Although PlayStation 3 is still third in worldwide sales, behind the Xbox 360 by about 5-million units, the PS3 community services now have as many online gamers as Xbox 360 says Sony. Sony posted on their blog saying, “with 14 million active accounts and 273 million pieces of content downloaded, we know that you’re thirsting for this digital entertainment.”
Although US sales of the 360 are killing the PS3, the community membership does give gamers a reason to get online with the PS3. Nobody wants to buy into a console that has very few active online games or an easy way to find friends (*cough* Wii). Having 14-million users helps them bridge the sales gap by building gamer confidence. Social networking is the new term; gamers want to socialize with each other online and with their consoles.
Microsoft recently announced their 14-million subscriber base and continue to update folks when they hit big milestones. The main difference, LIVE is a subscription system — those 14-million gamers are also paying for the service (we’re not sure if silver memberships count in that figure) and this means income for Microsoft while Sony does their service for free.
Although Microsoft is making money on their service, no doubt Sony will bypass their total membership because it has no cost barriers to play. The biggest cost barrier to get on Sony’s network is the PS3 itself and many gamers hold out for price drops which aren’t coming anytime soon (so says Sony). However, building a larger community on a free network allows Sony to siphon gamers to buy downloadable content, games, music, movies and all the goodies that go with these services.
It seems a better idea to triple your audience with a free service knowing a large amount of “hardcore gamers” attach themselves to the easy to buy content on said service. So, is it better to make US $50.00 a year on half the population or give triple that population an opportunity to spend more money on content?
“Thanks to all of you, PS3’s momentum is stronger than ever. There are nearly 17 million PS3 systems around the world, and in the United States, PS3 hardware sales are up nearly 100 percent from where we were at this time last year. Software sales have tripled from a year ago. Yes, we’re proud about everything we’ve accomplished, and we’re even more psyched about where we’re going with our holiday software lineup” (playstation.com)
Eventually gamers may have access to Sony’s Home project, which could raise the community figures and give Xbox 360 something less to brag about. Although, we’re sure Sony would rather be boasting “number one” console again, at least they’ve finally got a win on their side because 14-million users is only the beginning for them.
Plus, it’s hard to argue free.
It’s funny to think that, in this age of multi-million dollar games and the obsession with companies wanting to kill the (future) retro market by making all of their games online and possessed by themselves, a remastered DuckTales game comes along and reminds people of a better time, when games could be challenging and fun all at once. Can’t wait for it! Viva La Side Scroller!
DuckTales? I can get down with that. Bioshock Infinite seems to be the game everyone is most excited about right now. Or maybe we’re excited because that is what they want..? Good thing I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I want to play! Retro is ok…but personally it doesn’t get me excited. Wait does 1999 count as retro? That I am excited about! 🙂
One really does have to wonder why nobody at THQ bothered to tell the higher-ups that a non-Wii uDraw would’ve been a terrible idea. What would’ve been the worst thing to happen – people get fired?
Ha! That happens so often in this industry that it’s looped well past the point of not being funny and become funny again. Regardless, you’d think that THQ, for having been around for so long, would’ve had the foresight to avoid such a disaster.
Regarding American McGee’s reactions, I really can’t blame him. The PS4 was mostly unimpressive, not helped by the fact that we’re still being left in the dark on little things like HOW MUCH IT COSTS and WHAT THE THING LOOKS LIKE.
As for the Sim City issues, while it is true that gamers as a whole need to relax when a company does something new such as always-online games, a company also has to be responsible for accurate predictions of factors such as server stress and large amounts of registered product users. It goes both ways.
As for Levine, it’s no surprise that he put so much effort into a game that, judging from all the reactions I’ve been witnessing along the internet, has been quite thought-provoking. I’d want my wonderfully-crafted pride and joy to sell well too, especially if it cost that much in total investments.
Other than that, not much else to say. Broken Age looks to have a good concept, and DuckTales Remastered looks to be an awesome remake.
Post a good comment? What’s a good comment what should my comment be about? I need a little more information then that!
I’d love a copy of Bioshock! Hit me up with a copy for the 360! Love ya!
What if BATMAN traveled to the Bioshock Infinite Universe? XD That’s a good comment right there XD.
You know seriously though i heard they debunked that 100 mill rumor. Sales would be crazy to have to cover 200 m would NEVER happen
@Darklurkr23 THanks guys
@Udon’tDRAWsowell
I heard that it was multiplatform. But I never saw a reason for it. If you wanted to draw on a pad you could just buy a draw pad for a PC for the UDRAW release price. Not difficult to see why it failed. Pity it took THQ down with it.
@Bioshock Forever
For me it was one of those games that made occasional noise pre-release but was developed for so long I eventually lost interest. Nevertheless, it got good reviews and you can even see advert posters here in UK. A privilege generally reserved to FIFA.
@American McGee
I bet he was bullied in school. His parents probably did not expect him… Anyways, regarding the PS4 remark, I was also unimpressed by the showcase but am reserving my judgement until I see the new Xbox. If that also fails to impress me maybe lame is just becoming an industry standard.
@Kickstarter
I will be sceptical about Kickstarter untill something finally comes out of it.
@Games going retro
The current economic climate is very averse to innovation. Developers prefer to be safe and develop games based on standard mechanics rather than take risks and introduce new ideas. When was the last time you played an innovative AAA title? Assassins Creed. Mass Effect. Gears of War. Since then all we had was sequels and carbon copies. Bottom line: it’s not safe to innovate when the industry is crumbling around you.
I never played Chrono Cross but also enjoyed Chrono Trigger a lot thanks to the magic of emulation. When it comes to the color pairs you mentioned as one of the mechanics, Final Fantasy Tactics had a similar mechanic based on the signs of the Zodiac.
As Arthur already mentioned, the marketing campaign for Bioshock has reached Europe in full swing. Never before have I seen so many game-related posters in Poland for a game that is not FIFA. That makes me feel even more excited about the game.
But before that happens, I still have several PS Vita games to finish, because there are games for the platform, even though you so blatantly disagree ;). I’ve started Metal Gear Collection HD since I’d never played those games before and thay will be good for many hours of play before I get those Platinum trophies. Overall, there are many smaller games that are great on the Vita, such as Zen Pinball 2, Lumines Electronic Symphony or Knytt Underground.
Surely, there is a market for games with a retro look-and-feel which is clearly visible based on the number of Flash games that pop up all over the place and are mostly targeted at more casual gamers. However, I don’t believe that this is a worrying trend, taking into considerations that games such as The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, Remember Me or Rain introduce new and exciting mechanics and often are a treat to look at.
Obviously, it’s very hard to come up with something completely new and you can often argue that new games are just rehashes of older ones with better-looking graphics and slightly tweaked mechanics but that’s true for other entertainment media as well. Constant and steady progress and evolution in game mechanics and visual and audio styles is the way to go and I believe that’s what we’re seeing.
Kaczogrod! (Duckburg in Polish – it will all make sense in a second 😉 )
P.S. Read the first letters of all the sentences in this comment.
P.S.2 Yes, Johan, you did say Crapcom 🙂