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July NPDs Show PS3 Didn't Pull Ahead of 360
Despite last month's price drop, Sony's PlayStation 3 console just couldn't pull ahead of the Microsoft Xbox 360. Both, according to the latest NPD results, are still dwarfed by the continued domination of Nintendo's Wii console. 1up has the numbers for July: 'PlayStation 2 - 222k, PlayStation 3 - 159k, PSP - 214k, Xbox 360 - 170k, Wii - 425k, Nintendo DS - 405k, Game Boy Advance -- 87k.' For further commentary we can turn to Gamasutra, which offers a further breakdown on the numbers and some big picture perspective for this year: "Total industry revenue for 2007 presently stands at $7.0 billion. If there is no year-on-year growth for any month until the end of 2007, then the industry will finish the year with $14.5 billion in revenue, an increase in 16% over 2006. That's a reasonably pessimistic scenario ... If we start with our current $7.0 billion as of the end of July and continue at a rate of 40% growth through the end of the year, then we arrive at a total of $17.5 billion for all of 2007 ... If Wii supply constraints are eased, Halo 3 sells as well as expected, Sony's first-party software attracts more PS3 buyers, and Rock Band and Guitar Hero III are both hits, it seems likely that revenues may go above $18 billion. In this optimistic scenario, industry revenues during the single month of December 2007 would equal or surpass the total annual revenue from all of 1997."
Apparently PS3 can't pull ahead of PS2, much less competitors products.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
My 2nd 360 just died. First one shit the bed within 30 minutes of opening the box. Second one lasted about eight months of light use. This time it was the DVD-ROM drive that died.
I can recommend the 360 as an amazing game machine. But it's hard to recommend it as a piece of hardware. I also have a PS3, which I've used for almost nothing more than playing BD movies. Definitely a better hardware and case design. If I were a heavy gamer though, I'd still probably prefer the 360.
Even if Sony never breaks even with the PS3 itself, they still come out ahead if the PS3 establishes Blu-Ray as the winning HD format.
I finally had a chance to play a PS3 and, of the three (Wii/360/PS3), it's definitely the nicest in my opinion. I'll get one once the price comes down to $400. I'm hoping that with the capacity of the Blu-Ray, they'll start releasing anthologies of PS2 titles (similar to what they did with megaman and sonic).
*sigh* back to work...
Nintendo: 917,000
Everyone Else: 765,000
If we want to fight the crack problem in America, I think we should start with the analysts. Them and the local weather dudes.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
The reality is, no matter how much Sony or Microsoft try to spin it, is that consumers will not be buying next gen consoles in large quantities until after most of the TV market is HDTV. That will not be until 2009, when everyone is forced to switch over and the $2000 HDTV set from 2005 is selling - without the bugs on release - for $300 retail.
The market is a cruel mistress, and the Wii is surfing the wave, leading Nintendo fanbois and fangurls towards the next gen Wii successor they will release in 2009, completing their domination of the market.
Last night, for example, my son had three friends over for a lunar eclipse watching party (neat, turned red, blue and purple at times) and all his friends - who have xBox360 and PS3 at home - were wowed by the Wii and the games he had on it. Kids don't care about your excuses - they want what they want, as does most of the non-hardcore market that the Wii expanded into.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Also it seems extremely gimmicky in relation to the controller. Two of the mostly highly rated games, Wii Sports and Wario Ware Smooth Moves just aren't all that IMO. Wii sports is neat, and is fine for a little sports game, but I don't see anything special.
You're fairly unique in this respect, as Wii Sports isn't a pack-in in Japan, and it continues to sell well (36k as of the last week reported). At any rate, maybe it just isn't your cup of tea. I've enjoyed both titles immensely, and both are very group friendly. These are the kind of titles you pull out at parties, etc.
Take the tennis game for example. Yes, you swing the Wiimote rather than pressing a button, but that's all you are doing in effect. It doesn't measure the angle you swing at or anything, it is just timing. You hit at the right time and you get the ball to go where you want. This is the same thing you did with an older, button pressing style game, just using a different action. Interesting, but not something that really changes how games are played.
This is incorrect. It's not really your style of game, so I can see you not spending enough time to become more familiar with it, but here are some tips I pulled off an online forum that have helped me.
"Topspin: Rotate your wrist forward while swinging the remote forward (just as you would in regular tennis). This technique is particulary useful for getting good angles from the backcourt player because you can aim for sharper angles and with enough topspin the ball will still land in the court (just like regular tennis).
Backspin: Rotate your wrist backwards when making a swing. This isn't really a natural tennis movement... so, on the backhand, try holding the remote with your wrist twisted holding the face of the remote towards the screen. When you swing, move your wrist so that the back of the remote is facing towards the tv. Once you get this technique down you can add crazy sidespin, and really fast backspin so that the ball will quickly skip off the surface. This can fool the bots at lower difficulty.
Lobs: Move the remote in an upwards direction, lifting it. Good for defensive shots when you are recovering from an opponents high angled shots. It gives you more time to move back towards the middle (you'll notice bots using this technique when they get better). You can also use it for netplay to lob over the front court player into the back corner of the court."
Likewise Wario Ware seems like nothing but a giant controller gimmick. You do tons of rapid fire mini games (about 3 seconds a piece) that involve just figuring out what kind of motion they want you to make with the controller. You do it right, you win, do it wrong you lose. These are punctuated by extremely strange sound effects and visuals. Regardless, it doesn't seem like any real attempt to use the controller in an innovate way, just various gimmicks.
I'm actually a fan of the fast pace in WW. It keeps things lively, which makes it well suited for group environments. I don't think this is the type of gaming atmosphere that you seem to enjoy, so I can understand your criticism. I consider it one of my favorite titles, though.
We'll see where it goes from here, but thus far I don't see it really capturing the imagination, more I see it just putting out some silly gimmicks that people find fun. Nothing wrong with that, stupid fun is good fun, but that isn't the kind of thing that is likely to keep it going solid in the long run. After all, there's only so many controller gimmicks you can try before it gets old. What will sell me is when I see a good game that uses the controller to really enhance the experience. Something where I go "Nope, couldn't see this working well on a pad/mouse/keyboard/joystick/whatever." So far, I haven't seen that. Haven't had a change to play a whole lot of games yet but other than the gimmick games, the others seem to