Topic: E3 2011 Day 1: Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, Sony Press Conferences

[BlackNMild2k1]

RIdge racer joke  +1 for this guy even though he has no enthusiasm




Sadly, other than PSVita price point... there wasn't too much happening here as far as exciting news or surprises.

[NWR_insanolord]

I thought it was a missed opportunity that he said "249 dollars" and not "249 US dollars."

[Stogi]

lol at the dude looking like a robot with his arms locked.

I didn't notice until you mentioned this. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it. That was so distraction. I couldn't pay attention to anything else. Thanks for that.

No problem haha

$250? Color me impressed. Once it's jailbroken, i'll pick one of them up asap.

[kraken613]

WTF is this?

[BlackNMild2k1]

WTF is going on?

exit music? another announcement? reel change? WTF is going on?

Is it over?



Did Sony have their own PS Vita & PS3 Arcade set-up?
Damn, they really didn't want to be outshined by Ninteindo this year. They are having a Pre-E3 E3.
those sneaky bastards.


Did anyone else's feed just cut to black?

[Enner]

It's over. This the music they're playing as the press play in the arcade.

[Mop it up]

I'm surprised at the PSPita price. Have they learned nothing from the PS3? Selling your system at a loss is no way to make a profit...

[Adrock]

Damn, they really didn't want to be outshined by Ninteindo this year. They are having a Pre-E3 E3.
those sneaky bastards.

Too bad they're going to be anyway...

I'm surprised at the PSPita price. Have they learned nothing from the PS3? Selling your system at a loss is no way to make a profit...

Still better than not selling your system at all because the price is too high. They need to sell it and get it in people's hands to instill confidence in the platform.

[broodwars]

So Sony announced a version of Bioshock Infinite with Move Support, as well as some kind of pack-in with the first Bioshock?  Gametrailers mentioned something like that in the post-conference commentary, but I missed that part of the conference.  And there's apparently a Vita-exclusive Bioshock game?  Can anyone elaborate?  If that is what it is, that's pretty cool.

[Mop it up]

I s'pose, but they'll need some good software to go with it that will sell enough to make back the loss and then some.

[lolmonade]

I'm surprised at the PSPita price. Have they learned nothing from the PS3? Selling your system at a loss is no way to make a profit...

They've learned the correct lesson: that there is a price threshold that mainstream consumers are unwilling to pay.  The PS1/2 were successful because they took a financial hit to release what was considered high-tech at competitive prices.  The PS3 was them assuming the consumer will pay $600 as long as there was perceived value for it.  I see the Vita as a realization that they have no leverage for competitiveness if they are outside of reasonable pricing with Nintendo.  Sony is fighting for market share with Nintendo at this point, not profits off of each unit.

[Louieturkey]

For $250, consider me onboard for launch. I never owned a PSP, so the BC means I have a lot of things to play right from the start.

I'm there as well.  Never owned a PSP but plan to get the PSV.  I just hope Square puts their shamefully omitted PSN games to the PSN before the VITA launches.

[Adrock]

And there's apparently a Vita-exclusive Bioshock game?  Can anyone elaborate?  If that is what it is, that's pretty cool.

Nothing else to elaborate on. Ken Levine finished talking then basically said, "P.S. - We're working on Bioshock for NGP," then he descended back into the shadows.

I s'pose, but they'll need some good software to go with it that will sell enough to make back the loss and then some.

They have a decent lineup. The problem is that every single one of those games has a PS3 counterpart. I love the Uncharted series but I already own a PS3. I'm getting Uncharted 3, but I won't buy Vita just to play an Uncharted game that will likely add NOTHING to the series. It will likely be good and I'll get Vita eventually, but it's not going to get me to buy entirely new hardware on its own. I'll wait for a price drop and for the library to build up.

[Stogi]

Cheap expensive hardware is only a good thing for us. Please Sony, by all means keep taking a loss.

Seriously...once it's jailbroken, it's over. I'll be playing GC games on the go.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Probably the best of the conferences so far. It dragged in a few places and there wasn't really anything unexpected, but they delivered the goods. The Vita looks interesting and that price makes it very competitive, so it'll all come down to the 3DS software line-up as the decider for which handheld comes away from this E3 with the mind share.

[lolmonade]

Probably the best of the conferences so far. It dragged in a few places and there wasn't really anything unexpected, but they delivered the goods. The Vita looks interesting and that price makes it very competitive, so it'll all come down to the 3DS software line-up as the decider for which handheld comes away from this E3 with the mind share.

The Vita Price and Playstation 3D TV were the only real surprises to me, but just because it wasn't full of surprises doesn't mean it was a bad conference.  Delicious pizza is delicious regardless of whether or not it was a surprise.

[Mop it up]

They've learned the correct lesson: that there is a price threshold that mainstream consumers are unwilling to pay.  The PS1/2 were successful because they took a financial hit to release what was considered high-tech at competitive prices.  The PS3 was them assuming the consumer will pay $600 as long as there was perceived value for it.  I see the Vita as a realization that they have no leverage for competitiveness if they are outside of reasonable pricing with Nintendo.  Sony is fighting for market share with Nintendo at this point, not profits off of each unit.

I guess, but in that case they need an extreme success to be profitable, which I don't see happening against the 3DS (or even the DS). Nintendo's model is still far more profitable.

[ShyGuy]

dang $250. Marcus says STEP YO GAME UP NINTENDO

[broodwars]

They've learned the correct lesson: that there is a price threshold that mainstream consumers are unwilling to pay.  The PS1/2 were successful because they took a financial hit to release what was considered high-tech at competitive prices.  The PS3 was them assuming the consumer will pay $600 as long as there was perceived value for it.  I see the Vita as a realization that they have no leverage for competitiveness if they are outside of reasonable pricing with Nintendo.  Sony is fighting for market share with Nintendo at this point, not profits off of each unit.

I guess, but in that case they need an extreme success to be profitable, which I don't see happening against the 3DS (or even the DS). Nintendo's model is still far more profitable.

The problem with the 3DS, though, is that its software lineup is pretty weak so far.  We'll see how that shapes out after tomorrow's Press Conference, but right now Sony's thrown out a great incentive for those many people who didn't purchase a 3DS to wait for what's possibly a much better product with a potentially better lineup of games.

There's also a psychology in the price.  Nintendo flat out told us they're overcharging on the 3DS, which makes me feel ripped off buying it at $250.  Sony's likely taking a pretty substantial loss at $250, which makes me feel like I'm getting a great value at $250 for that technology and lineup of games.

[Adrock]

Nintendo's model is still far more profitable.

Of course it is, but Nintendo is also the overwhelming market leader with a much more devoted fanbase. Sony can't compete by copying Nintendo, they have to try to beat them in a completely different way. They're price matching with more powerful hardware. Not sure that's going to work, but it's better than releasing similar hardware at the same price. They might have tried releasing similar hardware at a lower price.

[Mop it up]

Yeah, I think Nintendo will see how sales go this holiday and drop the price after that if it doesn't fare well. I don't see how the PSPita is a better product though, glasses-free 3D seems better than anything the PSPita offers. That's just me though, I was never into fluff.

[broodwars]

Yeah, I think Nintendo will see how sales go this holiday and drop the price after that if it doesn't fare well. I don't see how the PSPita is a better product though, glasses-free 3D seems better than anything the PSPita offers. That's just me though, I was never into fluff.

To me, the glasses-free 3D is the very definition of "gimmick" and "fluff", so I'll gladly take better technology over something Nintendo doesn't even allow developers to base game design around.  Plus, the 3DS' display gives me a headache to look at in 3D mode, so it's kind of a worthless feature to me even if I didn't think it was a gimmick.

[Enner]

The Vita is offering shinier visuals as well as all sorts of inputs and communications. However, the specs have changed since January. They must've cut some of the bigger numbers from then to get that $250 price. Makes me wonder how much storage will be on the Vita.

[Adrock]

Yeah, I think Nintendo will see how sales go this holiday and drop the price after that if it doesn't fare well. I don't see how the PSPita is a better product though, glasses-free 3D seems better than anything the PSPita offers. That's just me though, I was never into fluff.

Glasses free 3D isn't fluff? Seems like the very definition of fluff.

I prefer the 2 screen set up to the rear touchpad. That's really the main difference because graphically, I'm happy with what the 3DS can do, even if Vita is capable of better. Nintendo makes the games I want. They just need to to fix the battery life then we'll talk about buying one.

[Mop it up]

Of course it is, but Nintendo is also the overwhelming market leader with a much more devoted fanbase. Sony can't compete by copying Nintendo, they have to try to beat them in a completely different way.

That's a good point, though it also makes it sound like the two are not in direct competition with one another. Which may be true; I don't think the PSP really cut into DS sales, and the DS probably didn't deter anyone interested in a PSP.

To me, the glasses-free 3D is the very definition of "gimmick"

Except that the definition of gimmick is an eye-catching feature, so it also applies to everything new on the Vita as well.