Sony Runs Out of 60GB PS3s

Next Generation has word from Sony that they've shipped all of their 60GB PlayStation 3s. They don't have any more in the warehouses; retailers still have ample stocks, though. From the article: "Once all of the remaining 60GB PS3s have been snapped up for $499 apiece, the only option left open to consumers will be to purchase the 80GB model, which currently retails for $100 more at $599. It has long been rumored that once all 60GB PS3 stock dries up, the 80GB will be subject to a price cut, but SCEA has failed to be drawn on the matter to date. 'We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated,' the company has said."

But is that a confirmed cut?

[seebs]

Many PS3 fans pitch the "won't talk about it until then" as proof that there will be a cut -- some suggest an 80GB unbundled for $449. Hard to say. A lot of people are arguing that Sony will definitely cut to $500 once the 60s are gone, but it's hard to say; I mean, you wouldn't expect them to have a PR stunt with a decapitated goat, but they did. So who can predict what madness Sony's sales people will think of? I'm sort of skeptical about a cut, just because the holiday season tends to boost sales, an

Re:But is that a confirmed cut?

[moderatorrater]

I doubt they'd cut it to $500 or lower; that would just be spitting in the face of all those who snapped up their 60GB models just months earlier for the same price. Sony wouldn't disrespect their customers that much would they?

Re:

[fistfullast33l]

Sony wouldn't disrespect their customers that much would they?

Asking that question is like asking for the rootkit and overpriced trolls to come out of the woodwork.

Regardless, I don't see them cutting the price before Christmas. Demand is going to be high and the system will finally have some games worth buying the system for - Warhawk and UT3 to name a few. If HOME goes over well and they keep pumping out the PSN titles as well as a Motorstorm map pack (which they promised at E3 I believe), then you'll h

Re:

[Pojut]

Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Unreal Tournament 3 won't be a PS3 exclusive... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Tournament_3 [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[Jthon]

No it's not a complete exclusive but it does ship exclusive to PS3 and PC in November with the 360 release pushed out to sometime in 2008. That and the PS3 version will also support the same 3rd party mods and maps the PC one does.

Re:

[7Prime]

Seeing that:

- Hardly anyone thinks of the Unreal franchise outside of being a PC series
- Not being the huge name it was 5 years ago
- Having about 8 other huge FPS and FPA/S (aka: Metroid or Bioshock) games to compete with
- Everyone would would buy a PS3 already having a PC that can also run it... better

I don't think Unreal Tournament is going to be a "console selling title".

Re:

[LKM]

Well, it'll sell a few system, probably. But it's not on the level of a BioShock (even though that is available on PCs, too), and it's definitely not on the level of a Halo 3 or a Metroid Prime 3. That game will definitely move a ton of Wiis (or would, if they were available).

The real PS3 movers are MGS and FF, and they aren't coming for some time now. The other A-list PS3 titles are all somewhat questioniable or no-names: Drake, Lair, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword...

The PS3's games selection is looking better an

Re:

[7Prime]

Unfortunately, for every system sellers that the PS3 has, the Wii has 2, and the 360 seems to have 3, (although I still think the Wii will win-out in the longrun).

As for Metroid Prime 3? I'll be interested to see the sales of that title. I'm playing it now, and I'm LOVING it. It's probably not quite as amazing as the original, but it's worlds better than Echoes, and it gives me a great sense of awe and wonder that I really missed from that title.

However, I don't see Metroid as being much of a system seller.

Re:

[LKM]

However, I don't see Metroid as being much of a system seller. It's sales pale in comparison to titles like Halo, Smash, GTA, or even Mario and Zelda

The reason I think Metroid is a system seller is because it doesn't sell to the "traditional" Nintendo audience. I believe the people who love Metroid are more likely to not yet own a Wii than the people who love Smash Bros. So far, Nintendo had a lot of games for more casual fans (apart from Zelda, I guess). Metroid is the first real hard core Wii game. I

Re:

[LKM]

Heavenly Sword has an aggregated rating of around 80%. It's not the game everybody wanted it to be, but it's definitely not crap. Lair, though, yeah. Seems to be crap. Warhawk is great, although too expensive, and as for Drake: It's not going to be a system seller, but I'm hoping it'll be a great game anyway.

Re:But is that a confirmed cut?

[fistfullast33l]

Sorry to point this out from the article you obviously linked but didn't read:

Sony announced at E3 2007 that, through a deal made with Epic, Unreal Tournament 3 will be a PlayStation 3 timed console exclusive during 2007. The Xbox 360 version will follow sometime in 2008. The statement by Tretton confused many, therefore Mark Rein made it very clear during the Midway conference at E3 2007 that UT3 would ship for both the PC and PS3 in November, with the Xbox 360 version coming the following year. It was also announced that the PS3 version will be able to use PC-created mods and levels.[9] Epic plans on adding some level of support for the Xbox 360, but due to its closed system there is less freedom. This is the main reason this version of the game is coming out later.[10] On 2007-08-07, Mark Rein confirmed that PS3 users could use a mouse and keyboard as input devices for the game, a feature that was the subject of high demand by fans.[11]


They haven't said the 360 release date yet, but it won't be out this holiday season, nor will it have as many features as the PS3, which makes it less desirable. Which is exactly the point I was making above.

Re:

[Pojut]

Appreciated, but consider this: UT3 is a HIGHLY anticipated title...knowing that it will come out for the 360 (albiet in a slightly less functional form), what do you think is more likely to happen: a 360 owner will pay the 600 dollars for a PS3 and then another 60 dollars for the game, or just 60 dollars for the game?

All I'm saying is that even if the PS3 version is more functional, the very fact that it will be released on multiple systems lowers the chances of someone buying a PS3 BECAUSE of UT3.

Persona

Re:

[fistfullast33l]

My point was that there's finally some reasons to pick up a PS3 this Christmas, and the price might not have to drop in that case. Yes, if you're extremely patient and price matters to you, then the PS3 probably will not be something you'll want/ask for/buy this winter. But if you have the income or don't care about price, then the games are finally getting to the point where the PS3 can take the 360 head on.

Personally, I wouldn't touch the 360 at this point on hardware issues and stupid add on costs like

Re:But is that a confirmed cut?

[Pojut]

Personally, I wouldn't touch the 360 at this point on hardware issues and stupid add on costs like a proprietary hard drive and headset, and the Xbox Live cost. But that's just me.

I know that I am just one random person, but I do own the PS3, Wii, and the 360. I can honestly say that out of all of them, between the games and the overall "feel" of the system, the 360 is by far my favourite.

Again, that is just a lone geek's opinion...

Re:

[PhoenixOne]

As a owner of all three as well, I have to agree with the "feel" part as well.

After you get past the cross-bar, most of the PS3 interface feels like a Linux OS. Not bad, but it just doesn't "feel right" as a console.

Re:

[Pojut]

Joanna: You know what, Stan, if you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair, like your pretty boy over there, Brian, why don't you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?

Stan: Well, I thought I remembered you saying that you wanted to express yourself.

Re:

[LKM]

Personally, I wouldn't touch the 360 at this point on hardware issues and stupid add on costs like a proprietary hard drive and headset, and the Xbox Live cost. But that's just me.

Agreed. I own both a PS3 and a Wii, but I won't buy a 360, even though it has some tempting games. There are three reasons:

1. Hardware reliability is crap
2. Online gaming costs money (I want to play online games, but not often enough to pay money for it)
3. It's from Microsoft

I could live with it being from MS, but the other two ar

Re:

[MooseMuffin]

360 owning FPS fans will be playing too much halo 3 to care about another FPS until 2009. UT3 is a much less important title to the 360 than it is to the ps3.

Not necessarily anymore

[grapeape]

When those comments were made at E3 Live was still a closed system. MS announced their Xbox Live Silver Program which allows 3rd party companies to maintain, manage and update from their own servers rather than from MS. When asked if that would allow a company like Epic to allow PC to 360 maps and level editors it was stated that that was indeed one of the reasons for the new service.

Re:

[prockcore]

Well then that means Oblivion, GRAW 2, Rainbow Six: Vegas, and FEAR were all 360 exclusives.. since they came out for the 360 before they came out for the ps3.

Re:

[fistfullast33l]

Outside of FEAR, which I think we could argue is a timed PC exclusive, you'd be correct. However, they didn't have the same effect, seeing as the PS3 wasn't even available to developers at the time they were released, so you couldn't expect them to be released across consoles at once.

Re:

[bym051d]

A lot of the people who bought 60s (myself included) would rather have the 60s at the same price because of the hardware. The 60s included the Graphics Synthesizer + Emotion Engine from PS2, so backwards compatibility is near 100%

Re:

[Yvan256]

Thanks, I was about to ask about that. So I need to pick up one of those 60GB if I want 100% PS2 compatibility?

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[Yvan256]

That's the thing though: I never had a PS2...

Is the 60GB PS3 "100% compatible" with PS1 games? How about software emulation on the 80GB model?

Re:

[buffer-overflowed]

I don't believe you'll have a problem with PS1 games. PS2 games otoh... hit or miss. A lot of stuff is supported, but a lot of things aren't, and unfortunately that, the last time I checked, included a lot of the PS2's good titles.

The PS2 was about 99% crap(10,000 some titles, about 100 are worthwhile), so 90% backwards compat isn't so grand unless it includes the good stuff.

Re:

[seebs]

Er, yeah, they would.

That said, I'm glad I got a 60. I get the version that has EE and has better compatibility with PS2 games, and I upgraded to a 120GB drive by early January of this year.

Re:

[old_skul]

Sony? Spit in the face of their customers? Nooooooooo! Never!

Re:

[senatorpjt]

Ever heard of Windows?

Re:

[Chris Burke]

Well the only reason Sony discounted the 60GB version was to clear the stock, I doubt the 80GB one will drop in price soon. There's certainly no reason to do so until the 60GB ones are no longer available at retail (which TFS says they are). Since $500 is the "discount" price for soon-to-be-obsolete versions, I highly doubt they want to lose that distinction from the 80GB version.

They may drop the price if sales of the 80GB version are as slow or slower than when the 60GB version was $600 -- it's possible

Re:

[harryk]

Not quite the same deal, but Sams Club (atleast here in Milwaukee, WI) has the 80GB bundle at $549.

Re:

[senatorpjt]

Maybe they'll release Home. It's still supposed to be in "September or October."

Re:

[Grave]

Short of cutting the price of the 80GB PS3 to well below $400, there is nothing Sony can do to put a dent in Halo 3 sales. They're not even remotely concerned about it, though, because it's been known for a couple of years that when Halo 3 came out, it would move a lot of 360s, and there isn't a thing that can be done about it. Sony does not have a game that is even close to Halo 3 in terms of fan base or hype. Going anywhere near a store that carries video games that day with the intent of buying anythi

Re:

[buffer-overflowed]

Seriously, who cares about the PS3? It's an also ran console.

There is no vast conspiracy, the thing is just unappealing and will be lucky to move N64 numbers.

Act now!

[Kirin Fenrir]

Get 'em while they're ho-...errr...lukewarm!

Re:

[CaptainPatent]

lukewarm

You give Sony WAY too much credit!

Re:

[SterlingSylver]

Operators are standing by! And they're lonely...so lonely....won't you please put down your wii for just a few minutes to call them?

Future news:

[JimboFBX]

A week later an auditor is fired for not noticing that a majority of those shipments went to "warehouse corporation".

Not long before the 80Gb replaces it

[DrXym]

It's fairly likely that once the 60Gb is history that a "barebones" 80Gb model will replace it at the same price or possibly lower closer to Christmas. I'd expect they'll also revamp the "bundle" too in some way, e.g. throw Heavenly Sword or Lair into it to make it more up to date.

Penny Arcade Obligs

[Seakip18]

Here [penny-arcade.com] and here [penny-arcade.com]. Regardless, if you dry up on producing machines, I'm sure you'll eventually sell them.

I'm shocked.

[phoenix.bam!]

They managed to sell both of them?

Soon we will know

[Alex777]

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the 80GB model isn't getting a price cut, even when the 60GBs are gone. Sony has a pretty good lineup coming up, and they stand to lose a lot in the short term if people buy reduced-price PS3s but only one or two games.

On the other hand, they might want to get Blu-ray players into as many homes as possible, given the recent adoption of HD-DVD by many film studios- even if it means absorbing a big short-term loss. They know PS3s will move once their AAA titles start coming out, so there isn't much motivation for a price cut now, game-wise.

Overall, I think the PS3 is just too speculative for most consumers. The price in and of itself isn't the major concern, (people will spend hundreds of dollars on home entertainment) but rather questions like "Will Blu-ray become the de-facto HD format?", "How many price cuts will occur between now and when the games I want are released?", and even "Are AAA titles eventually going to be ported to 360 or PC?"

Re:

[TheNinjaroach]

On the other hand, they might want to get Blu-ray players into as many homes as possible, given the recent adoption of HD-DVD by many film studios- even if it means absorbing a big short-term loss.

I think you make an excellent point. My next video game system must also play one of the high-definition discs, I could care less which format. Microsoft isn't offering an integrated HDDVD package (yet) and I still think both systems are a bit pricey for my use, so the first company to the price-point punch wins my business.

Re:

[7Prime]

I agree, but not because of the lineup issue. Compared to the Wii and 360s (especially) upcoming exclusive lineup, the PS3 is the runt. Sony won't cut the price, because they simply can't afford to. They're already losing $300 on a console.

Let's face it, cutting back from $600 to $500 isn't going to move a hell of a lot more units. It's still too fucking much. It's only selling to people where money is no object... and for them, they're going to buy it at $500 or $600, so why drop the price?

Re:

[vakuona]

You absolutely do not have buy your library all over again. If anything, it shall be an easier, quicker and less painful transition than VHS to DVD. You can play your old DVDs (they kept the same form factor for more than just passing familiarity). You can play your old DVDs on the PS3, any HD DVD player , any Bluray player. But if you want the best picture on a TV set larger than 32 inches, HD DVD is the way to go.

Thieves...

[gweihir]

Looking at the price difference between 60GB and 80GB 2.5" HDDs, the $100 more for the larger disk strikes me as very close to theft.

Re:

[The One and Only]

Yeah, and you still get a black PS3 either way, so they're even worse than Apple on that front!

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[StikyPad]

Doesn't it also come without hardware PS2 emulation?

Re:

[Runefox]

I'm pretty sure most of what Apple does qualifies as theft, but then again, same with Microsoft and most large corporations with market share.

PS2 Chip on Board

[Conception]

Also as a reminder for those sitting on the fence, I believe this will be the last model with hardware support for PS/PS2 titles. The 80GB and on have software emulation.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[StikyPad]

Except it's not an "emulation chip" -- it's a PS2 chip. Emulation is where you make hardware pretend to be something it's not, in order to support the software. Not that I think it matters.. If you're concerned about PS2 games, you probably already have a PS2. Yeah it's nice to only need one console hooked up, but in the end it's just a minor inconvenience to have both.

Re:

[Zenki]

Actually with the chip you have best of both worlds.

You can use it to get a high fidelity reproduction of PS2 behavior because it's an _ACTUAL_ PS2 part.

Or if there is a hardware issue, Sony can have specific games use software emulation to assist.

Or if the software emulation is better in every way possible, Sony can just have the software emulator run the game and ignore the hardware on the board.

EE! Quickly Act Now!

[Generic Guy]

I've read these reports over the last couple of days. I have been waiting and delaying the idea of getting a PS3 because lack of compelling games and my own lack of HDTV to play it on. With this news, I was beginning to worry about spending the cash now to pick up a 60GB unit with the included Emotion Engine (EE) hardware support for true backwards compatibility. I have a lot of PS1 and PS2 games I want to make sure work properly.

Then it occurred to me... I already have a machine which works with my regular old TV set and plays all my PS1 and PS2 games perfectly: my PS2. And if I want a wireless control with missing rumble action... well, I already have a 3rd party wireless controller with that (lack of) feature.

Realizing that Sony has a good chance of coming in a distant third for this generation's console race and that software studios are focusing on Xbox360 and Wii (with those systems' easier development tools) there really is no point to bothering with PS3. All the 'good' games are coming out on Xbox360 anyway. The stomach pangs of losing out on the hardware EE support simply went away with the realization that PS3 is already finished in the market. I'll simply keep my PS2 for awhile longer at no additional cost.

Re:

[Aladrin]

That was my attitude before RRoD issues (which are still going on, as more die every day) and the 'sauna' test of the PS3.

While I love that when my 360 dies, I can get it fixed/replaced for free, I hate the fact that I'll be without it for 6 weeks to do so. Knowing that the PS3 tends to be a more solid console, I have decided to buy games for it when they are on multiple consoles, and for the 360 when it's only for the 360.

I'm the only 360 owner I know that hasn't been through at least a couple 360's, and

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy shill alert, batman!

Re:

[Sneftel]

Given that the majority of PS2 owners purchased their console when it was NOT the most technologically advanced console out there, what makes you think that owning the most gigahurtzy console will be important to them this time around?

Re:

[Pojut]

You know what sickens me about people like you? You aren't a gamer. Oh sure, you may spend hours in front of a screen pressing buttons like the rest of us, but your mentality makes you something of a 4 year old throwing a temper tantrum about nothing.

Stop being so "loyal" to one company. I mean, first off the company you chose to be loyal to shut down Lik-Sang...I may love their consoles, but that move alone made me despise Sony through and through. Secondly, the "stupid" Wii and "crappy" 360 have some

Re:

[senatorpjt]

Bechtel... Wow. People call Sony evil... That's a whole different league there.

Re:

[Pojut]

Apparently, you forget that Lik-Sang was also an import gamer's wet dream. So tell me...how is it that by buying games from them that I would NEVER be able to buy in big-box store or in your average gaming chain store the same as copying games?

You seem to think people can't be loyal to a company that provided them with great games and consoles

And you seem to think people can't like a company's products without hating the company itself.

Re:

[ShadowsHawk]

Don't bother. It's pretty obvious at this point that Sony has planted people like 'G Fab' to try to improve the Sony image. Good luck with that though. I, like many other people, have decided to permanently avoid them.

Re:

[7Prime]

Okay... what?

HW... Homework? Heavy Wieners? Hillbilly Wraiths?

Wait, what was the PS2 the king of, last generation?

Re:

[ShadowsHawk]

"This round is about the billions of dollars they (think they can) earn from blueray."

So they're essentially abusing their customers with an unreasonable price to prop up their media branch. That seems like a great reason to give them $600.

"it is hard for me to believe that the Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2, though it objectively was (but it's hard to believe that the Wii is more powerful than the PS2, if you just look at a few good games on each system)."

Are you an irrational fanboy or a paid pl

Re:

[7Prime]

I can sorta understand what you're saying. But I don't think it's "hardware" that you're talking about, so much as an overall strategy. And I agree, it was one of the best campaigns (marketing along with infrastructure and hardware development) in the history of gaming. But strictly in the hardware sense, it's really hard to make a case for the PS2s superiority.

If you want to talk about the cheapest hardware, the GCN was MUCH cheaper to manufacture (and the price reflected it). In power and graphical prowes

Re:

[ElleyKitten]

The PS@ was the king of hardware. Yep, I said it. It had the best hardware design. It was easy to make a shitload of those fuckers efficiently, so the price plummeted.

Then why was the Gamecube cheaper than the PS2 for their entire lifespans?

And yeah, it is hard for me to believe that the Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2, though it objectively was (but it's hard to believe that the Wii is more powerful than the PS2, if you just look at a few good games on each system).

Go play Final Fantasy XII and t

Re:

[fistfullast33l]

Lair is getting some lukewarm reviews, and Heavenly Sword is as well. I'm a PS3 owner, and I'm looking forward to the games like UT3 and Haze more than the other games you list. I think they finally have enough in the pipeline that the system will be attractive to consumers this Christmas, but I think that UT3 is probably going to edge out Warhawk for Online GOTY. And I love Warhawk.

Re:

[LordVader717]

Looks like those 110 or so million PS2 owners are starting to make their move to HD/1080p next gen gaming on the PS3.

LOL. Yeah, right.

Re:

[MemoryDragon]

Jepp funny thing is that most of the PS2 buyers were late adapters, or replacement consoles.

Lets face it the PS2 might have sold 110 mio but in reality the number of owners worldwide is more along the lines of 40 mio due to lots of ps2s having broken over time and being rebought. Most of them definitely wont move to the PS3 for the forseeable future, due to its price some of them might move to the Wii and some to the XBox.

I am not a sony hater, I have a psp but this marketing troll definitely has a blurred

Re:

[JamesRose]

How can you be so rose tinted about these games being released. Firstly the reason sony has run out of stocks now is because they've known how badly the console was selling and that there was not much demand. Secondlly for a game to be game of the year, you kinda have to wait till the end of the year, frankly if halo 3 comes out, that claim could very very easily be gone. Then of course you are listing games about to come out, and that about sums it up, 1 year after sony has finished it's console they're st

Re:

[Applekid]

While I'm with you...

1 year after sony has finished it's console they're starting to release some good games.

Unfortunately, that seems to be par for the course for even as far back as the PS2, Gamecube, and XBox.

Can somebody track the parent post?

[PhoenixOne]

Seriously. This smells so badly of Sony marketing that I think it needs looking into.

I could be totally wrong. But a brand-new account that reads like astro-turf. This is exactly the type of embarrassing PR technique Sony is quickly becoming known for.

Re:

[PhoenixOne]

The sad thing is, you are probably right. While it is obviously marketing, it isn't trying to sound "urban" and/or "hip".

I'm guessing it is either a stupid fan, or an employee of Sony doing it on their free time.

Re:

[MemoryDragon]

Good morning Sony marketing departement, already awake from your office slumber?

Re:

[Pojut]

Brand loyalty amongst gamers is the dumbest thing ever conceived. You miss out on so much by being "loyal" and by not delving into other systems that it makes you very much like the all-show-no-go crowd that emerged after The Fast and the Furious...

In other words, it makes you a fucking moron.

Re:

[Mattintosh]

Actually, it makes me $600 richer and no worse for the wear.

I have every Nintendo system since the NES, and a decent library of games for every system since the SNES. I'm fairly certain that there will be games I want to play on ${CurrentNintendoSystem} and that this statement will be as true 10 years from now as it was 20 years ago and every year in between. Why should I buy a Sony system?

Now, that's not to say that I won't buy a Sony system. I have a PSX and a PS2. I bought the PSX when FF8 wouldn't work

Re:

[Pojut]

I think you misunderstood me...I was referring more to the people who own consoles from ONLY one brand because it is "better" than the rest and the rest "suck".

Timing has nothing to do with it...I fully agree with you, waiting is indeed a very smart path to choose. But when people have the "all gaming systems/companies but this one suck" mentality....that's what I was referring to.

Re:

[Khaed]

I was referring more to the people who own consoles from ONLY one brand because it is "better" than the rest and the rest "suck".

Most of these people are mentally 14 years old, if not physically. That kind of mentality is immature and stupid.

Re:

[japhmi]

But when people have the "all gaming systems/companies but this one suck" mentality....that's what I was referring to.

What about the "all gaming systems/companies suck" mentality?

I find it saves quite a bit of money by not buying any of them.

Re:

[Mattintosh]

And time, too. But then you have to do something else with all that time you have laying around, and that can be a PITA, or worse, boring.

I'll stick with buying games I like.

Re:

[japhmi]

I find that books do a great job at filling in that time. They tend to be cheaper than games, and a lot of them are contained at these large buildings called 'libraries' that will let you borrow them for free.

Also, since I have a PC anyway, PC gaming works.

Re:

[japhmi]

I have to wonder why you'd bother reading a story in the games section.

Because I enjoy reading about technology, even if I'll never use it. I also like to keep up with office talk, and a lot of it is based on games.

I also wonder as to your feeling when you posted that. Was there a hint of smug self-satisfaction going on? Did you feel like a superior geek?

Oh, all of that. Plus this joyful anticipation of people's response.

Re:

[Mattintosh]

The thing is, and I don't think I stated it clearly, I'm one of those "fanboys" that buys Nintendo no-matter-what and hates Sega/Sony/MS/et al. You'll notice that I tried emulation before actually buying a PSX... And it took something as thorougly awesome as Guitar Hero (actualy, GH2!) to get me to buy a PS2... No Xboxen for me yet. Besides, the middle-school-level pissing matches are almost as fun as the games.

My SNES can beat your Genesis any day because it can display 32767 colors and the Genesissy can o

Re:

[Pojut]

Look, I can understand having a favourite or whatever...but as a gamer, you really are doing yourself a major disservice by limiting yourself to Nintendo-only products...

I mean, do whatever you want, not my place to tell you what to do...I'm just saying, you are missing out on a LOT by not going past Nintendo.

Re:

[gameboyhippo]

I actually switched camps when the Dreamcast went belly up. I followed Sonic to the Gamecube and found a new home. MS doesn't have any good E rated game (except maybe Viva Piñata, but even that's coming to the DS). Sony is trying to be Microsoft. With all of the reasons I bought my non-Nintendo systems coming to the Wii/DS, why should I buy anything else? Plus I can play all of my Genesis games thanks to the Wii having blast processing. (or at least emulating the hy-- feature).

Re:

[Mattintosh]

Heh... "Blast Processing" wasn't hype, nor was it a feature. It was just Sega's fancy marketing-drivel name for double buffering. Everything up to that point on consoles had just used ultra-fast vblank blitters and DMA. Sonic would get all kinds of nasty image tearing and artifacts if they did that, so they "invented" double buffering for that game. Then marketing spun it (as marketing is wont to do) and it became a bullet point for the fanboys to argue over.

Re:

[7Prime]

Just a comment...

FF8 didn't need emulation. It had a PC version that worked great (except for some minor synthesizer differences). I can still remember... it was one of the first RPGs I ever played (I didn't start gaming until I was in college). Now FF9 required emulation... and emulate it did, perfectly.

I didn't buy a PS2 until I wanted to play FFX... and boy what a lame excuse for buying a console THAT was! Oh well, about 20 titles later, it was worth it.

Re:

[Mattintosh]

I had Connectix Virtual Game Station for the Mac (OS 9, not X!). They finally updated the emulation core for it to work with FF8, but it took them a while, and I had bought the real PSX by the time that patch was released. Then they discontinued CVGS.

Re:

[7Prime]

Ahhh, that's right. At the time, I had a PC (I'm back to Mac now), so I was in the clear. Eventually, I've heard that Mac PS1 and N64 emulation became better than PC emulation... though I haven't needed to try it out, now that I own a PS2 and Wii.

Anyway, yeah, that makes sense.

Re:

[king-manic]

Brand loyalty amongst gamers is the dumbest thing ever conceived. You miss out on so much by being "loyal" and by not delving into other systems that it makes you very much like the all-show-no-go crowd that emerged after The Fast and the Furious...

In other words, it makes you a fucking moron.

ie. Rabid Fanboyism.

Remember them, the ones who started slagging the 360 right away, then the wii before launch, and then the ps3 right now. The success or failure of a Companies console doesn't really determine the si

Re:

[bigstrat2003]

The success or failure of a Companies console doesn't really determine the size of your penis.

It doesn't??? FUCK! That guy in the alley behind the bar ripped me off!

Sony vs. Nintendo vs... Microsoft

[trdrstv]

Brand loyalty amongst gamers is the dumbest thing ever conceived. You miss out on so much by being "loyal" and by not delving into other systems that it makes you very much like the all-show-no-go crowd that emerged after The Fast and the Furious...

Brand loyalty isn't so bad, I think you are lashing against the Rabbid Fanboyism though which is (I agree) quite dumb. Brand Loyalty however could get people to cross platforms and "blur the lines" of Fanboy-hood.

Let's say you really like Final Fantasy... W

Re:Sony vs. Nintenod

[vonPoonBurGer]

I'm sorry, but games drive console sales, not brand names. The number of consoles currently in the marketplace drive the platforms that developers target. You only need to look at what the CEO of EA said [crunchgear.com] to realize that. When you have the top dog of the single largest game publisher coming straight out and saying that your console was the "wrong horse," you are in some serious trouble.

The PS2 was a huge hit because they got to market early and were able to get a snowball effect going. Developers targeted the PS2 because it was the most widely-sold console, and that in turn drove additional console sales. The PS3 will not come anywhere close to experiencing that level of success. It appeared too late, it cost too much, and they've been bleeding third-party exclusive titles at a phenomenal rate as a result. They're experiencing a slight uptick in sales thanks to the (maybe temporary) price cut, but the only numbers developers and publishers are looking at are total number of consoles sold, and the weekly numbers are only a drop in the bucket compared to those totals.

Thanks to http://vgchartz.com/ [vgchartz.com], we know that there are 10.5 million 360s, 10.5 willion Wiis, and only 4.3 million PS3s sold worldwide. What 3rd-party developer in their right mind is going to drop serious money on developing a AAA title if they can only sell it to 17% of the next-gen market? Without exclusive AAA third-party titles, there's pretty much no chance of a major increase in the rate of PS3 console sales. You only have to look at Nintendo's experience with the GameCube to realize that all the first-party titles in the world just aren't enough to get the job done.

As for Microsoft "flunking" in Europe, the weekly numbers may look a little rosy (or at least not dismal) for the PS3, but the 360 is still the most widely sold console in the "other" (i.e. not North America or Japan) category by a fair margin at 3.3 million, which is mostly Europe. The Wii is second with 2.8 million, and the PS3 hardly even rates with 1.3 million. The PS3 outsold the 360 by a whole 6000 units in Europe for the week ending August 19th. That's simply nowhere close to enough to erase the 2 million lead the 360 has. At a rate of 6000 more consoles sold per week, it would take the PS3 seven years to catch the 360 in Europe. For the same week though, the Wii stomped them both, selling almost twice as much as the 360 and PS3 combined.

As for Japan, MS completely botched the 360 marketing plan there, without question. You can Google for Japanese reactions to the 360's "Do Do Do" campaign, if you'd like a laugh. However, while the 360's failure to crack the Japanese market is bad news for MS, it isn't automatically good news for Sony. Japan was supposed to be Sony's stronghold, and look at the Japanese sales numbers: 3.4 million units for the Wii, and only 1.1 million for the PS3. Even in their own backyard, Sony is getting their asses handed to them.

"It should be obvious where all of those former PS2 users are going to end up over the next five years."

Yes, it is obvious to me, though apparently not to you: wherever the games are. Where are the games going to appear? This is also obvious: on whatever consoles are most common. Whether that's more frequently the 360 or the Wii depends on how things shake out this Xmas, but at this point the PS3 is simply too far behind to have much hope of making a comeback.

Re:

[seebs]

I don't even think the 360 has a chance now. If the Wii can sell more consoles in 9 months than the 360 can sell in a year and a half, the 360's toast. The Wii, not the 360, is getting the large market of Japanese developers -- who are disproportionately relevant to American sales, even though the Japanese market is smaller.

The 360, I think, can reasonably hope for a comfortable and clearly successful second place. I don't think it can hope to come out on top this year; the only reason it has any chance

Re:

[seebs]

I dunno. I went PS3 in the PS360 debate, simply because the hardware's more impressive, I want to play with Linux on Cell, and I don't really want to send my box in three times a year for repairs. ... Of course, I may be atypical.

Re:

[prockcore]

I want to play with Linux on Cell

Why? You know it doesn't act any different from linux on a x86, or linux on a ppc.

Re:

[senatorpjt]

It does if you install the Cell SDK.

Re:

[ShakaUVM]

>>I'm sorry, but games drive console sales, not brand names.

I just bought a PS3. Not because there's a title I want to play on it (there's not), but because Sony offered a $150 discount to anyone who signs up for the Sony Style credit card (which will be promptly cancelled when the refund comes in) at the same time, and because they offered $100 of blue-ray movies for free. If you pick up the 60GB at 100$ or the 80GB with a 50$ game for free (Motorstorm), you're looking at a total 'cost' of $250-$300.

Money???

[brunes69]

I don't know how much money you make, but you seem to be mistaking fanboyism for something I like to call "a budget". Not everyone can afford to spend $599 on a PS3, $499 on a 360, and $300 on a Wii. That's $1400 freaking dollars - I can feed and house my family for almost two months on that. Not to mention the cost getting games for each of those systems. A few years ago when I was a student I would be lucky to even buy *ONE* of these systems, considering the $299 Wii price is my food for 3 months. No,

Re:

[Devir]

Motorstorm = 60$. 80gig $41
41 + 60 = 101.

You save $1 buying the 80 gig, motorstorm bundle. Well, using your numbers.