Brace Yourself: Sony Over-Promises, Under-Delivers

[Jeremy Charette]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2006/05/ps3-lie-watch-evidence-updated.html' target='_blank'>http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2006/05/ps3-lie-watch-evidence-updated.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"A hastily-cobbled-together Photoshop comparison speaks 1000 words:"</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/ps3liebackend.jpg" /> <br /><br />Remind me again, what advantage does the PS3 have over the Xbox 360?

[Kent Pribbernow]

Remind me again, what advantage does the PS3 have over the Xbox 360?

It comes in silver or black. :wink:

[Jeremy Charette]

And the Xbox 360 has interchangeable faceplates.

Next?

Funny you should mention the color, if you notice, the $599 "Premium" PS3 has chrome accents on the front and on the drive tray. Kinda like...the Premium Xbox 360. Hmmm...

[boeman]

Te PS3 clears out more of that much needed space in your bank account than the 360. :lol:

[Ed Hansberry]

it is obvious sony is giving you more for the money. the revised ps3 has less holes and therefore more substance!

MS's xbox team must be having a great chuckle over this.

[Kent Pribbernow]

it is obvious sony is giving you more for the money. the revised ps3 has less holes and therefore more substance!

MS's xbox team must be having a great chuckle over this.

Sony is handing the gaming console market to Microsoft on a silver platter. The PS3 will prove to colossal failure and ultimately spell doom for the company.

Not that it matters to me. I don't own a console and probably never will. PC gaming is still a richer and more immersive environment for graphics and game play, in my experience. You can't beat Oblivion on a 20" or larger widescreen LCD. Yummy.

[Gary Sheynkman]

I'd agree with you a year ago

but after college


Nothing beats ordering a huge pizza, sitting down on a couch with some friends, and duking it out Halo style.

[Felix Torres]

You can't beat Oblivion on a 20" or larger widescreen LCD. Yummy.

Yup!
1080 at 37" (via 360) is a delight.
Just wish they'd let us fly over that gorgeous landscape just once.
Waiting for a clear day over Frostcrag is a drag. ;-)

In general the PS3 seems to be coming to market with three major question marks attached:

1- The Cell architecture - only one general-purpose core with 7 vector processors - With both 360 and PCs moving to multiple general-purpose cores, programmers are going to be challenged during code-ports, especially if the 360 becomes the baseline developer's box. The PS3 may end up idling the vector units while over-working the general-purpose core

2- The BD-ROM drive - it adds cost and reduces disk throughput, when compared to a 12x DVD drive, which in turn demands the presence of a hard drive for caching of gaming data, which results in a double pricing-whammy. And, after all the talk of the delay being due to waiting for the HDMI 1.3 spec, they're releasing their mainstream config *without* HDMI. Huh?

3- Business model - SONY built the success of the PS1 and PS2 off non-dedicated gamers; non-techie families who bought the kids a Playstation for xmas and a game or two twice a year and relied on loans, swaps, and rentals to keep the box fed in between. Those are not the kind of buyers that are going to drop $499 to be the first on the block with the new console, much less $600. The fact that MS is already targetting those folks with the 360 core means the two platforms have effectively swapped places; MS will have an installed-base, system pricing, and game catalog lead until at least xmas 07.

Add in that 360 games are reportedly way easier/quicker to code and the conomics of PS3 game developers are going to be mighty iffy for the first 12-18 months. Which might explain what GTA4 is *not* shipping as a PS3 exclusive and suggests there may not be many, if any, third party exclusives on PS3.

Any way you slice and dice it, SONY has a tough row to hoe ahead of them.

[Kent Pribbernow]

1080 at 37" (via 360) is a delight.
Just wish they'd let us fly over that gorgeous landscape just once.
Waiting for a clear day over Frostcrag is a drag. ;-)

Ha! Well, I suppose a 37" screen combined with nice comfy sofa would be a great way to experience the "Anarchy Apocalypse (http://www.elitistsnob.com/archives/2006/05/oblivion_anarchy_apocalypse_bu.php)" Bug. :lol:

[Felix Torres]

Ha! Well, I suppose a 37" screen combined with nice comfy sofa would be a great way to experience the "Anarchy Apocalypse (http://www.elitistsnob.com/archives/2006/05/oblivion_anarchy_apocalypse_bu.php)" Bug. :lol:

Wow!
I'll have to give it a try.
Best exploit I've managed is using my armorer skill to duplicate inventoried objects and making it stick.
(I created a second Goldbrand and used one of them when I had to sacrifice a daedric artifact during the main quest. Surprisingly, I lost neither but gained full credit. So, in effect, I triplicated Goldbrand. Too bad I lost the second Umbra...)

The Oblivion AI does lend itself to unusual "bystander moments":

- once, in Bravil, I saw the city guards run all over town to chase down and kill a local citizen. Checking out the body, I found out he had a stolen loaf of bread... (Harsh place, Bravil...)

- another time, I was walking down a country road and caught a Legion ranger fighting a bear; the horse was helping out. I had to chip in to save the horse when the legionnaire died. I healed the horse and rode it to safety in town and the game still branded me a horse thief.

- several times I've seen rangers Legionnaires fighting bandits and once I saw a bandit attack and kill a black horse courier. And the mean sobs even killed the horse she rode in on.

- several times now, Mythic Dawn moles have gone ballistic trying to kill me in the middle of towns only to have the locals just mob them; everybody in town just rushes in to join the fun.

- several times I've seen Oblivion invaders engaged by ogres, minotaurs, and timber wolves, among others when the gate opens up in their turf. Pretty even fights, too.

Gotta go back to closing oblivion gates; I'm trying to collect a full set of the 30 possible transcendent sigil stones but after closing 38 gates I've only found 18 discrete varieties. Still, whacking 1000+ daedras is a worthwhile endeavor unto itself.

Those suckers are eeeevilll....
Yummy game indeed.
Makes me want to go back to Morrowind for another go-around.

[BugDude10]

While I agree that Sony has had a series of embarassments in the past several months (following years of stupidity in proprietary storage formats), it is still the 800 lb. gorilla at this party, and it's gonna be looking for a seat come November. And I'll bet there'll be plenty of hard-core gamers and fan-boys and bleeding-edge tech-heads who will pony upp the ridiculous $$$ to be the first-on-their-block.

What does Sony have? The installed base of PS1, PS2, and now PSP owners; much higher profile in the lucrative overseas' markets; almost certainly some exclusive titles that fans will want; and, ironically, by being last, it will probably be perceived as being best/newest/most cutting-edge. A pretty good bet, I think.

I believe Sony needs a good beating in this field, to (one hopes) combat its arrogance and stupidity. I'm not sure Microsoft should be our "hero" in this battle, though. (Is MS really the defender of the upstart against the behemoth? Do we really want MS to overpower another company in its own field?)

I think it will be interesting to see how MS prepares for the PS3, as well as how Sony un-f*cks the situation between now and launch. I'm just not ready yet to claim MS will be the winner in this battle.

Just my $0.02.

[Felix Torres]

I believe Sony needs a good beating in this field, to (one hopes) combat its arrogance and stupidity. I'm not sure Microsoft should be our "hero" in this battle, though. (Is MS really the defender of the upstart against the behemoth? Do we really want MS to overpower another company in its own field?)


You answered your own question:
Sony needs to get their arrogance beat out of them, but they are the 800lb gorilla of the CE business. And the only sure way to beat an 800 lb gorilla is with a 900 lb gorilla. ;-)

Realistically, no sensible person expects MS to wipe out Sony in this go-around; if nothing else because Japan still constitutes 20-25% of the world gaming market and the japanese will never buy an american console, no matter how good it may be and how much of a boat anchor the locals may be peddling.

But, what MS can and likely will do is level the playing field so that instead of a 70-18-12 market, we see a 40-40-20 console market for the rest of the decade. That kind of parity can only lead to better products for consumers.

If the $600 PS3 is less than a world beater, Sony will have to rethink their strategies of making gamers pay for their BD-dreams (maybe resulting in a DVD-based PS3a?) or risk becoming roadkill under the 360 truck.

In the latter case, we can't blame MS; the fault will be strictly Sony's.
MS *isn't* going to kill Playstation, but they're not about to cry if Sony chooses to kill their own baby.

This market isn't Microsoft's to win, but it *is* Sony's to lose.
And they seem so focused on the Blue-laser war, they might do just that.

[Jeremy Charette]

I want a Wii.

And a copy of Wii PilotWings. Now THAT is gonna be fun.

[Chris Gohlke]

I'm with you, of the three, the Wii is the only one I'm interested in at the opening prices, followed by a 360 when the prices drop. The PS3 only has appeal for me if they make a Katamari Damacy game for it.

[Jeremy Charette]

Ain't gonna happen. (http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=8571)

[Chris Gohlke]

"Me and My Katamari, the portable iteration being released in North America for the PSP next week, is the last officially announced game in the series. However, the game was done without the direct supervision of Takahashi, which shows publisher Namco's willingness to create games in the series without his input."

I think there is money in it, so it might happen. Actually, I liked Me and My Katamari best of the series.

[rzanology]

Okay lets put this into perspective. The ps3 really isnt what it seems to most. If the ps3 was 2 to 3 times better than the 360 as a gaming machine....I'd say the 600 price tag is more than justifiable. Im sure true gamers wont have a problem spending that type of money for something so cutting edge thats available now. But it isnt. It's barely better than the 360....if it's better at all. Ps3 is all one big gamble to sony. They're banking on this blue ray technology. Will it take off?? Who knows who cares. But this is a big deal to sony....as everything they do they're trying to grab a huge share of the market and this is where the problem comes in. Yes blue ray is very astounding technically speaking. Yes it would be nice to own one....but is it worth it? No! dvds are still pretty much the norm right now. When it comes to fighting for the next generation formats...i think hd dvd stands a better chance that blue ray souly based of dvds popularity. In any case...it will take 2 to 3 years for either hd dvd or blue ray to gain momentum. So why may I ask....is sony forcing blue ray down peoples throats? Not only are they forcing it...but they're going about it the wrong way. Yes ps3 is the perfect way for them to push it out...but when you make the console 600 with no type of options to have blue ray or not, then you're really not thinking smart. Blue ray has veery little to do with the games....its all about the movie industry for sony. I think this will hurt them. When people realize they're paying 600 for a blue ray movie player and the only movie available is sprider man 1-3, things will start to look bleak for sony. Also....how much are they games going to cost? 360 games are already $60...and thats only because Microsoft feels like charging that price. Are you willing to pay 80 for a game and 40 for a movie only because its blue-ray? I never really like ps...but I've always had one....always willing to play and buy one. But sony is reeeally killing what could have been an outstanding console for the sake of their blue ray child. Not good for business!!!


just my 2 cents

[alese]

...
This market isn't Microsoft's to win, but it *is* Sony's to lose.
And they seem so focused on the Blue-laser war, they might do just that.
...


For the most part that is what happened in pretty much every market Microsoft was attacking and some other company was the dominant player.
It wasn't so much that Microsoft won, due to having much better product, it was much more that the other company (Netscape, Palm, WorPerfect...) lost it's lead due to their decisions and strategies.
And the same is going to happen here, not this time, but certainly at the end...

[Felix Torres]

...
This market isn't Microsoft's to win, but it *is* Sony's to lose.
And they seem so focused on the Blue-laser war, they might do just that.
...


For the most part that is what happened in pretty much every market Microsoft was attacking and some other company was the dominant player.
It wasn't so much that Microsoft won, due to having much better product, it was much more that the other company (Netscape, Palm, WorPerfect...) lost it's lead due to their decisions and strategies.
And the same is going to happen here, not this time, but certainly at the end...

That is exactly correct!
When MS goes after an existing player, like those you mentioned above, it is because they see an inherent weakness in the target's control of that market that they think they can exploit. (That, and because they see a strategic *need* to go after it.)

How they go about it is usually to challenge the target, forcing them to react, keep putting pressure on them, and make move after move, waiting for them to make the one crucial mistake...
...because sooner or later, everybody (MS included) makes mistakes. But except for MS, few companies can actually afford to make many big mistakes and still remain players.

Sony is not likely to blow away its entire gaming market equity with the PS3, but losing half of its share of the market is looking quite possible. This wouldn't necessarily result in MS domination; just a more competitive market and better prices/products for consumers.

The real fight for market domination comes in the next round, as a stronger MS will have a choice of strategies for what they hope will be the end-game and Sony will be in a do-or-die bind *if* they don't clean up their act in time to salvage this generation.

Ultimately it all comes down to BD-ROM; Sony is literally betting the PS3 and the company on it. And it is a risky bet where winning alone is not enough; they need to win big and they need to win *fast*. Cause they're not just fghting MS; they're also fighting Toshiba, Apple, Samsung, and China, Inc.

Too many battles, too many enemies, too little time...
Not hopeless but not the right time to be making mistakes, either.

[Jeremy Charette]

Microsoft's biggest challenge is that Sony is entrenched. If it were me, I'd do whatever it takes to do just one thing:

Offer existing PS2 owners a $100 trade-in value towards the purchase of a new Xbox 360.

Do it now. Six months before the PS3 launches. Give consumers a reason to switch, and prove to them that the Xbox 360 is better by putting it in their hands. The tidal wave of momentum behind such a mass exodus would be unmatched by anything Sony comes up with.

[Felix Torres]

Offer existing PS2 owners a $100 trade-in value towards the purchase of a new Xbox 360.


Bare-knuckled marketing!
Ballmer would be proud of ya! :twisted:

[jeffd]

As a defense to sony about the image in the OP (wich is kind of old now), the back of the PS3 on the left was in a digital image with a line of text on the bottem clearly indicating it was not the final revision and things may change. Nore did they really list the lost ports as part of the official feature set.

To call it a lie clearly indicates the photoshopers lack of grasp on the english language. ^^

As to not just bitch about the image, I agree with most of the opinions here. I thought the xbox was really streatching it, but while not actually wanting to buy one yet, I like how MS has handled the xbox 360. Saddly the PS3 seems to be the only one getting FF13, so I may end up getting one eventualy, but I can pretty much guarentee it wont be before FF13 is released. ^^

[Jeremy Charette]

Step 2: Recycle those PS2s so they don't re-enter the secondhand market.

Step 3: Donate new Xbox 360s and games to Child's Play (http://www.childsplaycharity.org). Make sure every single one comes with a copy of Kameo and Viva Pinata.

Step 4: Make a supply of $50 off coupons available to the hospitals that the Xbox 360s are donated to through Child's Play.

Hook 'em young. :twisted:

[Felix Torres]

Here's an interesting exercise:
http://curmudgeongamer.com/2006/05/history-of-console-prices-or-500-aint.html

Basically a plot of all the major gaming consoles of the last 30 years with their initial launch price in absolute and inflation-adjusted dollars.

It seems the biggest failures in the history of gaming have a few things in common.