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Sony's Conference The Day After
I believe the best way to describe the reaction to yesterday's Sony Press Conference would be underwhelmed. The Guardian Gamesblog always says it well: "Jetlag means I'm not entirely sure what day it is, but what was Sony's excuse? Today's conference was a muddled mess that essentially confirmed widespread rumours of a problematic PS3 launch build-up. The games shown were of varying quality, with perhaps only Heavenly Sword really showing the undoubted potential of the PS3 ... Sadly, on today's evidence, 360 owners shouldn't worry about missing out, as the PS3's visuals seem broadly similar to their machine. Impressive then, but not the leap we had truly hoped for." Chris Kohler nails the real problem with the lower-priced model: "This just made Microsoft's $299 Core Pack look like a genius idea. At least it's possible to upgrade an Xbox Core. I don't know what kind of arcane magick will have to be executed to give a crippled PS3 actual functionality."
...Nintendo's conference, it's revealed that the Sony's was fake and that they'd be doing whatever Nintendo said they would be doing.
I enjoy great looking games as much as anyone else, but I play games not just for the graphics, but to have a lot of -interactive- fun. If I just wanted to stare at pretty graphics all day, I'd go to the movies.
I am glad to see Nintendo innovating rather than just extending their past consoles, which it seems like all Microsoft and Sony want to do ("MORE POWER, ITS LEET!!! WOOO!!").
I was going to buy a PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 3 and Gran Turismo, but now I might just have to get the Wii.
From what I've read about the press conference (and from the various opinion pieces I've read on it), it seems that Sony has grown overconfident--and with over 65% market share, can you blame them? Sony is just as much a marketing company as they are a technology company and they know that for much of the mass market of video games, Playstation is the only thing these people know because to them Sony is like a god. They also know that the mass market goes "ooo, look how powerful" and buys it (*cough*PSP*cough*). However, that's the AMERICAN mass market. If the PSP has taught them nothing, then they should know now that having a "do everything" device that's "more powerful" than the competition isn't enough. Of course, maybe that's why they "stole" the motion detection from the Wii? Any way, it seems like a fumble (but more than likely not a crucial one). If Nintendo and/or Microsoft can pull some good tricks out of their hats, then Sony might at least drop down to less than 50% of the market share (and you better believe I hope they do--as this overconfidence is bad for the industry).
Read my blog posts on usability.
Seriously, wait for PS3 to launch, and since it packs everything you need in your life so "tightly" and you can't afford one, put money together with some friends and Buy One!
Glass house. Stones. Throwing discouraged.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
Okay really, get over your fanboyism Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot.
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all different.
And here's what Nintendo has been criticized for:
And on top of that, Nintendo's pre-presentation announcement of the name has gotten them far more attention than Sony's actual presentation.
The PSwii60 is awesome! $150 PS2 + $50 PS1 + $400 360 + $300 Wii = PSwii60 is HUGE SAVINGS!!!!1 Don't forget to buy a $100 PSwii60 online debit card so you can purchase all that awesome content that was left out of your $60 games. Such things as "the second level" and "the fourth wheel to your new car in GT4". This is truly next-gen!
"The Playstation 3 Was F'n AMAZING"
Well, I agree with you there. Everything about the PS3 was amazing. The price was amazingly high. The controller was amazingly ripped off from Nintendo. The game demos were amazingly unamazing...
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
For those bitching that the base model won't be upgradeable:
The unit has 4 USB 2.0 ports, which would imply that a USB memory card reader can be added on.
The unit has an AV MultiOut port, which would imply that HDMI could be added as a seperate dongle. Considering how many HD TV sets have been sold that don't have HDMI ports, I don't see what everyone is bitching about this for anyway. If the outputs include an Analog HD cable, then you're pretty much set. Sony and all the movie studios are already backing away from enforcing their movies to downgrade themselves because they know the public backlash from people who don't own an HDMI capable set would kill their chances of selling HD movies, so this really seems like a non-issue.
The controller sucks. Well, I'd be very surprised if Penguin or MadCatz doesn't make a controller with Rumble to satisfy your needs. Unless the PS3 comes with 2 controllers you'll likely end up bying an additional one anyway.
The base unit doesn't do Wi-Fi. Well, how many of you who own an original XBox or PS2 don't already have some kind of Wi-Fi adapter around the house, if that's your thing? Considering how quickly Wi-Fi speeds change and that the lifespan of a console is around 5 years, who wants a locked in Wi-Fi anyway, you'll just be bitching about how slow it is 3 years from now.
The price isn't cheap, but most of that's the Blue-Ray player. The higher price will help to ensure that the people who really really have to have a PS3 now will be able to get one while production ramps up and and prices can start to drop. There are many critics saying that the XBox360 is underpriced and it doesn't even have an HD DVD player.
Wow this console generation is sounding pretty crappy all around. PS3 - We have what could be an awesome console that's going to be handicapped by a ridiculously high price point (reminds me of the Saturn) 360 - We have a rehash of a previous generation console only with slightly better graphics and a few hundred dollars more and no good games Wii - A system where many of us will no doubt lose the controller to wherever the TV remotes vanish to. And this is honestly sounding to be the best of the three. Sega where are you!?
Price, short term. The 360 and DS Lite launches prove that early adopters are willing to shell out twice the MSRP or more to get their grubby game-mitts on the system at launch. The h4rdc0re, Sony whores, and simply free-spending are going to be all over this thing, and the money goes to Sony rather than the secondary market. Of course, the higher price means any shortages-and-hype situation, if any, is going to be less impressive than the 360's, and time will tell whether it was a smart tradeoff, but it's not some kind of crazy gamble.
Price, long term. Anybody else expecting a price drop next spring? I wouldn't be suprised if they cut it to match whatever price the 360 is at by then. If they don't, yeah, it's probably gonna hurt them badly, but if the high price is just Sony planning around launch-day demand, then we can expect that they're not going to cede this area to Microsoft.
Crappy cheap version. For some gamers, the cheap version could actually be a good deal. In fact, I could imagine this being the case for a lot of people. No wireless IEEE? Statistically, only a tiny minority of console owners take them online in the first place- I think it was like four percent? Being limited to a 20GB hard drive probably isn't going to make a big difference for anyone- especially if you're one of the vast majority who aren't downloading any content. What's more, the hard drive thing, IMO, means the cheap PS3 is actually LESS crippled than the cheap 360.
The motion-sensor thing. I really think this is a bad move on Sony's part- but still, there are at least a couple ways this could work out for them. In the first scenario, Sony actually gets its motion-sensing shit together between now and launch. The controller still can't compete with the dedicated Wii controller that Nintendo spent so much time and money on developing, but if its basic functionality is solid, we could see ports of some Wii titles- at least, the ones that use the technology in fairly simple ways that the PS3 can emulate. The 360 would end up being the third wheel in this scenario, since everything on it that isn't exlusive (and Sony's probable exclusive properties are at least as strong as Microsoft's) is going to end up being ported to the PS3.
Second possible scenario? Sony's motion-sensing technology sucks ass but hurts Nintendo by confusing the market. Breathtakingly cynical and twisted if things do work out this way, of course, but what are you gonna do?.
You can sure tell who the fanboys are by the backpeddling they do.
d . Yeah the shortages are good for business, it builds hype, umm yeah. Oh by the way, do you know if Walmart has any 360s yet?"
... guys? Stop laughing already!"
Xbox Fanboy: "Uhh those shortages, it's going away next week. I heard they're bringing on another factory, I heard it myself from my sister's-boyfriend's-coworker's-friend-of-a-frien
Nintendo Fanboy: "Hey guys, it's just a name! Let's be mature now. The console itself hasn't changed. Guys
Sony Fanboy: "Actually, having two SKUs isn't that bad, it gives the consumer more choices, yeah that's it. And you don't REALLY need HDMI or WiFi or rumble-features. Oh, and the high price means that you'll really be proud once you finally afford that premium PS3! Blu-ray forever!"
-- jchenx