Is the gig up for PS3?

[Roxianna]

Nothing kills sales more than announcing sales are really off. So when a company announces something like this I tend to think the worst. Here is the CNN/Money.com article.

What will become of Little Big Planet and other PS3 game favorites? There is a lot of good things about PS3. Can they be preserved somehow?

[Jaraj]

Sad really, more games being shelved. Really makes me wonder if they are putting any renewed effort to making their system playable across a wider demographic. Or if it will quickly be phased out like so many other consoles.

[Retodon8]

It's strange to see this happen to the popular PlayStation brand.
Both the PS3 and PSP aren't doing as well as they "should" be.

My Xbox 360 is my first console (I've always been more of a PC player (DOS & Win).
Although I'm glad I picked the right console (certainly for me personally), if you want to look at it like that, it's too bad the opposition isn't doing better.
Even if it were just for the fact that competition is good for the consumer, fan of either system.
(The Wii is targetted more towards casual, more mainstream players, so in my opinion it doesn't really fit in.)

Making a very powerful system, one that doesn't just do games, was a gamble.
The PS3 still has Blu-Ray going for it, but that doesn't seem to be helping them a lot either.
I understand HD video in general hasn't got popular yet.

Really everything I can say about the subject has been said already by others already.
I suppose making the PS3 cheaper could help sales, but I don't know nearly enough about the market to see if that's an option for Sony, nor if it would actually help.
I'll just have to wait and see...

[Mumbo]

It's a shame if they aren't able to turn it around, but they have nobody to blame but themselves. If they wouldn't have priced the system out of reach for most people, been extremely arrogant about their dominance in the last generation and treating their customers like crap, and made a system that was a little easier for developers to program for things might have been able to turn out different.

I don't think the problem was that they tried to make a system that did more than games. Microsoft did the same thing with the 360. They just chose to give the customers options about what accessories they wanted (although overcharged for them sometimes), and also made a system that was very easy to develop for.

[Sensational]

A while back I was saying that Sony could still come out on top in this generation. The more time passes the more obvious it becomes how wrong I was, I'm not sure if I should be surprised, these are after all the guys who own SoE.

[Syrra]

It was a really bad time for the PS3 to come out with the economic issues that are occurring. I think that at first it would have probably done alright, even with the arrogance and the astronomical price, but by now the people who really wanted one all have their consoles and everyone else is looking for less expensive means of entertainment. There wasn't really a way to predict how or when the economy would flounder, so it's not exactly Sony's fault, per se, but they probably should have been more cautious given the political climate.

[rabb1t]

Copied from my reply in another forum...

I own a PS3 and a Wii and I don't really give that article much weight. Why? Because despite the fact that PS3 may have fewer sales compared to last year at this time, there aren't any games I really want for any of the systems right now. If someone said 'here, have a 360', sure I'd be like "woot!", but outside of Gears of War, Halo 3, and Blue Dragon I really can't think of anything off the top of my head that is a 'must buy' for the 360. And 4 games is a far cry from justifying a console purchase for me.

Sure, there are games I don't have that I'd get for probably all of them, but there aren't any console specific games I need that are causing me to sway in any direction right now.

So for an article to say 'this console has fewer sales compared to last year and is thus a sinking ship' sounds pretty rediculous to me.

Sure, it's over priced compared to the competition, but it's got a Blu-ray drive in there. I love my Blu-ray and unless a person says 'Console + stand alone Blu-ray' they really can't whine about the price. (I've got something like over a dozen Blu-ray on my Amazon wish list and something like 40+ on my NetFlix rental que.) New Blu-ray players (with upgradeable bios and HDMI 1.3) are all still around $200+ (which I'd also say really needs to come down), so if you add that on to something like the Core Arcade bundle of the 360, you get a total of $450, which exceeds the PS3 price, so something like price advantage is easily negated.

Yeah, the price hike of Blu-ray makes it something not as desireable, but if a person is considering both it's a really great deal. Is it "sinking" because of that? Certainly not. The lack of AAA titles currently out is what's killing it, and that's a fact that exists for all 3 consoles. I don't see any new games for any which would really sway me towards purchasing a single one if I owned no consoles at all and was looking to buy just one.

Sure, if you look at overall number of AAA titles, then the 360 is probably currently holding the strongest. But you can't predict longevity soly based on what's out today, you have to look long-term, and that simply can't be done. If, however, you do predict that, and you say all things are equal and come out for all three systems, then sure, the 360 does have a price advantage as strictly a gaming system. But, until Jasper reaches mainstream filtration (a revised version which supposedly fixes the 'red ring of death issue') I feel their reputation is heavily stained by the RRoD issue and that hurts sales just as much as the higher price tag of PS3 hurts it's sales.

We'll see what we see. If anyone is going to be calling doom I'd say they should worry about the Nintendo DS, as it continually dominates non-PC sales, or the Wii if you want to look at console sales. (Due to price and potentially innovative games due to the Wiimote. Just think how cool an online dungeon MMOG would be if people who were melee types had to block with one hand and swing the sword with the other. You won't get that with PS3 or 360.) Pretty much every time when I go out to a store I see at least one person buying a Wii and/or Wii Fit. I rarely see other gams, such as 360 or PS3 games being bought. I think in my entire time during the summer hanging out outside of Best Buy I saw dozens of Wii and Wii Fit purchased, and only like two PS3 purchases and zero 360 purchases. In a number to number comparison of what I see around here Wii is always winning.

[rabb1t]

For those who reference pricing as the main issue, it isn't. If you take any other console and add on the current price of a Blu-ray player (which is much lower now than when PS3 launched) you still come out with a higher price than the PS3, so in terms of cost for what you get, it is a good deal for the money.

What really has stalled / is killing the PS3 is that the Cell CPU is far more complex to code for than they originally predicted. Early developers had a really hard time doing the multi-threading coding, and Sony provided very few tools to those early developers. Even now, years after multi-threading has been around and is starting to show up in PC, developers still are shying away from multi-threading. This is what's really hurt the PS3, because that difficulty has driven developers away towards other consoles.

The price isn't as big of a deal as how difficult it is to code for from a development standpoint.

[Mumbo]

Originally Posted by rabb1t

For those who reference pricing as the main issue, it isn't. If you take any other console and add on the current price of a Blu-ray player (which is much lower now than when PS3 launched) you still come out with a higher price than the PS3, so in terms of cost for what you get, it is a good deal for the money.

But price is a big issue for a lot of people. Yes it might be cheaper if you know that you want a game console, a blu-ray player, need a wireless connection, and all the other stuff that the PS3 offers. But for people who think blu-ray is nice but don't really want one right now for whatever reason, or say I have an ethernet cable to my tv why do I need wireless, it can become a major factor. I've always been a strong supporter of the way Microsoft decided to do it by giving you the system for a reasonable price, and then giving you options on what accessories to buy. I just think they charge way to much for some of those accessories.

I also believe that Sony is in for a rough ride now partially because of the article saying sales are down but also because the average number of games bought per system is lower for the PS3 then the 360. When a developer is looking to produce a game, those sorts of things do get taken into consideration. Then add on the fact that it is harder to develope for the PS3 and the things going against people developing good exclusive games for the PS3 just make it harder to justify.

[Dem]

Originally Posted by rabb1t

Copied from my reply in another forum...

I own a PS3 and a Wii and I don't really give that article much weight. Why? Because despite the fact that PS3 may have fewer sales compared to last year at this time, there aren't any games I really want for any of the systems right now. If someone said 'here, have a 360', sure I'd be like "woot!", but outside of Gears of War, Halo 3, and Blue Dragon I really can't think of anything off the top of my head that is a 'must buy' for the 360. And 4 games is a far cry from justifying a console purchase for me.

Sure, there are games I don't have that I'd get for probably all of them, but there aren't any console specific games I need that are causing me to sway in any direction right now.

So for an article to say 'this console has fewer sales compared to last year and is thus a sinking ship' sounds pretty rediculous to me.

I understand you're line of reasoning. But in the same line of reasoning: I loved the dreamcast, I still think it's the best platform ever created only second to the Genesis... But that didn't save Dreamcast from failing horribly now did it. Just because I think a system is great, doesn't mean it's selling like it should. To say its a sinking ship is obviously rather retarded as I'm quite sure the PS3 isn't going to suffer the same faith as the dreamcast... But for Sony, the tidings do look grim...

Sure, it's over priced compared to the competition, but it's got a Blu-ray drive in there.

Yes, but without games it's just a very expensive one.

I love my Blu-ray and unless a person says 'Console + stand alone Blu-ray' they really can't whine about the price.

Of course we can. Cuz it's not an option. Maybe I don't want to pay for something I don't want.

(I've got something like over a dozen Blu-ray on my Amazon wish list

A wish list? Is that the same as buying them? I don't really don't know... But I don't see how this contributes to your love for blu-ray? A correct statement would be: "I have like over 50 blurays at home, and I love 'm all!" Having them on some wish list... really doesn't count.

and something like 40+ on my NetFlix rental que.

Again, I have no idea wtf that is. But doesn't MS offer the exact same service with NetFlix? You don't need Bluray to see 'm in HD =/

New Blu-ray players (with upgradeable bios and HDMI 1.3) are all still around $200+ (which I'd also say really needs to come down), so if you add that on to something like the Core Arcade bundle of the 360, you get a total of $450, which exceeds the PS3 price, so something like price advantage is easily negated.

No it's not? Let's use your prices... According to you a core version costs 250$... Which it obviously doesn't. Using Dutch prices (which are generally the highest), Core Arcade Bundle (180e) + Bluray (200e) = 380e... Still beats the PS3 by 20e. But that's not even the point....... The point is that something like the pro system costs 230e, and the PS3 costs 400e... Bluray or not, it's more expensive. But like you realised, bluray alone isnt whats killing it. There's enough ppl who actually enjoy it.

The lack of AAA titles currently out is what's killing it, and that's a fact that exists for all 3 consoles.

Wrong.

I feel their reputation is heavily stained by the RRoD issue and that hurts sales just as much as the higher price tag of PS3 hurts it's sales.

Wrong again. It's not about AAA titles, it's about sales. And Microsoft and Nintendo seem to be doing just fine in that. Don't believe me? Just watch.

November NPD sales figures


Wii 2.04M
DS 1.57M
Xbox 360 836k
PSP 421k
Playstation 3 378k
Playstation 2 206k


01. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) - 1.56 million
02. Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360) - 1.41 million
03. Wii Play (Wii) - 796,000
04. Wii Fit (Wii) - 697,000
05. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 637,000
06: Call of Duty: World at War (PS3) - 597,000
07. Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) - 475,0000
08. Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) - 410,000
09. Resistance 2 (PS3) - 385,000
10. Wii Music (Wii) - 297,000

Compared to 2007
Nov. 2007 | 2008 | % Increase / Decrease
Wii: 981K | 2040K | 108%
NDS: 1530K | 1570K | 2.6%
360: 770K | 836K | 8.6%
PSP: 567K | 421K | 25.7%
PS3: 466K | 378K | 18.9%
PS2: 496K | 206K | 58.5%







It seems that Microsoft and Nintendo, are doing just fine selling their titles, AAA or not AAA. Sony doesn't seem to be selling much of anything.

Sure, if you look at overall number of AAA titles, then the 360 is probably currently holding the strongest.

Yes it is. Attach rate of 8.1 and third party software generating more revenue than wii and ps3 combined.

But you can't predict longevity soly based on what's out today, you have to look long-term, and that simply can't be done.

Ha, that's such a typical statement. It's the same bullshit Sony told us last year, and it's the same non-sense they're trying to tell people now. Last year it was 2008 that would be Sony's year, this time it's 2009, and not much has changed except that their biggest hype game didn't live up to expectations... You can talk about your long run expectations and predictions, but in the long run, we're all fucking dead.

We'll see what we see. If anyone is going to be calling doom I'd say they should worry about the Nintendo DS, as it continually dominates non-PC sales, or the Wii if you want to look at console sales.

Worry about what then exactly? I didn't even know PC sales still existed...

I think in my entire time during the summer hanging out outside of Best Buy

I'm willing to ignore that semi disgusting image you managed to create in my mind of sweaty fat men shouting "KILL THE DRAGON" and swinging their plastic swords...

But hanging outside the Best Buy all summer? Really?........................

I saw dozens of Wii and Wii Fit purchased, and only like two PS3 purchases and zero 360 purchases. In a number to number comparison of what I see around here Wii is always winning.

Yes, the wii is definitely the big winner of this gen. But, at what price? Even oldschool hardcorde nintendo fans are disappointed by the direction nintendo took with the wii... Nintendo 1 - Gamers 0

And yes, I used Rox's post as an excuse to post some statistics on sales and such. Cuz I'm just that much of a geek.