More PlayStation 3 Predictions 200
GreyGusMan writes "On the heels of last week's report that the PlayStation 3 would be released by the end of the year, CNN/Money is now reporting that Sony will not release its next console until 2006 - a year later than most of the industry has been predicting up until now. The column points out that PlayStation 2 sales have remained stong for much longer than the PlayStation and the technology Sony has planned will take a long time to create. Meanwhile, the same column mentions that the expected May price cut may be less than expected. Most people were expecting the PS2 to drop to $149, but $179 is now also a possibility."
PS2 Prices (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, if FF X-2 is PS/2 only, I might have to pick one up
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:1, Interesting)
Have been reading nothing but negative feelings on the whole concept. From what has been divulged, the game is a pretty blatant attempt at 'fan service'. If you get off on skimpy clothes and J-pop with only one new character to the three you get for the whole game, more power to you. Supposed to only have about 12 hours of play, give or take a few hours, so the game is VERY short compared to FFX.
It is sad to see Square slipping so far down the mountain
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:2)
I liked FFX, but I'm betting there was only about 12 hours of actual play time in that whole game. Took us about 40 hours to beat the first run through (stayed up for 2 days straight) and a majority of the time we were "playing", I was watching cutscenes.
Not that they didn't add to the story.... I remember walking around, building up experience etc and walking into the boss fights and totally kicking butt since I was probably way too high up on exp....
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:2)
While I stayed up straight to play the first Final Fantasy, nowadays I play maybe an hour or two a week (and haven't even had a system hooked up in over a year). Even if you play two hours a day (a pretty large amount of time), then you're looking at a month worth of game.
I'm pretty sure that the games aren't intended to be played marathon style. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen. But I've sat through Neon Genesis Evangelion, the full
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:2)
Secondly, they shipped 1.8 million copies here on the first day and sold an unbelievable 1.2 million copies. If that's slipping down a mountain, I don
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:2)
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:1)
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:1)
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:1)
Re:PS2 Prices (Score:1)
well darn it. (Score:2, Funny)
Aww gee, I've mowed lawns for Old Man McGregor for the past year or so to earn my own playstation 2, earning $2 bucks per week, finally saving $150. Shucks, can't we make a deal here?
Re:well darn it. (Score:2, Funny)
Hey! You've cheated Old Man McGregor out of almost $50 somehow!
Durn theivin' kids . . .
P
Re:well darn it. (Score:2, Funny)
Best line: And who else but sweet Rosemarie, the golden-haired darling of our gang, should play the part of the slovenly mother-whore who's constantly giving birth to fist-sized maggots?
Why would they want to? (Score:5, Insightful)
Hell, why not milk the PS2 for as long as they can? I've got to imagine that as the technology in the PS2 gets cheaper, they'll actually start making money per unit instead of losing it, and as long as people are buying, then more profit for Sony.
Apparantly it's a winning strategy since people are still buying PSOnes...
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:5, Interesting)
As it is, they're already behind Xbox technologically and the only thing keeping PS2 winning is the game selection. If MS buys up enough games companies for Xbox only titles, PS2 will start losing market share heavily.
*shrug* time will tell, as ever; 3 years is a long time for MS to make Sony an also ran.
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:5, Insightful)
At almost every stage, Nintendo had the better platform, but because of bonehead licensing, they never really got developers behind them. Also, they always came out with gimpy media: cartridges, mini-DVDs, instead of CDs and regular DVDs.
X-Box has also struggled with developers, but they clearly had (and still has) the best engine behind the games: it's twice as fast as the PS2. As Nintendo (and briefly, Sega) have shown us is that it's not the faster box that wins.
Sony wins with letting anyone and their brother develop games (they even sold ones that let you develop games on your own!), and they won by making it easily hackable. When people realized that after dropping a few dollars to (illegally) modify their PS1 or PS2, they could download all of games off the net or copy their friends' games, it took off and never looked back. At any point, if Sony wanted to close up the ability to modchip their machines, I'm sure they could have, but why would they?
If Microsoft or Nintendo really want to compete, they should worry less about processing power and more about getting people behind them.
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:1)
Actually, they have been trying...
Lik-Sang Back Online, Minus Modchips [slashdot.org] and Game Chipping In Limbo [news.com.au]
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:2)
Really? A cache-crippled Celeron on a PC motherboard?
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, it's a cache crippled P3. While the cache is the same size as the celery, the cache access latency is the same as the P3. The celery's cache access latency is two extra clock cycles longer than a P3, slowing it down. So the X-box processor is slower than a P3 (less cache), but faster than the celery (lower cache latency).
-MDL
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:2)
Does the NES ring a bell to anyone anymore?
The Sega Master System was superior to Nintendo's 8-bit machine technically, but got trounced in the market. Why? Because just about every developer signed an exclusive license to develop for the NES. Sega only had themselves and a handful of third-parties. IOW, for most of the 1980's the exact opposite of your assertion re
They *already* make $$ per unit (Score:1)
Re:Why would they want to? (Score:2)
Sony has long since been making a profit on PS2 sales. But, yes, all the more reason for them not to be in a big rush with PS3.
Ingest with a single crystal of Sodium Chloride... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the PS3 is likely anywhere from Christmas 2004 to Christmas 2005. The standard for a LONG TIME has been a 5 year system cycle, and there's nothing to suggest that the next generation will be any different. Whatever Sony is planning is likely not past the drawing board stage, and there's certainly a lot of life left in their Playstation 2 system.
Don't worry people... you can all enjoy your PS2s for a couple of years to come, at least.
Re:Ingest with a single crystal of Sodium Chloride (Score:3, Interesting)
2006 will put the PS2 *WAY* behind 2006 graphics and CPU capabilities... While I agree that the games might actually improve (as they did w/the PS1 as the programmers I guess got smarter with what they were able to do w/the machine) they might also degrade as people become uninterested.
A computer lasts about 2 years... Why would a console last 6?
Just my worthless
Re:Ingest with a single crystal of Sodium Chloride (Score:5, Insightful)
Because the hardware is more focused on a single purpose and because that is a benefit of consoles. Joe Average likes consoles as opposed to computer gaming because it is a single purchase that lasts a much longer time. He is not forced into a constant upgrade cycle to stay current. If Sony, MS, and Nintendo start making new consoles every two years they will alienate a lot of people. Look at what all those "upgrades" did to Sega during the Saturn days.
Re:Ingest with a single crystal of Sodium Chloride (Score:3)
It's interesting how a proprietary gaming platform can actually empower the consumer. It seems for PCs, the manufacturers manipulate the consumers so they always have an inferiority complex about their hardware. Console owners don't care too much that their hardware is not bleeding edge any more--they just want more and more games.
In topics about the PS3, some things are certain.. (Score:5, Funny)
2. People will complain about said release date change and blame it on either Sony, Microsoft or CowboyNeal.
3. SOMEONE will post a link to that 'Ghost of Christmas Future' PS5 story on TheOnion.
Re:In topics about the PS3, some things are certai (Score:1)
4) Someone will call the Gamecube a 'kiddie' machine, despite this having nothing to do with the topic
5) Someone else will take great offense and start listing titles with T or M ratings
6) Someone will counter with poor US Gamecube sales
6) Someone else will reply that Microsoft aren't selling many XBoxes in Japan
When Sony start to see a slowdown in PS2 sales and a competitor actually coming even close to them, they might think about releasing PS3, but not much sooner. Apart from anything, the
Re:In topics about the PS3, some things are certai (Score:1)
And one of the lauch titles will be:
7) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 78 will be one of the titles available at launch.
to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:5, Insightful)
off the software. The xbox was out late was never got traction, and the gamecube is still
mainly targetted at kiddies..
MS is now in the awkward situation of either being content at number 2 or risk further
alienating its base by releasing the next console too early. Nintendo being in that same leaky
boat. So whether we like it or not, Sony's domination over this current generation of
consoles will push out innovation for the next generation at least by an extra year or two.
It'll be good for sony's bottomline but gamers will have to be happy with what they got for a
little while...
Is it just me, or there seems to be a slowdown in major AAA titles in the last year or so for the
consoles? I would generally buy at least 3 to 4 AAA titles a year, but this year and last year,
Vice City is the only title I've picked up.. Either I'm getting pickier.. or the picking's
gotten a lot thinner..
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:5, Interesting)
They're not out of the game yet, but without a turnaround, they're going to become irrelevant soon.
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
2x GameCubes
2x Memory Cards
1x Extra Controller
4x Games (Pikmin, Mario Sunshine and a couple of others)
for a grand total of £200! (that's about US$310). If I was buying ps2 (I already have one of those) I'd be lucky to get one console and a couple of games for that.
They've been flying off the shelves of Dixons and Argos, whilst other retailers are still selling the consoles on their own for £130.
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
off the software. The xbox was out late was never got traction, and the gamecube is still
mainly targetted at kiddies..
DING DING DING DING DING DING
CONGRATULATIONS! You're the 1,000,000th person to recite these same old claims about the current state of the console market!!!
WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Course, that said, super monkey ball is fun no matter how old you are.
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Re:to the victors goes the spoils.. (Score:2)
Mario Kart Deadly Alliance? Man, that game has come a long way...
hmm (Score:2)
Competiton (Score:3, Insightful)
As other people have said the PS2 unit itself might start making money for sony as production costs fall. Sure I would love to have the PS3 but Sony know the market will wait. Also with any luck the extra time will mean that the new technology will be even more advanced.
I look forward to the day I can play a photorealistic games rendered in real time.
Rus
Re:Competiton (Score:5, Interesting)
Repeat after me, Sony sells PS2 hardware for a profit already. Have for a while now.
I look forward to the day I can play a photorealistic games rendered in real time.
As long as the games don't suck. I look forward to the day when focus comes back to gameplay and not pretty pictures.
Re:hardware pricing lost myths (Score:2)
This is how the hardware cycle goes. One, you release it for $300 at a loss, since you've just started production and it costs a lot to get started producing something new.
As time goes by you get increases in producing efficicency and an increase on output. The PS2 has already moved to a smaller micron process AND moved the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer onto one chip to reduce prices.
When you need to, you cut the price of the console to $200, but at this point your
GameCube pricing in the UK (Score:2)
Why? Dixons has a glut of GameCubes and associated products, far more than they would like. Basically, the console hasn't done half as well as Dixons was hoping and it hopes to
Re:Competiton (Score:2)
Why do we need it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why do we need it? (Score:2)
I've been playing PC and XBox games for the past 6 months, and I finally went back to my PS2 to play a few games. I popped in Jak and Daxter-- oh, man. You know the feeling when you've been thinking about playing your NES games for a long time, and you finally go back and toss in Kid Icarus, and it's nowhere near as nice looking as you remember it? That's what I got with the PS2.
PS2 games look hideous. GTA3, DMC, MGS2, a couple others are quite nice. But the visuals on your typical PS2
Re:Why do we need it? (Score:2)
Amen to that. I just recently picked up an X-Box (long-time Panzer Dragoon fan), and other than plugging it in and firing it up to make sure it worked, I've barely touched it lately. What's been sucking up my time lately? I got pulled into re-playing Spyro the Dragon games on my old Playstation. I didn't care if the PS1 graphics weren't up to par with the taste I got while first testing out the X-Box - I was having fun. I've played plenty of pretty games (PC and console) that sucked rocks - give me a g
Re:Why do we need it? (Score:2)
Good news for everybody (Score:2, Interesting)
Sony also needs to think about their real online network that they will probably launch with PS3. PS2 hardware was a big mistake so Sony better make sure they have a go
they have to wait (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not just about games anymore. Gaming consoles will become the media hub of the future home, not PCs (yes you can argue that gaming machines are specialized PCs but that's not completely accurate), and it's critical that Sony continue with that concept, but it's risky at the same time.
Re:they have to wait (Score:2)
Yes, the PS2 with the add-on remote is a pretty darn good DVD player. However, one reason it is successful in this multi-role scheme is that the PS2 doesn't come with unanticipated DRM or other crippling roadblocks.
I say "unanticipated", because it is pretty clear to the public, now, that DVD has that CSS stuff, and that the PS2 games are proprietary. But Sony left it at that. There's no "big brother" mode
I challenge you : (Score:2)
I further challenge you to find 5 people there who know what proprietary means, bonus points if they mention computers.
PS2 is already media center (Score:2, Interesting)
With a $50 piece of software (Broadq Qcast), and my network adapter, I am able to watch video and listen to mp3s streamed off my desktop. Now I can watch all those movies and tv shows on my big screen tv instead of the computer monitor.
In fact, I use the PS2 more often with Qcast than with playing games. My TV time is probably now spent 50% watching live tv (mostly sports) and 50% movies or tv shows (no commercials) downloaded using emule.
Qcast highly recommended for anyone with a PS2.
Re:they have to wait (Score:2)
You don't think that the fact that standalone DVD players have dropped in price from $400 to as low as $50 over the past 5 years has anything to do with it?
Re:they have to wait (Score:2)
DVDs look cooler on a shelf and take less room, tend to sell for a low price, let you jump around with scene select, seem less prone to wearing down, often have bonus material, and have great picture especially when pausing. I think all of these have more to
Re:they have to wait (Score:2)
Mark my words, next generation console gaming will have as much effect on the adoption of HDTV as HDTV content does.
The main thing that has kept me away from consoles (Score:2, Redundant)
When was the last time you were using a controller for xbox online and were accused of using an aimbot? Never? Hmmm.... wonder why that is. Now lets see - for me, the last time was probably about a week ago in CS. Nuff said. (and I swear if anyone says i'm a cheator... NARF!)
Re:The main thing that has kept me away from conso (Score:2, Informative)
The main thing that has drawn me to consoles (Score:2, Insightful)
err, because the lack of aimbots has meant that you can concentrate on playing games rather than worrying that every person achieving a kill might be cheating? I know I stopped playing CS when it became impossible to have any fun due to all the cheating people; consoles have got me gaming again.
While I understand your desire to stick with K+M configs for playing firs
Re:The main thing that has drawn me to consoles (Score:2)
btw, I'm not a god at CS... I've just played enough to realize all you have to do is tap your mouse button. HEY! I guess all that tapping we did when play
This makes more sense (Score:1)
Recap (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Recap (Score:2)
at some point there will be a duplicate post on
This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess what I'm saying is, Cell had better be absolutely revolutionary-stunning-fantastic to actually make people care after that long.
Re:This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:2)
Re:This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:1)
Re:This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:1)
Re:This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:2)
If by "extremely short" you mean "the same 18 to 30 month cycle that most games take to develop," then I'll agree. It's easier to write a from-scratch renderer for the Xbox, but the other 90% of the game, plus creation of art and levels and scripting, takes the same amount of time. The renderer issue is irrelevant, too, as by now everyone has solid PS2 rendering code to lean on (or is using RenderWare).
Re:This is a _huge_ gamble (Score:2)
Sony has the problem that they have to sneak their Cell processor into a whole bunch of hardware and somehow con you into hooking it all up. Usually
5 years? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:5 years? (Score:3, Interesting)
If Sony actually delays till 2006 and Nintendo actually does make it out by 2005 (when piling hardware release predictions on top of rumors about hardware release predictions, nothing is certain) then it might give Nintendo the chance to gain the same lead Sony has gained in the last two generations. Along with the dinky mini-DVDs and the lack of a second "Z" button on the controllers, their constant lateness has been o
I predict . . . (Score:5, Funny)
The actual reason for the delay for the release date is the need to try to decrease the amount of work needed to keep the console operating. Currently the console needs the equivalent of reeling in forty seven Killer Whales per second, or 47 kW/S to generate even simple gouraud shading. Though Mr. Bayliss believes that this may be overcome through some form of "magic".
Good news for Rockstar! (Score:1, Flamebait)
Because it was a PS/2 exclusive, all those people who only played GTA3 on the PC now had to buy a PS/2 to get to the sequel!
Example of this would be me, I forced my good brother to buy the PS/2 while I bought the game (two advantages : Reduces my expenses, and the machine is not "near" me so I won't be sucked out of a social life because of Vice City ;-) )
Obviously, if they expect s
Re:Good news for Rockstar! (Score:2)
No, only those people with absolutely no self control and sufficient disposable income.
The rest of us just hunkered down to wait for the inevitable release of the PC version, which was announced a week or two ago to be May, 2003.
~Philly
no doubt. (Score:1)
You know what would be a blast .. (Score:1)
Quick rant (Score:3, Insightful)
2. Joe Six-pack doesn't care whether or not you can install Linux, or overclock the processor. That is not the way you are going to sell a games machine.
Personally... (Score:1)
The PS two.
Think of it like the re-release of the PSX. The new, smaller form factor. Bugs fixed.
What the PS two would have:
Smaller form factor.
NO DVD-movie playback (why in a second).
The ability to play PS1 and PS2 games.
The kicker: $100-150 price tag.
To get it down that low, they'll probably have to cut some other things, but hell, some things are just cruft anyway. Ditching the DVD playback could bring the price down, and could help with
Hype (Score:2)
Yeah. Right. Absolutely.
I actually have a PS2 and I'm pretty satisfied with it once I modified it to fix the broken DVD RGB output. But it's just a console, not some kind of digital messiah.
Re:would be nice if... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:would be nice if... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:would be nice if... (Score:2, Funny)
almost... you should have said something like:
"In other news... Although a prototype PS3 has not even been fully designed much less built, several guys without girlfriends got several linux distros running on it, they then got it to emulate a C64 webserver"
Re:would be nice if... (Score:1)
Re:Holy Switcheroo Batman! (Score:4, Insightful)
No, it was just some rumour circling the net as usual. Sony will not under any circumstances release a new console while their existing box (PS2) is selling well.
As for not releasing a new console until it's good and finished, hmm, I'm not sure. Sony's only real motivation to release a new console sooner rather than later is competition (XBox, gamecube etc). If one of these catches them off guard then you'll be sure to see a new PS... whether it's good and finished or not. Sony can't afford to lost market share.
RTFA (Score:2)
If you had read the article, the very first paragaphs address the whole "PS3 in 2003" thing. AND they also refer to the timeframe that the next XBox might be released.
When will the Next Nex Generation come out? (Score:3, Informative)
First Generation
1979 Atari
1980 Colceovision
1981 Intellevision
Second Generation
1984 Nintendo NES
1986 Sega Master System
Third Generation
1989 Sega Genesis
1991 Super Nintendo
Fourth Generation
1995 Sega Saturn
1995 Sony Playstation
1996 Nintendo 64
Fifth Generation
1999 Sega Dreamcast
2000 Playstation 2
2001 Xbox
2001 Gamecube
Now, if you take the average year for each Generation, you get a distint pattern -
First Generation - 1980
Second Generation -
Not quite, your view is skewed. (Score:2)
Between the 4th gen Saturn and PSX and N64 and 2nd gen SNES, Genesis, etc, you forget entirely the 3rd generation 32X, NEO*GEO home (non-CD version), 3DO, CDi, and Jaguar. It's easy to forget an unloved generation.
You also lump the PS2 and Dreamcast in with the Xbox and GameCube for no good reason -- they are very different generations. The PS2 may still be out now, but it and
Right. (Score:2)
No. The PSX/N64 are first gen, DC and PS2 are 2nd gen, and Xbox/GCN are 3rd gen. Saying that a PS2 or DC is like an Xbox or GCN is like saying that the Geforce 2 is like a Voodoo 2 because both can run Quake 2.
Re:What about true 3D? (Score:1)
Does anyone know of any modern virtual reality games out there?
Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Insightful)
The X-box vs. PS2 battle will indeed be a tough one, but I don't think that the X-box will knock the Gamecube off the market. They are targetted at completely different audiences. The Gamecube targets the younger children, with games and characters such as Zelda, Super Mario, ... Pretty friendly games, rather non-violent with more or less cartoon-like characters. OK, they have always had other games as well (Metal Gear springs to mind), but Super Mario and Zelda were and are their flagships.
While both the X-box ans the Playstation (1 or 2) can compete with the gamecube on the second type of games (for the young adults or the older children) and even might dominate the market in that category, they don't seem to have that impact on the youngest amongst the gamers and they don't seem really willing to put enough effort in it.
So, I think that there is more than enough room for at least 2 consoles, and I favor Nintendo for being one of them. They have the know-how regarding children, they work with some experienced companies on those games, ... What will happen to the other consoles... Only time will tell.
Re:Who cares? (Score:2)
What Mario and Zelda games are you playing? All the ones I play involve slashing people up with swords, crushing creatures to death, smashing other people's pottery, and running amok with a riot water cannon.
Sure it's bloodless, but that just makes it more acceptable to our children! Do you want your kids bashing ceiling tiles with their head for money?!
Re:Costs of PS2 is already cheap (Score:1)
Re:My PS2 aint gonna last till 2006... (Score:3)
mine was NOT in the batch that got recalled (according to the nice sony representative i spoke with not so long ago) which means that ill have to ship my console to them for a new laser, which i will have to pay for...and will come out to cost more than a brand new unit. so until they bring it down to a reasonable cost, i'll just go without one.
oh and by the way, the thing that irritates me the most about the whole situation is that the laser started to go to shit on me les
Re:My PS2 aint gonna last till 2006... (Score:2)
my contempt for the internet filters at my place of work are to be saved for a completely different discussion...
Re:My PS2 aint gonna last till 2006... (Score:2, Informative)
Do try just cleaning the lens before adjusting the voltage, though.
dalamcd
Re:My PS2 aint gonna last till 2006... (Score:2)
mine started out the exact opposite. dvd movies and games would get disk read errors while ps1 and regular format games would work fine. and the dvds could be made to work with a little patience in constantly ejecting and re-reading until it worked. that progressively got worse and now it reads absolutely nothing whatsoever no mat
Re:My Playstation 3 prediction (Score:1)