"There is no way the PS3 launch is going to go well"
by Ed Stasick 
{ Oct 4th 2006 at 9:19PM }
Last week, thousands of Ars Technica talked to some of this year's show goers about their thoughts on the PS3s prospects. In addition to providing the title of this post, they had this cheery news:
"I asked the regional manager about PS3 preorders," one told me "and he paused and then said he can't answer the question. He said there is a plan, but they can't talk about it; we should know in a week to two weeks." He started to sound tired. "Sony just didn't seem like they had a plan with the show. No plan at all. Barely a mention of the PS3, and almost nothing playable. On the other hand, I waited two hours for Gears of War. There is a feeling that Nintendo and Microsoft really set out to wow us, and Sony didn't have much to show. There was a PS3 under glass you could look at, and that's about it."
Frankly, I'm not too worried about launch. And I'm really not worried about GameStop. Almost every launch is a fiasco of epic proportions. Its what happens in the months following launch that is going to actually matter.
[Via Opposable Thumbs]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Frosty22 @ Oct 4th 2006 10:31PM
not looking good.
Master H @ Oct 4th 2006 11:09PM
Why this still hapening to sony, really the Play Station 3 are gona destroy 360 and wii.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 4th 2006 11:11PM
Not a big deal...We'll have to see how it goes on release and go from there. From what I see, the news is getting better from the developer perspective.
Spawn @ Oct 5th 2006 1:18AM
well that sounds good for me because i love nintendo. thats 1 point for us again!
stumpie @ Oct 5th 2006 1:20AM
The bad press Sony is getting is almost Epic. I can't even make up stuff this bad from so many different angles. It's the perfect storm of a product launch nightmare.
AG @ Oct 5th 2006 8:24AM
I don't agree with most of the bad press as it is really stupid if you stop and step back and analyze what everyone is complaining about. It is being made a much bigger deal than it really is and I do believe MS with their level of shady tactics has made many of Sony's miscues a much bigger deal than it really is. They have been doing that for years but just not on the gaming front...and with almost everybody in their pockets, literally, in some way or another(Not really talking about XBOX here,Windows, Office, etc...)they have a lot of money driving their force. They may not be able to sell a lot of systems, but they sure can spread lots of crap. I still believe all of bad press will end shortly after the PS3's release. People may not remember but PS2 received a lot of bad press as well, the difference is MS was not involved at the time. Now you can see the level of crap MS will spread to try and sell their system.
alienclay @ Oct 5th 2006 10:58AM
no, it's not that big of a deal but you still you wanna see sony fight more. there's a lot at stake and sometimes it looks like sony wants to take things for granted.
or maybe they simply want to shut up, stop making promises and let the system speak for itself at launch.
SuicideNinja @ Oct 5th 2006 2:45PM
"People may not remember but PS2 received a lot of bad press as well, the difference is MS was not involved at the time. Now you can see the level of crap MS will spread to try and sell their system."
The difference today is the internet, not Microsoft. More "interested" people are in the know today than before. Yes, mostly hardcore gamers are going to go to these blog sites, but some gaming news is spread more via general news sites. If consumers want answers, they can get it. They don't have to wait for a magazine or the news on TV. They can get it now. It wasn't like that in the previous generations.
Anyway, people need to stop assuming Sony's faults lie within solely the PS3 pricing (people will buy it anyway). Just like people need to stop blaming Microsoft for Windows (people buy it anyway).
Both companies produce some bad products. Sony's just happen to be mostly tangible, while Microsoft's is mostly software. However, it's undeniable that MS's development software (.NET) and even Windows itself has propelled businesses and consumers with technology quite substantially. And Sony makes some damn good cameras and televisions.
Aragorn @ Oct 5th 2006 1:55PM
well the bad press says a lot more about Sony as a company than it does about the PS3 its self.
This kinda stuff is nothing new. Microsoft had their first last year, and so on.
But the thing that I find funny is that not only is sony going to be the last across the finish line (in terms of release), but they're out of breath.
Everything from news on the hardware, to the complete LACK of news as far as release suggests a rushed product that has become Sony's trademark. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but looking back at the PS2's launch... you'd think Sony would have learned a thing or two, and taken more care in the development and launch of the PS3, instead of having to seemingly slapdash everything (again, this could simply be a misconception on my part). I remember back when the xbox was recently released, news of the PS3 already being in development... and news on how the PS3 was going to be a virtual console or something (funny how many people bought that), and years later, I'm thinking how back then when the Sony R&D dept had their heads thrusted into a william gibson novel, and how that time seemingly could've been better utilized.
but you know what they say: "insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result."
Aragorn @ Oct 5th 2006 4:18PM
SuicideNinja Said: Anyway, people need to stop assuming Sony's faults lie within solely the PS3 pricing (people will buy it anyway). Just like people need to stop blaming Microsoft for Windows (people buy it anyway).
who said their faults lie within the pricing?
we'll all just get second jobs!