Is the PS3 in a race against time?

by Nick Doerr { Apr 5th 2007 at 4:00PM }

In all fairness, if you're racing against time, you can't possible expect to win. How can you beat time? It's already where you're trying to go, because when you get there, it's... whatever. Time is a silly concept. Over at Reuters, a lengthy topic was posted regarding the future of the PlayStation 3. We'll outline the main points of argument they make and you can make your own arguments afterwards!

To succeed, the PS3 needs to hold onto third-party titles. (We may add... timed exclusives would be best)
The demand for HDTV's is skyrocketing -- that will hold a major advantage over, say, the Wii in the living room of the future.
The PS3 launch almost mirrors the PS2 launch -- initial supply troubles, lack of impressive titles, complaints about the difficulty to program for... but look at how the PS2 turned out.
Cut the PS3's price!
Have a strong, stable series of games!

That about covers their main points. Feel free to read the whole article more in-depth and drop a comment about your thoughts. Is this a race that the PS3 can win, or will time inevitably cause the decay of what is an otherwise beautiful console?

Tags: PlayStation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

wkcr @ Apr 5th 2007 4:17PM

Yeah, the ps3 really need som great exclusives. People are not willing to cash out $599 on a system with lack of good quality games.

Vincent060 @ Apr 5th 2007 4:47PM

The PS3 has some great games coming out soon. So much so that rumors are spreading that PS3 games will go to the 360 too. The same games that made the PS2 great will make the PS3 great. It has pontential, but the thing is people have to wait. People can still play the great games that are currently out, like R:FOM and Motorstorm, plus people can still play their favorite PSone and PS2 games on the PS3. Not the only thing Sony should do is put more focus on backward-compatibility, since the best games are still on those systems.

SuicideNinja @ Apr 5th 2007 6:56PM

The internet has put impatience on full-throttle.

Consumers are more "NOW!"-oriented than ever. The one thing Sony has done right so far is made their product available. But there is much more to it than that.

It's easy to say, "Just wait!" However, as opposed to a decade ago, consumers are used to getting their little desires satiated much quicker than before. We don't even have to go to the store any more, we can do immediate bargain shopping and product comparisons at home. Dozens of reviews from real people are available in multiple places. While this has made more impulsive shoppers out of some, it has also made smarter shoppers out of others.

Word-of-mouth has also increased exponentially because of the internet. The power of the forum and review is much bigger than before; no special magazine subscription is required to get equivalent information.

I think Sony is the only company of the three that seems to have not paid proper attention to how the internet affects controversial products such as gaming consoles. If you notice, Microsoft plays well to those at home on the internet. Nintendo knows how to keep their collective mouth shut. Sony isn't close to either of those strategies; their mouth is big and they often speak before they think. When a problem arises, they do a very poor job at recovering from it. These problems may hurt them significantly this generation, but it's unlikely to "bury" them.

Sony will be okay in the end, but that doesn't mean the road will get any smoother for a while.

Ed @ Apr 5th 2007 9:13PM

I dunno, maybe it's just me...but I don't recall the PS2 launch being nearly this bad. I had one within a month of launch, fairly easily at Walmart. I also had some decent games to go with it. If I recall, I was playing classics like Madden, Time Splitters, Midnight Club, EA's NHL...With the PS3, we have Resistance, Fight Night, and "perhaps" a couple of other decent titles that truly live up to Next Gen expectations. Games have been blah...

I don't like the controller. I don't like how it feels. It feels like a cheap toy. I don't like the Sixaxis at all compared to the Dual Shock. Now that Immersion and SONY have settled their differences, we NEED, or we MUST have the return of DUAL SHOCK. I cannot imagine playing a game of SOCOM 4 without it. Plain and simple.

The console IS too expensive. BluRay players have already come down dramatically in cost. The bargain, or "trojan", depending on how you look at it, is now overpriced. Cut the price NOW.

Online, online, online. When will SONY ever learn? Online gaming is where it's at...right NOW. Not years down the road, which is the position they always seem to take. Online gamers will indeed, shape the future of gaming. This is a bandwagon which has already passed SONY by, and they need to catch up and hop on. Quickly.

I own many consoles, and without going into specifics, I hardly touch my PS3. At this point, it was truly a waste for me to grab it when I did...but honestly, time is running out for these guys. I love me some video games, I love me some SONY video games, but until they produce something truly magical for this thing...I'm gonna remain skeptical. The clock is ticking.

phil @ Apr 5th 2007 9:50PM

Yes, and unlike the PS2 the PS3 isn't facing competition either on the decline (Sega) or not out yet for another year (MS, Nintendo). Nintendo has momentum and appeal to the casuals and MS has mindshare. Oh, and most importantly the PS3 is what the PS2 wasn't, i.e. "expensive", whether the perception is caused by the actual price or by word of mouth. The PS2 didn't start to dominate in it's first year anyway. It took several events to happen for that to transpire. It's faulty logic to use a simplistic analogy which is what comparing the PS3 at this point in it's life to the PS2 is. Of course the system could well end up as popular as the PS2 but while externally the situation appears somewhat vaguely familiar the particulars are totally different.

kingnick @ Apr 13th 2007 3:20PM

The PS3 needs more killer exclusives due to its high price tag but what it also needs is multiplatform games, preferably released on the same day as their Xbox360 brethren (GRAW2 anyone).

I agree that HDTV is the way of the future but the Xbox360 also does HD games for much less so unless a consumer wants Blu-ray and HDMI and is indifferent to exclusive games the Xbox360 comes out on top.

The early PS2 years were significantly different, there wasn't any strong competition when the PS2 launched and by the time the Xbox and GameCube had arrived the PS2 was out to an unsurmountable lead which keep growing, the same may happen with the Xbox360.

While a price cut would be nice I'd rather they improve the games library and other software, no good paying $100 less if there still aren't any exclusive games out that I want to play on it.

I couldn't agree more with "Have a strong, stable series of games!" but I'd like to see the variety that Sony is know for in future. Luckily Sony have some of the best devs out there so even if they were developing for a 486 I'm sure they could do some interesting things.

I was going to get a PS3 first this gen but got sick of waiting and didn’t want to pay a premium Blu-ray when I have no need for it so I got a 360. While the good games will come I think the PS3 will forever be behind the Xbox360 in quality and quantity of games.

Until MGS4, FFXIII and a few more killer exclusives are out I’m not biting.

Andir3.0 @ Apr 6th 2007 8:45AM

Eh, I don't know. The main reason I buy consoles is for story based games and in the room multi-player. I could give a rat's ass for online play. That's what my PC is for. I certainly don't want to have to listen to some jackass on the other end of a microphone telling everyone he's the most uber person in the world. Though it is fun to mention the PS3 on Live and then listen to all the lame responses but that's about it.

seedaripper @ Apr 6th 2007 8:50AM

fucking hell...ive been playing the ps2 online for years...christ, you're such a bunch of cynical yanks...i recently bought a PS3 for like 200 quid more than what you paid(i paid 550 GBP with motorstorm/resistence/VF5+extra controller), and you are STILL moaning about the price?!!!!
its a fucking great machine! it DOESNT breakdown! you dont have to pay for 'propriety extras'(hmm wifi,HDD,batteries,headsets etc...) you DONT have to upgrade every 2 years!(im looking at catch up 'elite' here)
if you love your fucking 360 so much...PLAY IT AND DONT POST NEGATIVE FANBOYISM!
what a bunch of cunts *rolls eyes*

hunchbak @ Apr 6th 2007 12:45PM

Seedaripper, pull your panties up and stop bitchin'! Dont have to pay for anything?? dont you have to pay for cables?? Whatever, STFU and play your motostorm and wait for metal gear... whenever that comes out... Just ride M$ coattails, beacause its last place for sony this go round.