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« on: December 17, 2008, 01:36:53 AM »
Back in July after Nintendo's abysmal E3 showing, I resolved to purchase a new console to fill in the inevitable drought till something I was interested in appeared on the Wii. At the time, my financial situation wasn't as bad as it is now and I could actually afford to do that. However, despite how hard the GameStop folks were trying to push me to buy a PS3, I decided instead to buy one of the brand new slim PS2s that fit right in alongside my Wii on my shelf. Why? It's too damn expensive, I couldn't buy a new model that still had 100% perfect PS2 emulation, and there really weren't any games on the thing I was interested in. Those 3 things (well, 4 when you count their supreme arrogance) essentially doomed Sony this generation.
If Sony wants to make some recovery, the best thing they can do is modularize the PS3: gut the Blu-Ray player and reinstate the PS2 emulation hardware. I don't give a damn about Blu-Ray (and given how strong DVD continues to do, I'm far from the only one), and when the time comes that I do I'll get a standalone player for it. Make the Blu-Ray player a separate attachment for those who want it. Ditto for the hard drives, which right now just lead to too many SKUs in the marketplace and outright confusion. I'm interested in playing the games on the system first, and the removal of these components would probably drop the price of the PS3 by at least $100-$150.
I consider Sony's removal of the PS2 hardware to be an especially aggregious error, because what if I want to bring over the sizeable collection of PS2 games I've collected over the past 6 months with me when I upgrade? Right now, there's no guarantee that I could play all of them unless I got a 60 GB PS3 model, which are no longer being manufactured if I remember correctly. Given the massive install base the PS2 has, I can't imagine it did Sony much good to essentially slam the door in their face with this, if in public relations alone.
As for the games, they are starting to appear. Valkyria Chronicles and Little Big Planet in particular have me quite interested in the system, and there will be more on the way in the future (most systems have a library of games worth playing). Sony, though, has priced the PS3 to the point where the cost of the experience outweighs the benefits, and unless they change that the system will never perform even modestly.
The window has long passed where Sony had a chance to win this generation, and they only have themselves to blame. Their only recourse if they want to stay alive as a hardware manufacturer is to cut down on the excess, bring down the price, and make the console more accessible to your average gamer.