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PS3 Problems Parried
Via Joystiq, an article on Gaming Horizon defending the PS3 from its detractors. The article looks at a number of the biggest concerns about the system (price, HD, rumble, blu-ray), and attempts to explain why most of these problems are nothing to worry about. From the article: "As Sony is a company that manufactures HD-TVs, it's in their interest to add that compatibility to give consumers another reason to upgrade. There's various numbers about how long it'll take for HD to 'replace' standard-feed televisions (just as broadband has all but eliminated dial-up), but it's conceivable that HD televisions will become affordable during the PS3's lifecycle, and for those of us that have been blessed by the high-def gods, it's another reason to take advantage of the highest-quality visual equipment available."
Defend it all you want. That doesn't change the fact it's still gonna cost $600, which I don't have.
Future ruler of a small Asian-Pacific island
whether the PS3 rocks or not, it's still going to be niche. the niche being people with much more disposable income.
$600 for the system, $50 or so for a game, and $2000 for an HDTV if you want to get the most out of the system. thats quite a bit, even for me, and i have a lot of disposable income. the pricetag will turn off a lot of gamers who have control of their own fincances and find that they are too tight to splurge that much cash on a new game system.
Other than that, there is a real need for broadband, I mean a lot of people really feel the need broadband. But do people feel the need for HDTV? I don't think so, my point being that most people find the resolution of their TV to be good and just enough, actually many people don't see their screen good enough from where they usually watch it with the sight they have to be able to see a greater resolution than they do already.
In other words, according to me, HDTV == luxury. Not that nobody will pick it up when it becomes trully affordable tho, I just mean that nobody really feels the need for it.
You just got troll'd!
I hate how I see more and more people these days discussing the upgrade from 'Standard Definition' DVD's to HD-DVD (and the ilk) as being comparable to the upgrade from dialup to broadband, audio tape to CD or VHS to DVD.
The HD-DVD format doesn't bring many other new features to the table other than higher quality audio and video.
A more accurate comparison would push from VHS to SVHS (link). The SVHS medium did not offer many new features other than an increase in quality.
If anything, that only proved that consumers do not see value in a simple increase in quality.
Off topic, but it needed to be said.
the PlayStation 3 will be releasing in just a few months
Well I guess that depends where you live.
Spin, hype, hate, and fanboy adoration are quite typical in this business
True, but how often do you see such a large percentage of previous fanboys switch to being haters before the product even launches?
Decided to stop there because the rest of the article is very contradictory and they "point - counterpoint" themselves without my help. Example:
When defending the PS3 price they say well its got extra stuff like HDMI.
When defending why the base system won't support HDMI they say because people don't really need it.
Summarizing there a bit but thats how the rest of the article comes off.
"reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
I won't dispute this statement, but it's not enough. Just because an HDTV is affordable doesn't mean that a person is going to buy it. If a person needs to buy a new TV in 1-2 years, he will probably find that HDTV's are affordable. But very few people find themselves in this situation. Even when all OTA signals are DTV, he'll probably buy a converter box instead of a new TV. With the exception of my first TV, all of my home electronic purchases have been upgrades, and I only bought them because I had the extra cash. Very few people will ditch their regular TV just for a PS3.
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
Almost every one of their 'counter points' is just a canned fanboy response that doesn't make much sense. After reading this article I actually have less faith in the PS3 succeeding.
"Much as the inclusion of the DVD format may have pushed many gamers over the edge to purchase the PS2 ("Hey mom, it can play movies too!"), if Blu-Ray ends up edging-out the HD-DVD format, it's another quality that'll make the system more versatile, which is never a bad thing."
Comparing the DVD/PS2 upgrade to BlueRay/PS3 is completely different. DVD was a proven technology, provided MANY immediate consumer benefits (no rewinding, much higher resolution, much better sound, no media degridation, smaller format), and had no competing technology.
Sony really should of delayed BluRay, only around 10-20% of US households have a HDTV and even less care about HD gaming. With the advent of DVRs and media streaming just around the corner, I wouldn't be surprised if both HDDVD and BlueRay never take off. Media streaming provides the next immediate consumer benefit (no media to physically move around).
Sony putting BluRay in the PS3 will probably turn out to be the worst decision ever made in the companies history.
I read this, and I said, "WHA?! He wants it to cost MORE?!" The emphasis here should be placed on several hundred dollars, of which the PS3 is not. It is not several. It is a BUNDLE of hundred dollars. It is a multitude, or a plethora of hundreds of dollars, spent on a single item that demands other hundreds of dollars to be spent on upgrading the rest of one's entertainment system, to make the whole ordeal worthwhile. A video camera doesn't demand you upgrade your television, and upgrading your entertainment system usually gets you a whole lot more than a PS3.
Excuse me? I'm not a gamer because I don't happen to have 600 dollars lying around that I can throw at a game system when it launches? I'm not a gamer because I'm a college student, or perhaps I'm on a tight income? This disgusts me. It's a slap in the face.
Again, a sort of slap in the face, implying that anyone who liked the rumble feature is stupid. Also, way to sidestep the fact that the Wii gets you the response to direct actions on TOP of vibration. Must... resist... urge... to strangle... Sony fanboy...
Question sidestepped, and point completely missed. Every PS3 sold is a PS3 Sony hasn't made money on. If there's a shortage on launch day, Sony is not, somehow, making imaginary money on these systems not sold. The fact that the Wii will be releasing at the same time or earlier makes the whole thing even more dangerous. If someone can't get a PS3, what's to stop them from buying an 360 AND a Wii instead? Launch is vital. Plus, if Sony can't get their act together for launch, what's to say they can pull off their projected end of the year quotes anyway?
Really now? That's one I've never heard. DVD did well because of the PS2. If that's not the most fanboyish thing I've ever heard... next they'll be telling me that the PS2 contributed to the polio vaccine. DVDs succeeded because they were better than VHSes. They are more compact, last longer, easier to use (does anyone even remember having to rewind VHS tapes anymore?), cheaper... not because they happened to be compatible with the PS2.
HOW INTERESTING! All Launch games suck? So, Super Mario 64 sucked? You're going to tell me that Legend of Zelda:
No, Mr. Green. Communism is just a red herring.