Sony hurts market standing by delaying PS3 Home until Fall
By Triston McIntyre
As we at Blorge.com are apparently fanboys or haters of whatever console we choose to address in any article here, the next little bit of journalism should take most haters by surprise: Sony is only hurting itself and the Playstation 3 gamer base by delaying the much-acclaimed Home longer and longer. That’s right, I said it!
Unfortunately for those who are currently Playstation 3 users, or those who are waiting for new additions like Home or titles like Little Big Planet to break before buying a PS3, Sony has announced that it will be delaying Home even further, according to Joystiq. The delay means that the current closed beta testing will extend through the summer, and open beta is “scheduled” to hit sometime this fall.
Fortunately for those who are living and breathing everything PS3 Home, word is that Sony will be opening the door to the private beta a smidgeon to let in more users. When we find out when that’ll be, you’ll be first to know.
However, the real issue here is that, like any game or piece of software, the longer it is delayed, the worse it will be received once it breaks. Just look at Duke Nukem (which I believe is slated to come out sometime after I am blessed with my 3rd grandchild), or Windows Vista. The more you delay, the less people are going to be enthused about it.
That might not be a huge deal for 3rd party titles or little peddling games for the Xbox Live Arcade, but you have to admit, Sony is kinda leaving itself hanging free in the wind by debuting Home as the ultimate interactive game console online platform over a year ago, and failing to deliver with any sort of sense of time. Sony needs whatever steam it can muster if it hopes to really overtake the Xbox 360 and start stealing the big developers for the most desired titles.
Then again, I suppose writing this makes me an Xbox 360 fanboy, doesn’t it?
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Tips N4G
April 22nd, 2008
damn… ohh well.. my net speed is terribly slow… so I dont care much about multiplayer…
April 22nd, 2008
Sony has earned waitstation 3 for good reasons. I am not suprised though. I want killzone 2 more than anything but i have been waiting very passionately for 2 years. I can wait another 4-5 years until ps4 comes out.
I am glad that i have 360 to keep me busy at the meantime even i had twice RROD issues.
April 22nd, 2008
better perfect and late than unfinished and on-time
April 22nd, 2008
@ light
and Microsoft has earned the “Red ring of Crap-box” title for good reasons too…
not trying to offend you.. just thought it was funny.. XD
April 22nd, 2008
Ay….
Well, if at any point Sony really does lose market-share and start dying, it won’t be anybody’s fault but there own.
I like the PS3, I really do. I love the little “supercomputer-on-a-chip” and the high-def Blu Ray blah blah blah, but it is really REALLY starting to look like they’ve created a monster that they haven’t figured out how to tame.
I want Home. Now, please.
-Arvis
April 22nd, 2008
Like they say, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
I would rather another delay than releasing it unpolished just to make an arbitrary internal date.
April 22nd, 2008
“much acclaimed home”? who “acclaimed” this other than sony? the real issue is sony selling the ps3 on the promise of an “xbox live killer” in Home, yet they fail to deliver on their promise as promised. The ps3 is so filled with failed promises it’s hard to keep count anymore. they realllllly under estimated the online infrastructure. oh well, i’ll go back to trying to figure out how something can be “acclaimed” before it’s even brought to market. Professor - yes, the delay means it will be “perfect”. keep believing that….
April 22nd, 2008
Kevin,
Since Home, as a product, technically doesn’t exist yet, it is implied in the article that the CONCEPT of Home is what has been acclaimed. I know you don’t care Kevin, but alot of people are really excited about the potential awesomeness of Home. We won’t know what we’re really getting until we’ve all been able to have some hands-on time with it. Right now, the people in the beta (y’know, the ones with hands-on time) all have nothing but positive things to say.
I agree it’s silly to “acclaim” something we haven’t experienced ourselves, but it’s just as silly to bash something you haven’t experienced yourself. Am I wrong on this?
I’d also like a citation proving Sony has hyped Home as an “Xbox Live killer.” I hear fanboys say that, but I don’t recall Sony officially drawing any of those kinds of comparisons. If I’m wrong, let me know.
I’m just as annoyed about this delay as the next person (probably moreso) but your attacks, as usual, are pretty groundless.
-Arvis
April 22nd, 2008
arvis - it’s hilarious watching you put words into sony’s mouth. the point is; sony is STILL failing to live up to their onilne promises. You may have forgotten the promises they made to sell network adapters…naturally, NONE of them came true. Sony has always hyped PSN as an xbox live killer..in fact, it was quoted by Harrison in EGM about 2 years ago. it’s silly to call ANYTHING acclaimed when 1. it doesn’t even exist other than concept and 2. it’s not to market yet. My point is sony can’t keep a promise to save their lives, but they continue to lie to the consumers to fuel sales. i seriously doubt most are saying positive things about Home beta. Heck they’re even cancelling MGS beta. How much more proof do you need that sony isn’t ready for the online war? If it was the case, they wouldn’t be delaying it; they’d launch it based on the positive feedback. If you try, you can defend every broken promise of sony’s as you do. I choose to hold them accountable, which is what all consumers should do. bottom line: believe from sony ONLY what is delivered when it’s delivered. not promises.
April 22nd, 2008
arvis - btw; sony hyped their AOL/Sony online partnership (that they lied about) as an “xbox live killer” back in 01. From Kuturagi himself.
April 22nd, 2008
This was why Phil Harrison left Sony. He was the company’s biggest advocate of Home and he KNEW this was going to happen. He didn’t want to be the ‘fall guy’ for yet another delay, so he decided to move on.
You PS3 owners must be getting really frustrated. I mean your system has been out for around a year and a half, and the only exclusives you have worth noting are Ratchet and Clank (Basically a kids game) and Uncharted (Tomb Raider minus the boobies).
It is like you bought a car at a premium price and the fuel that runs it hasn’t been invented yet!!
April 22nd, 2008
And Triston, I have to say that you and Johnathan are the least biased reporters on this site. I know you only own a PS3, but your article didn’t give the slightest hint of favourtism one way or the other. So you are definitely not a fanboy like Mr Parrack.
April 23rd, 2008
@ winner
It must be hard to be a 360 owner.. with more negative goodwill than Enron and of “SUPER COOL AWESOME” exclusive games *cough* Halo 3 *cough* that get beaten by COD 4 and Super Mario Glaxy in sales…
Yup Sony cant keep a promise… and Microsoft cant make a console that doesnt have high failure rates or have technology that are obsolete *cough* Elite with the HD DvD player *cough*
Im not a fanboy.. but since most of the 360 fanboys commented their “Sony-hate” here.. I thought I would even the score…
April 23rd, 2008
@ darkwhitehair
Halo 3 was and still is a great game. It’s been out since September and there are still tens of thousands of people playing it online.
You seem to have forgotten about some other great 360 console exclusives, i.e Mass Effect, Bioshock, Forza 2 (It’s much better than that demo that Sony have you paying for) and Lost Odyssey to name a few. And honestly, who cares about sales? Unless you’re going to buy a million copies of a game to tilt the sales in it’s favour, then who give a crap?
To be honest, it’s great to be a 360 owner. We have the exclusives right now, and have some great exclusives around the corner.
If anything i’d be a little concerned if I were a PS3 owner. One of your ‘great white hopes’, MGS4, has been publicly slammed by it’s own creator. And LBP looks like another kid’s game too.
April 23rd, 2008
winner - you read that too? Kojima is already making excuses for why MGS failed to live up to the ps3’s graphics promises. that’s not good. and this was supposed to be the ps3’s backwind? not good. i guess darkhair forgot about sony’s history of bad console workmanship.
April 23rd, 2008
I don’t think you two (kevin, winner) understand what Kojima was talking about. But hey, keep living in that fantasy world of “promises” that never happened, go ahead and keep putting words in others mouths, I’m sure you’ll get far.
April 23rd, 2008
Kevin,
1) What words did I put in Sony’s mouth?
2) Winner is putting words into Phil Harrison’s mouth. Where is your righteous anger?
3) The Metal Gear Online beta was not cancelled, it was pushed back due to overwhelming demand. You know what “overwhelming demand” is, I assume…
4) I’m excited about Home, but not calling it the best thing ever. I’m waiting until I get it in my hands. This is, I believe, what you suggest, correct?
5) Psycho-perfectionist Kojima wasn’t totally satisfied with something? NOWAI! Interesting that you bring this issue up since I don’t see Kojima even bothering to consider working with the 360. It must not be “good enough” to deliver him “his vision”. Not to mention that your post that “MGS failed to live up to PS3’s graphics promises” is totally misleading, if not completely false. Kojima never said anything like that, but merely stated that, graphically, the game was not where HE wanted it to be. Sucks for him. For everyone else, the game looks flipping awesome.
6) Broken promises = broken trust, which is why one might be upset with Sony. And I can totally understand where you’re coming from with this. But wouldn’t a broken console also = broken trust? Especially if you’ve had multiple broken consoles? Where is your righteous anger, Kevin?
Face it, you CHOOSE to see evil in everything Sony does, in the same way you CHOOSE to praise and defend everything about the 360, including the unforgivably high failure rate. I respect your opinion very much, but attaining SOME degree of objectivity would, I believe, give your posts far more credibility. You know the 360 is totally awesome, so your need to slam everything PS3-related is questionable… unless you feel the need to make the 360 look better. I think the 360 can speak for itself, don’t you?
-Arvis
April 23rd, 2008
@ winner…
yes the 360 has GREAT exclusives… like Forza 2 and DOA 4 and Xtreme 2… have fun with them…
the rest of the games can be played on PC… so they arent EXCLUSIVES!
Halo 3 was an overhyped game… and a coupla months ago… 360 fanboys were screaming about 360 selling more units and games than the PS3… and now that Super Mario Galaxy and COD 4 sold more units AND was played more online (nearly a million people played COD 4 the first day) you guys are suddenly playing the “sales dont matter” card… REAL mature…
And Im not a fanboy… the reason I like the PS3 is because no-region lock and I can play the 360 games on my PC…
April 23rd, 2008
Arvis - this is where you start speaking for sony: “it is implied in the article that the CONCEPT of Home is what has been acclaimed”. so where did you get this “implication”? sony or techblorge? maybe you’re putting words into the bloggers mouth.
If you read the latest GI mag you would know winner did not put anything into harrison’s mouth. He clearly stated his displeasure at sony’s lack of multiplayer committment. The reason for his departure was “implied” by his OWN statement. how can MGS have overwhelmiing demand when there are less than 3 million ps3 online? (note that not all ps3 owners even tried to d/l the beta) if that’s “overwhelming demand” then PSN is in for a lot of bad time. Face it; it didn’t work. if so, they wouldn’t have delayed it.
I still have not seen anyone provide a convincing argument how HOME is an asset to GAMING. it’s not. it’s funny you twist kojima’s statements. at E3 2004 he showed the mgs movie demo and got everyone frothing SWEARING this is what ingame would look like. but here we are, and he did NOT meet his promise. sorry, the game only looks awesome compared to other ps3 games. to 360 games, it holds nothing that’s hasn’t already been done and better in other 360 games. a broken console, that’s never before tried, is not the same as breaking ones word. You never have 100% of anything that’s created, especially one with over 1,700 parts. You do have 100% control of what comes out of your mouth. I didn’t hold it against sony when i had to buy 4 ps2 due to sony’s poor workmanship… so i don’t hold it against ms for giving free shipping and repairs for FREE. you just don’t get it, do you. as a gamer, i’m happy ms gave me a GAMING CONSOLE… at NO point did i EVER ask for an overpriced movie player, but that didn’t stop sony from forcing us to buy one if we want to game. The great library that the ps2 used to have, the 360 now has. So, what is the point of the ps3? it seems the only point of it is to launch a 1,000 lies. Everythying from their first reported launch date, to their online capabilities have been a series of lies. I hold them accountable for bringing a huge disservice to the gaming industry. Their last place position proves the gamers feel the same. out for the day. Have a good one!
April 23rd, 2008
@ darkwhitehair
You may want to read my post again. I said CONSOLE exclusives, not exclusives. Maybe you’re reading what you want to read? Sounds like a Sony fanboy to me!
April 24th, 2008
@ winner
doesnt matter… exclusives mean they are only released on ONE platform and on ONE platfor only… MGS 2 was released on the PC… so that wasnt an exclusive… but MGS 4 is…
Im not a fanboy.. I happen to like many good 360 games… and I hate it when people make stupid claims…
April 24th, 2008
@ darkwhitehair
I have always stated that it’s a console exclusive. I don’t care that most of my games make it to PC, as PC gamers are a different breed to console gamers. Hell, i’ll be happy to play online against PC gamers, a la Shadowrun.
For you to say that it doesn’t matter just shows your ignorance. I can understand why you are sticking up for the PS3. If I spent lots of money on a lemon I would stick up for it too. Lucky for me, I made the right decision.
April 24th, 2008
@ winner
How is it ignorance?? Exclusives mean exclusives… the whole point of the “my console is better than yours” is that people are arguing which console has the best games… the best games which NO ONE ELSE has… that means… Halo 1 and 2.. arent exclusives… so you cant say.. the Xbox is better because ONLY the Xbox has Halo…
So youre comparing the PS3 to a lemon.. I get it.. its very “funny”…
But to keep the “insult” score fair… how can you call the 360 a next-gen when it still uses previous gen technology like a DVD???
April 24th, 2008
actually kevin there are about 6 million Ps3’s online, nice try though.
April 24th, 2008
gerry - I seriously doubt that, but feel free to post any sony quote saying such. the last statement i read was “around 3 million”…worldwide.
April 24th, 2008
Gerry - sorry, pal, but yet again you have no idea what you’re babbling about. At E3 (the equivilant) last year, Kojima state the final game with have the “same graphic fidelity” as the movie that was shown. it didn’t happen. either he sucks as an overpromising developer or he’s a liar. you can choose. for a gamer, you’re really outside the loop, ger….
April 24th, 2008
kevin, I have several HD MGS4 videos on my PS3, some are gameplay and I can say that the graphics are the same, but I guess I should trust you, you who hate anything sony, you who don’t own a PS3, you who lie like a rug, right>?
Oh and I should provide a link with a quote about 6 million but you don’t have to for your 3 million statement? hmm, double standard much?
For a gamer kevin, you are completely out of the loop…. ger…?
April 24th, 2008
gerry - i’m tired of proving you wrong. i’ve done it so much tech blorge should be paying me. do a google search. it’s funny that you claim the graphics are the same as the videos when HIDEO KOJIMA himself said he was not happy with end result. if he matched the vids, he wouldn’t have said that. pwned by Kojima himself… that’s gotta hurt. 2.8 was the last number sony touted for psn users. Nothing more. I’ll look for the link tomorrow but Kotaku.com had the article in March.
April 25th, 2008
@ kevin..
another one of your stupid verbal diarhhoea…
Kojima said he wasnt happy with the end product because he had to compress several things and had to cut out other stuff because the Blu-ray DVD didnt have enough space for the game… it didnt have enough space because the REAL TIME graphics of MGS 4 is the same as the cut-scenes which is the same as the videos he showed on the last E3… the things I am saying were written RIGHT on this web-site… after Kojima announced that Blu-ray didnt have enough space…
So overall.. I am expecting cut-scene like graphics on the final product of MGS because thats what they showed us… and thats how they made it…
But I supposed MGS could be a TERRIBLe game… I mean not every game could be as cool as long and have as good graphics as Halo 3?? Right??
April 27th, 2008
kevin - you know what makes me laugh reading this, you seem to be saying that MGS4 isnt a good game - contradicting what you said that started this pointless argument. It isnt out yet. How can you possibly say something is not good if it isnt out yet? Fact is, if MGS4 came to 360, you would all be bloody happy, as I would if Bioshock or Mass effect came to ps3. I bet most of you would be happy with getting LittleBigPlanet (a kids game - ok then. because viva pinatta or banjo kazooie isnt? SMG was apparently a kids game - it is the highest rated game of this generation)
And not one did Sony make me pay for a “overpriced video player” I payed for a fantastic gaming console AND blu ray player AND media centre. And the moment, xbox has better games, but its definately changing. You know that. So you can take your 360 (hat will no doubt break soon)and I’ll take my Ps3. Is that really so hard to comprehend????
Oh, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, GT5 kicks Forza’s ass
June 27th, 2008
every body complains but when its out every body will shut up and enjoy