Daniel Ahmad Profile picture
Sep 17, 2020 19 tweets 5 min read Read on X
A quick thread on the PS5 showcase + Strategy:

- Overall a strong showing that focused on blockbuster IP playable on PS5.

- Key exclusive content from first party and select partners.

- Competitive pricing options and global roll out in November.

PlayStation have tailored their PS5 showcases around first year games for the most part since June.

All the major new games showcased, including God of War Ragnarok (PS5 Exclusive), Final Fantasy XVI (PS5 Console Exclusive) and Hogwarts Legends (Multiplat) are 2021 titles.
The emphasis, as noted in the first tweet, is very much on these blockbuster IP releasing soon and PlayStation 5 being the best place to play.

In addition to exclusive games, Sony continues to invest in exclusive content for third party games. E..g. COD Beta / GTA Online free.
The selection of Sony published Day 1 games is fairly compelling.

Was a bit odd that none of these were confirmed as launch titles until afterwards in a blog post. Not to mention that only two of them were actually showcased at all.

Could have communicated it better imo.
The pricing aspect is something to note here. Sony is bumping next gen game prices fairly significantly here, with the aim to:

- Introduce baseline pricing for next gen
- Pitch PS5 titles as premium games
- Increase with inflation

Will get some pushback, but become normalised
At the end of the day, Sony's key differentiator here is exclusive content.

The PS5 is the center of the PlayStation ecosystem, with exclusive games, content and bonuses.

For Xbox, Game Pass is becoming the entry point to its ecosystem, with multiple devices to choose from.
A $$$ console will always be a tough sell, which is why Sony's strategy expanded beyond just appealing to current PS4 owners.

In the June conference, Sony showcased back compat with PS4 and service games transitioning over.

Essentially keeping your library / trophies / friends.
Today, Sony expanded on that strategy to appeal to new users. Pitching its PS+ Collection as a way for new PS5 users to have a day 1 games library.

It's not Game Pass, but it's a good competing offer from Sony in a world where digital ecosystems matter

One point of contention today was the announcement of cross gen games such as Sackboy and Horizon

The reason for this is because Sony has 110m PS4 users, nearly half of which have a PS+ sub

Not all of them will upgrade in year 1. Many waited for $299 on PS4 and will wait here
Moving on to pricing:

The disc based console price matches the Series X

The digital console, which is the same spec, comes in $100 cheaper than the X and $100 more than the S

Overall it's very competitive as the digital ver. will be compared to the X

I did a thread here on why the PS5 digital edition is priced the way it is, why that benefits Sony, and why ultimately some buyers will see it as the best option as they are already all digital.

Xbox does have a few tricks up its sleeve:

- All Access provides a smoother entry into next gen, with the cost spread over 24m

- Game Pass provides more value out of the gate than PS+ or PS Now, and is on multiple devices

- Series S offers a low cost entry point to next gen
Sony is looking to counter this by:

- Pricing the Digital Edition $100 lower than the Series X

- Exclusive content + increased value with PS+ Collection + expand PS Now to other devices.

- Pitching PS5 as its premium console, with low cost PS4 still an option w/ new games.
Ultimately I expect Sony to win out in the console space. It has a more compelling day one offering and greater brand / IP recognition around the world

In the medium term, PS5 should outsell the Xbox Series X | S by a notable margin. Although I expect Xbox to do better than 2013
The long term is where it gets interesting. Especially as Microsoft continues to increase the value of Game Pass and make the service more accessible / frictionless.

Microsoft might not win the console war, but it could win the ecosystem war. See more:

I expect PS5 to see strong demand this holiday, hence its staggered global launch through November. Production and logistics could certainly be an issue this holiday / 2021.

I do expect the console to sell faster than the PS4, but how much faster will be determined by supply.
We have an internal forecast for next gen which I might be able to share in the future, either as a free download or part of our paid reports.

Right now we expect an installed base of over 8 million next gen consoles by the end of calendar 2020.
Here is my previous thread on Sony's June PS5 showcase for anyone interested.

* Issuing a correction to the second tweet in the thread.

I said that FFXVI was a 2021 game, but looks like they just said more information in 2021. Apologies for the mistake.

Point still stands that most of what Sony has shown is planned for release in year 1.

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More from @ZhugeEX

May 14
Here are some interesting takeaways from Sony's FY 23/24 earnings 🧵

1. Helldivers 2 has become Sony's fastest selling title ever, having sold 12 million units in 12 weeks, surpassing the record set by God of War Ragnarök.

PC was a large part of the success, as evidenced below.Image
2. The digital ratio for full game software sales on PlayStation platforms reached 70% for the full year.

The chart below shows how digital sales accounted for just 19% in FY2015. The pandemic accelerated the already existing shift to digital. Image
3. The end of the cyclical profit / loss console cycle.

In the past, declining software sales and high R&D costs would typically generate a loss in console launch years.

The PS4 to PS5 transition had higher margin digital content sales + subscriptions = higher profits Image
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Sep 9, 2022
Here's what happened across Asia's video game industry this week 🧵

• Riot Games upgrades its Shanghai studio
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1/6
On the one year anniversary of Riot Games Shanghai, the studio will be upgraded to Riot China R&D Group.

Riot will establish local studios in China to support on the research and development of existing and new games, primarily focusing on mobile games.

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Aug 26, 2022
Here's what happened across Asia's video game industry this week 🧵

• PS5 sees a price hike
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1/6
Japan and China are impacted by Sony's price hike for the PS5, alongside Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and Canada.

My comments are included in the article below on the reason why this took place now

washingtonpost.com/video-games/20…
Capcom announced that Sunbreak, a large-scale premium expansion for Monster Hunter Rise, had passed 4 million unit sales worldwide. Monster Hunter Rise itself has now passed 11 million units sold worldwide on Nintendo Switch and PC

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Feb 17, 2022
Total War: Warhammer III is out on Steam today and is being received well by most players.

But when you look at Chinese language reviews, 72% of them are negative. This also extends to Warhammer II, which saw negative reviews in the last few days.

Let's explore why 🧵
Despite not having an official release in China, the Total War series is very popular in the country.

Total War: Three Kingdoms became the fastest selling game in the series thanks to sales in China.

Warhammer III was anticipated due to one of the factions being based on China.
Warhammer III was set to continue to the same trend with strong pre-orders from Chinese players that access the international version of Steam

However, some of the core players have been upset by how Creative Assembly and Chinese game live streaming site DouYu handled promotion
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Jan 19, 2022
Here is a 🧵on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

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- Xbox has seen a 4x increase in internal studios since 2018, primarily through acquisition

- Combination of Xbox x Activision Blizzard = #3 by revenue. Strong growth potential

Read 17 tweets
Dec 8, 2021
India is the fastest growing video games market in Asia!

We just released a new report on India's Mobile and PC game market which includes 75 slides and 56 data exhibits.

Will do a thread below with key takeaways -

More info on the report here:
nikopartners.com/news/india-is-…
India’s PC and Mobile game revenue in 2021 is projected to reach $534.1 million, up 31.79% YoY.

Note. Niko Partners does not include revenue from Real Money Gaming in its market model.

India’s PC and mobile gamers in 2021 is projected to reach 339.9 million, up 21.97% YoY
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India’s PC and mobile gamers will grow at a 5-year CAGR of 13.7%, reaching 529.1 million in 2025.

India will account for 56% of all mobile and PC gamers in Asia-10 in 2025.
Read 8 tweets

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