Sony's PS3 has stumbled through 2008, and now it's time to start fresh with 2009. Ars shares some tips on how to sell the high-quality system to an apathetic market. <BR><BR>Read More
Four things Sony can do to turn the tide for the PS3 in 2009
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Before christmas sonystyle.com had $150 credit on their credit card with a $399 ps3 purchase. So this cost was $250 (plus the hassle of signing up for the card, waiting for the credit, and then canceling.) There were other good deals out there as well, I remember wal-mart having $100 wal-mart credit for awhile. My point is that during the christmas rush, price shouldn't have been anybody's primary reason for choosing a system since they could all 3 be had for about the same price.<BR><BR>I think the wii really really stinks for gaming. It is fun for people that haven't played it before who want to give it a try, for little kids who can't really use a typical controller, and for older people who can play right away without the sheer intimidation of all the buttons and thumbsticks a typical controller has. The wii has created a market that didn't exist but I can't imagine anyone who really likes video games a lot actually choosing it over the ps3 or 360.<BR><BR>So the real issue is ps3 vs 360. I like the controller much better on the 360 so that is what I use, and for online options there isn't a comparison between the two. The media box you mention isn't much different than the 360 aside from the bluray disk. Bluray is cool but hasn't turned out to be the winning marketing strategy they envisioned "buy our system and you also get to play high-def movies." I don't think this was a horrible strategy but it didn't work. Blu-ray adoption is incredibly slow, and I don't know when it will speed up- there are dvd players in the car, portable ones, one in the kids' tv, players/recorders in several computers- to have blu-ray in all these places would cost a mint and sony isn't going to start licensing bluray hardware for $5 a pop anytime soon. So with all these other dvd players in heavy use, I will not buy a single blu-ray disk- rent yes, buy no.<BR><BR>If this generation of hardware has another 5 years in it, sony may very well pull ahead. In spite of the 360 doing better last year, I certainly would call them "winners" because they aren't doing as well as they would like because: 1) the rrod expense, and 2) sales erosion from the wii factor. I don't think the gaming on the wii is in the same category as on the ps3/360 but people with limited funds cannot choose to have both a wii and a ps3/360.<BR><BR>In a way, sony is repeating with the console what it did with the psp. The psp has a beautiful screen, powerful cpu, and is a great media player, but the ds is just much funner for gaming as the sales numbers show.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SpinyNorman:<BR>5. Marketing<BR><BR>There were a zillion xbox ads on over xmas, next to none for the ps3<BR><BR>Price isn't so much of an issue to those who can add up:<BR>360 Premium+wifi+play & charge kit+live = £263<BR>ps3 40gb = £250<BR> </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Since the 360 seems to be outselling the PS3 by a rather wide margin, it appears that price is definitely an issue.<BR><BR>Not everyone needs wifi. Both my PS3 and my 360 are plugged into my router via ethernet. Much faster, and far more reliable than wifi.<BR><BR>Wifi is great for devices that move around a lot. It cuts the tether. For stationary devices, not so much. Wifi bandwidth is terrible, particularly when you have more than one device sharing the connection.<BR><BR>Just run the wire.<BR><BR>Or if you still think you need wifi, read this:<BR>http://i.gizmodo.com/5133447/h...-smartly-and-cheaply<BR><BR>You don't need to use the Microsoft adapter.<BR><BR>There is also no need to buy the play and charge kit. If you don't have some already, just buy some rechargeable AAs and a charger for $10.<BR><BR>And, as Sony fans love to point out, not everyone who owns an XBox 360 is connected to Live. So why tack on the price of the subscription?
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1. Leave the price alone and start making more/better games. The fact that there are so few games for RPG, Strategy, Co-op, Party, is terrible. Gaming is a social phenomena we need to have cool stuff to play with friends when getting together at someone's home. The Wii is a huge example of this kind of gaming experience. It is proven that people want fun things to do together and if that happens through a PS3 instead of a Wii, then more people will want them for their homes to entertain with as well. Guitar Hero and Rockband are other good examples.<br><br>2. Make a new kind of controller that makes six-axis easier to hold and play with during motion control based games. The current controller is great for two hands, but sucks for single hand gaming, try High Velocity Bowling is an example of how it sucks to hold that thing with a single hand and have comfortable controls... think Wiimote here, but better. Maybe even integrate a mic and small camera into it to take pictures of friends while playing, to put up to photo frames in your dwelling in 'Home'.<br><br>3. Promote/Support a free, cross platform, media server application. There are really nice options out there, and Sony should support and promote one. Digging around online trying to find something that works is a hassle that people should not have to go through... no need to brand it or make one from scratch, just pick one and help make it easier to setup and use.<br>For media playback... add some nice HD visualization apps for music playback... maybe compatible with the existing winamp visualizations already out there.<br><br>4. Make over the LAN backup of PS3 system content and settings available. Currently, there is not a easy/cheap way to backup and restore a system with lots of content downloaded to it. I tried the other day and mine requires a 34GB backup... what can I copy this too besides an external drive? (Which is also a bit of a hassle and an expensive option.) This problem will only get worse over time with more downloaded content. Make an incremental network backup feature available.<br><br>5. Change marketing from serious gaming system to more 'fun'. Sony seems so haughty and serious. We want to have fun... the entire purpose of a console is entertainment in all of it's manifestations... so make it seem fun. Sony quit taking yourself so seriously... Make stupid viral videos of hilarious stuff with the PS3, be Little Big Planet fun... People love this stuff. And for the serious First Person Shooter players... you can still be a l33t badass when p0wning n00bs. hahaha -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>6. Make things easy to do and super fun... cheap is nice, but is only one of the hurdles that new owners face when considering the PS3 over XBox or Wii. There is a compilation video of 50 kids getting a Wii for Christmas, this is the kind of insanity that Sony should be envious of. I think that the kids in the video should probably seek professional help, but from a Wii marketing point of view, this is awesome. I have heard so many people talking about how fun Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii anything is. Sony needs an analog, which is less about hardware and more about content and gameplay as any of the Wii games would be trivial to make happen on the PS3.<br><br>7. Make it easy and cheap for third party game creation. Open up the dev kit and support content developers. It is ridiculous how expensive it is to build a game for PS3. Also, make the creation of Home mini-games easier. Then create an easy way for content creators to publish their games through the PSN. $10,250 is crazy for a dev kit, and that is the new lower price! Sony should make it free to dev and then cut a deal on profits from the new games through PSN purchases. Having the dev kit tied to a certain piece of hardware is odd too, make a PS3 emulator for PC/Mac and if you want to spend more for dedicated hardware, that is fine but not necessary.
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I actually think that if Sony suddenly had an online service as good as Live, even if we had to pay for it, that would be enough to turn the tide for them.<BR><BR>Many of us bought 360s when they were still $400 and I just did again recently when I bought an Elite.<BR><BR>I already have a PS3, but if I didn't, it wouldn't have been the price that was holding me back. It <I>is</I> worth the price, but doesn't get my reco as a gaming system solely because of PSN vs. Live.
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quote:<BR>Originally posted by SpinyNorman:<BR>5. Marketing<BR><BR>There were a zillion xbox ads on over xmas, next to none for the ps3<BR><BR>Price isn't so much of an issue to those who can add up:<BR>360 Premium+wifi+play & charge kit+live = £263<BR>ps3 40gb = £250<BR><BR>There are a few mistakes withe the above so this is my PS3 360 elite price comparison.<BR><BR>Sony PlayStation 3 PS3 Console with 80GB HDD £299 (The only version they had that wasn't n a bundle)<BR>PS3 HDMI cable £6.99 (Doesn't come with anyway to hook it up to a HDTV)<BR><BR><B> Total £305.99</B> <BR><BR><BR>Xbox 360 Premium £159.99 (All xboxs come with 4 months of xbox live Gold for free. Not 1 month as most people think. You just ask for another trial when your trail period ends. Also come with unlimited silver membership which will do for the average gamer.)<BR><BR>Now I believe if you want to game online you should only use a wired connection but if you want the wireless dongle its £41 on play trade.<BR><BR>If you dont have rechargable batteries from your wii or digital camera you can buy a pair of Sony rechargables for £4.99<BR><BR> <B>Total £159.99 - £205.98</B><BR><BR>Now i think thats a fair comparison.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Janne:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Queasy1:<BR>While I agree with the article, I'm left wondering about this line:<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Microsoft is chopping features and dropping the price. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> <BR><BR>What features has MS been chopping? As far as I can tell, the 360 has been gaining features since it was released (NXE </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>It's just a new version of the OS.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Netflix </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Only works in USA IIRC.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">bigger HDDs </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>On the PS3-side, the user can replace the HD himself quite cheaply.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">HDMI, etc </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>HDMI might be only substantial upgrade they have done. But with all those upgrades, they still haven't given us built-in WiFi or built-in PSU... While the PSU would be "nice to have", the lack of WiFi would at least for mean added expence.<BR><BR>No, Ethernet is not an option.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">while Sony has been the one chopping features on the PS3 to cut the cost of production (backwards compatibility, memory card ports, etc). </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I don't see the missing features as that critical, save for backwards-compatibility (which is basically a non-issue for someone who didn't own PS2). Card-slots? 360 doesn't have them either. <BR><BR>That said, if I were buying a console at this very moment, I would probably get a 360. But since I don't have HDTV, I'm not going to get either of those. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>What does any of that have to do with my point that the 360 has been adding features, not chopping them? It wasn't a 360 vs PS3 question. It was a question to Ben about what features he thinks MS has been cutting out of the 360.
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Sony is a really weird company, to say the least. What they do mostly defies any logic and reason. They charge you for watching ads (Qore, demos), for chrissakes! And they think that Home that nobody wants is their savior. What a bunch of weirdos... They're really persistent in driving the PS3 into the ground...
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Sony needs to take a lesson from the iPhone - when it first debuted at $600, you could say that you were getting a $300 iPod and a $300 smartphone, and it was worth it. Much like you can say the same about the PS3 - you get a next gen gaming console and a BRD player. <BR><BR>Apple realized the folly of a $600 device rather quickly (2 months or so) and cut the price to $400. As should Sony bring down the price of the PS3 to $299. That wont solve all the problems, but an 80GB $299 PS3 sounds really good.
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When Sony hits the 3 year point, it will have sold more units than the “Xbox Please fix me”… <BR>The Please fix me now has an 8 million unit lead on the PS3 worldwide, with 28 million 360s and 20 million PS3s.<BR>Please fix me - 3 years – 9.33 for each year<BR>PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year<BR>Perhaps you should inquire about what will save the “Please fix Me”… here I’ll get the article started for you… RROD, Disc Scratching, Charging to host your own games, Whoring out your Operating System with garish advertisements, 3 hour Gaylo game, etc
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"That's not worth going bankrupt over."<BR><BR>I don't believe Sony will.<BR><BR>This gen of consoles are here to last a few more years, and PS3 will last longer!<BR>I think Sony is trying to extend the lifetime of PS3 hardware.<BR>Is It expensive? Yes it is (I can not afford one at this time). But do I wish one? Yes I do, and I think most of us do.<BR>If Sony drops the PS3 price by this summer and releases a featureless/gamers only version by 2010, I think they will still be selling it it until 2015, and sell it well. By 2015 the 360 will be an underpowered machine and the PS3<BR>will probably still be a capable gaming system (not to mention it has a blue-ray drive and that by 2015 DVDs won't be enough for games! Forza 3 is coming in 2 DVDs for example).<BR>Sony is surely thinking in the long run.
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5: some outstanding games, either exclusive or better-than-on-360 multiplatform titles.<BR><BR>I bought a used PS3 several months ago, I have yet to buy a single retail game for it, though I have 4-5 bluray discs which were either unavailable on or cost less than HDDVD..
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….Poor customer service that is out sourced to third world countries, knowingly rushing an unfinished product to market at the expense of the consumer, over hyping Gaylo, Gaylo slushies, ugly design, loud as a harrier jet, disgraceful corporate practices, poor directional pad on the controller, controller has a heavy awkward design,over priced add ons, ….
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My suggestion to Sony would be what it was to all 3 of them for years now. <BR><BR>Make the damn things MODULAR!!<BR><BR>Sell a base unit that comes with a DVD drive, but a modular one like you have in millions of laptops around the world. Then when I get the extra cash, and actually want a blue-ray player, I can pick one up and swap it out myself. This also has other benefits that would have been very welcome on my PS2s, because I could have taken the drive down to the store and swapped it out, instead of shipping my whole unit off for weeks to get the drive fixed 3 times on one of them and twice on the other.<BR><BR>In fact they could go the extra mile and release a base model with none of the features, but has slots to plug in the extra hardware. Then let me buy the card to run HDMI, or Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, or whatever else. This would also allow them to add future technologies as well.<BR><BR>If one of the companies actually decided to do this, I would be the first in line to get one, and I am betting I would not be in line alone, because that would be one hell of a selling point. They could sell the base system for $150-$200 and then let the customer actually get the add-on pieces they wanted from there. Most people would most likely still end up buying most of the features, just not all at once.<BR><BR>Most people will drop $200 up front without much trouble and then spend $25 here and $50 there, to get the rest, and end up spending actually more than $400 in the end, if it is over a period of time. Most people will NOT however drop $400 up front for something that they are only going to use part of the features and feel like they are having something they don't necessarily want crammed down their throats (i.e. blue-ray).<BR><BR>Sony would benefit from this immediately. They already won the format war, so the only thing it would really cost them would be a case redesign, which I would welcome anyway. It's pretty and shiny and all, but not very practical in the entertainment center. I am after all buying a component for my entertainment system, not a piece of art. If I want that I will buy a new lamp or a vase or something. For electronics though, and this includes all 3 companies, just give me something rectangular that fits the format of an entertainment center, most of which don't come with shelves that are tall and narrow, but short and wide.<BR><BR>This would do 2 very important things for Sony. One, it would cut the cost of the system and allow them to compete on cost, which in their current situation is very important. Two, it would make them look like the reasonable one and until the others caught on, they would be the most "customer friendly" system in the game, and make them look like they are ahead of the rest, because they would be.
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Smoke and mirrors warranty program (replacing a defective system with a refurbished model)…
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In synopsis I names a lot more than 4 things the please fix me needs to try to do, to help them compete with the power of the PS3. I expect your article tomorrow. Thanks!
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Ars is spot-on with the online complaint. Anyone I make a Friend in Resistance 2 I'd also want in other games. I also agree, go ahead and charge for PSN. I want a premium ad-free online experience.<BR><BR>Hey, have about a complaint about PS3 online gamers? If you're going to play an online cooperative game (e.g. Resistance 2) get your broke ass down to the store and buy a microphone. I saw an ad last weekend for a $10 BT headset! Don't tell me you can afford a PS3 and a $60 game but no mic. I'd say over 80% of R2 co-op gamers have no mic (and some high percentage of those have no clue about team play).<BR><BR>Hey Sony (or game devs), give me a way to avoid those gamers when we match up, okay?
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Sony's PS3 should have been the PS4. While I admire them for putting a high-end machine out, their psuedo-computer is still trying to vie for space in a console world. And people think of consoles and throw-away game machines. The PS3 is not built to be a throw-away game machine, and Sony wants to market it as more than such. But, when it's marketed next to throw-away game machines, it needs to dumb itself down and be a competetive throw-away game machine itself. I'm sorry to say this really. When Wii, 360 & PS3 all came out at once, media acted like the first day of sales would be the end-all, be-all of how each console would do. The PS3, though, had staying power, since its hardware was really high-end. But, I think that's what shot them in them in the foot. People don't want to buy a high-end gaming console ... if they wanted that, they'd just get a computer (which can't play jack for games these days since PC game market sucks). They were just high on their past successes and ahead of their time. I really applaud them for trying to springboard the consoles past a couple of generations, but it just didn't work.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Make the damn things MODULAR!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Personally I like the everything is included approach. You do not have to pay insane 100$ for WIFI which is a killer feature. Game designers do not have to care for HD free consoles ... <BR>The problem is that the price is too high. Until MS dropped its price for the holidays the PS3 was outselling it. Apparently the financial crisis didn't leave them the option to drop their price accordingly. Which is bad but it would not have been made better by replicating the nickle&dime approach of MS.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I'd say over 80% of R2 co-op gamers have no mic </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>thank god for that, console players are terrible enough as it is my mind boggles how it would be if they all had microphones.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Barnabee Jones:<BR>In synopsis I names a lot more than 4 things the please fix me needs to try to do, to help them compete with the power of the PS3. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>What do you mean by this?<BR>Both the 360 and PS3 are about equal in terms of performance.<BR><BR>The PS3 is struggling in a number of markets due to the high price and other factors mentioned by Ben and others here.<BR><BR>The 360 has had reliability problems (I had an original disc scratching one, but my Elite is reliable for me) which we are all aware of and the latest revisions to the 360 do seem to have improved it's reliability a lot although it should still be quieter. I agree about the D-pad its crap.<BR><BR>Hardware issues aside, very few people seem to have many complaints about the 360. Sure some don't like subscription models but Xbox live and games like World of Warcraft have shown that some people will pay for a better experience.<BR><BR>That said this is way off topic, and doesn't contribute much to how Sony can turn things around for the PS3.
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The PS3 is doing very well in non-US markets.<BR><BR>It's just diving in the US, which is dragging the overall sales figures down. And of course US figures like NPDs will give a very distorted view that the PS3 is tanking worldwide because not one site every deigns to mention that it is just US sales...
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Downloadable game rentals. (and an option to buy after)<BR><BR>The two banes of the traditional videogame industry are Gamestop used game sales, and GameFly rentals. GameFly obviously has to buy copies of their games, but why not cut out the middleman?
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To me, this article is a perfect bullseye. I agree on every point. <BR><BR>There are two things that still bug me about my 360 - the controllers and the hard drive fiasco. I still think the Dual Shock design is the best controller, no contest, and has been since the very first one on PSX. The 360 controllers are ok, but one reason I bought them was the hope of using them with my PC as well. Well, the wireless dongle for the PC is a complete failure. I tried every suggestion I could fine online, and eventually returned it. These are controllers by Microsoft for a Microsoft system that basically uses DirectX, how can they not work with Windows??!! <BR><BR>MS needs to admit they were wrong using a proprietary storage solution, and just let us use any HD we can connect to a USB port. Again, for a company to facilitate this function on a PC, and then make a game console that borrows technology from the PC but doesn't include this functionality is a step backwards. You wanna sell us billions in DL content? Stop raping us over the place to put it all. <BR><BR>The PS3 has an advantage in both of these aspects. But, here's where Ben's comments in the article come up in my mind as an obstacle that still prevents my jumping ship to Sony, or recommending them. Xbox LIVE runs pretty much flawlessly. I've never had a problem. I don't know anyone who's had a problem. Game reviews don't mention problems with online features. $50/year is totally worth it. <BR><BR>The final nail is the games. There are tons of good games to play on the 360. I can barely think of any must haves (for myself) for PS3. If I bought a PS3, I'd own a few PS3 games, and play PS2 games on it the rest of the time. <BR><BR>I cant remember the last time someone writing any sort of article like this echoed my own feelings so exactly, especially about Blu-Ray. <BR><BR>Gratz, Ben. Great article.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Barnabee Jones:<BR>In synopsis I names a lot more than 4 things the please fix me needs to try to do, to help them compete with the power of the PS3. I expect your article tomorrow. Thanks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I know this is hard princess, but could you please show me on the dolly where the Mr. Gates touched you?
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Barnabee Jones:<BR>When Sony hits the 3 year point, it will have sold more units than the “Xbox Please fix me”… <BR>The Please fix me now has an 8 million unit lead on the PS3 worldwide, with 28 million 360s and 20 million PS3s.<BR>Please fix me - 3 years – 9.33 for each year<BR>PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year<BR>Perhaps you should inquire about what will save the “Please fix Me”… here I’ll get the article started for you… RROD, Disc Scratching, Charging to host your own games, Whoring out your Operating System with garish advertisements, 3 hour Gaylo game, etc </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>With that growth rate, when will Sony be able to catch up with Microsoft? 2025?<BR><BR>With 8 million lead, Sony selling 10 million unit per year while Microsoft selling 9.33 million a year, it will take another 11 years for Sony to catch up.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by neosenate:<BR>@tx2tn<BR><BR>Surely that's just a gaming PC? </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Kind of, but a simplified one with a standard set of hardware. You can already use memory cards, flash cards, and detach the hard drive in the case of the 360. Why not carry it a little farther and actually make it sensible?<BR><BR>Oh, and for those that like it all in one package up front, there is no rule that says they can't keep offering that as well, but give the rest a chance to get only what they want as well.
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I fully agree about the free online argument. I'm an adult, I bought a machine that costs hundreds of dollars and spent hundreds more on games. I want online that works. So it costs me $30 a year. Big deal.<BR><BR>So if you say "But it's free" with Sony's, and in that being free I have to put up with more downtime, inconsistent features across games, and a non-cohesive environment.. Can I just pay to get all that shit to work right? No? Then what the hell's the point of saying it's free. <BR><BR>To get shitty online for free and good online for a minor payment, I'd rather get the good one.<BR><BR>And for the 360. yes, it has done plenty wrong (RROD, hard drive, wireless) but all the very important things it has done well, and that's really all that matters.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Barnabee Jones:<BR>….Poor customer service that is out sourced to third world countries, knowingly rushing an unfinished product to market at the expense of the consumer, over hyping Gaylo, Gaylo slushies, ugly design, loud as a harrier jet, disgraceful corporate practices, poor directional pad on the controller, controller has a heavy awkward design,over priced add ons, …. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Fanboy much?<BR><BR>OK (too lazy to cut out the right comment for each reply)...<BR><BR>Microsoft is not alone in sending support overseas. When enough people complain, maybe it'll all come back. Not sure enough people complain.<BR><BR>Fair enough, but I guess since my only dead one lasted a year before it died it might have been difficult to tell that an issue was rampant.<BR><BR>What problem of yours makes you call it 'Gaylo'?<BR><BR>Yell at Burger King and 7-11 and all the other folks who noticed the Xbox 360 bandwagon was ready to jump onto. Notice the lack of a PS3 bandwagon? I still do.<BR><BR>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.<BR><BR>I've heard louder things than my 360. MY PC right above it next to the HDTV is one.<BR><BR>Now we start to see the real issue here.<BR><BR>Gotta give you this one. I can't finish The Simpsons because the darn thing won't work right. I keep hoping they'll LISTEN to the complaints.<BR><BR>Totally wrong. My original Xbox's controller fits that description when I compare them.<BR><BR>Well, I waitied and got the 120GB drive for $79, and that seems good enough to me...
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tx2tn:<BR>My suggestion to Sony would be what it was to all 3 of them for years now. <BR><BR>Make the damn things MODULAR!!<BR><BR>Sell a base unit that comes with a DVD drive, but a modular one like you have in millions of laptops around the world. Then when I get the extra cash, and actually want a blue-ray player </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I'm so glad you're not head of development at Sony... That would be the worst disaster ever. All games for a console are forced to cater to the lowest common denominator of the system - witness the few HDD using games and small DVD based game sizes on the X360.<BR><BR>If you ship with a DVD drive then you make the Blu-Ray drive unusable for games, which is a major factor in the long run. Game development for the consoles are already suffering from the lack of space on a DVD.<BR><BR>What you are describing is just a PC - which is fine, but the entire point of consoles is to keep development and use as simple as possible.
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I'm more of a computer user than a console gamer, at heart. But I've owned a few game systems over the years, and currently have one of the original 60GB PS3's with the hardware PS2 backwards-compatibility still in it.<BR><BR>Personally? I think it's a great machine, but all the cries to "lower the price"? I just don't see that as a problem, unless you really believe the only goal is to outsell competing consoles?<BR><BR>Yes, the 360 is cheaper. So what? It also suffered from a bunch of "red ring of death" issues and scratching up everyone's expensive game discs if you bumped it or turned it on its side while a disc was spinning. It's inferior hardware that's not WORTH as much as the PS3 hardware.<BR><BR>Frankly, as someone who already owns a decent PC, I felt like the XBox 360 was too much like buying a duplicate of my existing computer, except with non-upgradable video or RAM. At least the PS3 is very different architecture with the "Cell" processor and blu-ray disc player, etc.<BR><BR>The *real* problem with the PS3 comes down to a lack of games that interest their target market. It's a higher-end system for an older gaming audience, as well as for those interested in it doubling as a media center.<BR><BR>How about adding some Tivo-like PVR functionality to it? How about more "family friendly" game titles, like "Buzz Quiz" is? Most PS3 owners I know are parents of small kids (myself included), and we've already played PLENTY of 1st. person shooters on our computer systems for the last decade. Resistance 2 and the like? Yeah, cool - but not what I bought my PS3 for.
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I'm not sure how anyone can argue the 360 is just as expensive as the PS3. I picked up a brand-new Arcade from Dell for $170, hard drive + 3 months Live for $30, and several games for $10-20/ea.<BR><BR>So, for just over $200 I'm online and gaming with friends. For $50 a year (or less), the Live service is great and well worth the cost.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">There are tons of good games to play on the 360. I can barely think of any must haves (for myself) for PS3. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sigh this sentence is not getting more true through repetition! What are you talking about? All games? In this case both have almost exactly the same lineup at least 2008 multiplatform games like GTA4 or Fallout 3 were by far the biggest share of successful games and they are available in absolute identical form on both Ps3 and 360 (ok Fallout 3 was better on 360)<BR>Or are we talking about exclusives? This is not true as well. 2008 the PS3 had MGS4, LBP, Resistance2, the 360 had Fable2, Gears2 and Ninja Gaiden. I would call it even. 2009 its Killzone2, God of War 3, Uncharted 2 and GT5 vs. Alan Wake and Halo Wars, so the 360 needs lots and lots of surprise announcements to even that out. When did the "The Ps3 doesn't have games" mantra become reality? I mean it definitely was true in 2007 which had terrible game support for the PS3 but its simply not true anymore. Now if you already have a 360 you will not need buying a Ps3 as well but this is true vice versa.
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quote:<BR> bash666<BR> 1. Cut Price<BR> 2. Cut Price<BR> 3. Cut Price<BR> 4. Cut Price<BR><BR>+<BR><BR>If they can't afford a price cut, they can't afford to be in the video game business. either cut the price and make a show of it, or shut it down....
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The PS3s sales are no where near as bad as the media spins it... <BR><BR><BR>360- 3 years – 9.33 for each year<BR>PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year<BR><BR>also - Sony has cut the manufacturing price of the PS3 by 35%. A price cut will probably arrive around spring or so.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JPan:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">There are tons of good games to play on the 360. I can barely think of any must haves (for myself) for PS3. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sigh this sentence is not getting more true through repetition! What are you talking about? All games? In this case both have almost exactly the same lineup at least 2008 multiplatform games like GTA4 or Fallout 3 were by far the biggest share of successful games and they are available in absolute identical form on both Ps3 and 360 (ok Fallout 3 was better on 360)<BR>Or are we talking about exclusives? This is not true as well. 2008 the PS3 had MGS4, LBP, Resistance2, the 360 had Fable2, Gears2 and Ninja Gaiden. I would call it even. 2009 its Killzone2, God of War 3, Uncharted 2 and GT5 vs. Alan Wake and Halo Wars, so the 360 needs lots and lots of surprise announcements to even that out. When did the "The Ps3 doesn't have games" mantra become reality? I mean it definitely was true in 2007 which had terrible game support for the PS3 but its simply not true anymore. Now if you already have a 360 you will not need buying a Ps3 as well but this is true vice versa. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I know for me, as a new Xbox owner, there were lots of cheap fun games out there. Dead Rising, Need for Speed, Crackdown, and of course Xbox Live games like Castle Crashers. The PS3 might have a lot of the same AAA titles, but it's lacking the two year old budget title and multiplayer online games.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JPan:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">There are tons of good games to play on the 360. I can barely think of any must haves (for myself) for PS3. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sigh this sentence is not getting more true through repetition! What are you talking about? All games? In this case both have almost exactly the same lineup at least 2008 multiplatform games like GTA4 or Fallout 3 were by far the biggest share of successful games and they are available in absolute identical form on both Ps3 and 360 (ok Fallout 3 was better on 360)<BR>Or are we talking about exclusives? This is not true as well. 2008 the PS3 had MGS4, LBP, Resistance2, the 360 had Fable2, Gears2 and Ninja Gaiden. I would call it even. 2009 its Killzone2, God of War 3, Uncharted 2 and GT5 vs. Alan Wake and Halo Wars, so the 360 needs lots and lots of surprise announcements to even that out. When did the "The Ps3 doesn't have games" mantra become reality? I mean it definitely was true in 2007 which had terrible game support for the PS3 but its simply not true anymore. Now if you already have a 360 you will not need buying a Ps3 as well but this is true vice versa. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>You forgot Left 4 Dead. it may not be everybody's cup of tea, and the single-player is short, but I have already logged more hours on this game than any other Xbox 360 title. Get 3-7 friends online, and the time flies. It is perhaps the best example of why Live really is worth $50/year. Endless fun, and they haven't even released any expansions for it (they are coming). Yes, it is also available on PC, but NOT on PS3, and it may never come to PS3. <BR>Left 4 Dead is the best game of 2008 if you ask me. <BR>And yes, I own a PS3 as well as an Xbox 360, and no, I rarely play games on it (heck of a video player though). I haven't played more than an hour or two of Little Big Planet or Resistance 2. All my time is spent in the zombie apocalypse.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by solomonrex:<BR>They could offer a non-BluRay ps3 for a discount and here's why: they've already crossed the threshold of ticking off retailers by offering full game downloads, so why not try to take advantage of that? They could be the first to go all-digital delivery. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>This is a really interesting idea. Cutting out tons of middlemen (game retailers, packaging, shipping) should increase profits per game sold while neatly sidestepping compatibility problems if correctly implemented. From the dev's perspective, having the "disc" in a virtual drive rather than a physical one shouldn't matter.<BR><BR>If they wanted to be truly revolutionary, they could actually acknowledge that physical distribution is more expensive than online instead of charging the same price for both editions.<BR><BR>If Sony simultaneously released a cheaper console AND starting undercutting Microsoft on the price per game, that'd be a pretty massive coup. IMO.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Barnabee Jones:<BR>The PS3s sales are no where near as bad as the media spins it... <BR><BR><BR>360- 3 years – 9.33 for each year<BR>PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year<BR><BR>also - Sony has cut the manufacturing price of the PS3 by 35%. A price cut will probably arrive around spring or so. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>With 8 million unit lead, make possible with a one year lead, and assuming your rate is correct, I do not see PS3 catching Xbox360 in 3-5 years, unless PS3 improved tremendously and Xbox360 sales plummets. The first case is plausible, but not the second case.
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