So I’ve been reading the current issue of gamesTM (issue 68), and I’ve come across the big feature that Sony is apparently going to dominate this year. Hell, they even devote a two page spread to the picture they already put on the front page, with the article being six pages long. So I have to ask myself what all the fuss is about.
Well, the article itself goes into some detail about the previous keys to Playstation’s success (The use of DVD being the main one), and then it looks to the future of what PS3 has to offer. And honestly, it doesn’t feel like it’s that much. They also go on about how the PS3 has got almost 1m in sales. The 360 has almost reached 2m, and the less said about Wii’s sales figures, the less zeros I have to type in (Srsly, the meme of the DS and Wii printing money; not a joke).
They also go on about how the PSP is also helping, with it’s integrated services (PSP Play, Downloading demos from the PS3 to the PSP, as well as the hyped ability to download Blu-ray movies to your PSP), yet in the same paragraph they also acknowledge that the DS has the upper hand in terms of games. I can understand why people will buy the PSP because it has UMD capabilities. And let’s face it; who wouldn’t want a portable movie player with them to keep them entertained? But, in the same vein, will ‘gamers’ (ie people who want to play video games, not hardcore gamers) want that tech-savvy, media playing PSP, or get a DS like everyone else they know so they can play online against each other?
Neil Long (Editor at MCV) says that Sony’s secret weapon is it’s online service, saying that we should “…expect a real scrap between the two [Xbox Live and the PSN] over the next year not just in gaming but also in the wider entertainment space. Movie and TV downloads are just the start. Home represents something of an unknown quantity at the moment, but it could have limitless potential.” As much as I would like to agree with him (with Home being delayed over and over again, we full well know it’s a case of ‘When it’s done’), how many PS3 owners say PSN in the same breath as PS3? Compare it to the amount of 360 owners that will say ‘Xbox Live’ in the same sentence.
Further going into what he said, I highly doubt many people will want to download movies and TV shows. The people who will want to do that will either be film/television buffs who prefer the DVD to the digital download anyway, or the geeks (myself included) who can either watch the TV shows online (thanks to systems like 4oD, and BBC’s iPlayer), stream the films (Veoh, and Youtube being the main culprits), or just downloading them themselves, even if it is just to copy the film onto the PS3 to watch it on their TV. Couple that with the state the UK’s broadband network is in today, and I predict the people who will prefer to download compared to DVD rental (If the items are available for the same price) will be few and far between.
And the so-called ‘Industry Opinions’ go on. Leo Tan (UK PR Manager at Capcom) goes on about how he’s giving himself a mental handjob at the prospect of more PS3 - PSP connections. He specifically notes Lost Planet’s sales figures as a reason why Capcom won’t exclude themselves from PS3 activity. I can respect that he’s basically saying that Capcom will play the field to get the best sales, but a Japanese game of this caliber (in the sense of media-exposure), on a Japanese console is going to sell like hot cakes, regardless of quality. It took thirteen months for it to be ported (and this copy of gamesTM was released on the 20th of March), so how they can quote sales figures after a maximum of three weeks, and call them a trend, is beyond me. Plus, I would love to see a solid figure on how many people have a PSP as well as a PS3.
Dan Griliopoulos (How on earth do I say that?) says that the end of the Hi-Def war will “…increase the install base massively, as will PS2 gamers finally moving to the next generation”, as well as going on about it’ll eventually be more profitable to develop games for the PS3 first, and when it gets down to figures, the machine is plainly more powerful and reliable compared to the 360. That last statement I cannot deny at all. The reliability for the 360 is abhorrent, and has since made mainstream media. The machine is more powerful, and has the potential to do more, I can agree with that. The problem is, the PS3 is making gamers rely too heavily on their previous successes, and just take their word for it. They destroyed HD-DVD by strongarming their studios, and those around them, to go into Blu-ray. Somewhere in the article, it says that the PS3 is the cheapest Blu-ray on the market. What does that say about the PS3? That it’s either reasonably valued compared to all the others (and I mean all the others), or it is full of substandard hardware that other vendors don’t want to go near. Or, the previously true answer, that they’re losing money per console, hence why so many versions are about. And I ask you this, Dan, how on earth are gamers, who don’t have backwards compatibility on their consoles, supposed play their PS2 games? Keep the PS2, is the answer. But what made the PS2 so successful other than the DVD compatibility? You could sell your PS1, buy a PS2, and still play all your PS1 games.
And here’s the finale of Opinion. Nick Jones (Editor in Chief of PLAY) smacks out some figures for us. “Sony sold 120m PS2s Worldwide. To date, some 25 million next-gen consoles have been sold… that’s 90m people who trust the PlayStation brand”. Let me poke around at that math:
- 120,000,000 - 25,000,000 = 95m. Not 90m
- The PS2 went through how many price cuts in seven years?
- Have you ever considered new gamers getting into the business?
- The Wii isn’t next generation. It’s casual gaming, and as such are 90% new users.
- I bought a PS2, but I don’t trust Sony/PlayStation as far as I could throw my PSone.
Somebody’s either really mincing the figures, or he’s twisting it. I vote the latter. Especially since he continues on about how the PS2 is making “…an assault on the multimedia side of the market”, quoting the Blu-Ray win in the Hi-Def war (Again? Be original, please!). Blu-Rays are more expensive than DVDs, almost everyone has a DVD Player of sorts. You do the math (mainly because I don’t trust Nick’s calculator). And then, here’s the best part, he says that GTAIV is the game many are waiting for and “…however many download exclusives Microsoft throws at it, people will go for what they know: the PlayStation brand, the console on which they fell in love with GTA.” Oh dear God.
Just to clear things up, I am planning on getting a PS3. But I’m waiting for a game. And it’s not GTAIV. No chance in hell. Name an exclusive. Not Killzone 2. Not LittleBigPlanet (although it does look top notch). Yup: Metal Gear Solid 4. THAT is the system-seller. Sony lost the GTAIV exclusivity, and with all the deals cropping up for people to buy it on the 360 (See here), they’re not going to sell that many to multi-platform gamers.
I didn’t want to say it, but this has made me force it out: Nick, Dan, Leo and Neil: Please stop sucking up to David Reeves. It doesn’t look good.
Then it goes into System-selling games. Let’s take a look:
- Echochrome: …WTF is this? Linerider in 3D?
- Killzone 2: ‘Said Halo 3 don’t worry you. Instead you offer Killzone 2. But Killzone 1 sucked before, so what made you think we wanted more?’ says enough.
- LittleBigPlanet: Looks good to me, although it’s a concept I’m not sure I could learn to love.
- Afrika: PKMN Snap on the PS3. Picturing Africa’s animals. Enough said.
- WipEout HD: Not a system seller. Same stuff, different tracks. Well, I lie; online play will definitely be fun.
- The Agency: Listing an MMO as a system seller? Wow.
- Resistance 2: The sequel to a launch game is a system seller? Wow, once again.
- SingStar: SCEE’s ace in the hole for casual gamers. But, what casual gamer is going to spend £299 on a console, then buy this game for it, if they can’t sing?
A rather abrupt end follows, to start an in-depth article on pre-production. All in all, this has just proved that people are jumping on the hype wagon. Only this time, they are forced to get out and push.