It seems the console maker who’s trailing in sales typically says how great competition is and how it’s great for the consumer. Sony’s not leading the console race, as of now, and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves stated in a recent interview:
The winner, he said, is the consumer. “That’s why we are not going to slag off Microsoft or Nintendo at all,” he said, “because again it’s rather like the trainer market: one year it’s Reebok, next year it’s Nike, and then suddenly it’s Adidas; it’s cyclical, but in the end everyone wins in five to ten years.”
Sony continues to speak towards their “10 year plan” and how they’re increasing momentum in the market. They’re not winning in sales but with a ten years to go, this is just the beginning. Had this statement come from Microsoft it would be a chance to worry, but Sony has proof to backup their statements.
The PlayStation 2 is going strong as a nine year-old and doesn’t seem to be letting up in game releases. Sony’s press conferences always cover the PlayStation 2 in their talks with the PSP and PlayStation 3 for three big reasons: it’s worth bragging about, it distracts from lower PS3 sales and it separates them from the competition.
Where is the GameCube or classic Xbox in Nintendo and Microsoft’s press conferences and number crunch reports? The fact is, the companies have given up on both products retiring them as “last generation” (translation: poor sales). What better reason to buy a PlayStation 3 than knowing the company is in the game for the long haul?
It might be bit cheaper to buy an Xbox 360 but who’s to say Microsoft isn’t going to announce their next generation console tomorrow and kill off the Xbox 360? Obviously, Microsoft will deny those claims but there will always be doubt without a proven track record.
On the other hand, Microsoft hasn’t seen the success in the classic Xbox and Nintendo hasn’t seen nearly the fervor over the GameCube as compared to their current generation consoles. So, that begs the question, why would they halt all that for new console announcements?
Until they’ve had more time in the market, we cannot be 100% certain what Nintendo and Microsoft are going to do when it comes to next-generation announcements while Sony’s been very clear in each press conference. As Kaz Hirai said to Eurogamer earlier:
“We certainly don’t do the consumer the disservice of basically saying that the consoles have gone by the wayside because we have a new one. Right now, a prime example? PS2 is nine years into it. Where’s the Xbox? Where’s the GameCube?”
If one console maker is looking for a way to stand out and explain their slow sales figures, Sony’s got the PS2 and its long history in their back pocket.
Now, if we could only get those game designers to continue to take it seriously and not put all their eggs into the PS3 basket.
The month, June 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 takes number one on the NDP figures with 774,600 individual units (over 1-million if you include bundles), in July… they didn’t even make the top ten figure. What the heck?
@PS4 did have always on DRM, camera, but Sony changed it at E3
😀 If this is true, then damn it, the customer still has some power. I guess not being the first to present the product is not entirely bad.
@ Xbox One’s capabilities
It’s easy to mess up specs. I mean the sales guy don’t know tech mumbo jumbo. So yeah …
Now, I’d go and say that even at the initial estimated bandwidth the difference should not be that big.
Read – write simultaneously? That’s a pretty good thing. In theory that can double the effectiveness of the hardware (at least in some instances), as opposed when having to do them sequentially.
Still … PS4 looks a bit more attractive. Dunno why, maybe because of the initial fiasco of the XBox one.
Now, on compatibility: wasn’t supposed Win 8 to play also XBox 360 games? Does this mean that XBOne will play 360 games?
@Xbox One getting Unity support to aid indie developers
Hmm … interesting. Still, XBLA was not all sunshine and rainbows:
http://www.xblafans.com/jon-blow-and-team-meat-done-with-xbox-64672.html
So what gives? Ok, the link above is from March, but still. If this isn’t confusing, I don’t know what is. Team Meat? Your reply on this recent development?
@Star Citizen asset cost for ships “anywhere from $35,000 to $150,000”
Holly f*ckin’ shit! No, just … no. Jonah has a very good point, it could be that those polygons won’t be visible at lower settings.
Further more, I think that in the heat of the action, you probably won’t notice the extra details anyway.
Hey! I missed last week’s episode so let’s get going now!
First of all, Insomniac did not develop Infamous. It was Sucker Punch and they’re also doing Infamous: Second Son now. They’re still with Sony.
@PS4 DRM – This is highly doubtful to me. Am I supposed to believe that a multi-billion dollar company changes their policy and the entire E3 presentation within a couple of hours because of what the competitor did? No way. Jack Tretton of Sony was a guest on Up At Noon on IGN this week and that’s basically what he said. That the presentation we saw at E3 was what it was always supposed to be. There were no changes made after Microsoft’s conference. The game sharing Youtube video, that’s a different story 😉
@XBone capabilities – that’s a funny mistake to made but still might have happened. I don’t think all the technical stuff really matters to an ordinary customer. I still believe that the price and the unfavorable media coverage that Microsoft got after E3 will be the deciding factor. Those people who show more interest, like you and me, already decided which console they will go with. I’m not starting my Xbox adventure with this one.
@XBone running Win8 apps – I wonder how long this will hold up. I can see people developing apps that somehow hack the console the way people accessed the OS on PS3 in the early days. The more closed the system is, the safer it is. That’s why I’m not a huge fan of all the social interaction that the new generation brings. We’ll see how this develops.
@QWOP – Jonah! Play QWOP now! This game is what hell is all about. This could be an instrument of torture – “if you don’t run at least 10 meters you’re not getting your food!”. Parenting tip #436
@E3 impressions – I’ve been going through the list of games and it’s really hard to choose. I’m going to focus on Sony games, since that’s the console I’m going for. Can I still say The Last of Us? 🙂 Technically, it was release AFTER E3 so it should count. I love this game and I’m afraid to read Jordan’s review… You OBVIOUSLY don’t get it 😛
If I have to choose something in the future, I’m still very intrigued by Beyond: Two Souls. They showed some new stuff about this game and now I have no idea how it will pan out. I’m a little worried that Mr. Cage & co. want to do too much with this title. I loved Heavy Rain and I want to go back to this game some day and if the storytelling is as good in Beyond, it will be amazing.
Most intriguing next-gen game? I think I’ll go for Infamous: Second Son. I really enjoyed the first two games, I platinumed both of them and it’s going to be interesting do see what they do with the franchise post-Cole.
And also, in case you missed it, Jordan especially, since he has a Vita, Dead Nation is coming to the handheld! The game was an amazing PSN title. Sure, it’s another zombie apocalypse game, but it was so much fun. It had a co-op mode and you could go through the whole game in 2-3 hours if you made a speed run. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Now I’m wondering whether I should cash in my Bioshock Infinite contest victory to get a T-shirt or should I wait for some next-gen games since they will be region-free… 😉