Sony: What the hell is going on over there?

Busy day in the warehouse.

 

Very busy day indeed.

Hopefully by this time next year the PS3 will be better and less expensive. If not, well, then I get to keep the money.

 

How will it get better? And don't get your hopes up on a price drop any time soon...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a1e890a6-b02e-11db-8a62-0000779e2340.html

However, it gave no solace to video game fans hoping for price cuts to the PlayStation3 console, which Nobuyuki Oneda, the company?s chief financial officer, said would remain at its current price of Y59,900 ($492) for ?two or three years".

 

Poor dumb bastard is all I can say to that Best Buy employee.

Methinks this is definately not good.

 

PS3 isn't that expensive. A 360 goes for $400, add a HD DVD player, it costs $600. PS3 can play Blu-Ray out of the box. And Wii's not that good of a deal either: it's essentially a Gamecube with a (fancy) remote. Won't play anything HD. Sure, it's only $300, but it's also the only console making a profit right out of the box. Microsoft and Sony are subsidizing part of the cost on their consoles.

Of course, the main reason to buy consoles is the games. And right now, 360 looks most compelling to me... But I think I'll stick with my PC for a while yet.

 

Here's the thing though. Most of the people here care about the games. As in sure, you can pay for the extra HD-DVD player, but most of us won't. We don't care!

As for the fancy Gamecube with a fancy remote, it's fun, and that's what gaming is about. Not who's got the best processor, who has the latest video technology. It's who has the best games, and which system is the most fun.

 

You really can't say that the XB360 and PS3 aren't fun.

 

Did you read my post? Let me quote myself:

Had I not posted that, you might have had a reason to tell me that it's the games. However, it looks to me like I made it clear that the games are in fact the "main reason to buy consoles". Not only that, I said so a full 77 minutes before you told me so! Astounding!



Back to our discussion. The games. Here comes the hard part: I want you to name three compelling Wii titles that have a 2007 release date.

Have fun with that.

 

Different kind of fun. Potential for fun?

Microsoft won me over with the 360, but you know, great games but nothing new. PS3, has... Resistance.

Either way, I'm still playing more Warioware with my friends than Gears of War.

But opinions are opinions, and everyone is entitled to one.

 

Yeah, I would have to agree with you about the PS3's lack of titles. But I feel the Wii's lacking too. I think the biggest problem is that neither of these systems has any must-have titles coming out anytime soon - at least, none with set release dates. 360, on the other hand, has me considering buying... Maybe in a few months. I'm waiting for a price drop. Or Mass Effect.


EDIT: But I forgot to note another factor in terms of cost: XBox Live. $50 a year for four years is $200: factor in the HD and 360 costs a massive $800. Admittedly, you get the best online service for any of the consoles.

Also, as an avid PC gamer, I'm totally satiated for now. A lot of people forget that PC gets most of the great console titles... And a good deal of exclusive gems.


SECOND EDIT: Another note: there's actually more compelling games coming out for PS2 than for PS3. I mean, since around the time of PS3's launch, we've gotten Guitar Hero II, Final Fantasy XII, and God of War II.

 

Three compelling Wii games for 2007:

Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers + 2-5 retro titles per week via Virtual Console

That wasn't that hard.


I'm so sick of you Sony fanboys defending your empire. It's annoying to people like me who think that all of the systems can have their niches. Wii with the creative games, PS3 with the high-end graphics, 360 with the online aspect. What's wrong with that.


And tell me pretell, what games are compelling for PS3 this year? From what I hear, we won't see the big two titles for PS3, FF XIII and MGS4 until 2008, while 360 will get Halo 3 this year, and Wii will continue to see strong support and better uses of the motion-based technology.


Oh...did you see the NPD numbers for the past month for US Console Sales? Wii outsold the PS3 by a 2:1 margin, and 360 by a 1.65:1 margin. I won't even get into the DS v. PSP numbers.

 

Yeah, but the PS2 beat those numbers.

But none of this matters because the DS is king. All hail the DS.

 

I said with release dates. It's common (especially for Nintendo) to set vague, preliminary guesses as to when certain titles will be released: all three of those titles lack set release dates, and Nintendo's merely 'guessing' they'll come out in 2007. Mind you, that doesn't mean they'll come out in 2007; Nintendo really just wants to sell their console. I would be willing to bet that none of those three games will come out this year. Likely, at least one won't even release next year. There are very few details about any of them - a sign that the games are still nowhere near being done. So maybe your list was easy to make. It was wrong.

And I'll admit the PS3 list is skimpy. But you're forgetting the titles that PS3 and 360 will get that Wii won't. The Force Unleashed, GTA, Oblivion... If we add in the 360 exclusives, Wii're starting to look bleak: Mass Effect, Bioshock, Halo, anything Rareware, anything Tom Clancy, Gears of War...

I feel bad for you. I mean that. I'm totally sympathetic. I've been there: I bought the Gamecube, I bought the N64. But I'm done with Nintendo until they can come up with a reason for me to buy their systems.

 

The Tom Clancy games aren't 360 exclusive. Vegas at least will be on PS3 soon, not sure about the others though.

But I actually agree with you re: the 360. I never saw a reason to buy an XBox but Bioshock/Mass Effect/etc look excellent. The only problem is that I like my mods and stuff, so I'd still prefer them on PC.

 

I'm no Sony fanboy. In fact, I loathe the "we're the best just because" marketing strategy they've adopted.

Gamecube had a bunch of great first-party titles, but its total lack of exclusive (and even many cross-platform) third-party games made it third place. With its line-up, it looks like Wii is headed in that direction. PS3 may kill itself with the price, but the 360 is going to beat Nintendo's machine.

 

Don't use RARE as a success arguement. There put out like 3 good games in the last 5 years and the only ones that sold her on a Nintendo console.

And if none of those Nintendo games come out this year I will eat my own open mouth kiss Flare.

 

Keep in mind there are very few details about these three games. That's why I believe they won't come out for a while. This is all IGN has on Smash in terms of previews, this and this are it for Prime, and these two for Mario. Compare that with five previews, most of which are fairly in-depth for Mass Effect if you want to see the difference between a game that's coming out soon and one that isn't.

 

Yeah, seriously. If you don't already know what Metroid, Mario, or Super Smash Brothers look and play like, I think it's time to step back a few paces.

 

Oh by the way, saw this over at IGN today,

NofJ (Nintendo of Japan) put out their 2007 release list. And on that list were Prime 3, Galaxy and SSBB slated for 2007 release. If I had to put money down, I say Galaxy in June, SSBB and Prime in November.

 

There's no doubt in my mind that, if Nintendo want to continue the strong start for the Nintendo Wii for the rest of the year, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 will be released in 2007. If, for some unknown reason, they are not, then the console may struggle. Having said that, there's also the next addition of Pokemon nearing completion, which will be the first Wii title with online functions, so I'm sure sales will be strong during that period of release in a few months time.

There are also strong indications and announcements in recent days that the likes of Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft and THQ will strongly support the Wii console, which is a huge boost compared to the lack of 3rd party support during the Gamecube years. EA, especially, will be one to watch after a strong start with Madden NFL. A majority of their sports titles, coupled with their big name rights (Harry Potter for example) will push sales along nicely. Couple that with Rockstar developing on the console, and plenty of support from Square-Enix, and you've got a good few years ahead.

 

I'm really intrigued to see how Tiger for the Wii plays. Wii Golf is ok, but if EA can get it right with Tiger, then that will really help give Wii a big push from the other EA Sports divisions (Baseball, Hockey, College FB, Basketball)

 

I haven't played a Pokemon game since Yellow, but I can't help but be intrigued by online Pokemon...

 

Couple the Wii title with Diamond and Pearl for the DS, also online capable, and the series might get the shot in the arm it's needed since the original release.