Still A Rough Road Ahead for the PlayStation 3

TobyToadstool writes "Despite the good news out of GDC last week, it still seems like Sony's new console has some image management to do. CNET says that the PlayStation 3 is 'the most unwanted console in recent memory' and asks 'why is the PS3 so undesirable?' They specifically question the company's wisdom in emphasizing the power of the console. Their impression is that this invites developers to neglect gameplay, in favour of investing in graphics. Likewise, Gamespot is running a piece suggesting ten ways to make the PS3 worth buying. A lower price is just one of the suggestions with exclusives, and the need for online standardization, following close behind. Looks like Sony still has its work cut out."

Seriously

[Icarus1919]

It's not "unwanted", people just don't want to pay the price. I'm more than half the people out there who have decided not to get it have decided such because of price and not one of the other reasons listed in TFA.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

It's not "unwanted", people just don't want to pay the price.

It's unwanted at that price. The price is part of the product offering. Thus, the PS3 is currently unwanted.

By the way, if Sony's hostility to their customers (like shutting down Lik-Sang, and forcing Blu-Ray on us all when it is simply not necessary) doesn't dissuade you from buying from Sony, then you are a tool and part of the problem. As long as we keep forgiving companies who treat us like shit, they will treat us like shit.

Re:Seriously

[26199]

I stopped buying Sony after the rootkit fiasco. The quality of the PS3 became a non-issue at that point.

But even ignoring external considerations, the Wii is far more appealing than the PS3. It just seems... more fun. (I'm not going to comment on the Xbox. My sense of the hypothetical is not sufficiently advanced to encompass a world where I'm willing to buy from Microsoft).

Re:

[numbski]

You've hit the nail on the head there. I simply won't pay Microsoft a dime. I don't want to shell out the cash for a PS3 either (reduce the pricetag, and perhaps we have a different story) so that leaves the Wii.

I'm hacked off at Sony too, but to be blunt, it seems like major titles go to MS and Sony, exlcusives and an occassional port go to Nintendo. Perhaps that will change.

If they would have pushed to 720p on the Wii, this would be a no-brainer, but it just feels silly to do 480p on an HDTV. :\ Ninte

Re:

[prockcore]

it just feels silly to do 480p on an HDTV

Does that mean you no longer watch DVDs?

Re:

[king-manic]

I got the ps3. I stopped buying DVDs. just feels odd to have the blu ray and still buy DVDs. Most major releases will come in blu ray for roughly $10 CND more. I don't mind the extra expence to feed content to my 50' HD TV.

Re:Seriously

[slaughts]

A 50 foot TV? Holy crap! I have got to see that!

Re:

[Andrew Kismet]

It's called IMAX [wikipedia.org] and is the cinematic equivalent of using a nuclear missile where a hammer will suffice.

Re:Seriously

[Anonymous Coward]

So, your narrowed your options down to Nintendo, the good company, whose fine business practices have never done anything to hurt the games industry? In seriousness though, I don't think making choices based on company image will get you very far. Your impression of a company is a tug of war between their PR team, other PR teams, and the media, and not particularly reliable in my opinion. I actually want to buy a Wii more than any of the other two, but that's because it's cool, not because Nintendo is supposedly less evil.

Re:

[LKM]

You make it sound as if a company either behaved perfectly, or was evil. Nintendo is not perfect (althought definitely better than during the NES times), but between Nintendo and Sony/Microsoft, it's really no contest. Nintendo has done nothing even remotely approaching what Microsoft and Sony have done. If you want to ignore that, fine, but then you're part of the general problem leading to corporations behaving like insane sociopaths. And this is not something that only applies to videogames, either. If w

Re:

[tbannist]

What if parts of a company are good are parts are evil?

Actually, I don't think you can really stop companies from behaving like insane sociopaths. It's what they're supposed to do. It's what they're designed to do. It's what they're doing all the time. It's always only about the money. Good corporate reputation? It's an angle to get more money. Creating a great product? It's an angle to get more money. Creating a crappy rip-off product? It's a shortcut to get more money.

You're right in some ways,

Re:

[wpegden]

By the way, if Sony's hostility to their customers (like shutting down Lik-Sang, and forcing Blu-Ray on us all when it is simply not necessary) doesn't dissuade you from buying from Sony, then you are a tool and part of the problem.

I agree with the sentiment, but I think Slashdot comes down on the wrong side here from a long-term perspective. Putting asside for a moment the very possible dominance of Nintendo in at least some segment of the console market, the question is: who is it better to have contr

Re:

[MeNeXT]

Better, don't buy from either one. It will encourage them and others to change their ways.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

This is why we should be opposing Microsoft more than Sony in the game market. Not because Sony has been nicer, but because Microsoft is more dangerous in the long run.

FWIW, I'm not buying an Xbox 360, either. I bought an Xbox for use as a media center because it was cheap. I can build a PC that will do the media center job for what I'd pay for an Xbox 360, so there's not even any point even if I wanted to patronize Microsoft - and I do not.

Re:

[Rycross]

[quote]Putting asside for a moment the very possible dominance of Nintendo in at least some segment of the console market, the question is: who is it better to have controlling the high-end game market, Microsoft or Sony?[/quote] Answer: Neither. Its almost never good to have one player controlling a huge portion of the industry. Which is why its a good thing that Sony is getting kicked around this generation.

Re:Seriously

[king-manic]

Just a note: Most people don't care a bit about the root kit, lik sang, or the inclusion of blu-ray. only the price and the lack of games would cross the mind of any non geek.

Re:

[Björn]

It's unwanted at that price.

Well maybe the price will go down soon since IBM just announced that it will start to produce 65 nm Cell processors. On the other hand maybe Sony will just use the lower production cost to decrease the amount lost per console sold.

Re:

[CodeBuster]

As long as we keep forgiving companies who treat us like shit, they will treat us like shit.

It is not just their customers that are getting the short end of the stick. Ask yourself why there are so many relatively high quality games for the X-Box platform (original and 360) and why there are relatively fewer games for the PS3, good though they may be (and that is subjective to unless you just LOVE the Final Fantasy franchise). Microsoft for all of its faults gives good support to their developer communi

Re:

[kinglink]

The real problem is that shutting down Lik-Sang and forcing blu-ray on us isn't the problem, at least not the big problem. Sony believes they are the big dog, they want developers to support their own online system, they want consumers to buy everything they tell them too, they want everyone to believe in them and they act like it's so.

However the consumers and developers already are moving away from them. There's a scant few exclusives and that list is now down to two or three major games. Even stuff li

Re:

[StikyPad]

Sony sued Lik-Sang, they didn't shut them down. It's also worth noting that MS and Nintendo sued them as well -- the last round from Sony was just the proverbial straw.

Anyway, a cutting edge CPU and a BR drive for $600 is a good price. Sure, you could pay $300 for a console now, and then $300 for an HD player in 2 years, but why bother? As I see it, the problem is not the price, it's that there are no compelling titles available. If you're going to sell a game machine, by God it had better have some gam

Re:

[Krakhan]

Although Nintendo did do a lot of nasty things when they had their monopoly in the NES days, Galoob actually won that lawsuit against Nintendo.

Re:

[Runefox]

Sega did, too, but not before Nintendo entirely sunk the Master System in North America due to their "Develop for us and only us - Or don't develop for us at all!" policy. Though eventually deemed illegal, it didn't help the Master System, which by then was only known in North America for its rather good / bad arcade ports, and for some, Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd and Wonderboy.

Re:Seriously

[gstoddart]

I'm more than half the people out there who have decided not to get it

Well, if you buy one, they'll have sold twice as much. Get on with it man. ;-)

Cheers

Re:Seriously

[Who235]

Price is a huge factor for me, but there are others.

I'll admit it right here - the only thing that made me buy a PS2 was the availability of GTA3. I know the GTA games came out later on Xbox, but I didn't know they would at the time I bought my PS2.

If GTA4 was exclusive to the PS3, I'd seriously consider buying one. As it stands now, I might as well buy an Xbox and a Wii for the price of one PS3 and have GTA4 and the embarrasingly fun Wii games on top of it.

If they had some of the game exclusives that I couldn't live without, I'd save up and buy one, but there's no point if I can get the games on another console for less money.

Re:Seriously

[ArcherB]

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. It's the games that make the console, not the other way around (although more power can mean better games!)

I think Sony should offer to pay for or at least split the development costs for some heavy hitter games. If Sony could team up with Blizzard, for example, to make a PS3 version of WOW that shares the online world with PC's, it may go a long way toward selling consoles.

Re:

[king-manic]

Sure you could plug in a usb mouse and keyboard but would it be all that practical but I'm not sure Blizzrd wants to cut sony into it's cash cow.

Re:

[Babbster]

Sure you could plug in a usb mouse and keyboard but would it be all that practical but I'm not sure Blizzrd wants to cut sony into it's cash cow.

Besides, though it's not doing nearly the business that WoW is (nothing is), Sony is still in competition with Blizzard in the MMOG realm with Everquest/Everquest 2 and Star Wars Galaxies. They would have no interest in propping Blizzard up further, any more than Blizzard would want Sony to have a piece of their WoW pie.

I should also note that we, as consumers,

Re:

[voice_of_all_reason]

I don't think that happens anymore. They might dangle it in front of you for awile, hoping you'll take the bait and get a system, but after awile the greed is strong in them, and they must port it.

Re:

[LoudMusic]

It's not "unwanted", people just don't want to pay the price. I'm more than half the people out there who have decided not to get it have decided such because of price and not one of the other reasons listed in TFA.

I'm willing to pay the price - it just better be worth it. Currently it's not because of the other items listed in TFA. More games, more features, online online online capabilities!

Re:

[Stormwatch]

It's not "unwanted", people just don't want to pay the price.

Speak for yourself. I wouldn't want that thing even if I could get it for free.

How does anyone know it's unwanted?

[SuperKendall]

Since the console still does not have easy availability everywhere for those that want one (Amazon had them in stock for several days then sold out again), how does anyone know if people want them or not?

Currently, it would seem people want them because when Amazon gets them in stock the sales rank rises well about the XBox 360 (though not the Wii). Until there is constant stock everywhere I don't think anyone can be judging what demand for the console really is.

Right. Being a happy PS3 owner isn't unusual.

[Paradox]

Yeah.

The PS3 is probably used only slightly less than my cable box. It's a fantastic DVD player, media player, Blu-ray player, and game console. Once I got over the price, I took the plunge and grabbed it. It's on for a few hours every night, in either linux or crossbar.

What's really ironic is that Sony has made the most open console, and no one seems to want to mention this. If it weren't so expensive, we'd see an incredible surge of hack activity on the product. With a free and fairly good linux distro already available, the sky is really the limit. Not to mention that with a quick conversion it plays nearly any media I download. It also uses Bluetooth peripherals. No overpriced-piece-of-crap microphones or obnoxious cable adaptors. All my mice and keyboards already work with it.

What's most frustrating about being a PS3 owner is that everyone immediately assumes you've wasted your money. If you explain that the PS3 has been a terrific experience, they immediate assume you either: a) Don't have a Wii and are bitter or b) are a Sony shill.

At least Motorstorm is out now. When people come over and I beep on the PS3, their snide comments quickly fall off as they watch a few rounds. And I actually have people coming over to play VF5, which was the first time I had friends want to check out my PS3.

I hope with the upcoming price drop and Home (and Little Big World) on the way, Sony will get the PS3 back on track, because there really is a lot to like about it.

Re:

[MeanderingMind]

Slashdot: It's Not For Common Sense

Who are you and what have you done with the wise person who wrote this signiture?

Joking aside, I appreciate your candid appraisal. Most people who post in favor of Sony here do so as AC and without Common Sense (TM). While there can definitely be debate concerning the PS3, at least with your post it is such and not a flame war over reality bending points on all sides.

Re:Right. Being a happy PS3 owner isn't unusual.

[king-manic]

I got one recently as well. I feel the whole price argument is slightly overblown for Canadians since it's about $50 more then my launch Ps2 after inflation, but it's a "good" blu-ray player while my Ps2 was a "crap" DVD player. I enjoy all the little extra and the fact they didn't do the trademark 100% propriatary thing that was Sony electronics trademark. It support compact flash, SD, and minidisk. It does the whole USB thing too and I can put linus on it. I think they made it right but marketted it badly. And they created a lot of ill will with their upper managemetn beign so sure of it's landslide victory.

I think they can recover but they need ot shut up their marketroids for a while and let the product speak for itself. Unlike most of slashdot, the general public isn't very anti-PS3 they just need a reason to want one. One of the upcoming games liek MGS4 would do it.

Re:

[flewp]

It does the whole USB thing too and I can put linus on it.

Wow, how'd you convince him to do that?

Re:

[king-manic]

He likes the feel of smooth plastic and chrome. Hippies can be really kinky.

Re:

[ShadowsHawk]

I understand your argument, but I have a problem with the 'taking inflation into account' viewpoint. The fact is, even with inflation, most reasonable people will see $600 as a really big chunk of cash to drop on what is essentially a toy. I personally have a Pioneer 930 Elite and $2000 surround sound system. I say that because I want you to understand that I value HD media. I also have NOT purchased a HD-DVD or Blu-ray player since I'm tired of re-buying physical media. I simply do not see $600 of val

Re:

[oGMo]

The PS3 is probably used only slightly less than my cable box. It's a fantastic DVD player, media player, Blu-ray player, and game console. Once I got over the price, I took the plunge and grabbed it. It's on for a few hours every night, in either linux or crossbar.

Yeah same. Plus it's nice to sit across the room and play PS2 games wirelessly on the big screen, and without worrying about memcards. But these are just perks.

What's really ironic is that Sony has made the most open console, and no one see

Re:

[flyingsquid]

Poor, unwanted, neglected PS3s... anyone else thinking of the Island of Misfit Toys from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Maybe the PS3 can make friends with that choo-choo with square wheels!

Atari Jaguar...

[Smitty825]

I don't know if 10 or so years ago counts as recent memory, but IIRC, the Atari Jaguar was the most unwanted console that I can think of!

Re:

[Sciros]

Yeah, you're probably right. The Infinium Phantom, on the other hand, was hot hot hot! It was in such demand stores stopped taking preorders. I myself ordered six of them. Gilbert Arenas I hear ordered seventeen! But sadly due to unit shortages I'm only expected to get mine in 2034.

Re:

[J-Doggqx]

I always thought it was a tie between the 3DO and the N-Gage.

Re:

[ivan256]

How about five years?

I know I'm going to get modded "Troll" for this even though I don't deserve it, however...

We're talking about Europe. Don't these guys remember the original Xbox? Or did it sell so few over there that it slipped their mind?

Alien v. Predator

[kansas1051]

For its time, the Jaguar was quite a system (as was the Lynx, Atari's 16-bit color handheld). Alien v. Predator on the Jaguar, released in 1994, was way ahead of its time and for several years was one of the best console games. See Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] for screenshots. Of course, this was the only game that was any good for Jaguar which doomed the system.

Here's my 10 Reasons

[Mizled]

10) Cost

9) Cost

8) Cost

7) Cost

6) Cost

5) Cost

4) Cost

3) Cost

2) Cost

1) Wii > PS3

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Pssh, as if spam can get through GMail's filter. That thing's #$%@ing psychic.

At Least

[billdar]

At least it runs linux....

Only if

[EmbeddedJanitor]

you buy one first!

Re:

[feepness]

That's what I've always found weird.

Slashdot appears to hate the PS3 and love Linux... yet which console runs Linux out of the box as a freaking menu option?

Re:

[MeanderingMind]

You forget that "Linux" is a term often swung around like "Religion". It's a vast, ambiguous word with any number of subsections that hold each other in contempt. If it isn't their Linux it doesn't matter.

Re:

[prockcore]

Slashdot appears to hate the PS3 and love Linux... yet which console runs Linux out of the box as a freaking menu option?

I love Linux. However, I expect my consoles to play games. I don't see any appeal to a $600 linux box with only 256 megs of ram and VESA video drivers. I think the Cell processor overrated, and certainly not "the future" any more than transmeta's Crusoe was "the future".

Re:

[billdar]

. I think the Cell processor overrated, and certainly not "the future" any more than transmeta's Crusoe was "the future".

How do your opinions rank against:

IBM [ibm.com]
Department of Energy [hpcwire.com],
Medical device OEMs [edn.com],
university [harvard.edu] researchers [hpcwire.com]
and so on...

opinion of the Cell processor's potential?

While I'll grant you the frame buffer access on the PS3 sucks, it would only take a driver from Nvidia or Sony to remove that restriction.

Re:At Least

[Chris Burke]

That's what I've always found weird.

Slashdot appears to hate the PS3 and love Linux... yet which console runs Linux out of the box as a freaking menu option?

Why is that weird?

Let's say that you love ice cream but you hate herpes-sore covered cock. Some dude shows you his herpes-covered cock, but it's also smeared with delicious ice cream. "Hey man, I thought you loved ice cream, you weirdo!" he says as you run screaming.

Re:

[feepness]

Let's say that you love ice cream but you hate herpes-sore covered cock. Some dude shows you his herpes-covered cock, but it's also smeared with delicious ice cream. "Hey man, I thought you loved ice cream, you weirdo!" he says as you run screaming.

Look you leave my persona life out of this!

I see what you mean... but I think your analogy stretches it a bit. ;)

Re:

[Chris Burke]

Look you leave my persona life out of this!

Hey, don't feel bad, I hate that guy too. Next time I'm going to tell him that I just love things that are on fire. Should be good for a laugh.

I see what you mean... but I think your analogy stretches it a bit. ;)

True, true. There's no problem with the PS3 that is fundamentally uncureable... So okay, say you love ice-cream but you hate gonorrhea-infected cock... :)

Re:

[feepness]

Hey, don't feel bad, I hate that guy too. Next time I'm going to tell him that I just love things that are on fire. Should be good for a laugh.

You don't understand... I AM that guy.

If people don't want to see my penis... they should tell me ahead of time. [theonion.com]

Re:

[Chris Burke]

You don't understand... I AM that guy.

Oh, my bad! Sorry about the fire thing, I was just kidding. Oh, and you should probably see a doctor.


If people don't want to see my penis... they should tell me ahead of time.

It's not so much seeing it, but the blatant false advertising that it is "nice" and "clean" and "not pock-marked with oozing sores". Uh... wait... no, the false advertising has nothing to do with it.

been here before

[mastershake_phd]

I woulnt say its "the most unwanted console in recent memory". Its just too expensive for most casual gamers. Like the 3DO, Jaguar, and others it may be a great system but you need a large user base to survive.

well, duh

[Deadbolt]

No one thing is killing the PS3. Sony has screwed up on multiple fronts:

* no games. Can anyone who doesn't have a PS3 name two games currently available for it not available anywhere else?
* halfhearted online/multiplayer. The 360, MS device or no, has set the bar, and whether or not you think it's high enough, the PS3 doesn't come close to it.
* bad word of mouth. Hardcore gamers are turned off due to the lack of games and crappy multiplayer.
* marketing. What the HELL is with the PS3 ads? Sony thinks no one will ever use the full power of the console? Even to non-gamers, they sound clueless.
* nothing new. While the PS3 is technically the same generation as the 360 and Wii, what is it offering that they don't? The 360 does HD (which doesn't only mean 1080p, so don't start) and has solid online chops. The Wii is retro, uses a new controller scheme, and is accessible for non-gamers. The only thing the PS3 does well so far is HD, and the difference between it and the 360's HD is practically subjective.

The price, frankly, is retardedly high. Without anything new or awesome games, a console that's 50% higher than its nearest competitor isn't going to sell.

However, this isn't necessarily how it's always going to be. Sony can still save their baby by correcting these screwups, and gamers want the PS3 to be cool because they want awesome games. Maybe in two years we'll all own PS3s and laugh at the thought that one day we openly scorned the chunky thing.

Re:

[kidgenius]

Nothing new eh?

How about blu-ray player? You may not want it, but I use mine quite a bit and it was at quite an affordable price when compared to a standalone player.

Re:

[Deadbolt]

It's a gaming console, not a movie player. Even Sony says so.

I want games from my console. blu-ray is just a technical detail. It doesn't offer a new gaming experience in and of itself.

Re:

[jez9999]

Apparently, there's at least one [penny-arcade.com] decent game available. :-)

Re:

[timster]

While LittleBigPlanet looks fairly cool, it's not by any stretch of the imagination "available". As far as I know, nobody outside the development team has played it yet. It's WAY to soon to try and prove that particular pudding. I speculate that the excitement over the demo is largely relief among Playstation fans that there was finally some GOOD news. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

2 games

[Augusto]

> * no games. Can anyone who doesn't have a PS3 name two games currently available for it not available anywhere else?

Resistance Fall of Man
Motorstorm

There are others of course, but the point is there are not enough games out there ... yet. Kind of like when the PS2 launched.

Re:well, duh

[Lithos]

Had to reply to this.. I own all 3 systems and I hate it when people assume they know what they're talking about.

The price, frankly, is retardedly high. Without anything new or awesome games, a console that's 50% higher than its nearest competitor isn't going to sell.

Well there's two problems with this thinking. 1st, it's only $100 more than a 360, if you want to compare what the systems actually include, assuming you're not interested in playing Blu-Ray discs or HD-DVD discs, otherwise, it's $100 cheaper than a 360. Why is this? Because the 360 only comes with a 20 GB HD and no 802.11g support. Let's try and just compare apples to apples.

One more food for thought item... I realize that the 360 has better online options right now.. but is it $50/yr better? Or $200 - $250 over the life of the console better? That also needs to be figured in the total cost of ownership of either system. The way I see it, total cost of ownership for my 360 (having gotten it on launch day) is $850. $250 for 5 years worth of XBox Live (assuming I keep it for the life of the system) and $200 for the HD-DVD player (because I really do think high def movies are better) and $400 for the console. Whereas the total cost of ownership for my PS3 (having gotten it on launch day) is still only $600.

I have all 3 systems, and play all 3 systems regularly. I couldn't/didn't want to choose one or two out of the three because I knew it would be torture 1-2 years down the road, once the big exclusives come out. But once I got all 3 and started looking at this objectively, I started feeling more and more like Sony actually does know what they're doing. Now if only someone could send a message to their marketing folk that the PS3 would be cheaper than a similarly decked out 360 and play off of that, maybe their sales would start taking off.

Re:

[Fancia]

There's only the Gran Turismo HD demo for PS3 right now. The actual Gran Turismo 5 game (a separate game from the demo, confusingly) isn't expected until December.

Little Big Planet and Home

[segafreak]

As can be seen here http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/09 [penny-arcade.com] Sony have just unveiled two big new draws for the PS3. I think the price is still prohibitively high, but I think gradually they'll manage to grow the userbase if they can keep releasing stuff like this.

I can think of lots of reasons to buy one...

[Tsu-na-mi]

Problem is, they're not here yet: Gran Turismo 5, and the new installments of GTA, Zone of Enders, Final Fantasy, Metal gear Solid, and other great PSX franchises. I have no interest in the 360, and while I think the Wii is fun as hell, it's the PS3 that will get all the good high-end Japanese games from Konami, Square/Enix, and the like.

In the meantime, I'm kicking back and enjoying Guitar Hero/GHII with occasional progress on completing Gran Turismo 4.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Well if the PS3 is 'unwanted'....

[zdc]

...then emo teens across America should be buying them up like hotcakes. FINALLY, someone who understands! and he plays reasonably entertaining video games too!!

Hot topic should have spotted the niche in the market long ago...

Re:

[MeanderingMind]

The sad thing is... that might work.

Shocked

[vecctor]

I'm puzzled as to why it's not more popular. I heard you can attack Giant Enemy Crabs at their weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE.

Also, it has real-time weapon switching! Take that Wii Remote!

No no no...

[rbarreira]

In the Great Rule Book of Games Console Launches, rule number one is: "Thou must under-stock for launch." So why has Sony got so many consoles available?

According to Sony, it's because their Supply Chain Management is very good. For some unknown reason, that doesn't explain the low-market share though. I'm sure their PR department will think of a better excuse next time. Maybe not.

Uh, no. It really is the price.

[androvsky]

Yeah, everyone pissed all over the PS2 when it came out because of stupid Sony execs over hyping the console, but when it launched most games looked worse than Dreamcast games, but it was more expensive.

Everyone I know, from average gamers to low-level systems programmers WANT a PS3. Badly. The gamers because they love the PS2 and all the great exclusives it had, and expect the PS3 to do the same, but with far better graphics. They don't follow gaming news quite enough to hear stupid quotes from various Sony execs, they're too busy playing Oblivion. Only problem is they can't afford the stupid thing, which is too bad since I know they'd go apeshit over Home.

The programmers I know want to play with the Cell, myself included. From everything I've heard, it's living up to the hype, even if you only get to play with 6 of the vector units on the PS3. It's also living up to the "pain in the ass to program" stories too, but that just makes some of us want to take a shot at it even more. But that's still not enough motivation to spend $500 - $600 to screw around with it, even though the programmers could afford it.

The PS3 is getting more and more exclusives every day (LittleBigPlanet, God of War 3 just got announced), and that's all it really needs now that they announced Home (and rumble too, I guess). The price really is the sticking point. I have a good friend who's a huge God of War fan, but there's no way in hell he's getting a PS3 in the next four years, he only got the PS2 last year. They won't be able to drop the price fast enough over the PS3's lifespan for it to ever approach PS2 sales numbers, but it can compete with the Xbox 360.

Re:

[rbarreira]

The programmers I know want to play with the Cell, myself included. From everything I've heard, it's living up to the hype, even if you only get to play with 6 of the vector units on the PS3. It's also living up to the "pain in the ass to program" stories too, but that just makes some of us want to take a shot at it even more. But that's still not enough motivation to spend $500 - $600 to screw around with it, even though the programmers could afford it.

The funny thing is, if many programmers get a PS3 for

Re:

[MeanderingMind]

The PS3 is getting more and more exclusives every day (LittleBigPlanet, God of War 3 just got announced), and that's all it really needs now that they announced Home (and rumble too, I guess).

It doesn't need exclusives announced, it needs exclusives released. It could also use a better PR staff, a lower price, and some concrete news about the sore topic of Killzone.

Eventually it will have most of those things, but it could really use them now.

Re:

[CodeBuster]

The programmers I know want to play with the Cell, myself included. From everything I've heard, it's living up to the hype, even if you only get to play with 6 of the vector units on the PS3. It's also living up to the "pain in the ass to program" stories too, but that just makes some of us want to take a shot at it even more. But that's still not enough motivation to spend $500 - $600 to screw around with it, even though the programmers could afford it.

I don't know about you, but for my own part as a p

It's about games...

[eison]

Get us a game worth playing, and we'll want to buy it.
Should be a no-brainer.
Maybe Sony should try to hire some people from Nintendo. Nintendo has to have somebody with a clue who thinks that powerful hardware would be nice to run a good game on.

Re:

[geekoid]

It would have to be a hell of a game to justify 660 bucks!

Re:

[Tony Hoyle]

Make that $820 for us UK types.

TBH Sony don't give a shit about the european market though - they missed the christmas window and launch in April... smart move guys... the wii has already had the ps3 for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I see them on shelves

[pembo13]

If anyone actually still wants one but can't find one, last time I was at a Walmart I saw two, and at Costco, I saw over 21 of them (I did a conservative count)

...you guys take this WAY too seriously

[Talgrath]

Seriously guys, get a life; the competition in the console market between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo is not a battle between good and evil...or good, neutral and evil; it's a competition between competing systems to get you to buy their system for money. This is about business, these aren't competing political ideologies or antyhing; just high-tech toys for both grown-ups and children. Buy the system that has what you want (both in terms of games and hardware features) and don't worry about the company behind it. None of these companies cause genocides or anything like that. As for the article itself, I'd say that the PS3 really isn't doing that badly; the idea that it is is really just hype, it's not selling as well as the Wii, that's true, but the generation is young.

Re:

[HAKdragon]

Seriously guys, get a life; the competition in the console market between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo is not a battle between good and evil...or good, neutral and evil
 
Exactly, it's not like this is vi vs emacs.

It's the gameplay

[chiph]

Nintendo really took the correct approach by concentrating on gameplay, and not pure technical chops. The Wii is just fun to play for everyone in the family: from my 9yo niece to my 80yo grandmother.

I've been looking for additional Wii consoles for people at work, and they're really hard to find (I'm not paying inflated prices on eBay, sorry.) A PS3, on the other hand, I could pick up pretty much anytime.

Chip H.

Media

[Necrotica]

For me, it's all about the media. I would have bought three PS3s by now at their current cost if they could provide a better media experience than XBMC. You'd think of all companies, Sony would "get it." However everything that I've read indicates that the media center in the PS3 is even worse than what's in the 360 - which is almost hard to believe, considering the piss-poor offering of the 360 media center.

I pledge right now to any Sony exec reading this - you provide me with a better XBMC than XBMC an

It's the games, nothing more than that

[koreth]

None of the current PS3 titles interest me enough to make me want to go buy the console. As soon as there are a few games I want to play, I'll go buy one. Doesn't get much simpler than that, and I imagine I'm not alone.

In particular, it's not about the price. Sure, if the price is lower by the time there are some games I like, I won't complain, but even if the price were $100 I probably still wouldn't buy one now -- I'd have a $100 box with no games I wanted to play, not much of an improvement over a $600

Fix the scaling

[tgibbs]

Sony is pitching the PS3 as a high-tech state of the art HD game system to justify its premium price, yet it can't do something absolutely basic--scale all output to either of the major HD standards, 1080i or 720p. Many older 1080i HD monitors will not accept 720p input at all. Other sets may offer scaling but not do a good job of it. This is something that every other HD output device on the market can do. Any cheap upscaling DVD player, HD cable box, or HD PVR can do it. The XBox 360 most certainly can do

Perfect storm is brewing

[melted]

Fast forward to November. There are quite a few major PS3 releases and Blu Ray movies outnumber HD DVD by 30% and outsell them 3:1. And now Sony knocks $100 off their console, finally kills PS2 and launches an insanely intensive marketing campaign, showing off upcoming games in all their "impossible on Xbox 360" glory. Kids all over the US and Europe beg their parents for a PS3. Parents cave in (given that they'll also be able to use it to watch Blu Ray titles).

Re:

[moochfish]

I'm not done...

Fast forward to November. Nintendo knocks of $50 from the Wii and launches a new marketing campaign, showing off upcoming games in all their "impossible on any other system" glory. Kids all over the US and Europe *continue to* beg their parents for a Wii. Parents cave because they want one too.

Re:Perfect storm is brewing

[steveoc]

Fast forward to November.

XBox 360 is going for $50, and comes with a free voucher to upgrade your home PC to Vista.

Nintendo Wii comes to market with a range of Hentai games and new uses for the Wiimote.

Kids beg Dad for one of each.

Dad tells them they are getting a cluster of PS3's instead, because Dad has finally mastered SPU coding using gcc, and reckons he has found a way to crack Fermat's last theorum, entirely bypassing the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture, and involving a hitherto unheard of non-euclidean approach !! (if only he had acess to the CPU grunt).

Kids know better than to argue with Dad when he gets that gleam in his eyes.

Playstation dominance turning to ashes

[ConfusedSelfHating]

Sony felt that they owned the video game market. They should have seen the first signs when the Nintendo DS dominated the Sony PSP. Just as Nintendo became arrogant and thought they would own the console market forever, Sony will feel the harsh penalty of hubris themselves.

Sony decision to include the BluRay drive was based on the belief that PS2 owners would flock to the stores to buy anything with Playstation on the name. No matter the cost. And yet PS3s sit on store shelves, gathering dust. Greed is the irrational pursuit of money. Businesses are about the pursuit of money, but in order to be successful they have to balance their desire with common sense. Sony became greedy and lost their common sense.

Anyone who talks how many great Sony exclusives will be available, is clearly deluded. Sony exclusive after exclusive is going to the Xbox 360 as well (Assassin's Creed, Virtual Fighter 5, Armored Core 4). Big games released on both consoles (Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, F.E.A.R., GRAW 2) are being released months ahead of time on the Xbox 360 before being released on the PS3. There are credible rumors of Metal Gear Solid 4 being released on the Xbox 360 and Final Fantasy is getting kind of tired. God of War 3 and Grand Turismo 5 will be in development for years. Motorstorm is a racing game in one environment and Resistance:Fall of Man has to hold off Gears of War, Lost Planet and Halo 3 on its own. What will the PS3 have available for Christmas 2007 that isn't being released on the Xbox 360?

The PS3 will not only have to face the wrath of the 360, but it will face the vicious tide of the Nintendo Wii. Half the price. Proper motion sensing with rumble. The Wii is an elegant fighter with not an ounce of fat against the bloated husk of the Playstation 3. Released at the same time as the PS3, the Wii has sold over 3 times as many consoles.

UK availability...

[payndz]

In the UK right now, you can walk into Game, Gamestation, Curry's, HMV... basically any of the major high street game retailers and slap down a small deposit (£20 in most shops) to be guaranteed - yes, that's what every shop window poster says, guaranteed - a PS3 on launch day.

On the other hand, you still need a deposit to get hold of a Wii, three months after launch, and there's no guarantee whatsoever of when you'll actually be able to pick the thing up.

The article is right - in the UK at leas

One old guy's take on this

[93 Escort Wagon]

Disclaimer: I'm easily twice the age of the average Slashdotter.

We just (finally) got our hands on the Nintendo Wii. We'd bought it for our daughter; but after just trying the Wii Sports... I am completely blown away. As some of you will probably point out, the graphics only go to 480P; but actually playing it - you really feel like this is the next generation of how home gaming systems. It just seems so amazing.

It seems to me like Sony AND Microsoft, going with HD versions of the same old thing (and yes, I have seem the 360 on an HD television), have totally missed the boat. Nintendo bet heavily on being innovative, and they've scored big time. But Sony has, in addition to missing the boat, decided to shoot itself in the foot a few times for good measure.

PS3 is cheaper than the XBox 360

[gamer4Life]

If you take into account just one of the following:

$50 x 4 years = $200
HD-DVD drive = $200
Wireless Adapter = $100

Base cost of of the XBox 360 20GB = $400

Base cost of PS3 base = $500

Not to mention the PS3 has better backwards compatibility, less hardware failures, less noisy.

This will probably be modded overrated, considering the huge numbers of Microsoft fanboy mods.

Re:

[BarneyL]

No but it should be modded overrated because:

a) I don't care about having an HD-DVD or Blu ray drive so the extra should be deducted.

b) I don't need a wireless adaptor so that cost can go too.

c) Don't have to pay for live if I don't want to (although I'll pay for the better than PS3 service of live if only to avoid the adverts you will be bombarded with under Home.

d) No one is buying the base PS3 so you should really compare the top end boxes price.

e) In a short while and a new revision 360 will be o

It really is price and not much else.

[guidryp]

Around here (Canada) you still can't find the 20GB model anywhere and the 60GB model is $700.

At that price your market is a small group of early adopters.

Other than that. The console is fine, lots of power for years to come, next generation outputs, Blu Ray. Lots of good stuff that makes it lasting in the market.

Sony marketing/PR is done by absolute morons but still that really doesn't matter. In the end it comes down to price.

The last console I bought was Coleco Vision, but I am thinking of getting one of these when they get cost reduced a bit.

What it needs:

[pontifier]

1: Rumble
One reason I play my PS2 more than my PS3.

2: Media management
More visualizations, browsing etc

3: multi-tasking
There is no excuse for forcing me to wait for a download to finish to continue browsing.

4: Guitar Hero controller
Another reason I play the PS2 more than PS3.

5: Fun multi-player games
Why I play my friend's Wii more than my PS3.

6: Full access to hardware under linux
A major reason I bought the PS3, and the reason I haven't bothered installing yet.

There's more, but I'm tired.

meh

[smash]

1. Price - this will inevitably come down as manufacturing process improves - the pS2 is 6-7 years old this year, the ps3 is no doubt intended to live about as long as that - it's early days yet, and i severely doubt that sony is going to go broke in the mean-time
2. Online services - the framework is there, this can be added as it develops

As far as I can see, the *other* main reason the ps3 is facing lukewarm reception is because sony has totally dominated the last 2 generations with the ps1 and ps2, and it's "cool" to be different and back the underdog.

I know i'll be buying one once the price is appropriate.

Re:

[Bacon Bits]

Congratulations. Over *all* of Slashdot, *you* are the lone member of their target audience.