NewYork Times PS3 article... downing it..

[solidsolo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/arts/20game.html

although I haven't played it yet.. the review is pretty brutal and lots of the comparisons make the x360 look far more superior.

[roygbiv]

yeah... that is going to be interesting... seems like most people are more excited about the wii too.... but that could just be because more people have them at this point >_>

[Eihwaz]

I'm not surprised.

This is why I won't be getting a PS3, ever. I'll definitely get a Wii at some point, and probably an Xbox 360, but I can't see myself getting a PS3 at any point in time, even if they did come out with a Final Fantasy VII remake.

[Blitzkommando]

$599 OLOLOLO

No, really, people expect to get something pretty damned awesome for that kind of cash, especially with $50 in sales tax on top of that, without games. Blu-Ray is nice and all, but, damn, when you have a nice HD-DVD player competing for $375 retail you have to ask if the other format is worth double the price. People asked that question back when VHS was new against V2000 and Betamax. Now people don't even remember Betamax existed. (I tend to compare HD-DVD to Betamax because they are the best comparisons of the two as they were backed by the same companies)

Sony rarely has been able to pull off introducing a new format of media and had it be successful. Betamax, ATRAC, and Memory Sticks are just a few. They've all ended up having problems that the competition solved. With Betamax it was too expensive and didn't receive backing as much as VHS. ATRAC is really a joke because only Sony products can use it while Microsoft and Apple have been busy saturating the market with WMA, MP3, AAC, and M4A. Memory Sticks were just too expensive and, again, were a proprietary format of Sony. Now it's all Compact Flash or Secure Digital for digital cameras (even Sonys).

Blu-Ray is a nice format, but it has issues to it. Firstly, it is the most expensive format right now. Secondly, many early generation hardware BR writers won't work with dual-layer discs even though they were supposed to be able to do so due to a change in the process. Thirdly, BR and HD-DVD both have the same quality modes supported with the only difference being BR dual-layer is 50GB whereas HD-DVD is 35GB. Another problem is that BR is... well, a strange name that is unfamiliar to the majority of consumers. Some people have within the last year or so just gotten used to DVDs as a format and to them HD-DVD will seem most familiar.

Finally, HD-DVDs are coming in tripple-layer 'flippies' where the movie is either two HD-DVD layers with bonus features and the full movie, and the movie in DVD format on the other side. The other form is with a single HD-DVD layer just for the movie (or just bonus features) and two DVD layers for the movie and features. This allows people to buy the media now, and upgrade to the player for less later. That appeals to a lot of people, especially with the holidays coming and prices dropping in many cases like a lead balloon. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see HD-DVD players coming in at the sub-$300 range this Friday with special deals. Blu-Ray players on the other hand I would expect to see hit the sub-$450 range, possibly.

The only reason I focus on the Blu-Ray on the PS3 is because that is what Sony has touted as the big selling feature of the system. Without it, the system is, well, not much better if not worse than the competition for a premium price tag. It's a great price for someone looking for a BR player. It's a terrible price for someone looking to use it only as a game system compared to the competition and especially the competition's features. If someone is using it for both, it makes a very good buy. But, like I say, unless the BR capability is utilized it is an overpriced toy to say the least.

[RavenTW]

The PS3's price will drop, and by the time I can purchase it and still have money in my pocket to buy games, all the good ones will be out in Pre-owned racks, ripe for the picking. (AC4 and MGS4 come to mind). As for the Wii, it's cheap NOW, so the only thing to worry about there is finding a store that still has it (specifically, my local EB, so that I may trade in all my GC/PS2 games for it)

btw, copies of Gamecube games SURGED after Wii launched. That was the only time I've seen so many pre-owned Zelda Windwakers and Metroid Primes at one place.

[DizzyDi]

The 360 also sucked at launch.
BIG WHOOP!

[watashiwa]

On 2006-11-21 20:21, DizzyDi wrote:
The 360 also sucked at launch.
BIG WHOOP!



I think the point of the article is basically saying that Sony's had a shitload of time to tweak the way their console is presented... It should at least be as decent as the other next-gen one out there. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

I mean, heck, didn't it already steal a bunch of ideas from other consoles? Should have stolen the whole integrated dashboard idea from XBox360 while they were at it.