Sony is Screwed: 8 Reasons Why the PS3 Might Fail
Dec 24 '06 (Updated Dec 26 '06)
The Bottom Line Wait a year on the PS3 to see how things pan out. If game developers keep leaving Sony, then it might just be worth it to get a 360...
I would consider myself a fairly unbiased gamer as I own systems by Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, but I have always had in my heart partly a sweet spot for the PS2 for all the fond hours spent on the Final Fantasy game, the Grand Theft Autos, Metal Gear Solid, all the endless RPGs, and even Guitar Hero.
I hoped Sony, with its new console would be well-poised to continue the great gaming legacy that PS2 had left behind...
However, in the recent barrage of bad media and downright awful self-promotion, I have to really admit, despite my favorable recommendation of PS3 as a console to own a year later, I'm starting to have doubts that Sony will ever pick itself out of the grave that it has dug for itself.
Here's a rundown of the plain awful decisions that Sony has done and the possible lack of redemption from it all...
#1 - Blu-Ray was the biggest mistake ever
Blu-Ray might be cutting edge technology for media storage, but the fact the laser added probably a cost of $200 to the system is just laughable...the shortage of lasers also led to a horrible lack of supplies this holiday and a bitter taste in most Sony-enthusiast's mouths as they watched their coveted system grabbed by Ebayers (who laughably aren't making much profit on the system anyway).
If Sony had done without the not-yet-ready technology and instead just offered some kind of upgrade unit similar to the 360, they could have been selling PS3s at $400 like hotcakes. In a stupid attempt to try to push one of their formats without recognizing the market demand for a cheaper system, Sony has flopped big time.
#2 - Sony is losing money on each PS3
A business model based on recouping their profits back later from game sales is just not good. It was extremely arrogant of Sony to take the huge loss of nearly ~$300 per system and think that somehow again, the inclusion of the Blu-Ray drive would help push profits later on through movie sales and games. Nintendo is laughing at Sony because despite their weaker hardware, they are making more money than they ever have ever, and will likely be able to reinvest that money into the Wii 2 within a couple more years.
#3 - Sony is losing its exclusives
PS2's initially exclusive game library of amazing hits like FF, GTA, Devil May Cry made it a huge success, because most of them were not ported over to the Xbox until much later. Sony tried to promise a lot of exclusives with the PS3 but with each passing day, developers are jumping ship. Koei (makers of Armored Core series) has already jumped ship and joined the 360 and it is likely that a number of others will as well. Add that to the fact that Rockstar isn't even interested in making GTA a PS3 exclusive and there's already a bunch of problems. PS3's exclusive library is whittling away before the system has even had a proper launch! That is not a good thing.
#4 - Messed up backwards compatibility and gradual firmware updates
Granted I don't expect any new console to be free of bugs, and even 360 has updated their firmware a number of times to fix issues they've faced. However, PS3's firmware updates are a bit too drastic and just reek of a poorly designed system. The lack of 1080p on the system originally till after a quickly released update is on big issue. The problems with PS2 game compatibility is horrifying compared to the 360's issues. Granted 360 has had a year head start in ironing out their problems, but the PS3's issues in displaying PS2 games correctly with proper anti-alias is already so dreadful, I think most gamers would still play their PS2 games on their PS2. I was considering a PS3 just to play PS2 games until next year when the real games appear, but after what I've heard I've shied away.
#5 - Demand has already cooled off
The console does not sell for $2000 on Ebay (the prices were only this high for prelaunch). PS3s go for retail already, and package bundles at Costco that were priced at $1000 are surprisingly still in stock. There's also plenty of Craigslist postings of gamers trading their PS3 for a Wii +$200 at a loss...demand is cooling even before the system has managed to be produced at a regular pace.
Wii's on the other hand are going for $400-500 and have received positive press from the media. PS3 has gotten an amazing slap in the face with the end of 2006 Time magazine reporting the PS3 as a huge launch failure. Ebayers who had lined up for days getting this console and have tried to sell it for a profit are finding themselves in a huge hole too as the console now barely goes for even $50 above retail on the Ebay market.
#6 - SixAxis controllers have battery problems...already
Unlike 360, Sony decided it would be great to not allow gamers to remove batteries in the SixAxis, so that once the controller dies, it dies. Add that to the problems gamers have reported with the controller mysteriously dying out during game play and their new peripheral is starting to get a huge bad rap.
#7 - Resistance doesn't pay off
Resistance was Sony's big software push to get its PS3 owners to have something to play and looks like a very specific response to 360s Gears of War. Unfortunately, Resistance while moderately impressive and having gotten decent reviews, is nowhere near the masterpiece that the 360 has managed to get. The graphics while good, seem a bit short of 360's even better polished Gears of War. Ok, while Microsoft has had a year's head start, Sony's failure to impress the crowds with the power of its system has hurt it badly.
#8 - Developers are having trouble developing games for less
Granted, PS2 had some developer issues when it first started, especially in regards to jaggies or anti-aliasing...which was later improved a lot on...but PS3's lack of easy development makes it unappealing for most game companies to work with. Microsoft on the alternative has made its system incredibly easy to develop for and has also provided a much stronger toolkit. With developers looking to save money and time in their companies especially with the rising costs of new games, it looks like they have even more incentive to ditch Sony's prototype Cell hardware and go for the easy to program for PowerPC architecture that the 360 has.
Conclusion
While I still have a tiny bit of faith in Sony, these are 8 potentially huge reasons why the PS3 might be in more trouble than its ever been in the past. The lack of confidence the company demonstrated it had in itself when they shuffled out Kutaragi into a quasi "promotion" possibly to rebuke his lack of leadership, only point to more trouble up ahead. Sony has lost some major ground with Apple eating away at its market share in the portable music device industry...and Sony looks battered in more ways than one.
I honestly would like to say Sony has a fighting chance, but after watching their flop this year so far, I'd hate to say it, but this is one company that's in deep water.
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