Aladuf Presents: Where'd the PS3 go wrong?

[Aladuf]

BaB has passed the torch to me to present the PS3 side of this so here goes.


Obviously the PS3 has had a rough lifespan so far (although it's improving greatly) so what exactly is to blame for this?

The PS3 was rushed out, with the 360 launched the year before and the Wii being ready to go for launch Sony seemed to rush to get that thing out. Anybody remember the boomerang controller? Where'd that go?!

Part of it's problem was a lack of games too, it launched with only one solid game and that was Resistance. Slowly after launch it trickled out a couple games but nothing worth it for anyone looking to buy a PS3. PS3 owners sat there with one excellent game to play and nothing else coming down the pipe for them in the near future.

Weak online, When compared to the 360 the PS3 didn't even come close to the features available. At the PS3's launch, the 360 was light-years ahead of it in terms of the Online service.

Probably the most important thing that hurt the PS3 off the bat was the price. The original 60 GB sku that launched cost a hefty $599 and that ain't chump change for a console with only one game that was really worth playing. Also, right by its side was the 20 GB sku that cost $499 which was a pretty big rip off considering it only had a 20 GB HDD and no internal wireless adapter. Since then, we have had price drops and new sku's which have made the PS3 more affordable and worth buying with all of the games available now and more coming down the line.

The last thing I can think of would be the amount of sku's that have been put out. In the lifespan so far of 1 1/2 years there have been 4 sku's which has to be confusing for some shoppers out there. Each one is very different, the 20 GB has no wireless adapter, the 60 GB has hardware backwards compatability (along with the 20 GB), the 80 GB has software backwards compatability, and the 40 GB has no backwards compatability. Sony has put a lot of things out there for such a short period of time.

Basically, that's all I've got for now, anyone else got anything?

[Angrist]

Sony tried to give gamers hardware they didn't need yet. The Cell processor is nice, but the 360 gives graphics that are just as good.
Bluray, sure why not, but it sure does make it expensive. People just aren't ready to pay for it.

Not enough good game exclusives.

One of the things that might have hurt them the most was the bad publicity they got. First the banana controller, then the change of controller. Then the added motion controls which was clearly another "Me too!" move. Then the terrible but epic E3 presentation. Giant Enemy Crab and Riiiiidge Racerrr will go into history as some of the greatest quotes.
Suddenly everybody was laughing at Sony. Even I felt more for the 360 than for the PS3, while it was the other way round a year earlier.

And the expensive hardware may all for the long term, but it just doesn't seem to work yet.

[Dyne]

I was probably the biggest proponent against the PS3, yet here I am with one, getting more use out of it than my 360 and Wii.

No matter how much shit I said about it, and no matter how much shit is going to be said in this thread, it all makes sense if you have a Home Theater setup with at least 1080p.

It honestly does do everything it set out to do - some fans and some developers were shocked by the change of direction, but so were fans and developers of the Wii.

[BreakABone]

I kind of agree with Dyne but I also think it is one of the biggest problems with the PS3. It is sometimes seem as more of a media device than a game player. Hell, I plan on getting one because it is the best blu ray player on the market.

In terms of gaming, I think one of the biggest problems with the Ps3 and it is still an issue it has yet to really differentiate itself from the 360. Sure there are some cool exclusives like Motorstorm, Resistance, Ratchet and Uncharted but they are far and few between and for the most part are alternatives for other games on other consoles. (This will come off negative but I am saying nothing of the quality of the games)

The PS3 also came off as a middle ground trying to use the motion controls of the Wii and the standard controller. It weakened the original controller with no rumble and half assed motion which still misses some keypoints of the Wii.

The Ps3 is picking up steam this year but I really think it will be a tough battle and one I don't really see them wining anytime soon.

[Aladuf]

I was probably the biggest proponent against the PS3, yet here I am with one, getting more use out of it than my 360 and Wii.

No matter how much shit I said about it, and no matter how much shit is going to be said in this thread, it all makes sense if you have a Home Theater setup with at least 1080p.

It honestly does do everything it set out to do - some fans and some developers were shocked by the change of direction, but so were fans and developers of the Wii.

I was the exact same, I talked so much shit about the PS3 on forums, etc. and then I ended up grabbing a 40 GB last year and I play the thing the most out of all 3 of my consoles.

It's just the perfect all around entertainment center. It does so many things.

[-alpha-]

My biggest peeve as far as the PS3 goes is the lack of exclusive games. Now I hear all the time "It's GOING to have all these great games soon! like MGS4!!"...yeah.....sure.....I'll look like snake does in the game by the time it actually comes out. Hell at this point they could advertise star craft ghost as a major exclusive for all the good it'll do them.

They need to show results, not promises.

[Typhoid]

It is sometimes seem as more of a media device than a game player.

I think that's what they were going for. A multi-purpose thing that happens to play games really well.

I sort of see it as revolutionary, in a way. I know not many others will.
But since it takes USB to recharge controllers, you can just plug your digital camera straight into it, and upload pictures onto it if you want. If that's your bag, and all.

I was contemplating the idea of trying to connect my MP3 player (not an ipod) to it, and see if it would play the songs off that.


I do personally think the PS3 didn't do anything wrong. They fumbled with sixaxis, but not every choice will be a perfect one. The graphics look amazing, it has built in High-Definition gaming, Blu-ray player, a wide-variety of different types of systems, so you don't need the top-of-the-line one if you don't want it.

I think what Sony was aiming at, was more of a personal computer - and I think they pulled it off much better than the 360 did.

Edit: As for exclusive games - So what? What does the Wii have, that Nintendo hasn't been milking for 10 years? What does the 360 have? Gears of War?

[Angrist]

Oh, I forgot that the PS3 is hard to develop for. If we can believe developers (Dyne?).

[Dyne]

Yeah, Sony is kind of stingy when it comes to dev kit software. Xbox 360 dev kits have a very large "XDK" platform which includes a ton of stuff, even a screenshot grabber. PS3 was limited to logs only, which forces developers to spend extra money on media capture equipment. As for actually programming the thing, I wouldn't know. I just know that it was the simple things Sony forgot to include, like making it a bitch to get daily builds running compared to the 360 where you drag+drop.

[BreakABone]

Edit: As for exclusive games - So what? What does the Wii have, that Nintendo hasn't been milking for 10 years? What does the 360 have? Gears of War?

I'll get to the rest at a later time. It is 6 in the morning and I am at work so won't have much time.

But I got to say it is getting harder and harder for people to pull out the Nintendo milking card, I got to say.

What are the big games folks are looking for on the Ps3.. GTA Iv.. MGS 4... Final Fantasy 13 and stuff like that

Same with the 360.

Just because Nintendo's franchises have been around longer people feel compelled to point it out, but at this point most of the industry is driven by known brands and licensed games.

As for non-milked franchises, I would wait for e3, but generally anything with Wii in the title is a safe bet. Batallion Wars. Endless Ocean. Not huge franchises but it is there.

And the 360 has a laundry list of exclusives and also the first game mindset. Which means when you think multi-platform games most associate it with the 360 first.

[KillerGremlin]

I think the success of the PS2, coupled with it's huge library and low selling price at the time of the PS3's release kind of hurt Sony. Given that the PS3 was really expensive at launch and that there weren't really any major titles out, why would anyone fork over all that money? Especially considering that Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD was still up in the air.

I think the PS3 sales are going to keep increasing for the remainder of the console's life.

[Renwood]

It launched a year earlier that it it was supposed to, and it showed in the high price, underdeveloped software, and overall lack of content.

Almost everything else wrong still stems from this. The rest can be attributed to the fractured system Sony has that allows such autonomy between different regions, and ensures a noticeable lack of cohesion and unity of direction for the console and the brand.