Sony has said all along that the words "future proof" were etched into the PlayStation 3's master plan from the onset, and judging by the complexity of the hardware, that case can certainly be argued. If you think that it will be enough to extend the competitive life of the console to around 10 years or so, well then, you are in good company. Speaking to Next-Gen, Codemasters' CEO Rod Cousens echoed that sentiment:
"I really do think it's going to be a ten year cycle and I do think that's something that's been overlooked when people are fairly dismissive of certain hardware platforms."
More on this (as well as my opinion) after the jump.
He reasons that Blu-ray's recent edge over HD-DVD combined with the historical evidence that Sony's successfully traveled down a similar road with the PS2, shows that it would be unwise to underestimate the house that Kutaragi built. In the words of Cousins, Sony is on the cusp of going on the offensive and taking back what they consider to be rightfully theirs:
"I certainly think it's premature to dismiss Sony because I believe that they're only now showing signs of ramping up and that shouldn't come as any surprise to people given the trail of to be released dates of Wii and 360 and given the price points that they were coming in at, and given the lack of software supporting the format. I believe all those ingredients are starting to merge and I would expect Sony to have real momentum over the coming years."
Will the PS3 enjoy a longer life than the PS2? It certainly could, but it would ultimately come down to two very important things: the future cost of the console, and the continued availability of games for the system that people want to play on it; taking into consideration they are made to begin with.
The major point of contention is whether or not it will even matter four, eight, or more years down the road. Microsoft and Nintendo will certainly have introduced newer hardware long before this ten-year span, and it would be laughable to think that Sony isn't also hard at work on the PS4 at this very moment. It would be prudent for Sony to focus with laser-beam precision on the present.
The strength of the PS2 was undoubtedly reflective of the competitiveness it showed all along, and was not due to the "just wait and see what we will do in the future" mentality that Rod Cousens is talking about. MS and Nintendo are more than formidable at this point, and the PS3 has the most to lose right now. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
[Via CVG]
Contest:
7:11 PM on 02.02.2008
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Wii wins this gen with last gen insides. PS3 and 360 already have their user bases with enough fanboys on each side that neither will die out or anything. Lets all stfuajpg.
:/
If the PS3 had any special powers I don't think Sony would be keeping them secret.
The PS3 needs more games and a reduced price point if they want to gain some momentum. Until then, the PS3 will have mediocre sales at best.
But thats not stopping me from buying one :P
Beware the fury of a patient man.
or in this case Company.
Sony just needs to do what it's doing now. Bring out the good games and keep lowering the price point when it needs to. What's the 360 gonna do? Keep breaking down on people? NEWSFLASH:360 Owners..they're not fixing that problem. You think their going to redesign their Circular Red Light Generator before they put out their new machine??
Naw..they'll just keep sending coffins and eventually people will wake up and say Fuck it after their fourth one or sixth..everyman has their different bottom and resent the hell outta them and check out the other sise of the field.
All Sony has to do is just keep on bringing more games and refining their free online structure. The rest will take care of itself.
Not sure where the Xbox bashing comes from, but they have already had a hardware revision where they reduce the die size of both the GPU and CPU, which should reduce heat and bring the RROD's down. Next year or thereabouts there will be another revision to switch to really small dies which could in theory make it failproof.
Just thought that I would put that out there.
Next year we may see the Easter bunny chilling with Santa Claus while he delievers all good boys and girls who believe that bullshit a new Xbox360.
Jesus..DO YOU PEOPLE READ YOUR OWN BLOGS?? I can't count how many times I read YOUR BLOGS on how your 360 died?? Is that yall Xbox Bashing?? Or do you just do the usual " Oh man..my friends list will miss you.." or " My condolences..been there" like fratboys that got an STD sharing an experience. And even making light of it. Wow...I never get that. If a friend of mine gets shitty product that screws them, I as a friend feel like telling them the truth..hey that's shit. You may want to get something else. Not "Ummm yeah well if you bitch at customer service you get your coffin faster.."..WTF??
I was the BIGGEST ADVOCATE for the 360!! Until it died on me FOUR TIMES. After that when I got it back it again I just gave it to my kid more or less. It's a weird phenomena going on..poeple just keep ling up..hey I'll take another..and another. Try that with anyother product and tell me..anybody here what you all would do..seriously.
I have sent back 2 consoles. Maybe when I am on my fourth one I might re-think staying with the Xbox, but again, they have the best of everything else except working hardware, which as far as I can tell has been fixed.
99% of those Xbox's that died were from the first version of the console..before adding heatsinks and before the first hardware revision that occurred last fall.
So they have already updated the console as a countermeasure against RROD, and are also most certainly going to do another revision in approx. 1 year. I will bet my e-cred on it.
I'm just responding to your assertions that Microsoft would never redesign their consoles to make them more stable. Wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea.
If you can't deduce that the PS3 is a superior media machine than any home console at the moment, than you seriously haven't owned one recently.
Yojimbo, so yours has broken 4 times. Mine's broken twice. I never had to pay for the repair and I always had it back less than three weeks later with a free month of Xbox Live Gold strapped inside. I can only hope that this is the last time I have to get it repaired. If not, hopefully next time.
or should I call you by your Sony name..bludesign.?
Seriously tho..I own all the consoles as you do and you are correct..they all serve their purposes but it amazes me to know end how people in general blind themselves to a console that has such a high defective rate and continue to speculate the demise of another console that has nowhere near the rate theirs do.
As for the 360, I'll still side with it, based only on personal preference. The hardware is disgustingly shitty, but I could never leave behind their game selection and online service. The PS3 still has yet to entice me. Be offended by that, if you must.
And ultimately, it doesn't even come down to the hardware. It comes down to the games. Sure, the hardware will help sustain an influx of games but it's not necessary.
Realize that all Sony consoles have been built for ten year lifespans. The PSone had its games dry up in 2005, a decade post launch, and the PS2 will continue to be supported for the foreseeable future.
Just because the PS3 has a ten year expectancy, doesn't mean the PS4 isn't coming four years from now.
Damn straight. But I thought the same thing 15 years ago when I played some crappy VR game at the mall.
You are a moron. The PS3 does do that, you fucktard. It has motion control and superior hardware to the 360. 'Nuff said.
I can't possibly be alone in thinking that the slow start to this generation is a good thing.