2006 E3 Hoopla

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » May 10, 2006, 11:27 am

The Warhawk demo on PS3 was pretty kickass IMO.

Basically was a shot over the bow of Nintendo in terms of their controller functionality.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 10, 2006, 11:31 am

Voronwë wrote:The Warhawk demo on PS3 was pretty kickass IMO.

Basically was a shot over the bow of Nintendo in terms of their controller functionality.

A pretty lousy shot if you asked me. Nintendo does full motion sensing, not just the 6 degree thing, AND managed to keep the rumble pack in the remote for good measure.

Sony just dismissing the rumble feature as past generation technology simply cause they can't pull it off is pretty fucking arrogant.

Dal-KoE · Post by **Dal-KoE** » May 10, 2006, 12:40 pm

Voronwë wrote: It has a Blue Ray disc player... hello....

Sony is takign a loss on this product to win the format war, and they will strike a mighty blow to that effect in November.

Nintendo has positioned themselves very interestingly though, $199 for their system, and they will make money on every unit they sell.

Well considering Sony is already screaming about a component shortage and the fact that the will not have enough parts to supply the demand for their Blue-Ray systems. I would recommend you get in line early...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060510/tc_nm/sony_coo_dc_2

I agree that the Wii NES (Wenis) will appeal to the masses and the thrifty minded parents of 8-13 yearolds at Christmas Time.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » May 10, 2006, 1:02 pm

If Sony was worried about part shortage, i dont know why Kaz would have specificially laid it out in 3 slides in Monday's press conference about units on the shelves.

2 million units at launch
4 million units by end of Q4
6 million units total by end of Q1 2007

if they were really having supply issues, it only hurts their stock price in Q4 by making those statements public now.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 10, 2006, 1:58 pm

Voronwë wrote:If Sony was worried about part shortage, i dont know why Kaz would have specificially laid it out in 3 slides in Monday's press conference about units on the shelves.

2 million units at launch
4 million units by end of Q4
6 million units total by end of Q1 2007

if they were really having supply issues, it only hurts their stock price in Q4 by making those statements public now.

I'll happily place a bet with you Voro that Sony doesn't meet any of those unit deadlines. The bet can be that I'll use an Atlanta Braves Logo as my Avatar if they meet the goals, you use an Arizona Diamondbacks logo if they don't for a month.

How confident are you in those numbers!!!? : )

Dal-KoE · Post by **Dal-KoE** » May 10, 2006, 2:19 pm

Voronwë wrote:If Sony was worried about part shortage, i dont know why Kaz would have specificially laid it out in 3 slides in Monday's press conference about units on the shelves.

2 million units at launch
4 million units by end of Q4
6 million units total by end of Q1 2007

if they were really having supply issues, it only hurts their stock price in Q4 by making those statements public now.

Then why the fuck would the Sony President/COO say it...

Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of the Sony Corp wrote: "Overall component supply is tightening up," Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of the Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). (6758.T) division, said during an event in New York. He noted that a wide range of electronic devices such as mobile phones are "selling at a phenomenal rate."

Glasgow added that the company would not have enough inventory to supply demand for next-generation Blu-ray DVD players in the United States.

"It's going to be expensive," he said. "It will take time to get component prices down."

Glasgow's comments come amid a brewing industry war over the technology behind the next most advanced line of DVD players.

Blu-ray technology is competing with HD format DVD players as the next standard in the $24 billion-a-year home video market. Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) started rolling out its HD DVD format players in Japan over a month ago, becoming the first company to offer next-generation optical disc players worldwide.

Glasgow said he believed the battle over formats could be resolved within 12 to 24 months, but entertained the possibility of creating a player that combined both technologies.

"A lot has been invested" in such advanced DVD players, he said. "It's expensive having two different types of hi- definition technologies."

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » May 10, 2006, 2:22 pm

I didn't think Voro was defending the information presented, I thought he was just saying it was odd that they are "announcing" two vastly different things.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 10, 2006, 2:35 pm

Boogahz wrote:I didn't think Voro was defending the information presented, I thought he was just saying it was odd that they are "announcing" two vastly different things.

yeah, yeah

Companies spew out bullshit all the time. That's why Kaz would state those figures. They want to build confidence in the consumer so they don't go buy an Xbox 360 because the PS3 is delayed again...get it yet? Now, when it turns out there's only like 100 available for the entire United States on Nov 17th, you'll have waited that long..so what's another few months....get it yet?

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » May 10, 2006, 2:56 pm

Winnow wrote:
Boogahz wrote:I didn't think Voro was defending the information presented, I thought he was just saying it was odd that they are "announcing" two vastly different things.
yeah, yeah

Companies spew out bullshit all the time. That's why Kaz would state those figures. They want to build confidence in the consumer so they don't go buy an Xbox 360 because the PS3 is delayed again...get it yet? Now, when it turns out there's only like 100 available for the entire United States on Nov 17th, you'll have waited that long..so what's another few months....get it yet?

get it yet? Where did I not get it? Or is this a case of your paranoia telling you that someone is talking good about an iPod, bad about Steve Nash, or the how irrelevant Copernic is?

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » May 10, 2006, 3:32 pm

Winnow wrote:
Boogahz wrote:I didn't think Voro was defending the information presented, I thought he was just saying it was odd that they are "announcing" two vastly different things.
yeah, yeah

Companies spew out bullshit all the time. That's why Kaz would state those figures. They want to build confidence in the consumer so they don't go buy an Xbox 360 because the PS3 is delayed again...get it yet? Now, when it turns out there's only like 100 available for the entire United States on Nov 17th, you'll have waited that long..so what's another few months....get it yet?

Minus the verbal attack, I agree with the statement, it's about denying marketshare.
This is another of Kaz's babies and the huge investment level has to provide a certain level of pressure to succeed(regardless of past successes). Furthermore, he seems to enjoy acting like an asshole when discussing competition and basically comes off as a lying bag of douche

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » May 10, 2006, 3:36 pm

I am thinking that they have spent so much time trying to finalize the design at all that it would be virtually impossible to get that many units on the shelves.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 10, 2006, 4:17 pm

I answered why Sony would state the numbers and dates they did. It has nothing to do with paranoia.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » May 10, 2006, 11:02 pm

the wii is fucking amazing. yeah, i'm a fangirl, but it was well worth the wait. it changes the game completely, and while it takes some getting used to, a lot of it seems intuitive. i spent pretty much all day in the nintendo booth, but when i ventured out, i could just walk up and play the ps3, no lines. this year, it's all about the wii.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 10, 2006, 11:32 pm

Syenye wrote:the wii is fucking amazing. yeah, i'm a fangirl, but it was well worth the wait. it changes the game completely, and while it takes some getting used to, a lot of it seems intuitive. i spent pretty much all day in the nintendo booth, but when i ventured out, i could just walk up and play the ps3, no lines. this year, it's all about the wii.

If you actually played the PS3 and had your hands on a Wii, I expect a better report than that! Give us your thoughts on the entire E3 too!

Sparty · Post by **Sparty** » May 11, 2006, 12:48 am

I'm going tomorrow, I'll let you know what impresses me. I have to be honest, I'm looking more forward to playing the wii then the PS3...

My name is Spartacus

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » May 11, 2006, 1:51 am

All I have to say about the Wii is this..

I can see a lot of drunken people.. hell even some sober ones, accidentally throwing their controller against the wall and watching it smash apart.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 11, 2006, 2:22 am

Are the graphics on the Wii at least better than the old Xbox and PS2?

I can see fights breaking out as someone gets wrapped upside the head with controller being swung around in multiplayer.

The Wii website is pretty slick looking but check out the goofy poses the people are in with the controllers.

http://wii.nintendo.com/home.html

The Website doesn't say anything about the graphics capabilites of the Wii. What resolution is it capable of? From what I've read, it doesn't even support 720p which the old Xbox supported. It's going to look like crap on HD displays.

as for the 499.00 version of PS3:

If the $499 model indeed doesn't have HDMI capability, that means you CANNOT play Blu-Ray movies in High Definition (HD). You can still use Component cables to play GAMES in HD, but you are also wrong about it's capacity. Component cannot handle the bandwidth required for 1080p, only 1080i. HDMI covers DVI as well...some people think that they are screwed if they have DVI, but this isn't the case. You can buy a fairly cheap adapter and play any of the same content...so when MS releases the HD-DVD drive, as long as you have at least DVI on your TV, you should be able to play even 1080p stuff back on your HDTV (should it support it).

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » May 11, 2006, 3:07 am

The Wii graphics are slightly better than the gamecube graphics, but the stuff they're showing isn't final, so i'm assuming it will look better once it's finished. hopefully. a lot of it was cel shaded. they had a lot of games. one of the problems with the nintendo booth was that all of the demos were 10-15 minutes long. all of the games i played used the typical nunchuck style controller or the wii remote standalone. it took some getting used to.

my pictures for the day are pretty much a love letter to nintendo, as are our videos. our videos and pictures and whatnot are at http://www.f5-games.com.

the wii will only be capable of 480p. it still looks good though, i dig the 16:9 aspect ratio. the hardware is way cheaper than the ps3/360, so the consoles themselves should be way cheaper too. there really is just no comparison to the gameplay though. i'm so stoked for trauma center 2 for the wii.

also, the sensor that will need to accompany the wii is pretty small. we didn't notice it at first. it's right below the "SHARP" logo:

i did get to play hellgate: london, which was my favorite game coming out of e3 last year. while eliminating hordes of zombies is my favorite past time, this game wasn't as great as i remembered it from last year. sad.

i also played a psp rpg called blade-something. the psp controls have always seemed awkward to me, but when i sat down the text read 'KIKI!' so i had to play. it was unexciting yet pretty.

GUITAR HERO 2 rocks harder than one could hope for anything to rock, both in the rock and roll sense and the awesomeness sense. it takes a while to get used to playing the other parts... rhythm, bass, etc instead of the lead. but it's super fun and way harder than the original. and also, the guys at the red octane booth are super cool.

prey for the 360 was cool. too human looked clunky and unfinished. lost planet was exciting. the vanguard interface looked like wow. extend every extra was weird and confusing. the ds lite is super sexy. ps3 is unimpressive.

tomorrow i will be venturing out beyond nintendo a little more. maybe.

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » May 11, 2006, 6:18 am

Glasgow added that the company would not have enough inventory to supply demand for next-generation Blu-ray DVD players in the United States.

Blue ray DVD PLayers. The reason for this shortage is that all their Blu-Ray components are earmarked for PS3, I would infer.

Take the bet, Voro

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » May 11, 2006, 9:22 am

You missed the part where they said the company was Sony.......don't do it Voro!

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » May 11, 2006, 9:58 am

You missed the part where they said the company was Sony.......don't do it Voro!

No, divot. The reason Sony Consumer Electronics won't have enough BluRay components for DVD players is that Sony Computer Entertainment is swallowing them for putting in PS3s.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » May 11, 2006, 10:15 am

Syenye wrote: GUITAR HERO 2 rocks harder than one could hope for anything to rock, both in the rock and roll sense and the awesomeness sense. it takes a while to get used to playing the other parts... rhythm, bass, etc instead of the lead. but it's super fun and way harder than the original. and also, the guys at the red octane booth are super cool.

Thanks for that update. That is great news about GH2. I am curious though, did they say that rhythm and bass parts will only be for two player modes while single player is always the lead? I thought I read that somewhere and I hope it's not the case.

Harder than 1 ehh? Sheesh, For one reason or another, no one knows as well as the obvious bark at the moon still have me stumped on expert. I am really spending most of the time playing the indie tracks and cowboys from hell on expert now as they are quite catchy and have fun runs.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 11, 2006, 12:59 pm

vn_Tanc wrote:
You missed the part where they said the company was Sony.......don't do it Voro!
No, divot. The reason Sony Consumer Electronics won't have enough BluRay components for DVD players is that Sony Computer Entertainment is swallowing them for putting in PS3s.

The Blu Ray player is the least of Sony's problems trying to make those numbers and deadlines.

Thanks for the update Syenye! Glad to hear the PS3 isn't impressive. It will probably be two years before the 2nd generation PS3 games make it an interesting option.

On the other hand, I spent last night downloading a bunch of trailers for upcoming Xbox 360 games released at E3 and was impressed with some of the Japanese RPGs coming out soon. Enchanted Arm and Ninety Nine Nights are looking good. Shadowrun looks like a fun multiplayer FPS mixing standard weapons with magic.

I played the demo for Test Drive Unlimited and was also very impressed. I'd recommend peeps with 360's download that one and check it out.

Overall, the near future for the Xbox 360 looks great and will only get better with the steady increase in quality titles released each month as it matures.

Wii's lack of HD kills it for me. I've been spoiled with HD and am not going back to SD.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » May 11, 2006, 1:20 pm

Winnow wrote:Shadowrun looks like a fun multiplayer FPS mixing standard weapons with magic.

Where was this trailer? Is this something that is on the Live Marketplace, or did you nab it somewhere online? I haven't heard anything about a new Shadowrun game for a while now.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 11, 2006, 1:46 pm

Winnow wrote:
vn_Tanc wrote:
You missed the part where they said the company was Sony.......don't do it Voro!
No, divot. The reason Sony Consumer Electronics won't have enough BluRay components for DVD players is that Sony Computer Entertainment is swallowing them for putting in PS3s.
The Blu Ray player is the least of Sony's problems trying to make those numbers and deadlines.

Thanks for the update Syenye! Glad to hear the PS3 isn't impressive. It will probably be two years before the 2nd generation PS3 games make it an interesting option.

On the other hand, I spent last night downloading a bunch of trailers for upcoming Xbox 360 games released at E3 and was impressed with some of the Japanese RPGs coming out soon. Enchanted Arm and Ninety Nine Nights are looking good. Shadowrun looks like a fun multiplayer FPS mixing standard weapons with magic.

I played the demo for Test Drive Unlimited and was also very impressed. I'd recommend peeps with 360's download that one and check it out.

Overall, the near future for the Xbox 360 looks great and will only get better with the steady increase in quality titles released each month as it matures.

Wii's lack of HD kills it for me. I've been spoiled with HD and am not going back to SD.

I tried Test Drive Unlimited alst night and was seriously impressed too. I just wish that I had HD goodness to go with it instead of a standard tube.

Have you tried the Lost Planet Demo Winnow? That one blows everything I've played up till now on the 360 straight out of the water.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 11, 2006, 1:55 pm

Boogahz wrote:
Winnow wrote:Shadowrun looks like a fun multiplayer FPS mixing standard weapons with magic.
Where was this trailer? Is this something that is on the Live Marketplace, or did you nab it somewhere online? I haven't heard anything about a new Shadowrun game for a while now.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/video_pla ... ab=related

This new Shadowrun game is designed for Vista on the PC and will have a simul-launch on the 360, has integrated Live Anywhere support for both platforms, meaning someone sitting at either a PC or the 360 will be able to connect to the same Live service, have the same acheivments and be able to play multiplayer together as well.

I could be sitting at my 360, send you an invite to the game and, if you accept, open up the game for both of us automatically.

*edit* Some multiplayer footage
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/video_pla ... ab=related

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » May 11, 2006, 3:50 pm

taking the bet would only lock me into 10 months of insufferable conversation with Winnow about Sony supply chain dynamics.

I'll set the record straight for my E3 press release: "nobody gives a fuck what winnow or i think about anything," Chris boldly proclaims 3,500 miles east of this years E3 in Los Angeles

masteen · Post by **masteen** » May 11, 2006, 4:08 pm

I fucking hate that "shadowrun" game already just for what those fucktards did to the lore and backstory.

Sparty · Post by **Sparty** » May 11, 2006, 7:23 pm

Here's a picture of me and Brian from Family Guy.
For some reason, he got mad when I said I loved his worked in Family Guy. Wierd.

PS3 stuff seemed ok. Nothing to impressive imo. All of the games looked about on par with the 360.

Only one thing really impressed me......Any guesses?
Right, the Wii. So fucking cool. The graphics seemed a little better then the xbox. The controller took a little while to get use to, but it adds so much to the gameplay. Playing Super Mario Galaxy reminded me a lot of playing super mario 64 for the first time. The gameplay feels so different with the controller. I really hope it catches on.

Anyway, lot of fun.
Sparty out.

My name is Sparty

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 11, 2006, 7:50 pm

Sparty, when is 2K Sports going to get another shot at making an NFL game again? That NFL EA exclusive sucks so much ass. 2K had the better game.

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » May 11, 2006, 9:05 pm

Fucking E3!! I just lost a $40 bet that the new Nintendo controler would be unvieled as the "Wii-mote"

Good thing I didn't put money on the system being named the "WiiNES". Seriously, who DOESN'T want to play with a WiiNES?

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » May 11, 2006, 10:23 pm

big thumbs up to 2k... meeting adam west was definitely the highlight of my day. well, that and freaking some dude out at the G4 setup when i said 'wow, you were right, morgan IS a lot hotter this year.' oh, and the dude who asked if he could get a picture of my shirt (which read 'i beWiieve').

also, assassin's creed looks really sweet. AND they have a pink guitar for GH2. other than that, most of my day was spent waiting in line for penny arcade, and then adam west, and wandering around the nintendo booth.

the new castlevania for the DS is fun and looks like something i'd definitely buy. also, starfox. and i really like the DS lite. i'm a huge fan of my pink DS but i love the feel of the lites... they have a matte finish which i really dig.

pictures

Post by **Sylvus** » May 12, 2006, 1:48 am

Syenye wrote: well, that and freaking some dude out at the G4 setup when i said 'wow, you were right, morgan IS a lot hotter this year.'

wtf, no pictures of morgan? i'll admit it, she's my only nerd-crush.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » May 12, 2006, 4:15 am

I see my choice mirroring the reasons I chose a DS over a PSP. Handheld gaming is not, nor do I ever see it being, my primary means of gaming/MP3/Movie watching. I couldn't justify the cost, because I would never use it enough. The DS filled my niche of having something portable, unigue, and fun, but at a cost that could justify me only playing it here and there, at an hour or so tops. I think I play it the most just before I go to bed, or when my wife is watching a movie I don't really like

I'll be passing on the PS3 and picking up a Wii. I don't console game nearly enough to justify $600.00. I can't think of anyone who can, and my friends are all gamers and techie freaks from way back in the day. I guess we're just computer geeks now, and not console geeks. There are simply better things to spend my entertainment dollar on. The PS3 is just too expensive. I worl with all women (about 12 in my department), and I asked if any of them would spend $600 on a video game system for thier kid at Christmas. Every single one of them laughed their ass off. Kids, or more importantly parents, are not in the target audience for a PS3. They cannot be, with a price like that. I believe this is why PS3 will be in a distant 3rd in this generation of console wars. The graphics are not significantly more impressive than the 360 for what you're paying, and barely anyone knows or cares what the fuck Blue Ray is.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 12, 2006, 5:34 am

Don't ignore the 360's online dominance. It's amazing how much stuff you can download for free with just a silver Live account.

Last night I grabbed four playable demos, 5 or 6 720p game trailers and a 720p movie preview. All in all it was probably 3GB+ of data.

Hell, if you're a really light gamer, you could probably be entertained by just downloading all the playable demos for free. It's very easy to do. Most games have playable demos. I like that when I feel like it, I can just turn on my 360, browse the new demos, download one in 5 minutes (YMMV you low bandwidth peeps!) and be trying out a brand new HD 1080i game. Most demos are 400-600mb but Tiger Woods 06 was a whopping 890mb. Microsoft's not aftaid to post massive files for download.

Xbox 360 scores big here. With the Live Anywhere announcement and games like Shadowrun which will allow PC and 360 gamers to play in the same game, it's only getting better.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » May 12, 2006, 12:26 pm

no HDMI out on PS3 base package is a big downer

assuming Winnow is not spewing misinformation

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 12, 2006, 1:03 pm

Voronwë wrote:no HDMI out on PS3 base package is a big downer

assuming Winnow is not spewing misinformation

Winnow tells the truth on this.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/08/500- ... rd-reader/

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » May 12, 2006, 2:13 pm

masteen wrote:I fucking hate that "shadowrun" game already just for what those fucktards did to the lore and backstory.

the backstage trailer from xbox live shows a bunch of gameplay and it looks so fucking terrible. i feel bad for them because it's nothing but the developers talking about all the time they're spending on it and how much they love the project.. the gameplay footage makes me want to vomit.

also lost planet is fucking terrible, chalk up another disapointment.

i still have high hopes for ninety-nine nights after seeing the gameplay. (it looks better than the fmv cut scenes ffs)

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 12, 2006, 3:46 pm

Ninety Nine Nights (N3?) looks decent but I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Enchanted Arms myself.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/video_pla ... pid=928678

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 12, 2006, 4:31 pm

Shadowrun didn't look that bad to me and I watched the same video Stragi did.

I still think Stragi is being overly critical and maybe a little influenced byt pre-rendered stuff shown elsewhere which isn't really what a game looks like.

I did notice that all the Shadowrun developers looked like they were dead tired. I wonder if the guy got fired. I don't see a Shadowrun playable demo at E3 or on XBox Live and that was their goal in the video.

Despite Stragi's whining, Microsoft and the Xbox 360 are doing well in this battle. Reviews I've seen and listened to weren't that impressed with the PS3 and actual people here that saw it in person aren't that impressed. Xbox is gathering steam with more and more games, Xbox Live sets them apart and they continue to work on getting their platform the best games (GT4) and more Japanese developers for RPGs.

In other news, the PS3 is going to weigh 11 pounds...the Xbox 360 weighs 8 pounds and that thing is pretty big. Will have to see if there's an external power brick or not though.

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » May 12, 2006, 7:48 pm

Don't forget the most important aspect of E3. Paris Hilton showed up today to talk about her new game coming out, "Paris Hilton's Jewel Jam". After arriving at the expo, she told fans she was excited about "Diamondquest", her new game.

What a fucking bimbo.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 12, 2006, 8:16 pm

Is The Playstation 3 Dead In The Water?

May 11, 2006

Summary:

Going into E3 everyone thought Sony had a can't miss product with their upcoming PlayStation 3 console, but after Monday's E3 press conference many in the industry feel that the console may not outsell its rivals. We chatted with some people in the industry who feel the same and give our opinion on Sony's chances for success at launch.

How times have changed.

On Monday night, Sony once again held a massive pre-E3 press conference at one of the huge sound stages at the Sony Pictures studio in Culver City, CA. Sony execs came on stage to tout once again how the PS3 would not just be a video game console but a full-fleged entertainment device.

And then they started showing off the first launch title PS3 games, some of which were playable to press conference attendees at the end of the pre-E3 press conference. Graphically, the games looked a lot better than games on Sony's previous PS2 machine, but they certainly didn't look like a lot of the movies that Sony showed off at last year's press conference. Moreover, games like Warhawk, Resistance, and Gran Turismo HD didn't look all that much better, if at all better, than current games on Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Then came the more surprising and at the same time most disappointing news of all: pricing. Normally price points and exact release dates for new consoles don't come during E3, but later in the year and closer to the actual launch date. Not this time for the PS3 as Sony announced two separate versions, one with a 20 GB hard drive and the other with a 60 GB hard drive, which will retail for $499.99 and $599.99, respectively. A US launch date of Nov 17 was also announced.

The crowd at the conference didn't really know what to make of it. Most people had assumed that the PS3 would be expensive, and certainly more expensive than the PS2 which launched for $300 back in 2000 in the US. But no one expected that the high-end PS3 version (which besides having a bigger hard drive will have several other features that the 20 GB version won't have) would retail for twice as much as the PS2 launch price.

I spoke with several people who attended the press conference right after it concluded. Their opinion was one of shock and dismay that Sony would ask such a high price for a product that, at first glance, didn't seem to be a huge quantum leap over the Xbox 360 in terms of hardware features. One very well known game developer told me that it was a surprise that Sony would reveal the pricing for the PS3 at E3. "That was a big mistake," was the game developer's response. A well know game journalist also told me that the PS3 press conference showed that the console was dead in the water. "There will not be a PS4," according to this journalist.

So how did Sony, who was on top of the world at last year's E3, come crashing down so hard this year? There are several factors, in our opinion…

The timing of the price announcement:

There is still confusion as to why Sony would offer up a price point for the console over six months before its launch. Perhaps Sony was trying to prepare people for such a huge leap in the cost of their new machine well ahead of time. However, the fact is that tons of people would have lined up to pre-order the PS3 for months before the final price was revealed. Now that the price is out there pre-orders for the console could be affected.

The price itself:

$499 and $599, no matter how you look at it, is a lot of money. The economic picture today is a lot different than 2000 when the PS2 launched with prices for gas and other essential items was far cheaper than it is today. With such a high price tag, it could be that the retail price could end up being a psychological barrier preventing some people from purchasing the product, especially with the Xbox 360 Premium currently selling for $399 and the Nintendo Wii likely to cost even less.

The tech:

Sony has banked on their Cell multiprocessor CPU and their Blu-Ray disk drive as their two big leaps in technology. However, it is clear that the launch games for the console as shown during E3 are not using Cell to its fullest extent. Current Xbox 360 games already look almost as good if not as good as the PS3 games shown at the press conference and on the show floor. As for Blu-Ray, the PS3 will launch less than five months after the first stand alone Blu-Ray disk players. That means only a few hundred Blu-Ray movies will be available to purchase compared to the thousands of DVD movies available to PS2 owners when it launched three years after the first DVD player was in stores in 1997. Also Microsoft plans to have a add-on disk player for Xbox 360 owners that will play rival HD-DVD movies. With millions of Xbox 360 owners already out there, it's likely that a number of them will pick up the HD-DVD add-on which will likely cost a lot less than picking up a PS3 (exact pricing for the HD-DVD add-on has not yet been revealed.

The games:

Much like the PS2 launch, the PS3 doesn't look like it will have a lot of "Wow, I must have that!" game titles when it launches in November. Games like Resistance, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk and more are currently looking pretty standard fare. This would be fine for Sony if this was the same situation as the PS2 launch when there was no real competition. Not so this time. Xbox 360 will have its second-gen titles ready to go by the time of the PS3 launch and those games, particularly Gears of War from developer Epic Games, look amazing months before launch. The Nintendo Wii, while not a graphical powerhouse like the PS3 or Xbox 360, also has some promising launch titles, particularly Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3.

Conclusion

So what can Sony do about this? At this stage there is little that the company can do. The only short term solution is to announce an even lower price for the PS3 but that seems unlikely and it won't affect the fact that their launch title line-up is not looking up to speed. The only thing that might save the PS3 at this point is yet another multi-million selling exclusive game franchise that comes out of nowhere like Grand Theft Auto III did for the PS2 in 2001, one year after the launch of the console. Again the competition for such a game is much bigger (the next GTA game will launch for the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the same time next year for example) but if Sony can find that game it might be able to pull it off. At the moment, however, things look bleak and in our opinion we would rather spend our money this fall on upcoming Xbox 360 games and/or a Nintendo Wii and its titles than spend a whopping $600 on just hardware.

At this point, the biggest selling point of Sony’s PS3 console appears to be its Blu-Ray disc drive. That may not be enough for many gamers to plunk down $500 or $600 once the euphoria at launch dies down.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » May 12, 2006, 9:46 pm

is it too much to ask to link your fucking articles

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 12, 2006, 10:51 pm

That particular gem was from firing squad

http://www.firingsquad.com/features/pla ... 3_failure/

Nick · Post by **Nick** » May 12, 2006, 10:58 pm

Hey guys some random unknown unnamed journalist said there isn't going to be a PS4.

I'm panicking. no really.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » May 12, 2006, 11:20 pm

haha, did thresh write it?!?!

I remember when all these articles came out about ps2. oh my god they will never be able to sell a console for $300! sony is doomed to fail! people will pay $500 for a machine that has games on it they want to play. the hardcore and early adopters will pay $100 more for 1080p support and hdmi alone. sony was smart in not differentiating the two sku's at the design level like microsoft did; thereby forcing game designers to design their games with lowest common denominator in mind - a hard driveless xbox 360.

when 360 launched with a $500 premium edition, the demand for that far exceeded the standard version. the ps3 is only a hundred dollars more, and for that you get a more powerful machine with a revolutionary (pun intended) controller and a free online gaming service (xbox live gold is $9 a month, which practically kills your $100 savings right there if you plan to play online for 1 year. given the life of the console over 5 years you pay over double the ps3 price tag just to game online ), and you get the virtual guarantee that the ps3 will crank out non stop hits on an almost monthly basis.

yes, people will pay more for a ps3 because sony consistantly gets the best games. not only do they get the best games, but they get them first if they aren't exclusive. not only that, but the sheer library of playstation titles leaves room for a massive amount of niche games that appeal to a limited audience. I can probably count the number of xbox or nintendo exclusives worth a shit on my fingers.

and to say the graphics on ps3 aren't noticably better than anything else is either blind or insane. there is nothing on xbox 360 that even touches MGS3 or heavenly sword in terms of sheer graphic prowess (not to mention art). GT4HD doesn't look that great, but it's still super early and polyphony has a habit of showing stuff too early.

the lowest end ps3 comes with a lot more than the xbox premium edition came with, and it's only a hundred dollars more. that's not even two games anymore. anyone counting out ps3 because it's "too expensive" should not be a journalist in the gaming industry - even for a crap site like firing squad. go back to writing reviews of quake 2 mods and "gaming mousepads" you fucking hacks. no wonder winnow was too embarrased to link a source.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » May 13, 2006, 12:28 am

I'm assuming that 6 months after launch the PS3 will drop $50-100 in price. Just in time for the first big wave of games, just like they did for the PS2.

$399 isn't bad for a high-def console with a 20 gig drive and blu-ray.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » May 13, 2006, 12:33 am

o rite you also get a blu-ray player.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 13, 2006, 2:14 am

kyoukan wrote:is it too much to ask to link your fucking articles

Typically the source is in the article. GOOD FUCKING LORD, I FORGOT TO QUOTE A SOURCE! I don't care who wrote it. I wasn't quoting it as gospel you cunt.

I can spam the newgroups with similar articles. You can breakdown each of the writers if you wish.

The bottom line is that most weren't impressed with the PS3 at E3...that includes common folk like yourself and tech geeks that write about these things.

I am aware that PS3 would fly out off the shelves initially even at 1000.00 each, but the point is that the less fanatic and poorer population are going to go with the 360 now. Why wait another 6-12 months to buy an expensive console that has the same looking games as the 360 with shitty online support (remains to be seen but it's highly doubtful Sony can pull anything out of their asses even remotely as stable and functional as Microsoft's XBox live)

Now, tell me what the lowest cost PS3 comes with that the Xbox 360 doesn't that makes a difference to the common gamer? BluRay? Who fuckign cares? There's your 100.00 difference already between the most expensive 399.00 xbox and the 499.00 PS3. Microsoft has that covered with the add-on...now what else? A six year old technology gyro pad built into the controller? Weaker online support? like 100 less titles and first generation releases at that, when it's launched?

So, expect a 350.00 or even a 399.99 360 with HD-DVD included from Microsoft in November to compete with the 499.00 low end PS3. If Microsoft is smart...and we know they are as they have multiple successes in raiding and taking over various markets and what they lack in brains, they make up in loads of cash they can throw at targeted areas, they could have a 399.00 360 with HD-DVD and a 60GB HD for 399.00 to compete with the 599.00 PS3 in November) After your first 2 million hard core gamers snatch up the PS3 at any price, what does that leave you?

Your references to people being shocked at a 300.00 PS2 console aren't relevant. There was zero competion for the PS2...Xbox wasnt' out for another year. This time you have an aleady cheaper Xbox 360 out on the market that will either be even cheaper or include HD-DVD by the time the PS3 launches, with many more quality titles than the xbox had in areas like RPG that it was weak in, and of course even more titles on the way to compete with the 1st gen PS3 selection.

By the time PS3 launches, the choice will be:

-Decked out Xbox 360 w/HD-DVD for 399.00 or even cheaper 360 w/out HD-DVD
-solid and large game library
-excellent online network

vs

599.00 PS3 with 1st gen games (that still dont look spectacular and we know the 360's games didnt change much in looks between E3 and launch last year), small library, and hella short supply unless Sony has some magical way to avoid manufacturing issues that they (PS2 had issues) and every other company has had to deal with while executing a massive global launch.

Wait and see. And by wait and see, I mean wait a year or more as the PS3 will be successful no matter what at launch. The Xbox could have sold for 599.00 if it wanted to at launch and still have sold out for months.

People are harping on the game titles but the difference isn't going to be as great this time around. MS is working hard in that area...anyone that doesn't see that is as blind as those that don't have the vision to see how important the online part of Xbox is and will continue to be in the future. GT3 was a mega seller for PS2...say goodbye to that advantage as well as many others when comparing the PS2/Xbox battle vs the PS3/Xbox 360.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » May 13, 2006, 2:40 am

Winnow wrote:
kyoukan wrote:is it too much to ask to link your fucking articles
Typically the source is in the article. GOOD FUCKING LORD, I FORGOT TO QUOTE A SOURCE! I don't care who wrote it.

It's generally considered good netiquette (so I'm not surprised you are ignorant on this) to quote where you got an article you want to discuss. this is so smart people like myself can determine whether or not the article is even worth discussing. say, the difference between an actual journalist or insider in the gaming industry, or some stupid fucking neckbeard that "works" at a shitty website like firing squad.

Now, tell me what the lowest cost PS3 comes with that the Xbox 360 doesn't that makes a difference to the common gamer?

did you not bother to read my post or are you just a christfucking retard? jesus weeping shit you are one infuriating mother fucker winnow. you're so goddam dim that it is like arguing with a fence. and not even a good fence but like a shitty fence that doesn't even keep anything out.

why do I even waste my time. the ps3 could cure cancer and cost a dollar and you'd be flinging your feces around and screeching about xbox like j allard was behind you stuffing his dick up that 2 car garage of an asshole.