New PS3 Launch Date

Absolam

Tada:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New
March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3
No change in launch date for Japan and North America


Dublin, Wednesday 6 September 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.

Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.

The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed.

Retr0gamer

Well done Sony, you have just lost a lot of support and respect in Europe and probably lost the whole european market to Microsoft and Nintendo.

I have to say that I'm not surprised in the least. The release date was unrealistic in the first place.

madrab

im not suprised & they pretty much handed microsoft the european market

well done sony

tHE vAGGABOND

A fair few games companies are going to be visting their bank managers now I'd guess..

Loosing christmas sales will hurt some of them..

Smellyirishman

Thread in Playstation forum already.

Launch with apparantly 400k consoles in USA and 100k in Japan, so, ebay estimates? 1,500-2000?

{EDIT}Here is a link to the launch numbers by the way.

vAGGABOND wrote:

Loosing christmas sales will hurt some of them..

They will still sell the same amount, just to US and JPN customers.

skywalker

Smellyirishman wrote:

They will still sell the same amount, just to US and JPN customers.

Even with those estimates of tht amounts of consoles going into the US/Japan markets? I dont think so. This will hurt the developers bad.

jesus_thats_gre

Smellyirishman wrote:

Thread in Playstation forum already.

Launch with apparantly 400k consoles in USA and 100k in Japan, so, ebay estimates? 1,500-2000?
quote]


Jesus only 100 units from Japan.. That will give the Wii a massive headstart in Japan. Hopefully MS will actually release some games that interest Japanese gamers also; they might actually sell some units then!

It is interesting that they are pumping the most units into the USA.. It is by far MS's strongest market and the Wii will also be extremely popular in that market.

I wonder what impact this will have on games. Are puplishers gonna release many games pre-xmas with the possibility of selling a max of 400k units.

I have no doubts that MS are literally wetting themselves with joy at the moment,

columok

With the price of the Ps3 I would expect that to have an impact on reducing games sales. No doubt this will cost a lot of people a lot of money... Even if there was a 360like rubbish launch people would buy (some) games in advance.

evad_lhorg

I just hope this doesnt mean Nintendo will now take a mor relaxed approach to wii launching and delay it here too.

rgiller

Surely it's in their best interests to make the most of the opportunity being offered here by Playstation's incompetence. I reckon people who were planning on buying a PS3 are still going to want to buy something. Enter Microsoft and Nintendo...

sprinkles

Doesn't bother me. Was never going to get one, at launch anyway. I'll wait for the massive pay rise/lottery win so I can justify spending that sort of money on a console that does pretty much the same thing as the 360.


As long as ninty keep on track I'll be a happy camper.


Oh BTW, Sony, thanks for conceeding

Retr0gamer

This could really set Nintendo up for dominance in Japan. Also I think that Mistwalker are releasing their two Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy and producer of everything good to come out of Squaresoft) developed games on the xbox360 before christmas which should spark interest in Japan especially with the lacklustre RPGs coming out since Dragon Quest VIII (I still have reservations about FFXII).

The funny thing is that Sony wouldn't have got as much of a back lash if they had just had a late PAL release date in the first place instead of lying about it. It would have been acceptable considering the development difficulties.

Now for the next Sony lie, Cell isn't all that great and PS3 games are slightly better looking than the xbox360.

Ri_Nollaig

Retr0gamer wrote:

Now for the next Sony lie, Cell isn't all that great and PS3 games are slightly better looking than the xbox360.

SSsshhhh dont say that outloud

honru

There's no guarantee that Nintendo will launch the Wii in Europe during the holiday season, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. Obviously, if they do commit to a pre-2007 launch, then they will be making a very very wise decision. The fact that the DS Lite was released so soon after the North American market assures me that they're cleaning up their act.

Another slip from Sony though, not looking good.

Retr0gamer

Actually Nintendo is committed to a pre Christmas 2006 launch in Europe. Whether it will be close to the American and Japanese launches is another matter but you can gauranteed to be playing it before christmas. We will find out on the 15th of this month when the exact date and time is but after todays news Nintendo would be stupid not take this opportunity to gain ground in Europe (saying that Nintendo are notorious for bouts of stupidity when it comes to the european market). Nintendo have more than enough consoles to launch worldwide before christmas since they have been manufacturing Wii's for ages with low rates of failure.

honru

I won't believe anything until the 15th! Or whenever. But it's good to hear they've actually begun manufacturing Wii consoles.

monument

As was being said here along time ago... Spring of what year...

LookingFor

madrab wrote:

im not suprised & they pretty much handed microsoft the european market

It'll take more than a delay for that to happen. I.e. it'd actually take some initiative on Microsoft's part. The 360 is selling pretty poorly in Europe at the moment.

In the longer run, this won't matter. But it's certainly a pisser for those (like me) looking forward to getting one this year.

projectmayhem

madrab wrote:

im not suprised & they pretty much handed microsoft the european market

well done sony

not really. anyone waiting for ps3 isn't going to go "fook it, mgs isn't as good as gears of war anyway" and drop the €400 odd on a 360 randomly. they'll still wait.

i think more then handing ms the market, they handed nintendo a lot of new customers. but tbh, i think sony would rather a bunch of new nintendo fans then microsoft fans...

skywalker wrote:

This will hurt the developers bad.

i'd be inclined to agree, except thinking about it, devs have been very quiet of late. especially in europe. look at sony's showing in germany last week, it was practically none-existent. look at the PES/FIFA announcements (lets be honest, those games sell nothing anywhere compared to europe). look at the general lack of videos/screenshots from european developers (criterion, guerilla, studio liverpool, soho studios, etc.). all of this leads me to believe they knew damn well this was going to happen...

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

I have no doubts that MS are literally wetting themselves with joy at the moment,

of course they are, they were just handed a massive bonus in europe at the very least. but they've got one big title due in the next few months, gears of war... and that's really it for their AAA titles. maybe they'll have a few surprises, but i can't see many "system sellers" down the pipe tbh.

one thing for europe though is that the ps3 will have a bloody incredible launch. we'll get all the us/jap launch titles, a few extra randomers, and then the likes of UT2007...

rgiller wrote:

Surely it's in their best interests to make the most of the opportunity being offered here by Playstation's incompetence.

i think it's sony being level-headed tbh. they wont have enough units to end the year in all markets, so they're going with their strongest two. chip yields and other possible manufacturing issues are hardly "playstation's incompetence"

Retr0gamer wrote:

Actually Nintendo is committed to a pre Christmas 2006 launch in Europe.

in fairness, so was sony. nintendo has an easier job for manufacturing the Wii, but they're also off to a late start... and demand will be huge for that in Japan, beyond what they probably expect (judging by DS)... so it's not entirely incomprehensible to see europe get effed again

skywalker

projectmayhem wrote:

i'd be inclined to agree, except thinking about it, devs have been very quiet of late. especially in europe. look at sony's showing in germany last week, it was practically none-existent. look at the PES/FIFA announcements (lets be honest, those games sell nothing anywhere compared to europe). look at the general lack of videos/screenshots from european developers (criterion, guerilla, studio liverpool, soho studios, etc.). all of this leads me to believe they knew damn well this was going to happen...

All true but regardless of whether they knew it was coming it still means less games sales over christmas which still means less money in the christmas paypackets.

Its gonna be a lean christmas this year at the sony house.

evad_lhorg

Only 2 mil machines to be around worldwide by the end of the year

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=67356

rgiller

Having not agreed with even one of the, in my opinion, perfectly rational and appropriate criticisms of the PS3 launch programme, I have come to the conclusion that projectmayhem is either Ken Kutaragi or the biggest fanboy in the country. Seriously, you have to admit that they've done themselves no favours with their approach to selling their new console. Sure people will still buy them, but they have a lot more time to think about what they can do with that €600-€800 between now and March. I enjoy my PS2 as much as the next man but the chances of me holding out when the Wii arrives and the 360 drops in price are pretty slim

CiaranC

I wonder will this affect the release schedule for upcoming xbox360 games?

HomesickAlien

if the wii is released on schedule, before christmas, i'm getting one, screw sony. and i doubt i'm the only ps2 owner who feels that way.

evad_lhorg

dont think it will effect the release list too much at all. Microsoft have been pretty good with short or no gaps at all between releases in america and here.

Smellyirishman

(Finally, after two attempts at submission failed and having to re-write twice, my post is alive!)

ProjectMayhem and LookingFor are the epiphanies of Sony fanboys, no offence to either of you, but it is quite clear!

ProjectMayhem wrote:

anyone waiting for ps3 isn't going to go "fook it, mgs isn't as good as gears of war anyway" and drop the €400 odd on a 360 randomly. they'll still wait.

No, but they might say "I want a games console for christmas because that is the only time I can get one and I don't want to wait a year for a PS3 when I can have a 360/Wii now". Anyone into gaming knows about the short comings of buying the PS3, particularly at launch (I don't deny it could turn out to be great, but at release, not a chance). Casual gamers just want something that will play games, the ones that they hear about. When the 360 offers 90%+ of the games they hear about, some exclusivly, the choice is not hard to make especially considering the easy availability (even availability. fullstop.)/lower prices/bigger library in comparison to the PS3.

You're right though people actually waiting for the PS3 will wait for the PS3, regardless of price and release date, but I don't know many that are blind enough to follow that mentality.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

gears of war... and that's really it for their AAA titles. maybe they'll have a few surprises, but i can't see many "system sellers" down the pipe tbh.

GoW has not even been released (or has any worthy successor), so it cannot really be regarded as an AAA title just yet. Now, without naming off the titles coming to 360 or Wii that look very promising, try this one; Halo 3. There is now the chance that this will release before the PS3 in Europe, if that is not a system seller I do not know what is (Also, please note, I never liked Halo). For the Wii there is a new Mario, Zelda and Metroid...from launch!(not sure on Mario actually...)need I say any more?

Can you name all the AAA titles coming to the PS3 in the next few months?

Also, for the record, I didn't like the x-box and got on swimmingly with my GC and PS2. Like I said, PS3 may turn out great, I may end up buying it, but for now it's dead in the water with the exception of MGS, FF and some blind/ignorant support.

Dont be at yourself

And I was setting aside money to get one at launch too.

This is massive for Microsoft, and the announcement couldnt have come at a better time for them. With Saints Row just out, Dead Rising and Test Drive (both scoring 8 in EDGE) out on Friday, we're finally seeing the next-generation of 360 games, that are offering new gameplay mechanics and pushing hardware. Then there's **** likes Gears of War, which are only gonna push things further. Microsoft are going to steal Christmas.

Narcissus

So it's delayed a few extra months in Europe. So what. It gives people more time to save up for it. PS3 will still easily outsell the 360 and wii just because of the playstation brand. There are about 20 odd launch games and there will be even more by the time March '07 comes around.

Oh and so far this year in the US the ps2 is outselling the xbox360 so even if the 360 steals the show this Christmas, Sony are hardly going to be suffering.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060611-7030.html

madrab

maybe bill gates was right when he said that halo 3 will mirror the ps3 launch, weel maybe only in europe but they still might get that blow in

Vegeta

Apapaia wrote:

So it's delayed a few extra months in Europe. So what. It gives people more time to save up for it. PS3 will still easily outsell the 360 and wii just because of the playstation brand. There are about 20 odd launch games and there will be even more by the time March '07 comes around.

I agree with what you are saying, it will make fcuk all difference in the long run but i don't like us Europeans being neglegted yet again.


EDIT: Here is a proposed list of launch titles for the PS3, which ones exactly are AAA so I know what to watch out for.

Armored Core 4
Blade Storm: Hundred Years War
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII
Call of Duty 3
Fatal Inertia
F.E.A.R.
flOw
Full Auto 2: Battlelines
Genji: Days of the Blade
Lair
Madden 07
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
NBA Live 07
Need for Speed: Carbon
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Warhawk
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom

BlitzKrieg

Is it just me or is anyone else seeing this going the same way as the PSP?

kaimera

Vegeta wrote:

EDIT: Here is a proposed list of launch titles for the PS3, which ones exactly are AAA so I know what to watch out for.

Nothing really.

RobertFoster

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Is it just me or is anyone else seeing this going the same way as the PSP?

That's exactly what I thought when I heard about the delay. 9 months to get from Japan to Europe (the PSP is a year out here last Friday) was a huge time to wait. I hope for Sony's sake they don't do that again.

projectmayhem

Smellyirishman wrote:

ProjectMayhem and LookingFor are the epiphanies of Sony fanboys, no offence to either of you, but it is quite clear!

you wouldn't say that if you saw my face when the UPS man arrived at my door with my refurbished 360 this morning

Smellyirishman wrote:

Casual gamers just want something that will play games, the ones that they hear about. When the 360 offers 90%+ of the games they hear about, some exclusivly, the choice is not hard to make especially considering the easy availability (even availability. fullstop.)/lower prices/bigger library in comparison to the PS3.

90% with exclusivity? are you nuts? i agree 360 has some killer titles in the pipe, and a few decent ones now, but it's hardly 90% of what people are talking about. if anything i've seen more press for upcoming ps3 or wii titles then 360 ones, because like the last year, there's a drought. and the ps3 software isn't out, so you can't say the prices are lower. there'll be massive price matching going on.

Smellyirishman wrote:

You're right though people actually waiting for the PS3 will wait for the PS3, regardless of price and release date, but I don't know many that are blind enough to follow that mentality.

the mentality to wait for a console? it happens all the time. the fact that you think 100million ps2 owners are going to get a 360 because they have to wait a bit more for the ps3 is a bit ridiculous tbh. yeah, 360 will get the casual gamers who want a new toy for christmas, but people who want a ps3, will get a ps3.

Smellyirishman wrote:

GoW has not even been released (or has any worthy successor), so it cannot really be regarded as an AAA title just yet. Now, without naming off the titles coming to 360 or Wii that look very promising, try this one; Halo 3. There is now the chance that this will release before the PS3 in Europe, if that is not a system seller I do not know what is (Also, please note, I never liked Halo). For the Wii there is a new Mario, Zelda and Metroid...from launch!(not sure on Mario actually...)need I say any more?

i said GoW was "coming", not that it was out. and it is a AAA title if it has a huge budget, being published by microsoft at a hefty cost for advertising and has a big fanbase already (epic fans, like me!). AAA title doesn't mean "franchise".

as for halo3, yeah keep waiting for it. i'm talking about games that'll entice people on the fence away from ps3 because of this. halo3 has as much chance of being released within this new ps3 window as a nun has of getting aids.

Smellyirishman wrote:

Can you name all the AAA titles coming to the PS3 in the next few months?

resistence, unreal tournament, mgs4 (next may, a bit out but hey, you said halo...), devil may cry, final fantasy (no idea when that's out though) and so on.

Smellyirishman wrote:

Also, for the record, I didn't like the x-box and got on swimmingly with my GC and PS2. Like I said, PS3 may turn out great, I may end up buying it, but for now it's dead in the water with the exception of MGS, FF and some blind/ignorant support.

how can you say people wanting a ps3 are blind or ignorant, surely that's blind and/or ignorant?

while you're bitching about killzone and mgs while playing halo3 with 12 year olds, i'll be playing killzone, mgs, mario, crysis and halo3 because rather then taking sides, i'll buy everything... enjoy everything and laugh at the people who constantly talk muck while calling me a fanboy.

Narcissus

Vegeta wrote:

I agree with what you are saying, it will make fcuk all difference in the long run but i don't like us Europeans being neglegted yet again.


EDIT: Here is a proposed list of launch titles for the PS3, which ones exactly are AAA so I know what to watch out for.

Armored Core 4
Blade Storm: Hundred Years War
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII
Call of Duty 3
Fatal Inertia
F.E.A.R.
flOw
Full Auto 2: Battlelines
Genji: Days of the Blade
Lair
Madden 07
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
NBA Live 07
Need for Speed: Carbon
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Warhawk
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom

From that list, the ones I heard look promising:
Genji: Days of the Blade
Resistance: Fall of Man
There is Heavenly Sword as well, which will be a launch title for Europe.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tony Hawk's Project 8

I'd say these will be fairly good as well.

I don't really know though. I probably won't buy any of those anyway.

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Is it just me or is anyone else seeing this going the same way as the PSP?

What do you mean? The PSP has sold 20 million units, almost as much as the DS. Only being outsold by it in Japan. That's not too bad.

Kristok

Apapaia wrote:

PS3 will still easily outsell the 360 and wii just because of the playstation brand.

Im sure that was never said before (atari, commadore, sega) Where are they all now. Psp is dieing a death at the hands of the ds yet this time last year people where saying psp was going to dominate the handheld market simply because its a playstation. Brands only get you so far and when you get too big there is always a backlash from the consumers who feel they are being taken for granted, the price of the ps3 is a prime example of that. The ps3 is going to go the way of the neo geo and price itself out of the market.

Narcissus

Kristok wrote:

Psp is dieing a death at the hands of the ds

How? More psp's have been sold in Europe and USA than ds'.

yet this time last year people where saying psp was going to dominate the handheld market simply because its a playstation.

It hasn't dominated the market but it has done pretty well.

Brands only get you so far and when you get too big there is always a backlash from the consumers who feel they are being taken for granted, the price of the ps3 is a prime example of that. The ps3 is going to go the way of the neo geo and price itself out of the market.

There are people who will buy a ps3 just because it is a playstation, regardless of price. The price isn't so high that no one will buy it and it will come down soon enough.

Smellyirishman

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Is it just me or is anyone else seeing this going the same way as the PSP?

There is no chance it will flop as bad as the PSP, well, I would be fairly confident of that.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

you wouldn't say that if you saw my face when the UPS man arrived at my door with my refurbished 360 this morning

Fair enough, I apologies for my assumptions but I still think you give Sony a little too much credit sometimes!

ProjectMayhem wrote:

90% with exclusivity? are you nuts? And the ps3 software isn't out, so you can't say the prices are lower. there'll be massive price matching going on.

I was talking about the price of the console. No, not nuts, there is a HUGE amount of cross-platform games now, so the majority of popular games (RE: EA pump outs) will be available on both and only a small minority will be available on one or the other. At the moment though, I would say 360 has more/better exclusives.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

the fact that you think 100million ps2 owners are going to get a 360 because they have to wait a bit more for the ps3 is a bit ridiculous tbh.

Not just because of the wait, the price and library play thier respective parts. A lot of people are waiting for a PS3 because, well, it's a PS3.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

it is a AAA title if it has a huge budget, being published by microsoft at a hefty cost for advertising and has a big fanbase already (epic fans, like me!). AAA title doesn't mean "franchise".

I thought an AAA title was judged on gaming merit and not money/hype invested? I would consider God of War/Viewtiful Joe/Ico/RE4 AAA titles and they lack most or your previous criteria.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

resistence, unreal tournament, mgs4 (next may, a bit out but hey, you said halo...), devil may cry, final fantasy (no idea when that's out though) and so on.

Resistance? AAA title? Looks like a decent launch FPS.
Unreal tournament, on a console?
MGS, yes.
DMC, yep.
Final Fantasy, meh, can't wait to see lost oddessy or blue dragon tbh.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

how can you say people wanting a ps3 are blind or ignorant, surely that's blind and/or ignorant?

Perhaps a little harse, but I really don't think it's worth buying a PS3 at launch especially if you plan to own all 3 consoles. There is very little going for it and you would be far better off waiting for the quality titles to come out and getting one after some price drops.

ProjectMayhem wrote:

while you're bitching about killzone and mgs while playing halo3 with 12 year olds, i'll be playing killzone, mgs, mario, crysis and halo3 because rather then taking sides, i'll buy everything... enjoy everything and laugh at the people who constantly talk muck while calling me a fanboy.

Did I say anything about killzone? And I love the MSG games, €600+ to play it though? I think I can wait. I will be laughing and enjoying everything when I play all those titles too, because I will have borrowed a PS3 from someone or waited for them to drop to a reasonable price. I just think it's horribly obvious that the PS3 is not a console to buy at launch, like I said it could be a worthwhile buy later on down the road, but that has nothing to do with me liking one company more than another and more to do with me liking to hang on to what little money I have!

Smellyirishman

Apapaia wrote:

How? More psp's have been sold in Europe and USA than ds'.

You got a link to back that up? Here's mine. (Dunno how trustworhty that site is but hey, least I got something! )

Dont be at yourself

Apapaia wrote:

How? More psp's have been sold in Europe and USA than ds'.

Do you've a source for that? I know that the PSP flew off the shelves on release, but the DS has sold consistently well ever since its release, and I'm almost positive that its outselling the PSP on a weekly basis.

It hasn't dominated the market but it has done pretty well.

It hasn't, it's dying a death. It's much vaunted multi-media features are being held back by Sony's slowness to support common formats, it's web browser is missing key features, movie studies will no longer touch UMD, and bar a very few notable examples, its games line-up is staggeringly banal. Compare that to the DS, which is shipping system selling titles every month, appealing to everyone from the hardcore gamer with stuff like Metroid, professionals with Brain Training and little girls with Nintendogs.

PSP's only chance of real success is in the hands of the PS3. If the PS3 makes it easy to put your media onto the PSP, if the PS3 can act as a LocationFree device, and if the PS3 results in more inventive games coming to PSP, it will take off.

There are people who will buy a ps3 just because it is a playstation, regardless of price. The price isn't so high that no one will buy it and it will come down soon enough.

Of course there are. There are people who will follow a manufacturer blindly from console cycle to console cycle, but that's not what will decide who wins the mass market. As it stands, the 360 is looking like a bargain next a PS3, and will do so until (or if) the blu-ray format takes off for HD movies (which itself depends on the, currently slow, uptake of HD television sets). When you consider that, for the price of a PS3, you can probably get an Xbox360 and a Nintendo Wii, Sony have a tough sell. Especially as many people arent willing to wait until after Christmas.

Smellyirishman

Oh, and some nice photoshop comedy on the whole situation can be found here @ http://www.thisiswaiting.com/ (affliates of www.wii60.com)

Narcissus

Smellyirishman wrote:

You got a link to back that up? Here's mine. (Dunno how trustworhty that site is but hey, least I got something! )

I wouldn't just dream it up!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_wars#Handheld_war

Before you say that anybody can edit wikipedia here are the references:

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdatapsp_e.html
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/060724e.pdf

So there!

It hasn't, it's dying a death. It's much vaunted multi-media features are being held back by Sony's slowness to support common formats, it's web browser is missing key features, movie studies will no longer touch UMD, and bar a very few notable examples, its games line-up is staggeringly banal. Compare that to the DS, which is shipping system selling titles every month, appealing to everyone from the hardcore gamer with stuff like Metroid, professionals with Brain Training and little girls with Nintendogs.

There's no doubt that the future looks a lot better for the DS, but come on, 20 million units sold isn't doing well?

kaimera

but come on, 20 million units sold isn't doing well?

Not really when you consider it wanted to be number1 against Nintendo.

Dont be at yourself

There's no doubt that the future looks a lot better for the DS, but come on, 20 million units sold isn't doing well?

In terms of units sold it may be doing ok - but I refer you to my previous post. The potential is there, but the multimedia features are half-baked, the games line-up mediocre and studio support dwindling. For the end-user, the PSP is not doing well at all.

projectmayhem

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

In terms of units sold it may be doing ok - but I refer you to my previous post. The potential is there, but the multimedia features are half-baked, the games line-up mediocre and studio support dwindling. For the end-user, the PSP is not doing well at all.

the PSP is a fantastic piece of hardware. but hardware a good console does not make. the software just isn't there. that's hardly Sony's fault, developers are lazy and are just doing ps2 re-hashes on the thing. Sony can't force devs to be good with their creations.

BlitzKrieg

What do you mean? The PSP has sold 20 million units, almost as much as the DS. Only being outsold by it in Japan. That's not too bad.

What i was refering to was the design of the machine and how its marketed.

The PSP is an amazing piece of hardware, I have one myself (but only because I picked it up second hand for a third of the original price) and the screen and the machine design is beautiful.

The PSP in function is a deadwieght. UMD is near useless as a format for films, its far too clunky with too little memory to compete as an mp3 player and any other practical use (homebrew etc) is squashed by sony constantly by the firmware updates. Not to mention the vast majority of its gaming software is either uninspired or updates of classic games (ultimate ghouls and ghosts, megaman x)

I'd like to point out that Microsoft *ignoring* the other uses people found for the xbox did them no harm.


The more I watch the PS3 the more I feel it will go the same way, no one will be able to deny its a wonderful piece of machinery but after handing over the hefty sum for it I will not surprised if people find that for all its bells and whistles there wont be much they can do it with. People hark on about MGS 4 and Devil May Cry. Personnally I would rather hear them name ranks of publishers in full support of the machine, like they were with the PS2 (note it was EA's refusal to support the Dreamcast that dealt a heavy blow) It is sad that capcom are saying they are making devil may cry 4 for the PS3 and then throwing a number of quality titles to the X360 (Dead Rising, Lost Planet). Having the big titles doesnt mean your machine is going to get the support it needs.

steviec

On the PSP, I've always found all the negativity about it and it's library to be way over the top, because I have both a DS and PSP and I'm about 50/50 on which I prefer.

So had a quick look on metacritic for the most unbiased view..

Total number of games:
PSP: 151
DS: 127

Games scoring 90 or more:
PSP: 0
DS: 2

Games scoring 85 or more(including above):
PSP: 10
DS: 11

Games scoring 80 or more(including above):
PSP: 32
DS: 25

Now that's averaging out tons and tons of review sites so it's as close to objective as review scores can get.

Really, there's very little in it. The DS seems to have slightly more very very good games while the PSP has more good games. In my experience, there's still yet to be anything on the DS to come close to Liberty City Stories multiplayer. I also prefer Loco Roco to most games on the system. Not to mention Mercury and Exit. The DS has some great games but I really get confused by the superlatives people throw around describing it, I honestly can't say I've had more enjoyment out of it than my PSP.

Also, the DS' two 90+ games are Mario Kart and Advance Wars. Versions of games from previous Nintendo consoles. So much for it being a haven of originality! The top scoring game on PSP, Lumines(which personally I wasn't actually a huge fan of), is at least unique to the system. Or was before they started porting it to others.

The DS Lite has a huge advantage in terms of portability though, I prefer to bring it with me for that reason alone. Previously when I had the regular DS, I preferred to bring the PSP with me.

BlitzKrieg

nice balance to the argument steviec.

I guess it comes down to personal taste in the end.

also did you check in metacritic for games available only in the European market?

not that it really matters with region free etc, but I rarely buy handheld games online (i pick them up on a more spur of the moment pace.)

justfortherecor

Apapaia wrote:

There's no doubt that the future looks a lot better for the DS, but come on, 20 million units sold isn't doing well?

Theres a very big difference between systems Sold and systems shipped. PSP has 20 million shipped, DS has 21 million sold. If you'd bothered to read the discussion page on that PSP wikipedia site you would have seen the big debate on this figure, that units shipped is somewhat misleading. Again it seems Sony are trying every method of spin to try and seem like they're no.1.

Here in Tokyo the PSP has consistently maintained a mountain of unsold boxes behind the counters of major electronic retailers. DS lite remains sold out during the weekdays and is only available for 2 hours every saturday morning when nintendo make more systems to cope with the demand. And then there was the release of FF3 here 2 weeks ago, mental! I've never seen anything like it, queues literally out the door.

Despite being an owner of a PS2 and PSP, DS lite has opened my eyes to what gaming is all about, fun. The Wii looks set to continue nintendos recent trend of making more interactive and fun games. PS3 is largely hype. Without doubt, I'm going to invest in a Wii when it comes out and wait to see if the PS3 is any good when it comes out here in November. The tide certainly seems to be turning in favour of Nintendo in Japan, and that could have massive consequences for the gaming future. Sony are playing a very dangerous game.


Edit: Its actually contained in the discussion page for the PSP on wikipedia. heres the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:PlayStation_Portable#PSP_Units_Sold

steviec

BlitzKrieg wrote:

nice balance to the argument steviec.

I guess it comes down to personal taste in the end.

also did you check in metacritic for games available only in the European market?

not that it really matters with region free etc, but I rarely buy handheld games online (i pick them up on a more spur of the moment pace.)

I don't think metacritic lets you check that sort of thing, the game goes up when the reviews go up, and the reviews go up when the game comes out in America generally.

koneko

lawl, this image from This Is Waiting's website is just classic: