I'm not one to go all teary-eyed over any negative news involving Sony, but this next bit of info coming out of Dean Takahashi's
blog was more than enough to at least tug at my sympathy strings a tad. While commenting on recent NPD
numbers, he had this to say concerning Sony and the PlayStation 3:
"One piece of news that came out this week was that Sony pleaded with third-party developers not to abandon its struggling platform. That change in attitude is a marked difference compared to the arrogance of past years. The argument is that the PS3 will show its strength as developers learn how to make games for it. But developers know they can staff four or five Wii teams with the same number of people it takes to make one PS3 game. We may have a glut of Wii games soon, but that’s not as bad as not having enough games on the PS3."
As someone who not only enjoys many games that got their start on a Sony console (as well as recently acquiring a PS3 for myself), this isn't exactly what I was looking to hear. Considering all of the blunders they've managed to bring upon themselves since the PS3 name was first whispered, I can't say that I'm totally surprised by this. Even so, I firmly believe that there are tons of people who want nothing more than to see Sony turn this whole mess around, and get back to releasing those great games we all adore as soon as possible.
My advice to Sony is simple -- whatever it takes. Adding backwards compatibility to the 40GB PS3 would be a healthy start in which to build upon. After all, we all need something to do while you sort this all out. Question is... is it too late?
[Via Joystiq -- Thanks Rishi]
Contest:
4:55 PM on 10.20.2007
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Source on this besides mercurynews.com?
@Action Bastard
That doesn't make any sense and you fucking know it.
I'm reluctant to compare the PS3 to the Dreamcast as who's really gonna be nostalgic for the PS3 in the future but who would have thought a few years back that Sega would be out of the console race? Be warned Sony.
Although I have to admit that it is still too early to be too optimistic or too critical on the PS3 (even the Wii for that matter). The 360 didn't have many must have games for the first year of it's launch, and only now is it beginning to have a really strong library. It looks to be the same for the PS3 and Wii as well. Only now are we seeing those must have titles come out for the PS3 and Wii the next few months.
I think that Sony has invested too much time and money into something to abondon it. They will do whatever it takes to keep consumers interested in their product, that's what business is. You have ups and downs and Sony has unfortunately hit an all time low, but eventually rise again just like any company does.
I get your general point but you can't overlook Project Gotham 3, Call of Duty 2, Condemned (ok, so more of a cult classic than chart topper), hell, even King Kong was good. Within the first 12 months (in Europe) came Oblivion and Ghost Recon. Quite strong methinks.
At this point I've lost any kind of hope for it. Sony seems to have made stupid moves left and right and I don't really care if the system fails. In my opinion, the Xbox 360 is the PS2 of this generation and I don't think Sony could do much to change that. The 360 has a pretty good selection of games and it seems like the PS3 just gets the 360's leftovers.
I'm sure there are many people that want to see Sony turn things around, but I'm sure most of those people are the ones that already own PS3s and want to get their money's worth. Unless a lot more great games come out for it and there's a decent price drop for a non-butchered SKU with backwards compatibility, I don't think I'd want to waste money on it when I'm quite happy with my 360 (and my Wii, to an extent).
BTW, I do have a PS2 and would probably just as well use that for my PS2 games anyway, but I feel cheated that the earlier waves of PS3s had BC and they're just taking it out to make us buy PS2s now. If it's a matter of cutting production costs, they should have just used HD-DVD over Blu-ray.
As much as I love looooong codec conversations, I can wait a generation to play games that need Blu-ray if it means they'll be cheaper to produce.
To be fair neither Sony nor Microsoft is profiting off of their systems. Both of them are selling at a loss. The original Xbox was never profitable if I remember correctly. The only next-gen system available for sale that is not sold at a loss is the Wii just because of how cheap it is to make one.
after MGS comes out and sales still dont change they know its over,
the difference between the dreamcast and the ps3 is that the dreamcast actually had some great games,
fair point about Microsoft not making much money but they're Microsoft- they ARE money. Unless the PS3 picks up a lot then how long will Sony put up with losing money? In the last two generations the profits for them came mainly from huge software sales, which isn't happening now.
@uptonogood
good point about Sony when they released the PS1. It's sad and quite telling to think that if SOny do eventually drop out that it seems unlikely that a new pretender for the title of console king would emerge.
In some way, I blame Sony for stealing developers from the Dreamcast and consequently killing it.
For me it's not too late. Drop the price even further, add the best retro compatibility possible, do whatever it's good for us. And the damn thing smaller, jesus...
THAT I can agree with 100%
Still waiting for a source on this, besides the blog listed in the article on this page.
Stop being so high and mighty Sony. Seriously.
Yes, the 360 didn't have great launch titles, but they did have exclusivity of next-gen at the time. And, now that they have the library, they do have an advantage.
However, in general, I don't see the PS3 going anywhere. This is the first time Sony has really "screwed" up in the console war. Comparing the PScubed to the Dreamcast isn't fair. Sega was losing the console war well before the Dr3eamcast came out. it was a last ditched attempt at relevancy; well after the fact that they screwed up. I see the PS3 around for awhile, but maybe not a huge front runner. Sony was spoiled the last two generations. We are finally seeing an even playing field. But, of course, this is my humble opinion...as I am sure people will be more than happy to tell me.
Ohhh that's right they've both only been out for less than a year now!
It's the sign of the end times it is!
It's way too early for a console redesign, they're definitely NOT going to adopt HD-DVD (I can't believe someone even suggested that) and releasing a PS4 that's actually a step BACK in technology is probably the most retarded thing I've ever read in recent months.
They have to work with what they have for at least the next five years.
>In the last two generations the profits for them came
>mainly from huge software sales, which isn't
>happening now.
Actually last two generations profits came from hardware sales as well, but you have to remember Sony is in it for the long run, and while the bet is large and the initial investment is high, when you deliver 2 consoles, both selling past the 100 million unit mark each generation, each, you KNOW that they are making an extreme profit in the long term.
The first 3-4 years they obviously arnet going to make a profit off console sales, but you know we will be sick and tired of the PS3 by tthe time PS4 gets released, and knowing sony, thats probably still another 7 years down the line. By that time they certainly will break even, though I doubt they will pass the 100 million units sold mark - the big mistake with PS3 was Sony thinking people would easily fork out 600 smackeroos for their console, and all the bad press from KAz and Kutaragi's arrogance (Its a Rolls Royce! You have to WORK or it!) didnt win many people over either.
Remeber even PSP was considered a failure, but its shipped what, 40-50 million units so far? Doesnt sound much liek a failure to me. Sony is definitely the loser this gen so far, but to be fair theres hardly any games worth getting on it at the moment, and despite this its sitting at about 45% of the 360's sales. IF Sony work on that games list, maybe it will catch up, but somehow I doubt it.
This is just the same issue that plagues the Mac. Whether the PS3 is difficult or expensive is not the point. Developers just don't want to spend time on anything but the biggest share of the market.
I don't really care if the 40GB model is backwards compatible, so long as they have BC in the high-end model. Also, the high-end model has to come with a game. I'll pay an extra $100 for compatibility and a game that would normally sell for $60, but not just for compatibility.
I'm upset the 60GB model hasn't been cut in cost. Otherwise, I would've snapped one up yesterday when I bought my 360. At the store, I saw 60GB and 80GB models selling side for $500. That's ridiculous!
Sony knows no shame. I wouldn't either if I did no wrong, however.
Haha.
Whoopdeefuckingdoo. You guys are making alot out of nothing.
its barely been a goddamn year and people are already jumping ship?
pathetic and sad the day is when developers decide not to work on some real hardware and focus on the fucking wii...
Funny thing is, in the heyday of their arrogance, Sony claimed the PS3 would sell 5 million units even without any games. It appears they were at least right in that respect. It has now sold about 5 million units and it still doesn't have any games. ;)
STFUAJP360.
I've got news. The PS3 cost BILLIONS in R&D before it even went into production, and when it did go into production, Sony needed to take out a massive loan to cover the costs. Their well has run dry, and so far, they've got nothing to replace it.
I don't doubt Sony will eventually turn a profit, but a dozen hardware revisions later with a catalog of games that reads like a list of cast offs with some paid and bought for exclusives (the pay cheque for Soul Calibur 3 exclusive on PS2 for example, which brings to mind the quote from Sony that they don't pay for exclusives [and in my mind I thought "anymore, since you don't have the cash]).
The way Sony is going as a whole though is worrying. Massive losses in home entertainment systems, movie and music industry plagued by its inability to adapt to a digital marketplace and now their crown jewel, their gaming division floundering, I'm surprising their stock price is still in the $40 mark.