Sony's stock took a header, dropping 24 points (approximately 1.7%) after they revealed the PS4 Wednesday night. All the glitz and glam that won over the audience didn't seem to be enough for investors.
The drop may not be connected to what Sony had to say at the show, but what they didn't. While Sony talked a good game, describing the PS4 as a "super-charged PC," they didn't actually show the physical PS4 hardware. They told investors what's going to to be in there: A quad core CPU, an AMD Radeon GPU, and 8GB of GDDR5 memory, built-in hard drive, Blu-Ray optical drive, and wi-fi support. That's all well and good, but it's generally a lot better if you actually show the product, instead of just listing a bunch of specs.
The console's non-appearance had many fearing that it might not actually be complete... Which is kind of true. While the specs have been finalized, Sony President Hiroshi Kawana admitted that even he has yet to see the console's final design. It's also theorized that Sony didn't want to give anything away in regards to its design until Microsoft makes some kind of presentation. But this choice has obviously had a bit of a blowback.
Sony also kept quiet on how much the console will cost. No matter how much interest was generated by the reveal, it's hard to give investors an idea of what they stand to gain if you don't quantify the value of the product.
That doesn't mean everyone were thrilled with everything about the console. Investors may have also been turned off by Sony's plans to use PS Vita as a second screen for the PS4.
SCEA CEO Jack Tretton told CNBC yesterday that the cost of the console is "designed with the game developer in mind and the consumer in mind." Tretton said game prices would run the gammut, ranging from $0.99 to the more traditional $60 range.
Sony plans on giving more information about the console during "several key events between now and the launch date." The PlayStation 4 will launch this holiday season.
