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80 Gig PS3 For South Korea, Slow April for Sony

The South Koreans are about to see the PlayStation 3 launched in their nation, and they're getting a treat the rest of the world will have to wait on: a PS3 with an 80 gig hard drive. Meanwhile, NPD numbers show that the company's games division suffered greatly during April, likely as a result of few titles released during that month. "Though the company saw a bump in PSP sales, Nintendo DS continues to curb stomp the portable PlayStation. More disappointing, however, must have been seeing PlayStation 3 decline in sales of almost 50,000 units between March and April ... If April was tough, May looks bleaker. Karraker wouldn't speculate on sales, but outside of MLB 07: The Show's release at the end of April, there are no first-party releases coming to PS3 in May. In fact, there are only two May PS3 games period: Surf's Up and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Both are multi-platform releases."

145 comments

  1. And yet... by Talgrath · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sony's stock overall just hit a five year high due to their exceeding sales in other departments. Wonder if that 80 GB PS3 will come over here? Guess it doesn't matter that much, as you can purchase your own drives to put in the PS3.

    1. Re:And yet... by Lalakis · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sony's stock overall just hit a five year high due to their exceeding sales in other departments.

      That's not really correct. Sony's stock raised after the electronics maker forecast a six-fold jump in annual profit on sales of LCD TVs and expectations for smaller losses in its game division.
      Reuters article here

    2. Re:And yet... by donaldm · · Score: 1

      Actually 60GB to 80GB is not that much but looking at the 60GB to 20GB which is now defunct and not available in EU, UK, Australia and New Zealand it is unlikely that the US much less the world sees the 80GB PS3 anytime soon. In many ways this is not that much of a big deal. If you want a larger PS3 disk then go out an buy a 120GB or 160GB notebook drive and replace your PS3's disk with it then put the PS3's 60GB drive in a slimline case as a portable drive. You have win-win situation here.

      The reason why I don't suggest a 200GB notebook drive is it much slower 4000 rpm compared to 5400 rpm and much more expensive.

      Of course you could get a 320GB to 750GB or bigger drive (7200 rpm or better) and connect it to the PS3 via the USB connector. It is external but you can store a lot of data. Of course we now come to the problem of how you back this up.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  2. Console News by MankyD · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What I've found interesting is that I've been reading a lot of news about upcoming PS3 releases recently, (not necessarily releases coming this month of course.) Conversely, it seems that news about the Wii have been tapering off - certainly from what the volume when it was first released. xbox360 news seems to have been holding steady.

    This is, of course, an entirely subjective observation. Anyone care to corroborate or counter what I've noticed?

    --
    -dave
    http://millionnumbers.com/ - own the number of your dreams
    1. Re:Console News by wframe9109 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Given the recent Sony event, this seems obvious.

      However: Nintendo announced its (and a few 3rd party titles as well) Summer release schedule, and during this or before (I've forgotten) we found that Smash Bros, Galaxies, and Metroid are still set to ship this year :D

    2. Re:Console News by maynard · · Score: 1

      I have a PS3 and a 360. On the PS3 side, there's not a single game I like. I didn't even enjoy Resistance. However, it's a great BD player. Still glad I bought it. But the 360 has the games. I just bought Command and Conquer 3 and _it rocks_. And, of course, there's Dead Rising and Gears to keep me entertained too.

      Sony better get their game on or they're gonna get trounced.

    3. Re:Console News by HappySqurriel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The reduction in scope of E3 (and delaying it until later in the year) has had an unintended consequence of every major publisher doing their own micro conference in May to release information about the second half of the year.

      Sony did their Gamer's Day press conference last week (or the week before, I really can't remember) and many third parties joined in on releasing a lot of information about upcomming PS3/PSP games ... There was something like 40 games announced with details being released over the days following the conference.

      Nintendo is doing a very similar conference today and tomorow and will (likely) have a similar number of titles announced.

      Even without new titles, if you check out release dates the Wii has roughly the same number of titles announced until the end of the year as the PS3. The main difference is the Wii has far (FAR) more titles being released before September than the PS3 does; it is hypothetically possible that the Wii's (post september) line-up will grow at Nintendo's conference, E3 and TGS until it is far greater than the PS3's (post september) line-up.

    4. Re:Console News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Even without new titles, if you check out release dates the Wii has roughly the same number of titles announced until the end of the year as the PS3."

      Yeah, a whole bunch of last gen ports with some waggle tacked on...

      Not only is the third party Wii library a joke but the big first party titles like Metroid are looking like crap. No wonder the only thing you hear from Wii owners is my Wii is gathering dust and I haven't touched the thing in months.

      Give the bullshit a rest troll.

    5. Re:Console News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow I dont like to feed the trolls but making fun of some one for liking a certain game is very 5year old'ish. I could understand if it was Hello Kitty Island Adventure but gears of war is fun. I dont know many people that dont like it much (there are a few) but overall its got positive reviews. Then saying he is jealous of the PS3??? Of what? its massive failure? Lack of games? Shitty SHITTY GPU (ask any dev working on the PS3, it simply can't handle the poly count of the 360's GPU) Now I dont own either systems (i do have a friends 360 right now though) and this isn't to say the 360's without its weaknesses. In terms of raw CPU power from the devs I talk to the CORE has them beat. But you have to untangle the web of vector cores to truly unlock the power. My friend said it was a tough learn, but once you can use vector processors they are great!

      Personally I try to keep an open mind and not bash either console but when I go to EBgames I just dont see a single title on the PS3 i want (EXCLUSIVE title that is). Even the games that may push me to buying a PS3 are no longer exclusive. GTA4 for example is a huge loss for Sony. The GTA series was the only reason I bought a PS2. Now we all now about the ONE-SIDED story on slashdot a few weeks ago where if you read the actual article, the rockstar rep said BOTH systems have their problems with GTA4 (the summary only said the 360 was limited....). Anyways not going to act 5 and call you a "loser" but when you take a post, take a single point of many (HE DID MENTION OTHER GAMES) and just bash him, and the system on a single game it doesn't exactly make you stand out as the brightest light on the block. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and apparently you hate Gears of War, and feel that there is a strong reason to like the PS3 (but you didn't give any reasons...). If you are going to bash a certain position, give your own or it comes off as trollish. You did have some valid points about areas where Gears of War could have been improved, but instead of just stating you felt that the game was overrated, you acted 5 and had your point completely lost in a mass of gibberish.

    6. Re:Console News by HappySqurriel · · Score: 1

      Yeah, a whole bunch of last gen ports with some waggle tacked on...

      Not only is the third party Wii library a joke but the big first party titles like Metroid are looking like crap. No wonder the only thing you hear from Wii owners is my Wii is gathering dust and I haven't touched the thing in months.

      Give the bullshit a rest troll.


      Poor Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll ...

      You used to at least talk about how great the PS3 was before you bashed the Wii, have things gotten so dark for the PS3 that even you can't see the bright spots?

      I miss the days where you used to hype unknown properties as the second comming, and talk about how the power of the Cell was a better product than the Wiimote ...
    7. Re:Console News by maynard · · Score: 1

      He's just a shitty troll. A good troll wouldn't have used hot words like "xbot" or written such a long and convoluted post. Sad, really. The anti-trolling efforts at /. have driven away the funny trolls, leaving us with nothing to laugh at but the lamest of the lame.

      Here's to a Naked and Petrified Natalie Portman, along with a bowl of hot grits!

    8. Re:Console News by LKM · · Score: 1

      This is due to the Sony event where they announced about 30 (I think) games. It does not correspond with reality.

      (Yes, I own both, but there's no question the Wii is getting much more developer love at the moment)

    9. Re:Console News by LKM · · Score: 1

      Yeah, who at Sony do I have to contact in order to get paid to spam Slashdot? Personally, I think I'm predestined for the job. I think my lies and "arguments" would be much more coherent than your stupid ramblings.

    10. Re:Console News by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Can you blame the news makers?

      For 360 - only thing remotely interesting is Halo 3

      For Wii - you'll be getting the much awaited "operating room" & "learn to cook with mum" or whatever they're called...

      --
      This is blinging
    11. Re:Console News by Thwomp · · Score: 1

      Hi, I thought it would be interesting to plug the consoles into Google Trends. See what you think.

    12. Re:Console News by jamar0303 · · Score: 1

      If I had the money I'd go for the PS3. I totally want to play Railfan. Yes, it's a train sim, and yes, I want to try it. It's the first Japanese train sim to feature an American transport line (Chicago subway Brown line) and it's got helicopter fly-by views. But, only have the money for a Wii and I'm happy with the Densha de Go Shinkansen version.

      --
      OSx86 FTW
    13. Re:Console News by bateleur · · Score: 1

      Wow, that Japan regional result is pretty striking.

      Also of some interest is what happens when you replace PS3 with PS2.

  3. Price + Lack of games by wframe9109 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sony wouldn't have such a huge problem if they could back the vicious cycle they are within.

    1.) Console too expensive to justify buying given lack of games.
    2.) Less consumers adopt PS3.
    3.) Developers see gamers going to other platform, eliminate exclusives.
    4.) Repeat (1), removing PS3 exclusives gone multi-platform from equation.

    Wii By a landslide, 360 with a strong following, PS3 in a small niche. All will have some great games, but Sony will get some much deserved humiliation.

    1. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I think the Wii will probably slow down. The problem with the Wii isn't actually with the Wii. It is with the third party developers that are now targeting it. They are going to make games that are worthless compared to what Nintendo puts out. This will make people buy less third party Wii games (and indeed, since more Wii owners are casual, they will buy less games per console). Third party developers will run back to Sony since they don't have to compete with Nintendo and the people who own a PS3 are going to buy more games per console.

      Also, the Wii will probably have to have a shorted lifecycle than the PS3. It just doesn't have the power for AI or graphics. While those elements don't have anything to do with fun...a lot of developers do want to have more capability and the Wii is going to be limited to more casual games. This isn't a criticism of the Wii...I am glad Nintendo viewed next gen as how you control the game and that MS and Sony viewed next gen as power and HD. I just think the Wii is going to lose steam as soon as third party vendors realize they won't sell as many games on the Wii and that they are limited by the older hardware. And this isn't really speculation...this has happened on every Nintendo console (i.e. Third parties peform poorly compared to first party games in sales more than on other platforms)

      As a side note, I find it interesting how many people love the Wii on here compared to the gamers I know in real life. A lot of them don't like the Wii because they feel the controller isn't responsive enough. Most don't want one and are happy with just their 360. The PS3 has nothing worth buying it for so they just mainly 360 and PC game. Maybe my friends are in the minority or maybe posts that don't claim Wii as the second coming of christ just don't get modded up!

      --
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    2. Re:Price + Lack of games by 7Prime · · Score: 1, Interesting

      No shit the Wii will have a short lifecycle, but you say that as if it's a bad thing.

      Two years from now, we'll be treated to a WiiHD (or whatever) that's just as powerful as the PS3 and 360, but at half the cost.

      You really think the Wii was MADE to last for 8-12 years, like the 360 and PS3? By the time Sony is financially able to justify a PS4, we'll be on Nintendo's 3rd console of the generation... guess who'll have the huge graphic-to-price advantage, then?

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    3. Re:Price + Lack of games by wframe9109 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think the third party theory has pretty much been debunked. Third party titles of outstanding quality sell deservedly well for the most part. It's up to the third party to develop a quality title, that is also appealing.

      Some Nintendo games have totally flopped, but typically they do well, because typically, they are high quality games.

      I'm 99.9% sure I remember hearing third parties happy with their sales on the Wii this past holiday...

      Anyhow, I do agree that it's debatable whether the Wii will continue to steam roll the competition. My guess is that it will, but I am less sure than guessing about the PS3 placing a distant 3rd (given the 360's installed base, cheaper price, comparable hardware, comparable exclusives, etc. etc.)

      Personally, I haven't been using mine mcuh recently (barring drunken weekends), but this comes with the territory when you are dealing with a first year console during the spring/early summer draught.

      PS: On a side note, you discuss processing power and implications to AI. Do you know of any titles that would be limited in AI due to the Wii's processing? I can't think of any, and always had my doubts about AI being a bullet behind the pros of better hardware. Better theoretical AI maybe :-P

    4. Re:Price + Lack of games by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 1

      Now, if one is a 3rd party game developer, pondering what platform to support, what would one draw from that?

      I love the Wii, and am not interested in getting a PS3. But if/when I did get a PS3, I would bulk up my library with PS3 titles for the next several years. I'm probably going to be happy with a pretty small library of Wii games. Kudos to Nintendo for thinking about play-experience over game-as-media, resulting in a product that's more, erm, fun, but that's not going to spur a lot of 3rd party development. Ultimately, the finest games of the next 10 years may still turn out to be made for the PS2 or Xbox360 (or, as an outside chance, the PC!)

    5. Re:Price + Lack of games by vux984 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They are going to make games that are worthless compared to what Nintendo puts out.

      Do you mean to say that Nintendo is going to have the best games?? I hardly think that will cause the Wii to slow down.

      I just think the Wii is going to lose steam as soon as third party vendors realize they won't sell as many games on the Wii and that they are limited by the older hardware.

      If the Wii becomes the dominant console nobody is going to abandon it. Look at how quickly 3rd parties took notice of wii and ramped up wii game production once it became obvious that it was selling far beyond expectations. They didn't all leak their brains out and forget that competing on nintendo means competing with nintendo... they KNOW what they're dealing with. They've got the same history you do.

      But they know that supporting the dominant console will pay off.

      and the people who own a PS3 are going to buy more games per console.

      Only relevant if they buy enough more to make up for the fact that there are less of them.

      (And if the games are 'worthless' compared to what nintendo releases, I'd hope even a PS3 owner would stay the hell away from them.)

      As for limited by the older hardware? The ONLY situation that is going to affect is that it gets even harder to make lousy multi-platform ports on the cheap. Losing the 'Lousy ports' isn't going to harm the platform.

      Also, the Wii will probably have to have a shorted lifecycle than the PS3. It just doesn't have the power for AI or graphics.

      By that logic the Honda civic should have been discontinued by now. And why does anyone buy a handheld when all they do is let us play last generation games technology? Seriously. Yes, its 'limiting', but entertainment value per dollar is high. As long as that can be sustained the system will do well.

      Just look at the popularity of the virtual console.

      I find it interesting how many people love the Wii on here compared to the gamers I know in real life.

      Comparing the /. audience to 'gamers' is a little goofy don't you think. There's a lot of us here on slashdot that aren't 'gamers', but who enjoy games.

      so they just mainly 360 and PC game

      Seems pretty redundant to buy two boxes for that.

      And furthermore, if your own 'real world group' has already self-selected into 'gamers who play 360 + PC games' do you really think THEY are representative of the larger audience for the Wii?

    6. Re:Price + Lack of games by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      Possibly... the PS2s library suddenly became amazing in the last year or so, before that, I was actually pretty discontent with it. But at the 11th hour, they proved to have one of the absolutely strongest libraries of any console in history, with maybe only the SNES and POSSIBLY the PS1 ahead. The XBox360 is starting to look mighty good right now, and this coming from an old guard PS2 and GameCube/Wii fan. But I'm really excited about the Wii games coming out, especially the new Chrystal Chronicals, which, unlike the first, is looking to be a masterpiece. I'm not even as interested in FF13 as I am in this new action RPG. I've got hopes for MP3 (though I've got my reservations after MP2 and MPH), and Brawl is looking to be a gem. NiGHTS is also going to be stellar.

      On the 360 end, I'm mostly looking at jRPGs... Eternal Sonata, especially... but also Lost Odyssey. I'm just hoping we get some jRPG love on the Wii... especially a Tales game.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    7. Re:Price + Lack of games by AlXtreme · · Score: 1

      PS: On a side note, you discuss processing power and implications to AI. Do you know of any titles that would be limited in AI due to the Wii's processing? I can't think of any, and always had my doubts about AI being a bullet behind the pros of better hardware. Better theoretical AI maybe :-P

      All I know is that the AI in Wii Sports Tennis still beats the crap out of me. Probably has more to do with me sucking, though.


      But seriously, AI in games indeed isn't where all the cycles go into. It's the graphics. Building an engine capable of rendering an additional quadrillion vertexes will always be an easier way to waste extra cycles than coming up with AI that seems remotely intelligent. The Wii proves that nicer graphics != more fun, no matter what your clockspeed is.

      --
      This sig is intentionally left blank
    8. Re:Price + Lack of games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So hes dumb for saying that the lack of sales is leading to a lack of exclusives which is a cycle that leads to less sales? Who cares if its been said before, or maybe even common sense to some people. Its a very valid point and is that not the point of the commenting system? Not everyone is like you, sits here 23hours a day hitting F5. People miss stories, miss comments, and some of us here dont mind posts that reiterate things said before. Go post your story about owning a record store and losing money k? (I have a feeling you are the same troll thats dominated this article's comments with Sony Fanboyism). Try keeping an open mind and understanding different consoles appeal to different people (not everyone has 700bucks to drop on a console, it doesn't mean it sucks).

    9. Re:Price + Lack of games by nomadic · · Score: 1

      You really think the Wii was MADE to last for 8-12 years, like the 360 and PS3? By the time Sony is financially able to justify a PS4, we'll be on Nintendo's 3rd console of the generation... guess who'll have the huge graphic-to-price advantage, then?

      Hell yes it was made to last that long. Nintendo is notorious for trying to spin its consoles as not requiring an upgrade for a very long while. Nintendo longs for the days of the NES and Game Boy, where they could just sit back and collect the licensing fees without having to spend money on R&D. It hasn't worked out for them, and one of the reasons their last two consoles before the Wii had mediocre sales performance was because they insist on staying a step behind graphically, and think they can make up for it by being "fun". They succeeded this generation, but they'll inevitably mess it up down the road (not slamming Nintendo specifically here, nobody can bat 1000).

      And before people start whining about me being some sort of PS3 fanboy, I do not own a PS3 and can't see myself owning one anytime soon. Hell, I never even got a PS2. I'm just a gamer with a long memory who remembers the things Nintendo tried to pull.

    10. Re:Price + Lack of games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhh... the gamecube was more powerful than the PS2, and the N64 was more powerful than the PS1(just had less storage)... Hell, even the SNES was a wash...

      This is the first console where Nintendo hasn't tried to compete on power and you try and spin it like it's a pattern. Why?

    11. Re:Price + Lack of games by ClamIAm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Third party developers will run back to Sony since they don't have to compete with Nintendo

      So are you saying Sony doesn't develop any games in-house? Because that's completely wrong. Sony's had over 10 years to grow their development teams (and buy other ones), and they've certainly done that. A cursory glance over their franchise list proves this point handily. So while you are correct that running from a Nintendo platform will free you from "competing" with Nintendo, it also means that you'll end up competing with the parent company of the platform you choose to run to.

      the people who own a PS3 are going to buy more games per console.

      Care to cite a source, or are you just assuming "PS3 costs more, thus rich people will buy it"? If it's the latter, that's a pretty tenuous argument, at best.

    12. Re:Price + Lack of games by Phisbut · · Score: 1

      So are you saying Sony doesn't develop any games in-house? Because that's completely wrong. Sony's had over 10 years to grow their development teams (and buy other ones), and they've certainly done that. A cursory glance over their franchise list proves this point handily.

      I looked at the franchise list you pointed to, and I didn't find a single franchise that has remotely the same glamour or popularity as Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon, Kirby and Donkey Kong. Competing against Sony with those franchise certainly sounds easier than competing against Nintendo with Mario.

      --
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      - The Tao of Programming
    13. Re:Price + Lack of games by Floritard · · Score: 1

      That's really not fair. Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981. Sony didn't even break into the video game business until 1994 with the original PSX. That is a lot of time to grow up with your gamers. Think of all the various iterations that Mario and co. have gone through, we've literally seen them grow up, from tiny pixel glyphs to full-fledged, hi-poly 3D characters. I think Sony has done a pretty good job of 1st party development, certainly better than Microsoft, although the same late-starter argument could hold there I suppose.

      There is a certain solemnity in Sony's games, but that doesn't make ICO or Shadow of the Colossus any less a masterpiece. And where is Okami on that list anyway?

    14. Re:Price + Lack of games by ivan256 · · Score: 0

      but Sony will get some much deserved humiliation.


      The mental image that goes along with that is a Halo avatar tea-bagging a PS3.... Which reminds me why I hope you're wrong.

      If Microsoft doesn't get their quality issues straightened out, you'll be *very* wrong. You're probably wrong anyway, because this generations numbers already look really different when you compare ((units shipped) - (units in retail stock) - (units broken)) instead of the usual (units shipped). Also because the 360 has failed in Japan, where a huge percentage of games come from; thus destroying your vicious cycle theory.
    15. Re:Price + Lack of games by steveo777 · · Score: 1

      I honestly wonder how successful Crystal Chronicles could be. The GC version was... okay, but the music and game play is extremely repetitive and I can no longer play the game for more than 10 minutes unless with friends. Even then, it is difficult because the spell casting mechanics are very awkward. If the Wii version simplifies this, and includes a better soundtrack then I'm sure to enjoy it.

      --
      This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
    16. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Ah, so much to respond to. Yes, Nintendo makes the best games for Nintendo consoles. This has always been true and part of the reason why third parties do so poorly on their systems. Just look at the Gamecube.

      Yes, third parties see the Wii as selling well so they get a bunch of people who don't know crap about making games on the Wii and put them on the project. At least initially, the third party games are going to be horrible since they ignored the Wii before and don't have experience making games with the controller. Yeah, they have the same history as I do, but funny how greed make corporations make the same mistakes over and over again.

      Consoles != handhelds. It is a stupid analogy. You can't fit a current consoles power in the palm of your hand. In order to play games on a handheld, they have to be last gen (or last last gen) because you can't make a portable as powerful as current gen yet. I think it will have a shorter lifecycle because the limitations of the console just become more pronounced as time goes on (compared to the 360 and PS3). It isn't an insult or something, it is just logical.

      I am talking about gamers. A lot of Slashdotters are gamers. I don't know about you, but I don't distinguish between the two. You may be talking about casual gamers, but that isn't what all Slashdotters are.

      Seems pretty redundant to buy two boxes for that.

      That statement is pure flambait and false to boot. Grow up.

      --
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    17. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 1

      The more complicated the AI, the more processing it requires. This isn't a big deal when you are dealing with one AI...but add multiple AIs and it quickly becomes difficult. At a certain point, the Wii is going to have to have simpler AI or less AI in the field at one time or it will have issues (this only matters on cross platform titles). To site an example, the developer of Spore blasted the Wii for this. He felt the lack of power on the Wii handcuffed his ability to make the game the way he wanted.

      This isn't really a huge deal...the Wii doesn't need super AI to have fun games. Cross platform titles will have to either dumb down their games for the Wii or not take advantage of the power of the 360 and the PS3. Not really a problem though...most Wii games are going to be exclusive due to the vastly different controller. The game may have the same title, but will be different in many respects.

      --
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    18. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 1

      Actually, no, I didn't say it as a bad thing. It just seemed logical to me. I like all three systems. Unlike you, I don't have some overwhelming bias that makes me stupid.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    19. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 1

      Actually, there was an article on Slashdot awhile back...it talked about this but I am not finding it right now. I'll try to explain the logic though.

      1) The Wii appeals to more casual gamers. Casual gamers, by definition, are ones that don't play games as much. They also tend not to buy many games. In fact, a lot of them would be happy just with Wii Sports and not even pick up another titile. On the other hand, PS3 gamers tend to me more "hardcore". They buy multiple games a year. This has nothing to do with wealth...more with the type of gamer.

      2) Nintendo makes fantastic games and people know it. That means a lot of the people who buy multiple games will be buying games made by Nintendo instead of third party games. Obviously, fantastic third party games will do well. But lesser quality third party games sell better on non-Nintendo systems because they don't have to compete with Nintendo.

      Yes, Sony has first party developers...but none with the reputation of Nintendo. The one closest is Square Enix, but it seems they will be developing a lot more cross-platform games for this gen so you can't really count them anymore.

      I hope that explains things a little better. People on here are so afraid of someone saying something negative about the Wii. I just don't get it. The fact is I am saying something positive. That Nintendo makes the best games out there and third party titles have trouble competing. In the long run this may hurt their console sales...but who cares? They are already making profit from the console so even if they sell less consoles they will be still very successful financially (see Gamecube).

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    20. Re:Price + Lack of games by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      The Wii version is absolutely NOTHING like the original GC game. They already had a interview with some of the guys at S-E, and the details suggested that it would be an almost 180 degree change from the first: completely different style, non-repeatitive gameplay, a fully, epic story, no "pot". The way it was described made it sound like a cross between Zelda and Skies of Arcadia, when I heard that... I had to put on a new pare of pants.

      The DS version looks to be slightly more similar, but again, no pot, smaller areas, and non-repeatitive story.

      I honestly didn't have a huge problem with the soundtrack... most of the dungeon music wasn't really there, but what WAS there was actually quite good. I really loved the intro theme, basically taking the traditional Uematsu-esque style, and giving it a Celtic spin... and doing it in a non-offensive, non-Mitsuda/Horner-esque sorta way.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    21. Re:Price + Lack of games by vux984 · · Score: 1

      You can't fit a current consoles power in the palm of your hand. In order to play games on a handheld, they have to be last gen (or last last gen) because you can't make a portable as powerful as current gen yet.

      That isn't the point. The point is there is a thriving market for games made using 'last gen' and 'last last gen' technology. Game companies can thrive in any environment.

      I am talking about gamers. A lot of Slashdotters are gamers. I don't know about you, but I don't distinguish between the two. You may be talking about casual gamers, but that isn't what all Slashdotters are.

      Precisely. Your talking about 'gamers'. A lot of people on slashdot aren't gamers at all, nevermind casual gamers. And on the flipside, a lot of gamers have never heard of slashdot. The two groups aren't one in the same.

      Yeah, they have the same history as I do, but funny how greed make corporations make the same mistakes over and over again.

      Yeah, shitty 3rd party movie tie-ins and so forth will always make a buck, and they'll always be with us. As will "[insert sport] [insert year]" But many of the best 3rd party games that came out for the PS2 could just as easily have come out for the cube. If the Wii is the front runner this generation there's every reason to expect the best of the 3rd party efforts will make an appearance on Wii.

      That statement is pure flambait and false to boot.

      Flamebait? Yes. It was obvious that it would be a soft spot for you. Sorry I couldn't resist poking it.
      But false? Only in terms of game exclusivity, and that's an entirely artificial difference.

    22. Re:Price + Lack of games by Cornflake917 · · Score: 1

      But false? Only in terms of game exclusivity, and that's an entirely artificial difference. No it's not. If you want to play a certain game and it exists only under one console (or PC) you're going to buy that fucking game along with the console. You're not going to say "Well, I already own a PC. If I buy an X-box that would be redudant because and X-Box and PC have the same hardware." Give me a break, console's always were similar to PC's. Just because one console is more similar to a PC than another doesn't make it all of the sudden redundant.

      Precisely. Your talking about 'gamers'. A lot of people on slashdot aren't gamers at all, nevermind casual gamers. And on the flipside, a lot of gamers have never heard of slashdot. The two groups aren't one in the same. Slashdot is a website for nerds. Nerds generally play video games. Yeah, there are exceptions. But I'm sure only a small minority of slashdot never played a video game. The OP was orginally pointing out that slashdot's opinion of video games is different than the gamers' opinions that he knows in real life. This is hardly silly and definately true.

      If you ever read gaming magazines, they don't give a Wii fanboys a warm fuzzy feeling that slashdot does. They are actually pretty unbiased and give all consoles (and PC games) an equal amount of coverage.
    23. Re:Price + Lack of games by brkello · · Score: 1

      Precisely. Your talking about 'gamers'. A lot of people on slashdot aren't gamers at all, nevermind casual gamers. And on the flipside, a lot of gamers have never heard of slashdot. The two groups aren't one in the same.

      This may be surprising to you, but a lot of people who read games.slashdot.org are gamers. Many of the people who are super enthusiastic about the Wii are gamers too. It isn't hard to figure out who is a gamer on here by their comments. I was just stating that I see things differently among the gamers I know...having a different perspective than the typical Slashdot responses actually brings more to the discussion then saying for the thousandth time, "omg, my grandma plays the Wii and loves it". Too many people come to Slashdot to just reenforce their biases rather than participate in an intelligent debate.

      Your reading comprehension sucks. The reason those third party titles didn't come out for the cube is because they sell poorly on those system because Nintendo's first party games suck up most of those people's gaming budget.

      Flamebait? Yes. It was obvious that it would be a soft spot for you. Sorry I couldn't resist poking it. But false? Only in terms of game exclusivity, and that's an entirely artificial difference.

      Yes, stupid people making stupid statements is a soft spot for me...how did you guess? In any case, a console is just a computer. This is true of the 360 as it is of the Wii. The only difference is that consoles don't have the problem that PCs have with billions of different OS's, vid cards, etc to support. This makes it easier on the developers since they don't have to support so many different variables. So the Wii is as much a PC as a 360 is.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    24. Re:Price + Lack of games by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Your reading comprehension sucks. The reason those third party titles didn't come out for the cube is because they sell poorly on those system because Nintendo's first party games suck up most of those people's gaming budget.

      In general that would only be true if Nintendo's first party games are outright better than those 3rd party titles.
      Is that really true of even the best 3rd party titles?

      The reason they didn't come out for the cube is simply that they knew that wasn't where the demographic for those games was. It had nothing to do whatsoever with Nintendo's first party titles, or having to compete with them.

      In any case, a console is just a computer. This is true of the 360 as it is of the Wii.

      Wii is just as much a computer as Xbox 360, but its nowhere near as much a "PC". Xboxes are little more than standardized PCs.

    25. Re:Price + Lack of games by vux984 · · Score: 1

      No it's not. If you want to play a certain game and it exists only under one console (or PC) you're going to buy that fucking game along with the console.

      Or not. Most xbox games made it to the PC. It was, after all, a relatively trivial port. I elected not to buy an xbox, and I really didn't miss much.

      But I'm sure only a small minority of slashdot never played a video game.

      I'm sure you are correct that only a small minority of slashdot never played a video game... but how many would describe themselves as 'gamers'. Slashdot is not a gamer's site. There are gamers here... lots of them... but slashdot reaches a MUCH wider audience than 'gamers'.

      If you ever read gaming magazines, they don't give a Wii fanboys a warm fuzzy feeling that slashdot does.

      Oh. That's easy. Gaming magazines don't have the anti-MS slant that slashdot does. (Nor the anti-sony slant, for that matter.) Its not so much that Wii is beloved its more that MS and Sony are largely reviled.

    26. Re:Price + Lack of games by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      So, about the statistics that show Wii owners buy less games. Obviously this is a rhetorical question at this point; time is needed to see if it's true. However, even if Wii owners do less games on average, that doesn't necessarily validate the "casual gamers" argument. There could be other reasons.

      As for your claim that Nintendo has a great reputation, this is also very speculative. Are you referencing a poll on peoples' opinion of game companies?

      Also, Square isn't owned by Sony (thus, not first-party).

    27. Re:Price + Lack of games by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      You are correct. However you fail to note that Nintendo has been making video games for nearly thirty years; Sony for less than half of that.

  4. Meh! by Threni · · Score: 1

    Anything that'll stop'em eating dogs and mixing tea and coffee works for me!

  5. Somewhere, over the... by MorpheousMarty · · Score: 1

    One day, one days soon, I will wake up and there will be news for the PS3, good news. I fully expect it to be full wiimote support. Or maybe some games. Honestly, all the news we get is "Sony is not doing well, and there really isn't any reason for them to do well in the near future, yadda yadda yadda, blu-ray"

    1. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was a joke...right?

      Sony Gamers Day:

      http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15521 3

      Gametrailers coverage:

      http://www.gametrailers.com/sonygday2k7.php

      Uncharted: Drake's fortune
      Ratchet And Clank
      Heavenly Sword
      Warhawk
      Lair
      Singstar
      Folklore
      SOCOM

      PS3 Home online world:

      http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=4865

      PS3 FoldingAtHome dominates:

      http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype= osstats

      What the hell were you talking about again?

      And that's just this month for Sony and the PS3. The amazing quality and almost virtually defect free hardware despite tens of thousands of PS3s running 24/7 playing games and folding. Or the massive manufacturing cost savings Sony is already achieving. The amazing free dedicated server PSN gaming. BluRay winning the format war.

      And we aren't even to the big exclusives FFXIII,MGS4,Killzone later this year at E3...

      Oh, right, you get your gaming news from Zonk...

    2. Re:Somewhere, over the... by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Well, it better be soon. This is the 4th straight month where the GBA has outperformed the PS3 sales-wise in the US. Yes, that's right, a portable SNES is beating the next-gen powerhouse. And things don't look good in Japan either, where it's slumped into to around 8,000 units per week and has fallen far behind the gamecube in terms of pacing. You won't see many new announcements for PS3 stuff from third-parties while it's putting up those kind of numbers. And it's not like there's anything coming out for a long while to turn that around, or that Sony's partners and shareholders will allow a large enough price drop to turn that around.

      More bad news... FFXIII and MGS4 will not be hitting this year....

      There is some good news though, little big planet(bet those guys are kicking themselves for going to Sony), home. And some iffy's like Lair, Heavenly Sword, and a bunch of cross-platform stuff. But nothing really good enough to turn the tide. If you like the PS2, it's still doing well, beating the XBox 360, and is still going to be getting titles for a bit.

      The only other bright-side is that the Wii news has been really dead for a while.... but there's a series of events this week, and one of the Nintendo franchise mega-bombs just launched a website.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    3. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want that, then don't read posts by Zonk.

    4. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uncharted looks incredibly shitty, as does warhawk. The first killzone was horrid, so who the fuck cares about the sequel. Singstar was niche, and FFXIII, MGS4 and Ratchet & Clank won't be out this year.

      There was *nothing* announced at Sony's Gameday that will save the PS3 this year. You Sony Defense force guys are funny. Always grasping at straws.

    5. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Love it! Cry those bitter tears fanboy!

      Shitty graphics? You want to see shitty graphics? Halo 3 or Forza 2 is what you should be talking about. The rest of the gaming world sure as hell had a good laugh at Microsoft's shitty first party games last week while being amazed at Sony's showing.

      Oh year baby! Cry those bitter fanboy tears!

    6. Re:Somewhere, over the... by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      I don't think announcing the release date of one of the big three (Metroid Prime 3 - August 20th), and updating the smash website from 8 months of dormancy, along with all the composers (to speculate about), counts as "no news". Add to that last weeks announcements about the Chrystal Chronicals series, and you have some pretty big stuff. In fact, this has been Nintendo's most bauntiful few weeks for months.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    7. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh this formatting reminds me of the early days of animated gifs... because you can use a BR tag doesn't mean you need to 30times a post... Anyways that swoosh you heard was the article's point flying over your head. You pointed out all these releases that are months off(in some cases they aren't due until 2008... IF THEY ARE ON TIME). The article was simply saying Sony had a bad month in April, and May wont get any better with only 2 titles hitting the shelves, neither of which is exclusive. Read before you post, get off your knees, and actually make intelligent posts instead of giving Sony E-Head. Instead of calling everyone a retard that doesn't think Sony is the bomb try convincing them why you love the PS3. You are far from doing sony and PR favors with this attitude. NO ONE wants to play online if PS3 owners are like you.

    8. Re:Somewhere, over the... by amuro98 · · Score: 1

      Last I heard Warhawk had gone from being a full PS3 release with offline and online play to being just a free download containing 4 multiplayer maps - No thanks.

      SOCOM - yet another FPS. I'll pass.

      SingStar - I'll pass.

      Lair & Heavenly Sword look good, but so far all I've seen are screenshots and movies. Let's wait until we get some reviews about the actual gameplay.

      Ratchet & Clank - not coming out this year.

      FFXIII - not coming out this year.

      MGS4 - not coming out this year, and MAY become a multi-platform title simultaneously released for the 360.

      Folding@Home - you have got to be kidding to me. No no, I don't doubt your stats, but seriously, THIS is the best use for a $600 GAMING console?!? That's like buying one of those stupid $3k fridges with the built-in LCD screen, and bragging that it's the best TV on the market.

      As for HOME, Sony and you are delusional if you think the average person is going to spend (real!) money decorating his virtual apartment so he can invite others' avatars over to look at his trophies. This goes waaaaaay beyond "geeky" here - and I'm a geek!

      Blu-Ray Player - This is the only legitimate strength you've listed. Too bad we'll see cheaper standalone Blu-ray players soon, and later this year, we'll see a hybrid Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player that'll make anything that only plays one HD format obsolete. At that point, the PS3 had better have something more to crow about like, oh, I don't know...HOW ABOUT GAMES?! Because seriously, no one's going to buy a $600 gaming console because it can run Folding@Home and a bad Second-Life ripoff.

    9. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OMG!!!

      A line by line fanboy rebuttal laced with sarcasm!

      PS. MGS4 on 360 - Please, oh, please keep believing the desperate Xbox fanboy rumors! Nothing more precious than crushed fanboy dreams.

    10. Re:Somewhere, over the... by toolie · · Score: 1

      He didn't say they had shitty graphics, he said they look incredibly shitty. There are ways to look shitty for games than just graphics. When you see a movie trailer and go 'wow that looks shitty', do you really mean the picture quality?

      --
      -- toolie
    11. Re:Somewhere, over the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously current ps3 games aren't worth $600.
      But if you bought the ps3 for the ps3, blu-ray player, home, games, linux, etc... than it has the best value out of the 3.

      It's like buying a ferrari just to use the luggage holder to carry haze in the countryside. You're better off buying a Pickup from Ford.

    12. Re:Somewhere, over the... by valathax · · Score: 1
      PS. MGS4 on 360 - Please, oh, please keep believing the desperate Xbox fanboy rumors! Nothing more precious than crushed fanboy dreams.

      Stupid xbots, next thing you know they will think that the xbox 360 will be getting PS3 exclusives like GTA, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry, Ridge Racer, Virtue Fighter, Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm, Armored Core, Ace Combat, Katamari Damacy and Mercenaries.

  6. All your held hand are belong to Nintendo by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Face it, Sony just can't catch a break.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  7. Hmmm by TB · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you compare sales per week for the PS1 PS2 and PS3, PS3 is already outselling the PS1 by 2-3x and its just a 100,000 units or so behind the PS2. Of course, people on forums and such have a selective memory.... they just choose to block all this out.

    1. Re:Hmmm by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      The PS1 was utter shit for about two years, and the Sony brand wasn't exactly top of the line in home gaming. The PS2 was heavily supply constrained (yay buzzword) for quite some time after launch. I submit that you, sir, have a few memories that you may be repressing in the console "war."

      That said, you're all a bunch of babies whining about your favorite console. It's unbelievably entertaining to watch.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    2. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Granted, but the market as a whole has grown as well. You can't look just at numbers; How do Microsoft's and Nintendo's similar statistics look in comparison? While amount of consoles sold matters, market saturation is potentially more important at this point.

    3. Re:Hmmm by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Awesome. That means the Wii is going to outperform the PS1 and PS2 by enormous margins, right? Since it's outpacing all three? PS3 is made of brown, bloom and fail no matter how you slice it.

      I mean, right now, the PS3 is being outsold in the US by the GBA. THE GBA! It's underperforming the gamecube in Japan, hitting sales targets *weeks* after the cube did. And, like the PSP was by the DS, it's being absolutely destroyed by the Wii. And the HD movie market is *NOTHING* compared to the DVD market. It's like a sick joke.

      It's very easy and fun to play with sales data and especially pacing and trends. But ultimately, it's meaningless. In what countries, by what metric? Are we adjusting for the increased market size since the X came out?

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    4. Re:Hmmm by TB · · Score: 1

      Outsold in the US, boohoo. Just had one of its best weeks in Europe. Saying a console is doomed several months in is insane. Sure they said it for the PS1 and PS2 but it didnt happen. Will it happen this time? Maybe... but considering PS3 is already leading the 360 in some countries makes me think otherwise... for the moment at least.

    5. Re:Hmmm by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      When did they say it about PS1 or PS2?

      From my memories, PS2 was predicted to break records, and did, and PS1 nobody knew what to think because it had to history. I don't see any comparison at all to what was being said in those generations.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    6. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Europe matters now!? When did that happen?

    7. Re:Hmmm by bumchick · · Score: 0

      I mean, right now, the PS3 is being outsold in the US by the GBA. THE GBA! The PS3 is also being outsold in the US by toothbrushes. So what?
      The PS3 and GBA are not competing products.
    8. Re:Hmmm by TB · · Score: 1

      Actualy the PS2 was panned as a failure due to low sales and few games and was predicted to be destroyed by the faster Xbox. This is the sorta thing people forget, while the PS1 was an unknown the PS2 was torn to shreds by the gaming "media" and community as a joke. They said oh its to hard to code for, no-one will release games for it, its to expensive, Why include a DVD drive which will just raise the price? Sound familiar?

      Its true, the PS2 did have low sales the first few years, tho the few games thing as now was wrong. PS3 gets around 8 titles a month like all the other consoles. However, it was when the big lineup of games hit around christmas where sales started to jump. A new GT here, a new Ratchet there, a new SOCOM there and sales picked up. Sony takes its time getting things setup, so we wont know if the PS3 will be a hit or miss for some time.

    9. Re:Hmmm by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If you compare sales per week for the PS1 PS2 and PS3, PS3 is already outselling the PS1 by 2-3x and its just a 100,000 units or so behind the PS2.

      Or, you could look at sales per month, and see that the Wii sold 82% as many units in April as in January (360k vs. 436k), while the the PS3 dropped to 34% (82k vs. 244k).

      Or, that last month they moved 23% as many PS3s as Wiis (82k vs. 360k).

      Or that since the beginning of the year, PS2s have outsold PS3s by 70% (989k vs. 583k).

      Or that the Wii outsold the PS3 by 138% (1390k vs. 583k).

      Or that the DS has outsold the PSP by 124% (1703k vs. 760k).

      Pick your metric. Every single one of them is awful, and if anyone left at Sony still has plans of staying in the game business, they need to stem the hemorrhaging soon.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    10. Re:Hmmm by TB · · Score: 1

      From day 1, not this year. Its jut a glimpse to show how all the PS consoles do bad to start and why saying they're doomed is silly for now.

    11. Re:Hmmm by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Where are you getting independant sales data for Europe? In the NA we have NPD, and in Japan, Media Create, but there's no real good source for European figures outside the companies themselves, so Europe is a black hole and we largely ignore it. Honestly curious.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    12. Re:Hmmm by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Umm... they both play video games. Toothbrushes don't play video games. How are they not competing products? May appeal to different demographics, but they're still in the, ya know, video game market.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    13. Re:Hmmm by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Actually, the PS2 really pulled ahead once it hit the $200 price point. Until then it just kinda lazily sold. It also didn't really have much competition, and god did the first year of it's library suck. *Glares at fantavision* And yea, there were some failure stuff, and a lot of bitter Dreamcast people, but nothing like this. And yea, there were some failure stuff, and a lot of bitter Dreamcast people, but nothing like this.

      Anyway, it's silly to use the PS2 or PS1 as an indicator for any other console. Things are no where near as they were when the PS1 came out or as they were when the PS2 came out. Sony is facing two extremely tough competitors one of whom has already been out for a year, and who by and large haven't made any massive mistakes, and is doing so with the most expensive console in history(not adjusted for inflation). It has been proven, time and time again, the general public doesn't have brand loyalty to a console maker. If they did, Sony never would've succeeded in the first place.

      Yes, it's possible that the PS3 will pull out of this, but each month that passes with news like this and it becomes increasingly unlikely.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    14. Re:Hmmm by MemoryDragon · · Score: 1

      Problem is the market nowadays is 10 times bigger, and the gamecube outsells the PS3...

    15. Re:Hmmm by 7Prime · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How is that possible? By the time the XBox came out, the PS2 was doing gloriously. FFX pretty much solidified its dominance back in 2001, and all the gaming press I generally heard was possitive. Also, Sony were still the "good guys" back then, with the evil Microsoft looming overhead, and the bastardly Nintendo about to make their move. Also, the PS2 was such a saving grace after what was looking to be the utter failior of the DreamCast (now realized to be largely because of Sony FUD).

      Now, the tables have turned. Sony is the evil money-grubbing company that doesn't care about quality of content, just superficial image, Microsoft have proven themselves to be relatively "decent", and Nintendo are the shining beacon of inginuity and vision.

      Public perception makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE. If you decide to hate a company, you're basically lost to them as a costomer, no matter how great a product you deliver. Sony are currently the "bad guys" (note the difference between "bad guys" and "bad boys") of the generation, and that's going to cost them dearly, no matter what titles they put out.

      The fact is, much of the old gamer gaurd refused to accept Microsoft because console gamers were always at odds with PC gamers, and Microsoft represented a threatening side of gaming. This is a large reason why the XBox didn't come out on top last generation. Now, they have proven themselves, and Sony has some real competition. And even moreso from Nintendo, who are currently presenting themselves (and being generally regarded), as the saviours of the gaming industry... and both companies are living up to their claims.

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    16. Re:Hmmm by RootsLINUX · · Score: 1

      I would argue that such a comparison is invalid. We are all well aware that the gaming industry was much smaller in size and audience in the PS1-release era than it is right now. I don't have any hard data so lets just assume that the gaming market is 4 times larger today than it was back then. Then your outselling the PS1 by 2-3x becomes (2-3x)/4, or 0.5-0.75x. Also IIRC, the PS2 had supply problems and couldn't meet demand very well, so PS2s were rather difficult to find. On the other hand, I see several PS3s collecting dust on store shelves all the time. Again, no hard facts or data in my argument and I'm not trying to invalidate yours, but I just wanted to provide an additional perspective.

      --
      Hero of Allacrost, a FOSS RPG for *NIX/*BSD/OS X/Win
    17. Re:Hmmm by metroid+composite · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actualy the PS2 was panned as a failure due to low sales and few games and was predicted to be destroyed by the faster Xbox.
      "Low sales": PS2 hit a million within three weeks in Japan, and PS3 has yet to do so in six months. PS2 in the post holiday season was selling 400k per month in North America, compared to Dreamcast's 100k. PS3 by comparison is selling 100k per month compared to the Wii's 300k.

      "Few games": The documentation on this isn't very good, but I believe it had more games than any of PS3, Wii, or 360 had at launch this time (just based on searching gamerankings for PS2 games released in the year 2000--42 beats all three next gen systems for their respective launch windows).

      This is the sorta thing people forget
      I remember it quite well, actually. The problem was that the claims came from the Videogame Press, which at the time I assumed were brilliant specialists, but as it turns out are amateurs who would never get a job as a real Journalist. I mean, if you listened to the videogame Press, XBox was doomed to failure due to its controller, PS2 was doomed to failure as it was "hard to develop for" and broke "constantly", and Gamecube was doomed to failure because nobody over the age of five plays Nintendo. This left the Dreamcast as the clear undisputed winner. (I actually came to similar conclusions--I mean it had the head start, was easy to program for, the lowest price point, etc).

      The problem with these armchair analysts was that they were focusing on the wrong things. For instance, they should have focused on perceived market direction from the third parties (EA made almost zero Dreamcast games). Nearly every third party when interviewed said they expected the PS2 to win.
    18. Re:Hmmm by amuro98 · · Score: 3, Informative

      One has to remember what Sony's competition was with the PS1 and PS2.

      Sony has never launched first in a generation. The PS1, PS2 and now PS3 have all launched into a market where at least one other competitor had been around for awhile.

      With the PS1, there was the Saturn and the N64. Sega was begining to struggle at that point, and Sony had managed to pick up several developers after Nintendo decided the N64 was going to be cartridge based.

      With the PS2, the Dreamcast had a full year to try to build up a market, but just couldn't get going due to mostly cool receptions from both 3rd party developers (like EA) and gamers alike - partially due to the way Sega treated the Saturn...

      By the time the Xbox came out, the PS2 had arguably been established as #1 for the generation. The Xbox's lineup consisted mainly of multiplatform games that were available for the PS2 or the PC and that didn't help either, despite having superior hardware compared to the PS2.

      Nintendo hadn't fully recovered from the N64 when the GameCube came out, though it remained quite sucessful in its niche.

      While I agree it's too early to say the PS3 is doomed, things certainly look a lot worse for the PS3 than they did for the PS1 or PS2 at the same time in their lifecycles.

      For one thing, both the PS1 and PS2 were $300 - a lot less intimidating than the PS3's $600. For another, both the PS1 and PS2 had some decent exclusive (at launch, anyways) games. What did the PS3 have? One "ok" launch game, and a bunch of multiplatform titles that didn't look any better on the PS3 than on its cheaper competitor, the 360.

      This makes the PS3's biggest problems Cost, Time, and (lack of) Games.

      Sure, the PS3's biggest titles are yet to come out. But in the meantime, what does Sony expect people to do? Buy a $600 console with virtually no games and just wait? It's not as if the 360 or the Wii are standing still, either. Both Nintendo and Microsoft have announced their lineups for this year and both have heavy-hitting, console-selling titles. Halo3 will sell consoles. What does the PS3 have that even approaches that? And before you say 'Final Fantasy', remember that we probably won't see FFXIII in the US until next summer - at best. What the PS3 really needs is something like MGS2 for the PS2, or Halo3 for the 360. People were willing to buy the console months before those titles even hit the shelves. Nothing in the PS3's lineup has that same "I *GOTTA* GET ONE NOW!" feeling. Not FFXIII, not Ratchet & Clank, nor anything else previewed so far.

    19. Re:Hmmm by king-manic · · Score: 1

      The problem with these armchair analysts was that they were focusing on the wrong things. For instance, they should have focused on perceived market direction from the third parties (EA made almost zero Dreamcast games). Nearly every third party when interviewed said they expected the PS2 to win.

      The irony is the third parties expected the PS3 to win. It's hasn't "lost" yet but the Wii sprinted out of the gates while the the PS3 and Xbox trotted. I personally will likely get a wii if there is a game that appeals to me. I have a PS3 and bought it almost exclusively for MG4 and FFXIII. No 360 because I have a PC for PC games (oblivion) and nothing else strongly appeals to me yet.

      --
      "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
    20. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      News Flash TB. There is a MUCH bigger gaming base now than 10 years ago with the PS1 so put your memory into perspective.

    21. Re:Hmmm by donaldm · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I was waiting till late this year or even next year before making a decision if I was going to buy a PS3 or not. Basically with the exception of Oblivion I was not interested in most of the PS3 games although to be honest with the exception of Zelda (love those games) and Metroid is not out yet so I was not interested in the Wii either. As for the Xbox360 I could also say the same.

      I was out shopping with my son when I noticed Games Wizards (I live in Australia) was offering PS3's (we only have the 60GB version) at AU$499 (US$410) when you trade in your working PS2 (mine is over 5 years old) plus 10 games. This was an offer too good to be true so I checked and it was true so I got one plus the game Oblivion (traded two old ps2 games for a 50% off price). I was curious so I asked if many people were buying and was informed that they were. I was the 5th at 10:00am and I had another person behind me.

      Setting up the PS3 in my home was easy, even setting it up to talk to my wireless router was not difficult. Once I upgraded the firmware to 1.7 I can now play most of my PS2 and all of my PS1 games, some of which were not even mentioned in the website. I can even use my PS2 Logitech 2 dual shock wireless controller and get rumble from PS1 and PS2 games (if supported) as well as the ability to use a keyboard and mouse (all wireless). For those interested a PS1/2 game is Standard Def and a PS3 game is 720p up-to 1080p. You definitely can notice the difference in graphics quality but I still play my Gamecube and PS1/2 games since my HDTV does smooth out some games. There is also a rumour from some Game Sites that the Sony emulator programmers are looking at up-scaling PS1 and PS2 games to High Res but like I have said it is still a rumour.

      It is far to early to make a call on the popularity of any of the new consoles and a cheaper console may not cut it if people don't buy the games. From what I have seen so far with Nintendo games there is little difference in price between the PS3 and Xbox360 games, people do notice this. In addition Nintendo games usually remain high long after equivalent games on the other consoles has fallen (usually by 50%). I have seen this with the Gamecube vs PS2 and Xbox and now I am seeing the same thing with the Wii games.

      If games places start doing deals like the above and they are starting to since we are approaching the end of our financial year at the end of June, the PS3 is going to sell well even with similar deals on the Xbox and Wii since the PS3 is perceived as a very attractive item (ie. bragging rights) especially since HDTV's are selling really well in Australia and people do want HD movies to play on their HDTV's. The PS3 out of the box does just this. In fact some of our main department stores are not even stocking HD-DVD machines, just BD (Blu-Ray) only.

      The only problem I have now is I have to share the HDTV with my wife and two sons and my eldest also likes the PS3 Oblivion game even though he is an avid PC gamer. Guess I will have to set up a time share system :)

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    22. Re:Hmmm by iainl · · Score: 1

      Proof? There is no publically available sales data source for Europe as a whole. You can buy UK data from Chart-Track, but it'll cost you a fortune and doesn't get leaked the way NPD data does.

      All we've got to go on are press releases and rumours. The majority of UK gamers are total Sony Fanboys anyway, in my experience, so you may be right.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    23. Re:Hmmm by metroid+composite · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Third parties expected the PS3 to win before finding out it was $599. Post E3 2006 there was a bit of a shift and some companies scrambled to change direction (Ubisoft somehow pumped out eight titles for Wii launch, as an example).

    24. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I submit that neither one of you bozos have posted links to back up your claims.

    25. Re:Hmmm by mink · · Score: 1

      Strangly I enjoy Fantavision. Sure it's not Thril Kill: The Skullfuck Odesy, but what is?

      I did however buy it some time in 2005, so I was not sitting there with a PS2 and that being the only game I had.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  8. "curb stomp" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always cringe whenever people use this term in a setting that does not call for one to be an internet asshole.

  9. They'll all make it through... by p4rri11iz3r · · Score: 0

    I'll be the first to admit that I'm glad to see Nintendo back on top again. I honestly didn't think they had it in them, but am glad they proved me wrong. When I look at Sony today, I see Nintendo a decade ago. They thought they had the market cornered, they figured they could do no wrong, that people would automatically buy whatever they produced. But they failed to innovate in ways that was interesting to the market, and now they will face some harsh times and harsh realities. But they'll bounce back. Just like Nintendo, Sony has the resources to bounce back, no matter how poorly the PS3 does. I personally think this is healthy for Sony, the way it was for Nintendo. It will teach them the humility they need to get back on their feet.

    And who will it benefit the most? Why you, the consumer. The video game industry needs competition. They'll each continue to press boundries of what is possible with video games in order to stay alive in the industry and they'll continue to keep the prices low (on games at least). Lucky you...

    --
    "Now I'm seriously serious!" - Serious Sam
  10. Google's got numbers by crayz · · Score: 1

    Right here. You're correct regarding Wii's decline, but it's a decline from the massive surge of news about how Wii won the console war. And it's still far ahead of the other two, with Sony predictably languishing in third place

  11. As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by StikyPad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I just bought an XBox 360 last week, and the reason wasn't strictly the price, or the anemic selection of games for the PS3. The number one reason that swayed me to the 360 isn't even an official feature: It's backups. Even if there was a workaround for playing backups on the PS3 (and AFAIK, there isn't), the $25 discs make it impractical. Sure it's cheaper than buying another copy, assuming you don't make any coasters, but it's still almost 15 times more than the price of DVD9 discs to make 360 backups.

    1. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by TB · · Score: 1

      Having backups on the 360 makes sense, it has issues with its drive but the PS3 has hardcoat on its disks so they wont scratch as easy. But are you backing them up for other reasons? Losing the disk etc?

    2. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      I like RPGs... so I'm going to get an XBox360...

      Wow, I never thought I'd end up saying that! Good job, Sony!

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    3. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just say it. "Pirated games". There's no sense in beating around the bush.

    4. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by Kredal · · Score: 2, Funny

      Does returning the disk to a rental store count as losing it?

      Just wondering.

      --
      Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
    5. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 2, Insightful

      have fun with your banned console and lack of key game components now Mr. Cheapass-killing-the-industry Pirate.

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    6. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by benzapp · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I have to say your argument is shortsighted. There aren't really any games out right now that truly require the space of a blu-ray disk, but they are coming. What happens when you want to play GTAIV or Final Fantasy XXXX or whatever?

      And besides - in my 15 years of playing video games on CD, I have never had the need for a backup, ever. I even played my original copy of the Return to Zork just a month ago.

      So, I think your real desire here is to pirate video games. Given the success of the Wii and the moderate success of the Gamecube, the ability to pirate/backup games appears to be irrelevant.

      --
      I don't read or respond to AC posts
    7. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      I know this is going to sound absurd, especially on Slashdot, but some of us have kids. It's not so much a question of if I'll need a backup, but when. I realize that your kids, if they exist, are perfect little angels with perfect little memories, but mine are not.

      Also, the Wii has already been chipped -- essentially the same chip as the GC, since it's essentially the same console. I'm not sure how that can be irrelevant, but I applaud your industry insight.

    8. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      I think your post was satire, but obviously at leasat one moderator took it seriously, so I'll respond.

      A) I do not pirate games, and the industry is hardly dying.
      B) Nobody has had their 360 banned to date (to my knowledge).
      C) If I cared about XBox Live, I wouldn't risk getting banned.

    9. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by I'll+Provide+The+War · · Score: 1

      GTA IV is coming to the 360 the same day as the PS3. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/may0 6/05-09GrandTheftAutoPR.mspx

      FFXIII is not coming to the US until the end of 2008 at the earliest in which time the PS3 will be at least $100-200 cheaper than today. A game that may be out in 18 months is hardly an incentive to invest $600 today. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3159809

    10. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      well to be honest I completely expected to be modded as a troll.
      but seriously, if you care at all about Live I'd recommend not playing a backup on Live at the moment, since there are many reports on http://xbox-scene.com/ as well as on http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/05/17/ 545414.aspx
      which show that Microsoft has dropped the ban hammer.

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    11. Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3 by sokoban · · Score: 1

      No, but it's a good thing to do with a scratched disk.

      Rent the game, return the scratched one.

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
  12. I have a question by crayz · · Score: 1

    How do you get paid for posting this stuff as an AC? Doesn't Sony's marketing department require some sort of proof?

    1. Re:I have a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A friend of mine told me about 3rd party marketing companies that Sony hires to do this kind of thing. Apparently they have monitoring software that looks at this sort of thing.

      Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

    2. Re:I have a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Awww, it's so cute! The fanboys talking about 'teh viral marketers'...

    3. Re:I have a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean like you do whenever someone posts a different opinion about the consoles? :) You had months to come up with new material for posting. *yawn* how boring.

    4. Re:I have a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha, Sony would never sponsor this guys posts. Hes actually making me want to buy the PS3 less! If he represents PS3 players theres no way I want to play online with my PS3. 5 years olds are no fun to play against... Seriously I wouldn't be surprised if this guy worked for MS, and was trying to create an anti-sony sentiment with horribly formatted posts!

  13. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  14. The PS2 never had slow sales by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I don't know where this myth that the PS2 "Started out Slow" came from but it is simply not true ...

    The PS2 was the fastest selling system in Japan over its first year, and was heavily supply limited for its first year in North America and Europe. By the time the Gamecube and XBox were released the PS2 had already sold 20 Million units worldwide (roughly twice as many as the XBox 360 has in the same time frame) and exploded in sales from there due to the release of GTA, MGS2 and FFX.

    Fucking PS3 fans are resorting to rewriting history to make the PS3's sales look anything except for awful ...
    It is selling at a similar rate to the Dreamcast and probably has the same fate

    1. Re:The PS2 never had slow sales by DDLKermit007 · · Score: 1

      Uh, wow, troll of doom with the intelligence of a goldfish. Same memory span too.

    2. Re:The PS2 never had slow sales by LKM · · Score: 1

      Jesus Christ, is that what you do all day? Post incoherent fanboy rants to Slashdot? How old are you? Don't you have a job? Go to school?

      If you spend so much time posting to Slashdot, why don't you at least try to create arguments that don't make you look like a stupid Sony Troll? I mean, you don't even look like you got paid by Sony, because if you got paid for that, I'd expect some better quality in your arguments and writing.

      Look, if you want to defend the PS3, don't spout obvious lies like "The most powerful console by the largest margin in console history." Everybody can see that this is just plainly not true. You're making Sony users look like idiots.

      Oh. Wait. That's your intention, right? You're actually owning a 360 and post these little rants to make Sony fanboys look bad?

  15. The Ob quote by Skevin · · Score: 1

    1.) Console too expensive to justify buying given lack of games.
    2.) Less consumers adopt PS3.
    3.) Developers see gamers going to other platform, eliminate exclusives.
    4.) Repeat (1), removing PS3 exclusives gone multi-platform from equation.

    try:
    5.) ???
    6.) Profit!

    catch:
    7.) Put as much spin on your stats you could dry your clothes on it. e.g., claiming that PS/3s are readily in stock due to superior supply-side infrastructure, as opposed to lagging sales.

    Unfortunately, this is one very real case I highly doubt Sony will even reach step 5.

    Solomon

    --
    "Twice half-assed makes an ass whole." --Solomon K. Chang
    1. Re:The Ob quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a "... Profit!" meme with exception handling before. Nice work :)

  16. Go ahead. by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Reply to another post. I love to hear your 12-year old mouth whine and brag about the superiority of his penis, I mean pump-up tennis shoes, I mean -- I'm sorry, I meant PS3.

    *shakes head* Sony even sucks in professional video now. I'd rather buy ten Samsung CCD cameras for the price of one Sony.

    --
    THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
  17. You're right... by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 1

    but that would only apply if they were released the same year. The GBA is over 5 years old. We're not talking about the GBA-DS, just the GBA.

    We're making a comparison under these assumptions:

    1) You would think that the market for GBAs has been saturated, or that new players (i.e. kids) would opt for a GBA-DS to be able to play games for both systems.
    2) In otherwords, there is a market comprised late-technology-adopters who are cost sensitive, and are probably buying the units for themselves for the purpose of playing specific games (perhaps SNES conversions... more represented on the GBA than the DS). The other segment of the market are gifts from [parents] to children who don't know the difference, and want it to play movie/TV/etc adaptation properties which comprise a large portion of the existing GBA title library.

    Therefore, the market for the PS3 ("serious gamers") is outsized by poor retro gamers who don't know how to use emulators, and tweens who want to play Harry Potter.

    I don't think Sony is happy with this, do you?

    --
    THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
    1. Re:You're right... by tepples · · Score: 1

      herefore, the market for the PS3 ("serious gamers") is outsized by poor retro gamers who don't know how to use emulators In order to (legally) get roms for your emulators, you have to buy a Super NES Game Pak copier. Those are hard to find. Even then, what kind of portable hardware would you run the emulator software on?
    2. Re:You're right... by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 1

      Well, I know that most poor casual gamers would rather play the illegally obtained ROMs since they are, by definition, poor and thus price sensitive (who wants to pay $40 to play a GBA adaptation of a game they already bought ten years ago?)
      It's pretty crazy. Takes all of ten minutes to find a torrent of every release on a platform, separated by region.

      And Palm Pilots and laptops run those emulators pretty nicely; even if they don't have much disposable income they might have access to one of those, especially if supplied by their job.

      And I use emulators (in additional to my consoles) at home on my PC. I don't think I'm alone there.

      --
      THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
  18. Competition. by MaWeiTao · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'd like to see the PS3 succeed for one reason: competition. I don't mean that it necessarily has to dominate the market like the PS2 did, but it needs to sell well enough that it's considered a viable platform and regarded as an actual competitor.

    We have the Xbox360, but I don't really consider it a true competitor to the Wii because those two systems aren't really seen as inhabiting the same market space. The primary problem is how poorly it's done in Japan. The fact that the system is virtually nonexistent in one of the biggest gaming markets in the world means it's always going to lose out when it comes to variety of games. Clearly, the Xbox360 has fared far better than the original Xbox, but I still see it as potentially ending up in the same situation as the Sega Genesis relative to the SNES.

    The Xbox360 certainly is significant and it may turn out to be more of a challenge to Nintendo than we realize now, but it's going to require more than Halo 3 and other such games to accomplish that. But, like I've said, they've likely already lost the Japanese market. The saving grace is that Japanese companies keep developing games for the system.

    The PS3 has the potential to be a competitor for both consoles because of the potential for such a variety of games, at least if it sees anything like the sort of development the PS2 has. The PS2 really had games of all types and some were truly innovative. Really the only thing it lacked was anything from Nintendo.

    My point here is that if Nintendo returns to the sort of dominance it had in the past it will also revert to the same sort of tactics it used back then, back when they were the heavy-handed monopoly. If it weren't for Nintendo falling behind in the last two generations of consoles we probably wouldn't have seen the DS or the Wii.

    1. Re:Competition. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I fail to see how competition is good. Personally, I'd prefer to only have to buy one system, not 2 or 3, or 4, and get the best games released in each given generation. Pretty much the only thing competition is good for is third party devs, and their bottom lines.

      Life was not hell for the consumer under Atari, or Nintendo, and it wasn't hell under Sony during the PS2 and PS1 days. We had ample entertainment. We even saved money because of defacto monopolies. Those effective monopolies didn't stop them from developing technology, and they didn't prevent us from having great games.

      Ok, you may make the argument that Sony(and to a lesser extent Nintendo and SEGA) was bad for the industry during the PS1-era, with their FMV/marketing fetish and insane aversion to certain genres, but the DS has corrected for that. Competition, largely, does not matter. We're talking about formats here. Extolling competition is like saying the Blu-ray/HD-DVD war is good for HD hard media, and the consumers thereof. It's not.

      About the only time competition was a good thing was when it was SEGA v. Nintendo during the Genesis/SNES days. Sony is no Nintendo, and Sony is no SEGA, so they can rot in hell.

    2. Re:Competition. by tepples · · Score: 1

      Life was not hell for the consumer under Atari, or Nintendo Not hell, but maybe heck. Nintendo banned smaller development studios from its console, just as it continues to.
    3. Re:Competition. by LKM · · Score: 1

      Huh. You claim competition is bad, but then you explain how the DS fixed Sony's FMV fetish? I'm not sure I follow.

      History has shown that lack of competition in the console market leads to stagnation. The leading console manufacturer is always the last to change console generations. Without the Genesis, there would not have been a SNES. Without the PS1, no N64. Without the Dreamcast, there would not have been a PS2. Without the 360, we'd still be waiting for a successor to the PS2.

  19. 2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

    I've come to the conclusion that the PS3 will start catching up around 2008. Because by then any combination of factors below will come to light. A) they will have thier act together and build a equal to Microsofts XNA tools for developers B) Enough Games will have caught onto the system that people will actually want to buy it. C) Sony might release the lockdown access to the video for linux so that games can be made for the linux portion of the PS3 D) Sony will have figured out the right addons to the system in order to enhance the gameplay. Powerglove equivalent and Virtual reality tech come to mind. As well as thier new virtual home setup with trophies and online buyable content. E) Will be about the point where just about every home has an HDTV able to take advantage of the higher quality graphics at 1080p. It will also likely be about the point that the xbox 360 maxes out its abilities. F) Pricedrops- this being the key most important part.

    1. Re:2008 by LKM · · Score: 1

      And why would developers create games for a console nobody is buying? Most of your points seem like wishful thinking.

    2. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      Because, wishful thinking or not it's a rather logical order.

      Most likely order of events that I envision.

      A) Sony releases exclusive (God of war, Grand Tourismo, Etc. )
      A.2) Third party releases of say a home or business control center system using a PS3 as the center hub for Media, computer, security, IPTV, gaming. (remember the cell can be used for many many things other than just games. When sony figures that out they can expand the living daylights out of thier market to do a lot more than just games which would also increase sales dramatically)
      B) Sony Drops price of PS3 using manufacture of scale (IBM continues selling Cell Chips)
      B.2) Sony keeps price keeps the quality high and continues expanding third party apps for PS3 cell abilities. The system is powerful enough to run the electronics behind a theme park for 1/4 of the price of a customized system.
      C) sales increase quickly
      D) BlueRay takes off
      E) Sony profit climbs

      This is just a pattern of events. If you follow sony you can easily see where its going I don't think there is anything that could really stop it from happening really. Unless Microsoft can come out with a ton of really great games by next year along with a new virtual reality type control scheme and wider product scenario for the xbox 360.

      This is something I can see intuitively. Thus the reason I invested in SNE stock and will just watch it double double double for the next 5-6 years.

      Also, there are a million different ways it can pan out. But if you just open up your thinking a bit. Imagine it if Sony did all things right or even just a few things right where would they go?

      A couple of other things to add into the mix. The system is probably 2 or 3 times more powerful than a high end gaming computer. Its compatable with Linux which is the most modifyable operating system on earth. Its able to even be daisy linked to other systems. It's already on a closed hardware platform thats not likely to change for the next 8 years which means a program can be written for it with the expectation that it won't need to be updated for a long long time.

      Sorry if my grammar sucks. Public School Education combined with ADHD kills me.

    3. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      Oh yea, great inquiry skills.

    4. Re:2008 by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      There's a problem with your item "B". Sony has lost billions and billions of dollars developing, marketing and selling the PS3, and furthermore have stated in their financial report that they want to increase profit. Dropping the price of the PS3 doesn't sound like it would help Sony with those two problems, it's more likely that any cost savings would be used to decrease the enormous pile of money they've thrown out there. Also remember that Sony has tons of PS3 in inventory which cost a lot of money to produce, if they lower the price soon they'll effectively be selling expensive PS3 at a much lower price... And how fast do you think they can clear that inventory?

      For all of the above reasons, if there's a price drop, it will likely not happen very soon, and please remember that the PS3 will *always* be the most expensive current-gen console, Nintendo and Microsoft won't let the PS3 cut them off. All of this, together with the low number of third-party exclusive games doesn't bode well for PS3 sales... After all, why would someone buy a PS3 when a 360 allows them to play almost the same games for a much lower price?

      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    5. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      You are correct on B. I doubt Microsoft or Nintendo would allow a price drop go unanswered. But, that is only one part of a mulipart strategy. The PS3 is multifunctional. It can be programmed to do so many things that it's only just a matter of adding enough market to it so it sells. At that point the PS3 basically becomes what the 360 was shooting for. A mulifunction system that does everything you want it to. Movies, Music, Games, Security, Answering Machine, Email Server, Etc.

    6. Re:2008 by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      If Sony can pull that, I congratulate them, but so far I haven't even seen them guaranteeing the PS3 will have enough good games... And believe it or not, games are the main reason for people to buy a PS3, they don't buy one for using as a coffee or beer machine...

      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    7. Re:2008 by LKM · · Score: 1

      Matching your great argumentation skills. Not, however, matching your even greater fanboyness.

    8. Re:2008 by LKM · · Score: 1
      Uhm... Your "series of unlikely events" seems pretty much out there.

      A) Sony releases exclusive (God of war, Grand Tourismo, Etc. )

      True, very likely.

      A.2) Third party releases of say a home or business control center system using a PS3 as the center hub for Media

      There is absolutely no reason to think anything like this will happen.

      B) Sony Drops price of PS3 using manufacture of scale (IBM continues selling Cell Chips)

      They'll use that to cut their losses before they'll cut prices.

      B.2) Sony keeps price keeps the quality high and continues expanding third party apps for PS3 cell abilities. The system is powerful enough to run the electronics behind a theme park for 1/4 of the price of a customized system.

      Huh. I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. Sony keeps expanding third-party apps? Huh? Sony ports third-party apps to the PS3?

      C) sales increase quickly

      No reason for this to happen. In fact, sales are decreasing, which means 3rd-party-support will decrease, which means even less sales.

      D) BlueRay takes off

      Possible. And while the PS3 might help Blu-ray (no "e", by the way), Blu-ray won't help the PS3.

      E) Sony profit climbs

      Possible, but certainly not thanks to the PS3.

      This is something I can see intuitively.

      Yeah, I can see why intuition plays a large role in your logic. Because facts don't.

      Thus the reason I invested in SNE stock and will just watch it double double double for the next 5-6 years.

      Ah, and that explains your cognitive dissonance. You're financially invested in Sony's success. Good luck with that.

      A couple of other things to add into the mix. The system is probably 2 or 3 times more powerful than a high end gaming computer.

      Except that it's not. Where did you get that idea?

      The PS3 has a mediocre graphics card, and the Cell chip simply can't keep up with modern multicore PCs.

    9. Re:2008 by LKM · · Score: 1

      Many consoles have attempted to do that (even way back when, the 2600 did this; the PS2, too). Not a single one has managed to break outside of gaming.

    10. Re:2008 by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      and the Cell chip simply can't keep up with modern multicore PCs.
      ... while at the same time being more difficult to program for than any of those multicore PC chips. And btw, Sony's mistakes go farther than marketing and high-level decision making, read this hilarious article:

      http://www.innerbits.com/blog/2007/05/09/ps3-memor y-footprint/
      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    11. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm not a fanboy of the PS3. I don't even own one. I work in the gaming industry, I own 4 Xbox consoles a ps2 and a Wii. I've just been working with the industry long enough to see trends and patterns. I predicted the price of the PS3 the moment they announced thier features at E3 that year. I predicted the lackluster sales starts of the PS3 and the great sales starts of the Wii and the 360. I've worked with the industry on the retail side so long that can I see direction of it intuitively and predict directions and trends pretty quickly. I just think its not going to be till around the end of 2008 that the PS3 starts to take some names and do well. It just takes two years for good games to be out for the system. Xbox 360 of course took that long to really build a fanbase of games to get out there. I think personally they killed the V1 system just as it was hitting its stride and they easily could have sold it at the 150 pricepoint for another year and kept the ps2 from taking over.

    12. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      There is absolutely no reason to think anything like this will happen. Why not? How much do these other systems cost? One of the reasonings behind a 360 is that if you added up all the functions it does seperately you'd end up spending more money than you would just buying a 360.

      Huh. I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. Sony keeps expanding third-party apps? Huh? Sony ports third-party apps to the PS3?

      It means that linux applications move over to the system so that its able to be used effectively with 3rd party apps. Think about it. You could create a large plethora of home user system software using the cell ability combined with Linux. Its better than using Windows for the express reason that its better to buy an Apple. Because you are dealing with a single setup closed system that isn't going to change from machine to machine. So any Q&A you need to do is done quickly and effeciently. Reliability is higher too. Sure the cell is a pain to program for but once optimized you could easily use it for a number of other tasks and you only have to program it once for one system and not over 1000 different configurations of a Modern PC hardware setup.

      No reason for this to happen. In fact, sales are decreasing, which means 3rd-party-support will decrease, which means even less sales.

      Sales of 360 decreased significantly last summer when there was a large slump in the number of good games coming out. It wasn't until the gears of war Release that they started to pickup again. Once more titles come out sales will pickup.

      Except that it's not. Where did you get that idea? The PS3 has a mediocre graphics card, and the Cell chip simply can't keep up with modern multicore PCs.

      Why is it producing far more units in the medical field for computation for total CPU time than the average CPU. The only thing currently faster is a high end GPU. Modern CPU's are being held back by legacy crap because no one wants to make something based on new tech because it won't be compatable with old tech. PS3 so far has also been far more reliable than the 360. Sure they freeze up in the display due to poor cooling. But they restart and work every time which is a lot more than you can say for the xbox 360s which primary issues tend to center around the disc reader getting dirty. But they do also have plenty of the Red Ring of lights. If I wanted to dig up the data I probably would find that 99 percent of 360s in retailers have been replaced at least 1.5 times since release. As for the PS3's I think the number in comparison to the 360 is far far lower. The PS3 uses a fully complain verision of HDMI. The 360 uses an older version(though I've heard rumors of them testing an HDMI 2.0) Also, as for Blu-ray winning its easy to see. Go to your nearest Circuit City store or Best Buy even. Look at the blu-ray section. (well merchandised, well organized) Look at the HD-DVD section( Massive Clutter) It's all about the merchandising. Customer is going to go with the one thats easier to browse through and find the titles they want. Store is going to push the one that pleases them to.

      Ah, and that explains your cognitive dissonance. You're financially invested in Sony's success. Good luck with that.

      Economics, dictates that. Sony Stock is at what? A 3 year high. So is Microsoft's at the moment which I did ride from 21 out to 30 and sold laughing as it sank back down to 27 and I invested into Nintendo and Sony making another 20 percent on both. The 360 may very well win this round in total sales numbers. But I'm willing to bet that sony will create profit out of the PS3 before it's all said and done.
    13. Re:2008 by LKM · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I think we've already established that you're financially invested in Sony. Which explains your strange arguments.

      This is an entirely different argument, but I'd like to go into it anyway since you bring it up. You say that you think it was wrong for Microsoft to kill the Xbox since it was starting to gain ground. I can't see that. Microsoft had two very good reasons for killing the Xbox: First, it was entrenched in the hardcore market. The size, the looks, the games, the people who bought an Xbox, all hardcore gamers. That's a bad position to be in, since the PS2 got its market share by being the console for the average dude, not by being the hardcore console. It was too late for Microsoft to fix this, so they tried again, with a sleek, white console with lots of different launch titles.

      Second, Microsoft had made mistakes when assembling parts, leaving hardware providers in a position of power. Microsoft was not able to make money on the hardware even years after launching, so they had to start fresh.

    14. Re:2008 by GregPK · · Score: 1

      It was just hitting its stride among the mainstream gamer at the 150 dollar pricepoint. Though, you are right, Nvidia and Intel had them by the balls. They wouldn't back down on price so Microsoft left. I figured that Microsoft had raised the prices up to 180 bucks to breakeven on the rest of the consoles at which they still continued to sell and sell very well. Even the used ones still sell out in a day. Microsoft could have easily raked in another 10 million console sales had they kept the original around even at the 179 dollar price point.

  20. Huh??? by LKM · · Score: 1

    Not only is the third party Wii library a joke

    Yeah, games like Godfather: Blackhand Edition, Elebits, Trauma Center, Madden or Rayman really are jokes. No, wait, they're not - even the ports are often better on the Wii than on other consoles.

    but the big first party titles like Metroid are looking like crap.

    Yeah, because Metroid: Prime is only about the third-highest rated game of all time, so the sequel surely must be crap.

    I'm not even sure why you bothered to post. Nobody is going to take your fanboy ranting seriously.

  21. South Korean Console Market? by Tz-Auber · · Score: 1

    Isn't the S. Korean console market typically not a big winner since they are historically PC gamers primarily? I believe they have (had?) ridiculous tariffs related to (Japanese) video game consoles, leaving pretty much no competition for the PC market. The news reads to me as 'Sony releases their floundering console to an uninterested market'

  22. The 360 is a failure, too by LKM · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I'm having trouble reading this. You opened a bunch of tags instead of closing them. Let me just say that comparing the PS3 to the 360 is a bad idea. The 360 is a miserable failure. It had the whole next-gen market to itself for a whole year, it has tons of A-List titles from all kinds of genres, yet it still does not manage to outsell the original Xbox.

    Yes. The PS3 will probably catch up with the 360 within a few years. That's not success, that's a disgrace. It should have outsold the 360 within a year or two, and it should have sold four or even five times as many consoles within 6 years.

    And no. The Cell isn't what you think it is.

  23. real numbers by solomonrex · · Score: 1

    1. The figures for ps1 were from an era with less people. The numbers for ps3 should be much better now.
    2. Sony was a completely unproven upstart in gaming at the time. The HUUUGE lead in from the ps2 should lead to much, much better numbers for the ps3.
    3. Sony based their business plan on better numbers for the ps3.

    It's not a selective memory. The bar is raised each generation, because gaming has gone from millions of dollars to billions of dollars.

  24. ok, XNA for PS3? uh-uh. by solomonrex · · Score: 1

    I couldn't let this one go: "A) they will have thier act together and build a equal to Microsofts XNA tools for developers" PS3 programming will never be XNA simple. And there isn't another company in the world that can do XNA. Their XNA is LittleBigPlanet (level design game) and Home (where they will host 'gadget' level stuff). That's it, and Home customization on that level isn't coming in 2008. This is the console that took months to adapt fl0w - XNA isn't happening. Harrison's speech about user content is pretty much going to mean Home and LBP.

  25. Parent is nonsense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Wii is selling on a PS2 track. The PS3 is about 1.5 million behind.

    http://www.vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=PS2&reg1 =America&cons2=PS3&reg2=America&cons3=Wii&reg3=Ame rica&align=1

    Admittedly it's quite hard to tell from this plot, but it shows PS2 and Wii are similar, and Wii is about 1.5 Million ahead of PS3 in North America.

    A lot of people have replied to this assuming the parent was correct, but it aint.

    (Umm, unless the claim is that PS3 is only 100,000 per week ahead, but that is pretty catastrophic if it's true.)