The Next-Gen Outlook: Sony Vs. Nintendo Vs. Microsoft

[Tedius Zanarukando]

I bought my PlayStation 2 in May 2003, which was two and a half years after the console's launch day.  Likewise, I will buy a PlayStation 3 two and a half years after launch day.  My brother will buy the Wii.

[Joan-Michele]

I have to say that the PS3's price tag is one of the most ludicrously high price tags I've heard. I could buy a gaming PC with that kind of money. So no...getting a PS3 is out of the question for me. Even after a half-decade's worth of price drops.

The Wii, however is a really attractive option, the easily-accesed Wii devkit means that there would be a truckload of potential game releases to be made after the launch. The price-tag together with an incredibly awesome backwards compatibility thing makes the $250 or less deal all the much sweeter.

XBox360...meh...the console underwhelms me, it just screams redundant since almost all of what you see in the XBox 360 is already available for PCs. So no deal for me.

[Tedius Zanarukando]

So no...getting a PS3 is out of the question for me. Even after a half-decade's worth of price drops.

What!? You may miss out on many great games the PS3 has to offer.  I can assure you that the PS3 will have more great exclusive games than the Wii.  You must not judge a console by launch price.  Because of its launch price, the PS3 will have a longer lifecycle than the PS2 did.  The launch price of the PS2 was $300, while the launch price of the PS3 is $600.  The higher the launch price means the longer the lifecycle.  Ken Kutaragi said that the PS4 will be released in 2016, not 2011.

[Cless]

Kutaragi says a lot of things

So far there's really only one, maybe two PS3 titles announced that have me interested at the moment (mostly Resident Evil 5, and the untitled Naughty Dog game). There are a handful of Wii titles that already interest me, and the top two just as much or more than RE5.There's also a handful of releaseed/announced X360 titles I'm interested in, but that system's also too expensive, and frankly, its instability also has me on the wall.

But there's no chance I'll even bother getting a PS3 until it's at least $300 for the premium and there's enough compelling software to justify that. I don't know when that'll happen but I sure don't expect it any time soon.

[Cyllya]

*hopes very muchly that Team Symphonia never makes a game for PS3* As long as they don't touch it, I doubt anything will ever make me willing to shell out enough money. Nothing currently announced for it has caught my eye yet. At least the Xbox 360 has Geometry Wars.

[Fluffy]

I can assure you that the PS3 will have more great exclusive games than the Wii.  You must not judge a console by launch price.  Because of its launch price, the PS3 will have a longer lifecycle than the PS2 did.  The launch price of the PS2 was $300, while the launch price of the PS3 is $600.  The higher the launch price means the longer the lifecycle.  Ken Kutaragi said that the PS4 will be released in 2016, not 2011.

I'm not so sure that the PS3 will have more great exclusives than the Wii. Even EGM this month said that Sonic Wild Fire (Wii exclusive) looks like it'll blow away Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3 and 360, I think). Don't forget about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. SSB has become one of the most popular games in recent history, so I have no doubt in my mind that many a gamer will buy a Wii simply to have that game (I would...^.^)

I don't think anyone's JUDGING the console by its launch price. They're simply saying "as a normal, average person in this world, I simply do not have the money to justify buying a $600 video game console, no matter how splendiferous it is." That's what I'm saying. I barely have the money to buy one game a month, let alone $600 to spend on the PS3. If the PS3 had a lower price, I'm sure people would be a lot happier. It's definitely a powerful console. It's also definitely got a ton of great games coming (...? maybe not.. FF XIII is really the only thing coming to mind now.. ^_^;, and yeah, all its extra junk is sweet too. Problem is, why do I want all that stuff if I have to pay more than half a thousand dollars?

I also don't think launch price has much to do with the lifespan of a console. There are plenty of consoles out there that had huge price tags (around that of the PS3) and totally, completely bombed. I don't remember which ones, but I'm sure if you look it up, you can find it.

Simply put, though, I wouldn't care if the PS3 was the only next-gen console available, I would not, and COULD not pay $600 for it. 

[Rhapsody]

What!? You may miss out on many great games the PS3 has to offer.  I can assure you that the PS3 will have more great exclusive games than the Wii.  You must not judge a console by launch price.  Because of its launch price, the PS3 will have a longer lifecycle than the PS2 did.  The launch price of the PS2 was $300, while the launch price of the PS3 is $600.  The higher the launch price means the longer the lifecycle.  Ken Kutaragi said that the PS4 will be released in 2016, not 2011.

The PS3 really isn't that much more powerful than the Xbox 360 from what I've been hearing. The high price tag is mainly due to the Blu-ray drive, which seems a pretty insane risk for Sony to be taking as Blu-ray is starting a VHS/Betamax-style format war with HD DVD. If Blu-ray loses out and the movie companies decide to support HD DVD, that drive is going to become an albatross around the PS3's neck. Sony can't take out it (since they're making sure most or all PS3 games will use Blu-ray) but it won't be of any other use if Blu-ray becomes a new Betamax.

[Joan-Michele]

What!? You may miss out on many great games the PS3 has to offer.  I can assure you that the PS3 will have more great exclusive games than the Wii.  You must not judge a console by launch price.  Because of its launch price, the PS3 will have a longer lifecycle than the PS2 did.  The launch price of the PS2 was $300, while the launch price of the PS3 is $600.  The higher the launch price means the longer the lifecycle.  Ken Kutaragi said that the PS4 will be released in 2016, not 2011.

I doubt, the price tag of the PS3 Devkit is astronomical compared to the Wii devkit.

Also, what does the launch price tag have anything to do with the life-cycle of the game console? Explain the logic to me on that one.

If boycotting the PS3 until it comes down to at least a quarter of its launch price means missing out on many "great" games. Then so be it, I have no interest in being financially raped by Sony's corporate penis.

[Carnivol]

PS3 devkits and software development is much more expensive than Wii development, something which is very unattractive for smaller studios.

Another + for the Wii is that the first gen dev systems is just an upgraded GC devkit and the entire development enviroment for the Wii is very identical to the GC, making it very easy to take the step from one system generation to another for developers.

I also wonder what insane guidelines Sony will be pushing on developers and territories for PS3 development :/

[Leroy]

I'm only getting a Wii. I might get an Xbox 360 once I get my plasma HDTV.. because I do like some of the American style games that come out on both PS2 and Xbox (I want Midnight Club 4!) and Xbox Live Arcade is kicking all kinds of ass at the moment, they're adding modern classics to it now like Symphony of the Night!

So yeah, the only reason I'll ever touch a PS3 is when I borrow one to play Kingdom Hearts III. I can't think of anything else at the moment. Even a new Tales game wouldn't do much to sway me since there's so damn many already.

[Leroy]

At least the Xbox 360 has Geometry Wars.

Geometry Wars is PURE LOVE. *melts*

[Cless]

Wow. Europe PS3 launch delayed until March 2007, and Japan is getting only 100,000 units, and the US is getting 400,000.

Sony Europe announces delay
International Herald Tribune revealing launch numbers

So much for 4 million by the year's end.

I knew they wouldn't even get close to meeting that quota, but I never imagined it'd be this bad. Holy crap, Batman.

[Kikujiro]

And don't forget Sony STILL intends to sell 6 million units by March 2007, even without selling the machine in Europe.

These guys are crazy.

[Fluffy]

...Maybe this will be another Dreamcast afterall. 

The fact that Sony is delaying the European release of the PS3 just isn't good at all if we're really comparing companies. I mean, Microsoft had a simultaneous release in the USA, Japan and Europe, and so far, it's sold approximately 5 million units ( as of June 30th, 2006). That's about 7 months from the release. It is, as I see it, a completely impossible task for Sony to sell 6 million units by March 2007. There's only a span of 4 months from the time they release the console in Japan (November 11th) and then in North America (November 17th) to when they release it in Europe (March). Granted, the Xbox is not a popular system in Japan, and not as popular in Europe as in North America, but still. the 360 had a simultaneous release in those three places, which automatically gives them an advantage in sales, as I see it.

On another point, about the fact that price = life of system... Anyone ever heard of the 3DO? (that's sarcastic, I'm assuming you all have, lol) -- with a very reasonable launch price of $699.95, the system managed to sell 6 million units before officially dying (wait, crap, Sony, you might actually make the mark!). The system only lasted 2 years -- released in 1993 and 1994, it was officially discontinued in 1995.
Let us also not forget about the wonderfully affordable Neo-Geo. This lovely system debuted at $649.99! What a DEAL! It was released in 1990, and, I'll admit, had an "official" span until 2004, when SNK released the last game for the system. But developers had stopped developing for the system years before. Only 1 million units have been sold. Part of that might have been due to the fact that games themselves cost around $200... (Sony hasn't announced how games will be priced for the PS3 -- the 360 has a price increase...)
The Sega Saturn debuted at $399, $100 more than the PlayStation. We all know what happened to the poor Saturn, don't we?

So, yeah. I don't know, but extremely pricey systems have never fared well in the marketplace. The point that I see is that if consumers have a cheaper system to buy, they're most likely going to buy it rather than the more expensive one. It's also extremely hard to justify the kinds of prices that Sony is giving us, and their justification just hasn't cut it.

[Kikujiro]

Was the Saturn THAT expensive? I remember buying it in summer 1996 for 1990 france (around 300€)

[Joan-Michele]

...Maybe this will be another Dreamcast afterall. 

...with the exception that the Dreamcast is actually GOOD and affordable with a library of great titles at cheap prices.

...but yeah, I agree. I believe that the PS3 will definitely bomb if you've look at past examples.