Comment Shanda Box sales will rock (Score 1) 103
if it wasn't so ugly.
A few comments on the Shanda Box:
The "Box" will be one of the best low profile computers available. It's got a DVD drive, a hard drive, a mid-end ATI DirectX9 video card, and 802.11 wireless from Linksys. Just open up the box and upgrade the memory module, and you have a fairly powerful PC. The production versions will probably need some hardware hacks to make it a full PC, but the pre-production samples can be installed with any OS with no changes!
Shanda's big marketing theme for the Box is the Tivo function. There's no VCRs in China (went straight to VCD and DVD), so Shanda thinks that once people get hooked on recording, they can't live without it. This is probably a fantasy as the reason behind the lack of VCRs is also due to the lack of good content to record on the VCRs.
Shanda is going after the high end consumers with the Box. The box will cost anywhere from US$250 to US$600, depending on how much money Shanda wants to lose. Shanda's current market is heavily rural, so a large subscription base from the high end market will balance its earnings. LCD and Plasma TVs in China are selling extremely well right now, so there is definitely a large high end market in China. Why they will buy the Box instead of a Playstation 2 is another question.
Shanda's Box is meant as a home entertainment platform, not just a game console. Aside from games and Tivo, the Box is also meant to integrate other online services. Shanda plans to work with Ctrip (think Expedia) and Taobao (think eBay) on a lot of its content. Shanda also has an instant messaging service in the works. In addition, Shanda recently purchased a 19.5 stake in China's largest portal Sina.
Right now, I'm pretty pessimistic about the Box, because the entire business is a 'tweener. It's trying to be a game console, an e-commerce platform, an entertainment (mp3, streaming movie, regular TV) channel, and Tivo all in one. Maybe it'll get people hooked, but I think it's more likely that people will find the Box to be mediocre for all of those applications and rather purchase them seperately. i.e., a Playstation, a subscription to DTV, and a PC instead of one Shanda Box.
For more news on Shanda, see the following links:
Shanda To Cooperate With Stockstar, Taobao And Ctrip On IPTV: <url:http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/29049 _0_5_0_M/&highlight=shanda&searchcolor=1>
Shanda's Chen Takes A Page From Apple : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/31745 _0_5_0_M/&highlight=shanda&searchcolor=1>
Shanda To Launch IM Software : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/30553 _0_5_0_M/&highlight=shanda&searchcolor=1>
Shanda Takes 19.5% Stake In Sina : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/22379 _0_5_0_M/&highlight=shanda&searchcolor=1>
Shanda Licenses D&D From Turbine : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/27548 _0_5_0_M/&highlight=shanda&searchcolor=1>
A few comments on the Shanda Box:
The "Box" will be one of the best low profile computers available. It's got a DVD drive, a hard drive, a mid-end ATI DirectX9 video card, and 802.11 wireless from Linksys. Just open up the box and upgrade the memory module, and you have a fairly powerful PC. The production versions will probably need some hardware hacks to make it a full PC, but the pre-production samples can be installed with any OS with no changes!
Shanda's big marketing theme for the Box is the Tivo function. There's no VCRs in China (went straight to VCD and DVD), so Shanda thinks that once people get hooked on recording, they can't live without it. This is probably a fantasy as the reason behind the lack of VCRs is also due to the lack of good content to record on the VCRs.
Shanda is going after the high end consumers with the Box. The box will cost anywhere from US$250 to US$600, depending on how much money Shanda wants to lose. Shanda's current market is heavily rural, so a large subscription base from the high end market will balance its earnings. LCD and Plasma TVs in China are selling extremely well right now, so there is definitely a large high end market in China. Why they will buy the Box instead of a Playstation 2 is another question.
Shanda's Box is meant as a home entertainment platform, not just a game console. Aside from games and Tivo, the Box is also meant to integrate other online services. Shanda plans to work with Ctrip (think Expedia) and Taobao (think eBay) on a lot of its content. Shanda also has an instant messaging service in the works. In addition, Shanda recently purchased a 19.5 stake in China's largest portal Sina.
Right now, I'm pretty pessimistic about the Box, because the entire business is a 'tweener. It's trying to be a game console, an e-commerce platform, an entertainment (mp3, streaming movie, regular TV) channel, and Tivo all in one. Maybe it'll get people hooked, but I think it's more likely that people will find the Box to be mediocre for all of those applications and rather purchase them seperately. i.e., a Playstation, a subscription to DTV, and a PC instead of one Shanda Box.
For more news on Shanda, see the following links:
Shanda To Cooperate With Stockstar, Taobao And Ctrip On IPTV: <url:http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/2904
Shanda's Chen Takes A Page From Apple : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/3174
Shanda To Launch IM Software : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/3055
Shanda Takes 19.5% Stake In Sina : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/2237
Shanda Licenses D&D From Turbine : <url=http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories/2754
