Wired hands in realistic review of PS3

DeusPayne

Basically, I think the "awesomeness" of the PS3 is going to hinge on whether BluRay takes off or not. IMO, HD-DVD seems to be winning right now (due to many factors). But, only time can tell.

Aetsen

I might get one when MGS4 gets out, otherwise the 360 works just fine for my next-gen needs.

Niero Gonzalez

Seems like they have enough of the right things in place to facilitate superior games in the long run. Much like the Xbox 360, you never really see must-have games until the second generation wave hits. Remember how mediocre the PS2 was before Devil May Cry hit?

DeusPayne

Also, I feel that Sony is trying to ride out the PS3 as long as possible. Didn't they say that they expect it to last 10 years before their next gen gets released? Microsoft will likely release something well before that that will be more powerful, and Nintendo almost definitely will need to as well. I don't think that the fact that the PS3 has potential later is that good of a selling point. For the current next-gen needs, the 360 will do fine. And by the time developers can take advantage of the PS3s crazy cores, hopefully it'll be significantly cheaper.

Niero Gonzalez

I'm holding reservations till I see Killzone ;)

LxLegend

I think the 10 year life span thing is good. One of the biggest complaints of developers today is that the platforms keep changing every five or so years and when it does all the tools need to be remade which is why we have suck next gen launch games coming from near perfected current gen games.

Anyway I remember when I first bought my xbox. I didn't because of what it could do right out of the box but because what I thought it would be able to do in the years after it's launch.

Nick Chester

I'm skeptic because everything about the PS3 to me feels like the PSP all over again. Gamers have played the wait and see game with Sony's handheld for close to TWO years and there has yet, in my opinion, to be a pay off. Technically "inferior" systems provide better gameplay experiences and are trampling Sony in the market. Everything about the PSP is a gigantic hassle, from it's spotty library to it's unintuitive multimedia functionality. But it had potential, so I stood in line to get one on a cold March night in 2005.

The PS3 has potential, there's no doubt about it, but the PSP I have (that is collecting dust) whispers in my ear, "You're a moron for buying that thing! Sell it on Ebay!"

Ins0mn1ac

I am not a fanboy, I've owned a handful of systems over the past couple of generations.
I bought into the PSP about a year and a half ago because I believed that Sony would actually make it worthwhile. I travel alot and I loved what Sony was saying they'd do with the system.
Now all I've got is a system that only has a couple decent games, no downloadable games (unless I want to ante up another $600), no online video store and nearly nothing that I thought I'd be getting.
I bought into Sony's promises a couple years ago and I'm not willing to gamble on them again. I wouldn't buy a PS3 because sony claims that they're going to fix it. The PS3, like the PSP, has great potential, but I don't trust Sony to realize that potential.
Sony got us to buy PSPs by making all kinds of promises, now they're doing the same thing with the PS3.

Xbudz

When Sony starts creating complilation discs of 10-15 old Playstation game on one BluRay... maybe there will be some actual value involved with the system... until then- it's an expensive 360. Nobody likes a format war, steer clear from HDDVD and BlueRay movies. www.torrentscan.com

icarus

Dude, the console wars were over like 13 seconds after the Wii was released... jeez, don't these guys read online forums. I mean everyone knows that:

# of posts on forums praising the Wii + # posts bashing the PS3 = Wii has won the console wars after only being out for 2 weeks.

Seriously though, I own a Wii and think it is fantastic and I will probably never buy a PS3 because I am satisfied with using my PC and Wii for gaming, but I am sure the PS3 will work out to be a solid system once the price becomes more reasonable. In fact, it is probably a so-so price given the hardware under the hood, but you had a chaotic (and sometimes violent) launch, a very low supply of systems, and "meh" release titles and of course people are going to be cynical about it. This was a good read and very fair article.

some_dude

I just don't buy Sony's 10 year lifespan promise. Especially if BluRay tanks. The devs are afraid to commit to it (high development cost and an install base that won't grow very fast at the rate Sony is shipping units) and most people seem to think it too expensive (they're right IMO). Is it gonna die on the vine? Doubt it, but the main reason it won't is the Playstation name. That buys it a lot of street cred, whether it deserves it or not.

I agree that it is an impressive machine, but just like a high end gaming PC, it just isn't so much better that it justifies the price. If I'm gonna pay that for a console, what it's capable of isn't the point, it's what it can do now, right out of the box. Potential is a good thing, but how many of Sony's consoles have lived up to the potential (i.e. hype) that Sony touted. Hmmmm?

Jelster

I think Sony is counting on the fact that 1080p isn't going to go anywhere in the next 10 years, the rest they can deal with in software or cover up with marketing.

What will be the telling factor is if MS and Nintendo release a new console in three years which surpasses the PS3 for equal or less money.

If the best the PS3 can currently manage is "nice but buy it later" then you have to ask who is really going to be buying this console for the next two years? and can it recover from such a long stall if MS and Nintendo both start mentioning new systems.

Karmakin

I think it's an expectations game.

If you're expecting a few great games from the PS3, and you have your heart set on MGS4 or FFXIII, then I'd say you should pick the system up when said game is released.

If you're expecting the PS2 style huge library of exclusives, then I think you may want to think long and hard about getting a PS3.

Jordan Devore

Chris Kohler is an awesome guy. He wrote a Nintendo/Japanese gaming book called Power-Up. If you haven't gotten to read it yet, I highly recommend it.

bassbeast

I bought a PSP on launch day at midnight, first in line. I was at the press conference when they first announced it. I thought it would be the bee's kness.

We all know how well that turned out.

I was at the Sony conference in 2005 when they unveiled the system. I saw the Killzone 2 trailer. I saw Fight Night.

Then I saw Fight Night on the 360. Then I saw how Tekken 6 really began to look. Then I learned that the Killzone trailer was pre-rendered.

Do the math.

There's something else to bear in mind. The Xbox 360 has an install base of roughly 7-8 mil, right? The PS3 has, what, 250K? If I'm a publisher, and I see those numbers, what am I likely to do? I go multiplatform - such as Assassin's Creed. Sony has done NOTHING to stop Microsoft from courting third parties, and that's just what the 360 is doing right now. The problem with the PS3 - other than its ridiculous price; it's a game console, remember? - is it's trying to do too much, and ultimately does everything half-assed.

Ballistic90

Installed user base is going to be a big factor in this generation. The PS2 was able to overcome the slow start by the fact that it was the only 'next gen' console at the time that people seemed to care about. By the time the Gamecube and the Xbox came out, the PS2 had some good games out and had an big user base and it self propelled itself into the lead because companies wanted to take advantage of the large user base, and wanted to make their big games for it.

Now.... I don't think that Sony realizes that they simply don't have the big advantage that they used to. Now they're the gamble. The smallest user base, the lowest limit of games they can sell, the prohibitive price, the longest development cycle, the most expensive development costs... If I were a developer, I would consider the PS3 to be the biggest gamble between the 3 consoles.