Is PS3 the great unwanted console?

[popopot]

Story below. Source: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49288445,00.htm


With ten days to go before the PlayStation 3 launches in the UK, where is the cavalcade, the banners, the streamers and bunting? Where are the crowds chanting on the street corners? Where are the geeks camping outside Virgin Megastore, poised expectantly, fire-axes in hand, waiting for the moment the clock strikes midnight on 23 March?

There is no crowd, there are no streamers. You can walk into a Blockbuster today and order one for launch. 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?

The optimistic view is that Sony is above the petty playground boasting that insiders suspect drives some manufacturers to withhold some stock in order to claim a 'sell-out' on the first day of launch. The cachet attached to good first-day sales is hard to ignore -- console manufacturers get great press coverage if they can claim all their consoles are sold out. Both the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360 sold out on the first day of launch.

The more realistic view is that gamers just aren't that interested in the PS3 and Sony is now massively overstocked. The same company that cited component shortages as a reason for giving Japan just 80,000 PS3 consoles and America 400,000 at last year's launch -- and delaying the European launch until this month -- seem to have gone the other way in the UK and stocked the nation's shops with more PS3s than gamers want.

The PS3 will be so easy to get hold of on launch that GameSpot's Guy Cocker told us, "Right now, it's about as hard to get a PS3 for launch as it is an orange in California -- either Sony has poured units into Europe, or the demand's just not there."

So why is the PS3 so undesirable? The obvious answer is the lack of any cut-off-your-hand-to-buy-it game for the platform. The console's most-vaunted title, MotorStorm, is glitzy but prosaic -- only Sony's forthcoming Second-Life-alike social space Home is worth getting excited about.

The £425 price tag could have something to do with it, too. Sure, that's comparable to the PS2's launch cost, but consumer electronics prices have tumbled in the last five years and the Xbox 360 is only £280.

Sony may also have been over-zealous in emphasising the 'power' of the PlayStation console over its games. Improved processing power, after a point, won't make a game play any better -- it can only really make it look better.

The PlayStation 3 is an incredibly powerful machine -- so powerful in fact that Sony's Nick Sharples last year proclaimed "no one will ever use the full power of the console". Sharples gleefully preached to us at CES that any one of the PS3's several processors could be dedicated to "making a character's hair move in a realistic manner", or "rendering the contours of a cape". But some critics accuse Sony of inviting developers to neglect gameplay and invest heavily in these amazing graphics.

The PlayStation 2 was so overwhelmingly popular that it's hard to imagine the PS3 won't find success. For now though, thousands of the things sit stacked on shelves in the backrooms of a hundred Blockbusters. This must be the most unwanted console in recent memory.

[mr. nails]

i've liked both playstations. the first one sold me on resident evil. i saw that game and that's all i needed to see. sold. ps2 came out and i was able to play my ps1 games and watch dvds! great times and the games that came out for the system were fantastic. now, the ps3 has cum out. imo it has problems, but i still like it as a console. once most problems are fixed and the gen2 versions of the system cum out i will be getting one. i wanna play a lot of games that WILL in fact be exclusive to only sony and then there's the fact of blu-ray. blu-ray and hd are already going on the obsolete rack for new media is in the works, but i'll test it out anyway. i think the ps3 is the best buy for a console right now, but like i said. once problems are fixed and gen2 releases along with a slightly cheaper price tag i won't as most won't be getting this console. let's just hope the upcummin' US versions of gen2's are crippled like the PAL versions. u guys got gay'd.

[Skiz]

Meh, everyone wants it. It's just too pricey with only a few games. Give it time.

[Melchior00]

think the same, there isin't any must-have games yet. I'll wait 1 more years before juging this system.

[macking]

Story below. Source: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49288445,00.htm (http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49288445,00.htm)

Uhmm figures it would come from cnet.


With ten days to go before the PlayStation 3 launches in the UK, where is the cavalcade, the banners, the streamers and bunting? Where are the crowds chanting on the street corners? Where are the geeks camping outside Virgin Megastore, poised expectantly, fire-axes in hand, waiting for the moment the clock strikes midnight on 23 March?

LOL thats a load of ballocks, the police are making special preparations for the event because they feel too many people at the same place at the same time could be very troublesome:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=74200

It might be the biggest console launch ever.


There is no crowd, there are no streamers. You can walk into a Blockbuster today and order one for launch. 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?

Under-stocking gives you negative press, negative press isnt something any console manufacturer wants.


The optimistic view is that Sony is above the petty playground boasting that insiders suspect drives some manufacturers to withhold some stock in order to claim a 'sell-out' on the first day of launch. The cachet attached to good first-day sales is hard to ignore -- console manufacturers get great press coverage if they can claim all their consoles are sold out. Both the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360 sold out on the first day of launch.

The xbox and gamecube sold out launch day as well while the PS2 didnt.. think about it.


The more realistic view is that gamers just aren't that interested in the PS3 and Sony is now massively overstocked. The same company that cited component shortages as a reason for giving Japan just 80,000 PS3 consoles and America 400,000 at last year's launch -- and delaying the European launch until this month -- seem to have gone the other way in the UK and stocked the nation's shops with more PS3s than gamers want.

If you remember the exact same thing happened at the UK launch with the PS2.

Sony saturated the shops with about a million PS2's and they didn't sell out.

If the PS3 is a failure like the PS2 was a failure I'm sure Sony will be thrilled.


The PS3 will be so easy to get hold of on launch that GameSpot's Guy Cocker told us, "Right now, it's about as hard to get a PS3 for launch as it is an orange in California -- either Sony has poured units into Europe, or the demand's just not there."

Same situation as with PS2.


So why is the PS3 so undesirable? The obvious answer is the lack of any cut-off-your-hand-to-buy-it game for the platform. The console's most-vaunted title, MotorStorm, is glitzy but prosaic -- only Sony's forthcoming Second-Life-alike social space Home is worth getting excited about.

The PS2 had a game drought for about a year when it launched, it was actually 2 years into the life of the PS2 when it started flying off shelves worldwide.


The £425 price tag could have something to do with it, too. Sure, that's comparable to the PS2's launch cost, but consumer electronics prices have tumbled in the last five years and the Xbox 360 is only £280.

I somehow doubt people are going to complain about paying a little extra for a console when they have to spend several times as much for the HDTV.

HDTV is a big factor, everybody knows if you want to enjoy your next-generation console you need a shiny HDTV.

We get raped here in England for HDTV's, if you want a nice 60" HDTV your paying 5 times the price of the PS3.

After spending 2 grand on a TV I somehow doubt an extra 100 quid will make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, the blu-ray movies on the other hand will.


Sony may also have been over-zealous in emphasising the 'power' of the PlayStation console over its games. Improved processing power, after a point, won't make a game play any better -- it can only really make it look better.

Improved processing power isnt all about graphics.

In fact its got little to do with graphics in the grand scheme of things its got to do with AI and the environment, we need all the power we can possibly get right now.

From what I've heard due to the wii's processing power problems the AI in Call of Duty 3 is crippled and way behind what the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC offer.

It is dumb bragging about processing power though, I mean what will Sony and Microsoft say this year when the PC blows them away with Crysis?


The PlayStation 3 is an incredibly powerful machine -- so powerful in fact that Sony's Nick Sharples last year proclaimed "no one will ever use the full power of the console". Sharples gleefully preached to us at CES that any one of the PS3's several processors could be dedicated to "making a character's hair move in a realistic manner", or "rendering the contours of a cape". But some critics accuse Sony of inviting developers to neglect gameplay and invest heavily in these amazing graphics.

Making a characters hair movie or the contours of a characters cape have nothing to do with graphics it is all physics based.

The cell processor can't do graphics anyway thats the GPU's job, it could help with some tasks if they wanted though.

Physics is awesome, imaging playing Max Payne 3 and it rains and your clothes get heavier so you run slower or fighting in Virtua Fighter 5 and your clothes getting cut or your hair blowing in Final Fantasy XIII when it gets windy.

Consoles this generation aren't there in terms of physics, I think we'll have to wait until next generation to see ultra realistic physics but thats the next step after graphics.


The PlayStation 2 was so overwhelmingly popular that it's hard to imagine the PS3 won't find success. For now though, thousands of the things sit stacked on shelves in the backrooms of a hundred Blockbusters. This must be the most unwanted console in recent memory.

The PS3 simply wont fail but one can hope the PS3 doest wipe the floor with the 360 and the Wii, if that happens it will be bad for competition which means it will be bad for me and you.

I'm hoping for something like 50/50/50(million units) each way.

The closer the big three come to each other the more compelled they will be to give their customers something better and cheaper.

[GepperRankins]

lol. after seeing home and littlebigplanet on the 1up show i'm rly wanting the ps3 :mellow:

[silent h3ro]

It's too expensive for me.

[silent h3ro]

It's too expensive for me and I already have a 360.

[silent h3ro]

It's too expensive for me and I already have a 360.

[silent h3ro]

It's too expensive for me and I already have a 360.

lol sorry guys

[macking]

LOL you like making your point huh.. na im kidding.

How much did the PS2 cost in America when it launched?

[silent h3ro]

LOL you like making your point huh.. na im kidding.

lol


How much did the PS2 cost in America when it launched?

I remember it being ridiculously over priced like around $700 at least.

[macking]

It was the same thing here in the UK too, the PS2 and PS3 were very similar in price so I don't get it when people complain about the price.

Xbox launched very expensive, the gamecube was a lot cheaper than both the xbox and ps2 as well.

Soon the xbox 360 will be the cheapest console in the UK, theyr dropping the price to around 15% less than the Wii with the core model from what I've heard.

This hot competition is great prices are falling to the ground with fantastic games everywhere.

Its a shame you need to a HDTV though, it kind of defeats the purpose of a cheap console when you have to pay a fortune to enjoy it.

[sauly]

i will buy 1 in the end just need to hold on

[jaat23]

its not unwanted, its that its tooooo pricy. u can see 10 ps3's in a store while all the wiis are sold out. ps3 vs.wii, wii would win. wii sold more than the 360 and ps3 combined.

[silent h3ro]

If PS3 was maybe $500 or $400 for the Premium then I would buy it but mainly for Gran Turismo 5.

[Busyman™]

It was the same thing here in the UK too, the PS2 and PS3 were very similar in price so I don't get it when people complain about the price.

Xbox launched very expensive, the gamecube was a lot cheaper than both the xbox and ps2 as well.

Soon the xbox 360 will be the cheapest console in the UK, theyr dropping the price to around 15% less than the Wii with the core model from what I've heard.

This hot competition is great prices are falling to the ground with fantastic games everywhere.

Its a shame you need to a HDTV though, it kind of defeats the purpose of a cheap console when you have to pay a fortune to enjoy it.

I don't think so.

I mean over in the States, HDTVs are becoming pretty commonplace. Also where did you get that you had to have a HDTV?:huh:

Nowadays I don't really see folks buying new SD sets any more.

Why should they? HDTV big screens are the price of SD big screens 6 years ago.

Also after watching HDTV, SD sets totally suck ass anyway.

[Morphy666]

I'll pick one up in a year or so once the prices have come down

[Cheese]

Its a shame you need to a HDTV though, it kind of defeats the purpose of a cheap console when you have to pay a fortune to enjoy it.

HDTVs have fallen quite dramtically in price now though (some decent 32" sets are cheaper than the PS3...), I'm getting one for the Wii I'm getting because I think I'll need the big screen to fit multiple players in front of. And my PS2 looks shit on my 20" standard TV. :pinch:

[mavg]

360 or ps3 ?

[Colt Seevers]

the police are making special preparations for the event because they feel too many people at the same place at the same time could be very troublesome:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=74200

It might be the biggest console launch ever.



what a load of sh1te.

It's just not selling, fanboy. :P

Not that this is note worthy - but when has that ever stopped the ramblings of a drunken madman....> I don't know ANYONE online or in RL that has purchased this console... who here has nabbed one? eh?? Then maybe at least I will kinda know someone that has it...(in the uk) :)

Most notable moment was playing CSS a few days ago on a packed server, and someone asked the question: "who here has got a PS3?"... the silence spoke volumes.... fuck it I was gonna get one, but now i'm just completely off the idea of ps3 entirely, until there is better games.. and something that really kicks xbox arse (unlikely in the short term?) ...and get the Furcking price down and I don't care what u chaps say, the quality of games to price ratio is just utter pish! f5uck blue ray and hd in the ar5e (twice!) they are merely convoluted ploys to get you to part with more money replacing your old dvds....imho :) A few more years down the line (5,10 15) God knows, but we will all be upgrading again to the next super-dooper-hi-res-in-your-face-3D-holographic-mammery-gland-disks...personally I can't wait.....that's why I'm giving this latest techno fart a miss until the next uber tech-poop arives! :P Then I will buy into it :)

I hope Sony learn from this monumental fuck up... maybe 5 or 10 years from now, when they have finished pimping the PS3 for everything its worth, they wont be so arrogant next time.

oOPS sorry, Drunken Rant mode: OFF.

*Goes shopping tomorrow to buy PS3*

[Cheese]

Where's the games? GTA4 comes out in October and I see nothing else that makes me wish for a PS3 until then. And even then, unless the PS3 version is significantly better, then the 360 looks better with its catalogue of decent games. The early adopters are mupppets imo.

Until then I'll be happy with my PC and Wii (which arrives next month...). I'll pick up a 360 maybe because I want to play GTA4 (unless the PS3 version is much better of course) but even then I might hold out for a PC version so the game can be done justice, other than that there are a few other 360 games I wouldn't mind trying out. The PS3 needs a few "must-have" title under its belt before I'll consider it (and by that I mean the game must be on the shelf for me to purchase).

[3RA1N1AC]

sony totally screwed up the launch. i blame blu-ray & the ridiculous price tag mostly, but they made a whole bunch of other mistakes too (horrible press conferences!). i still think PS3 is going to come out on top just because of the strength of brand recognition/loyalty and the fact that it will be the console of choice for japanese game developers.

xbox 360 is a fine machine with good games, but (much like the original xbox...) 360 has been a massive failure in japan. japanese gamers never had much interest in it, it doesn't have much support from japanese game developers, so the variety of xbox 360 games is really narrow (mostly shooters, pro sports, and car racing) compared to what PS2 had & what PS3 will eventually have. 360 caters to certain tastes (if 360 has the kinds of games you enjoy, then be happy 'cause 360 has had some high-quality games in the past several months & more on the way), but it's not for every taste... while a playstation (PS1, PS2, PS3) is more of an "everyone and his mom/GF/neighbor/dog is eventually going to buy one because of the sheer variety of games" thing.

[slygamer]

lol


How much did the PS2 cost in America when it launched?

I remember it being ridiculously over priced like around $700 at least.

What?! PS2 on launch was $300! not $700!!! lol maybe for ebay people, but not store wise. sorry but when i saw that i flipped out.

Anyway i have PS3. its ok, you can find them anywhere in my area. Its almost if no one wants them, which is obviously the reason. Not that many great games yet, but more will come.

[mooncrew211]

Unwanted..you must be joking! Check these new videos...unwanted..prrfttt!

http://www.ps3films.com/cinematic.htm ( Heavenly Sword game...the best graphics!)

http://www.ps3films.com/storage.htm (shows the new Blu-Ray storage Technology)

Right I'm all done now!

[3RA1N1AC]

http://www.ps3films.com/storage.htm (shows the new Blu-Ray storage Technology)
bah, blu-ray, schmoo-ray. sony is trying to con gamers into believing blu-ray is necessary for high-definition games, while high-definition games continue to come out and look great on (the older & much cheaper format) dvd-rom for PC & x360. sony just needed to win the movie format war against toshiba by making gamers carry blu-ray to victory on their shoulders.

[FVK77]

No games I want on PS3. MGS4 is an exclusive...but I haven't even played through the rest of the series. It will probably be ported over anyhow, later on.

What else is exclusive for Ps3 that makes it a must have? FF13? I heard its going on XBox 360 this time around LOL. Umm....DMC4? It's not an exclusive anymore. So....uhhh yeah hahahaha

[silent h3ro]

lol



I remember it being ridiculously over priced like around $700 at least.

What?! PS2 on launch was $300! not $700!!! lol maybe for ebay people, but not store wise. sorry but when i saw that i flipped out.

Anyway i have PS3. its ok, you can find them anywhere in my area. Its almost if no one wants them, which is obviously the reason. Not that many great games yet, but more will come.I don't know where you live but you must have been very fucking lucky to find a $300 PS2 on or close to launch. I remember it was very hard to find PS2 consoles and they were wayyy overpriced (not on ebay but retail stores). Remember the Wii was selling for $500 weeks after launch at Circuit City, Best Buy, and other retailers because they were in great demand, and in very low quantity.


No games I want on PS3. MGS4 is an exclusive...but I haven't even played through the rest of the series. It will probably be ported over anyhow, later on.

What else is exclusive for Ps3 that makes it a must have? FF13? I heard its going on XBox 360 this time around LOL. Umm....DMC4? It's not an exclusive anymore. So....uhhh yeah hahahahaI read that the creater of the Metal Gear Solid series is very interested in the Xbox 360, so I'm sure it will be ported over.