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According to Next-Gen.biz, SCEA's PR chief, Molly Smith, resigned yesterday after leading the operation from the PlayStation 1 until now, a ten-year tenure. Sony has yet to make an official announcement.

http://rpgs.joystiq.com/2006/06/02/playstation-pr- chief-jumps-ship/

Is it my imagination or does it seem like Sony has been making a lot of PR/Marketing mistakes lately that they wouldn't have made even a few months ago. A couple of days ago when I heard of Molly Smith's resignation I figured either her replacement is awful or she jumped ship because she was not willing to continue with this insane strategy.

Famitsu readers seem to disagree with you: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/26/japan-famitsu-op inion-poll-favors-nintendos-wii/

Excuse, but that is not true...see this: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/26/japan-famitsu-op inion-poll-favors-nintendos-wii/

I doubt this is likely and is just old news resurfacing. Not only if Sony implemented this strategy would resale businesses have problems, but renting games would cease to exist (for the PS3, at least). This would definately cause troubles for Sony as customers could not try before they buy or even enjoy a weekend of a party game. Blockbuster, Gamestop, et all, would pull out all stakes to prevent this if this were real.

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/11/08/playstation-3-wo nt-play-used-games/

There is also going to be a "Zapper" attachment being developed...

  http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/e3-the-wii-zappe r-prototype-revealed/

It looks like a light gun with the remote in the front part and the nunchuck in the handle. (Though some ppl are saying the nunchuck is too large to fit?)

It looks really sweet.

Although I'm not the OP, reader comment #11 by bv pretty much summarizes my feelings on comment #7, so like a good little blogger I'll use a really short excerpt: 11. elle- Sounds like: A) You don't like FPS's. B) You are a girl and like video games (this is impossible) C) Gears of War wasn't half assed at E3. Watch some videos of it in action or read the billions of articles where people revered it as the best game at E3. D) You don't like Cliffy B. because he wouldn't go to the prom with you. E) I'm kidding about D, unless its true. and direct to the source (scroll down to #11)

"This guy is pretty representative of everything I don't like about video games and gamers."

and direct you to the source (scroll down to comment #7.)

They're forced to issue this statement. We already know that there won't be many high quality launch games because according to SEGA and THQ, most developers haven't received PS3 devkits yet. Many developers may choose to release their games on the PS2 instead of doing a half-assed attempt at converting it to a PS3 game because they'll simply make more money on the PS2's larger established user base than they would by making it a lackluster PS3 title with a small installed base at launch.

And was the controller just a mars bar wrapped in tin foil?

Does this mean that the Wii launch will be like the old rumors around the Xbox 360 launch?

There seems to be accusations of "faking it" at every E3. I guess the industry has brought it on itself, showing stuff like the supposed Madden for Xbox 360 screen shots that were much better than the actual game when it shipped. This stuff has been going on for years and it's no wonder that audiences are wary of being duped by faked demos.

But 6 months before the console hits the shelves, the only hardware that exists is in prototype versions. It is not suprising that the floor models were put together with duct tape, GameCube cases and whatever else they had on-hand. I would be suprised if the actual Wii games don't look better than what Nintendo had on display at this years E3, as developers have more time to work on games and get them polished.

You mean this? It's hardly news, but the first pictures were released at E3.

Uhhhh.... this story is about APRIL. The link you posted is about March.

The April Charts look a bit different.

I'm almost 100% sure that you're right -- the press has only seen demonstrations of Assassin's Creed -- they haven't gotten actually to play the game. I'd like a little more clarity on whether the game is a PS3-exclusive. Joystiq is reporting it will also be released on the Xbox 360 (despite the title in this link): http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/02/assassins-creed- ubisofts-ps3-exclusive/ (and I could swear I read some other preview also mentioning a possible PC release, too.)

Reggie's talking a big game about how the company doesn't run from risk, but runs to it. An obvious counterpoint jumps quickly to mind: Nintendo is a very conservative company. Though the company has taken some risks with DS and Wii hardware, its also meticulous about controlling hardware costs, managing contracts and quality control, and in general ensuring that the margins are there to make a console profitable. Nintendo supporters routinely brag about the comapny's ability to make money, even on the GameCube. Their ability to do this is directly reliant upon keeping investment (in hardware, in marketing) low relative to sales projections. That is the very definition of risk averse. To put it another way, these aren't bet-the-farm risks.

Touchscreen aside, the DS is still a solid gaming handheld supported by a very standard ecosystem of software developers and a solid portfolio of original IP. The Wii strategy takes a small risk on the HCI (human-computer interface), but everything else is rather similar to any other console's strategy, sans insane spending. Sony's taking more risks this generation. Blu-Ray's success is critical to multiple lines of business that keep Sony afloat. It's huge investment in complex technology that will make or break the company in the decade to come. That's risk. Even if the Wii were to end up in third place again (as several analysts we talked to yesterday predicted it would), Nintendo will still survive. If Sony were to fail to capture dominant marketshare this generation, the results would be catastrophic. That's risk, and we just wanted to set the record straight on it.

Now why would anyone possibly think that?

Great 'Live' blog-style Joystiq coverage here too (IMO better than the Game Daily one). They seemed exceptionally impressed with everything but the eye candy. And by that I mean it sounds like they and everyone else in the audience wanted to be onstage playing. Night and day difference from Sony's conference.

HD graphics : I'm not seeing a big improvement. In one case it looks like a step BACKWARD. Just take a look at their own comparison slide http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/05/DSC_2355.JPG! The PS3 version look like a pasty white guy!

Um... you might want to look a little closer at the two screenshots.

The are different shades of brown, just because one guy is lighter than the other, doesnt make him a "pasty white guy" IMHO it looks like a lighter skinned African American.

Notice the muscle definition on the arms, that blows the PS2 screenshot away. The face is also more defined, and you can see that the model is capable of more facial expressions than its PS2 counterpart.

I would wager that the movement of the character is also much more fluid and natural when compared to the PS2. I obviously can't prove this, but with the amount of detail added there is a good chance.

Blu-Ray : One word : Hype. There has yet to be a game that spans more than 1 DVD and I'm not spending $500 for a movie player AND having to re-buy my movie collection.

That really isnt fair. No one knows what the current format war is going to turn out like. Blue-Ray may actually win and be MUCH more than just "HYPE". Also, think back to the SNES. Games then rarely spanned more than 4-5Megs. Just because something has never happened ,doesn't mean it will never happen.

Hard drive : Xbox did it years ago. The Xbox360 threw the ball away on it but considering the PS3 is priced at $500~$600, Sony just threw the ball back at Microsoft.

Maybe the PS3 doesn't need a HardDrive or maybe they will distribute later with certain gaimes. a la FFXI online for PS2.

Online : Old news and Sony has a poor record of online gameplay. Its SOE division is one of the worst in terms of service and considering they DOMINATED last generation with the PS2, Xbox Live CRUSHED the PS2 in terms of online marketshare.

This is actually something we agree on. SOE is the antichrist. nuff said.

After having said all that, I would like to close by saying, I am not a sony fanboy. And I agree that the price of the PS3 is a little steap, and overall the PS3 initial annoucments were dissapointing. However, let's wait until we see the games that will be released, as well as the online interaction that I am sure Sony has planned to compete with xbox live. Until then stop searching for reasons to dislike the PS3.

HD graphics : I'm not seeing a big improvement. In one case it looks like a step BACKWARD. Just take a look at their own comparison slide http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/05/DSC_2355.JPG! The PS3 version look like a pasty white guy!

Blu-Ray : One word : Hype. There has yet to be a game that spans more than 1 DVD and I'm not spending $500 for a movie player AND having to re-buy my movie collection.

Hard drive : Xbox did it years ago. The Xbox360 threw the ball away on it but considering the PS3 is priced at $500~$600, Sony just threw the ball back at Microsoft.

Online : Old news and Sony has a poor record of online gameplay. Its SOE division is one of the worst in terms of service and considering they DOMINATED last generation with the PS2, Xbox Live CRUSHED the PS2 in terms of online marketshare.

Wireless controllers : Two words : Nintendo Wavebird. And the Xbox360's controllers are wireless as well. Sony is really the last man out in this case. (And this doesn't count third party controllers.)

PS2 and PS1 full compatibility : Considering a PS1 is dirt cheap and insanely plentiful (I've seenen package deals including 10 games and the system for $50 USD) and the inevitable price drop to the all important $100 mark for the PS2 near/after the PS3's launch, this isn't really important.

Not true. That statement about Halo 3 launching at the same time as the PS3 was either made up by Times Magazine or Bill Gates has very short memory. http://gamesnews.yahoo.com/newsarticle?eid=431186& page=0 http://www.joystiq.com/2005/08/23/halo-3-delayed-u ntil-2007-to-launch-alongside-movie/ http://news.spong.com/article/9572?cb=148

And don't forget this: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/28/3-2-million-xbox -360s-sold-388-million-in-operating-losses/

"Microsoft's Home and Entertainment segment, which includes the Xbox division, posted a $213 million quarterly operating loss, bringing its total losses to $388 million."

The SHIPPED numbers seem ok though.

Perhaps they might actually make some money back once they start selling more of those $60 games.

"Microsoft couldn't care less about losing a few million/tens of million/even hundred million on the first run of XBOX."

The XBox has lost upwards of $4 billion. I think the XBox either qualifies as a failure or a disaster. If the 360 doesn't turn a profit in a couple years I think they are going to throw the towel in.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/07/rumor-pilotwings -landing-on-revolution/

Japanese Hardware Sales Chart, 3/20-26/2006:

1 DSL: 119,986
2 NDS: 39,307
3 PS2: 34,169
4 PSP: 31,077
5 GBASP: 5,627
6 GBM: 4,883
7 GCN: 1,458
8 360: 1,415
9 XBX: 108
10 GBA: 98

The 360 fails to outsell the Gamecube, and the original Xbox barely manages to beat the ORIGINAL Gameboy Advance. source.

This isn't a fluke, either. MS is really taking a pounding in Japan, which is a big deal since so many gamers LOVE japanese games.

Is there anybody out there who thought the DS would be less popular than it is?

Uhhh... Many, many gaming blogs, press articles and posters on this site downplayed it since the announcement. Many, many people were pre-emptively ceding the portable market to Sony and posting stories, blogs, and comments that ranged from Sony taking 50% of the portable market to about how Nintendo should go the Sega route and stop making hardware all together.

Perhaps hard to remember now, but this is what people were saying before it came out. It did not have a positive buzz at all until people were charmed by the novelty of petting and giving verbal commands to Nintendogs (a game I personally can't get into).

From all reports I've heard from those who own it, the "unorthodox" input device often gets in the way of gameplay, and owners like it in spite of the touchscreen, not because of it.

How does it "get in the way" of gameplay? Do you have any examples? In games I own such as Mario Kart or Advance Wars, you don't really NEED the touch factor, but it doesn't get in the way. I find I don't use the touch screen for anything in Mario Kart except to change the map view, which I could probably do with a button.

The other games I own, however, are Metroid Prime: Hunters & Animal Crossing, which are pretty much unplayable without it, and Age of Empires, which could be played without it, but with some difficulty...

Three of the most popular games on the platform are Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and Brain Training/Brain Age, and those are almost unplayable without the touchpad so I doubt the people who spoke to you reflect the majority of people using the DS.

Also, the PSP appears to be doing very well without it any such "innovative" controllers.

Is it doing that well? According to Joystiq, Japanese sales figures for for the week of 3/20 to 3/26 paint a different picture:

1 DSL: 119,986
2 NDS: 39,307
3 PS2: 34,169
4 PSP: 31,077
5 GBASP: 5,627

The DS Light + DS sold more than 5x times than the PSP. That may be "well", but I'm not sure it counts as "very well".

Here are the software sales charts for March 13-19:

      1. PS2 Final Fantasy XII 1,764,266
      2. DS Animal Crossing Wild World 70,932
      3. DS Brain Training 2 67,222
      4. DS English Training 39,940
      5. DS Brain Training 39,718
      6. PS2 Sengoku Musou 2 (Samurai Warrior) 25,295
      7. DS Mario Kart DS 17,928
      8. DS Seiken Densetsu CoM (Children of Mana) 17,574
      9. PS2 Guitar Freaks V 17,520
    10. DS Keroro Gunso 15,650

Note that there are 7 DS titles on there, and 0 PSP titles.

US and European numbers may skew less towards the DS, since sales figures are less accesible, but the PSP isn't trouncing the DS here in the western world, either.

Is there anybody out there who thought the DS would be less popular than it is?

Uhhh... Many, many gaming blogs, press articles and posters on this site downplayed it since the announcement. Many, many people were pre-emptively ceding the portable market to Sony and posting stories, blogs, and comments that ranged from Sony taking 50% of the portable market to about how Nintendo should go the Sega route and stop making hardware all together.

Perhaps hard to remember now, but this is what people were saying before it came out. It did not have a positive buzz at all until people were charmed by the novelty of petting and giving verbal commands to Nintendogs (a game I personally can't get into).

From all reports I've heard from those who own it, the "unorthodox" input device often gets in the way of gameplay, and owners like it in spite of the touchscreen, not because of it.

How does it "get in the way" of gameplay? Do you have any examples? In games I own such as Mario Kart or Advance Wars, you don't really NEED the touch factor, but it doesn't get in the way. I find I don't use the touch screen for anything in Mario Kart except to change the map view, which I could probably do with a button.

The other games I own, however, are Metroid Prime: Hunters & Animal Crossing, which are pretty much unplayable without it, and Age of Empires, which could be played without it, but with some difficulty...

Three of the most popular games on the platform are Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and Brain Training/Brain Age, and those are almost unplayable without the touchpad so I doubt the people who spoke to you reflect the majority of people using the DS.

Also, the PSP appears to be doing very well without it any such "innovative" controllers.

Is it doing that well? According to Joystiq, Japanese sales figures for for the week of 3/20 to 3/26 paint a different picture:

1 DSL: 119,986
2 NDS: 39,307
3 PS2: 34,169
4 PSP: 31,077
5 GBASP: 5,627

The DS Light + DS sold more than 5x times than the PSP. That may be "well", but I'm not sure it counts as "very well".

Here are the software sales charts for March 13-19:

      1. PS2 Final Fantasy XII 1,764,266
      2. DS Animal Crossing Wild World 70,932
      3. DS Brain Training 2 67,222
      4. DS English Training 39,940
      5. DS Brain Training 39,718
      6. PS2 Sengoku Musou 2 (Samurai Warrior) 25,295
      7. DS Mario Kart DS 17,928
      8. DS Seiken Densetsu CoM (Children of Mana) 17,574
      9. PS2 Guitar Freaks V 17,520
    10. DS Keroro Gunso 15,650

Note that there are 7 DS titles on there, and 0 PSP titles.

US and European numbers may skew less towards the DS, since sales figures are less accesible, but the PSP isn't trouncing the DS here in the western world, either.

Apparently the version discussed on adcritic wasn't sexy enough, because the version of the same ad up now on the hitmanforums website is much more explicit.

"...this new DiamondTouch touch panel table interface has one thing NYU's unit lacked: game. IGN has video of the DiamondTouch panel in action, and it really appears to be a glorified top-down projection system -- which it is. The image is projected onto a white table, which contains the actual magic. By touching the table you complete a circuit that sends a signal through your body with the X/Y position of your touch. This means the table can handle multiple simultaneous touches, so you and your friends can all gather around and do gaming as it was meant to be done, tabletop style. Mitsubishi's system also includes voice control, and they show it all off with a fairly impressive demo of WarCraft III." - Paul Miller, Engadget (view article)

"...let's be honest, Mitsubishi really throws down here. Unsatisfied with pretty light shows or boring diagrams, they're out to research that ancient query, "But what about the games?" Using Warcraft III, the fellas at MERL are able to use voice and touch to control the game in what appears to be an impressively seamless fashion." -John Choo, Joystiq (view article)

"...brings the exciting possibility of multiple simultaneous touches. Another notable feature is the speech recognition that is demonstrated in the video, although I can't imagine myself talking to a table non-stop for the whole duration of a 4v4 game. Now if the MERL team could show us a video of a real game of WarCraft on the DiamondTouch and played with skill, I would probably wet my pants." -Leo Huang, HipTech Blog (view article)

Yeah, but they also make WarioWare and Brain Age.

And they've said a million times they're going to fund indie studios to make games for the Revo. Couple that with cheaper dev kits, no HD BS to worry about, and apparantly they're saying companies can make new games for the virtual console (does this mean they're going to sell NES/SNES/N64 dev-kits? I don't know).

Apple's success story is "they finally got it right." It only took them 30 freakin' years to do it. Still, they aren't in the clear yet. It's great that the ipod's are selling well and it's making Apple a household name, but the true worth of the ipod will be seen in it's ability to convert users from PC to Mac as their brand trust goes up. I'd really like to see numbers on the amount of people that own an ipod and a pc vs. the number of people who own and ipod and a mac, and a graph to show the change w/ respect to time.

and the real MVP in the story is marketing. Someday soon, we'll be reading stories like this about Gnu/Linux, as soon as some one spends the money on marketing.

I'm aware that with all these technologies, the PS3 can't be offered at a price that's targeted towards households. I think everyone can still buy it if they wanted to... I'm not going to reveal its price today. I'm going to only say that it'll be expensive.

Reference here.

I don't know about you, but I don't see those comments as indicating the potential for higher market penetration. How many casual gamers are going to fork over the dough for a system that's already received a price warning?

"emulator that would allow gamers to play PS titles on the PSP."

To me, this means:
1. The games are downloaded and stored on you PSP. (Yay!)
2. The games are repackaged and sold as PSP games. (Boo!)
3. I'm completely missing the point of why this matters. (Likely)

Considering all the titles available for the PSP and the ability to play PSOne games on your PS2 (acronym central) already, this seems kind of like a scare tactic towards Nintendo for offering free games on Revolution. The "Look! Look guys! We can do it too!" mentality, I guess.

By the time games won't run on XP anymore (5-6 years from now)

Hope you don't like Halo much!

Given the degree of control they have over developers, do you not think many others will follow suit?

But there's been a miscalculation - you could install Vista, or you could buy a 360 and then a Mac for real work.

Pishposh. It can't be a video game level -- where is the mention of crates and barrels?

Rub Rabbits is a game that is designed to be played with your wife/girlfriend/cute girl next door... or all three if you choose (at different times, I expect!)

According to the coverage on joystiq, It will be a worldwide release in November of this year. "The PS3 will launch 'in early November 2006 in Japan, North America and Europe simultaneously.'"

Until further details emerge, claims of a US '07 release appear to be unsubstantiated.

Sony has created the Playstation 3 (PS3), not as a game machine, but as a vessel to float the company into new lands. They are burdening the system with a new movie format (BluRay) unheard of levels of digital rights management for music and video, Memory Sticks and more.

The results are already starting to show. A year ago, Sony promised to launch the PS3 in Spring 2006. Instead, they waited till Spring 2006 to announce that they won't be launching the system until November 2006, in Japan , with other regions perhaps as soon as Spring 2007. Why? Digital Rights Management issues with the upcoming BluRay format.

The other divisions of Sony are dragging the PS3 down. The Playstation Portable (PSP) suffers from the same illness; too many hands in the basket. The PSP was designed around a slow-loading UMD format for distribution of movies which makes the machine less than ideal for game playing. Compared to ROM cartridges, UMDs are too slow loading and consume too much battery time. They make the machine more fragile and introduce problems with additional moving parts. In short, they are a sacrifice to the movie industry arm of Sony; giving up on the optimal game experience for the opportunity to sell you movies you probably already own on DVD.

The delays brought about by making compromises to the core functions of the system will put a great strain on Sony. Currently, their ark is full of holes and loaded with baggage. The flood waters rise. How many gamers will wait until this time next year in order to pick up a PS3 when Xbox 360 games are available today and are getting excellent review scores? How many will pass up the Revolution this holiday season when it is affordable and fun? How high will the waters rise before Sony can launch the ark?

Will it float?

More can be found here: Kamalot Blog

I'm a man, a programmer and I love games (both tabletop and video), and I wouldn't touch the American gaming industry with a ten foot clown pole.

Which is really a shame. Of course, I have no idea about the gaming industry in other countries, like Japan (I did find that one article).

"We're already making bucketloads of cash from an installed user base of 6 million just being a PC title. We don't need no stinkin' Xbox!"

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/10/03/sony-has-its-own -magic-wand-in-the-works/

Sony filed for a gaming wand back in December 2004 have surfaced. We're not sure how this stayed under the radar for so long, but according to the document, this device is shockingly similar to the Nintendo Revolution controller. It appears to have been initially developed for the PS2, but has either been shelved or is pending release on the PlayStation 3.

I saw Resident Evil 2 in the theaters. I thought it was good for what it was: cheesy fun. The acting was good. I liked the cinematics (atmosphere, lighting, etc). Most importantly, I was entertained. I didn't go in expecting a masterpiece.

So I watched the trailer for Dungeon Siege that somebody else kindly posted, and it looked bloody awful. Nothing screams desperation like putting a bunch of has-been actors to prop up your film.

Has anyone else seen the trailer for Dungeon Seige? Words cannot convey the levels of suckage this movie appears to achieve. It's got zombie NINJAS!

More than likely 1080p will be a selectable resolution in almost games, which should be enough for the masses. I mean, if PGR3 is "HD", then I'm technically playing NES games in 1080i...

unfortunately the x360 is screaming addon purchases.

looks like some titles will require the harddrive [gamesaves/patches are larger than the memorycards will allow]. that means core x360 owners will need to upgrade.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/07/upcoming-sega-ti tle-to-require-360-hdd/

with a addon hddvd drive, there will be developers that will want to cash in on hddvd games. forget whatever MS says about no hddvd games, developers will do as they please if drive sales allow.

looks like microsoft is bringing pc gaming to the console market for real this time.

... who argued that video and computer games could not possibly rise to the level of an art form?

If so, what does he care who directs a movie based on his game? That's quite an affectation on Kojima-san's part, isn't it?

"OTOH, AFAIK, market for cellphone games flourish."

Not according to Joystiq readers:

Someone who isn't me has graciously made a
mock-up of size comparisons. Mirror here, in case that falls down.

Can't wait! My wife has been pressuring for a 2nd ds (pink from lik-sang). Now the decision is down to, buy 1 redesigned ds or 2? The GBA micro buttons are so much more comfortable and better than the ds that I almost don't mind rebuying it.

e

Street Fighter II is making an appearance, with some interesting new features very similar to what DOA Ultimate saw. It's a nice new take on a classic fighter. http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/06/street-fighter-i i-goin-all-out-on-360s-live-arcade/

December 2005: 360 outsold by the GameCube in the US.

(Yes, I know there are shortages, but frankly, it's no excuse since MS could have planned their launch and/or production a bit better. Heck, if they had waited until May, people wouldn't be bitching about the overheating power supplies and the mediocre game lineup at launch time.)

PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution 24% 1,500
Xbox 360 and Nintendo Revolution 23% 1,463
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 8% 471
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Revolution 14% 889
Nintendo Revolution 23% 1,418
PlayStation 3 4% 219
Xbox 360 4% 279

6,239 votes total

(I quote these numbers to serve as a baseline comparison for future readers of that poll, since it is still active. For that reason I hope this post gets moderated highly enough to be archived by Google and the like.)

Broken down, that means that of all 6239 participants:

3102 (49.7%) already own or are interested in owning an Xbox 360 (already released, known hardware specs and features, known upcoming software)

3079 (49.3%) are interested in purchasing a PS3 (unreleased w/several months until launch, mostly known hardware specs and features, mostly unknown upcoming software)

5270 (84.5%) are interested in purchasing a Nintendo Revolution (unreleased w/several months until launch, mostly unknown hardware specs, mostly known features, unknown upcoming software)

Note the al

In fact, as I understand it, it costs less for a Chinese version of WoW and to play it monthly.