Sony PS3 in trouble?

#1 Seems like we will just have to see. When you consider the games section of sony was the only one to make a profit last year. One has to wonder if they can afford to make a loss there too. PS2 was responsible for most of their profits.

There was a hands on with PS3 posted somewhere, and the games are not any better than the 360 in the graphics department.

#2 No idea how its gonna turn out...I personally like nothing Sony. My biggest beef with them is they try to push too many media/storage formats. I have this burning desire inside of me hoping they fail...hahaha... Ya I know...I shouldn't care so much :P

#3 They won't sell it for 900 a unit -thats insane. they'll find some way to down the price.

#4

Quote:
Something like $900's per unit. Also something about it's going to take 3 years to get the
price down to $300 a unit.

Do you have a source? Sounds unbelieveable.

#5 Http://news.ft.com/cms/s/90b8eb06-a002-11da-a703-0000779e2340.html

The Financial Times quoting Merril Lynch analysts as the source.

No one says Sony is going to try to sell them for $900 - although The Slate was wondering why didn't microsoft have one big xbox 360 ebay sale and make more money :p

What we all wanna know is - will there be Marble Blast Ultra on the Playstation 3 at launch? :D

#6 If Microsoft can get massive shipments out soon they can capture some of that market.

If I was Gates I would make mountains move to get more shipped...

#7 You guys are reading it wrong. Sony isn't setting the cost at $900, SONY'S cost is $900 to make one. They would sell it for roughly same price as xbox 360. The point is, they are going to loose money on the ps3 itself for a few years. They can MAKE money by selling all the dev kits for people to build games for the PS3 and so on.

#8 Realize that the same bunch of financial analysts were predicting the PS2 was going to cost upwards of $700 at release. Then Sony did their unveiling and let the world know it was going to start *much* lower than that ($400 IIRC). The analyst thinks the Blue-Ray drive alone is going to cost upwards of $300, but people have already spotted loose BR drives at *retail* for less than that. (In fact, I've heard rumors that Panasonic is planning to release a Blue-Ray *burner* for $500 this spring.)

Also, the 'every console is sold for a loss' line is a myth. Excepting very short periods right after a hardware revision but before the production lines were fully ramped up with the new design, every console prior to the XBox was sold for a profit.

#9

Quote:I have this burning desire inside of me hoping they (Sony) fail...hahaha...

lol Blake your a buster :p

My girlfriend is die hard PS3 while my cousin is blindly biased towards the Xbox 360. I'm stuck in the middle as I personally am excited about both (Oops, I mean all three). I'll end up with all three systems anyway eventually. The 360 hasn't impressed me at all yet but I'm hoping they will soon. The PS3 is busy with their video shows so I'm pushing them to the side until E3. Hopfully they'll have something real to show and play by then. Nintendo is...well whatever.

I actually saw three core 360's in Wal-Mart the other day. It was like looking at three unicorns. I couldn't believe it. I just got paid that day too, and Fight Night R3 just came out THAT VERY SAME DAY. Guess what I did. I walked away. Why? Because I want the premium box, that money could be better spent on more power and sounds for my music studio, I'm swarmed with projects at the moment and don't have time for games right now, my Xbox hating girlfriend was looking at me funny, and most of the 12 titles (mostly Xbox 1 games for $10 more) that's out now suck. Splinter Cell is coming out next month I believe so I will be getting one soon, but it'll be the premium package.

Ajari's great prediction: The PS3 will launch in the US for $450, and will come to America six months to a year after the Japanese launch. The 360 will have a leg up on the competition but will still get pushed to number two worldwide by the PS3 except for Japan where the Nintendo Revolution will be number two. Dispite Mistwalkers titles, the 360 will fail in Japan again. When you have a crowd who is more interested in a smaller version of the same old Game Boy over a totally new technology, (at the Tokyo Game Show there was a huge crowd around the Game Boy Micro while the Xbox 360 had tumble weeds, how does that even make sense), there is absolutley NO hope you will succeed in that market.
-Ajari-

#10 Hehe, yeah. And all the 360 perks the Japanese got too. I'm in it for the games, and since oblivion didn'
t came out on time and 3/4 of the games for it are EA games, I havent made the effort to buy a 360 yet.

There's a lot of tantilizing stuff coming out soon, so I'm sure I'll be getting one soon.

#11 @ Ajari: The reason why I am such a MS fanboy (and Nintendo for that matter) is cause the games. Atleast, the games I play anyways. I am not a big fan of most asian import games ESPECIALLY RPGs. I love racing and FPS (tactical and arcadish) which are imo the best on Microsofts consoles, aside from the PC FPS ports. Other things like RTS and some FPS games I play on PC. I also like fun light hearted games which are real big on Nintendo (Mario) and getting increasingly more popular on 360. Sony....they have one game that interests me and they can't even manage to keep it exclusive so in no way will it make buy a system just to play it (even if it was exclusive)...and that is Metal Gear. Most playstation games are really cheapy import games from Asia that are just stats and numbers with turn based fighting. Not a big fan. The Revolution will have Mario and all that so I will probably end up getting one eventually if the price is right. Nintendo consoles are never the favorite any more but they are always almost second choice, which is actually not a bad gameplan.

As for portables, I obviously think/know PSP is the best hardware no doubt, but it has the gayest games. I have a DS and man there are sooooo many cool games that are already out and on the way... Mario and Metroid is all I have to say. :P

If you want to be impressed by graphics that aren't just pre rendered videos go look at these games (360):

Ghost Recon: AW
Gears of War
Oblivion
Prey
Far Cry
SplinterCell
Fight Night
Moto GP
Too Human
Project Gotham 3

Other games on 360 that will rock if they come out:
Halo 3
Killer Instinct 3 (Rumored)
Ninja Gaiden 2
UT: 2007

Thats one hell of a roster. :)

#12 Yeah old Xbox had the best FPS games, arguably best racers, and the best western RPG's for it. I'm not into the Japanese games that much either, allthough I have taken quite a liking to MarioKart whilst looking for ideas for my own game.

I remember when Riddick came out for Xbox just before Doom on the PC, came out of the blue and stole Dooms thunder (at least for me).

It's kind of sad that a lot of people, despite claiming the need for diversity allways flount the long proven franchises and don't give new games a chance. Forza completely blew GT4 away for me on the Xbox, mainly due to the AI and physics being better. Can't wait for the next one.

It's unfortunate that the majority of the best games for xbox usualy come out for PC. Like Biowares games, and most of the best shooters. Why wait though, when they usualy come out at least a good 6-8 months in advance. I'm actually thinking of getting a revolution when it comes out, assuming that the controller works as advertised and some good non gimmick reliant games follow too.

#13 I don't see Too Human, Ghost Recon, and Oblivion as true next gen games. None of the games you mention look like next gen titles. They're all normal mapped versions of Xbox 1 games. Gears of War was the closest thing but the frame rate is so horrible it barley looks playable. A year or two from now I'm sure things get better. They always do.

Back in the day just before the PS2 launched, I remember thinking how the generation after the PS2 will look. I predicted the graphics will be on a "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" level. Instead we get Call of Duty 2. Even the Fight Night demo diplayed at E3 with Kudo Tsunami (or whatever his name is) looked way better than the version that's out for the 360. Polygon edges on characters faces, plastic looking skin on their bodies, killed my expectations. Don't even get me started on the rehashed animations from earlier versions, but that's a design desicion on EA's part. So far with the 360 I'm very dissapointed, but I have high hopes for both the 360 and the PS3 in the future. There's gotta be some games with movie quality graphics somewhere within the next five years.

Killer Instinct 3? Ninja Gaiden 2? When was Ninja Gaiden 2 announced for the 360? That means Team Ninja will be exclusive to 360 then huh? I personally like Jap-nees games.

UT: 2007 is for the PS3 as well though.
-Ajari-

#14 Might sound funny coming from an artist, but I don't care too much about next gen graphics really. I'm more interested in what the extra CPU power could be used for in the AI and physics department. Allthough I suppose a lot depends on whether developers and publishers are willing to put the time in.

It's oblivion's AI that interested me a lot more than the graphics. Elderscroll games have always been a little off on the graphics and Oblivion is no different, particularly after they downgraded the lighting and shadows.

I'm going to wait and see what the PC V's 360 reviews are like, and whether I can expect oblivionm to run on my 6600GT ok at higher than TV res. Going to be a while before I can afford HDTV which is another reason I held back on 360 so far.

#15 Sony is not going to charge $900. I have an article whith the facts on it where someone talked to Sony they said no they're not stupid it will probally be cheaper than the Xbox360. they even talked about some of the specs on it. they said the reason they are waiting is because when then put out the product they don't wan't to have a shortage like xbox.

#16 Most people seem to think it will be about $500.

Also read an interesting hands on for PS3 article at:

games.kikizo.com/news/200602/065_p1.asp

Whether its real or not I don't know, but it seems pretty close to what I expect from what I have gleaned so far.

#17 Ajari: If you want to get nit picky they actually don't know about console releases for UT:2007

"Rein also confirmed online reports that Epic's current focus is the PC version of UT2007. "For now we soldier on with the plan to ship on PC as soon as we're done," he said. For more on that version of the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage."

from Gamespot.

Killer Instinct 3 as I said is a rumor and would be cool.
Ninja Gaiden 2 I put under the "If they come out" section. But it hasn't been announced for anything else, and the only other versions aren't on Sony consoles...so as of right now, thats what analyst go on.

What games did I list that are just Xbox versions redone with normal maps? Xbox is capable of normal maps anyways ;).

What games are you comparing with to call these non-next gen? Certainly not Sony pre rendered videos I hope ;) Next gen means nothing, it just means updated graphics in these consoles case including the PS3...hell, Nintendo may be the only actual "next gen" console with its new sensor control. lol. There is no standard for next gen....because the word doesnt' really mean anything other than the next round of updated hardware, and I can tell you that PS3 isn't like this holy hardware that defines next gen. Infact, some reports have shown (from what they know of PS3 architecture since they still don't have real specs out) that 360 may out perform PS3 in some areas. One more point to note is that Sony is known for over-specing.

Also...Fight Night 3 on 360 is probably the most realistic graphics I have ever seen in a game to date...and like I said, I have a 7800 gt. If you are watching videos of it, PLAY the game in high def, and try to say the same thing. I don't really care for boxing games, but as far as graphics go...damn.

In the end, like I said before...it boils down to the games you like....which for me is not games on PS3 cept for admittely MGS. :)

#18 I see what your saying Blake, it's just that I expected so much more. I guess it's my own fault. Or maybe EA's for showing one version of Fight Night and then releasing another. I played it last night and walked away with mixed emotions. True it was the best looking game I've ever played so far but I also know that the 360 is capable of so much more. You know next year and the year after that, Fight Night will look way better than it does now. I forget that they have to dumb things down and leave room for improvment over the years. I know the original Xbox is capable of normal maps. The 360 games just have a higher quality of it. I'm a sound guy, I can't explain these things very well but I see it.

The PS3 demo of Fight Night may have been non playable but that guy was moving around the camera so it was running on some kind of hardware. He said it was the PS3. And if you compare them directly you'll see a huge difference between the E3 demo and the 360 version. But I guess I have to lower my expectations of what this generation should be capable of, at least for a few years. So...wow...that Call of Duty 2 is something else. All those low poly models running around with blurry textures is next gen? True there's no standard of what a next gen game should look like. It's true that Call of Duty 2 is the best looking FPS I've ever played when compared to Halo and Rainbow six, but nowhere near what I would call next gen. If you do call that or any 360 launch title next gen then I believe you have low expectations of this generation and will probably be happy with anything. There are a lot of people who think that game and the majority of 360 launch titles look amazing and what next gen truly is. They can't see it getting any better.

I understand that the E3 Killzone demo was a fake. But that's the kind of visuals I honestly expected from this generation over 5 years ago. Like I said, maybe I need to just quit dreaming, lower my expectations, and accept what we have for now. But I still have hope man. That's why I hope they all do well.

#19 Hehe I have hope too! :) I do think the games will look like that eventually like you said but also like you were saying...this is the first round of "next gen" games....already next month the games coming out are substantially better looking imo...so my expectations will raise some. Now, when I see PS3 in person is when I will probably change my tune, I did the same thing when I saw PSP. But, I quickly got over it though without buying on due to the lack of good games.

When it comes down to it though the systems are gonna be so close anyways. For example, the PS2, GC, and Xbox could all basically do the same thing even though the Xbox was the most powerful. But just to clarify, the games that have released so far for the 360 while I am impressed with them, I too know the system is capable of more, but just like the old systems we just have to wait till that power is truly tapped. Look at that freakin game Black...damn, that looks "next gen" to me and its on the older systems!!

#20 Sony will not go anywhere with the PS3 if its 900 dollars. Seriously.