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SCEA President Hypes PS3 Shelf Life Over 360

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hype-from-sony-never dept.

kukyfrope writes "Sony Computer Entertainment America President Kaz Hirai recently talked to San Jose Mercury News about their upcoming console. His argument is that, by waiting to deliver Blu-Ray and performance hardware, even at a high price, the PS3 will be in greater standing than the Xbox 360 in the long run. Hirai also takes a cop-out on the amount of hype surrounding the PS3 hardware performance saying, 'It's all about the games. We all know that [...] This is a console that is here for the long haul and is not on a five-year cycle. Microsoft is coming out with an HD-DVD accessory for HD movies as an add-on only a year after they launched: that is exactly the kind of thing we don't want to do.'"

9 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. omg teh ps3 pwnzorz by PSXer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is possible for MS to start shipping 360s with HD-DVD (or Blu-Ray if they wanted to) built in if that's what the market decides is necessary, you know. Of course, they wouldn't be able to put games on the new format unless they wanted to say "screw you" to the previous 360 owners, but I doubt people would be saying "Xbox 360 sucks because its games are on DVD!"

    In six years, Blu-Ray will either still be a niche market, in which case the average person won't care, or it'll be popular enough that you can get players cheaper than the PS3.

    As for the PS3 being more powerful, even if true, it won't matter. Did anyone in the history of gaming say "I'm getting Xbox because it's more powerful than PS2"? Well, somebody probably did, but not many.

    As to which will have better games, guess we'll just have to wait and see which one attracts more devs in the long run.

    1. Re:omg teh ps3 pwnzorz by Babbster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It is possible for MS to start shipping 360s with HD-DVD (or Blu-Ray if they wanted to) built in if that's what the market decides is necessary, you know. Of course, they wouldn't be able to put games on the new format unless they wanted to say "screw you" to the previous 360 owners, but I doubt people would be saying "Xbox 360 sucks because its games are on DVD!"

      MS won't ship 360 games on HD-DVD for precisely the reason you give. And you're right that people won't dismiss 360 games because they're on DVD, but that's not really the point Sony's trying to drive home here. They're trying to push the idea that the PS3 is more "future-proof" than the 360 because of Blu-Ray. They're kind of right and kind of wrong.

      They're right in the sense that, yes, games continue to expand in size, so if the PS3 sticks around for more than 5 years then Blu-Ray's capacity advantage may shine.

      Where the theory goes wrong, however, is that it focuses entirely on the storage medium and ignores the rest of the system. If MS releases a followup console 4-5 years from now while Sony continues pushing the PS3, the new Xbox 1,440 (going with "720" is just boring) will, presumably, have a much more capable graphics solution and much greater processing capability (eight cores all running at 6GHz, or more). It would also contain a high-capacity disc drive which, by that time, will cost as much as a fast DVD-ROM drive does today. As a bonus, if the PS3 turns out to be successful at its high price point, MS will be able to charge more for their next console without setting a new pricing precedent.

      All that said, if folks actually believe that Sony won't have a PS4 hitting the market in 5-6 years, then they're more gullible than I think. :)

    2. Re:omg teh ps3 pwnzorz by Babbster · · Score: 4, Informative

      Considering that GTA:SA already filled an entire DVD on current-gen consoles...

      No, it really didn't. Admittedly, the only Xbox size I could find was a PAL version, but it was a whopping 2.85 GB. The NTSC version of GTA III was a whopping 733MB (even the Dreamcast GD-ROM could have accommodated that on one disc) and GTA:VC was 1.20GB. Relatively few games even made it past the first layer of DVD. It's no wonder that Microsoft didn't feel a next-gen disc drive was necessary for the 360.

  2. Own worst enemy... by hunterx11 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It would take Sony a hell of a lot not to wipe the floor with Microsoft, but if they aren't trying their damnedest to fail...

    --
    English is easier said than done.
  3. Shelf life... by suv4x4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    SCEA President Hypes PS3 Shelf Life Over 360

    XBOX 360 has pretty short shelf life: when they put it on the shelf, someone comes immediately and buys it (well, except Japan... yet). That will happen with the Wii too. That sucks for them having so short shelf life.

    But PS3 will have a great shelf life...

  4. Does it matter? by Clazzy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When Microsoft or Nintendo release a new console, Sony will have to anyway. People will move to the newer consoles because they'll have the impression that Sony isn't going with the times. Consoles nowadays seem to be released in cycles (i.e. N64, PS1, Saturn then Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox and PS2), and Sony will have to keep up with this regardless or risk losing fans.

    --
    If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate.
  5. "It's all about the games..." by CaseM · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why not remove the Blu-Ray and drop the price $200, then, genius?

  6. Blah blah... by suv4x4 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft is coming out with an HD-DVD accessory for HD movies as an add-on only a year after they launched: that is exactly the kind of thing we don't want to do.

    Stupid Microsoft, having to come out with an accessory just an year after they launched.

    Do as Sony does: they've not even launched yet.

  7. Re:Accessories usually don't go over so well. by EGSonikku · · Score: 3, Informative

    The difference is that those add-ons were *required* to play games specifically designed for them. In this case the HD-DVD add-on is soley for watching HD-DVD movies, games will still be DVD based. In the end all this really is is a way for people who own an Xbox 360 to get a cheap (compared to a standalone) HD-DVD player. Not buying it will not hinder game playing at all.

    --
    - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"