Sony PS3

[Evilhead]

It's funny, because people like to jump in and say "That's not how it is!" when systems are going for cost, or less, on ebay, and they can't even move from store shelves.

I guess there was too much negative hype, this time.

Well, I think it's a combination of an already high priced console mixed with an oversaturated market. I called it many pages back. When everyone who buys a launch PS3 sells it on eBay and Sony actually DOES send out more consoles as promised, you'll see the thing going for not much more than retail. Good!

[SilverStar]

If less than half a million consoles can saturate the market for the early adopters, that's not a good thing, Evilhead. That means that, for the most part, they're stuck actually having to prove why they're better than the 360 to be able to move what's effectively the same hardware, at a huge markup and with few games.

As everyone is pointing out, MS was able to move over a million units before they hit that kind of market saturation. And, as much as you may anti-fan against it, Nintendo took a LOT of the steam out of Sony's sails. Hell, a glance at google news shows that much, at least on my side. 2-3 unique articles about Wii or Nintendo are sitting in their tech section every day, and I haven't seen one for the PS3 in over a month.

It's a whole new game for Sony. Their brand name is now next to worthless, so they have to start doing something new: actually providing worthwhile software. It could be that at some point this generation, the only games of any decent quality coming out for the PS3, are those from Sony-owned studios, just as happened with the Gamecube.

[Bigfoot]

As PCWorld puts it, since the PS3 arrived too late because of delays, Nintendo stole a lot of its thunder.

[Bahamut]

Nintendo created its own buzz, but I think Sony's high price ultimately kills it for them. Their audience is largely casual gamers, so they generally aren't so interested in paying so much for a console. Price is the main limiting factor for me here - I just spent $400 on a brand new XBox 360 premium & Gears of War (and the XBox Live Arcade Unplugged pack).

[KWarp]

I knew this sort of situation was coming, but so soon? Damn.

Also, PS3s being traded for Wiis

Prediction: PS3 will never sell past 15 million units.

[atmuh]

So. Anyone want a PS3?

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/ps3s-spotted-in-atlanta-best-buy-223871.php

Seems they're pretty common on shelves now, if you just take a look for 'em.

There are two sitting in the back of my store.

After another crazy Christmas rush day we still have one left. No one will buy it.

[Evilhead]

If less than half a million consoles can saturate the market for the early adopters, that's not a good thing, Evilhead. That means that, for the most part, they're stuck actually having to prove why they're better than the 360 to be able to move what's effectively the same hardware, at a huge markup and with few games.

What I meant was that the second hand market was saturated. When you have PS3s trickling in to retail shops and almost EVERY launch PS3 being sold on eBay you can't expect them all to sell for $1200. Some did, but the people who bought them were idiots.

[Bahamut]

Launch day craze - people are idiots regardless.

And someone got massively lucky - they also used the American Express 25% off a total purchase coupon at the Times Square Toys 'R Us on Friday to get themselves a PS3 for $450.

[SilverStar]

If less than half a million consoles can saturate the market for the early adopters, that's not a good thing, Evilhead. That means that, for the most part, they're stuck actually having to prove why they're better than the 360 to be able to move what's effectively the same hardware, at a huge markup and with few games.

What I meant was that the second hand market was saturated. When you have PS3s trickling in to retail shops and almost EVERY launch PS3 being sold on eBay you can't expect them all to sell for $1200. Some did, but the people who bought them were idiots.

Big difference between launch units going for $1200+, and having units only a month later, still unopened, going for a loss on ebay and sitting around gathering dust on a store shelf, unable to be moved short of giving it away for half price.

In Japan, they may not be able to last on store shelves, but in the US they're sitting there, for days or weeks, being mentioned to almost everyone who comes through, and can't even be moved. Wal-mart one of my friends work at, still has a PS3 from LAUNCH DAY. Until it sells, they're not even putting in an order for a new shipment. People have asked when they're getting a new shipment in, and when they find out they still have one from launch, they decide to go for something else instead.

[Bahamut]

You have too much time on your hands SilverStar.

[KWarp]

You have too much time on your hands SilverStar.

Who here doesn't?

[SilverStar]

You have too much time on your hands SilverStar.

Would you rather I call you a fgtmod, just to make you feel like a welcome mod? Because, you know, you can't be a good mod if you don't have a lot of time to hang around the forums and, well.. moderate.

(I'm just joking, of course. Now, if Evilhead had been made a mod in gendesc, you'd have the OCR Troll King, out to ban everyone who says anything positive about Nintendo )

[Bahamut]

You have too much time on your hands SilverStar.

Would you rather I call you a fgtmod, just to make you feel like a welcome mod? Because, you know, you can't be a good mod if you don't have a lot of time to hang around the forums and, well.. moderate.

(I'm just joking, of course. Now, if Evilhead had been made a mod in gendesc, you'd have the OCR Troll King, out to ban everyone who says anything positive about Nintendo )

Evilhead is fairly mature about things, even if he does troll a bit.

But the point there was that these politics really don't mean much to gamers - it's only the games themselves that matter, and gamers have shown that they're quite willing to take crap up the ass for the games (PS2's PR lies and hyperbole). I wouldn't worry too much except about the game selection. If blu-ray does take off I will most certainly buy a PS3 though, despite my reservations about giving Sony control of a format, as a DVD player for my parents.

[SilverStar]

You have too much time on your hands SilverStar.

Would you rather I call you a fgtmod, just to make you feel like a welcome mod? Because, you know, you can't be a good mod if you don't have a lot of time to hang around the forums and, well.. moderate.

(I'm just joking, of course. Now, if Evilhead had been made a mod in gendesc, you'd have the OCR Troll King, out to ban everyone who says anything positive about Nintendo )

Evilhead is fairly mature about things, even if he does troll a bit.

But the point there was that these politics really don't mean much to gamers - it's only the games themselves that matter, and gamers have shown that they're quite willing to take crap up the ass for the games (PS2's PR lies and hyperbole). I wouldn't worry too much except about the game selection. If blu-ray does take off I will most certainly buy a PS3 though, despite my reservations about giving Sony control of a format, as a DVD player for my parents.

And at this point, Sony is constantly losing more and more exclusive titles. They really only have a small handful of exclusive IP that can make them money. One in.. what? 8 reviews, makes the PS3 version of a port seem like it's as good, or better, than the existing 360 version, even among games that have been built from the ground up, to take advantage of the PS3.

I'm afraid that, even purely from the perspective of the games, the PS3 just isn't offering what the competition is. According to the NDP, only 80K copies of Resistance was sold in the US, in November. Through the month, it barely hit a 1:1 ratio of games to hardware. The software just isn't there yet.

But, granted, it did take MS about 6 months to really get the 360 off the ground with appealing games. Sony needs to put some heavy, american-style focus on the network features, or the entire Playstation Network idea might not turn out much better than what it appears the Wii is going to have(just with a lot less paranoia).

[Bahamut]

Well, the hardware sales has been erratic due to the extreme shortage, so we'll see what happens to software sales after. That software library of exclusives may look low now, but remember that the smaller Japanese developers in general will probably still stick with Sony. In any case, this spring should bring us some more news about the future of the console.

[SilverStar]

Well, the hardware sales has been erratic due to the extreme shortage, so we'll see what happens to software sales after. That software library of exclusives may look low now, but remember that the smaller Japanese developers in general will probably still stick with Sony. In any case, this spring should bring us some more news about the future of the console.

Aye. While I'd like to see Sony knocked down hard, I don't quite want them to end up like Nintendo was with the Gamecube. If that's the case, Sony simply wouldn't be able to stay afloat, simply from the huge hit they take per unit.

I want Sony to stick around for a PS4, as unlikely as it may seem right now, and let them finally do it all right.

Right now it seems like it's a major shift in the entire electronic entertainment industry. MS is starting to pull ahead in the games division, actually making a profit, while their PC/OS market looks highly uncertain(Most people simply see no reason to upgrade to Vista.. even if their machines could support it properly). Sony has been kicked squarely in the teeth and needs to clear their head before they're knocked clear out of the race, and Nintendo has shown that, finally, it's the gameplay that truly matters. Even if Nintendo doesn't actually take any marketshare from MS or Sony among the "hardcore" crowd, they're growing the fanbase faster than anyone anticipated, simply by appealing to the former and non-gamers.

And then there's the entire modder community that's going totally batshit over the Wii, trying to re-engineer the remote to be used for absolutely anything they can think of, in any number of tinkering ways. That alone is threatening to push the Wii from being a "fringe" element, to turning it into a primary source of use, for a device that could see wide use in the mainstream PC industry.

No matter how things shake up in the next year, by the end of this cycle things should be in ways no one can really expect right now. Macs could overtake the Windows-based PCs(with Linux picking up the slack), Nintendo could be the dominant force in an industry that tops even Hollywood, and MS could find that it has a real hit wonder on its hands, by marketing a console to the rabid MMO fanbase, who are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars in pure profit every year, just to play the same couple of games, as long as they're kept fresh and up to date(Too bad Sega hasn't learned it's lesson until -maybe- with PSU). And Sony, the once-tyrant of the industry, who towered above even the mighty and ancient Nintendo empire, could be reduced to little more than a footnote.

But, yeah. Good luck Sony. You honestly do need it.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Aye. While I'd like to see Sony knocked down hard, I don't quite want them to end up like Nintendo was with the Gamecube. If that's the case, Sony simply wouldn't be able to stay afloat, simply from the huge hit they take per unit.

I want Sony to stick around for a PS4, as unlikely as it may seem right now, and let them finally do it all right.

I actually feel nostalgic for the older Playstation days, but I think it's good for the company if they can take note of all the things they've done wrong through their hubris. But Sony was run pretty shadily for a long time. At least they can do something more shrewd like what Nintendo did with the Wii. Maybe.

Sony needs to stop messing around and making their system the premiere choice for 3rd party development like it used to be. Now, apparently, it's more viable to build upon the 360 and even the Wii for the smaller titles.

Right now it seems like it's a major shift in the entire electronic entertainment industry. MS is starting to pull ahead in the games division, actually making a profit

If you said that a year ago, most people would have laughed. Including me.

while their PC/OS market looks highly uncertain(Most people simply see no reason to upgrade to Vista.. even if their machines could support it properly).

We'll have to see about that. MS could package in Vista with the newer, multi-core processor machines within a year. That's how they pushed Windows XP, even though its software sales were pretty good to begin with. Actually, I won't be surprised if the Vista starts taking hold a few years down. Windows XP had a lot of criticism in its early years too, I remember.

And then there's the entire modder community that's going totally batshit over the Wii, trying to re-engineer the remote to be used for absolutely anything they can think of, in any number of tinkering ways. That alone is threatening to push the Wii from being a "fringe" element, to turning it into a primary source of use, for a device that could see wide use in the mainstream PC industry.

I think it is simply the case of a Nintendo system getting some modding and reverse engineering action that the Playstations and the Xboxs's have been getting for almost a decade now. I expect to see burnt games and roms soon.

[PriZm]

So I finally sold my 20GB PS3 for 700 $CAN (which is barely over the 660 CAN$ it cost including taxes) and got me a full-fledged 60GB and, apart from the very small choice of titles, I love it.

The interface is clean and easy to use. The interface seems clean and easy to use, the controller is remarkably light and the R2 and L2 being more 'analogish' is all very sweet. Resistance looks fucking awesome, a bit better than Gears of War from what I've seen. I don't normally like shooters but this one got me.

The system is clearly designed to be used with HDTVs, because even the interface looks awful in 480i. But I'm sure it promises to be a great systems when the better games come out.

The major cons I see are the following:

1) there is no way to downgrade resolution easily, apart from disabling the higher resolutions everytime you want to play a game with lower resolution. Since I use HDMI, I have to switch to AV and 480i everytime I want to play a PS2 game since they look better that way.

2) it cannot play .avi files on a DVD. Like, I cannot download an anime from the internet and play it with the base OS. Of course with Linux the problem will be solved, but it still is a feature I would have liked in the base OS.

3) The error messages don't tell you anything. While trying to register my account on the PlaystationShop, I received an error message telling my screen name was invalid for no particular reason, and I kept trying until I found one that was accepted. I tried using at least one number in my name (pak0), using symbols PriZm[A01]) and it kept telling me it was invalid. So I finally settled with PriZm001 but it bothered me like hell.

Since the Wii doesn't compete directly with either MS or Sony, as it is designed for a completely different use, I don't see Sony dreamcasting this one. I think, even if it loses exclusives, the Japanese still seem to vouch for it and make it a choice console over the X360 for developers.

I would love to see the three companies aiming for three different markets:

1) the Wii for party oriented games

2) the X360 for American developers

3) the PS3 for Japanese developers

That way, the consumer would have a clear idea of what they're purchasing when they're buying the console.

[Bigfoot]

If anyone is interested, next Sunday, Best Buys should have more PS3s for the next Sunday's ad. Our store has 42.

One PS3 actually got returned yesterday(never opened), and an employee went to walk back to put it on the shelf. She didn't even make it back before someone told her they wanted it.

[Poiso]

So I got one of these guys for Christmas. The games I played (Genshi, Resistance) sure were pretty.

Now, to wait for VF5.

[Bahamut]

http://www.destructoid.com/playstation-3-kiosks-freezing-up-on-purpose--28860.phtml

This news gets the ROFL. Fuck Sony PR, they're full of shit.

[Bigfoot]

http://www.destructoid.com/playstation-3-kiosks-freezing-up-on-purpose--28860.phtml

This news gets the ROFL. Fuck Sony PR, they're full of shit.

Hahaha, what the fuck?

[SilverStar]

*clears his throat*

SONY LOL

I'm sorry.. that's the only way to respond to anything coming from any Sony rep these days. They've become the lead-in, the body AND the punchline to just about any possible joke, no matter how innocent, or how bawdy it might be.

[The Damned]

Fuck you, Bahamut, I was about to post that.

Now, I have personally seen two PS3 demo units in a store. The same store, in fact. Anyone in Edmonton, go to the HMV at West Ed, upstairs. They have two of them.

That day, I saw one guy completely hoarding one demo to himself. He was playing basketball, and for the half hour or so I was there, he was playing it. Non-stop.

The second unit had, you guessed it, Metal Storm. And, you also guessed it, it was frozen. I pushed the buttons, I felt around the case for a reset switch, I even told the people behind the counter. They didn't come out and do anything with it.

So, I guess, if what Sony reps say is true, people are more likely to play Metal Storm than sports games. Wait... Isn't racing considered a sport?

Now, reps aren't exactly the most... uh... "well-versed" people when it comes to technical info, so I suspect that the guy was bullshitting out his mouth when he said this was intentional.

But then, Sony likes to bullshit a lot, don't they? The E3 trailers being in-game footage, the power of the Cell processor, the ads, that fake blog... wow. Fire everyone in your marketing division and start over from scratch Sony. Do both yourself and us a favor and stop thins sort of shit. Maybe when you act like you want me to buy your stuff, I will.

EDIT: Oh dear god of all that is pure and wholesome, do not read the comments after the article. It will hurt you. It makes the terrible shit we do to each other look like a calm, collected debate at Princeton or Harvard. Seriously, don't read it.

[Thalzon]

That Gamez1 kid is rofl.