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Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I disagree on this, you're admitting up front that Sony has got MGS and Final Fantasy, and chances are good that Sony will have DragonQuest, Devil May Cry, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Ridge Racer, and a vast majority of Japanese RPGs on its side as well. Some of those may change if PS3 is a huge failure, but up front I think a lot of publishers will support PS3 just because Sony is the incumbent. Especially in Japan where PS2 leads by a huge margin, and Xbox 360 has proven to be even less popular than the original.
Thing is, I'll take "actually confirmed" over "chances are" any day, like how the Wii has Dragon Quest and FF:CC CONFIRMED on the system, both with launch dates, if I'm not mistaken.
Besides, if these other games (potential killer apps that they are) were actually in development, why did Sony not show them at E3 but instead gave a wholly lackluster E3 keynote?
I think Nintendo has Japan in the bag. If the DS vs. PSP fight showed us anything (especially in Japan), it's that the Sony brand name doesn't make up for a lack of games and a horrible price. I give Japan to Nintendo unless Sony pulls a lower price and a pile of exclusives out of their arse. FF and MGS aren't launch titles, either, which leaves the launch looking pretty goddamn awful.
Also, one of the main reasons people cite the Xbox as having failed in Japan is that it's huge in a country where space is hard to come by and is considered a valuable commodity. The iPod is also an American product and yet the Japanese friggin' love the thing.
For as big as the Xbox was, the PS3 will be even bigger. The Wii will be tiny and convenient. That, and the Wii will supposedly launch in Japan with a Dragon Quest game, the same franchise which the government demanded that it only have games released on weekends because far too many people would skip school and work to go buy the game otherwise.
Like I said, I think Nintendo has Japan in the BAG.
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I agree Sony's attitude about pricing is arrogant, but I'm not convinced the price is going to kill the system by any means. Looking at other consumer electronics when they were new: iPod, Video Cameras, HDTVs, Digital Cameras, DVD, DVD R, I think iPod is the only one that might have been cheaper than the PS3 - and it was still "up there", at least in Canada they were running $400 two years ago.
I think you're comparing apples to oranges. The iPod didn't have competition in that other mp3 players could play a different set of songs. Entertainment mediums are different in that they have exclusive titles and those are what make or break the system. The PS2 did so incredibly well because it had these big and often controversial games which made it sell. At the beginning of the new gen, everyone starts from zero. A lot of the exclusive titles which made the PS2 will be on other consoles and will not be a reason to own a PS3.
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Sony will sell out at launch, I'm quite sure. Look at what people were paying for Xbox 360 on Ebay last Christmas. And as crazy as that was, I vaguely remember PS2 going for even more, maybe as much as $2000 US. After launch fever wears off and the holidays pass, I think Sony's sales will cool off due to the price, but key game releases (Final Fantasy and MGS) will probably reignite it. I know that if the shoe was on the other foot, I'd have a hard time resisting the latest Zelda and Mario games, even if the system was going to cost me $600.
They'll sell out because they'll pull the same crap as they did with the PSP: ship an inadequate amount of units and then declare that it's sold out, and then maybe buy back their own stock, like I suspect they're doing with the PSP. It sounds crazy, but if they've really sold more than 10 million units and almost less than that in software, something is amiss.
You'll always have the hardcore early adopters, but I think that, by the time MGS4 and FF13 have launch dates, the PS3's failure will very likely be apparent and it might be time for Square and Konami to consider porting those games elsewhere.
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The Blu-Ray playback is interesting...I think it might take off in the end, but Sony is going to have a hard time. Looking at UMDs, they didn't sell and now some publishers are backing out. The same thing could very easily happen to PS3, especially early on when few people will have HDTVs. The device is not a bad deal if you want it for Blu-Ray playback, for sure, but does anyone want it for that? Blu-Ray is a double-edged sword. The price it adds could crush Sony, the benefit it adds could save it. Who knows? I am leaning towards hurting more than helping.
I'm leaning toward hurting as well, since, like many have said here, the whole HDDVD vs. BluRay might very well be a war which is being fought over a VERY small piece of the pie. DVDs brought many advantages over VHS, including DRASTICALLY better picture on your existing TV. HDVD and BR are likely fighting for a market which won't even exist for another 5-7 years when HDTVs have become a real standard.
I think Sony should release a version of the PS3 for $300 which has no BluRay playback, or scrap whatever it is which is making the system so expensive. The price point will make a great amount of difference in this coming console war, and I expect people will simply pass on the console and its exclusives when the price is $500.
There are different levels of fandom. Yes, there are the people who will buy whatever console has their favorite franchise for whatever price, but there are far, far more people who would like to play a specific game but aren't willing to shell out $500 to play it.
If anything, Sony's plan is the exact opposite of Nintendo's: appeal ONLY to the hardcore via hardcore franchises and make the system VERY unattractive to non-gamers.
Topic: My Sony Rant, Consolidated (Read 24172 times)
