Why PS3 is destined for Success...

[OmniCloud]

After reviewing a demo for some upcoming Wii games-(http://media.games.ign.com/articles/...80/vids_1.html) I've came to a conclusion that Wii really is a revolution to gaming. The controls are intuitive, easy-to-learn, and simply fun to play with. However, I also belive that it's the second choice console or the supplement to your main gaming experience. Why,-the graphical capabilites are just not nextgen. Now many of us already know that, and what exactly does this have to do with PS3? As TGS is coming in just a few weeks, the Hype for PS3 will certainly generate to pre-E3 levels once again. After the hype is over tho, and the hardcore guys (PSINEXT members) have already gotten there PS3, will the PS3 package be enough to convince gamers that the next step is a $500 purchase? Through a little research and some strong opinions, I've come to the conclusion that it's a resounding YES--only if Sony markets the gaming aspects of PS3 first and foremost.

First the graphcial capabilities of PS3 are incredible. Slowly u can already see the gamesites and magazine give credit to Sony's Cell CPU. Even the sites that are somewhat Anti-Sony are now switching the bashing from "Show me it's more powerful" to "It's not $200 more powerful". Indeed, however large the gap between PS3 and it's main competitor 360 is, at least it's mostly confirmed that there is a gap. Being able to display games in the Holy Grail of High definition-1080p isn't a bad thing either. For more conformation, take a look at quotes from the big devs out there...

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and Square-Enix's Tetsuya Nomura both believe PlayStation 3 will be the best outlet for their games in two or three years' time.

Speaking in an interview with Japanese Ge-Maga, partly translated by IGN, Kojima, who has been a staunch supporter of PS3 since its unveiling in May 2005, compared the Sony console to a movie theatre - while Xbox 360 "is watching a DVD at home" and "Wii is a television program".

"If you think about the future of the industry and game creators, I get the feeling that the winner had better be the movie theatre," he said.

Nomura, meanwhile, was less flamboyant in his praise but backed Sony nonetheless.

"Thinking two to three years from now, the PS3 will be the most appropriate," he said. "We feel that when the games that we're making are released, the PS3 will be strong in the market."

But while both developers seem to be content with the Sony console, despite its apparent loss of momentum at E3, neither is entirely happy with Sony's announcements.

Unusually for Kojima, who typically echoes Sony's own sentiments about the high quality of the PS3 hardware, the MGS man expressed some concerns about the loss of rumble functionality - and even said he felt that, "The best thing would be a PS3 with controls like the Wii."

Describing the loss of rumble functionality as "unfortunate", Kojima also questioned why, if its removal was down to incompatibility with motion-sensing as Sony has claimed, the company hadn't simply allowed players to switch between the two.

Nomura's criticism focused on the price. "Right now, as a game machine, it's too expensive," he said. "If the hard disk and Blu-Ray spread, in line with that, the situation for the PS3 will change in one to two years," he added, before arguing that "when the games are there", the machine's profile will change "naturally".

Both Kojima and Nomura will have some say in that, of course - with Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Nomura's Final Fantasy XIII two of the system's most highly anticipated titles

Hiroshi Kataoka
Producer at Sega (Virtua Fighter 5), on being able to bring an arcade classic home

"From a purely technical standpoint, the arcade Lindbergh hardware uses the Nvidia graphics chip, so it was a fairly easy choice. Graphically, there's always pressure to be on the cutting edge, but we also want to be on the cutting edge of gameplay."

Atsushi Inaba
President of Clover Studio (Okami, Viewtiful Joe), on creating next-gen worlds, and on the controller

"The most intriguing part of the PlayStation 3, to me, is the power. Sony seems to have built a racing machine with Blu-ray, Cell, and all of these things that are incredibly powerful. But even though it's powerful, there are games that will work well with the machine and games that won't. And going forward, that's something we have to think about-- what game works best for each system."

Yannis Mallat
CEO at Ubisoft Montreal (Assassin's Creed) on gameplay

"Everyone at Ubisoft Montreal is really excited about the PS3. The PS1 and the PS2 have revealed true long-term staying power, and we're already amazed with the results we're currently achieving on the PS3--especially with games like Assassin's Creed--almost one year before launch. There is no doubt in our minds that the PS3 will deliver a true next-gen gaming experience in its first year."

And of couse the devs close to Sony have nothing but praises for the console...

Ted Price President of Insomniac games
"We also want to make sure that we are demonstrating what the hardware can do really well, because yes, we certainly read what people said about the Playstation 3 and I know there are a lot of people wondering, "Is it going to deliver everything I think it can?" We certainly to prove that yes, the Playstation 3, and this game in particular, is going to deliver on all fronts."

Whatever the final specs turn out to be, I believe it's safe to say that because of Cell, PS3 will be the most unique console availabe and some truly amazing software is down the line for the system. (It's more of this in our own site no less-http://psinext.e-mpire.com/index.php?categoryid=3&m_articles_articleid=671) When it comes to gamers tho-are graphics enough?

Well yes and no. Take a look at the sales charts for recent games. A prime example would be 50cent Bulletproof. Gameplay sucks, graphics are pretty good, and it has 50cent in it. Obviously, to some extent at least, graphics are enough for many people. It's easy to sell a million copies of a game with advertising alone. But for a game to truly shine of couse, the gameplay has to be in top form. Which is one of the reason why PS3 (why I think PS3 )has the opportunity to succeed it's rival.

Even without a HDTV the graphics for some of the upcoming games just blow away what were used to. But really, many of the launch games for 360 were underwhelming not because of graphics alone, but because the gameplay just wasn't anything new or better than current gen. The Wii totally throws that out the window, which is why I belive there already set for success. Party games, multiplayer games, and simple DS'style games will have a market with the casual gamers. Which means Wii will makes its way into more than enough homes. But the PS3 also has an ace up it's sleeve. Rumble aside, the PS3 controller really has the potential to offer true nextgen gameplay...

The Controller
A Shocking Evolution



What once looked like a reject from the Chiquita Banana factory is now familiar again. Indeed, the PlayStation 3 controller is essentially a DualShock-style controller, complete with two analog sticks and all of the same buttons. However, now it has an additional button in the center that can be used to power the console off and access the system menu, much like the 360 controllers have. The PS3 controller is also lighter than before--even lighter than the PlayStation 2's DualShock 2 controller. But of course, the most important new feature of the PS3 controller is its motion-sensing capability, which detects six degrees of motion (X, Y, and Z planes as well as pitch, yaw, and roll).

Did Sony Steal The Idea?
A Long Time Coming



The controller seems like it's a pretty blatant rip-off of Nintendo's Wii controller, or at least like a reactionary move to it. But the idea, apparently, has been in the works for quite some time. "It was so secret that people thought we came up with it [right before E3]," Kaz Hirai explains. "But this thing has been in [Ken] Kutaragi's mind for the longest time. Do you remember the original PlayStation controller, the one without the analog sticks? We started there, and then we added the two sticks for the analog controller. Then we added the vibration feature and called it the DualShock controller, and then we came up with the DualShock 2, which had pressure-sensitive buttons."

Hirai continues, "Every time we added some functionality, it was to make the controller be more intuitive, to make it feel like a part of your body, and to make it more realistic in terms of how it interacts with the game. Now we've added the motion sensors, so it's the natural progression of wanting to improve the controller so that it becomes a natural extension of your body. If you see how the controller has evolved, it seems natural, as opposed to 'Hey, look at this.' This didn't come as something that we wanted to do the day of the press conference."

Does It Work?
You Bet It Does



Surprisingly, the controller worked absolutely great with the only game, Incognito's Warhawk, that supports its functionality at the moment. It's also pretty sensitive, with every slight movement affecting the direction of the ship. It's also worth pointing out that it feels pretty natural as well (despite the fact that you initially feel like a complete spaz). But what does Incognito think? "We've been working on the technology for a while, but we weren't sure when it was going to show up in the controller," says Dylan Jobe, producer at Incognito. "We were internally hypothesizing that Sony was going to do something big, so it has to be this. We worked on our physics system to make sure it would be a seamless transition, and then Sony of Japan finally allowed us to be introduced to [the actual controller]. When we finally got our hands on it, there was only about a week and a half [until E3]. It was a really good marriage with Warhawk."

Jobe adds, "Part of the reason why I think people believe you need to make exaggerated movements while using the controller comes from me flailing around onstage [during the E3 press conference]. It's an incredibly precise device, and what we'll end up doing is allowing you to control the sensitivity and acceleration, because some people want really precise controls and others want flailing. We found that the data coming off the sensor gave us more precision than the analog sticks alone, and when we first heard about it, we thought we [were going to have to do a lot of research]. But when we got it, we found that it's completely stand-alone in that it calibrates itself and doesn't have to register with anything. It just automatically works."

-It won't have as complex movements as Wii, but the combination of the simple Tilt/Turn controls with some crazy Hi-def visuals, and you figuratively take the best of both worlds. While the Wii will certainly have games that aren't possible anywhere else, with the controller and Cell-so will PS3. Add another factor with Eye/toy, and the PS3 has the opportunity to have even more unique games like SingStar, Kinetic, and Eye of Judgement. These features are what's going to make PS3 a valuable product in terms of gameplay and visuals. So just where does this leave Sony's competitor? To sum up, I'll use one of my favorite quotes taken from one of my favorite games developers...

Hideo Kojima
Head of Kojima Productions (Metal Gear Solid 4), on taking you to the movies

"To refresh your memory, last year I said the PlayStation 3 was a big meal that you have once a year, the 360 was a special meal that you have on weekends, and the Revolution--as it was called at the time-- was your everyday meal. Last year, it was the same family changing meals according to the situation; that was my line on it. Now, the PlayStation 3 is like a movie theater for people who want to see this movie on the big screen with THX and 5.1 audio, even if they have to pay a high price. The Xbox 360 is DVD. It could be a rental DVD or you could buy a DVD. Basically, you don't know what movie you want to see, so you go to the store and see if you can pick up a good one. The Wii is like a TV for when you're home and you don't know what you want to watch but you [want to] have that variety.

Indeed a very good analysis of each console. However, If Sony markets right, gets a couple must-have titles out the door, then they could possibly take the movie theater and DVD experience up completely...

Don't know why I did this thread but I hope some1 gives some feedback for some debate

[Old_Timer!]

OMFG, Omni what did you do!! damn now I gotta read it all..... sheeeeeeeesh...

[jaxmkii]

good post! +rep

[Old_Timer!]

You can think of this next gen race as playing Poker, Microsoft showed it's hand first thinking it had the best hand Four-Of-A-Kind(3 core, 720p), Nintendo laughs and says no fool it's not going down like that this time, let me show you the winning hand Straight Flush(Innovative Remote/Pointer), and and Nintendo is about to rake in the big chips Sony pops up it's head and say's hold your horses did you guys forget about me and drop the Royal Flush(Cell/RSX/Blu-Ray/controller upgrade) on them.

[SuperLuigiBros]

I can definatly see where you are coming from and what you are trying to say, but I think that some parts can be flipped around to be bad news for the PS3. Let me explain...

Well yes and no. Take a look at the sales charts for recent games. A prime example would be 50cent Bulletproof. Gameplay sucks, graphics are pretty good, and it has 50cent in it. Obviously, to some extent at least, graphics are enough for many people. It's easy to sell a million copies of a game with advertising alone. But for a game to truly shine of couse, the gameplay has to be in top form. Which is one of the reason why PS3 (why I think PS3 )has the opportunity to succeed it's rival.

To me, this is why I think PS3 will not do super-amazingly compared to the Wii...possibly the 360. (The same can be said with the PSP vs. DS).

The first bolded part is the most important. I think alot of developers could make a game and focus on the graphics instead of the gameplay because it could be easier or something. They might be tempted to just make the game look good. Many casual gamers (the ones who bought 50cent) were like "well this game looks good, Id better get it". In my opinion, the biggest threat to the PS3 is having lots of games that are crap and boring, but look so good that people buy them without a second thought.

The second bolded part is part of the same problem. Casual gamers will buy a game because of the graphics. When they realise that it isnt fun (assuming they buy a 50cent equivilant) then theyll tell all their friends "well its cool because of the graphics...but i dont really play it any more..."

The last part is why I think the Wii will do so incredibly well - most likely better than the DS. The developers can't hide behind good graphics so the games have to be fun. If not, then they got nothing.

Im not saying that the PS3 will have nothing but 50 cent games and will fail abysmally, and Im also not saying the the Wii and DS alike wont or dont have any shit games. (The DS certainly has its shockers, like every system). If you read it like that then you simply read it wrong. Im just pointing out what I think could threaten the PS3.

[Old_Timer!]

No question Cube, fun games will sell. Just like they've been selling on the PS2

[SuperLuigiBros]

Yeh but the PS2 wasn't as expensive as the PS3, nor were the games, and isn't a graphical powerhouse.

[Shadow Voa]

PS3 will sell for one reason and one reason only imo... Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.

Im very happy for all of you who buy a PS3 for Blue-ray, Cell, 1080 and everything else under the rainbow. But if you really cut down to the chase, you can only get Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII on PS3, and thats why you'll buy and play on that system. Granted games like Heaven Sword and Warhawk dont interest me, but they do to some people and thats what variety is all about.

But it still comes full circle to these franchises which are tried and trusted names in the gaming industry. Its the killer aps like these that will sell the machine, cause you know the faithful (myself included) will buy the system to play these games.

To a degree its a bit extreme true, but these two games I really believe can pretty much sell the system to someone who is at the very least familiar with the series of both games.

[PUNK em 733]

Awesome post! I would rep if it counted, still a nOOb.

[Old_Timer!]

I believe that MGS and FF are two reasons, and are you crazy. They are just 2 games, don't forget DMC4 is coming, Resistance is looking loco! and the list goes on, Blu-Ray, 1080P, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi are a big plus...

[saxdawg00]

Originally Posted by thecube_128

Im not saying that the PS3 will have nothing but 50 cent games and will fail abysmally, and Im also not saying the the Wii and DS alike wont or dont have any shit games. (The DS certainly has its shockers, like every system). If you read it like that then you simply read it wrong. Im just pointing out what I think could threaten the PS3.

Hardware aside, with names like Jaffe, Kojima,Team ICO, Capcom's Clover Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios (which I believe will rival and eventually exceed Nintendo in quality first party games) in general, this is a non-issue with PS3.
Move along folks nothin' to see here.

[PUNK em 733]

They are just 2 games, don't forget DMC4 is coming, Resistance is looking loco! and the list goes on, Blu-Ray, 1080P, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi are a big plus...

We all know that. He was kind of pointing out the not so obvious.

[Shadow Voa]

Hey whats it matter to Sony? Im handing them money for a system thats going to give me what I want, and I think you have a good idea at this point what I want eh Old Timer? And Im not forgetting DMC4 or RE5, they are just games I look forward too but not titles I would need to buy a system like PS3 for.

IF we really get into it. DMC was great, DMC2 was poor, DMC3 was ok, so the track record is a bit blurred for me. Resident Evil 5 will be amazing but if thats all I wanted, I could just buy a 360 and be done with it.

1080 - I dont have an HD tv so it makes no difference
Blue-Ray - After Im done with Wii, PS3, and DS I dont have the money to buy movies at $40 a pop from what Ive heard
Wifi - I got it on DS, PSP, and Wii, its a standard now, not a real feature
Resistance - I dislike FPS games, all of them (points in Halo's direction)

[PUNK em 733]

PS3 will sell for one reason and one reason only imo... Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.

:speechles

[Old_Timer!]

That Wi-Fi functionality will come in handy with the PS3/PsP connectivity. I never bought a wi-fi router just because I knew the PS3 was gonna have it built in

[Applefiend]

Originally Posted by ShadowVoa

Blue-Ray - After Im done with Wii, PS3, and DS I dont have the money to buy movies at $40 a pop from what Ive heard

http://www.thedvdwars.com/index.cfm

Average 3rd Party New BD Price: $17.40
Average Amazon BD Price: $22.60

You heard.... Wrrrrroooonnnnngggg!

[Shadow Voa]

Actually Applefiend... Im afraid youre the one who is Wrrrrroooonnnnngggg!

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/cla...EN&catid=24073
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/dept.a...EN&catid=24075

Thats the pricing here, and thats exactly what the prices are when I walk into Future Shop and Bestbuy.

[Applefiend]

Still ain't 40 bucks even in the expensive shops. And why buy from the expensive shops?

buy movies at $40 a pop

From your very own future shop. First BD on site.

You continue to be Wrrrrroooonnnnngggg. And those are the Lionsgate ones which are the most expensive, surely you'd want the average price?

I pay $19.95 from New Zealand, surely you can do better from the USA? Shop around son.

Is the new xbox fanboy thing that Blu Rays(Not Blue Rays son, Blu Rays) are $40 a pop? I don't keep up.

[Shadow Voa]

Excuse me Applefiend, but if you read exactly what I said, I heard Blue-Ray movies were $40, and whether its $28.99 or $35.99 (which comes out to around forty dollars) it is exactly what I had heard. Youre now arguing about buying from a different location which is not what I had originally posted, you understand?

If you do, good. So you are still Wrrrrroooonnnnnggg! You're now arguing about locactions which is neither here nor there. I want convience, convience doesnt mean shopping around on the internet and waiting for my movie to arrive, convience means driving no more then 10 minutes to my home electronics store and buying a movie.

Thats funny judging from my avy and sig you assume me to be an xbox fanboy? Very poor deduction Mr. Homlmes. Now your attacking my spelling? What, are you reduced to looking for scraps to make yourself feel better?

[Applefiend]

You heard wrong that BDs where $40. They ain't $40 at amazon(With next day delivery, surely you can wait 24 hours to save 15 bucks, since price seems to be the major factor for you). They ain't $40 at your rip off local store, they ain't $40. They ain't $40. Admit it. Every time you lie it hurts Jesus.

Front cover of your local store futureshop. I count 8 BDS 28.99, 1 BD 35.99. From this you say they're $40?

And as long as we're talking future shop prices...










Serenity HD DVD is also $19.99 from amazon. I say HD DVD prices are $19.99. I say Futureshop are over charging you $10.