Sony: Gamers Will Wait for PS3, Wii is a 'Novelty'

At E3, both Sony and Microsoft lavished Nintendo with praise for their bold new direction because no one knew how it would perform -- PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were sure sellers to gamers, but Wii was a question mark, so why not look good in the media? Now that Wii's out, receiving growing accolades and sellouts worldwide, at least one of those companies has changed their tune.

"We feel very confident that the PlayStation fan is going to wait until they can get a PlayStation 3. If they do pick up a Wii, it's as more of a novelty." -- Dave Karraker, senior director of corporate communications at Sony Computer Entertainment America, to the Wall Street Journal

Sony has traditionally been quick to talk down the competition, especially when they decided to enter the handheld market. Both Sony President of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison and SCEA CEO Jack Tretton argued Nintendo DS was limiting itself to the traditional Pokemon-fueled markets.

"The idea of a handheld rivalry with Nintendo is an irrelevance. Those formats don't appear in our planning. It's not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it's the truth. With the DS, it's fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen. But I fear that it won't have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick - so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that." -- Phil Harrison speaking to MCV, 08/26/2005

"We really feel like they're [Nintendo] appealing to the same audience that Game Boy has always appealed to ... They're potentially losing some of their core audience and they're not really expanding beyond that and we think we're expanding into a completely new audience as we did with PlayStation. And we'll do just what we did on PlayStation; we'll dip down to the younger consumer eventually and we'll ultimately appeal to that vastly Earth wide audience we carved out with the original PlayStation."-- Jack Tretton talking to GameDailyBIZ, 09/21/2006

Square Enix's announcement earlier this week is telling of a potentially new attitude towards game development in Japan, an attitude that has Dragon Quest jumping ship from Sony to Nintendo. With the most rapidly expanding userbase in Japan, would Sony tell Square Enix they're limiting their potential with a machine that appeals "to the same audience that Game Boy has always appealed to"?

[PS360PCROCKS]

Ha! actually funny story, I work at Pac sun as an assistant Manager and I was on break and theirs a target nearby and I had to go look at some stuff, well I had some extra time so I decided to stop by the gaming section, I figured I'd check out the PS3 basketball, because I have played motorstorm and resistance on my roommates PS3 but not the basketball game. Well this lady is talking to her husband and she's like "yeah guess we will have to wait til they get more ps3's" but than she taps me "Excuse me, do you know what the difference is between the PS3 and that other machine?" " I was like what the Xbox?" "she says yes" so I straight up told her I was like, um the PS3 is $500 and $600 and the 360 is $400, and the PS3 is a Blu-Ray player, and has motion sensitive controllers, that's the major difference. She scoffed at the price, thanked me and bought a 360. So not to look like a mad fanboy, but like as I thought it would be, parents most surely just like the lower price this time around...but kinda still shows not everyone knows what an Xbox is...

[Monchichi025]

Good job soldier! That is a great job of Enforcing the truth!! You sure made someones Holiday a happy one!!

[Master of Menace]

XBOX has always been lower in price than PS2. Didn't really help it much did it?

[slugg]

Xbox came out a year after the PS2 and has NEVER been cheaper, you idiot! Check your facts!

360 is selling fairly close to how well the original xbox sold, better or worse doesn’t really matter. (10 million shipped EXCLUDES replacement systems; that is why you have to ship your broken box to Texas to get it repaired or replaced– the systems they have at the repair center are not counted as “shipped to retail” since, obviously, they were not.) Thing is, most people are missing the big picture. Microsoft is one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world– they understand business. The original xbox shipped AFTER the PS2 and the same day as the Gamecube, and MS lost money on every single one they ever sold. The 360 was the first console of this generation to market, is already MAKING MS a little money on every unit sold, and should have close to 10 million sold by the end of the year. So NO MATTER WHAT Sony and Nintendo do, they can’t approach that number for some time. So MS is firmly in the drivers seat– more third party developers want to make games for the system because it has a larger installed base and, frankly, is easier to develop for. For cross-platform titles, the 360 will be the lead development platform and the game will be ported to PS3. See, Microsoft realized that last time around, having the more powerful system didn’t mean squat if most developers were going to make games on PS2 first (it had the larger install base and year head start last time)then port them “as-is” to the xbox. They also realized that losing money on hardware was the “price to play” in the videogame market, but you can’t bleed green forever. So now they are already making about $40.00 for every system sold, and that will go up as the new manufacturing process takes over. Sony loses between $200 to $400 dollars on every PS3 (depending on which version and who you ask), and it will take a LOT longer for their manufacturing costs to decrease- by their own admission, blu-ray laser diode manufacturing problems led to the delay of the PS3 then its current short suppy; do you think they can reduce the cost of manufacturing something they can barely get made AT ANY COST right now?
Bottom line, as far as gamers are concerned, MS is here to stay, and although they might not beat out Sony this round, they WILL take a sizeable chunk of market share away from them– which means more games for the 360, beter games for the 360, and more exclusive games for the system. “When 2 huge companies are competing for [consumers’] dollars, they consumers are the ones who win.”

[marionz]

people have been waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and if people are smart and realise that ps3 really offers nothing new they should stop waiting for the inferior ps3 and get an xbox 360! damn next gen will be here again before ps3 finally goes global! what a joke...

[MicroGamer]

first they say people will work extra hours to be able to afford one and they say they will wait until Sony sees fit to give them one. Pure f'ing arrogance. There's no other way to describe their attitude. It's like they think we should all bow down and lick their feet for creating this POS.

[Ravenator529]

I agree that people who really want a PS3 will wait for them to be readily available. I myself jumped ship but that doesn't mean everyone is.

As for the Wii being a novelty? I do halfheartedly agree with this as well. It's a gimmicky machine that will be driven by exclusives such as Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Just like the Gamecube was.

But people will buy into this gimmick and Nintendo will make millions upon millions of dollars. I mean, its only $250 and you know in about a year and a half it will be down to $199! And as we all know, the DS actually prints money. So Nintendo will do just fine. I just feel that the Wii will end up beind a dust collector in-between exclusive releases. Just like the Gamecube.

But people will still want power, speed, and beauty! So a 360 or PS3 will be a must own for any Wii owner. And a person will get the system that suits them the best. The 360 and PS3 are "everyday" use machines.

I have my reasons for taking a 360 over a PS3. No need to go into it in thorough detail at this point. God knows, I already have numerous times.

[PS360WII]

Well I like to say Sony does it thing. But I enjoy watching them eat their words. So they said the DS is nothing but a novelty but well we know it's not and can't stop selling. So with the Wii it could be just like the DS all over again. We'll see though no one knows how it's going to be in a few years

[Monchichi025]

is a perfect example of why so many people HATE Sony!! There arrogance and lies are sooo annoying! I also "Jumped In!"

[QuietMan69]

Why must the executives bash their competition. It's amazing, but when you are running scared you will just about say anything. They should just shut up and let the PS3 do the talking, if it all they say it's cracked up to be.

[zonetrooper5]

Well not many people at my school are willing to pay £425 for the PS3 and many people at my school seem very interested in buying the Wii. Other people are thinking about buying an Xbox 360 but they also want a Wii.

[HRP]

Sony is at it again, spewing exaggerations and falsehoods out of their mouths.

Sony can offer no proof that their console is more ligitimate than any other gaming console on the market today. They underestimated the popularity of the Wii and have resorted to childish name-calling and bashing tactics.

Tsk tsk.

[Master of Menace]

Think about it. A controller that looks like a TV remote that you wave in front of a TV to move your characters. I have been able to do that with Eyetoy for years.

[malachi23]

I can't understand why ANYONE WOULD WANT THE PS3?.

An Sony are soooooooo arragent.

[Master of Menace]

Seen Motorstorm lately? Yes they will!

[darx]

What about it?

[Master of Menace]

they will drop their PS2's like a sack of scrap, and buy a PS3. The difference being 100 million PS2's vs 24 million XBOX's, sold. I read XBOX 360 sales are fuelled largely by XBOX users. So shall it be with PS3.

[darx]

Does not mean there were 100 million people with a PS2.

[Master of Menace]

Some PS2's will be broken, so will some XBOX's. So there won't be 100 million PS2's anymore, but there will be alot more PS2 user's vs XBOX user's. Especially when XBOX has died in favour of 360. And PS2 is still outselling the 360.

[Anerythristic26]

If Sony officially changes the name of thier new system to the Waitstation 3 , I'll buy one. Because I already bought a Wii.

[malachi23]

I could'nt care aless about the brainwashed idiots who are going to buy a PS3, they're just stupid...how is their even an argument which is better?.

It's been proven time and time again the Xbox360 has

Better Games
More Exclusives
Better Graphics
Cheaper
Is out NOW

The best one is that Microsoft ARE'NT SONY, who just copy every new idea microsoft come out with.

I want Sony to die a horrible death and it's not really going to happen because people in general are fking stupid.

[slugg]

That the 360 is selling fairly close to how well the original xbox sold, better or worse doesn’t really matter. (10 million shipped EXCLUDES replacement systems; that is why you have to ship your broken box to Texas to get it repaired or replaced– the systems they have at the repair center are not counted as “shipped to retail” since, obviously, they were not.) Thing is, most people are missing the big picture. Microsoft is one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world– they understand business. The original xbox shipped AFTER the PS2 and the same day as the Gamecube, and MS lost money on every single one they ever sold. The 360 was the first console of this generation to market, is already MAKING MS a little money on every unit sold, and should have close to 10 million sold by the end of the year. So NO MATTER WHAT Sony and Nintendo do, they can’t approach that number for some time. So MS is firmly in the drivers seat– more third party developers want to make games for the system because it has a larger installed base and, frankly, is easier to develop for. For cross-platform titles, the 360 will be the lead development platform and the game will be ported to PS3. See, Microsoft realized that last time around, having the more powerful system didn’t mean squat if most developers were going to make games on PS2 first (it had the larger install base and year head start last time)then port them “as-is” to the xbox. They also realized that losing money on hardware was the “price to play” in the videogame market, but you can’t bleed green forever. So now they are already making about $40.00 for every system sold, and that will go up as the new manufacturing process takes over. Sony loses between $200 to $400 dollars on every PS3 (depending on which version and who you ask), and it will take a LOT longer for their manufacturing costs to decrease- by their own admission, blu-ray laser diode manufacturing problems led to the delay of the PS3 then its current short suppy; do you think they can reduce the cost of manufacturing something they can barely get made AT ANY COST right now?
Bottom line, as far as gamers are concerned, MS is here to stay, and although they might not beat out Sony this round, they WILL take a sizeable chunk of market share away from them– which means more games for the 360, beter games for the 360, and more exclusive games for the system. “When 2 huge companies are competing for [consumers’] dollars, they consumers are the ones who win.”

[HRP]

As of now, Microsoft is clearly winning the race. Sony has immense third-party support and will eventually have some killer games available, but for the mean time PS3 owners are left with a particularly lackluster selection.

I love my Wii and find the controller both innovative and intuitive and would hardly consider it a 'novelty.' The system is going to bring in an entire new generation of games *which is what next-gen is all about!*

[ThomasDaGamer]

That's in 4 times as many houses than your product. Sony must be a sore loser or something.

Before Wii sells over 1.5 million:
I like the new bold way you're making your console, Nintendo.

After Wii sells over 1.5 million:
Nintendo, your console's such a novelty!

[FFVIIFan]

All three consules can nitpick at each other, pointing out different flaws and each one can flaunt it's own strength. People keep bagging on Sony for being a Blu-Ray player, saying its such a stupid decision. Look at the Wii, the thing doesn't even play DVDs but no one seems to bag on that. People wanna bag on Sony for its BC compatability problems, and those do have some foundation, but the 360 is truely worse of in that department. Example, Halo 2. It looks perfectly fine, but thats not the problem. The more people you have playing it on the 360, the tougher the machine has to emulate the game, resulting is some noticable lag. But really, for Sony and Microsoft, that's all the more reason why firmware updates are so crucial because it fixes problems like those. And seriously, yes Sony had a disappointing launch, but what consule hasn't? Point in case, EVERY consule is going to get better as time goes on. Developers will understand the machines more, making better games graphically and in terms of gameplay. So really, I think it all comes down to consule exclusives. 360 has Halo and Gears of War, both are AMAZING, but it's a little drag if your not a fan of shooters. Wii has the nintendo classics. Sony? Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, FF XIII, FF Versus XIII, etc. People have to admit that while the 360 does have more games of better quality out now... it will be an entirely differnt picture come next x-mas.

[jsuch2002]

Really......why do you buy a gaming machine? Is it to play games or watch movies? I'm pretty sure most buy to play games. So with that said why would you buy a PS3 for 200-300 more than an Xbox 360? They both look great.....both will have good games. As for the Wii.....I would rather buy that than the PS3. I can spend MUCH less and have fun doing it. Even if it is a novelty it can still be fun. Not EVERY game has to be HD next gen. Some of the best games ever to this day were on Nintendo!!!! LONG LIVE NINTENDO!!!!!!!

[quantae06]

Is far as graphics I have a PC, no thanks Im not spending 600$ on a console that has less power than my PC that's priced that high maybe 400$. Im get me a Wii and a 360.

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

Finally Sony speaks the truth about something.