Sony, you have to be joking
5.9.2006 at 01:03:17 AM EST
I'm not going to go over everything that went on in Sony's E3 Press Conference this year. I already did that by live blogging the whole thing. But now that that is over and my brain had a bit of time to rest, it's all sinking in.
First, let's talk about the Wii ripoff. Yes, ripoff. There is no more apt word than that. Sony has not only taken a feature of the Wii controller, but they've gimped its functionality to 6 levels of tilting and at the same time presented it as better because it has no external sensor.
Now ripoff number two: connectivity. I had always expected PS2/PSP connectivity as Sony mentioned it way back. They said you could take your Gran Turismo save file on the go and keep playing the same game. Now what has that become? The PSP can be your wing mirror while you play a racing game? How the hell is that even supposed to work? Do you ask your buddy to hold it up for you? Is it out of the question to have two buddies and two PSPs to get a more accurate simulation? Who greenlighted such a ridiculous demo?
Now I thought Sony was avoiding gimmicks, connectivity, silly ways of moving the controller. I'm not going to look up old quotes just for a blog post, but I'm fairly certain I've seen some choices quotes from Sony against Nintendo's ideas, which they then copied.
My last little rant is on pricing. Now we all know Sony can charge whatever they want during the launch of the PS3 and probably still sell out. But what they've done is taken that to the extreme. The gimped "tard pack" version of the system is $500. Half a grand! And that version has no wireless controllers, a small hard drive, no HDMI output, and can't even play Blu-Ray movies.
To get the REAL PS3, you need to spend $600. That's ridiculous. For that price I should be getting the system and four games. Let's look at a typical scenario here. You want the system, an extra controller, and 2 games at launch. Add in tax and you are looking at a $800+ bill. To really put that in perspective, the equivalent for the Wii would likely be under $400.
I'm sorry Sony. You showed some fun looking games (and plenty of not so fun games as well) at your conference this year, but you have not won me over by a long shot. Barring a major promotion or lottery winning, I will not be an early adopter of the PS3
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onizuka sensei - 5.20.2006 at 06:38:51 AM
I thnk you'd then have to say that every industry rips off and canabalises itself in some way, not just the games industry.
Sony have lost the plot on ps3, too much crowd pleasing to the movie industry when it should be selling us games.
360 and Wii for me too.
onizuka sensei - 5.20.2006 at 06:38:08 AM
I thnk you'd then have to say that every industry rips off and canabalises itself in some way, not just the games industry.
Sony have lost the plot on ps3, too much crowd pleasing to the movie industry when it should be selling us games.
360 and Wii for me too.
pine1045 - 5.18.2006 at 02:00:14 PM
Ripoff?! So tell me something new. The entire game industry is based on ripoffs. If you think about, there hasn't been anything revolutionary in the past 2 decades. Sure some games look amazing, and system specs are more and more impressive, but the industry is founded upon 1 person doing one thing and everyone else copying it.
If each system did something revolutionary to continually trump the others then gaming would be nothing like it is today. There's too much money involved and too small of a market to think too far outside of the box. Reggie (from Nintendo) said it clearly that the game industry is NOT a mass medium yet. Nintendo ripped itself off with the motion sensing controls. Remember the Game Boy games where you moved the Game Boy around to control a character like Kirby? When I heard Wii controllers would do that for all games, I wasn't impressed. I had seen it before.
The fact remains that the game industry is based on fipoffs. There are lots of academic articles on this issues, even whole chapters of books dedicated to it. The problem is, are you willing to shell out big bucks for a rip off? The answer is yes. We've all been doing it for 20 years.
pook - 5.18.2006 at 05:48:53 AM
i only have time for one console 1 handheld. i hardly have the gaming time for even that. for me that'll be wii ds. if i had time for another it'd be 360. i'm a nintendo fan but i appreciate the bulk of my money going to games, not hardware, and that's part of the reason why.
i simply cannot afford the ps3. i can't afford the 360, frankly. a lot of people didn't buy gamecubes this gen. assuming a $200 price tag you could get a wii, 2-3 launch titles, and almost the entire line of player's choice gamecube games and have enough gaming fun for a year before you could play a single game on the ps3.
tom - 5.14.2006 at 04:19:13 AM
I guess now it's pretty much over I can pass judgement on what next-gen machine to buy. I wanted to buy a PS3 so badly, I thought this would truely be the machine that would win the next "round" in the gaming wars. But with the price getting higher and higher and the down right STEALING of other peoples ideas (Two weeks ago.. We don't need Sherlock Holmes to solve this case. Hell, even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could solve this one, and they're kids!) I'm loosing faith in Sony big time.
Sure, the games are great, and MGS4 will be THE game to play on it, but I always believed a console is only as good as the games made for it, no matter what the specs of the machine. Yet, and it pains me to say it, Nintendo have shown that rule doesn't apply anymore. If you give the people something great to start with, the games will ONLY get better. If you have something basic, the developers can only go to a point. If you give them things they never dreamed of even having, (I won't list examples but a certain dual-screen hand held device and a new console with a very strange name, which grows on me day by day!) they can make games even the console makers can't imagine!
I wanna say I'm sad with Sony's new machine... but I'm more disappointed with it.
nonami - 5.13.2006 at 03:28:58 AM
MGS4 says will buy it :)
jetsetsamurai - 5.12.2006 at 02:31:31 AM
"One employee who worked on Warhawk (the ONLY PS3 game to feature motion-sensitivity so far) was question as to when they were told about this feature in the controller. He said "Two weeks ago"."
And there's the last nail in the coffin that contains all my respect for Sony.
thehawk - 5.12.2006 at 02:11:12 AM
Even if Nintendo had never done connectivity, I'm willing to bet Sony could have eventually come up with it... it's a very intuitive and natural idea. Motion sensitivity? Regardless of who invented it or where it's been used before, you just KNOW Sony threw it in to steal Nintendo's thunder.
One employee who worked on Warhawk (the ONLY PS3 game to feature motion-sensitivity so far) was question as to when they were told about this feature in the controller. He said "Two weeks ago".
dscuber9000 - 5.11.2006 at 08:39:19 PM
You wonder why Nintendo held its information STILL. Sony rippeded off the GBA/GCN connectivity, the motion sensitive controller, next thing you'll know the PS3 controller will have a speaker in it.
dantejay - 5.11.2006 at 06:02:07 PM
Damnit, where's Sega's console when you need it most =b
~Jason
deathchronx - 5.10.2006 at 07:07:33 PM
WOW after all the secrecy that Nintendo had with the Wii, Sony still managed to steal thier ideas...HAhaha, I'm not surprised, sad thing is, people are still going to be all over it like mad-_-;;;;
i kick tits - 5.10.2006 at 09:20:07 AM
Makes me sick...
solar_blitz - 5.9.2006 at 07:51:43 PM
Heavenly Sword reminds me of Kingdom Hearts II in a different setting. ROFL
But seriously, I knew I'd buy one since there's FFXIII and MGS4. That's like a no-brainer for a lot of people. How much will they cost, though? Will we see the return of 60, 70, 80 dollar games? Will we have to spend as much money on Afrika as we have to spend on the Nintendo Wii?
I'm waiting until the price goes down. Or until the PS3 thin version comes out in like... five years or so. I'll have all my favorite games lined up for me.
swerk - 5.9.2006 at 07:10:41 PM
$600 - PS3
$400 - XBox360
$200 - Wii (I'm guessing)
Strangely, there's but one game, MGS4, at the top of that price range that I'm interested in. Even that cursed 360 has the Too Human trilogy, which I'm uncomfortably close to selling my soul for. But Wii has all kinds of stuff that's grabbing my attention, even if most of the graphics are mostly bland by comparison.
Sony, I hope you know what you're doing. Chop the price in half and we'll talk, but I've got quite a wait ahead of me for that, haven't I? Even the bloody PSP is still $250 after all this time. (Gimped versions do not count! Sony! MS! Are you listening?)
mornflame - 5.9.2006 at 06:29:36 PM
yeah, i agree with everyone else here. i might get a ps3 when it comes down a LOT. and i definitely agreed with mrfezzywig when he said, "If I need next-gen that badly, I'll get the Xbox 360 which I never would have considered before today."
here's a funny quote: i was reading a cnnmoney article (the sub-headline of which contains "mimics nintendo controller" haha) in which kaz hirai said, "The next generation doesn't start until we say it does."
hahahahaha
sumoarmy - 5.9.2006 at 04:48:04 PM
Azu, forgive man, but you just made a complete ass of yourself, and shown everyone in here just how much of a blind fanboy you really are. Look man, alot of people just aren't going to shell out that kind of dough for a console when all they want to do is play games. I can get a 360 and get pretty much the same amount of graphical power and splendor that the ps3 has and at a cheaper price. Also, have you forgotten about Sony's track record on making reliable systems?
You guys can flame me all you want, but the fact is that what I'm saying is pretty much true. People just ain't going to pay that kind of money just to play games. It sheer and absolute madness.
miguga - 5.9.2006 at 11:59:16 AM
For Sony-Fans now the wii mote function and the connectitive is quite good! and for them innovation is the key!
No?!?!?
Miguel
visual77 - 5.9.2006 at 11:58:17 AM
I have a feeling I won't be getting a PS3 for a long time. I want one, quite badly, not as much as a Wii, but I want it. But, damn, $600? I have bills that come before a PS3. Maybe I'll just see if I can split the cost with a friend(bojangles, if you read this, I'm talkin about you) and we'll just trade it off every week or so until it drops enough for us to buy another and each have our own.
azu - 5.9.2006 at 11:55:01 AM
I'm not sure why everyone was so disappointed... I was so excited when I saw Heavenly Sword (that looked awesome as hell, and if you say otherwise, you're just blind), Naughty Dog's new game, Lair, Assasin's Greed, Final Fantasy XIII (which was in-game, except for the train part), Metal Gear Solid 4 and Eight Days. And that's what it's supposed to be all about. GAMES.
The only Xbox 360 atm that can come even close to those are Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. And PS3 isn't even out yet. Xbox 360 has been out for over six months, and we still don't know too many Must Buy (tm) games (other than Mistwalker's games, Gears of War and Mass Effect are the only games I'm waiting). And the best part in those PS3 games are that they WON'T be coming to PC, never. And I'm quite sure there's even more interesting (huge) PS3 games that haven't been announced yet.
mduo13 - 5.9.2006 at 10:24:35 AM
No rumble, either. That's big.
I'm really laughing at Sony right now. I can't wait for Reggie to ream them in today's Nintendo briefing. I'm sure Microsoft will get some solid hits in there too.
Metal Gear Solid 4? Looks nice. Some other games (Naughty Dog's) looked good, too, but overall... there's no way I'm putting out $600 or more to get one. I just have to hope I'll have a friend who buys one, so I can try the exclusives without having to quit college to afford it.
uchihaitachi - 5.9.2006 at 08:38:40 AM
All you can say is, "wow". "wow" as in, "are you kidding me?" I'd like to think of myself as impartial. I own Nintendo, Sony and Xbox. What hooked me decidingly into Sony's camp, back in the days of yore, circa 1997, was the Squaresoft exclusivity. But times have changed, and even if FF13 pt 1, 2, and 3 might be only on the ps3 I can still get plenty square love on other systems. Even GTA now shows up elsewhere. Sony has two big guns left, Metal Gear and Grand Turismo. 660 bucks with tax... and thats without any games or extra peripherals!? I know Sony is taking a HUGE hit in the pocketbook at releasing this system at such a low price (yes folks... they will LOSE big money still selling it for $600) but maybe with graphics now leveling off it is time to focus more on the games and less on the "what else it can do" factor.
galley89 - 5.9.2006 at 06:35:27 AM
I hear you Drumlord this is most disappointing, most disappointing indeed. :(
thehawk - 5.9.2006 at 04:05:09 AM
Here here, Richard. I think a lot of people were actually put off by this keynote. I sat at my computer waiting for surprises and the biggest one I got was finding out how low Sony could sink.
But loss of respect wasn't needed to take the PS3 out of my potential console list... Economics did the job just fine. Games and controllers factored in, that's nearly half a semester's tuition for me or a brand new computer if I build it myself. I simply can't afford it.
I eagerly await seeing the opinions of the masses pour in on this subject. Maybe now "Playing with a Wii" isn't so embarrassing and the Xbox 360 is a whole lot prettier.
mrfezzywig - 5.9.2006 at 03:34:42 AM
You are absolutely right. As soon as I found out about the "reductions", I wanted to post my own blog stating what a ripoff it all is. NO HDMI, No WiFi, No 1080p? As well as NO dual HDMI, No Tri-Ethernet. You've be out of your mind. Sony should have swallowed the extra 800 million and released a single console version with all the features.
I called around after the show to see about Pre-Ordering the PS3. Now I don't need to bother. I'll be getting a Wii to enjoy with my kids this Fall. No, I take that back, I'm going to buy a Wii and two DSlites for my sons and I. It'll still be less than the PS3.
I'll wait to buy the PS3 until the price on the Decent 599 version drops to something like $299. If I need next-gen that badly, I'll get the Xbox 360 which I never would have considered before today.
Bottom line, the system Sony announced last year was worth $499 to me. The system they are actually selling is stripped down, and still costs $599. Sony should be selling the $599 system for $399 to compete with Xbox 360. It's simply not $200 dollars better than the Xbox 360.
Sony is greedy and does not realise that this price will likely cost them the console wars and the Blu-Ray war. I know it cost them my business for now.
mindkiller317 - 5.9.2006 at 03:02:54 AM
Rich, I cant figure out how to email you (some contact info would be nice for the GAF staff, or at least an easier way to find it if its there), so this is the best place I can leave my humble E3 request:
Please get us some good coverage of the new Indiana Jones game. There are alot of Indy fans out there who have been discouraged by the last few lackluster games and negative rumors about the next film, and seeing some awesome GAF-quality reporting the next gen game would really make our day. Hell, it would probably make our year, since the game and the movie are no doubt gonna be 2007 at this point.
Get us some juicy details, a few high res screenshots we can use for desktops, and maybe even a few video clips. They dont even have to be direct feed quality. Just dont forget to bring a bag of sand with you so that when you steal the press kit off the stone pedastal in the LucasArts booth, you can get out alive without setting off traps :)
blkstarr - 5.9.2006 at 01:43:45 AM
"On the bright side of things, this is making people think better of the Wii."
Reggie? Is that you?
I wanted a reason to have to struggle to choose between purchasing either the PS3 and Wii this winter, but Sony throughly failed to provide me with one. The Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer was again the most stunning next-generation visual feast I've ever laid eyes upon (even with the stream quality), but nothing else pulled me in. I can only get so excited on graphics alone when the X360 seems more than capable of outputting the same fidelity in the forseeable future. Many games looked quite nice, but none sold me on the system with their gameplay premise. Admittedly though, it's still very early.
They'd almost convinced me that the $500 kit would be worth the price of admission as I wouldn't have a large use for the extra 40 GBs in an immediate sense, but that was somewhat undercut by the fact that I'd be paying for a grossly overpriced DVD player that played games. No thanks, the PS2 serves that purpose brilliantly now and will continue to do so in the future if its upcoming titles are any indication.
Not yet, Sony. I don't mind waiting, but not yet. For my pocketbook, it is now Nintendo's game to lose.
tham - 5.9.2006 at 01:33:01 AM
On the bright side of things, this is making people think better of the Wii.
d - 5.9.2006 at 01:28:11 AM
The rip offs are bad enough, but to screw over your own customers who lay out $500 then won't be able to play some BD movies at full rez is unacceptable. I am hoping people will not accept this crap, but I know that's just wishful thinking.
