tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post2651382057451595974..comments2024-02-19T19:53:01.688-08:00Comments on Cathode Tan: 2008 Games In ReviewJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04260309971152360156noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post-31672116953894540662008-12-30T10:54:00.000-08:002008-12-30T10:54:00.000-08:00You know, I look at this off C|Net and think - it ...You know, I look at <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/publish-confirmation.g?blogID=9611352&postID=2651382057451595974×tamp=1230651732476&javascriptEnabled=true" REL="nofollow">this off C|Net</A> and think - it really comes down to price, price, price.<BR/><BR/>The PS3 is like a Mac. It's a good deal for the price point, but people aren't jumping to pay extra to get either a next gen TV or console.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04260309971152360156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post-33345932410194741812008-12-30T10:51:00.000-08:002008-12-30T10:51:00.000-08:00In some ways, Sony played up on Microsoft's gamble...In some ways, Sony played up on Microsoft's gamble: which was next gen, high definition gaming. Except, they upped the stakes by likewise gambling on their own format to deliver the goods.<BR/><BR/>The Wii is kicking the crap out of both of them because they didn't play the same game, they went for easy profitability, low cost. The wiimote sold it for them, and the recession will likely keep them going. Both MS and Sony are behind the eightball of HD adopion, and Sony is doubly behind Blu-Ray adoption.<BR/><BR/>Even with Blu-Ray having "won", the question being posed to consumer on the format is still up in the air. Especially since most people don't want to spend the cash on an HDTV where 1080P really matters anyway.<BR/><BR/>To your point, Sony offers no silver bullet response. They don't say, "well yeah, but we have XYZ game exclusively". What they have exclusively runs from the entertaining (Uncharted), to interesting (Pain) to the completely useless (Home). Microsoft has better development deals and bonus items like Netflix to make up the difference.<BR/><BR/>Sony needs to have a wild card up its sleeve to pull out from third place, and that card isn't Blu-Ray or Home.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04260309971152360156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post-63849053287049943922008-12-30T08:06:00.000-08:002008-12-30T08:06:00.000-08:00I have to say I'm really disappointed with Sony's ...I have to say I'm really disappointed with Sony's efforts. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think the PS3 is really a solid piece of hardware and I've enjoyed playing a lot of games on it. But the lagging popularity of the platform means that I get less exclusive titles. Granted, I'm not going to run out of games to play anytime soon, but it does make me question my original decision to an extent.<BR/><BR/>It seems that Sony's gamble was that they could make a high end system and that people would pick the superior product. Part of this gamble failed because the economy has been crappy. However, a bigger part of the problem is that they were out a year later than the 360. So what happened was that the 360's performance became the benchmark for cross-platform games. Sure, the PS3 has more horsepower, but unless you're developing exclusively for it, you can't really take advantage of it. So what we end up with are a handful of really pretty exclusives, and then a ton of cross-platform games that don't really make use of the system's power. Had the PS3 come out a year ahead of XBOX or even at the same time, then the price point would have been less of a negative and there would have been greater incentive to target games to the platform.<BR/><BR/>It seems, once again, that we have a technically superior product being damaged by an inferior business execution. Microsoft leveraged their solid development tools and a year lead time to great advantage. Sony, got too enamored with pushing the envelope for it's own sake, and ended up making a really nice game system that's just not all that popular.<BR/><BR/>What I'm curious to see is what happens with the next generation of consoles. I mean there's really not a lot of new features that need to come to consoles. It'd just be upping the performance a bit, and I feel like it would be only a marginal improvement anyhow. Add to that the fact that the global economy is having a major shit storm right now, and I'm guessing we don't see anything new anytime soon.<BR/><BR/>So my expectation is we'll see Microsoft and Sony try to do more with what they've got. Sony's home concept is illustrative of that, even if it seems pointless. However, having said that, Sony could do some interesting stuff with it. For example, what if you had Rock Band on PS3 with home support. That is, why couldn't you have people doing karaoke or holding concerts in home? That I can see having value. I hope that's their thinking because buying fake furniture for my fake apartment really doesn't enamor me when I've got a real apartment that needs real furniture :)sternohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02245940881311545520noreply@blogger.com