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."

Comments

Price + Lack of games

[wframe9109]

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.

Re:Price + Lack of games

[ClamIAm]

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.

Hmmm

[TB]

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.

Re:Hmmm

[metroid composite]

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).

Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3

[AcidLacedPenguiN]

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

Re:As much as I'd like to have a PS3

[benzapp]

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.