Slashdot Mirror
Still A Rough Road Ahead for the PlayStation 3
TobyToadstool writes "Despite the good news out of GDC last week, it still seems like Sony's new console has some image management to do. CNET says that the PlayStation 3 is 'the most unwanted console in recent memory' and asks 'why is the PS3 so undesirable?' They specifically question the company's wisdom in emphasizing the power of the console. Their impression is that this invites developers to neglect gameplay, in favour of investing in graphics. Likewise, Gamespot is running a piece suggesting ten ways to make the PS3 worth buying. A lower price is just one of the suggestions with exclusives, and the need for online standardization, following close behind. Looks like Sony still has its work cut out."
I stopped buying Sony after the rootkit fiasco. The quality of the PS3 became a non-issue at that point.
But even ignoring external considerations, the Wii is far more appealing than the PS3. It just seems... more fun. (I'm not going to comment on the Xbox. My sense of the hypothetical is not sufficiently advanced to encompass a world where I'm willing to buy from Microsoft).
Yeah.
The PS3 is probably used only slightly less than my cable box. It's a fantastic DVD player, media player, Blu-ray player, and game console. Once I got over the price, I took the plunge and grabbed it. It's on for a few hours every night, in either linux or crossbar.
What's really ironic is that Sony has made the most open console, and no one seems to want to mention this. If it weren't so expensive, we'd see an incredible surge of hack activity on the product. With a free and fairly good linux distro already available, the sky is really the limit. Not to mention that with a quick conversion it plays nearly any media I download. It also uses Bluetooth peripherals. No overpriced-piece-of-crap microphones or obnoxious cable adaptors. All my mice and keyboards already work with it.
What's most frustrating about being a PS3 owner is that everyone immediately assumes you've wasted your money. If you explain that the PS3 has been a terrific experience, they immediate assume you either: a) Don't have a Wii and are bitter or b) are a Sony shill.
At least Motorstorm is out now. When people come over and I beep on the PS3, their snide comments quickly fall off as they watch a few rounds. And I actually have people coming over to play VF5, which was the first time I had friends want to check out my PS3.
I hope with the upcoming price drop and Home (and Little Big World) on the way, Sony will get the PS3 back on track, because there really is a lot to like about it.
Slashdot. It's Not For Common Sense
Yeah, everyone pissed all over the PS2 when it came out because of stupid Sony execs over hyping the console, but when it launched most games looked worse than Dreamcast games, but it was more expensive.
Everyone I know, from average gamers to low-level systems programmers WANT a PS3. Badly. The gamers because they love the PS2 and all the great exclusives it had, and expect the PS3 to do the same, but with far better graphics. They don't follow gaming news quite enough to hear stupid quotes from various Sony execs, they're too busy playing Oblivion. Only problem is they can't afford the stupid thing, which is too bad since I know they'd go apeshit over Home.
The programmers I know want to play with the Cell, myself included. From everything I've heard, it's living up to the hype, even if you only get to play with 6 of the vector units on the PS3. It's also living up to the "pain in the ass to program" stories too, but that just makes some of us want to take a shot at it even more. But that's still not enough motivation to spend $500 - $600 to screw around with it, even though the programmers could afford it.
The PS3 is getting more and more exclusives every day (LittleBigPlanet, God of War 3 just got announced), and that's all it really needs now that they announced Home (and rumble too, I guess). The price really is the sticking point. I have a good friend who's a huge God of War fan, but there's no way in hell he's getting a PS3 in the next four years, he only got the PS2 last year. They won't be able to drop the price fast enough over the PS3's lifespan for it to ever approach PS2 sales numbers, but it can compete with the Xbox 360.