What If... The PS3 Had Come First?

Brutal Gamer writes - "Well, that's what I'm wondering this time.The Playstation 3, that jet-black, 5kg shiny piece of metal we've come to call a "next generation video game console", has come into its own somewhat this year, with a whole range of software and top quality games becoming available for it, and its technical aspects becoming more accessible for developers.

With a Blu-Ray player enabling full HD film and television viewing inbuilt into the console, full HD gaming, multimedia functionality, a free online service for playing online with other people around the world, an inbuilt wireless network adapter for connecting to the internet without the need for a wire, a motion sensor control, bluetooth connectivity, a very in-depth menu layout for console tweaking, an internet browser, and depending on the console you bought, a large HDD suitable for storing a mass range of files, the PS3 certainly holds its own in the video game industry.

But don't think that I am gushing over the PS3, and forgetting the Xbox 360. As an owner of both consoles for multiple years, I can say with much confidence that both consoles have their ups and downs."

[KingKionic]

hmm... good question.

Sadly we wont ever find out.

wait one minute here...

"It would have been a very, very strange world. Almost like a parallel universe, where the PS3 is bigger than the 360, the world’s economy is stable, fears of global warming are non-existant, the weather is nice, people are happier, the world is safer, and politicians would know what they are talking about a lot more."

huh?

[rucky]

One thing is for sure, it would also be an RROD free world...

...maybe

[Codinthepocket]

"It would have been a very, very strange world. Almost like a parallel universe, where the PS3 is bigger than the 360, the world’s economy is stable, fears of global warming are non-existant, the weather is nice, people are happier, the world is safer, and politicians would know what they are talking about a lot more."

I forgot to add "/sarcasm" to the end of that statement. ;)

[Natsu X FairyTail]

lol Codinthepocket so true.

[Maddens Raiders]

would be large and in charge, walking the halls of SCEJ in full Samurai regalia (because he could) scheming and whipping up gadget after invention after gadget add-on for the PS3(128-X?), Ace Combat 6 would've never been disgraced to the unveiling it had to a very strange audience and out of the PS family (wtf was that Namco?), no one would've been shot and killed during the launch of the 360 at all with the dominance of Blu-Ray subduing the reveal, and Madden would've never been gimped in 2007 the way it was with all of the lame ass excuses from EA, that yours truly caught in a lie back in the good 'ol days.

KILLZONE II would've never reached the uber epic proportions of hype and delivery that it enjoyed and yet... Cellius would still be as mysterious as UFO's and Loch Ness.

[a_squirrel]

lol...

[SinnedNogara]

It would still be too expensive! (SARCASM)

Hmmm......interesting question. It would have sold well, but what titles would have been released?

[Lifendz]

God was one of us....

[edhe]

If the ps3 had release a year ahead of the competition then the marketplace would be probably something like 80% ps3.

The brand name, the new tech, the lack of competition, it would've steamrolled the whole industry.

it would've also cost about 50% more due to the immature nature of BDA.

[thebudgetgamer]

What if Nintendo never stabbed Sony in the back and they became partners?

[Silver360]

At least with the functions they copied from MS and Nintendo. There would be no home, no trophies, no free online gaming and no gamertag. Sony is not doing bad and they profited from seeing ideas from other companies and making them there own.

[adsaidler]

it's called sarcasm where i live

[y0haN]

If Sony had come first I think gaming would be cheaper for all. The Xbox console would be more expensive than it is now but still marginally cheaper than the PS3.. so I think it'd still be winning this 'war'.

MS is pushing the envelope with the gaming features on its console and often has Sony playing catchup, as well with the seemingly 'cheaper' price.. things wouldn't be all that different.

[Bnet343]

What if I had a cannon for an arm? I'd shoot sh*t up.

[FarEastOrient]

I like the question... if Nintendo didn't stab Sony in the back and how would gaming today look if Sony worked for big N? Would the Wii even come out?

[Poopface the 2nd]

First. Does this mean the PS3 comes out sooner, or the 360 comes out later?

If it was 360 later, Id say we might have no RRoD, and ps3 might sell more. Or 360 could have a blu ray or HD dvd built in.

If it was ps3 sooner, It may sell more than it did. It also might cost alot more or not have a blu ray drive.

Theres no way to tell waht would happen as there are alot of factors which would change the sales of both PS3 and 360.

But at the end of the day Id say the Wii would still be selling more(is sales what this is about?) as nintendo has found away to sell to people who would never consider getting a 360 or ps3.

[JL]

I have to agree with edhe, if PS3 released first I think it would've steamrolled the industry. Especially if nothing else changes but order of release (ie RROD, production costs for Sony). Probably wouldn't even resemble a contest at this point. And PS3 might quite possibly be battling with Wii in numbers.

But this is way too "what if" and too many variables to consider to even truly fathom what would've been. We'll never know.

[Sam Fisher]

i see it more like pay alot now in one single shot(ps3). or pay a whole sh** load more later (Xbox 360 and then online pay to play 50 annually), sooner or later ur paying more. how many years the ps3 and the 360 came out on their time? when it first came out and what your paying every year should already cost as much as the ps3 or more by now.

do the math. and if u think im wrong think about the future payments aswell, yea u can not pay to play online, but thats like having an iphone or blackberry without internet service = a regular phone.

[FamilyGuy]

There'd be more PS3 owners, duh.

But what would the 360 be like if the PS3 came first?
Would M$ still have went through with their plans that made the 360 less appealing?
In other words, would the 360 have:
over priced HDDs?
Proprietary HDDs
Silver membership with no online gaming functionality
no HDMI from the start
no web browser
$400 elite
sony exclusives turned multi-plat
sony exclusives switching consoles
RROD
Dvd-9

In the end, the 360 would have been better, feature/tech wise, than it is now had sony been the leader and M$ playing catchup. But their market share would suffer BIG TIME.

[MGOelite]

it doesnt matter cause it didnt...

[Gue1]

I agree. This kind of articles are just plain crap.

[NegativeCreep427]

Speculation can go on and on about what if this and what if that happened, but in the end its just meaningless.

Could of. Would of. Should of. But didn't.

[The Master Chief]

I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one.

PS3rd 4 EVA!!!

[leila01]

Despite being third/last, the PS3 still has a very impressive catalogue. Isn't that what gaming should be about, the games?

[Snake Raiser]

First of all the article doesn't take itself too seriously...just read the last paragraph. Second of all it is also a lesson for the next gen. If sony can launch with or ahead of MS then they will have an advantage that they don't have now.

[da720izcumin]

what a fail for an article...

we could the spend the rest of year going what if:
sony never existed?
wii failed?
ps1 failed?
ps2 failed?
ps3 failed?
....wait a minute, the last one is not a speculation is it?
hahahaahahahahahahah

[RockmanII7]

1.6 you make me lol

[Etseix]

[email protected]
agree with u still, u just **ed up all ur comment 'cuz the end, dont start a fanboy war can u?

ontopic, agree with 1
it didnt happen so this article just fails, by the way, who aproove this?

[Spike47]

Nintendo was smart. They said, lets just make a cheap system with a gimmick that everyone would fall for and slap a $250 price tag on it.
Heck I'm not bashing them, they were the smart ones this time around.
Sony would have it easier if they would've spent more time trying to find gimmicks than features that most consumers don't even know exist lol. However, I find the PS3 a lot more fun than the Wii by light years, ironic huh?

Price and marketing is Sony's problem, not launch date.

[KingKionic]

Riiight...

I think there pretty aware what there buying .

[mrv321]

Sony's like a brilliant scientist that can't seel his ideas. This is Sony's approach to the idea.

Sony invents internet and goes 'Well hello, I've invented this thing called the internet, I need investment, this is a piece of technology that has the ability to send and recieve data. So your in?'

Nintendo invents VHS 'Hello, I've invented this brilliant product all I need now is investment, this tape allow one to purchase and view adult material at any time.'

Nintendo of course got the invesment, and that was a dreadful analorgy.

It's just Sony has this brilliant machine but no one knows why it's so brilliant unless they own it (which they don't because they don't know why it's brilliant)

[WEL]

Believe me @KionicWarlord222, I know a couple of persons that bought the Wii thinking it was HD like the other consoles but with the motion controller.

They even bought component cables and everything but when they hooked it up, they just called me asking how to set it up to output the HD res cus it looked kinda blurry on their LDC tv's. Lol

They thought the Wii was graphically on par with an X360. But who blames them, after seeing this http://revolutionmedia.ign.... and this http://img.jeuxvideo.fr/003... . They aren't like me that I'm always looking about games on the internet and all that.

----------------------------- ------------------------------ - --------

BTW @mrv321 that analogy sucks big time!

[Traveler]

Most people are heavily influenced by marketing and gets sucked in by fads. I agree with Spike47, most consumers don't make informed buying decisions. You can get people to buy almost anything with the right marketing and fad behind it; even to the point that they will pass up a superior product for it.

[JOLLY1]

MRV put anal and orgy into one word.

[7thNightvolley]

i think if ps3 came out first .. it would not make a whole lot diffrence but ppl would tolerate any bads the ps3 has e.g no chat blah blah and the ps3 fanboys would have been more of a bigger crowd that they are now. just a personal opinion.

[Poopface the 2nd]

I mean today my MOM said she wanted a wii for wii boxing. Geez. But your wrong if you think they dont know what it is.

They may not know the specs or the history of the company's, but I guarantee you they know what they are getting. Most these people with wii would never consider buying a 360 or ps3(kinda like me never buying a wii)

Id say most of the people who buy the wii would only buy a wii, and if it wasnt for the wii they wouldnt own a console.

Nintendo has sold to a new group of people. They may not know that the wii is very underpowered compared to other consoles, but they do know that they can play nintendo games, its family friendly, and it has motion controls.

Id say taht alot of people that own a wii dont want to play shooters, or any kind of hardcore game at all. Just look at the sales of "core" games on wii.

I wouldnt say that they dont know, Id say that they just dont care at all.

[Natsu X FairyTail]

The real thing is.

this is the world of electronics. you put your product out before the competition or you come out with something that will attract more people than the competition.

Wii did that with the wii-mote gimmick
Xbox did that coming out 1st .

ps3 did not.

[pixelsword]

...we'd all have a Merry Christmas.

Theory and conjecture are wrecking the writing quality of gaming journalism as it is, but at least this writer makes the case in a theoretical setting; not trying to pass it's musings off as fact.

Not that this isn't a relevant article, but I'd rather just stick to the facts, thank you.

[Codinthepocket]

I'd have to agree with you.

The "What If" articles are theoretical. I try to write about things that gamers may wonder about.

I realise that the articles aren't "news", but what I'm trying to do is to get gamers to think about the possibilities. What would have happened if Microsoft made a handheld console? What if Sony had produced and the released the PS3 before the 360?

They're hypothetical.

Some would say there would be no point writing these.

I say, if I don't write about what could happen, why would I write about what actually happened when everyone already knows?

It's an open debate. I love any feedback and criticisms you guys have, it helps make me better at writing.

[leyego]

a site that never posts news of any kind. just flamebait.

let the war begin

[edhe]

*article.

[PLAYINB3YOND]

The fact of the matter is that PS3 is outselling the 360 when 360 was at the same point in its life. The only thing the 360 had to compete with was the ps2, no wonder it sold a bucket load. I believe the headstart had a huge impact as did the region split delays, with Europe getting it 5 months late because of the blu-ray diode shortage. Launch was shaky for the PS3 but considering its higher price point and, as i said before its selling more than the 360 when 360 was at the same point shows that, as soon as Sony hire a new marketing team and either bring out a cheaper "slim" PS3 or reduce the price sales should equal if not overtake 360. Touch wood...

[Gamer_Politics]

Lols i love when sony fans bring out this miracle ps3 come back....

[leila01]

Why do you guys care so much about sales, does your game library bore you?
We have so much great games on both consoles, but all you guys seem to talk about is "tha salez".

[kaveti6616]

That's only assuming that when Sony cuts the price of the PS3, Microsoft won't do anything to counter. Do you think Microsoft is that stupid? I mean, greedy, maybe, but not stupid at all. As soon as Sony cuts the price of the PS3 Microsoft is going to do something bigger and louder and make sure the entire world sees it. That's how Microsoft rolls. As a business, they're pure genius. They spend as much money of marketing as Research and Developments of their products. That means that if you're walking down the street and you see 10 Xbox 360 billboards for every PS3 billboard or when you're watching TV and every multiplatform game commercial ends with the 360 logo, you will think the 360 is the leader and the PS3 is not as good.

That's the idea that Microsoft can instill in the minds of the layman public. The public doesn't know anything about bus speeds and floating point operations and the DVD disc limitations. The public only flocks to the shiny, flashy product, and Microsoft has managed to do that with the 360. If PS3 gets a price cut, I'm willing to bet that Microsoft will counter with an even better offer. Xbox 360s bundled with 4 triple AAA titles or something like that.

[Skynetone]

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices VP Don Mattrick said "History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle

ill just include the 360/ps3

[Defectiv3_Detectiv3]

Why bother commenting on something if you say it is pointless? Is that not, in and of itself, utterly pointless? Sometimes I worry about you guys.

One thing is for sure, people are eager to jump on the latest trend, hence the 360's popularity. If it would have been the PS3 out first, the roles would be reversed, but the 360 would be doing nowhere near as good as the PS3 right now.

A lot of people like to ignore the fact that the PS3 has actually sold more in the same respective timeframe as the 360. Imagine when they have a proper price cut what will happen.

[Gamer_Politics]

wouldnt matter if ps3 came out first but that high price tag would scare people away like its doing now

[La Chance]

"A lot of people like to ignore the fact that the PS3 has actually sold more in the same respective timeframe as the 360. Imagine when they have a proper price cut what will happen."

Euh..600 to 400 dollars is what I call a price cut.

And a lot of people seem to forget that Sony had a 120 million install base to rely on while MSFT had a 25 million install base so no matter how you spin it its a freaking failure for Sony

[cereal_killa]

Hows is this a failure for Sony sure they made a mistake by the price but Sony is quite happy with the sales they have right now sure they could be better, but tell me what has M$ done so much better they got there system out a year early but has made them selves look greedy fools by releasing a faulty system that stupid Muppet's like yourself La Chance will continue to support because even though your system will break 1-5 times on you because of RROD/E74 they fix it for free or "hey there only $200 I'll just get a new one so I don't have to worry about this again. Sony's biggest problems is there marketing and price point because they deliver great games, have a reliable system and even though your paying $400 for a system it's dam sure worth every penny.

By the way La Chance you got to love multiple accounts you were down to one bubble yesterday and now look at you already up to 2 bubbles.

[PLAYWATCH]

Stop spreading lies and FUD.

I know you want and others to believe that A PS3 price cut won't have any affect by suggesting that it already had a large price cut from $600 to $400, but a hardcore fanboy like yourself already knows that is not true but still spreads it anyway.

The truth is it only had one $100 price cut so far.
$600 (60gig) to $500 (160gig)
$500 (20gig) to $400 (80gig)

Why would you want to sell your integrity over a freaking console?
Are you the head-honcho or somehow responsible for the Xbox360's success or something?

If you're going to defend yours or criticize others, at least do with some integrity and not with lies, misinformation and FUD.

[mrblacknut]

Now it has came down to what if articles to get by. Wow this must be rough for some of you fanboys that don't like the way the climate turned out then what some of you expected in 2005.

Blame it on the alcohol or Petrone lol

[Unicron]

What if...

This site actually had news?

[II Necroplasm II]

Good question...

[KeiKei]

this was a question on the gametrailers forums, now its on a blog? wow

[Foxgod]

The dreamcast came first too.
What matters is timing, not being first, the wii wasnt first either.

This person should have wrote, what if the ps3 arrived sooner.

[leila01]

Or "what if the PS3 launched at a $250 price tag"?
We'll never know anyway so who cares.

[Meus Renaissance]

When it arrived it was bare bones anyway especially in comparison to what we have in the system now. If it had arrived sooner, it would have been a heck of a lot more expensive than that $600 figure and the games would not have been ready - the infrastructure would have not been ready. Same reason why Microsoft didn't release the 360 sooner, same reason why the Wii didn't come out sooner.

Believe it or not kids, these global corporations have hundreds of switchboard monkey's working full time on accountancy, marketing and media research. In other words, they know what they are doing.