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PS3 Delay To Have Little Impact?
According to analyst firm Strategy Analytics, the PS3's delay is unlikely to have much of an effect on the next-gen race, reports GameDailyBiz. From the article: "While 2006 sales will clearly fall short of previous expectations, Strategy Analytics maintains its previous forecast of PS3 sales of 121.8 million units through 2012 ... This compares to expected sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 of 58.8 million units over the same period." Gamasutra reports that, from Steve Ballmer's perspective, the opposite is true. From that article: "In every other generation, the first guy to 10 million consoles was the number one seller in the generation ... Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million? Yeah, of course we did." This all assumes the console launches this year.
I just want the PS3 to kick ass. If it kicks ass I won't mind if they even skip a whole generation of consoles. I want an awesome experience and I'm willing to pay for it. Deliver and you'll make some cash. I'd even go as far as saying that I'd pay $1000 for a console if it really blew me away. I really want to see something more powerful than the XBox 360 which in my mind is comparable to my (fairly high-end) PC. Cram two or three Cell processors in there and some serious amounts of RAM if needed. I want a machine that I'll lust over the way I wanted a Nintendo when I was a kid.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
I think many people, including myself, will wait with a (much needed) pc upgrade until MS Vista (DirectX 10) capable hardware is around. Ok, I have run Kororaa with XGL (but normally run Gentoo), and I like it A LOT. However, I have kids... And unless there are compelling Linux gaming alternatives the upgrade may well be Vista... Also, I may need to by a new tv... An HDTV. Oooo, another 1,000$ So, if the PS3 will work as a Linux-based pc, too, then it is clear. It will be PS3. If it will be cheap, like 500$, then maybe both a new pc and a PS3. Oh, I almost forgot, I need a new car, too...
I guess this is as good an article to make this comment. As someone who has worked in retail for 6 years (Gamestop and now Gamecrazy) I am eternally amused that no analyst (that I've read, at least) has ever once mentioned that the installed PS2 user base is grossly overstated. Yes, the PS2 has sold well over 100 million units, but I would be very conservative in estimating that at least 30 million of those units(AT LEAST) are replacements for broken PS2's. It's really quite amazing to me that I've sold quite a few customers their 4th PS2 since 2001. The thing is, they're so invested in games, that they simply must replace their PS2 when it breaks, and they break... gosh, seems yearly.
Besides the replacements, there are tons of users that have second and third machines. Much like the GBA buyers, they just had to get the special edition units, or the slimmer unit, or... whatever, you get it.
I'd say that the installed user base for PS2s, based on my own experience, is overstated by 40-50%. The PS2 won the last console war, but not by nearly as much as the sales figures show.
(and, yes, the Xbox had quite a few return customers due to broken hardware, but not nearly as many. The Gamecube appears to be indestructible)
You (and a lot of other people) seem to have a really funny definition of hardcore gamer, in my mind.
I've been playing video games for over 20 years. I've played systems from the Atari 2600 and Intellivision era through the current console generation. I've been playing PC games since my first 8088. I've played every genre. I am very good at games. I consider myself as hardcore as they come.
But I'm bored to tears with what most people consider 'hardcore' games. Seriously, fuck every FPS from now until infinity until someone introduces something *new*. Fuck every sports and racing sim out there. Fuck every "line up 3 and they disappear'" puzzle game. Stealth action games can go to hell -- new ways to hide and/or be detected ain't a new game, nor is a new (usually stupid, tired, cliched -- thank you Tom Clancy!) story. 1-on-1 Fighting games are getting extremely tired (I pumped hundreds of dollars into Mortal Kombat machines over 10 years ago).
In the last generation, I could probably count the number of unique, interesting games on my fingers. All these moron 10-18 year olds who think they're "so hardcore!" are just playing new versions of the same stuff that I mastered in the '80s and '90s.
I think that any truly hardcore gamer is probably as bored as I am with what's out there and wants something new to try. I'm not talking about high resolution or 5.1 surround, either -- those are nice, and I certainly enjoy a polished presentation as much as the next guy -- but the only next-gen system I'm really interested in (and that includes my gaming PC) is the Revolution. Everything else is just more of the same.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal