2008 = Year Of The PS3 Or Not???

[Cerium]

I found this very interesting article speaking about PS3's current position in the next gen (or should I say, current gen.) Just wanted to see what you guys made of it and whats your view on the PS3.

Article written by Roger Hargreaves

"We're not sure who first described 2008 as the "year of the PS3" but we very much doubt it was anyone at Sony.

There have been some interesting exclusives this year, but none are unqualified successes and – more importantly – none seem to have broad enough appeal to turn the PS3 around.

So is this it? Has Sony effectively lost the battle for the next gen?

LittleBigPlanet is still an unknown quantity in terms of mass appeal, but we're sticking to our guess that it'll only enjoy a moderate level of success.

Metal Gear Solid has always been one of the most divisive franchises around and that leaves Sony only with bland but competent exclusives such as today's MotorStorm and Resistance 2.

Which doesn't seem nearly enough to make this the console's breakout year.

If trying to appraise the PS3's current position sounds like we're just repeating ourselves, it's because Sony hasn't fixed any of the problems that have dogged it since day one.

The PS3 is still too expensive, the multiformat games are still generally inferior and there still aren't enough high quality exclusives.

These faults were obvious from day one, never mind two years later.

With Blu-ray movie sales still slow, the PS3's greatest appeal in the eyes of many is simply its reliability.

But even that is simply a negative on the part of the Xbox 360, rather than a positive for the PlayStation 3.

All of which paints a pretty bleak picture, especially since the Xbox 360 is now outselling the PS3 in Japan as well (although sales for both are still pitifully low compared to Nintendo).

So is there any hope at all for Sony?

Plenty, although a lot of it relies on the PlayStation name – which is still very strong, particularly in Europe.

Sony is also making the right priorities – concentrating on its own internally developed exclusives. They're slow in coming though and it may be at least another year before this new focus starts to pay dividends. By which point it may be too late.

The other priority for Sony is ensuring multiformat games look at least as good on the PS3 as they do on the 360.

Ideally they want the PS3 to become the lead format for the majority of new titles, but this will never happen until either the PS3 becomes more popular or easier to develop for.

It's a Catch-22 situation that seems increasingly impossible for Sony to break, either this year or next..."

[KoopaDasher]

2009 will be the year of Sony. I really doubt they will do anything in 2008. Even with LBP and the recent price decrease, they are still a fairly small player in the big scheme. They will need another price drop and several more varied exclusives before they can become a big player.

[GrahamZ]

yeah they will need to pull something out there ass's if they want to beat xbox and wii
as xbox as got halo wars and halo 3 recon coming out and much much more.

also gears coming out soon i know its this year but this game will still be going strong all next year. maybe even heard of another gears ( gears 3 )

[IceFox]

With all do respect (I actually like the PS3), every year is the "year of the PS3."

Before someone gives the whole "What does MS have after Gears 2?" speech, don't forget that Gears 2 is one of the biggest titles this year and was announced like...5 months ago. Microsoft announces closer to release.

[E_G]

One of the silliest things in this thread is that some are likely to judge the console without a lot of experience because it's been somewhat the cool thing to bash the PS3. I will criticize the console but I would not judge it without a lot of game time, and I have. I completed MGS4, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank: TOD, GTAIV and Uncharted this year and they were all great experiences.

I bought LittleBigPlanet today but it's sealed and I have a keen interest in Resistance 2, Mirror's edge, Fallout 3 and Eternal Sonata. I already own Bioshock for the PC. Personally for me, it has been a great year for the PS3 so far, MGS4 is one of my all time favorite games and I was really immersed in GTA IV. Still I would not say it's the year of the PS3, there's been a lot of great looking games on the 360. In terms of quality games, there is a better parallel between the two consoles than most give it credit for.

[GrahamZ]

With all do respect (I actually like the PS3), every year is the "year of the PS3."

Before someone gives the whole "What does MS have after Gears 2?" speech, don't forget that Gears 2 is one of the biggest titles this year and was announced like...5 months ago. Microsoft announces closer to release.

i have a PS3 too and have nothing against it
im just saying its the year of the xbox 360


and very good point E_G

[gamerking]

idk. i think ps3's got a pretty good line up. such as resistance 2, but they're not gonna really shine til next year, with games like god of war 3 and such.

[Vekta101]

PS3 is still too expensive to break through 360's barrier. Considering it's price and lineup, 360 is doing terribly.

The problem is, no one knows enough about PS3 exclusives. I walk into my local JB Hi Fi and see a thousand Fable 2 ads, but no ads for LittleBigPlanet (which got higher ratings from everywhere).

I see on TV an ad for Fallout 3.. and it says "Out now on Xbox360 and Games For Windows"

I'm getting sick of Microsoft's pathetic buying-out tactics. This is one of the many reasons I hate Microsoft. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaIUkwPybtM

[Cerium]

I agree with Vekta that Sony definitely dont advertise their products enough! Especially as its coming up to Christmas time! In the UK at the moment, there are hardly no adverts for the Playstation 3 at all! Yet there are tons of commercials on TV for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo for both the Wii and the DS (the annoying adverts that use famous British celebrities, Fern Britton, Harry Redknapp, Ronan Keating...etc)

[Ladykiller]

Considering that the ps3 was released a year after the 360...it's certainly gaining ground...17 million ps3's sold versus 22 million 360's sold as of last week.

I think the article is quite biased to be honest, certainly it has not "lost the battle for the next gen" if anything...as previously mentioned, it's catching up especially after being released a year after the 360.

About the price tag still being expensive, I don't see how that is at all so much. I was given the choice of either getting a 360 elite or the new 80 gb ps3 both priced at $400 and I went for the latter. Not to mention a lot of ps2 users currently are looking at the ps3 when they move on to the "next gen" (now current gen) gaming. It's understandable that the ps3 still has yet to come up with some more exclusives considering that it's still early in its life cycle. But as developers start getting the hang of developing games for it and later on in the future as games start getting more complex, I really see the ps3 doing well when compared with the other 2 consoles especially with its blu-ray support.

[Cerium]

About the price tag still being expensive, I don't see how that is at all so much. I was given the choice of either getting a 360 elite or the new 80 gb ps3 both priced at $400 and I went for the latter. Not to mention a lot of ps2 users currently are looking at the ps3 when they move on to the "next gen" (now current gen) gaming. It's understandable that the ps3 still has yet to come up with some more exclusives considering that it's still early in its life cycle. But as developers start getting the hang of developing games for it and later on in the future as games start getting more complex, I really see the ps3 doing well when compared with the other 2 consoles especially with its blu-ray support.

Oh yeah, I prob should of mentioned that this article is from a TV magazine show based in the UK where the 80GB PS3 is currently being sold at £299.99 which in American Dollars is around $500.00 or just under.

You Americans dont realise how lucky you are with prices

[mchapra]

One of the silliest things in this thread is that some are likely to judge the console without a lot of experience because it's been somewhat the cool thing to bash the PS3.

Finnaly the words i was waiting for.

[Shadow the Hedgehog]

I still wonder how Nintendo has such high sales with the Wii virtually always being sold out...

/irrelevance

[IceFox]

I still wonder how Nintendo has such high sales with the Wii virtually always being sold out...

/irrelevance

Just kind of answered your own question there =p

[roza]

I still wonder how Nintendo has such high sales with the Wii virtually always being sold out...

/irrelevance

thats how! it sells so quickly! so many people have one held back in stock and the rest are sold as normal, and due to the quick sales, stores are always ordering more because the demand is so high!

[Shadow the Hedgehog]

Just kind of answered your own question there =p

Yeah I know, but how they can keep sales up with out being able to meet demands is beyond me.

[Vekta101]

Yeah I know, but how they can keep sales up with out being able to meat demands is beyond me.

Nintendo have meat demands, now? O____o

[Shadow the Hedgehog]

Nintendo have meat demands, now? O____o

Damn, I had the spelling right the first time :P

[HalfSwiss]

It's there's LitteBigPlanet, the console automatically WINZ.

[master_general]

Well, i think the transition of 2008 to 2009 is actually it's time, you have all the great exclusives coming out