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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."
It's not "unwanted", people just don't want to pay the price. I'm more than half the people out there who have decided not to get it have decided such because of price and not one of the other reasons listed in TFA.
I don't know if 10 or so years ago counts as recent memory, but IIRC, the Atari Jaguar was the most unwanted console that I can think of!
Doh!
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1) Wii > PS3
Bite my shiny metal ass.
I am billdar, and I approve this message.
I woulnt say its "the most unwanted console in recent memory". Its just too expensive for most casual gamers. Like the 3DO, Jaguar, and others it may be a great system but you need a large user base to survive.
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
No one thing is killing the PS3. Sony has screwed up on multiple fronts:
* no games. Can anyone who doesn't have a PS3 name two games currently available for it not available anywhere else?
* halfhearted online/multiplayer. The 360, MS device or no, has set the bar, and whether or not you think it's high enough, the PS3 doesn't come close to it.
* bad word of mouth. Hardcore gamers are turned off due to the lack of games and crappy multiplayer.
* marketing. What the HELL is with the PS3 ads? Sony thinks no one will ever use the full power of the console? Even to non-gamers, they sound clueless.
* nothing new. While the PS3 is technically the same generation as the 360 and Wii, what is it offering that they don't? The 360 does HD (which doesn't only mean 1080p, so don't start) and has solid online chops. The Wii is retro, uses a new controller scheme, and is accessible for non-gamers. The only thing the PS3 does well so far is HD, and the difference between it and the 360's HD is practically subjective.
The price, frankly, is retardedly high. Without anything new or awesome games, a console that's 50% higher than its nearest competitor isn't going to sell.
However, this isn't necessarily how it's always going to be. Sony can still save their baby by correcting these screwups, and gamers want the PS3 to be cool because they want awesome games. Maybe in two years we'll all own PS3s and laugh at the thought that one day we openly scorned the chunky thing.
"Honey, it's not working out; I think we should make our relationship open-source."
As can be seen here http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/09 Sony have just unveiled two big new draws for the PS3. I think the price is still prohibitively high, but I think gradually they'll manage to grow the userbase if they can keep releasing stuff like this.
"Everlasting peace will come to Earth when the last man kills the last but one." - Adolf Hitler
you buy one first!
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Problem is, they're not here yet: Gran Turismo 5, and the new installments of GTA, Zone of Enders, Final Fantasy, Metal gear Solid, and other great PSX franchises. I have no interest in the 360, and while I think the Wii is fun as hell, it's the PS3 that will get all the good high-end Japanese games from Konami, Square/Enix, and the like.
In the meantime, I'm kicking back and enjoying Guitar Hero/GHII with occasional progress on completing Gran Turismo 4.
I've built up so much character I have an alter-ego
...then emo teens across America should be buying them up like hotcakes. FINALLY, someone who understands! and he plays reasonably entertaining video games too!!
Hot topic should have spotted the niche in the market long ago...
I'm puzzled as to why it's not more popular. I heard you can attack Giant Enemy Crabs at their weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE.
Also, it has real-time weapon switching! Take that Wii Remote!
Why, yes I have been touched by His noodly appendage. And I plan to sue.
According to Sony, it's because their Supply Chain Management is very good. For some unknown reason, that doesn't explain the low-market share though. I'm sure their PR department will think of a better excuse next time. Maybe not.
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
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.
Get us a game worth playing, and we'll want to buy it.
Should be a no-brainer.
Maybe Sony should try to hire some people from Nintendo. Nintendo has to have somebody with a clue who thinks that powerful hardware would be nice to run a good game on.
is competition good, or is duplication of effort bad?
Seriously guys, get a life; the competition in the console market between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo is not a battle between good and evil...or good, neutral and evil; it's a competition between competing systems to get you to buy their system for money. This is about business, these aren't competing political ideologies or antyhing; just high-tech toys for both grown-ups and children. Buy the system that has what you want (both in terms of games and hardware features) and don't worry about the company behind it. None of these companies cause genocides or anything like that. As for the article itself, I'd say that the PS3 really isn't doing that badly; the idea that it is is really just hype, it's not selling as well as the Wii, that's true, but the generation is young.
Nintendo really took the correct approach by concentrating on gameplay, and not pure technical chops. The Wii is just fun to play for everyone in the family: from my 9yo niece to my 80yo grandmother.
I've been looking for additional Wii consoles for people at work, and they're really hard to find (I'm not paying inflated prices on eBay, sorry.) A PS3, on the other hand, I could pick up pretty much anytime.
Chip H.
Sony felt that they owned the video game market. They should have seen the first signs when the Nintendo DS dominated the Sony PSP. Just as Nintendo became arrogant and thought they would own the console market forever, Sony will feel the harsh penalty of hubris themselves.
Sony decision to include the BluRay drive was based on the belief that PS2 owners would flock to the stores to buy anything with Playstation on the name. No matter the cost. And yet PS3s sit on store shelves, gathering dust. Greed is the irrational pursuit of money. Businesses are about the pursuit of money, but in order to be successful they have to balance their desire with common sense. Sony became greedy and lost their common sense.
Anyone who talks how many great Sony exclusives will be available, is clearly deluded. Sony exclusive after exclusive is going to the Xbox 360 as well (Assassin's Creed, Virtual Fighter 5, Armored Core 4). Big games released on both consoles (Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, F.E.A.R., GRAW 2) are being released months ahead of time on the Xbox 360 before being released on the PS3. There are credible rumors of Metal Gear Solid 4 being released on the Xbox 360 and Final Fantasy is getting kind of tired. God of War 3 and Grand Turismo 5 will be in development for years. Motorstorm is a racing game in one environment and Resistance:Fall of Man has to hold off Gears of War, Lost Planet and Halo 3 on its own. What will the PS3 have available for Christmas 2007 that isn't being released on the Xbox 360?
The PS3 will not only have to face the wrath of the 360, but it will face the vicious tide of the Nintendo Wii. Half the price. Proper motion sensing with rumble. The Wii is an elegant fighter with not an ounce of fat against the bloated husk of the Playstation 3. Released at the same time as the PS3, the Wii has sold over 3 times as many consoles.
Disclaimer: I'm easily twice the age of the average Slashdotter.
We just (finally) got our hands on the Nintendo Wii. We'd bought it for our daughter; but after just trying the Wii Sports... I am completely blown away. As some of you will probably point out, the graphics only go to 480P; but actually playing it - you really feel like this is the next generation of how home gaming systems. It just seems so amazing.
It seems to me like Sony AND Microsoft, going with HD versions of the same old thing (and yes, I have seem the 360 on an HD television), have totally missed the boat. Nintendo bet heavily on being innovative, and they've scored big time. But Sony has, in addition to missing the boat, decided to shoot itself in the foot a few times for good measure.
#DeleteChrome
I'm not done...
Fast forward to November. Nintendo knocks of $50 from the Wii and launches a new marketing campaign, showing off upcoming games in all their "impossible on any other system" glory. Kids all over the US and Europe *continue to* beg their parents for a Wii. Parents cave because they want one too.
If you take into account just one of the following:
$50 x 4 years = $200
HD-DVD drive = $200
Wireless Adapter = $100
Base cost of of the XBox 360 20GB = $400
Base cost of PS3 base = $500
Not to mention the PS3 has better backwards compatibility, less hardware failures, less noisy.
This will probably be modded overrated, considering the huge numbers of Microsoft fanboy mods.
What the fuck are you smoking?
The PS3 is the only one of the three that doesn't have region coding.
What could be better than a jet powered motorcycle? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8l6GTHLSWE
Around here (Canada) you still can't find the 20GB model anywhere and the 60GB model is $700.
At that price your market is a small group of early adopters.
Other than that. The console is fine, lots of power for years to come, next generation outputs, Blu Ray. Lots of good stuff that makes it lasting in the market.
Sony marketing/PR is done by absolute morons but still that really doesn't matter. In the end it comes down to price.
The last console I bought was Coleco Vision, but I am thinking of getting one of these when they get cost reduced a bit.
Fast forward to November.
XBox 360 is going for $50, and comes with a free voucher to upgrade your home PC to Vista.
Nintendo Wii comes to market with a range of Hentai games and new uses for the Wiimote.
Kids beg Dad for one of each.
Dad tells them they are getting a cluster of PS3's instead, because Dad has finally mastered SPU coding using gcc, and reckons he has found a way to crack Fermat's last theorum, entirely bypassing the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture, and involving a hitherto unheard of non-euclidean approach !! (if only he had acess to the CPU grunt).
Kids know better than to argue with Dad when he gets that gleam in his eyes.
1: Rumble
One reason I play my PS2 more than my PS3.
2: Media management
More visualizations, browsing etc
3: multi-tasking
There is no excuse for forcing me to wait for a download to finish to continue browsing.
4: Guitar Hero controller
Another reason I play the PS2 more than PS3.
5: Fun multi-player games
Why I play my friend's Wii more than my PS3.
6: Full access to hardware under linux
A major reason I bought the PS3, and the reason I haven't bothered installing yet.
There's more, but I'm tired.
-John Fenley
A friend in europe who wanted to buy one tried and couldnt, turns out his local store sold out of PS3... 5x over. Between 1 and 2 million units going to Europe yet demand is expected to match 5million units. Seems people think its desirable. Blurays latest sale figures (thats sale not counting the freebies sony sent out) is showing Bluray is growing faster than DVD did. With direct comparison of dual titles showing people buy BD 2x over HDDVD, seems people find that desirable. Once again a PS3 title is in the #1 spot in japan, once again... seems like people find it desirable. The only people who seem to have issues with the PS3 is GameSpot, not to surprising when you see their forums are filled with outrage over their constant PS3 slagging. Is the PS3 perfect? Nope, not even close but with europes demand passing 15x that of the Wii id say a few people want them.
- Story is about the PS3 CHECK!
- Story is negative CHECK!
- Story has a childish tag CHECK!
- Story is submitted by Zonk CHECK!
- Zonk is still an editor here CHECK!
As far as I can see, the *other* main reason the ps3 is facing lukewarm reception is because sony has totally dominated the last 2 generations with the ps1 and ps2, and it's "cool" to be different and back the underdog.
I know i'll be buying one once the price is appropriate.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.