony absolutely doomed, and have no way of continuing in this industry any further than this current generation. Primarily, I‘m first and foremost an avid Nintendo gamer but even I, among many others, believe that this misled bandwagon needs to see itself a detour.

While it‘s an irrefutable fact that Sony is currently seeing itself a lot of decline, I think the notion that they have no chance of wading any further through the gaming business is absurd and doesn‘t have much justification, apart from the conpany‘s perceived troubles. So here, I‘d like to present a (not so) humble counter-argument to all these popular claims of Sony going downhill; here are five reasons why I think Sony are definitely not leaving the gaming industry any time soon.

1. Their broad range of IPs, old and new.

Sony is an incomparable veteran when it comes to spoiling their gaming base with a hoard of new IPs. From games such as LittleBigPlanet, Modnation and Journey to other more mature IPs like Uncharted, Infamous and God of War, it‘s clear that one of Sony‘s strongest advantages is their unbeatable diversity in their vast range of PlayStation exclusives; games on their platform that are rated E for Everyone are sure to give both kids and adults a good past-time, and when it comes to their more mature, in-depth titles… well, it‘s a sure fact that Sony knows how to lavish their fans.

This is something that even they themselves at Sony HQ are aware of, as the company still hasn‘t quit on investing their resources on more fantastic new IPs such as The Last Of Us and Beyond, and even more titles that dominated this year‘s Gamescom like Puppeteer, Rain, Remember Me and the lovable Tearaway for PS Vita. As Fergal Gara, MD of Sony Computer Entertainment himself said, new IP is the lifeblood of the industry and he doesn‘t think it‘s limited to a current generation cycle. Would you be the one to believe that Sony‘s preparing to kick the bucket and drop everything they‘ve accumulated both over time and just recently? If you‘ll allow me to be so bold, that‘d be a fool‘s manner of thinking.

2. The PlayStation brand is currently their most profitable.

We all know Sony is, by origin, a multi-departmental company; they have multiple focuses when it comes to electronics. But right now, even that side of things is looking to be a little fuzzy for them – they‘re actively taking the heat everywhere you look. Pretty much all their other brand lines are starting to lose their significance as a competing brand against other companies as more rise towards the top as the leading manufacturers – TVs, laptops, cameras, music players and the likes. More world-class electronics manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung are becoming the main leaders rising to the top of the competition when it comes to this line of products in this modern era.

But on the other side of things, Sony is still one of three actively competing for the driver‘s seat with their indisputable importance in the gaming sector. Yes, PlayStation has taken a few tumbles this generation (especially with the Vita) but essentially, they are the unforgettable middle ground; with both sturdy hardware rivalling that of Microsoft‘s standards and a diverse range of exclusive IPs slowly gaining massive acclaim alongside Nintendo‘s popular stuff, Sony just can‘t afford to leave their most profitable consumer base behind. It‘s their strongest and most stable department right now.

3. Their newer, slimmer, lighter line of PS3 models.

A few days ago at the Tokyo-hosted TGS 2012 press conference, Sony officially unveiled their new range of PS3 models, at a more cost-efficient price. The consoles, sporting a new body and design, will come in two different versions – 250GB and 500GB, both available in either white (launching November 22nd) or black (launching October 4th). This model will be about 20% smaller and 25% lighter than the current PS3 Slim, and it was said that the 250GB version would retail for $269, while the 500GB version would retail for $299. Various bundles were also announced to be coming for both model versions.

With this appealing and more cost-efficient option for potential PS3-owners, it‘s easy to see that while keeping us in the dark about the PS4, Sony is attempting to prolong the life of the PS3 for as long as the current generation will accomodate – and milk out its last leg well. With this business initiative on Sony‘s part, as well as a host of great new titles set to head for the PS3, like Remember Me, Puppeteer , Rain and Until Dawn to state a few, I‘d say their plan is most likely to prove a successful and hugely profitable one in the period of time left before the revelation of the PS4 is scheduled to hit.

4. Sony obviously has plans for Gaikai.

Back somewhere in July, it was spread all across the internet that Sony had bought Gaikai, an online cloud gaming service pretty much rivalling OnLive, for a whopping $380 million. This pricey venture is obviously not one that Sony would be willing to give up, as it opens up a range of interesting possibilities for their PlayStation Network and online PC games catalogue, as well as even the PS4. Here‘s a statement that was issued by Andrew House, no one less than President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment:

“By combining Gaikai‘s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE‘s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences.“

While no specific applications using the service‘s technology have been divulged, Sony buying Gaikai is definitely not just an expensive coincidence; they definitely know what their long-term plans are with it and you can be sure they‘ll be hellbent on using this opportunity to the fullest for the vitality of PlayStation gaming experiences.

5. The Orbis is upon is.

This one might not come as a big shock, but it is inevitably something that sticks up all the indisputable signs that Sony‘s not out of the race by a long shot; even way back in May last year, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato confirmed that development for the PS3‘s upcoming successor was already underway, despite all doubts. It is definitely not a surprise seeing as the next generation for gaming is rapidly approaching, and also seeing as Nintendo‘s launch for their own entry into the next competitive race is underway and Microsoft are probably secretly already way past the drawing board, you can bet that Sony isn‘t going to just idly stand by and wait.

There is no debate that Sony is definitely making it through to he next level of gaming, and will most likely still be here to spend years to come battling it out with the other two for the driver‘s seat in the competition. If you ask me, the real issue that we should be speculating on when it comes to Sony and the next gen is not a matter of if – it‘s more a matter of when.