Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have great visions for their consoles, they all strive to stand out from their competitors. Nintendo’s key initiative is to get non-gamers on board and provide the world with something a little different while Microsoft’s concept is to get a 360 into the hands of all gamers and build a huge community. Sony’s selling point? Graphics.
When it comes to standing out amongst the other consoles, Sony cannot compete with the Wii‘s quirky cuteness and Xbox 360‘s one-year lead on sales, games and overall functionality. They were late to the game because of technological advances in Blu-Ray and overall graphic horsepower. They’re providing a console that will still look “teh awesomes” ten years down the road, similar to the attack plan of the PS2 product which still sells today.
Sony’s Scott Steinberg, Vice President of Product Marketing for SCEA had nothing but great things to say about the console he’s marketing…
“I think that we’re seeing, graphically, PS3 games starting to create some distance and some of the other competitors are going to feel that they’re getting long in the tooth, looking quite dated, because they haven’t created that ten-year vision from a horsepower standpoint” (psu.com)
Really? Does anyone look at the Xbox 360 and say “this thing looks dated.” Each new title release continues to look more advanced and more graphically appealing than the last. Sure, Resistance 2 looked graphically epic, but the title isn’t on the shelves yet. As a matter of fact, very few PS3 titles are on the shelves when it comes to graphically appealing titles everyone wants.
As Nintendo has proven, it’s not always about the advanced graphics but the fun value and access to many titles across many genre’s of gaming. We’re happy about a nice 10-year vision but there is a reason classic games like Pac-Man, Missile Command and Galaga are still talked about and played by gamers: simple and fun.
Microsoft may not have a ten year vision, this is true, but I’d rather have a hot console I can play for the next six years than own a more expensive console with few games until its third year of life. The PlayStation 3 has been beating the Xbox 360 sales in 2008, is this too surprising given the fact that the Xbox 360 was out a year ahead? Sales aren’t always going to be rosy and over the top (unless it’s the Wii).
Rather than concentrate on how many more consoles the PS3 has sold compared to the 360, look at how many Wii consoles have sold to the graphically superior PS3. Perhaps Sony should speak less to the gamers about how awesome their console is and speak more to the developers so we can get titles worth buying for the console. Gamers only win when a console has games for them to play.
Hines stated:
In an interview, Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime stated:
@Kinect: I’m glad this gimmick seems to be fading I rather use a remote or get up if I have to. The whole system felt clumsy and as Jonah demonstrated annoying when doing things that have nothing to do with the system. I’m quite content with using controllers, it just feels quicker and more precise.
@Windows open source: It seems to be little more then speculation if they are actually going to do this or if all that has happened is they talked about it. There are people that barely seem to be able to even use a computer let alone meddle with it under the hood.
@Kickstarter: I think this would be a great topic for an episode, I know Paul feels burned out on it but there are successes. Pillar’s of Eternity is just one of many, their’s is probably the best example of it being done right. I looked for games that I wanted to play and this was one of them, and yes I also looked at who was making it so yes choosing “famous” or those already previously successful is exactly what one should take into consideration.
Also a game’s difficulty rating I don’t think deters from the fact that a company that said they would deliver a game did so. I found it hard too but that doesn’t make it a failure of a game or a kickstarter investment. Like with this topic and the previous Windows open source people need to exercise some common sense with these things. Kickstater or crowd funding isn’t a bad idea when it is helping those with good ideas, and knowledge on how to do make it happen but just lack the funds to execute it.
You don’t have to back anything but I don’t think it deserves condemnation as a failure either.
QotW: Back to a topic Paul does like, I think I mentioned that Abadonware would be a good policy to help preserve these old games. You guys are right that we do more to preserve records and history than we have before and it’s a shame that games are facing trouble because of outdated software, license holders, hardware advancements, copyright laws etc.
I love you guys. I listen to you. But I work like a horse for the good of the public. Being an adult sucks.
@QOTW
Not sure. I didn’t get into heavy gaming until 2005 sadly. Eastern Europe had limited access to video games. So a lot of the classics I am playing first time. People fuelled with nostalgia tell me how good Goldenye, Zelda and WoW were. But when I play them I feel they are dated and clunky and not half as fun as modern games. Playing Twilight Princess ruined Ocarina of Time for me. Ocarina didn’t have a lot of modern features that I would expect from a modern game. And I won’t even start on Kingdom Hearts.
Only a few games contain a formula that endures over time. Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Halo are all still good games. But because of that they are re-released a lot, and I would rather play their modern descendants. So I would say on the future, Retro gaming will become a niche part of gaming, much like a genre. You will play it if you like it. Wider gaming public will ignore it and those games that have good gameplay would be updated every other year. Wait up for Mario Kart 15 and Ultimate Super Smash Bros Tussle.