What a dilemma it is, Sony’s PlayStation 3 isn’t as hot as the Nintendo Wii in Japan. Even the Xbox 360 has had some minor success stories in Japan while Sony sits back saying “wtf?”
President, SCE Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida is pointing the finger at the publishers saying, “What’s happening is that lack of support from the Japanese publishers – not necessarily from intentions but from development capabilities.” (kotaku) Why, though, would publishers push to produce games on the console that’s currently losing market share?
Sony’s position is very tough to deal with because they’re not market leader so publishers are looking for the biggest bang for their proverbial “buck” and that’s not the PS3 right now. You can produce an expensive game for an expensive console or a cheaper game for a cheaper console and make more money.
How, then, can Sony get out of this situation? They must find a way to promote an incentive for publishers to create Sony exclusives or, at least, a Sony “port” of a game to build up their library of must-have titles. Perhaps Sony’s punishment at the hands of Nintendo and Microsoft in the States has a bit to do with their global marketplace issues — they need to put a concerted effort into one of their regions and champion themselves in one realm before trying for all of them. Right now, they’re a watered down expensive console with very few exclusive titles.
Metal Gear Sold 4, Home and Little Big Planet are great reasons to own a PlayStation 3 if the price was a bit more reasonable. Looking at the future, we’ve got Resistance 2 and a few other titles that may make some waves in the industry, at least in the United States, but it’s going to be an uphill battle in which they are the second best this time.
It’s always easy when you’re on the top. PlayStation 3 is not on the top so it’s time to start struggling, cutting prices or enticing publishers to build good exclusive titles.
@WatchDogs – The problem with MS cloud computing is similar to PS Move. If it’s not obligatory or bundled with the system the install base is lower so the devs are less inclined to develop for it. Kudos to Ubisoft for taking advantage of the cloud but it is true that for users with slower Internet connection, the ‘dynamism’ may not be as improved as they say.
@Sony Dualshock4 – I’m pretty sure this can be fixed with a firmware update or at least I hope it can. There has to be a hardware option to do that – I understand that it’s the software that’s not allowing it at this point. As far as the battery lifetime goes, I have to say I’m satisfied with Dualshock 3. True, it’s a pain in the butt that you can charge it with the system off. I own two controllers so if one runs out of juice I plug it in and use the other one. As a last resort I could play with the controller plugged in but it rarely comes to that. Having said that, I hope it will be possible to charge the new controllers with the PS switched off.
@Indian prices – I agree with Jonah that EA could verify their customers somehow. A credit card would be the easiest way out although a mail-in method would also work. Punishing those people just because some idiots from the other side of the world take advantage of the system is precisely why EA gets all the ‘accolades’ it gets year in and year out. #WorstCompany
@Vita – it’s true that there aren’t many or even a few AAA Vita games in development but I like to be more optimistic. I hope that Vita will gain popularity with the new Playstation and once the install base grows, developers will notice that it makes sense to make games for the handheld.
Also, bringing back older games makes sense in this context. For people who buy PS4 and don’t have PS3 right now, Vita could be the way to experience the great PSN games such as Dead Nation (YEAH!) or Guacamelee.
By the way, have you played Velocity Ultra on the Vita? Look below.
@QOTW – I have to say Velocity Ultra. It’s a great vertical shoot’em up for the Vita. However, it has a twist in that your ship can teleport through walls and other obstacles. It’s easy to learn, more difficult to master, it has achievements and trophies and it requires a lot of skill if you want to complete all the stages flawlessly.
@Dynamicism (is that a word?)
OMFG!!! Dynamic water!!! I wonder if it involves advanced fish AI? Having a marginally better environment won’t sell the console. It sounds like a cool gimmick, but just like in GTA, rushing through the city at high speed you won’t even notice it.
@Matrick
If I would not care any harder, I would
start sucking in other people’s cares and turn UK into a country full of apathetic pricks (i.e. France). I don’t tend to place names to faces in the video gaming business. For me he will always be that smug short guy who wasted a lot of time on conferences talking crap no one cared about.
@PS controllers
Don’t care. I bought an adaptor that lets me plug in my Xbox 360 and PS2 controllers into my PS3. Haven’t used the official PS3 controller ever since. If I get a chance to do so with PS4 I will gladly. Dual shock controllers overstayed there welcome; a relic of an era long past that should have been redesigned at the PS3 stage.
@favourie Indie game
I played 2 in the last year. Both of them were rip offs of another series. CastleMiner Z is a Minecraft clone which focuses less on building and more on mob survival. It has craftable guns and loads of zombies to shoot. Another game is White Noise; a Slender rip off. Almost the same but has coop which results in some hilarious gags. I tend to turn to indies because a lot of them have coop support. Most mainstream titles just concentrate on pvp multiplayer.
Candlejack is such a lame meme. Look. I said Candlejack and I am still here. It’s not like I am making fun of Vladimir Puti-
In Soviet Russia, Candlejack is abducted by you.