Topic: World Wide Current Gen Install Base Numbers are in...

[Nick DiMola]

I own a PS1 and a PS2 and my biggest beef with Sony are their controller "innovations." They were all totally ripped off from Nintendo, which would be ok with me if the changes they made to the controller were good. Instead they made the dual shock which must be the worst controller of all time. The sticks are not placed properly and it is not ergonomic AT ALL. Instead of ripping off a Nintendo controller and making it better (360 controller), they ripped it off and managed to make it worse.

Now generally I wouldn't care, but Sony's dominance of the past two generations has made that controller somewhat of a standard. Alot of PC controllers mimic the design and finding adapters that let you use other brand controllers on the PS1/PS2 is near impossible.

I can understand why rat might think he was being attacked, but I think flames was just breaking down the argument piece by piece. If rat wants to hate the Playstation brand, whether it be rationally or irrationally, he is entitled to. If he doesn't want to continue discussion about it further nobody should be badgering him to do so either (not saying anyone is).

[Shift Key]

Home is going to force me to get another platform. I may have to +1 to the PS3 sales.

Fixed

[Flames_of_chaos]

And what is the deal with them bundling it with Blu-ray? Sony doesn't really care about gaming, and they never did. To them the Playstation has just been about controlling the living room, and that's all they care about. This way of thinking really shows.

And Microsoft hasn't?? Microsoft wants you to use their OS(computer space), their game machines(living room space), Zunes(MP3 space), buy a Ford brand car with Microsoft Sync(Automobile space), get a cellphone with their Mobile OS(cellphone space), use their software to connect all of these things together.

[DAaaMan64]

So why does the Playstation line suck so much? Well, aside from it breaking down and needing to be fixed/replaced more often than any console ever should, there's also the matter of them not really innovating anything. The PS1 controller was a rip-off of the SNES controller layout, and then when the N64 controller came along they also ripped that off by tacking two thumbsticks to it and then just calling it a day, and that controller design has been that way ever since. The PS3's controller has also added tilt support and is wireless, but there's nothing really great or innovative about its design or button layout. I personally have issues with them stealing innovations from Nintendo, and I also loathe them for backstabbing Nintendo and releasing the PS1 in the first place, when they were supposed to be partners.

I don't think that was backstabery at all, I'm pretty sure Nintendo was being a bunch of assholes too.

[animecyberrat]

I wasn't meaning to sound defensive just that like I said, my views are not popular and also it is hard to explain. I did, LOVE FF7, and when I had a PS1, there was maybe three games I liked on it, but only 2 were exclusive.


And...I can to live in the past, it's my right. Hell the ONLY reason I got a Wii, as I have said before, is the Virtual Console, as far as I am concerned PS killed gaming a long time ago and for oh about three years or more I haven't really enjoyed the hobby at all. Lost Winds is the first NEW game in YEARS I have had fun playing. My GC collection is as follows, Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Gems Collection, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Mega Man X Collection, Midways Arcade Treasures 1 and 2, Zelda Collectors Disc and Metroid Prime. I have SFA (universally hated on here) and Harvest Moon A Wonderfull Life, but my sister is holding onto those games for me cuz she has only a GC and nothing else and loves those two games the most.


It is just who I am. I didn't mean to get defensive, honestly I wasn't upset I was just taken back that again my difference in opinion was being called out. I have FACTS to back up my claims also, like I said fact is I had only 1 non Sega owning friend growing up. Fact is I only found 3 PS1 games I liked and only 2 were exclusive. Fact is I hate the DS, and the regular controller even more. Fact is PS2 had nothing GC didn't have that interested me (GC had very little that did also but a lot of it I attribute to growing older, changing tastes and things like that.)


From my perspective PS is worthless. Now I should clarify, I didn't mean to say I hate PS altogether, it took a while to get there like I said I respect Sony and their hardware, but the line ends there.


So yeah maybe my feelings are fanboyish, but they are sentimentally based so I feel justified in my bias. Plus it conflicts me to hate PS but LOVE everything else Sony so yeah, it's not easy being me.

[Ian Sane]

While the Wii has the clear lead of the three the combined sales of the Xbox 360 and PS3 is higher than the Wii sales.  This probably is a big reason why so many third party games are annouced for every console but the Wii.  The X360 and PS3 are quite similar so it's easy to make a game for both consoles but the Wii is quite different.  You either make a game for the X360 and the PS3 or just the Wii.  Well the X360/PS3 combo has a higher userbase than the Wii alone so no wonder the third party support for the Wii isn't there.  The Wii has the console wars equivalent of a minority government.  If I want my game to be available to the highest userbase making a multiplatform game for the X360 and PS3 would be the way to go.

So let's go Wii sales!  Dwarf the combination and the third party support will just pour in!

[UncleBob]

Sega should have taken a cue from Nintendo and decided that a CD add-on wasn't worth it

To be fair, Nintendo decided the CD add-on wasn't worth it after seeing how badly the SEGA add-on was received.  SEGA didn't have that information to look at.

I also loathe them for backstabbing Nintendo and releasing the PS1 in the first place, when they were supposed to be partners.

Umm... no.  Nintendo signed with Sony to help create the sound chips on the SNES.  Part of the agreement was that, if Nintendo ever created a CD-based add-on for the SNES, Sony would get first dibbs.

Nintendo then went and hooked up with Phillips to create the add-on.

When Sony called them out, Nintendo had to ditch Phillips (thus the CD-i) and go with Sony.

Between how much control Sony wanted over the add-on and how badly the SEGA-CD performed, Nintendo dropped the add-on idea.  In order to convince Sony not to sue, Nintendo convinced Sony that they could release their system as a stand-alone player - and thus, the PlayStation was formed.

[Nick DiMola]

In order to convince Sony not to sue, Nintendo convinced Sony that they could release their system as a stand-alone player - and thus, the PlayStation was formed.

LOL, Sony's best idea was actually from the lips of Nintendo.

[UncleBob]

While the Wii has the clear lead of the three the combined sales of the Xbox 360 and PS3 is higher than the Wii sales.  This probably is a big reason why so many third party games are annouced for every console but the Wii.

Well, to be fair, that 7.4 million lead that the PS360 has over the Wii doesn't really take into account the number of people who own both a PS3 and a 360.

Also, these numbers don't account for people who are on their 3rd or 4th 360.

I'm guessing that the potential sales base for the Wii is about the same as the 360/PS3...

[NWR_insanolord]

Sega should have taken a cue from Nintendo and decided that a CD add-on wasn't worth it

To be fair, Nintendo decided the CD add-on wasn't worth it after seeing how badly the SEGA add-on was received.  SEGA didn't have that information to look at.

I also loathe them for backstabbing Nintendo and releasing the PS1 in the first place, when they were supposed to be partners.

Umm... no.  Nintendo signed with Sony to help create the sound chips on the SNES.  Part of the agreement was that, if Nintendo ever created a CD-based add-on for the SNES, Sony would get first dibbs.

Nintendo then went and hooked up with Phillips to create the add-on.

When Sony called them out, Nintendo had to ditch Phillips (thus the CD-i) and go with Sony.

Between how much control Sony wanted over the add-on and how badly the SEGA-CD performed, Nintendo dropped the add-on idea.  In order to convince Sony not to sue, Nintendo convinced Sony that they could release their system as a stand-alone player - and thus, the PlayStation was formed.

That's not how I always heard that story. I thought Nintendo backstabbed Sony on the SNES CD thing, and then Ken Kutaragi, who always wanted to do a standalone PlayStation but the Sony board of directors didn't think it was a good idea to compete with Nintendo, used their anger over that to convince them to change their mind and do it on their own. Are you calling Steven Kent a liar?

[UncleBob]

Umm... that's pretty much the same story...

[UncleBob]

Whoops... A quick Wikipedia check (yeah, yeah...) tells me I do have the events slightly out of order.  Nintendo didn't go with Phillips until after they stabbed Sony in the back.

Apparently, Sony found out about the Phillips partnership at the same CES convention where Nintendo and Sony were supposed to announce their SNES-CD....

[Kairon]

So Kairon, when do you predict your predicted 3 way tie will happen?

I'd want to know MS' sales estimates for the next fiscal year before I make any long-range base-less guesses!

[Flames_of_chaos]

Whoops... A quick Wikipedia check (yeah, yeah...) tells me I do have the events slightly out of order.  Nintendo didn't go with Phillips until after they stabbed Sony in the back.

Apparently, Sony found out about the Phillips partnership at the same CES convention where Nintendo and Sony were supposed to announce their SNES-CD....

Nintendo backstabbed Sony because they wanted to shove Nintendo aside as just as a 1st party developer and publisher while Sony does all the hardware to get the majority of the profits. The CD add on was supposed to be called the Nintendo Play Station IIRC.

Kutaragi got ticked off because he went to CES and showed off the Nintendo Play Station without knowing that Nintendo burned Sony big time when Nintendo went on to the failed Phillip's Alliance.

[Chozo Ghost]

And what is the deal with them bundling it with Blu-ray? Sony doesn't really care about gaming, and they never did. To them the Playstation has just been about controlling the living room, and that's all they care about. This way of thinking really shows.

And Microsoft hasn't?? Microsoft wants you to use their OS(computer space), their game machines(living room space), Zunes(MP3 space), buy a Ford brand car with Microsoft Sync(Automobile space), get a cellphone with their Mobile OS(cellphone space), use their software to connect all of these things together.

Of course Microsoft is too; am I saying I like Microsoft either? I don't want either Microsoft or Sony to be the market leaders, because their goal isn't gaming and for myself personally the only reason I care to own a console is for gaming purposes. I wouldn't want my console to lose its focus and be a movie player or a toaster or a coffee maker, I just want it to play games.  The PS3 and 360 are jacks of all trades, but they aren't really a master of anything. If you want the best BLu-ray player in existence you'll have to look elsewhere for a standalone model. Similarly, the PS3 and 360 aren't really the greatest at video games either. The PS3's library is very small, and the 360's library consists almost entirely of "hardcore" FPS killing games that are mostly also available on the PC.

Plus the 360 and PS3 are getting into video and mp3 downloads and god knows what else. Nintendo is the only console maker still in existence where gaming is the sole focus. Sure, they did put those channels on the Wii, but they aren't trying to force a new proprietary disc format down our throats. That's the beef I have with Sony and Microsoft. If I had it my way, Sony and Microsoft would drop out of the market and go back to their respective things, and then I would resurrect Atari and Sega, because I feel those were the golden days of video-gaming when it was just about the games, rather then this borg style "assimilate your living room into our monopoly" mentality.

Microsoft IS a monopoly when it comes to computers, and Sony is now a monopoly on HD disc formats. Monopolies are a bad thing, and I fear the one-console future that some people say is going to happen. When you have a monopoly there is no competition so there is no incentive to innovate, and things will be just as they were in the Atari 2600 era with crappy games like E.T. that led to the market collapsing.

I don't want either Sony or Microsoft to succeed because I don't want that to happen again. If it does, it will be a dark era for gaming. Nintendo is the only purely gaming company left in existence so we can't let them fail. Atari and Sega are no longer making consoles, so everything depends on Nintendo now.

[Flames_of_chaos]

NPD: April hardware/software sales
May 15th, 2008

Wii - 714.2K
DS - 414.8K
PSP - 192.7K
Xbox 360 - 188K
PS3 - 187.1K
PS2 - 124.4K

Top 10 VG Titles - April'08   Units*
360 GTA IV   1.85mm
Wii Mario Kart w/ wheel   1.12mm
PS3 GTA IV   1.00mm
Wii Play   360K
Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl   326K
PS3 Gran Turismo 5:  Prologue   224K
DS Pokemon Mystery Dungeon:  Explorers of Darkness   202K
DS Pokemon Mystery Dungeon:  Explorers of Time   202K
Wii Guitar Hero III   152K
360 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare   141K
   

Sony and Microsoft are probably pissed GTA didn't help at all and Mario Kart + Wii Fit hype is making things sky rocket. Im surprised about the Gran Turismo 5: $40 Glorified Demo edition sales.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

PS3/360 are the last bastions of hawdcaw gaming.  It's only natural.  The hawdcaw (the millions who already have a ps3/360 and aren't expanding their base) are flocking to their last remaining island, searching for land high & dry while the BLUE OCEAN continues to swallow the world.

Everyone else grew gills or are surfing on Balance Boards, highly mobile and riding on the waves of disruption.

[Maverick]

So following WaterWorld logic, I get to be a pirate!

[Flames_of_chaos]

So following WaterWorld logic, I get to be a pirate!

Riding in the waves of FRIENDly CODES.

[Shift Key]

So following WaterWorld logic, I get to be a pirate!

One of the pirates that lose or one of the pirates that win?

[Maverick]

Doesn't matter.  Once I was a pirate my life would be complete so I would be happy regardless of the outcome.

[IceCold]

Instead they made the dual shock which must be the worst controller of all time. The sticks are not placed properly and it is not ergonomic AT ALL. Instead of ripping off a Nintendo controller and making it better (360 controller), they ripped it off and managed to make it worse.

Preach it! I could write an essay on how bad the Dualshock is.

[RABicle]

Looks guys. A playstation killed rat's grandmother ok. So let's jut drop it.

[Flames_of_chaos]

[Maverick]

Preach it! I could write an essay on how bad the Dualshock is.

Please do.  Then get it posted on the front page.

Yay site-sponsored console wars!