Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Can the PlayStation 4 Revive a Waning Sony Corporation (SNE)?

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) has a popular video on YouTube right now implying that they will reveal the new PlayStation 4 on Feb. 20. Is this Sony’s moment to finally outshine the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox 360? Maybe, maybe not.

First some history: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released the Xbox 360 in North America Nov. 22, 2005. It was a follow-up to the original Xbox and a leap ahead technologically. While the original Xbox competed with the wildly successful PlayStation 2 from Sony, when the Xbox 360 came on the scene gamers would have to wait almost an entire year (until Nov. 17, 2006) for the PlayStation 3.

A year in digital terms is somewhat akin to an eternity and gamers in general are not a patient lot. Despite the fact that the PlayStation 3 sports Blu-ray, it was too little too late to ever catch the Xbox 360 with its 12-month lead. To date the Xbox 360 has sold 75.9 million units worldwide. The PlayStation 3 has sold 70.2 million units. Clearly both consoles are successful, but the Xbox 360 is more successful, despite the fact that Sony owns more game studios and has more exclusive content.

Now let’s look back one generation of consoles and see how that was reversed. The PlayStation 2 sold an amazing 155 million units compared with the Xbox’s mere 24 million units. Why? PlayStation 2 was released March 4, 2000. Xbox didn’t release until Nov. 15, 2001. It never caught the PlayStation 2, not in terms of console sales and not in terms of available games.

The PlayStation 3 was officially unveiled at E3 on May 16, 2005, but was then plagued by delays for global release dates, frustrating gamers around the world. The price gap between the two systems was significant. The PlayStation 3 started at $499 without WiFi and $599 with WiFi. By comparison the basic Xbox 360 was $299, the backward-compatible model that would play original Xbox games and came with other extras was $399. Neither of the original Xboxes came with WiFi. That would be added to later models. Remember though, that in 2005 WiFi was not ubiquitous and expected in devices the way it is now.