Sony Playstation 3: What if they waited?

There have been numerous opinions about the Playstation 3 since its release date one year ago. Whether you are a Sony backer or a Sony critic, it seems everyone has something to say about the PS3 and its hardware capabilities. But the question is, what if Sony had waited? How would it all have turned out? Hit the jump to review.

[PS3 Limps on and on]

360 would of had another year without competition and probably had an even bigger edge on development and fanbase.

[Bits-N-Kibbles]

i was expecting something more like about how the 360 would take over or how blu-ray would not be as big of a success... THIS-ARTICLE-SUCKED-PERIOD... don't read it because it's a waist of time and you can see it from the forum reviews in the jump...

[Enigma_2099]

Then they would just stick a list of 2 years worth of games in our faces...

[gamesblow]

Sony didn't need to wait. The tech was there and those who wanted it, got it. Sony's job is done on that end, they have to attract the casuals now and the only way they can do that is buy the 3 following things.

1 - Games
2 - Affordable Price point
3 - Advertising

Sony's done more in a year for the consumers than Nintendo or Microsoft has. They've took great strides for the consumer, that cannot be argued. Sony's going to have to make deadline on their big games and they're going to hafta do something about these lackluster ports for such a powerful console. All there is to it.

[IdontTakeSides]

I agree..but they have stepped it up on the three...

Games
Affordable Pricepoint
Advertising

So i'll guess we'll see what happens in the coming months....

Great answer BTW

[the worst]

im find with my ps3
free online no lag
warhawk best online game out
Eye of Judgment best new gameplay
Ratchet & Clank great all around
RFOM best FPS
etc.

[NRG]

u done make gud contributing argument wit 10 second post and gud grammar
etc

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

He dun real gud!

[TheSadTruth]

You need a life, it's the sad truth.

I IS LIEK MY KONSOL SO MUCH IT HAV BEST GAEM EVER I CUM TO N4G POSTPS3 OWN EVERAAA!!! RFOM IS BNETTER DEN ANY UDER FPS!! PL4Y B3Y0ND

[xplosneer]

Even though it had to be using the PS3, I'm gonna give you a bubble because you are against fanboys and not being one.

[vilmer]

The PS3 basically had to release when it did because microsoft rushed released to the market, even ignoring shoddy hardware in attempt to try and knock off sony. Now if they had both launched at the same time, the PS3 would be destroying the 360 in sales.

[jackdoe]

If they had waited, they would have been in a bigger hole, especially after Halo 3 hit.

[jaaz]

and I've used it in some form or another (Blue-ray, games, music) at least every other day. It has so many features, that even when the game selection was slim post-launch, you would just use one of the other features.

[Proxy]

Had Sony waited 2 years and been smart they could potentially have released a system twice as powerful, suposedly. (Moores law, 2 years = double).

Whatever the case they could have built a machine that was clearly superior, so much so that there would be no room for arguing. (This is no fanboy comment, 2 years SHOULD produce better hardware if the producing company is smart about it.)

[gerrard]

If you remember both gamecube and xbox1 were released I believe a year after PS2 and both were superior consoles and look what happen to them. You have to see at the beginning the poor performance the PS3 had recently this year. Its already the superior console and the games of 2008 should conclude this(and no this is not a flame war)!

However they've already paid the price for the delays because by the time the PS3 was released the x360 had established itself with games like gears of war for example.

Had there been anymore delays then the x360 would have been much further ahead i.e with titles like Halo3 and Bioshock they would have probably sold 5m more consoles and the PS3 would have been all but dead by then(even if they did add more Ram or increased the clock speed to what is already a more powerful console).

[Snukadaman]

People that dont own ps3's agree whole heartedly. Theres a chance that that year wait..there would be more memory added too squash all these problems with frame rates...more time too work on the psn and polish many of the games that are out now like warhawk, lair heavenly sword...but the biggest thing would be the price of the ps3 would be the price it should of been at launch..400$ Im sure there would be alot more hype for it now since it would be the superior console it was suppose too be.

Again the ps3 was brought out too introduce blu-ray too the masses. Video games was nothing but a second though.

[trane007]

And I think the article is bull. Had they waited, their chances of becoming number one would have been well nigh impossible.

[Snukadaman]

There would be plenty more people interested in the ps3 along with those 2 million that own one now in north america...it would have the true power that people swear the ps3 has as we speak. hell even I would purchase one.

Put it this way...there would be no 30 fps problems for madden...no siraxxis only controls for lair...theres no difference between 2 years and one year of a difference..its still far too long for either.

@below I think the biggest cost is the blu-ray itself..more memory might of pushed the price up a bit..but not by much...

[ravinash]

I don't think waiting another year would have made the changes you suggested.
First off the main thing that causes the limitations on what they put into it is the cost of producing it. The big cost items are the Cell and the BlueRay drive. At the start of production the cost are always going to be higher, so it does not matter if you start now or later, you will still get these high costs.
Also waiting just one year wouldn't have caused Sony to put more Ram in. The cost would not have changed that much in that time and for some reason the developers who put together the device thought it would be enough. It does the job they want it to do, its just more tricky for the programmers to use it.
As for the problems with Lair and Heavenly Sword, I think these problems occurred at the design stage. the games already run pretty smooth but in lairs case the controls were not easy and in heavenly swords case the whole game was made too short with boss fights going on too long.
As for the BlueRay argument...you may be right.
But I now have a Blue ray player and think its great, and games coming out in the future will benefit it. So I'm fine with that.

[albus935]

They could have proxy. But seeing as they already had the ps3 basically built waiting 2 years wouldn't have changed the hardware that much. We would have probably seen more refined hardware with the possibility of more ram/ hard drive space but the core components like the cell and the rsx wouldn't have changed very much at all seeing how sony had already paid a lot of money to get those components designed specifically for the PS3.

[Proxy]

Yeah, I'm just saying that the only way waiting WOULD have been justified would be if they had still been developing more advance hardware. Once it's done, get it out to the public.

Saying it should have waited because it cost to much to begin with is stupid. That's like saying they shouldn't release that new GPU because it's $800. A few will buy it at that price, but more will buy it when it's cheeper. Why just throw away those initial few? PC hardware is always WAY expensive at first, but if it's to much, you wait and it gets cheeper. Nobody complains about that.

[ravinash]

The finished product was sitting on the shelf for a year while Sony was waiting for the licences to come through for the BlueRay player.
Makes you wonder what would have happened if they released it a year earlier?

[Skerj]

They came out when they needed to, admittedly there were some slip ups from Sony Execs and PR early on but they seem to be learning their lesson right now. For the past few generations I always got a Sony system later on but they've proved to me 3 times already (PS1, PS2, PSP) that it might be a slow start but it'll become a juggernaut in due time. Actually I had a PSP at launch, that thing is awesome.

I knew what to expect when I got my PS3 though and I think that's why I've not been let down much. The only things I could gripe about are no ingame XMB yet because I loves me custom soundtracks, and I wish they'd redesign the store already. That said I'm fairly happy with the system, the games are rolling, the online play is free and the community is mature sans like 2 asshats I met in Warhawk, and the media center capabilities keep my system on even when I'm not playing games.

If they keep fixing the things that stumbled them earlier on like they have in the past, then history will repeat itself yet again.

[nomad117]

I wouldn't be playing Call of duty 4 on Tuesday if they waited. =D

[solidt12]

It was right for them to launch it last year and the price was right I believe because they really wasn't ready and the cost to make them were just to high but they couldn't afford to wait and risk loosing more potential buyers to the Wii and 360. They knew that at $599 they would mostly get early adopters and they were ok with that because they really only wanted to sell a limited amount of consoles anyway. This year is really the year they want to sell alot of consoles as you can see the games are rolling in big time now. I am not sure what this guy in this article is talking about but the games are being released. The only one he mentioned that was suppose to be out by now is Devil May Cry 4 and it would of been out if CAPCOM wouldn't of went multiplatform and wait. Capcom did make the right choice do to the situation but that will all change this holiday season. Everything from this point on out will be just fine for Sony, they just had to release the system when they did to stay in the game.

Did you guys see the PS3 commercial for Assassins Creed during the Patriots and Colts game? Love all of the new PS3 commercials and how hard they are going hard this season so far. Uncharted is going to rule this month.

[AIZEN SOZUKE]

they couldnt have released more hardware, now or then, the cell and rsx are the best graphics possible, so great that any visuals on a movie screen can be reproduced on the ps3, this is why im very tired of idiots saying,"more ram" more ram wont even come close to equate to what cell and rsx can do, or both of them separate, and this is true for years and years down the road, the ps3 IS ahead of its time, this is what you all need to understand, and where in the article, while he was stating how bad ps3 is doing did he ever mention the price difference of the three machines, and how technically ps3 isnt in the console market, so it matters not if ps3 isnt selling as well as the 180 and the wiik, the ps3 is a whole new platform "scgm" so he needs to get it together

[aaron5829]

I want a PS3 so bad.. :(

But it's still bloody expensive in where i live...

[tmax]

I stopped reading when I saw the massive Halo Ad stuck in the middle of the article.

This is another negative subliminal add for the 360 to sow seeds of doubt into the gamers mind, nothing more nothing less. I'm at a point where the online sites are losing all credibility as far as I'm concerned.

One other thing I can't understand is, why are some PS3 centered sites keep putting down the PS3 so much, I mean it's like they are biting the hand that is going to feed them.

If you compare to 360 centered sites/fanboys, they ignore or make excuses for all the 360 problems and only advertise the positives, and good for them, that how it should be.

We/they should all be doing the same.

[Snukadaman]

Its a opinion..just like i stated mines...how much propaganda from either sides changes a mind ...none...some people think the ps3 is the best console...as we speak Its my opinion that it is not...you people got too realize there is nothing on these pages or anywhere on the internet that changes this console wars conclusion....the only thing that changes that is good games and next gen features...not bullsheit and hyperbole.

[tmax]

Yes you are entitled to your opinion. But sorry, I still believe this is a bad attempt at another negative subliminal add for the 360 against the PS3.

Another extreme example is how they crashed the UK PS3 launch: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/... this was part of a well organized campaign by Microsoft to undermine the PS3. All these articles are designed to have the same effect, negative publicity towards the PS3.

And for your information, I actually deal with this stuff (seed articles / supporting image placements / relevant follow up ads) for a living, this is how you make the money, I think it's called advertising.

I know.. I know at your young age you might be a bit naive and find it hard to believe that this stuff is going on, or understand how all this advertising stuff works, maybe when you've grown up.

[Snukadaman]

But its only obvious you fall for all that marketing bull...sony undermines themselves taking bc out and proclaiming the ps3 is the superior console...you say yourself you know thy tactics...but seriously..how many people at that france launch where microsoft crashed their launch party decided too not buy ps3's just from that little campaign? you honestly think such tactics sway anyone away...Like i said sony is their own worst enemy.

[WIIIS1]

If Sony waited longer, they'd have lost the format war as well. At the very least, the launch of PS3 has done Sony favours in respect of the format war.

[mesh1]

sony failed i think .looking at mass effct i can seee why they shuid have waited as the games is a real game u get what i mean what ever ur mind can think u can do in that game graphics are better than gears of war and its 70hr game but stilll sony will do ok in the end but microsoft has won thsi gen just my opinion.

[Skerj]

Mass Effect took 2 years to come out on the 360 and it's not even out yet? So how did they "fail"? It's going to be a great game yes, but you're putting too much stock into ONE game.

[QuackPot]

Sony's doing alot of catchup at present with a years delay let alone 2 years.

I sure Sony will be ready with the Ps4 should Microsoft try bringing out the xbox 720 early.

But this time, I'm predicting Sony will go 'evolutionary' with a cheap Ps4 - like the inexpensive Wii - by simply increasing the RAM, having at least 2 Cell processors and of course an improved GPU if not another Cell processor.

Expensive 'revolutionary' consoles will be a thing of the past. Cheap 'Evolutionary' consoles is the future of playstations.

There won't be anymore delays. Sony's learnt its lesson this generation for sure.

Watch this space.

[level 360]

Could'nt believe it... That's already (2) years now ever since the PS3 has been out on the market and still the games and "new" ones are very much coming-in by the trickle.
That is just way too slow for a next-gen console to prepare everything in place for gamers out there.
By the time it finally recovers, their competitors would have been ( silently testing ) or making their next-gen consoles...
(10) year lifespan for the PS3 is simply wrong at this time and age when technology keeps advancing every few months.

[Skerj]

What? The PS3 will reach its first year on the 11th in Japan, the 17th in the US, and March in EU. Hell it just came out in the middle of June in South Korea, where'd you get the 2 years on the market from? Right now it's WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too early to be thinking about the 8th generation of consoles, the ones we have just came out. I don't even wanna hear PS4 until 2011.

[Master of Menace]

The PS2 is now entering its 8th year, and is still selling strong. And it's taking a big long leak over the dead bodies of the XBOX and Gamecube. That is just sooo wrong isn't it.

[Master of Menace]

What if they waited? They did wait and they released a top quality console! Sure, they could have released the PS3 at the same time as XBOX 360. Then we would have had two crappy consoles to contend with. Yes, XBOX 360 is a badly made console. PS3 is an engineering marvel. Despite the price, I bought the PS3 on day one and have never regretted it. Now, I am so looking forward to Uncharted, there is simply nothing that comes close to that game. It's incredible. I am so glad I didn't buy a 360.

[skagrerrrr]

happy for you!

[Master of Menace]

Sorry, I know you wrote something, but I'm still looking at your avatar.

[happyjimmy]

How would wating have made it any better? Its not klike there was anything wrong with it in the first place but if it was another year to wait then it would have been doomed for sure. It would have missed several AAA games to 360 such as GTA and it wouldnt have sole well due to several price drops on the 360. They had to release it in 2006.

[Coke-a-Cola]

How does this sort of article get to the front page ???
There should be a better filter on the NAG system.

[DFresh]

Sony released early to make the competition even with the 360 so there wouldn't be that much competition for games and the format war.
They're on the right track besides MS is no better I mean how many models of the same console do you need to make before you get it right.
If you ask me it's looks like MS is struggling the most to keep up especially with this holiday season and 2008 year line up rolling up soon.
Whether they released early or not I still think sales would still be the same.

[AIZEN SOZUKE]

i really dont know how a ps3 is even in the console competion, its a whole new genre of platform

[Mwaan]

And you had someone agree with you! Ahhahahahahah. Are you using your PS3 to launch space shuttles? Someone hypnotized you right? Consoles have been playing movies, games, music, and going online for years now. What exactly is your new genre of platform doing?

[Salvadore]

MS and Wii would enjoy the market to themselves and build up their fanbase and market share.

[Nightwing12]

i agree that the PS3 came out the right time any later would of been foolish.

[BrianC6234]

What if Microsoft waited to release the 360? What if they waited six months and included an HD DVD drive instead of DVD? The biggest problem the 360 has besides the reliability problems is DVD is way too small for HD. Everyone will see this by next fall. If Microsoft waited for HD DVD it would have helped them.

If Sony waited until now to release the PS3 it would be dead on arrival. Since the 360 would be two years old and would have an even bigger lead. Sony took a lot of heat when they delayed the PS3 by about six months. That would have been a bad time to release the PS3 for sure.

[Tyrael]

If Sony had waited another year to release the PS3, they would have been in big trouble. If you think logically you'd know why...

[Guitarded]

They should have just canceled it all together!

[cmrbe]

1. The gap with Wii and x360 would be 15 mill.
2. The competition platform will be leading, developement wise.
3. Heavy hitters like MGS4 and FF will be released in 2009 and 2010.

[user9422077]

no not really