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The PlayStation 4 is like the videogame that can not be defeated.
Sony Corp's US $ 300 (RM1,253) is one of the strongest product cycles seen in the business, thanks to a steady stream of popular game titles. That's helped the Tokyo-based company twice as many PS4s as Microsoft Corp's Xbox One, even without relying on its usual tempo of price cuts.
That puts Sony's franchise in a strong position to the US $ 34.6bil (RM144.59bil) console industry's next challenge: games delivered via the Web. After years of predictions that cloud-based gaming would make hardware – machines and games on discs – obsolete, the technology finally appears close to being ready. Google's Project Stream this month letting us users play the latest version of Assassin's Creed we have Chromium browser from any computer. Amazon.com Inc., which bought gameplay-streaming website Twitch and has the No.1 cloud-computing service, is in a prime position to push into cloud gaming.
"Within PlayStation's history, this will be the most robust holiday quarter ever," said Masaru Sugiyama, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. "Until now Microsoft was the only rival, but with Google and Amazon moving in, it's going to be tougher to stand apart. "
Microsoft is not sitting still, From next year, the software maker's Project xCloud will use the company's global cloud network Azure to stream and play high-end games, on "any device". Early impressions of Google's Project Stream have been favored, with users saying that the experience comes close to playing on a console or personal computer – without the need to actually own one.
For now, Sony's dominance in consoles – 84 million PS4s versus 39 million for Xbox One – is paying off. Analysts estimate the company is on-track to post operating profit of 790bil yen (RM29.50bil) in the current fiscal year. Last month's exclusive PS4 title SpidermanKen Yoshida reports quarterly results on Oct 30, analysts say.
For the upcoming holiday quarter, the PlayStation 4 has its strongest videogame lineup in years. The PS4's dominance over Xbox One way most gamers will buy and play blockbuster titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on Sony's console. Even its virtual-reality business is getting a boost from this month's critically-acclaimed Astro Bot.
Game titles, which typically make up 80% of the industry's total revenue, are key to the PS4's longevity. Sony has cut the price of its flagship console by just 25% since 2013, compared with at least 50% seen for previous consoles at the same point in their life cycle. With a PS4 user base, Sony is more likely to be at 2021, according to Atul Goyal, an analyst at Jefferies.
The big question is whether PS4's successor will be designed to embrace cloud gaming, include handheld gaming, move deeper into virtual and augmented reality – or all of the above. The PS3 game is one of the best games in the world for PS3 games. and vice versa. That will create a smoother transition, helping to keep gamers within Sony's ecosystem and away from cloud-gaming rivals.
"If I already have some of your games with all my trophies and saves, the last thing I would like to abandon it," said Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd.
Given that it's one of Sony's weak points, it's more likely that the company will continue to focus on hardware or look to tie-up with Amazon, which has yet to announce its cloud gaming offering. After rolling out its PlayStation Now platform in 2014, the online service has failed to gain traction, with gamers complaining about spotty performance. CEO Yoshida recently told the Financial Times that the PS4's successor will be a physical device.
"The battle between local and cloud is beginning," said Goldman's Sugiyama. "What can the PS5 achieve that is not possible in the cloud?" – Bloomberg
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