Five things Sony needs to do save the PS3

Things are looking tough for Sony: redundancies, missed shipment targets and poor financial results. So what's a giant mega-corporation to do? Take advice from bloggers, of course... 1. Cut the price - now And not just a measly amount either. We'd like to see £125 at least off the UK price. Ideally even more. That would give …

[Chu]

Valid but somewhat of a contradiction...

The article hits the nail on the head, however at one point it advises Sony does an EA and stays mainstream and simple (e.g don't oversell the likes of LBW), and another point it advises that Sony should be cutting edge and playing with the genre formula (which is what it is doing with LBW)...

Anyway good read, take heed Sony.

[Giles Jones]

Blu-ray was the mistake

It delayed the console, it makes it more expensive and nobody really needs the storage on offer. PC games don't need 20GB of storage, why do console games?

Nintendo did the right thing, focus on the interface, fun factor and the price.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll get one soon

Yep, the only thing i'm waiting on, is the price cut. For $500-600 I could get a nice new vid card. mmmmm. =)

[Anonymous Coward]

Dump Blu-Ray

I know they'll never do it as it's their baby, but if you want a price drop, just offer a version without the Blu-Ray player.

Of course games are using Blu-Ray discs, but it's not like they really need it as there's very little that is really anything different from the PS2. Same old games just with a graphics boost.

What the PS3 needs as a next gen console is next gen games. Not just facelifts on existing games or game genres and gameplay.

This is why the Wii is beating the pants off all the competition despite being a technically inferior product. Just took a different concept to gaming, and wasn't hung up on HD which to be honest few people seem to be all that interested in anyway (as much as I want HD, I know most people just want a flat telly and are happy otherwise).

[Anonymous Coward]

Games, Games, Games

Beforehand I suppose I should point out I have a PS3, bought on release (from online, not standing in a queue like an eejit)...

1. Agreed, it's a bit excessive for the general public. Taking it down to £300 still leaves it as the most expensive, although preferable to taking the 360 with it's plethora of stick-on bits and pieces to turn it into a decent machine.

2. Again, agreed, but with M$ apparently throwing money at developers to buy their own exclusives it's a struggle I'm sure. That kind of fight ultimately just pisses on the customers, of both "sides". Just look at GTA IV. Exclusive content for BOTH consoles but development is being dragged down by the inadequacies of the basic 360. But then, that's M$ for you, barge your way into the industry and try and ruin the foreign opposition.

3. Couldn't agree more. Home???? What the hell is this? About as much use as The Sims movie. Although as a platform for starting off online games it's not a BAD idea, but it certainly isn't a selling point.

4. Well, I think the games industry is past that point, it'd take something special to become "cool" again. Like the Wii, maybe, if you're a girl :o)

5. Umm, no comment, I'm 36 and only recently had a mobile forced upon me.

Finally though, it's like it's still out a year too early, with very few decent games on the horizon (hurry up Assassin's Creed/GTA IV) until next year. The only things that are coming out are the tired EA sequels and the usual crop of awful movie tie-ins. As it is though, Oblivion will keep me going for a while.

[David Webb]

PS3, no thanks

I would never touch a first generation PS again, the PS1 had major problems (fixed in the slim version) and the PS2 has major problems (again, fixed with the slim version).

Then you add in the fact that region wise, the EU PS3 is in the same as Africa, at least with DVD's we can watch Japanese movies, the PS3 movie wise is worthless to people who enjoy Anime from Japan and now cannot watch it on Blu-Ray unless they either buy a Japanese import or a 3rd party Blu-Ray.

No hardware support for PS2/1 titles, we get stuffed with software emulation and still pay more?

FFXIII? No where near a killer app, FFVII remake (based on the tech demo) yes, but the FF series is generally getting worse ever since Enix and Square became Square Enix.

Then you have to remember that Sony is Japanese and in Japan PC's are not what the cool people have, they have consoles.

As for me I'll probably buy a Wii, my first non-sony console since the Mega Drive.

[Anonymous Coward]

Price price price

I have been a Playstation fan since they came out, I've had both consoles. I recently gave up my Playstation loyalty and bought a Wii. I wanted a PS3, don't get me wrong... but at €630, are they kidding. And what's even more annoying is that Japan can get them for just over half that.

[mrmagoo]

Back off the PSP

Why does the gaming industry keep attacking the PSP? It's a great mobile platform even if left crippled by the standard Sony firmware, put a custom firmware on it and it truly flies. There is not one single feature or game ob the DS that would even make me think of buying one but i couldn' live without my PSP and even DS owners i know will grudgingly admit that the "features" of the DS pale when compared.

The only 2 issues with the PSP is that Sony have spent so much time concentrating of flogging the PS3 they have largely ignored or alienated the PSP owners, and that they intentionally cripple the device to flog UMD movies.

The best example is the PS1 emulator built into the 3.xx series firmwares. Technically anyone could take their old PS1 games, convert them and run them on the PSP. Sony decides that this is a bad idea and forces people to buy the games again (the games are just an encrypted ISO of the original game), fair enough if a little cheeky. They also decide that you can only enjoy this wonderful emulator by buying the games from the PS3 store, why do i have to buy a very expensive console for this when there is a perfectly function PSP store? I can only assume the reason is to try and drum up more PS3 sales leaving people like me (who don't want one) out in the cold. Anyone in the know is probably aware that the custom firmwares bypass this rather unfriendly decision and allow PSP owners to package the PS1 games they still own.

As for the video, well we can encode our own video and then learn the bewildering foldernames needed to make it play on the PSP but we can only use low bitrate and 320x240 resolution (the PSP screen is 480x272). Why? To make UMD movies look better that's why, again we are crippled to advance sales of another of their projects. Enter the custom firmware again.

Now given that i have a lovely big screen (widescreen format), swappable memory sticks up to 8Gb that i can fill with downloadable demos, my own encoded videos, oddles of MP3's to listen to whilst wandering around and almost any PS1 game i can still buy running on it why would i want a DS with it's limited features? The only possible answer is for games that the PSP doesn't have, and that's Sony's fault for ignoring a very capable mobile platform.

The custom firmware makers have not ignored the PSP and have not only un-crippled the device in terms of the video and the PS1 emulator, but homebrew developers have also created an open-source SDK allowing anyone with some knowledge of C to develop their own software and given games like No Gravity (http://www.realtech-vr.com/nogravity/) you can see that not all of these are cheesy 2d ripoffs of other games. Try that on your DS (oh wait, you need a $100 flash programmer for that making the DS more expensive than the PSP for homebrew)!

I would say that the PSP should not be dropped as it has a very dedicated (if largely ignored) fan community. It just seems that Sony is making the same mistakes with the PS3 that is has with the PSP.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sore arses?

Is it just me, or do half the people on that 'Home' screenshot stand or walk like they've got sore arses?

[Greg Nelson]

"That Guy"

Being one of the guys is a good thing. It implies membership. Sony was one of the guys on the field. Since the rootkit fiasco Sony has suffered cross contamination among it's various divisions and become "that guy". Sony played dirty. Sony cries foul on DRM violations and demands restitution if not punitive measures. It's one thing for a clean player to cry foul but when a dirty player cries foul it just compounds an already negative image. Factor in Sony's unwarranted arrogance and you get bad BO. Sony stinks. Instead of coming clean it just keeps slapping on the deodorant, and, everybody knows, deodorant added to BO just makes things worse. Sony needs to come clean and then bring in the spin doctors.

[Rob]

PSP Support

I agree - back off the PSP as owner of a psp gaming website (http://www.psp-online.org plug-fans!) . It's a fantastic gaming platform and there have been some truely unique games for it. The BIGGEST problem is that the majority are just cut down ports that no-one wants. Sony needs to stop treating the PSP as an extra bit to add on to the PS3 (that no-one's bought) and start treating them as seperate consoles with features unique to each. Only when they unhook the two will they both survive. I've lost count of the amount of games with unlockable features where you have to buy both the PSP and (in this case) PS2 version of a game in order to unlock stuff. I've bought the PSP version, so I don't want to have to unlock the 308GTS on my PS2 thanks (Outrun 2006!).

Unhinge them both and drop the price of the PS3. I'll be out to buy one like a shot if they dropped the price tomorrow.

[Stuart Macdonald]

PS3-->PSP integration is cool

the recent firmware upgrade on the PS3 (and PSP) which allow streamed media from DNLA servers to be played on the PS3 is a good step froward. Especially considering I can now access said media (video, music. pictures) over the internet on my PSP via the remote play feature.

So now whenever i am in range of a wi-fi hotspot of similar accecible wireless access point i can access all the media i have stored on my media server at home using my PSP. The access range coold be expanded if the PSP was enhanced to work as a GSM device and make use of the cellular network.....

[conan]

Priorities

I agree fully with an earlier poster - for the price of a PS3 I can get an nVidia 8800GTX which will make my PC perform just as well as the PS3. On that PC I can play Oblivion, Pro Evo and GTA, albeit a few months later, but I can also run a PS1 emulator to play my old PS1 games. I haven't done that yet, because I don't have that much cash spare right now, so I've bought a Wii with some Wii games, some Gamecube games, an N64 game and a few SNES games, for the same price I paid for a SNES back in the day. I've never even seen a Blu-ray disc yet, so I don't think I want a Blu-ray player now.

The benefits of spending money elsewhere outweigh the advantages the PS3 offers, which is why it's losing.

[Anonymous Coward]

What it needs.......

....... surely is Windows running on it. Oh, and a floppy drive.....

:-D

[Matt]

Some good points.

...but the Reg does seem to have it in for the PS3 a bit. It's a bit like the media with Marks and Sparks, they kept going on and on about it doing badly, until it did.

I will buy a PS3 this year. Why am I waiting? Well price and games. It's not the number of games, there just aren't many want to play yet. I reckon October ought to do it.

As for the guy complaining that the PS one and two weren't reliable: I had both and no problems with either, nor do I know of anyone who had a problem. I got my PS2 on launch date and it's still running today, unlike my PC :-)

[Theo Pantazi]

PSP full screen video is possible

mrmagoo, I believe the latest PSP firmware update removes the restriction with regards to the video size a user can create. I guess Sony could no longer ignore the fact that UMD sales are not as predicted and together with user feedback bit the bullet.

I also own a PS3, and love it; blu-ray is awesome, wifi, etc., along with all the other USPs are welcomed, BUT it is a games console and the current line-up of games is just not enough to keep you hooked, or get one hooked. Sure, there are a few "good" games available, but for launch titles they fail to provide the "killer ap" to make you want to go out and purchase a PS3.

From another angle, anyone with an interest in games and HD entertainment cannot ignore the savings one would make in purchasing a PS3, even at the current price, so for me, I am happy...I just want quality games to cement my commitment to the PS3.

[Andy]

Just out of interest???

While making idle chatter and comments, that the PS3 is so bad, over priced etc. I just wonder how many of you including the author of this article are about to leave work for the weekend and go home to sit in front of their HD plasma and play on their very own PS3 I guess not many, sounds too much like jealousy to me… Yes it was expensive but worth every penny.

A Happy PS3 owner :P

[S]

More Games!

I have a Playstation 2 (old school big type) and had one since they were released - it was my first real console. Since then I've bought an XBox (again old school) for the games like Halo and Project Gotham 2 (probably one of my favourite games).

I know there are exceptions, but why are most of the new games being released nowadays simply sequels? It irritates me that there are so few exciting games. Part of the joy of having a PS2 was being able to play GTA 3 and laughing at my friends who had to wait months / years to play it on their pc / XBox. Likewise, the XBox has it's gems. >> More exclusives please!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually BluRay does sell the console

My PS3 spends at least half of its time playing HD movies; whenever anyone's seen the output they've been stunning - so if nothing else, PS3 does show people the future of movies.

As a solution, its a lot better than the XBox 360 + HD-DVD player offered by Microsoft, which is ugly, relatively noisy and looks precisely what it is - a kludge. (But the output is good)

Where its been lacking, especially in the UK, is the shocking number of exclusive games. There've been few enough PS3 games anyway, but the number that are truly exclusive is minuscule.

I quite agree that either exclusivity, or exclusive for x months is the way Sony should have ensured content for their machine - so far, I think it's only Virtua Fighter 5 that has had an exclusive PS3 window.

The alternative of course is that Sony could simply have opened the chequebook and bought studios - the same way Microsoft have built their XBox 360 catalogue.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

most technically advanced = doom

It used to annoy me that often the most technically advanced machines (that were usually ahead of their time) lost out due to poor marketting and/or developer support.

Now Sony fanboys knows that it must have felt like for those of us who preferred quality over quantity but got squeezed out of the market by the mainstream muppets (focussing mostly on the Dreamcast here btw).

Vive la Revolution :)

[Test Man]

Re: Back off the PSP

Great post, however, your video paragraph (4th one down) is out of date by months. Ages ago Sony added a new VIDEO root folder to be used for videos and about a month or two ago, a firmware update saw 640x480 videos being able to be encoded for use on a PSP.

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean what will save Sony?

I think the PS3 is only part of Sony's problems.

They should open the Blue Ray format and forget charging licence fees on using the media format and concentrate on the technology to record and play back.

The PS3 was meant to be the Trojan Horse to get players in peoples homes.

However it turns out Blue Ray is what has crippled the PS3, with production cost cutting concentrating on the gaming side of the console. That was a big mistake when you take in to account who your customers are (or were meant to be, before they went and bought something else).

I like my PSP but I am really miffed that I need a PS3 to play my old fav PS1 games.

The PSP has it's own internet connectivity, so making me buy the PS3 just to get them stinks of money grabbing. I would even be happy to pay the same fee just to get PS1 games again for the PSP, but not if I need to shell out for a PS3 which has no relevance to the process of playing the games.

The PSP could easily of had it's own web portal.

So the PSP is going to gather dust while I play with my DS with various freebies like free wifi hotspots.

Give your supporters the freedom to use the devices the way they want to.

Open the PSP, PS3 to home brew development. Even MS know that this is a good thing on the X360. However they like to control it with subscriptions for XNA and limit it so much that it's not worth it. Therefore there is an opportunity there for Sony with the PS3/PSP, if they do it right. Look at the MOD community for PC games. These help sales and are not competitive against your own product as they can not be sold without the licence of the game engine.

What happen to third party support of hardware development. The PSP has had some neat ideas (like the PSP keyboard) which rumour says Sony have stamped on. If that's true what's the likelihood these third parties are going to want to do the same for PS3? Not a lot if you treat them that way.

There are so many areas in which Sony (or anyone, MS are you listening) can get on better with their customers, with out looking like they are just out to fleece them at every turn. Maybe they just over estimate the value of what they are offering?

[Outcast]

Os4

Get Os4 on it !!

[Thomas Jolliffe]

It's too late...

The people who bought the PS2 'because everyone's got one' (a very, VERY large chunk of users) have already gone out and bought 360s. I've done the same. Don't get me wrong, I adored the original PlayStation and the PS2 was everything I wanted (more or less) and I much preferred it to the Xbox. However, the only reason for me to buy a PS3 over a 360 is because it's technically 'better'.

I don't need Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD for that matter) in my console.

I don't need a Cell processor which is horribly underused.

I don't need to connect it to the PSP which I don't have.

I do need it to be somewhat affordable.

I do need it to have a wide range of games, including GOOD exclusive titles.

I do need it to be a games console, not a PC for my living room. I've already got one of those.

Point is, they tried too hard. Sony should have stuck with the formula which made its PlayStation line so damn successful - good games, features which were WANTED, lots of choice and a decent price-point. They didn't do any of that, and I seriously doubt that they'll pull it back. SCE's going the way of Sega, methinks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bluray

Sony may have made a mistake including bluray but its the only thing my console is being used for (after playing motorsport to death)

Just release some bleedin' games (same goes to microsoft, but at least forza has now come out) i need something more exciting than a new lawnmower to waste disposable income on

[Gimli000]

Xbox fanboy says: We need the PS3!

I own an Xbox 360 and I had the original too. And while I find it hard to like the PS3, I still recognise the fact that we all still need a third player in the industry. The gaming industry will be poorer if one faction dominates. This might mean Sony needs to learn from it's mistakes in this generation and take the back seat, much like Nintendo in the last generation.

At the moment though I'm really happy with the 360, it was cheap enough to be within my price range, but not cheap enough that I feel like I'm playing a gamecube in new packaging.

[Zech Lim]

Sony = DRM

Sony screwed up royally when their content division decided to screw every other division around. Betamax, UMD, Memory Stick/MagicGate, BluRay....I'm sure El Reg has copious amounts of archived coverage on this.

Personally, I think Sony has cool gadgets, IF, IF they didn't have their products DRM'd up to the arse. Same goes for Apple. For God's sake, I wouldn't mind a Tower of Babel for unified standards....I'm no communist but why pay 4x for the same amount of storage, a 1 is a 1 in the register (pun intended)...and yes, no PC game needs 20Gb. Look at their VAIO PCs....cool devices, and based on the open PC architecture. That's something worth buying when I have the moolah.

MrMagoo made a VERY good point about the PSP....it's all about Marchitected Obsolescence....that sucks BIG TIME. I'm still running my Duron 1200 w 1.5Gb SDRAM and 8Mb VGA card thank you very much. I can play most Flash games and run anything I damn well please, even Linux when I fancy.

I'm saving up for a nice C2D/Athlon X2 with prolly a Graphzilla card and 4Gb RAM for Oblivion.

My last Sony was a Betamax player which died a natural death the day the media died. And I won't own an Apple or an iPod. My content/data is MINE, not AACS LA/*AA/BigDRM/M$

[Simon Wilson]

Dreamcast Again

Why are the Sony Execs trying to destory this great company. This is the easiest thing to fix, drop the price. Forget online rubbish, the Xbox 360 is sold as a Online box because a lot of the single player games are too short and just rubbish or just plain copies of other games. Look at GT rip off Forza. Playstation 3 is more powerful than its 3 Red Light Buddy. Maybe the UK goverment should by Sony and show them how its done...It cant get any worse. Bill Gates must be nerdying all the way to the bank...for now !!

I believe that Sony are gonna drop the price for December to damage or destory its XP buddy.

[Neil Docherty]

Price and video support...

The two things stopping me buying a PS3 are the price (a rip off given the US/Japan price - £300 is the price when I'm likely to part with my cash) and the video format support. A lack of DivX or XviD support (without transcoding) is a severe limitation for using the thing as a media centre, which is part of the reason I want one. Oddly they include support for Microsoft's WMV format, which I still haven't quite figured out the logic of!

The inclusion of Blu-Ray is a good thing for me but I definitely understand why most people aren't fussed.

[Ross Fleming]

RE: PS3, no thanks

"I would never touch a first generation PS again, the PS1 had major problems (fixed in the slim version) and the PS2 has major problems (again, fixed with the slim version)"

I guess you were just really unlucky? I invested in the first gen of both the PS1 and 2. To this day I still use the PS2. As far as I know the PS1 is still operating normally as well - I gave it to a friend a couple of years ago. Maybe I got lucky of course.

I will eventually take the plunge with a PS3, but for me it's all about the cost. The games will come, they always do. And they'll improve with the coming months as developers learn how to exploit the technology. I can only see the Wii as a gimmick - I'd happily have one to get out whenever friends are round but would only use it with company. You feel an absolute berk playing a Wii on your own.

[B Johnson]

Announced today Duke 4

Duke Nukem forever (PS3) shipping

when it's ready

[Steve Barnes]

Re: PS3, no thanks

"The PS1 had major problems (fixed in the slim version) and the PS2 has major problems (again, fixed with the slim version)."

Both the PS1 & PS2's 'major' problems were fixed well before they had their slim remodelings. The slim PSOne only came out a few months before the PS2 - and buy that time millions of people had happily enjoyed MGS, Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and FFVII without these 'major problems.' Same with PS2. I have 3 of them. First is a launch PAL one, which DID have laser problems, the next one was bought a year later and has no such problems, the third is a NTSC slim model.

Also, as long as FFXIII is PS3 exclusive, it WILL be a killer app, regardless of whether you think the series is getting worse. I'll agree that whilst I loved X & XII, they're not a scratch on VII, but that hasn't stopped gamers buying them in their masses. The main FF Series will always sell well. Period. It is the 4th best selling video game series of all time.

However I must say, I'd pay any amount of money for a PS3 version of FFVII! :-D

The main articles points stand true here, a HUGE price slash is needed (when I buy my PS3 it'll be in October, from the US where it will have, according to reports, dropped to $499 - £250, just over half the UK RRP) and it needs GAMES GAMES GAMES!! No-one will spend £200, £300, or £400 on a console that has no more than 1 or 2 good games, and the upcoming good ones aren't going to be around for quite a while. This needs sorting!!!

Oh yeah, and one more thing, I bloody hope that Ace Combat 6 makes an apperance on PS3!

[Anonymous Coward]

Price and games

I think there are only 2 points.

Drop the price and bring on the quality games.

£400 (street price) is too expensive for mainstream. £300 is closer and I think the PS3 would really shift at that price.

The PS3 is suppose to be the most powerful console, so even without exclusives if it has the best version of cross-platform games it will attract buyers. Quality exclusive games would be better, but not essential.

On Learn to be Cool – it reminds me of ‘Too Fly for a White Guy’ it would be a sign of trying to hard. You’re either cool or not. Let the console and the games speak for themselves.

So, Sony, take some of your marketing budget and cut the price of the console and sponsor some of the in-development games to get them looking really hot on the PS3.

Much better than another quirky advertising campaign.

[wayne]

The good ol days, the future.

It was cool, because the game side was run by UK game types, originally. What has happened now? Progressively we have seen an move to US, then Japanese, overemphasis in the industry.

I am not from the UK, but have been exposed to UK and US games for quiet sometime, from the early days of the home computer. The UK game industry was often more innovative and fun, and many computers I owned, as well as games and magazines, came from the UK. Considering that Apogee games were a breath of fresh air in the US industry, it really shows how bad the industry was. I know that UK industry, in general, has an bad record of failing, but where are you guys now, we need you?

Speaking of the failings of the PSP, lets see, too expensive, too big, no touch screen, no keyboard (an pop out one, like on smart phones, would do) low resolution display (VGA or DVD at least) and no embedded camera with HD video. An CHEAP PSP mobile smart phone is needed that is not hobbled (or restricted to mobile downloads). An larger UMPC like tablet (even running PS2 disks), that could have faster hardware (to compete with the sometimes mentioned Game cube based Game Boy Advanced 2) would be good. Computer functionality with home development, Linux or Java, are also desirable.

Unfortunately for the price of the PS3 now, it really should have computer and HDTV Digital Video Recorder functionality, and media editing (and an DX10 level GPU). Until the current machine goes to half the price, it will probably not be on the level it should be. Remember the promise of the PS2 as an computer, as an networked broadband device, AV centre, and the PS2 chip permeating it's way through to other products, what happened? We now hear similar statements for the PS3. If Sony wants to survive, they really need to release advanced functionality PS3s at an small profit, soon, not latter at an high AV price, and cheaper PS3's with well supported computer kits as well (Mac OSX please, or Linux even).

[Anonymous Coward]

You answered your own question

Mrmagoo asks why the gaming industry keeps attacking the PSP, and then goes on to clearly describe its single biggest problem. Sony's locking down of the console is *exactly* what's wrong with it.

Sony's PSP business model is clearly lock-it-down-and-charge-them-for-it. Yes, they probably realised this would annoy hacker-geeks, but traded off the half dozen lost sales against being able to milk Joe Public for all he was worth.

Result is that it doesn't matter how good the PSP is on paper; it's an expensive games machine. And I think that it failed both ways- Joe Public certainly didn't rush out to buy all his movies again on UMD, and the debacle may even have put him off the buying the console altogether. Judging by Sony's attempts to force owners to buy a PS3 simply to download PS1 games for the handheld, they're still as cynical as ever though.

Yes, customised firmware gets round the restrictions, but Sony do their best to lock this out by requiring upgrades for newer releases. In short, you're forced to choose between the two, or to wait for newer custom firmware and re-upgrade. Geeks may get a kick out of this; most people won't.

As a DS owner, I'll happily admit that the PSP has far better specs. That's irrelevant to me if it's only available for use by overpriced multimedia and games that don't appeal to me. The PSP also lacks the DS's touch-screen (nice for portable gaming), and its line-up is more "PS2 ports" than the DS's portability-oriented games.

[Shiny Games]

Thanks for the comments...

I posted this up originally on http://www.pspsps.tv (little plug)... and just wanted to answer a few of the comments on here...

Chu called it a "contradiction" to say Sony should go mainstream and avoid quirky, yet also should go cutting-edge and cool. I don't think of that as so much of a contradiction as a balancing act. WipEout is the perfect example - cutting-edge, cool and yet it hit the mainstream moment. Little Big Planet is too "gamey", too self-consciously fun, cutesy etc. to quite be a new WipEout. What Sony needs is to make a Halo or Grand Theft Auto - a new iconic character and/or franchise that drives console sales by serving up what the mainstream currently wants.

Matt said the Reg has it in for the PS3. Couldn't comment on that. But this was originally posted on a PS3 blog that's pro PS3. I love the PS3, but it's clear Sony are not pushing its strengths well, and I don't think they were really ready for its launch.

The question now is whether they will fix the PS3's problems before Nintendo and Microsoft get too far ahead... answers on the back of a postcard, please.

Simon M

[Jasmine Strong]

Well, I just bought one

I just bought a PS3. But why? So I can play with Linux, that's why. So I can use it as a Blu-Ray player. So I can dink around with Home. But mostly because my aging G4 Mac mini is no longer fast enough to play HD video to fill my nice big TV. The PS3 is a lot of machine for very little money, when all is considered.

[Jonathan Tate]

Nintendosoft Threesixwii

What I don't get, is why people keep pointing to the Wii's success and make the claim that the 360 is failing like the PS3. The 360 has a specific audience, while the Wii has a much broader audience. I mean, I really don't believe there are too many people who would have purchased a 360 but opted for a Wii instead, especially with how cheap the Wii is.

Additionally, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the 360 the ONLY console on the market that *doesn't* sell the system at a loss? Unlike Nintendo or Sony, Microsoft are making a profit when a system sells, when a game sells, and when a licensed accessory sells (of which there are many). Given that one fact, I would think that they're the ones "winning" and likely will be until Nintendo start making money off the Wii itself. There aren't many must-have accessories for the Wii, and I'm cynically betting that third party developers will quickly get bored of trying to keep up with the quality of the few first party releases, as is usual for recent Nintendo systems. This especially with the relatively low game sales for the system due to the budget-minded target audience.

[Edlem]

"correct me if I'm wrong"

OK, let me correct you

"isn't the 360 the ONLY console on the market that *doesn't* sell the system at a loss? "

No. Nintendo are making just under $40 profit on every Wii sold. - http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/wii-autopsy-discovers-manufacturing-cost-221736.php

Whereas Microsoft subsidise each 360 to the tune of $126 - http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/28/xbox-360-costs-715-to-make/

Also, considering they're selling 5 times the rate of ps3's and twice the rate of 360's I have to ask just how you come to the conclusion that it's going to have poor games sales and developers won't support it. As far as I can see, Nintendo have a lot to be happy about.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Duke Nukem Forever

LOL, it's only 10 years late, and it's still not done!

The world has moved on so much. It will just be another generic clone of all the games that cloned Duke Nukem 3D, Doom and Quake back in the 90s, just with nice graphics for the PS3, and that's the big point about what's so crap about the PS3.

It's not just the PS3 though, it's the Xbox 360 and PC too. Just clone after clone. Same old.

And that's why people are bringing up the Wii. It's just different and simple. It's also a gaming platform your granny can play which massively increases the audience, especially being so cheap.

It's not that it's the PS3 itself technically at fault. It's Sony for killing it in the market with high prices just to try and win the HD format war (which few are ready for and most are happy with DVD currently). It's also the gaming industry for being pretty unimaginative, much like Hollywood is with films.

Oh and as for jealousy as someone said, yeah right. Money is no object (well nearly) for me. I could go out and buy one tomorrow without a ding on my bank balance (and god knows there are enough of them collecting dust in stores to pick up), but when something is ridiculously overpriced and has no real appeal or value for money even the most wasteful spenders on gadgets can see it's a waste of money. There are better things to plug into my HD display.

And this is coming from someone who was quite a big Sony fan.

[heystoopid]

Once a dog always a dog!

Once a dog always a dog , no matter which way you dress it!

The problem with SONY is that it's design is so last century as to be obsolete before it even left the starting gate!

By the way for those who think SONY can reduce the existing wholesale/retail price to even lower , both the parent in Japan and the US subsidiary are currently awash and barely floating in a sea of red ink of financial trading loses (US subsidiary recently filed filed SEC documents showing a trading loss of 1.9 billion dollars for the past US financial year) , thus they have very little room to maneuver and/or no margin for error!

What cruel fate indeed awaits "Howard's " SONY INC now ?

Sadly , tomorrows Home PC technology , shows the age of last centuries separate TV gaming console is coming to an abrupt end!

[mrmagoo]

RE: Test Man/Theo Pantazi

Yes i do know that a firmware update allowed for higher resolution video (full DVD resolution and not 640x480), however the bitrate allowed is still restricted as far as i know so even with full resolution there is still a drop in quality so i take that update as "you can do it, but it will still look rubbish" rather than addressing the problem.

Many people are still keeping their firmware on 1.50 as that one allows prepared homebrew to run without any hackity tricks, many more use a "firmware emulator" on their 1.50's so they can still play games that require later firmwares and these guys are still locked in.

The very first thing Sony need to do, not just for the PS3 but all of their hardware products, is to realise that people in countries like the UK are not happy to be charged close to double for the same products when compared with other countries. Add the region locking to stop people importing a console at a the same price as other countries and the fact they killed off one of their biggest supporters (Lik-Sang) are proving that Sony want out money more than they want to give us a "killer" console.

That in itself will stop all but the richest and most devout Sony fanboys (and girls) from buying a PS3 in the UK. From the numbers i have seen the UK is the 3rd most expensive country to buy a PS3 in, we're feeling that love Sony.

[Scott Earle]

"If you're a girl"

And there you have it - someone finally made something that will mean that girls will play games as well as just the guys!

It's a well known fact that the vast majority of gamers are male, and there have been many attempts to make gaming appeal to girls. These usually fail.

If someone (Nintendo, by the looks of it) has made a console that is not only so appealing and intuitive to use that anyone can play on it (grannies etc., included), but is also appealing to the females among the population, then they have intantly doubled their target audience. More so if it includes age ranges outside "the norm" for gamers.

Success of the Wii ... it appeals to a wider age group, it appeals to girls as well as "just" guys, and it's as cheap as chips. Can't beat that combination, really.

Oh - and to top it all off, they make a profit on every unit sold *before* any games are purchased! Hats off to Nintendo.

[Anonymous Coward]

games machine or computer?

Sony are really missing the boat here. With the original PlayStation we

got some fantastic new games and genres. The PS2 continued that

heritage but the PSP and the PS3 have both suffered some serious

issues with game releases and coverage. I've got a PSP - bought

when LocoRoco came out. But since last summer there have been

very very few titles to buy. the DS (i side-graded to a DS-Lite) has

had a dozen since last summer. I bought a Wii because of the game

philosophy...but there has been a very poor game release schedule

so far....and the PS3 has been the same - which is why I havent bought

one. especially for that amount of cash! the Wii was almost an impulse

buy at its price....and its still very hard to get a Wii - whereas I can buy a PS3

any place and any time. the 360? nope. its PC gaming in a can with

expensive online add-ons and a very kludgy interface to the world of HD DVD.

then Sony try the 'computer' line with the PS3. sure. its got immense power

with its Cell architecture...but unless they go with the AmigaOS4.1 port they're

stuck with Linux...which is too technical for the home user and doesnt have

the fluid interface and multitasking needed for a basic home OS

[Anonymous Coward]

Two more things Sony should get rid of to save the PS3:

1. Region blocking. Sure, they say it's optional for games, but it IS mandatory for blu-ray movies, and some game makers do enable them to show how evil they are. Removing region blocking would seriously help with marketing the consoles to net-saavy anime fanboys in the West and folks wanting English software in the East.

2. Stupidity when it comes to sales/marketing of consoles. Remember the fiasco that ended with Lik-Sang closing? Sony would have more of my respect (and perhaps three months worth of my well-earned wages) had they left Lik Sang alone.

Apart from that, I agree that they must slash the price. For the cost of a PS3 over here (from a parallel importer, of course. Last I checked, it's still not launched in Malaysia), you can get a Mac Mini or a good Dell desktop complete with LCD monitor. And the software, they're rare and expensive.

[Anonymous Coward]

Title

Some very stupid points being made about the PSP:

"Speaking of the failings of the PSP, lets see, too expensive, too big, no touch screen, no keyboard (an pop out one, like on smart phones, would do) low resolution display (VGA or DVD at least) and no embedded camera with HD video. An CHEAP PSP mobile smart phone is needed that is not hobbled (or restricted to mobile downloads). An larger UMPC like tablet (even running PS2 disks), that could have faster hardware (to compete with the sometimes mentioned Game cube based Game Boy Advanced 2) would be good. Computer functionality with home development, Linux or Java, are also desirable."

Ridiculous. The PSP is an excellent portable device, but trying to add some of these features (or GSM, as so many people harp on about) would have been the equivalent of blu-ray to the PS3, a very expensive gamble that would push prices up and return little except to a minority group of tech heads. The PSP is a great wee beasty if you travel a lot by train or bus - UMD was a turkey I ignored, but I happily rip downlaoded tv to the PSP so I watch tv as well as game on it. There's been lots of good titles recently, but the killer app has been excellent online gaming - Syphon filter, Medal of Honour, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops... And with downloadable levels for wipeout and burnout, and online wipeout (infrastructure, more important than adhoc) due out soon, it'll keep on truckin for another few years. Anyone who won't buy one because it doesn't have a phone in it is an idiot - I don't buy my PC because it comes with a spinning wheel...

And some good points made:

"The very first thing Sony need to do, not just for the PS3 but all of their hardware products, is to realise that people in countries like the UK are not happy to be charged close to double for the same products when compared with other countries. "

Damn straight - I'd probably have a ps3 by now if sone hadn't alienated me - and I own some sony kit, would be thgeir their target demographic... except they want me to pay fgar more for reduced functionality, after everyone else gets their release first? No thanks...

Mike

[stuart byrne]

ps3 owner

i know i am late on this, but the 525 i paid for my ps3 was expensive, got it from play.com with 3 games, HDMI lead and Click, so that alone is what about 150+ quid of extras.

update 1.8 allows DVD's to be up-scaled to 1080i/p, this i have with a standalone DVD upscaler which compared to the PS3 is pants. not only this but media streaming from a PC, i know the 360 can do this but its a very good add on. OK ps2 support is limited and a firmware update could cancel the support but hey, i want full HD games.

why is everyone so down on the fact that the PS3 has a Blu Ray player? it is the cheapest why to get full HD no matter how you look at it. most standalone HD players are £600+

also for the 525 i paid, if i was the buy the 360 today with the 54.99 wifi adapter, the 109.99 HD player and the 279.99 xbox360 Premium Console, costs 444.97, with no games, how is this cheaper? how is it better value for money, when it comes to about the same costs,

yes i am a "fanboy" but not to the extent of some, i just want something that impresses me, and the 360 hasn't so far, and i wouldn't wanna buy one in case it "red ring of death'd" on me, as they seem to more then is acceptable.

gears of war and C&C 3 are the only real reason for me wanting a 360, i just can't buy one for 2 games.

the PSP is a fantastic machine, linking it to the PS3 is a great idea, streaming on the go from a machine that will soon be able to make and receive phone and video calls at no extra cost.

i really cannot see why people are putting they down. Sony is Sony, they want to make money and make it fast and easy, we are the punters who by the stuff, you cannot buy it then moan and you can't moan if you can't afford it.

profit will always, not matter what be Sony's, Ninty's and M$ goal, just grab what you think is the best and see how it goes, i have and i hope i am right.