How the PS3 Excelled and Failed at Delivering the Goods

"It is a new year, which is also a new year in gaming and a new era rapidly approaches. Nintendo has already taken that first big step with the Wii U’s release in November of 2012, but both Microsoft and Sony have yet to pull the trigger when it comes to even announcing their next generation consoles to the public."

[Shanks]

i almost clicked.
http://media.tumblr.com/tum...

[iamnsuperman]

I am confused why you didn't click. They posted their 360 one not that long ago and like that one this one is fair.

There is a mistake with the Playstation 4 used as a heading but I mostly agree. The hack was bad but the reasoning of why it happened is because Sony made themselves the big target not because of lack of keeping things secure (as they did abide my industry standards). It isn't as if its competitors have had it plain sailing (Live had that hotmail exploit). Online services are never secure and it will take anyone committed enough to break it (a.k.a annoymous). They way they handled the PR side was atrocious

Also "Why the hell did they remove backward compatibility from the PS3? I get that they wanted to sell more PS2s, but it has been a long time, release a firmware update and just allow it already, it is ridiculous" is not the reason they got rid of it

It isn't a simple emulator but a god dam PS2 inside the fat PS3. It was too costly to keep doing this so the slim models have it removed (note fat still has). They have also found a more profitable way to keep users buying PS2 games (HD collections) which have seemed to (for better or worse) taken off.

[Silly gameAr]

After reading your post iamnsuperman, I think Shanks is right. Seen to many articles like that. Need some more original stuff to read then the same ol' same ol'.

[ImpliedDeception]

my second-gen 40 gig phatty has no b/c, sorry to say...

Agree on all else, though.

[neoMAXMLC]

@Banned, the Emotion Engine processor was emulated in the fat 80GB. The graphics synthesizer wasn't and still needed the hardware. Could be due to the fact that it is very hard to emulate the eDRAM which had faster bandwidth than the PS3's RSX. Still wondering how those PS2 classics work.

[ShinMaster]

Nintendo removed GameCube compatibility from the Wii and no one bitched.
In comparison, Sony always gets more heat for the same sh*t others have done similarly.

[kupomogli]

@banned

The software emulated PS3 still used hardware components, just not as much as the full hardware bc PS3.

In a 60GB PS3, there are two chips. The emotion engine and the graphics synthesizer. In the first released 80GB model(the bc version,) the emotion engine is emulated and they only have the graphics synthesizer. It's called software emulation, but it still requires some hardware.

*edit* I didn't read all the comments. neoMAXMLC answered this before me.

@neoMAXMLC

It takes awhile for the PS2 classics to show up. So maybe the developers have to port them to work on the PS3s without emulation?

[t0mmyb0y]

Well said. Exactly what I was going to say about the BC of PS2.

[Ezz2013]

guys it's just his opinion
i agree with some of his points and disagree with the others
that's all

[darkride66]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Some of his points were valid but I think he missed the boat on others. The PSN hack I think was handled well. System's get hacked all the time and what's funny to me is while PSN was hacked at the exact same time, Citigroup was hacked and millions in fraudulent transactions went through, something Citigroup took months to admit.

Sony and Citi were both called before a gov committee but despite the fact that the data stolen by hackers from Sony was encrypted and no fraudulent activity was reported, which story did the media make more of a big deal out of? It was ridiculous. I think once Sony ascertained the nature of the crime dealt with it well, from reporting what happened, offering fraud insurance to their customers and with the free game give away.

As for the launch price criticism, it was still one of the more modestly priced Blu-ray players for the time. I don't think the pricing was unreasonable.

Even removing PS2 support, while I didn't like it nor approve of this move, you can hardly criticize them for it. Consumers spoke and they wanted a cheaper system. Sony did what they needed to do and delivered a price cut. It's not like people didn't have the chance to buy a BC PS3, and it's not as if you couldn't just go out and buy a PS2 if you still wanted.

If you want to criticize the PS3, the more obvious choices would be lying about the removal of vibration from the controllers at the start and issues with the ease of development. Not only that, but Sony's advertising has been terrible for the most part. I think those were far bigger blunders when you look at the overall system's history than Sony pricing the PS3 way cheaper than it even cost to make the thing, or that one time criminals targeted the console.

[Gaming_Guru]

The thing about the price too it was only $100.00 more than the XBOX 360's price point. With all the stuff you buy to get it going like batteries, Xbox live membership, and any thing else I'm forgetting would be more than $100.00. So to me the playstation 3 was a steal for what the market was then, but you'll see $899.99 phones selling like hot cakes, lol.

[Clarence]

This is how you know the PS3 is doing well.

[Rageanitus]

There are 2 things it failed from a consumer perspective. It did not have much games when it launched and it was direct comparison to the library of the Xbox at launch.... but the tables have turned.

The multiplatform games are still better "quality" on the xbox but the differences are sooo minor now.

In the end the PS3 has delivered IMO as a better entertainment device in the living room and even though the price has always been higher, it still offered much more value

[LOGICWINS]

The lack of games at launch isn't a practical complaint. After spending 600 bucks on a console, how many people would be in the market for MULTIPLE $60 games? Call it a blanket statement if ud like, but a good chunk(maybe the majority) of people who buy consoles at launch do so with the intention of flipping them for a profit IMO.

[Rageanitus]

Yah but you have to remember PS3 was a cheap alternative to Blu-ray

Blu-ray was the ONLY item and still today that will take advantage of your sound system and 1080p TV at a reasonable price. Unless you wanted to plug your PC to the TV but even back then blu-ray drives on PC's were NON existant.

As a consumer it really mattered to me and blu-ray was just simply amazing when it first came out... only the haters like hard core xbox fanboys said they cannot tell the different between blu-ray and DVD

[LOGICWINS]

Well yeah. I agree, but I don't see what that has to do with my comment. I thought we were talking about backwards compatibility..not Blu-Ray.

EDIT: Oh ur referring to the second part of my statement. I bet there were some people who bought a PS3 because it was a cheap Blu-Ray player, but for all we know, many of those people did so with the intention of making a profit later on. In the end, buying a console at launch is illogical unless you intend on flipping it. Your buying a console at its highest price with its fewest games.

Otherwise, if your a techie and you enjoy always having the latest tech, thats perfectly fine, even though your purchasing tech from an emotional point of view as opposed to a logical one.

[violents]

rageanitus is right. at launch blu ray players were like 1000 bucks and a ps3 was 600. So if you wanted a cheap blu ray player you could get in on the new hd craze a lot cheaper.

However I do agree with your original comment to an extent. A lot of people buy up new hot items to extort people on ebay when the stores sell out.

[Godmars290]

At this point it makes better sense - for them - to sell PS2 games on PSN, not that lack of BC is sort of an F-U to old PS2 owners.

Not that plenty of "who needs BC" complaints from supposed fans didn't help anything.

Also real surprise that Sony's media efforts were so behind MS's initially.

[SyluxPT]

Don't click guys!
PS3 is doing very well!! :)

[Godmars290]

What does that even mean? The PS3 has its issues just like the 360.

Granted, they're more in line with its online service, temporary things like the outage and hack which some people neither forget or forgive, but its still had its issues.

Nevermind that the 360's problems were more about hardware and paying for XBL as it made less and less sense to do so.

[LOGICWINS]

If your being serious, then I sincerely pity you. U remind me of those religious fanatics that get defensive when anyone questions/criticizes their beliefs.

[RogueStatus28]

We're on N4G... Just like IGN, GiantBomb, etc the places that are riddled and littered with sony fans, they didn't fail at delivering the goods.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Nothing in the article is really new. Just rehashed opinions on why he thinks the PS3 "failed" in areas. Articles lame overall.

[dvewlsh]

Also how it delivered.

At times mine gets way more use than anything else in my home.

[WayneKerr]

It never delivered

1080p
60FPS
Sixaxis
Move
Home
PSN
Multiplats
Linux
Back compat
YLOD
Lost half of the console market share
second largest security fail of all time

The most over hyped underachieving console of ALL TIME

[ZBlacktt]

I know you are trolling, lol. Because you should look up the % of consoles that had the YLOD. Then come back and post about the RROD. Owners were trolled right out the gate for YEARS.

Other points you try and make are just straight up crap. You think MS live hasn't been hacked?

No need for backwards compatible when the PS2 is the best selling console of all time.

Best AA exclusive games on the market period and Game of the Year games. Otherwise it was a multi platform game that won...i.e. Red Dead Redemption, etc.

Still using a DVD? Hello last gen PS2 and PS1 days.

[ShaunCameron]

I wouldn't say it never delivered completely. I say the PS3 failed more with the split RAM which was the real reason why it got the inferior multiplatform games, and a Blu-ray media that was barely put to use for anything besides long cutscenes (MGS4, anyone?). And that's not to say Blu-ray is bad.

You're right about 1080p. It's 2013 and to date no PS3 game is a native 1080p. It's yet another one of Sony's broken promises like Pixar graphics on the PS2.

And the PSMove? Let me sum it up in one word: pointless.

[ZBlacktt]

You just fail period.

http://i29.photobucket.com/...

http://i29.photobucket.com/...

http://i29.photobucket.com/...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...

[Morpheuzpr]

And my ignore list keeps growing by the minute.

[MrDead]

Ah N4G's new number one story, the sort of article that has been posted by other sites numerous times.

Lets just keep going in circles with the same people saying the same things..... me included.

[Tonester925]

The only thing that I didn't like that the PS3 wasn't able to do was voice message, I hate typing with the DS3 and the no multiple account logging in at the same time earning trophies on separate accounts.

Other than that, I'm content

[oakshin]

ding ding we have a winner but u know a keyboard with a usb plug works with ur ps3

[violents]

This article is rediculous and very unresearched. He mentions playstation 4 as a reason why ps3 is a sucess? I don't see the correlation. As a failure he brings up the legendary PSN hack, like the crap happens everyday, get over it people hack the microsoft network just as much as they try to hack the PSN, One group of hackers got through once, stop acting like it happens all the time. Sony has reinforced its security measures and made good on thier downfall. To my knowledge there werent even many reports on anyone losing money over the situation. And they took backwards compatibilty out because they were trying to reduce the price like everyone wanted. To play ps2 software on a ps3 processor is impossible without completely rewriting the game. The structure of how the two work is too different. The original launch models basically had a ps2 built into the existing ps3 hardware and that is why the first two or three remakes could use backwards compatibilty and the newer ones will not and can not. Hopefully the addition of Gakai could fix that but that's speculation. But basically what im trying to say is BC isnt really a fail on PS's part its a comprimise because the consumer, you, wanted a cheaper console. Sorry guys if you want it to do every thing its going to be expensive.

TOo MuchTYPINg.

[DivineAssault]

Having PS3 as my primary & preferred console, ill be the 1st to admit that it has many problems & they were too cocky about building that cell processor.. They thought 3rd party would invest more time & effort just to make it work while skimping on ram that really hurt em... If PS3 had more ram, it would be KILLER but they were cocky & didnt expect the whole media revolution MS had prepared for.. PS3 still gets all the multiplats and they arent even close to as bad performance wise as before... This time, they learned their lesson & for that, i thank MS.. Taught them a lesson & to not under estimate the competition.. I still love it for media & gaming more than the others but the mandatory installs for some games & the slow UI, slow disc read speed, etc really hurt em.. Games are whats most important & PS exclusives are fantastic so i will continue using PS for all things gaming

[kevnb]

It never delivered what sony promised, but at the end of the day its the only console I can actually say is worth getting right now.

[Hicken]

What promises did Sony fail to deliver on, besides the ones that were outrageous in the first place?

[kevnb]

that's the thing, they were outrageous... but people believed in it. Then people were fired. The 360 had much better pr, so much so that it is going head to head with a superior product.

[Belking]

lol...sound like you just answered your own question. They promised plenty of 3rd party support for PS move and vita and it isn't happening.

[shadowgeist00]

Belking, maybe you should see the games coming up for the Vita before you make an ill informed statement like that.

[InTheLab]

. The hack happened 6 years into the gen and was pure retaliation by a group of petty hackers. Psn was fine for years up untill that point.

Add that to the end result of no identity theft or fraud plus Sony shutting down psn for 2 weeks and the store for a month. It was more of an embarrassment to Sony than anything else.

[Belking]

I knew this was coming soon after the 360 one....lol

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

What's even more funny is reading the difference between your comment here and the one on there.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

***"Quit your ***ing dude. There is life outside of sony and MS."***

Don't get mad cuz I called you out on your B.S.

LMAO!

[Picnic]

I won't be buying any more non-HD PS1 games on the PS3 as they are. On a HDTV at least, Crash Team Racing looks confused - nostalgia aside, much worse than I remember it on the PS1.