From First To Last: A PlayStation Tale Of Woe

EndSights:

"It's hard to figure out exactly what happened to Sony's dominance in the console wars with the advent of the PlayStation 3. How can a console with a Blu-ray player, a free online service with the PlayStation Network and no known hardware failures such as Microsoft's Xbox 360's Red Rings Of Death be last in hardware sales?"

[PoSTedUP]

"It's hard to figure out exactly what happened to Sony's dominance in the console wars with the advent of the PlayStation 3"

if you cant figure it out by now... wow. they launched a $600.000, duh! (over $600 including tax).

[cliffbo]

and yet they have still sold nearly as many PS3s as they did PS2s in the same time period. funny that, isn't it. even when the PS3 hit 100 million we'll be getting these stupid arguments. no one will mention that the 360 only managed 35 million before it pulled out

[Darkseider]

Another one! N4G wouldn't be the same without some pointless blog about PS3 doom and gloom! Quick someone find one about Blu-Ray dying and Sony being a sinking ship and we can pull of a hat trick today!

[RPG Guy]

Dude, N4G pulls 70-80 hat-tricks a day if that's the criteria!

[pav2323]

I can't wait until someone writes an article about how good the PS3 is doing, because if history repeats itself, there will be an onslaught of copy cat articles saying exactly what the first article said. OK lets go ahead and say the PS3 is doomed. If that is the case, then Xbox 360 is one year closer to the impending doom, considering they sold at roughly the same rate on a year to year basis. Xbox 360 is DOOMED!!!!!!!!!

[Why dis]

The unjustified ones are the problem not legit ones like this.

[Aclay]

PS3 articles like this are so pointless. These gaming "journalists" talk about the PS3 being in Last place like the PS3 is the exact same price as the 360 or something.

When the PS3 came out, the 360 had about a 10 million lead, since the PS3 came out, it's cut into that lead even while selling at $399 and $499. But, I have no doubt that by the end of this generation, the PS3 will come out on top in Worldwide sales over the 360 because I just don't see the 360 outselling the PS3 overall by the end of this generation by just winning the majority of U.S. sales. The only thing holding the PS3 back is it's price. Once the PS3 hits $299, things are definantly going to start changing.

[Lifendz]

Read it here:

It’s hard to figure out exactly what happened to Sony’s dominance in the console wars with the advent of the PlayStation 3. How can a console with a Blu-ray player, a free online service with the PlayStation Network and no known hardware failures such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360’s Red Rings Of Death be last in hardware sales?

It’s all about the games: Let’s face it, Sony still does not have a breakout console-selling game under its belt. In fact, the only PS3 game to be found on 2008’s year-end sales chart for North America is Grand Theft Auto IV. Exclusive titles such as LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, which were supposed to be breakout games in their own right, are nowhere to be found. Another thorn in Sony’s side is the loss of exclusivity on big-name franchises such as GTA and Final Fantasy, which have now gone multi-platform. Just imagine if GTA IV would’ve been a PS3 exclusive. How does 2009 look for the shiny black console’s exclusives? There might actually be a glimmer of hope on the horizon, with such titles as God of War III, Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, Infamous and a new Ratchet and Clank game scheduled for release this year. Is that one big breakout game in there somewhere? Only time will tell, but let’s hope so, for Sony’s sake.

There’s no place like Home?: After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Sony finally released their community based service, called Home, on December 11, 2008. The reaction from the community, yours truly included, was quite underwhelming. Waiting in line to play a game of bowling isn’t my idea of fun, and there are only so many times that I can watch a trailer for Twilight before I want to hurl. I was expecting something more robust and meatier once Home was finally released, especially after waiting so long for it. Let’s just hope Sony releases more content and adds more things to do within Home other than wait in line or watch the same movie trailer ad nauseam.

Too expensive for our taste: With Nintendo’s Wii being the cheapest console on the market, (Well, until the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade) and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 seeing its fair share of price drops in recent months, it’s quite mind-boggling to see that Sony hasn’t made an effort to lower the price on their PlayStation 3 SKUs. Granted, the 80 GB PS3 was introduced last September for $399 (replacing the $399 40GB unit), with all things said and done, $400 is still a lot of cash to drop for the “cheapest” PS3. Both the 80 GB and the 160 GB consoles do not have backwards compatibility for PlayStation 2 games, which means that you’ll either have to keep your PlayStation 2 or live without. Even though they have Blu-ray technology on their side, Sony’s hope to compete with Nintendo and Microsoft’s lower-priced consoles will never materialize unless they start thinking about lowering their prices, plain and simple. This is a video game console we’re talking about here, after all.

Sony needs to work on a lot of things if they wish to pull themselves out of the gutter. Although the game side of business is more of a hit or miss kind of situation, that one breakout game, which is still nowhere to be found, could help turn things around in a hurry. Add to that a rethinking of Home and the way it’s supposed to work and a price drop on both SKUs, making them more accessible for the common consumer, and the PlayStation 3 could be back on the winning track. Wishful thinking never hurt anyone, right?

[Blademask]

lol.. these are amazing. I feel sorry for all 360's when the PS3 is priced competitively.What will they complain about then? Yep. You've got it..
Nothing.Ahh all these tears of "WAH WAH THE FERRARI COSTS TOO MUCH" pleases me going into Killzonation!

the author of this "article" is a moron. NPD is the whole world now I see.

Ignore the fact that MGS4 moved more consoles than GTA4. How stupid are these f&*king people?

[SRU9600]

There is no mystery behind Sony's failure and Microsoft's success.

It's simple, right from the start the Xbox 360 offered more/better exclusives, and multiplats performed better on the 360, as well.

Bluray was not wanted at that point in time, either.

The PS3's online was not even close to what Xbox Live offered.

And to top it all off, Sony was asking $600 for that inferior console. They said things like "People will work more hours to buy one".

Sony over promised and under delivered, and now they are facing an uphill battle just to maintain their relevance.

It's rather sad, actually.

[callahan09]

"And to top it all off, Sony was asking $600 for that inferior console."

Inferior, huh?

[xwabbit]

LMAO at first post

[SRU9600]

Yup, inferior.

Weaker multiplatform graphics, lack of rumble, lame mandatory installs, weaker online/store and a lack of "must have" exclusives.

THAT defined the PS3 for the first couple of years.

[kewlkat007]

Also don't forget the Economy and job lost was something that was not as bad as it is today, as opposed to the past console releases.

[rockleex]

You forgot to add /sarcasm. ^_^

On a more serious note, can we stop talking about the PS3's future when it has not even reached the price of a launch PS2 yet?!

Here's a chart comparing PS2/PS3/360 hardware sales from launch.

http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunc...

Keep in mind that the PS3 was twice as expensive as the PS2 from launch and always more expensive than the 360.

Notice how the PS3 is currently beating the 360 at the same point in the 360's life.

[phantomshadow]

PS3 is teh d00med!

Seriously though, do bloggers have nothing better to write than the PS3 being in last place. Refresh my memory, but I don't remember everyone crapping all over the Gamecube when it was in 3rd. I just remember people saying "yep, it's in last place." AND THAT WAS IT! Enough with these stupid articles already.

[solidjun5]

I really think it's a member from N4G who create blogs for the sake of causing trouble. Well, the world will never know who those members are.

[ballsofsteel]

i knew there was too much positive news for PS3 nice to have things back to normal and people spelling doom and gloom with they're all talking out of ass

[thebudgetgamer]

one company that has never been in first is.

:)

[cmrbe]

that the PS3 was suppose to be the console leader overnight.

The PS2 didn't do it overnight so i really don't understand why people think the PS3 should have done the same. It didn't take the PS2 2 years to get to 140 million sold.

I anycase. PS is still getting more money for Sony than MS so i really don't get why people are making a big deal out of this.

[dannyhinote_13]

PS1 and PS2 were industry leaders in a very convincing fashion. I think most everyone expected the PS3 to continue that, and up to this point--it hasn't. (Despite me thinking it's a fantastic system)

Different things to different people, but as a cash generator, it's just not where it needs to be right now. I think 2009 will change that though.

[soxfan2005]

Actually, the PS1 and PS2 practically became leaders overnight. PS1 outsold Saturn on it's first day, even though Saturn released 4 months sooner. PS2 took only months to pass Dreamcast.

[cmrbe]

but the Dreamcast had a 10 million lead over the PS2 before it was released.

@danny. The PS2 was launched at 299 and within a year it saw MGS2,FF10 and GT3. PS3 on the otherhand is still 399 with only MGS4.

What i am saying is. Its really unrealistic for people to expect PS2 level of success for Sony this early in the console war considering all the factors that are different from last gen. Who ever gets to the finishing line first is the winner regardless of how they started right?. Sony in their development of the PS3 in a way made the PS3 slower at the beginning compare to the PS2 but will run faster in the middle and to the end compare to the PS2. Why?. Because unlike the PS2, the PS3 is superior tech wise compare to competition unlike the PS2 was compare to the xbox and GG. For example. The PS3 is the only console this gen with Blu-ray unlike last gen when all had DVD. By the time the next wii and xbox come out the PS3 will still be much more revalent than the PS2 was when x360 came out meaning it will still sell alot even after 5-7 years.

PS3 at its weakest is still selling on average 9-10 million a year. Sony plans on selling the PS3 for 10 years and by the end they will sell at least 100 million PS3. Isn't this similar to PS2 success?.

[solidjun5]

...would be popping up for 1/28/2009. I thought hell has frozen over or something. I was starting to question the Mayan Calender for a minute. We still have 3 years before the apocalypse.

This is like watching World News. "Today January 28, 2009, the PS3 is ooooooooomed!!!".

[HolyOrangeCows]

Xbox 360 sales: 28 million
PS3 sales: 20 million

Xbox sales divided by 3 years = About 9.3 million sold each year.
PS3 sales divided by 2 years = About 10 million sold each year.

PS3 is teh Dooooo0oo0o0o0oMED!!!!! LOL

[Socomer 1979]

10 million ps3's a year.

sounds like its right on track to me.

what is this?
the "lets see how fast sony can steamroll to second place at a higer pricepoint race"?

wii is for kids.
xbox360 gets broken and rebought.
ps3 reigns supreme.

kids, teens and hardcore adults.
then there is everybody else.
early adopters and late adopters.

some how sony has figured out that late adopters bring the money by the buttload. they have mastered the art of advertising without advertising. bad press is good press because it makes people feel like outlaws. they have mastered the art of games with legs.

do you think im naive?
who are you to tell me im wrong?
i only listen to one company and one company only.
Thats the sony representatives & the playstation blog.

theres no ticking on the ps3. no fuse that burns down till a explosion kills it. i know its been rough worrying about turning on that 360 and worrying about how long you are playing but not so with ps3. Its the gift that keeps on giving.

seriously, cmon dude. the ps3 is incredible. its fantastic. some nights i say outloud "THANK YOU SONY"!
when i had a 360 i would say "GODDAMMIT FCKN XBOX"! in disgust. mostly because of mass effect and halo 3 lag.

why you sweating sony huh? whats gonna happen when ps3 is in 2nd place in 2014? yawn im so sleepy now. see? Imagine if it happens sooner. then what?

year 3: 30 million or more.

year 4: 40 million

year 5: 50 million

year 6: i fell asleep

[123360]

i own both systems ,as of now both systems have some great games the ps3 doesn,t worry me as much as the 360 this year, wheres the doom and gloom with games like killzone coming out its head and shoulders above anythink my 360 has in terms of graphics coming from a dev,s first game on sonys system.if thats doom and gloom count me in,lets be honest even gears can,t touch it and for it to be compared to crysis from a host of sites says it all.forget sales the 360 launched a year early and the price has come down 4 times at least here in the uk so it should be a head,i,m more concerned about games going multiplat bioshock,dead rising,lost planet gone to ps3,mass efffect left for dead and even gears could go to ps3.where will ms be if it lost gears ,first party studios are being closed down by ms while sony is swimming in them.whats my 360 got this year nothink aaa thats for sure, this year the 360 will be the console of dlc how sad is that.

[avsrule]

Dang you guys get riled up easily.

[DBoy]

Tempers flare up way to easily here though.

[slave2Dcontroller]

and enjooooy this one. L'dMAO at the story title it sounds like a John Grisham novel.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Price.

I still remember buying my ps3 at 600 USD.

But it was worth it, 60 gigs, backwards compatible, yep (:

[BIGBOSS08]

the only reason ps3 is last is because the 360 release way earlier. thats a fact. if they released at the same time, do any of you really think the 360 will be even anywehre near the ps3 right now?

[deividpaulo]

just another sh*t-eater xboxfanboy...

[Sibs]

Ah, I forgot, the PS3 is doomed, thanks for the reminder.

Is Blu-Ray doomed too? Is that a yes I hear? Thanks for the answer media, I can always trust you guys!

/sarcasm

[zainkool]

Another article bashing the ps3, whats new

[Bathyj]

Man, this is dumb.

Being 1st, 2nd, 3rd might be a big deal to teenagers, living at home, wanking into their best sock to a Sears catalouge.

Being 3rd in an industry bigger than Hollywood, with only 3 hardware manufacturers isn't that big a deal. Sony set their targets, they're meeting them. They're improving year after year, does anyone think as the price drops, and more and more AAA games come out, they will start selling less? They're selling as much as the XBox, they just started later. You know I could beat Carl Lewis in a 100m sprint right now if I started yesterday.

And does anyone even remember that before the price drop less than 6 short months ago, XBox was on lifesupport, and was even getting flogged on its homeground, its safehaven where it apparently would never get caught even for a week?

Is it unreasonable to think momentum that shifted many times already, could shift again?

A 10 year life cycle at 10M consoles a year minimum. You do the maths. If they achieve that, do you think they'll be sitting around saying "Gee, for that first 3 years we were 5M console behind. Man what a tragedy. Those were dark times."

Enough with the doom and gloom already, every man and his dog wants a PS3. Went the price drops it will surge again. It will keep selling its target and its not going anywhere.

I dont remember all this crap when the once great Nintendo were getting reemed for 2 generations, let alone being slightly behind for 2 years.

And I'll say this again too. Having a 5M console lead might be a big deal when one has 5M and the other has 10M, but if one is 22 and the other 27 or one has 40 and the other 45M in the future, then it seems a bit pointless to be arguing about the difference. Its like basketballers arguing about whose taller, I'm 7'2, oh yeah I'm 7'3, who cares? You're both tall.

[SRU9600]

"living at home, wanking into their best sock to a Sears catalouge.'

Hmm, I think it's safe to assume how you spent your teenage years...

Might want to keep that to yourself next time, sparky.

[Bathyj]

Thats it? Thats the best response to my points and arguement, to make fun of my mastabory (is that a word?) habits? Just cos I said it, doesn't mean I did it. I'm not 7'2 either.

We dont have Sears where I'm from, I used that so Americans would understand. People from the rest of the world do it all the time.

And I dont use a sock, I have a special towel.

[SRU9600]

I applaud your never ending defense of the PS3, but your incoherent ramblings didn't warrant a response.

Your nasty masturbatory habits did, however.

[Bathyj]

I was neither incoherant, nor rambling. You're either just being deliberately combative or you'd rather talk about wanking than the games industry.

And I see mastabory isn't a word, its masturbatory. I guess it pays to ask an expert.

And thanks....for applauding.

[SRU9600]

There really isn't much to discuss.

The PS3 is in third place and losing money for Sony, but many people simply refuse to acknowledge this.

It's like watching people in a sinking boat deny that they are going under.
Deny it all you want, you are still sinking.

[ultimolu]

Another day, another crappy 'PS3 ish dooomsorrrz!111' article.

[Boty]

Sony has only been in the war for two years while Microsoft had a one year head start.

Sony has been doing just fine if you ask me.