PS3 manufacturing has started.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 23, 2006, 6:47 pm

Winnow wrote:Mmmmm, 10 million 360's, a cheap HD-DVD add-on, and 160 HD games before PS3 announces their next delay in a month or two.

Liddell, the company's CFO, commented during the earnings call that the company is aiming for 13 million to 15 million Xbox 360 consoles sold by the end of the next financial year, which is June 20th, 2007 under Microsoft's current financial reporting schedule - a figure backed up by subsequent financial filings.

In a separate filing, the company revealed: "This brings our installed base through June to 5 million consoles with 3.3 million in North America, 1.3 million in Europe and 400,000 in the rest of the world."

It was also cited by the Microsoft Home & Entertainment team's Entertainment & Devices division: "By holiday 2006, we believe we will have shipped more than 10 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide and have an expected catalog of 160 high-definition games."

Also mentioned was confirmation of the HD-DVD add-on shipping later this year for the console: "Accessory momentum is expected to continue at a record setting pace given forthcoming wireless accessories including the new Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel and Xbox 360 Wireless Headset, not to mention the Xbox 360 HD DVD player coming this holiday."
Lets see...this holiday season...I want to watch some HD movies. I can buy a 150.00 HD-DVD player for my 360 and have access to more HD movies than Blu Ray or buy a 600.00 PS3 (like you have a shot in hell of getting the few that dribble into the stores...if they actually make it) and have access to a couple hollywood company's movies and three original games.

But... you're forgetting about the all important brand equity!

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » July 24, 2006, 6:12 am

If I want to watch HD movies off disc I'll be buying a fucking player not a fucking games console. Those I use for playing games.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 24, 2006, 9:42 am

But... BLU-RAY for $599 U.S dollars. It's a steal! Stand alone players will easily cost you $5000. Think about it!~!

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » July 24, 2006, 12:13 pm

Y'see I, and I suspect a lot of other people, just don't give a crap

I'm not HD ready so I'm not keen to pay any kind of premium for something that doesn't interest me.
I buy consoles to play games and as soon as I'm being charged for not-playing-games-features I get a bit annoyed.
However this in no way makes Winnow correct about anything. Any market share Sony loses will be lost to Nintendo not MS.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 24, 2006, 1:04 pm

vn_Tanc wrote: However this in no way makes Winnow correct about anything. Any market share Sony loses will be lost to Nintendo not MS.

So mean!

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 24, 2006, 7:04 pm

Wait... so the 360 doesn't COME with an HDDVD drive? WTF ripoff?

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » July 25, 2006, 5:03 pm

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=143343

assassin's creed on the 360... there goes pretty much the only reason i'd think of buying a ps3 for now.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 25, 2006, 5:12 pm

Syenye wrote:http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=143343

assassin's creed on the 360... there goes pretty much the only reason i'd think of buying a ps3 for now.

I see what looks a lot like an air conditioning unit on the roof of a building in 1190AD in this picture (second picture at bottom of page you linked if this image red-x's)

Fenna · Post by **Fenna** » July 26, 2006, 1:49 pm

That's on purpose. There is a mix of future and past themes going on in the game. At least for the HVAC technology.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 26, 2006, 2:19 pm

This is the 4th time that Gamespot's run a rumor debunking about this coming to the 360.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_ ... id=6154653

Gamespot thinks it's coming to the 360 and this time it was a Computer and Video Games preview that sparked the discussion.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=143343

Wouldn't it be funny that after all this press, the game turned out to suck.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 19, 2006, 9:04 am

Hmm.. Gamespot has an interview with Kaz Hirai. The whole thing was pretty boring and un-informative except fort his little tidbit.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6156046.ht ... ws;title;0

GS: So is the PS3 already being manufactured?

KH: We haven't started manufacturing yet. Some of our ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the [production] lines and everything else. But they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going. We've not announced and we haven't set really a specific date to say, "As of this day we're going to start manufacturing."

It's something like 90 days till the US launch and they haven't started manufacturing yet?

I did a quick calculation and if they started manufaacturing today, they would have to crank out 22k PS3's a day to meet their magical 2million consoles by launch and 15k a day to get the 2million manufactured by calendar year end.

As it stands, odds are that the PS3 shortages at launch/holiday 2k6 will be worse than the 360's last year.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 19, 2006, 9:17 am

Gamespot has an interview with Kaz Hirai. The whole thing was pretty boring and un-informative except for this little tidbit.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6156046.ht ... ws;title;0

GS: So is the PS3 already being manufactured?

KH: We haven't started manufacturing yet. Some of our ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the [production] lines and everything else. But they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going. We've not announced and we haven't set really a specific date to say, "As of this day we're going to start manufacturing."

It's something like 90 days till the US launch and they haven't started manufacturing yet?

I did a quick calculation and if they started manufaacturing today, they would have to crank out 22k PS3's a day to meet their magical 2million consoles by launch or 15k a day to get the 2million manufactured by calendar year end.

As it stands, odds are that the PS3 shortages at launch/holiday 2k6 will be worse than the 360's last year.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » August 19, 2006, 11:33 am

As it stands, odds are that the PS3 shortages at launch/holiday 2k6 will be worse than the 360's last year.

Except less people will care.

If they really do miss the holiday season, they're really going to seal last place. Well, they were already going to be last. I guess it's just going to be so much worse.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 21, 2006, 4:16 pm

Hey, some good news for the PS3. Sounds like the PS3 is quiet with an internal power supply which would be at least one definate advantage over the noisy 360 with the big power brick.

http://www.gamepro.com/community/profil ... g_id=17974

Yesterday I went over to a Development Studio and got to see actual PS3 TEST Kits in action (Until now, all I've seen are the 3 foot bulky dev stations that look like Beta Max videotape players). It was so shiny and sleek (just like Darth Vader's Helmet). Low and behold the power supply was internal with minimal heat to the unit and no fan noises! (I'm not joking, the thing was freaking mute). Ah, I haven't wanted to dry hump an inanimate object for several years (don't ask, I'm not telling), but that PS3 Test unit was damn sexy.

On a side note, I was tempted to pull a snatch and grab but considering that I'd have to run down 5 flights of stairs and around 15 blocks to the nearest public transit hub, plus the fact I'd be a wanted felon, fired from my job, and black listed in the industry, persuaded me to just leave my grubby finger prints on it and call it a day.

Scroll down on this thread to see some PS3 pics.

http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php?t=29114

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » September 21, 2006, 4:44 pm

The loud fans on the 360 are a source of ire for me as well. The power brick I don't really care about since it's sitting on the floor behind my entertainment system.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » September 21, 2006, 9:50 pm

Winnow wrote:Hey, some good news for the PS3. Sounds like the PS3 is quiet with an internal power supply which would be at least one definate advantage over the noisy 360 with the big power brick.

That is because PS3 isn't an off the shelf PC stuffed into a plastic box like Xbox 360 is.

I have to open a window when I play my 360 or the room goes up 10 degrees. I have an aftermarket fan that pumps the hot air out and the air is actually hotter than the air coming out of a space heater.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 21, 2006, 11:19 pm

kyoukan wrote:
I have to open a window when I play my 360 or the room goes up 10 degrees. I have an aftermarket fan that pumps the hot air out and the air is actually hotter than the air coming out of a space heater.

That's part of the price you pay for easy game programming, cheaper cost to the consumer, and getting the product out a year earlier. We've got a long ways to go before the PS3's reliability and any possible heat issues are known fully.

You should be loving the extra 360 heat this winter.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » September 22, 2006, 12:34 am

part of the price I pay for ease of programming is shitty, badly designed hardware? how is re-buying my 360 once a year because the fucking thing melts a cheaper cost to the consumer?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 22, 2006, 1:05 am

kyoukan wrote:part of the price I pay for ease of programming is shitty, badly designed hardware? how is re-buying my 360 once a year because the fucking thing melts a cheaper cost to the consumer?

Because you'll have to buy the PS3 every year as well unless you know something the rest of us don't and Sony has made the first long lasting console in their history.

Both my original Xbox and ps2 still work so who knows.

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » September 22, 2006, 11:34 am

Mind you that I don't own a console, and probably never will because that type of game system doesn't appeal to me... but here is another tidbit from a web site I do go to:

Quote from CTRL-ALT-DEL

Holy crap, Microsoft is just clobbering Sony today.

First of all, they've partnered with Hironobu Sakaguchi, the guy behind the Final Fantasy series to deliver two exclusive RPG's to the 360. The first of which, Blue Dragon, will be packaged with the core 360 system in Japan for the holidays to help move the system.

This is along with 110 other games to accompany the console's push in Japan. Better late than never.

Also Microsoft announced that the 360 will support 1080p through a software update, matching a feature that Sony has been holding up as a selling point of the PS3.

Not to mention the HD-DVD addon, which, coupled with a premium 360 system, still comes in less expensive than the PS3 and Blue-Ray.

Also, games like Contra, Dig Dug, and New Rally-X on XBLA.

Waran · Post by **Waran** » September 23, 2006, 1:10 pm

Looks like Sony's worried...

Of course no U.S. discount, which won't go down too well

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/ ... index.html

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Sony Corp. said Friday it will slash the price of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console in Japan by 20 percent, heating up the competition in the next-generation gaming war against rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.

The announcement comes just days after Microsoft Corp. announced that it would roll out an external high definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 in an effort to match the PlayStation 3, due to be released in November with its own Blu-ray DVD technology. (Full story)

Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi, speaking at the Tokyo Game Show in Makuhari, just east of Tokyo, said the move was in response to consumer complaints the upcoming console was too pricey.

Sony will cut the domestic price of its basic PlayStation 3 model to 47,600 yen, or about $410, from an originally planned 59,800 yen, or $515.

That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as the combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for 49,600 yen, or $427.

There are no plans to lower prices in the U.S. or other markets, Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said. In Japan, the game will hit stores on November 11.

In the U.S., it will go on sale November 17 at $499 for a 20 gigabyte hard drive version and at $599 for the 60 gigabyte version.

The decision could give Sony a badly needed boost at a time of embarrassing delays for the highly anticipated upgrade. Rival Nintendo Co. is also scheduled to release its next-generation Wii gaming system by year's end, while Xbox 360 has been selling in Japan since December 2005.

PlayStation 3, initially planned for earlier this year, has been postponed twice. Sony now expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of an original projection of 4 million.

The price cut affects the basic PlayStation 3 model, which comes with a 20 gigabyte hard drive. Another upscale version of the PlayStation 3 will have a 60 gigabyte hard drive, but Sony is leaving its pricing to retailers.

Xbox 360 was rushed to market last year to get a headstart on its rivals, but it has seen sluggish sales in Japan, which is one of the world's biggest video game markets but one in which players have a deep loyalty to homegrown Sony.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's decision to launch an HD DVD peripheral in Japan on November 22, based on a rival format to Sony's Blu-ray, is seen as one attempt to eat into that base. The basic Xbox 360 doesn't come with any high-definition DVD capability.

Nintendo said last week its new Wii game console will arrive on schedule in the final quarter of the year, priced below both rivals, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » September 24, 2006, 2:41 am

I seriously don't know what any of you are poo-flinging about over re-buying stuff. Friends've had XBoxs that still work when they bought at launch, and I've had my PS2 nearly as long and it works fine.

Only time anything overheated and broke was one idiot's XBox, and that was only because he left it on all the time, sitting nestled in shag carpeting beneath a sunny window.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » September 24, 2006, 7:38 am

Yeah I honestly had not heard about that either, but I also don't read every gamer blog repeatedly 24/7.

I have one out of the first batch of ps2's. That limited # that was available before xmas of 2000 I think? (i don't feel like googling the year of release, but that seems right) I've used the shit out of it...I've moved it from one end of the country to the other and back. I've watched a ton of movies, played games for long sessions and have never had a single problem with it.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » September 24, 2006, 11:45 am

My buddy has a PS2 that's had to be replaced 3 times now. Of course, that's the house where we used to gather for Madden/NCAA, so that machine got a lot of miles put on it.

That being said, this last one has survived much longer than the previous 2.

Another reason I never even think of buying ANY 1st generation product from Sony.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 26, 2006, 4:34 pm

Square Enix thinks they can make or break PS3.

Square Enix senior vice president Michihiro Sasaki has hinted that the company may spread its support more widely across formats, compared to the current and previous generations of console.

Quoted by an article in the Wall Street Journal, Sasaki suggested that, "We don't want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them." He added, "But we don't want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can't support them too much."

The remarks suggest that Square Enix may now believe itself to be as important to the success of the PlayStation brand, in Japan at least, as the format is to the company's profits. However, rather than placing itself in the role of kingmaker, Sasaki seems to suggest simply that the company will spread its range of titles more evenly amongst the competing formats.

Rumors

* Tommorow is the X06 conference in Barcelona. Some info has been leaked including some big surprises. Here is a list of what is going to be anounced tommorow. Tune in for the confernce at Xbox.com from 6pm GMT.

* Gears of War single player and multiplayer videos shown. Playable on show floor.

* HD-DVD anouncement. Release date and price for Europe and United States. £119.99/E149.99 and December 1st release in Europe.$199.99 USD and November 24th release in US.

All will be bundled with Universal Media Remote.

* A new Halo 3 trailer is shown. Some multiplayer info revealed. Aiming for 50-64 player online. Announce that Halo 3 will be the first game to run natively on 1080p. They will make full use of this update. Available in 2007. Playable behind closed doors.

* More info about 1080p and how it will be done. New dashboard announcement. Release date revealed for late November. Will allow users to try out homebrew content made with XNA game express.

* More news on Live Anywhere and how it will function. Talk about function with Zune and XBLA titles.

* Rare show off new version of Killer Instinct for the 360. Will support 4 player tag matches. Playable on show floor.

* Alan Wake shown and fully playable. Will also be availble on Windows Vista. Coming this Spring.

* Fable 2 trailer shown. Multiplayer confirmed.

* Black Xbox 360 anounced. Available this Christmas around the world. New Xbox 360 core and premium bundles shown. Xbox 360 Classics game list. Kameo, PDZ included. More this spring including Oblivion.

* Many more videos and games are playable. I have just listed some of the major ones

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » September 26, 2006, 5:35 pm

Gamespot it reporting that Square Enix is really more interested in keeping it a tighter 3-way race than anything else.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6158660.ht ... bj=6158660

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » September 26, 2006, 5:48 pm

Square Enix CAN make or break Sony. Ask Nintendo. They want parity because it means their success is not tied to another company. This has its roots in Nintendo pushing them around over the design spects of the N64 and was aggravated by the cock fencing over the EQOA vs FF11 hard drive support fiasco.

As for that Tokyo show... Does any game on the fucking Xbox not have a shooting aspect? I watched the preview movies and every fucking game, even the god damn RPGs and Racing games, had shooting/shooter elements. Blue Dragon was the only game I didn't see a gun in.

Also, that 110 titles figure was for Xbox Live Arcade and 50 of those will be Japan exclusive, which just boggles the mind. I mean, you have less than a tenth of the market there and you are going to have nearly a quarter of your linup limited to that region? I want my Yi Air Kung Fu, fuckers!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 3, 2006, 9:55 pm

Hmmm...what's new with the PS3. Lets do a google news search:

Some XBox Scene News:

GDC London: Epic's Rein - 'Gears Way Ahead of PS3 Launch Titles'

The ever-entertaining Epic Games VP Mark Rein, sassing "Don't take my picture!" at the photo-hungry crowd before the start of his GDC London talk on Unreal Engine 3 and Gears Of War, was bombastic as usual, commenting of the imminent debut of the X360 title: "Sony says the next generation starts when they say so - bullshit!" He also opined that Gears, as a second-gen Xbox 360 title is likely to look better than PS3 launch titles.

The Epic VP then took the stage, commenting that Gears Of War ships in around 6 weeks, commenting: "We're trying to counteract all the hype the game has" by keeping a lot of the game features concealed and fresh. He also revealed that Gears Of War itself will take twelve-and-a-half hours to complete (not a recently cited ten hours, he made sure to point out), and that there is "plenty of replayability" after the fact.

As Gears Of War ends, Rein explains that the concentration is changing to making the Unreal Engine 3 engine for PlayStation 3 better. He notes: "We have a couple of worried customers" regarding the PlayStation 3 and UE3, who are asking: "How are we going to get it to perform as well as the Xbox 360"? But this is now what Epic is concentrating on, as it moves toward the completion of Unreal Tournament 2007 "some time in 2007."

Hmmm, maybe the Japanese are tired of their FFX style games. Dead Rising is doing well:

Dead Rising Selling Out In Japan?

There are few to no in-store displays. The title carries a restrictive game-as-porn Z rating. It is an exclusive for a largely unpopular American console. And, it looks like Dead Rising is going to be a hit in Japan.

I head over to Yodobashi Camera in Umeda. It's one of the largest electronics stores in north Osaka.
Similar to the store near my house. No in-store advertising, save for a tiny description shoved next to Aqua Zone. No posters. And, there were no boxes. I ask, and the clerk tells me the game is sold out. Sold out last Thursday, when the game launch. And according to this clerk, it sold out pretty quick. Thirty copies in all, he guesstimated.

Down south, Bic Camera is king. There's a massive store in Osaka's Nanba neighborhood.
Me: "How many copies of the game did you get in?"
S.T.W.B.T.C.W.G.: "Forty."
Me: "And when did the game sell out?"
S.T.W.B.T.C.W.G.: "They sold out on the 28th. When the game went on sell."

BioShock is Xbox 360 exclusive

Posted Oct 2, 2006, 7:10 PM ET

No love for Sony with this game.

2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., today announced that BioShock, its highly anticipated and award-winning innovative first person shooter, will be released exclusively on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows, the new brand optimized for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Slated for 2007 and developed by Irrational Games, a 2K development studio, BioShock will forever change the expectations for the first-person shooter.

“2K is excited to release BioShock exclusively on Xbox 360 and under the Games for Windows brand on the PC, ” said Christoph Hartmann, President, 2K. “BioShock is the next step in the evolution of first-person shooters and a perfect title to push the limits of Xbox 360.”

”We expect BioShock will set a new mark in next generation gaming when it launches next year, ” said George Peckham, general manager, global third party publishing for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. “We’re thrilled that gamers will be able to experience BioShock only as an Xbox 360 and Games for Windows title.”

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » October 3, 2006, 11:07 pm

hey thanks for the almost totally irrelevant update, you worthless fucking fanboy troll.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 3, 2006, 11:16 pm

kyoukan wrote:hey thanks for the almost totally irrelevant update, you worthless fucking fanboy troll.

Irrelevant to what you fucking dolt? A PS3 manufacturing thread that contains an update on PS3 hardware issues? Did you even make it through high school before finding your sugar daddy?

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » October 3, 2006, 11:26 pm

Yes because "DEAD RISING SELLS OUT IN JAPAN" and "BIOSHOCK 360 EXCLUSIVE!" and "ARIZONA DOCTORS REMOVE XBOX CONTROLLER FROM ARIZONA SEX OFFENDER'S PROSTATE!" are real valuable PS3 contributions.

You fucking stupid queer.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 3, 2006, 11:49 pm

You're just pissed because you spent ten minutes trying to click on the links in the picture.

The bonus news at the bottom of the post was for little rico.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » October 4, 2006, 9:54 am

Not to be a stickler for details, but don't they usually enclose units on display at those shows insidde those plastic boxes? 1/4" of plexiglass is not going to allow properventilation if they didn't install fans or something. Its probably not an issue if you are going to be using your gaming system on a shelf that isn't encased.

Either way, Wii 4tw!

Post by **Sylvus** » October 4, 2006, 10:34 am

Jice Virago wrote:I want my Yi Air Kung Fu, fuckers!

God I loved that game.

I don't think I ever beat it, and I really need to.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » October 4, 2006, 3:37 pm

figured this was an active enough thread to post this.

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=9048

semi NWS (woman in bikini)

miir · Post by **miir** » October 4, 2006, 4:16 pm

Zamtuk wrote:figured this was an active enough thread to post this.

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=9048

semi NWS (woman in bikini)

Thanks for the link. I must have missed it the first 4 times it was posted.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » October 4, 2006, 10:45 pm

really? i havent seen it.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » October 4, 2006, 11:57 pm

I think he's even being generous with 4.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » October 5, 2006, 1:04 am

I would say it has been posted here 5-7 times in the last 3 months or so.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 10, 2006, 5:14 pm

Start ordering you crazy bastards!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » October 10, 2006, 5:43 pm

Too late, the 10-15 that most of the Gamestops had available for pre order were pre ordered by about 45 seconds after the store opened.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 16, 2006, 7:37 pm

Info on Sony's Online service:

Hopefully this will eventually result in a free Xbox Live Gold Service of some sort. (if Sony's Online service actually ends up working well)

Sony's online service for PS3 revealed

10/15/2006 7:13:27 PM, by Jeremy Reimer

It has long been known that Sony planned to release an online service similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live for their next-gen console, the PlayStation 3. However, the details of this service have remained extremely sketchy until now. With only a few weeks left to go before the planned North American and Japanese launch of the PS3, the veil of secrecy has finally been lifted. In a report from inside Sony's UK headquarters in London, the online service was finally revealed.

The user interface for the service will look and feel familiar to owners of Sony's other gaming device: the PlayStation Portable. The same menu structure is present, with the horizontal strip of icons revealing further menu options vertically. In fact, many of the icons are identical, with a couple of additions. The User Profiles button allows users to create one or more online profiles that will keep track of game accomplishments and other data, and the Friends button displays the gamer's friend status, much like the profiles in Xbox Live.

The PS3 will come with a built-in web browser similar to the on one the PSP. Unlike the Wii's optional Opera browser, it will be offered for free (Nintendo is giving away the Wii browser for a limited time only). The other free aspect is the service itself: unlike Xbox Live, there will be no charge to connect to the PS3's online network, use matchmaking services, use voice chat, or play multiplayer games (with the exception of MMORPGs and other games where additional charges may apply).

The other difference between Sony's online service and Xbox Live is that there will be no system of "points" that gamers can exchange for games and rewards. Instead, every reward on the PS3 online service will be directly purchasable online for a posted fee. The player transfers their cash into an account Sony calls the "Wallet," and all purchases made online are taken out of the Wallet directly, using a web-based "shopping cart" interface. This includes not only rewards (such as new cars and tracks in the new Gran Turismo games) but also game demos and may even include digital music from services such as Sony Connect.

Comparisons with Microsoft's Xbox Live are inevitable, but how the two services truly stack up to each other will have to wait until the PS3 has been available for a few months and all the kinks worked out of the system. Sony is taking a bit of a different approach from Microsoft by offering the service for free and hoping to make up the difference from online transactions of game and music content. Whether this will put pressure on Microsoft to make Xbox Live services free remains to be seen, but it looks as though the battle for next-gen console supremacy will be just as heated online as it is shaping up to be on store shelves.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » October 17, 2006, 12:51 am

Four years of free PS3 online service will have made up for the price gap between PS3 and Xbox 360.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 17, 2006, 1:34 am

Leonaerd wrote:Four years of free PS3 online service will have made up for the price gap between PS3 and Xbox 360.

How much is the time out of your life that you're sitting there staring at an hour glass because you can't connect to the Sony Online Network worth to you? HOW MUCH!?

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » October 17, 2006, 2:08 am

It hasn't even come out yet. You aren't allowed to hate it yet.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » October 20, 2006, 2:08 pm

They unveileda lot of PS3 stuff on the 19th. I'm surprised nobody had said anything yet.

I haven't looked through anything, but I see near the top that EA's already making more than 30 games for PS3. That should be cool. They're corporate poop faces, but they know how to make games.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 20, 2006, 2:24 pm

Sony's finally getting some good press.

I'm still not convinced about their online structure. The fact that it's not unified might present some chalenges to developpers and players alike.

Their Sony Online Store seems to just be a webpage displayed through their built-in browser so nothing spectacularly cool there.

Free online play will be a BIG factor. I wonder if MS is going to change things around in Live to try and combat this.

Also, never understimate what a solid RPG will do for a console.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/19/blue- ... -in-japan/

The 10k limited edition Blue Dragon 360's are selling out within minutes at certain stores in Japan. Looks like MS finally has something that appeals to the folks over in the Land of the Rising Sun.

miir · Post by **miir** » October 20, 2006, 2:56 pm

Sony's finally getting some good press.

I never really saw that much bad press... just you and winnow linking 360 circle jerk blogs claiming that the PS3 was doomed.

The 10k limited edition Blue Dragon 360's are selling out within minutes at certain stores in Japan. Looks like MS finally has something that appeals to the folks over in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Ooooh, so that will DOUBLE their userbase in Japan.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 20, 2006, 3:43 pm

miir wrote:I never really saw that much bad press... just you and winnow linking 360 circle jerk blogs claiming that the PS3 was doomed.

Even reputable gaming sites had coverage of the many various episodes where Sony execs have stuck their feet in their mouthes on a variety of subjects. Angering your base with stupid comments like "Europeans don't mind waiting till March for the PS3 cause they'll buy it in droves anyways" just isn't cool for a company exec to say.

miir wrote:Ooooh, so that will DOUBLE their userbase in Japan.

Ooooh, Never heard that one before. For your originality and wit,

.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 20, 2006, 4:45 pm

Ignore Miir. He's a moron.

Nice to see even the non bundled 360's selling well now that Blue Dragon's in the mix.