Uh… you win!
But I never said Sony has had a positive press year. I’m just saying that other than KillZone, I think most of their bad press has stemmed from conscious decisions they have made. A fuckup for me implies an accidental blunder. Basically, Blue-Ray can be “blamed” for a lot of the problems they’re facing. But that’s their strategy, for better or worse.
You’d have a point if Blu-Ray is of no use to games, but that remains to be seen.
I’m more attracted to the PS3 due to the player. I want a next-generation movie format to use with HDTV, but I’m not keen on spending $500+ just to get it; however, getting it along with a nifty (we can hope) new games player for a bit more than that sounds good to me.
Having already broken down and purchased a 360 makes the decision a bit trickier, but I’ll probably be looking for a way to pick one up at launch anyway. Assuming Gary’s latest report turns out to be a false warning :) and assuming the games don’t suck, the service is close to being as good as Live, etc. Which doesn’t really sound all that likely come to think of it…
I think people are overinflating the cost of that BD drive. I think the majority of the PS3 cost is the Cell processor and RSX video card. Throwing in BD was IMHO, a way for them to justify the already high price of the console.
Don’t feel too bad. If it is true that a shortage of Blu Ray parts is causing the reduction in production, Sony’s also paying the price for Blu Ray.
Positives for PS3:
Built-in HD
Full backwards compatibility (unless you liked rumble)
Ability to move old game saves to system
Ability to use standard memory cards
No region locking
Fair enough. So far, it doesn’t seem as if it’s going to be of significant use to games of this generation, but obviously I have no crystal ball.
Also you can surf the web!
Cue Charles to come in and smack me around a little.
If the no region-locking thing is true and the PAL release is delayed, will US buyers be competing for systems at launch with Eurotrash ordering them by mail?
Remind me to never loan you venture capital. I mean, come on. There are good gambles and bad gambles. “Bad gamble that doesn’t pan out” is pretty much synonymous with “fuckup.”
I bet that will make the stockholders feel all warm and fuzzy. “Hey, we lost billions of your money, but at least we gave it a shot!”
While I agree with you that Sony’s current price point and inclusion of Blue-Ray aren’t so much fuck ups as much as they are calculated risks…
If Sony “fails” because of their pricing and inclusion of an unsettled-upon format people will DEFINITELY say that they fuckedup.
Granted, it will be with the beauty of hindsight, but it will be hard to argue against.
It’s not really hindsight if people are already saying it now.
I think my earlier prediction of $2500 PS3’s on ebay has become more likely. They really should just take the hit and push the whole launch to 3/07.
The 12th of Never is starting to look like an increasingly attractive release date.
Missing this Christmas could be catastrophically bad for them. Of course, shipping so few units that hardly anyone can get one isn’t really much better. But it’s a little better.
I think it could work out better than having a launch in name only. Hell, folks have waited this long for a PS3, they can wait 4 more months.
But then I thought launching the 360 with a constrained supply was a f/u…
But saying that Sony fucked up now doesn’t make it true either.
Again, if Sony sells a gazillion PS3 units, blue-ray becomes the standard, and Microsoft and Nintendo take their consoles and pack it up, the very decisions people are bashing now will be called genius later.
But none of this is clear for now.
So it’s all just a big freakin’ bet that Sony is making.
Think of it this way…
If you and I were at a blackjack table and I put all the money I was willing to lose for that day on the table (say $1,000)… until my cards are turned over, I haven’t fucked up. It’s possible I may win.
The difference is that Sony - presumably - made this wager with some thought behind it and can adjust to the market if it isn’t working out (dropping the price).
So any risk is a potential fuck up? Fine, then it’s fair to say every company (including Microsoft and Nintendo) are fuck ups as well, until they prove otherwise, I guess.
As armchair QBs we can all predict gloom and doom because it costs us nothing. Then when eventually someone fails, we can say “See, I told you so!”
No. I am not saying that Sony is fucking up. In fact, I’m in the camp that says it’s premature to say that Sony has fucked up.
I am saying, however, that Sony is betting on success and within that bet there is indeed the potential for a fuck up.
And yes, the same certainly does apply to other companies:
If Sony’s free on-line gaming platform takes off and everyone flocks to the system and people scoff at paying for Microsoft’s LIVE system, then yes, in retrospect, people will say that Microsoft “fucked up.”
Ditto the Wii. Right now, Nintendo is betting that gamers will like their unique approach to gaming, namely the wiimote motion-sensing. nun-chuck-like device. If people do, Nintendo will be praised and rewarded. If people don’t… they will say Nintendo fucked up.
In many ways, this is basically the gaming analog to Schrodinger’s cat paradox. Each company has the potential for fucking up. But you won’t know if they did fuck up until they have. Up until that point, the dice are still rolling on the felt.