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2008 the year Sony turns it around?
xboxxer
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Wow, what a difference a year makes. Last year was practically the year of lolsony, but so far, 2008 seems to be shaping up pretty well for Sony and the PS3.
(before the "shill" attacks, I've got all 3 consoles, so no favorites here ... though I do still fear for my 360's longevity).
Anyways, aside from BluRay apparently winning the HD format wars, I'm more specifically thinking about games. As in 360 vs PS3. Exclusives. Now, I'm sure I'm missing some, but here's what I can think of (actually, I cribbed this from Gamepro's 52 (orig 48) best games of 2008, at http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/international/games/features/151148.shtml).
360
Too Human
Ninja Gaiden 2
Alan Wake
Fable 2
Halo Wars
PS3
Gran Turismo 5
Metal Gear Solid 4
Metal Gear Online
Little Big Planet
Final Fantasy XIII
Tekken 6
Killzone 2
Sony Home (sorta)
Now, it may be a bit too early to tell, and all, being January. But given the near parity of pricing, the free PSN, and the exclusives ... I think it might be fair to say (or at least reasonable to argue) that Sony potentially is the more compelling console this year. Whether it'll be enough to overtake the 360 is arguable, but it should be interesting.
All I know is that in 2007, 360 : PS3 gaming was about 5:1. This year, I'm thinking it may shift the other way (and the PS3 will likely get the nod on multi-plats because of the previously mentioned fear of the RROD).
... and please, please, PLEASE don't turn this thread into a stupid console flame war. It's not about which console is better. It's not about lolsony and Micro$oft. It's about software lineups in 2008. I made this thread because I was looking over the expected 2008 releases, and realized -- shit, most of the games I'm excited about are either multiplatform, or PS3 exclusives, and I was wondering if anyone else has thought the same thing.
(before the "shill" attacks, I've got all 3 consoles, so no favorites here ... though I do still fear for my 360's longevity).
Anyways, aside from BluRay apparently winning the HD format wars, I'm more specifically thinking about games. As in 360 vs PS3. Exclusives. Now, I'm sure I'm missing some, but here's what I can think of (actually, I cribbed this from Gamepro's 52 (orig 48) best games of 2008, at http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/international/games/features/151148.shtml).
360
Too Human
Ninja Gaiden 2
Alan Wake
Fable 2
Halo Wars
PS3
Gran Turismo 5
Metal Gear Solid 4
Metal Gear Online
Little Big Planet
Final Fantasy XIII
Tekken 6
Killzone 2
Sony Home (sorta)
Now, it may be a bit too early to tell, and all, being January. But given the near parity of pricing, the free PSN, and the exclusives ... I think it might be fair to say (or at least reasonable to argue) that Sony potentially is the more compelling console this year. Whether it'll be enough to overtake the 360 is arguable, but it should be interesting.
All I know is that in 2007, 360 : PS3 gaming was about 5:1. This year, I'm thinking it may shift the other way (and the PS3 will likely get the nod on multi-plats because of the previously mentioned fear of the RROD).
... and please, please, PLEASE don't turn this thread into a stupid console flame war. It's not about which console is better. It's not about lolsony and Micro$oft. It's about software lineups in 2008. I made this thread because I was looking over the expected 2008 releases, and realized -- shit, most of the games I'm excited about are either multiplatform, or PS3 exclusives, and I was wondering if anyone else has thought the same thing.
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Also, considering that blu-ray discs are finally starting to exist in the casual purchase price range of 19.99 (Amazon.com has most blu-rays worth purchasing at this price, such as Ratatouille) instead of the ridiculous, obscene, and completely not-going to happen 34.99 list price, Blu-Ray becomes a much more attractive choice for the casual buyer. Since all blu-ray players are at least the cost of the PS3, it's a fool's choice not to give Sony their money.
I only wish Sony would pull their head out of their asses about backwards compatibility, as the 40GB model is not even an option for me, and I would have to purchase the 80GB model on principle alone. It's too bad they don't still have 60GB models available, but this multiple SKU nonsense is getting ridiculous enough as is, as anyone who has to play Mass Effect can attest, that game would play much better if Bioware could count on the hard drive being available for every gamer.
However I think that PS3 is definitely back in the race this year thanks to the onboard blue-ray player. PS3 prices combined with HD adoption are going to make a lot of people start wanting a proper HD source for their new screens this year, and I think PS3 will fill that slot for many people.
Combine that with the fact that I'm sure the Wii will hit market saturation soon, how many people can really want to play that bowling game for petes sake! Hopefully we can get back on track with our actual console war this year, and the random nonsense of mini-game collections can be consigned to the past where it belongs.
Can Sony contend with the sales and/or profit numbers from the Wii next year? Hell no.
If Atlus confirms another (core) SMT for the system by then, then price doesn't matter.
There really isn't anything out yet that I want the system for(though Folklore looks interesting), but with FFXIII and SMT 4, I'm sure I'll find something.
(There's also, of course, MGS4 and maybe Disgaea 3, but the latter seems like it's wasting the console's potential.)
Are Versus XIII and XIII planned for a simultaneous release, or is that not even remotely possible?
Holy shit, is it still 2006?
Oh, wait, no it isn't. The Wii actually has a huge fucking library with several more solid hits to land in the next couple months.
Also, no, I think 360 has it covered when it comes to western games and Wii/DS beats it on the eastern front. It's too expensive and has too much crossover with the 360 to gain much ground around here.
If Europe is really going the way it seems to be going (and its hard to tell for sure until you get quarterly statements and do some figuring) then I think 2009 might be a slightly different tale. It'll be Wii first in all regions, by a ton. Then PS3 second in Europe and Japan and 360 second only in the US.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that most, if not all the games you listed are multi-platform, and thus should not have an effect one way or the other on the PS3 vs 360 battle. (Presuming, of course, that the versions are similar/identical).
...RSV 1 and GRAW, and Endwar are Ubisoft. Army of Two is EA. I suspect that these are all multi-platform titles.
Secondly, people don't care about 'value arguments' in the market. People care about cost of entry. The fact that online is free matters little to the vast majority of people when the system is $50 less up front.
Furthermore, many games are not announced until further in the year. We didn't hear about Uncharted or Tools of Destruction, two of Sony's best games on the PS3 for '07, until much later than January 07. So who's to say that we won't hear about something equally compelling for the 360 later in the year?
Also, i'm tired of people talking about Home as if it were some kind of great game or something. I've been trying to follow it, but I fail to see how it's going to be nearly as compelling a thing as everyone makes it out to be.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
And with the veritable explosion of casual social-type things, such as facebook and myspace, it just might be crazy enough to work.
Though, this is spoken from the perspective of someone who doesn't really "get" why 2nd life, facebook, and myspace are so successful, so it may just be meaningless jibber jabber. I mean, I can't very well say what will or will not make Sony Home as compelling as those other examples, if I don't understand why they are successful in the first place, right?
We're actually sold out. It's amazing. I guess it's just starting to build up some good games.
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The vast majority of people - even the ones currently owning HD sets - do not care about BluRay or HD-DVD.
BluRay gives Sony the advantage of the extremely small, and extremely niche hardcore audio-videophiles.
Give me a break. The Wii has roughly an equal attach rate as the PS3, and has games selling by both third and first parties hitting higher sales numbers than the PS3. Add onto that the fact that Wii games cost far less to develop and publish, and you won't see the system going anywhere any time soon. Once you start following game and hardware sales like I do, you notice that companies make a lot more money on the Wii than the PS3 - EA for example makes roughly twice as much money on the Wii as opposed to the PS3. And the little developers/publishers? They can't afford to put stuff on the HD consoles due to production/development/publishing costs. Their only non-handheld options are the Wii, and XBLA/PSN.
Lastly, there is a good reason why games like Monster Hunter and Fatal Frame are going to the Wii and not the PS3/360. It all adds up.
You'll continue to see great games on the PS3, and 360, of course. But the Wii is certainly not moving in the direction of a fad, and is in fact moving away from that notion as third parties and traditional games as well as innovative new stuff succeeds on the platform.
But go ahead and cling to your ignorance. I don't mind.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I'm not knocking on HD-DVD, but I really don't think they will be able to recover from the studio departures they had last year. I also don't think that Microsoft's plan for digital distribution will be the end all to physical media either. This same idea that digital would replace physical has been drug out for most of the 20th century. First it was thought TV would replace radio, while it did not, radio did change. Another example is when the first digital e-book readers came out, and proponents claimed that it heralded the replacement of the archaic paper-based books. Even with the advancements in devices such as Amazon's Kindle, books are not going away.
edit: Also, Slash, while I agree with you that consumer demand for high-def movies is not high, or even lukewarm for that matter, who is to say the entertainment industry is not going to start pushing it more aggressively? All they really need to do is release some top-tier movies on Blu-Ray first, and hold-off on DVD releases until later. They could even enter in a marketing campaign with Blu-Ray manufacturers and offer rebates on equipment.
Probably.
Will the PS3 sell better than the 360?
Probably not.
Home is a small and positive addition to the PS3's strengths.
But it is not something that is really going to push consoles. Console sales are driven by a lot of factors, and surely home is one of them.
But you're still lookin' at a machine that costs $400. To invest that kind of money into something, one's priority is going to be on its main function - what good games it has to play.
And while there will be some good ones this year, the loss of stuff like GTAIV as an exclusive certainly takes that out of Sony's ballpark. EA Sports being focused on the 360 as the lead platform also put a big dent in them. Stuff like Guitar Hero and Rock band are enormous, and are just selling out on the 360.
Sony is in a position where it needs not a few killer apps, but many. They have to overcome the enormous momentum of the 360 in terms of hardware sales and multiplatform titles, and the falling incentive to provide exclusive games by third aprties, and the higher cost of entry for consumers, with their own good exclusives.
2008 will help. But it won't change much.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
There already are top-tier movies on Bluray. But I sincerely doubt that BR manufacturers are going to offer rebates on their already expensive stuff.
No, the best we can expect as far as a marketing push is what they're doing now - lump "Also on bluray!" in with the DVD commercials. I just don't see how any company in their right mind would not do it this way. With DVD sales as enormous as they are, and HD movie acceptance lukewarm, to go the extra mile marketing-wise would probably cost millions of dollars to very little benefit.
Sony has so far won the HD format war. What it has not won is the war against widespread consumer apathy.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Hey, March is when Brawl is released. Maybe, if (through some bizzare bug) every copy of Brawl made everyone's Wii violently explode, Sony could pull second place and the analysts could be half right.
It's kind of like a weird amalgamation of facebook and second life. Admittedly, it's not going to be mind blowing but I like the idea of a virtual clubhouse. I think what excites me the most is that it's free and that it will be around for the duration of the PS3's lifespan. If I had to pay or if it was attached to a specific game I could give two shits, but it's FREE. I'm many months and an amount of real life money I'd rather not divulge into Mainichi Issho, so this is right up my alley.
Best case scenario I see the PS3 where the 360 was last year: steady success with some mega blockbusters but overall little market share growth. Its success will pale in comparison to the Wii as well. (and yeah, I do think the Wii should be considered serious competition; but that argument is for another time and place).
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Yep, winner of "Most Convoluted Hardware to Develop for and Yet Sells the Fewest Copies of Games" award. If you're referring to the PS3.
If you're including the PSP and PS2, then yeah. But that's obvious.
Second place? For what, the month of worldwide sales? In March? What's supposed to happen in March? Haze? GT5 Prologue? Gimme a break :P
The Wii will continue to be supply constrained, and the PS3 will track worldwide roughly equal to what the 360 did 12 months ago; i.e. significantly less than what numbers the 360 will be pulling.
The PS3 will not fail and will continue to be a great console.
But it is wishful thinking at best to imagine the PS3 pulling out of third place saleswise.
If you look at the PS3 library and see games that appeal to you, sure, maybe 2008 will be the year of the PS3 - for you. But in terms of overall hardware sales, and third party sales, the PS3 will continue to trail its competitors.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
If you are talking about the PS2, then I heartily agree. The PS2 will still be the console with the most LTD sales by March 2008.
If you're talking about the PS3, on the other hand, then you must be one of those analysts.
Um, pardon my ignorance, but what is happening for Sony in March? Unless it's another $100 price drop, I don't see how they are going to win. (And my win, I mean just for the month, forgetting the past 14 months of coming in 2nd/3rd)
I do believe he's referring to the PS2, which should still have the largest install base of any home console come March, although I'll betcha game sales will slow down a bit by then.
Did the DS beat the PS2's LTD sales yet?
It did so in Japan, yes.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I still think sony might be screwed. They've definitely on the right track with creating new IPs, and loading up their PSN store with some absolutely fantastic, original content (even though I'm less interested in the PS3's original downloadable games than I am in RezHD or LuminesLive). Their only big franchised exclusive for the year is MGS4, and it's hard to say if that will even be a drastic system seller at this point, as some people may simply be fatigued from the wait for the game, perhaps even to the point where they're just not that interested in it anymore.
In the long run, though, I think this year will cement Sony's loss of this console generation. Blu Ray really killed it for them, and even though they won that battle, I wonder if it'll be enough to recover their losses and prep for the next gen.
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Nope, I'm not seeing the PS3 pulling ahead. I'm not saying that it's a bad system (it's not) and its library will certainly continue to grow, but the 360 and Wii have too much momentum and too big of a lead for Sony to overtake either of them.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Will 2008 be the year that Sony "turns it around?"
It depends on what you mean by that. If by that you mean, as a current PS3 owner, you'll get some excellent exclusives and decent 360 ports, as well as nice little additions like Home, then yes. 2008 will be a better year for you than last '07 and '06.
If you mean the year Sony turns it around "for Sony," then no. They will continue to trail the other two consoles and remain in second place for at least the remainder of 2008. Franchises once thought to be "Playstation franchises" will increasingly become multiplatform, as they already have been so, and fewer and fewer true exclusives by third parties will be announced. Sony will be forced to rely on their first parties for exclusives in 2008 besides MGS4, and MGS4's system pushing capabilities are at least somewhat questionable. And while MotorStorm and Resistance actually managed to sell >1 million copies, some of Sony's best first party exclusives failed to make a splash for software sales, let alone hardware pushing sales (speaking of Ratchet and Uncharted here).
So yeah.. The PS3 had a decent '07 for PS3 owners and will probably be a good '08 for them. For Sony, they'll continue to do decent, but will trail their competitors in hardware and software sales for the rest of the year, and probably many years to come.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
More and more games are going next-gen exclusive, leaving the PS2 out in the cold.
Eh, the PS2 is near its end. I doubt you're going to see any big releases for it, but it will probably still get games like Guitar Hero 4 and Rock Band 2 and DDR super duper revolution or something.
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