Sony to copy Microsoft on pushing the PS3?

January 22, 2009

Sony to copy Microsoft on pushing the PS3? The PS3 had an excellent game lineup last year, arguably the best on any console in 2008. However, one of the mistakes Sony made was failing to properly market the PS3. It seems that with 2009, Sony is planning on changing all of that with an aggressive marketing campaign.

Excellent games such as Resistance 2 and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift barley had a marketing campaign at all. The two games did go on to sell over a million copies, but it still makes one wonder if Sony is resting on its laurels as it did in the past.

Having been in the number one position for almost 15 years has made the company less agile and slow (think carrying 20 power armor in Fallout 3). However, it really isn’t the fault of Sony Corporation but that of the Sony Computer Entertainment division.

Since the division has been successful for so long with very little actual marketing, it has come back to haunt them. Believe it or not, the marketing team at Sony does want to market every one of their games like there is no tomorrow. However, there is one catch – since the division has been so successful with very little marketing budget in the past, reallocation can be extremely difficult.

Companies work similarly to retail. If the store sells a lot, corporate will send the location more stock on the next shipment. However, if the store gets by with very little stock, then corporate sends the location the same amount regardless of how much you may plead and beg.

More than likely Sony probably did increase the marketing budget in preparation for the launch of the PS3. However, the problem was that the company did not increase it by much. The TV advertisements did become more frequent but it was still considered to be a rare occurrence.

To put things into perspective, the total cost to develop and market Halo 3 is said to be around $60 million to $70 million, and approximately half of that was said to have been spent on marketing. In this arena, if the competitor plays hard ball the only way to compete is to play on their terms.

It does seem like Sony or more specifically the SCE is playing by Microsoft’s rules. The company execs have started to actually talk some real trash this year. Mike Graham, the associate producer for SCEA has also verified that the marketing team has been working their ‘tail’ off to make sure that you see ads for Killzone 2 everywhere. That certainly is a lot of talk but at the end of the day, I have to see it to believe it.

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58 Responses to “Sony to copy Microsoft on pushing the PS3?”

  1. darkwhitehair:

    Yeah Sony could learn a thing or two from Microsofts ad campaigns… from the live action Halo battles to the old soldiers reminiscing about Master Chief… the entire thing was beautiful… and was very emotional…

    I think it had better story than most of the crap Hollywood comes up with every year… HEAR THAT BUNGIE!!! CAN I GET A JAWB NOW!!

  2. kevo:

    yo DWH you should do ’stand up’ u crack the shit out of me…thanks im not constipated anymore lol

  3. CarlB:

    Even though it didn’t have gameplay in it, I still count Gears of War “Mad World” commercial as my favorite. As for lack of PS3 commercials, I can only speak for myself, but I saw it advertised much more in the states at it’s launch than the 360’s.

  4. phranctoast:

    I would be happy if they just played more in game footage for advertisements.

  5. lock_down:

    They need to bring back the “do not under estimate the power of the playstation” ads.

    They were the best.

  6. jojo29:

    Darkwhitehair:

    I agree with you about the marketing aspects. As far as Halo having a great storyline..are you on crack? You must be if you think that…

    Back on topic, it did surprise me that Sony rested on its hands on the marketing dept. Sony is usually known for their marketing, but too, feel they just sat and let MS slap them without them doing anything..Hopefully they do something this year.

    They have so much to market its not even funny. They could point out key features;

    -Hey our games are equal..except for the fact that we offer the same exact online server quality as the “other” brand…oh wait ours is free.

    -Hey, on top of that we offer a much wider variety of 1st party exclusive games than “the other guy” Our studios are the best in the world ( Polyphony, SCE London, etc..)

    -Hey, we have blu ray built in, no add ons necessary to enjoy HD movies…oh wait we also offer download services..

    -Hey, our system has many key features built in..like wireless internet, which costs money if you go with they “other” guy..

    -Hey, our system has below 1% failure rate…the “other” guy last i heard was at 33% failure rate…

    So much sony could have and could do in terms of marketing…

    Sony, i expect my paycheck in the mail next week…

  7. kev:

    throwing good money after bad. oh well… they gotta try, i guess…

  8. CarlB:

    @jojo29,

    “-Hey our games are equal..except for the fact that we offer the same exact online server quality as the “other” brand…oh wait ours is free.”

    “Hey our games are equal”… except for the fact that we have half as many in all genres and review windows as the competition, only a small fraction have trophies, and our console is not bc with the last gen like our competitions… that’s why our service is free, because we are hoping to entice you to overlook these facts and buy our system anyway.

    “-Hey, on top of that we offer a much wider variety of 1st party exclusive games than “the other guy” Our studios are the best in the world ( Polyphony, SCE London, etc..)”… just please overlook the fact that we still do not have as many top rated games as the competition.

    “-Hey, we have blu ray built in, no add ons necessary to enjoy HD movies…oh wait we also offer download services..” …don’t worry about blu-ray discs being more expensive or that they are not necessary for gaming or watching movies and we are charging you $100+ more for it, just buy it! …and the competition also offers download services that are just as good as well, some even say they download faster.

    “-Hey, our system has many key features built in..like wireless internet, which costs money if you go with they “other” guy..” and you have to get it, even if you don’t need it or want it, we will charge you for it.

    “-Hey, our system has below 1% failure rate…the “other” guy last i heard was at 33% failure rate…” of course this is old news and the “other” guy has fixed it by now and offered a 3 year warranty, but we will still tell you this in hopes that you believe the problem is ongoing and the “other” guy did absolutely nothing.

  9. Bourne:

    Hahaha DWH keeps sending me crazy messages on the PSN about how he sucks at COD:WAW

  10. jojo29:

    CarlB

    The point i was making in how Sony could advertise, but if you want to take it as flamebait so be it:

    -”except for the fact that we have half as many in all genres and review windows as the competition, only a small fraction have trophies, and our console is not bc with the last gen like our competitions… that’s why our service is free, because we are hoping to entice you to overlook these facts and buy our system anyway.”

    This statement is completly false. Pretty much any game from a 3rd party is on BOTH systems, tropy/achievement support is there at least but is subjective on if they are even worth it. Please, do not bring up BC, my PS3 is the original with the full emotion chip in it, i have at least 90% BC with my games. 360s BC is a joke. And the only Live offers over PSN is voice chat channels/custom music on most games, but they charge you $50 bucks for it. LIVE servers are not any better than PSN so its just a rip off. In terms of 1st party titles, Sony’s studios cover a much more variety of genres, which are usually highly rated titles ( Ratchet/Gran Tursimo/Uncharted/Resistance/Motorstorm/etc..)

    -just please overlook the fact that we still do not have as many top rated games as the competition.

    Sony’s 1st party titles are top rated and have much more than the competition ( except ninendo)

    -…don’t worry about blu-ray discs being more expensive or that they are not necessary for gaming or watching movies and we are charging you $100+ more for it, just buy it! …and the competition also offers download services that are just as good as well, some even say they download faster.

    Hmmm, Rockstar stated already that the 360 held back GTA…Blu Ray sounds great for them. $100 bucks is still cheaper than having a seperate player, and Sony does offers a download service, download speed is too subjective to cover..

    -and you have to get it, even if you don’t need it or want it, we will charge you for it.

    Tell that to the people who don’t want to wire a 50 ft+ long cable, or want to pay $100 bucks plus JUST for an proprietary adapter making their system cost extra…

    -of course this is old news and the “other” guy has fixed it by now and offered a 3 year warranty, but we will still tell you this in hopes that you believe the problem is ongoing and the “other” guy did absolutely nothing.

    Not really old news, i still hear about people’s xbox 360s dying on them ( my bro is on his 4th and last one, he bought his December so we’ll see how long it lasts) Im not trying to “hype” up this RROD, i go by what i hear at work. I work at a place that covers all “adult age groups” meaning i work with people from 18 yrs – 40+, plus i work right across from my campus ( CSUN ) so i get even more feedback, word of mouth, and word “on the street” is 360s are still dying, for whatever reasons i don’t know but i do hear about 360s dying a lot more than i hear ps3s or wiis.

    Again, my post was meant as more as what Sony “could/should” say to promote their system and it’s features more, because, like the article, i agree Sony could/should do more to advertise the system, Competition only benefits us. Sorry if i hit a nerve there Carlb, but then again, fanboys are fanboys….

  11. jojo29:

    Also here goes the 360 1st party list that i can think of off the top of my head:

    Gears series
    Halo 3
    Halo Wars
    Perfect Dark Zero
    Kameo
    Dead or Alive
    Ninja Gaiden 2
    Project Gotham Racing (the only game i almost bought a 360 for)
    Forza 2?
    Lips

    These are games that are only on a 360 console and not also on PC or “timed” exclusives on neither side( thats why i didn’t include Fable )

    PS3’s exclusive list:

    Heavenly Sword
    Warhawk
    Metal Gear Solid 4
    Motorstorm Series
    Gran Turismo Series
    Uncharted Series
    Ratchet and Clank
    Resistance
    Lair ( i liked it, shrugs)
    Little Big Planet
    Killzone 2
    God of War 3
    Wipeout HD
    Sony’s Baseball Series
    Sony’s Basketball Series
    Singstar
    SOCOM series
    White Knight Chronicles
    Final Fantasy XIII: Verus ( for now )

    These are just what i can remember off the top of my head, plus on both lists you can include the 3rd party titles to be sure on both consoles.

  12. lock_down:

    It doesn’t matter how many 360’s do RRod, but the fact that it has somehow, bizarrely, turned out to be a bit of a positive advertisement for MS.

    I saw on msnbc an article that said they see it as gamers feeling “honoured” when they get RRoD.

    How MS have managed to turn one of the most faulty consumer electronics devices ever released into something of a neutral-to-positive press is incredible.

  13. Bourne:

    jojo29 Seeing as you’re new here, you ought to know rules of Gamer.blorge : You do not talk about Gamer blorge, you do not talk the xbox 360 down.

  14. jojo29:

    lock_down

    Thats what im trying to say: Marketing is a very powerful tool. Sony needs to utilize it as it was once the king of advertising.

    The only difference is Microsoft can market and sell “crap” and Sony will sell you quality products, but you need a 2nd mortgage to afford it…pick your poison lol

  15. lock_down:

    Following on from Bourne, you must not say either that:

    …MS needs to go Blu-Ray for next Xbox
    …Blu-Ray makes a difference to games
    …Sony has the best console
    …Sony’s best games are “coming soon”

    You MUST NOT claim that Microsoft intentionally released a faulty console…even though evidence suggests they were well aware of the problems.

    And you must remember at all times that Microsoft is the market share leader…as long as we forget that the actual market share exists.

  16. ncaissie:

    @lock_down: It does matter how many 360s RRod. It stopped me and I’m sure I’m not alone from buying a 360. I had 5 Xbox 1’s at one time. I’m not anti MS I just don’t trust it.

    Sony is very lacking in ads. Probably to save the money lost in consol sales. Wrong move Sony.

  17. Wylie77:

    Jojo,
    and before Kev and Cad see you on here please be prepared to answer the following questions.

    -what has Sony done to innovate gaming?
    -why does Sony copy and want to be a 360?
    -where are Sony’s 140 million loyal customers?
    -who asked for blu ray?
    -why do games made for the 360 and then ported to the PS3 look better on the 360?

    There’s more but that should give you a head start!

  18. jojo29:

    They can see me all they want, i was just commenting on what Sony could say in terms of marketing. If they take it personal, then thats their problem. I don’t care either way, i just posted some ideas is all, and judging from the responses im getting, its clearly, most on here is anti-sony..to each their own i guess:

    -what has Sony done to innovate gaming?

    Their first party titles are actually really great and genre-defining, the 360, so far has only ONE genre defining game, Gears of War. Remember genre includes PCs so Halo has done nothing new. God of War, Gran Turismo, Ratchet and Clank, these are the games these genres are measure by. Sony brought games to CD to the mainstrem (remember that is the reason Square left Nintendo) MS brought us online and hard drives. See, the contributed too :)

    -why does Sony copy and want to be a 360?

    This is too subjective and saying this only makes you guys show your fanboy colors. Every company copies off of each other. Sony with the hard drive ( sorry sony had already begun their PSN with the ps2 ) 360 recent gui is a replica, inverted XMB/”Msii too” rip off. See everyone copies.

    -where are Sony’s 140 million loyal customers?

    Well, 120 of them are still playing their PS2s 20 million of them have bought a PS3. Again, SONY is the company to beat, 140 PLUS million customers still playing their PS2, took Sony about 10 years to reach that number, and the PS2 also started off slow…

    -who asked for blu ray?

    We did. Gamers always more. better graphics, better sound, more levels, HD textures. Can’t fault Sony for being happy to oblige…with a price of course. Remember, Rockstar HELD BACK their game because of the constraints of DvD9, imagine if they game was soley made for Blu ray :)
    -why do games made for the 360 and then ported to the PS3 look better on the 360?

    Easy, Why do games made on PS3 first look better on both systems. Dead Space wouldn’t look as good if it was developed on 360 first then ported :) Developers have already been acting on this change and have been saying this for awhile now, again with GTA, imagine if Rockstar catered it to the PS3…

    Well, thanks for the head start but answers these questions:

    1. What has the 360 done to innovate gaming, that wasn’t already done before?

    2. Why did Microsoft release such a faulty system and deny it?

    3. How much of their sales are RRODs systems?

    4. Why do they charge you for online services when there are better alternatives for free?

    5. Who asked for proprietary HDs and Add-ons?

    6. Why do games developed on the PS3 first then ported to the 360, look overall better?

  19. jojo29:

    whoops sorry, double posted, but hey heres a 7th question:

    Why am i getting attacked? I just posted about the topic of Sony’s lack of advertising, and i put ideas on what they CAN advertise. Are you guys that insecure about your systems that you attack people who post against your opinions?

  20. Wylie77:

    Jojo,

    we are not attacking you. We are making fun of some of the stuff that goes on in here. We are warning you of the same old stuff the xbot boys will post at you. It’s all in good fun! Hang around, you will understand soon enough!

  21. Bourne:

    No like Wylie said we’re not attacking you, rather preparing you that whatever you say (even if its cold hard fact) they will argue the toss with you. You can never win with Kev, CAD and Harry Sachz

  22. Wylie77:

    On a serious note though, the word “Potential” has been outlawed here. It’s an evil word that could potentially bring on the apocalypse!

    Damn it I just broke the rule! (starts praying for forgiveness)

  23. SW:

    Awww fuck jojo, don’t mention GT5, its only going to bring physics calculations!!! SPARE ME THE PHYSICS CALCULATION NUMBERS!

    Jojo, welcome to ‘bash your head against a brick wall’ world. You can’t agree with them, agree to disagree with them, you can’t say ‘xbox has A, but ps3 does have B’. It doesn’t work, nothing works.

    At least you got Carlb’s attention, hes generally reasonable. (Don’t insult Ballmer tho, been there, got ugly….)

  24. SW:

    Oh shit!, I didn’t mean Steve is ugly! Hes fucking handsome….

    *phew*

  25. lock_down:

    Oh, pray tell about the Ballmer incident…

  26. Wylie77:

    SW,

    That was a close one. Way to catch yourself. I feel like we might be playing with fire here. I think in honor of the great Xbots we should outlaw the words “blu ray” as well. We should just say “that which we do not speak of”.

    So then I could say- do you think the next gen. xbox will have that of which we do not speak of?

    And the xbots could say- no f**cking way the nextbox will ever have that which we do not speak of, the future is downloads!

    Maybe it works better in the movies!

  27. jojo29:

    ah got it, well now that i have been “properly” welcomed, good to be party of the blorge :)

  28. harry sachz:

    -Hey, our system has below 1% failure rate…the “other” guy last i heard was at 33% failure rate…

    And you’ve been living with your head in the sand ever since you heard that a couple of years ago? That issue has been addressed and failure rate is much lower than that original rate.

    I find it funny how you guys mention that we talk about the same thing over and over again, when you are all guilty of doing the same. Except for DWH, he normally talks about sodomy and the latest Garry Glitter cd.

  29. harry sachz:

    “Why am i getting attacked? I just posted about the topic of Sony’s lack of advertising, and i put ideas on what they CAN advertise. Are you guys that insecure about your systems that you attack people who post against your opinions?”

    Funny thing about this is besides for CarlB, all other people who responded to you were devout Sony Fanboys. Insecure? you betcha!

  30. Wylie77:

    Harry,

    I am curious of what the failure rate is now. There really is no way of knowing. I’m sure it is down from the original 33%. But how much lower? I’m not trying to start anything, just thinking out loud of what that number could be now. It must of still been large enough for the 360 to come out with the Jasper, now we will have to wait and see if this is infact the fix the 360 owners have been waiting for.

  31. kev:

    wylie – we’re still waiting for the proof it was up to 33%. it’s odd that noone has been able to provide any data to support this while you ps3 fanboys quote it as fact.

  32. lock_down:

    “Funny thing about this is besides for CarlB, all other people who responded to you were devout Sony Fanboys. Insecure? you betcha!”

    What the hell are you talking about harry?

    We responded to jojo so he would be aware of the pro-360 tripe spouted by yourself and others.

    Wylie, isn’t it pointless even speculating what the current failure rate is here?

    You know all you’re going to get is “yeah, well, they’ve paid for it and fixed it…why do have to keep going about RRoD?”

  33. lock_down:

    And kev just proves my point.

    Cheers!

  34. CarlB:

    jojo29,

    “This statement is completly false. Pretty much any game from a 3rd party is on BOTH systems, tropy/achievement support is there at least but is subjective on if they are even worth it.”

    Really? The 360 has 270 first party titles? Amazing. You might want to check out the aggregate reviews as well. Here is a starter to check out your facts:

    metacritic.com/games/ps3/scores/
    metacritic.com/games/xbox360/scores/

    IGN or any other gaming website will pretty much sync up that 360 has almost twice as many games total, in every genre, and in every review window category.

    “Please, do not bring up BC, my PS3… 360’s BC is a joke.”

    Why not? Just because you happened to get one with BC? Good for you, but I guess the rest of the “potential” buyers are SOL now for last gen BC on the PS3, huh? How is 360’s BC a joke compared to this?

    “And the only Live offers over PSN is voice chat channels/custom music on most games, but they charge you $50 bucks for it. LIVE servers are not any better than PSN so its just a rip off.”

    Sorry, it does cost $38 dollars for 13 mo(about 9 cents a day), but if this is the price I have to pay for 270 more top rated games and almost twice as many in every genre with achievements across all of them then so be it. The early demos, extra music, games, shows, custom music, voice chat, etc are just a nice perk on top of that.

    “In terms of 1st party titles, Sony’s studios cover a much more…”

    Sorry, a top rated game is a top rated game to me, whether Sony, Microsoft, or a third party makes it, and there just happens to be more on 360 right now.

    “Hmmm, Rockstar stated already that the 360 held back GTA…”

    Yeah, everybody is saying how GTAIV is just horrible.

    “$100 bucks is still cheaper than having a seperate player”

    You’re not getting it, I don’t need or want a second player at this time. Most people don’t. It is a “nice to have” but not essential to gaming or watching movies.

    “Tell that to the people who don’t want to wire a 50 ft+ long cable, or want to pay $100 bucks plus JUST for an proprietary adapter”

    What are you talking about? You can even use the old XBox adapter for about $30. If I had to, I would use the one I already owned before I got the 360. What? Did nobody get wireless before the PS3? Please.

    Talk to Ivan about his PS3 experience, I am sure he has some pleasantries for you.

    “Again, my post was meant as more as what Sony “could/should” say to promote their system”

    That’s fine, but I have seen more PS3 commercials than 360 ones, and most people I know who are not hardcore gamers already know what the PS3 has to offer as far as it’s capabilities compared to the competition. The thing is it isn’t enough. If it was then they would be selling more by now. Games are what drives people to buy game consoles, not tech specs. Sure, Sony has a boatload of first party titles, but not nearly enough to compete with all the third party ones. Don’t worry, you didn’t hit a nerve with me, I’m a PSP and DS fanboy right now (the PS2 is back home). I have no doubt PS3 will continue to survive this gen, and it is a great Blu-Ray player with great games. But when it comes to good games, the 360 has them significantly outnumbered right now with achievements across all of them. I have no doubt you are a huge fan of the exclusives that are on PS3 right now, and I understand that. So continue to have fun.

    Following lock_down and bourne, you must not:

    …say Sony has less games on PS3 than 360
    …say Sony has not yet delivered on their promises
    …ever mention bc
    …say digital downloads are the format of the future
    …say Blu-ray will not be the dominant format of the future
    …question release dates
    …ever mention the PS3 may be difficult to develop for
    …ever hint that gaming can be just as good without Blu-Ray
    …ever mention that you do not need built in wireless capabilities
    …ever mention how Sony should cut the price of a PS3
    …say Sony does not have the best console
    …say “coming soon” is in reality “not out yet”
    …question anything that Kaz Hirai or any other Sony exec has said or promised in the past, even when the exact opposite happens

    I’ll leave you with that, but I do want to say that the PS3 has great “potential”.

  35. CarlB:

    “270 more top rated games”

    scratch that and sorry. The count is 84 more good to great games, 144 more with mixed reviews, and the rest got total crap reviews.

  36. Wylie77:

    Once again Kev, not looking to start a RROD war, its been done. Whether it was 33% or not doesn’t really matter, pick a % point, I don’t care. Point is, there was a problem whether you choose to admit it or not. All I’m saying is how effective has MS been at solving the problem. Do they have it down to let’s say 2 or 3%, is it lower than that? Everyone keeps saying the Jasper will fix all, but we have heard this before.

  37. harry sachz:

    Yes lock_down, you responded to him in a manner that he felt like he was being attacked.

    “We responded to jojo so he would be aware of the pro-360 tripe spouted by yourself and others.”

    Do you really think JoJo isn’t smart enough to think for himself? You’re not really giving him any credit at all. You’re on the defensive all the time, and guise it as ‘We are warning him about the crap that CAD, kev and Harry come up with’. What about the crap you guys come up with? Are you going to warn him against that too?

  38. Wylie77:

    CarlB,

    Thanks a lot, here comes the apocalypse. Don’t you think you are laying it on a little thick. JoJo pobly just clicked on a google item, ends up here, puts in his 2 cents and you ram it up his ass like his name is DWH or something. Take a deep breath and relax, that was one hell of a long post. I would never deny that PS3 has its problems. Nothing is flawless.

  39. jojo29:

    Where are you getting these 240 1st party titles from?! FIRST PARTY games. Microsoft doesn’t even have as many studios or titles that are FIRST party.

    Not even including 2nd party titles….

    Anyways, i think most people would agree that “built in” wireless is pretty much a must have. That’s why most people buy wireless routers, it’s almost a necessity these days…

    As far as blu ray is concerned, like wireless, i would rather have it than not..FF13 is already stated to span 3-5 discs on the 360!?

    Sony has delivered on most of their “promises”…albeit they are taking their sweet ass time…

    Well, i got BC so i guess this is subjective..but the BC that is there destroys the 360s…

    Gaming can be good without bluray….but it GREAT with it.

    I will mention Sony needs to drop the price, and if rumors hold true they are around april…

    I never listen to company execs…

    But, i will say this: yes, 360 has the edge of having more games, which in turn of course they will have more “top rated” games, that is never a bad thing…but as it is right now, im backed up on “top rated” games on my ps3, i just was able to pick up MS2 and R2 for christmas, now i have Killzone 2 and Street Fighter 4 coming out next month,not including i still have to pick up my now “late” pre-order of LittleBigPlanet…Thats 3 exclusives that i am ‘behind’ on getting and 1 3rd party game…damn i also need the SF IV controller….times are good to be a game..but are bad if your poor..

    on top of all this, im a PC gamer and a wii owner as well…Oh and here is something to think about…ihave a lot of time at work lol

  40. jojo29:

    Remember, this is just a theory, a guess, a what could happen, but since “theres a fight in you, i like that” seems like a good place to “debate”. I posted this in my guild website ( yeah i play WAR and WOW ) so some of it i did not want to edit lol enjoy

    What everyone seems to be forgetting, is i believe all players in this market have prepared or at least seen, the current recession coming. What does this means. It has been stated in some form or another in all camps that, this generation, i believe because of the recession, will more likely last longer than a normal generation. This has been especially reiterated by Sony, saying they are in it for the long haul. Plus, any mention of bringing out a new console during this recession, is a pretty crazy notion. Really, the only player in this race that would get away with a new console is Nintendo, they have been making profits since day one. Followed by Sony, as far-cried rumors suggest that the PS4 would be using the Cell/Blu Ray drives of this generation, thus being able to save money on those, only Microsoft would have to come up with all brand new parts or what not, the emphasis being they don’t have anything to “re-use” that will be considered “next-gen”. All this is just my personal theory.

    As for now. Microsoft is again in trouble. Believe it or not. Not in trouble of being out of the game. Far from it. I want MS here, it keeps Sony on its toes, just don’t like them being “number one”. I say they are in trouble because, check this out. Microsoft has released Halo 3. They made it big with Gears of War. The just had a huge price drop and currently offer “value” deals. Yet, despite being ALWAYS more expensive, the PS3 has been steadily climbing. In fact, they have never dipped or steadied in their climb. The 360 had a climb, then a steady, and now a climb, and ONLY because of a price drop. Gears 2 alone was not enough to spur sales of the 360 over the PS3. it was Gears in combination with the price drop.

    And yet the PS3 still is pretty much on its heels. And this year the best the 360 has to offer ( so far ) is Alan Wake, and TWO Halo games. WoW. The PS3 has nothing but AAA games coming out. GoW3, Twisted Metal, Team Icos new game, Gran Turismo 5, and countless others. ON TOP OF THAT, you have a price drop coming. See, i believe Sony is waiting for the last possible minute to drop the price, i believe Sony is just trying to postpone that to spur sales when theres a “drought” in there games, and ensure another solid year. MS “blew its load” and Sony “survived”. Yes, Microsoft could drop the price even further, but by that point, it won’t really matter, the PS3 will hot and full of more exclusives.

    Anyways, what im trying to get at, is Sony planned the PS3 for the long term. It shows in their strategy on how they are releasing their own AAA ( KZ2 being delayed so R2 could enjoy success) MS has not, and yeah they will have a couple surprises ( Ninja Gaiden 3? Dead or Alive 5) but, they won’t be near the caliber of Sony’s own 1st party titles. I guess we will see but it seems to me the steam MS has built is running out, heck even their ‘un announced” games are supposed to cater to the ‘casual’ market…

    So lets take a look at what each has offer this gen possible going into next gen:

    Nintendo:

    Nintendo will have the “freshest” stuff to offer. Nintendo is setup in a big way for next generation. They will have perfected the Wii-mote, all it needs is a switch to Blue-tooth. It will have great next gen specs, as all the money from this generation will be hoarded and used to make a beast. They can include Blu-Ray if they wish, and/or offer some type of expanded DL service. Virtual Console but slightly better, this will mostly likely be their main weakness. It will have stronger 3rd party support. And on top of that, you have the sure-fire hits from Nintendo’s first party studios

    Nintendo Recap:
    -Proven, Improved Wii-mote ( Blue Tooth)
    -Expanded 3rd Party Support
    -Stellar 1st Party Studios (Zelda, Mario, Samus )
    -Next Gen Graphics
    -Mediocre Online Service

    Sony:
    It has been rumored that the Cell Processor will be in the next PS3, this will keep costs relatively down. Of course it will be the most recent iteration and whatnot. It will have BluRay, again costs will be down.It will have most recent GPU. On top of that, it will have better Sixaxis controls. Sony’s 3rd party support is still money. On top of that Sony is building up their first party studios to that of Nintendo’s status, with equal stellar titles but offer much more variety than Nintendo’s studios. It will continue its awesome, refined, FREE online network.

    Sony Recap:
    -Cell/BluRay. Also costs will be down due to this
    -Lead Platform for 3rd Party studios( we can see that happening now, Dead Space )
    -Stellar/Variety Genre Defining 1st party studios.(Killzone, Twisted Metal, God of War, Sports titles, Gran Turismo etc..)
    -Next Gen Graphics
    -Stellar FREE Online Network
    -It’s Sony lol

    Microsoft:

    See, no matter what Microsoft does they will be paying for it. CPU will be whatever is out. GPU will be latest. LIVE will still be good, but still costs money. Great 3rd party support. Mediocre 1st party studios ( Fable. Gears, Halo ) If they put Blu Ray, that’s giving Sony money, if they don’t their last gen.

    Microsfot Recap:
    -Great 3rd Party Support
    -Great online Service, but you have to pay
    -Next gen Graphics to rival Sony
    -RRODs!? lol

    It seems Microsoft seems like a wild card next gen, but to me it faces an uphill battle. It’s winning this gen so far. It went from a 3million unit lead on the SOny to 8 million as of December. We’ll see how this year turns out, but i will say this: Despite the higher price, the late start, the bad media coverage, the delays, Microsofts back handed deals, Microsofts heaviest hitters, and recently Microsoft’s price cut, the PS3 is still selling, still climbing, has never steadied in sales has always climbed, and is still right on MS’s heals. Now, add the coming PS3 price cut. The exclusives…Another great year

    What are you guys’ thoughts?

  41. Wylie77:

    CarlB,

    never mind my previous post, jojo is ready to scrap with you. Originally thought he was some casual getting sucker punched. Now, jojo take a deep breath………. this is going to get ugly!

  42. CarlB:

    Wylie77,

    You were saying?

    jojo29,

    Thank you for rescinding your statement that any 3rd party game is on both consoles and admitting that the 360 does have almost twice as many quality games overall.

    As for built in wireless being a “must have” instead of a “nice to have” I suppose we’ll have to agree to disagree. I am guessing the “most people” you are talking have yet to buy a PS3?

    I (and just a few other PC gamers) played a little game called Baldur’s Gate before that spanned 6 discs with no problem in actual gameplay or enjoyment, so 3-5 isn’t really a big deal for me.

    Again, how is it that the bc that is there “destroys the 360’s?”

    “Gaming can be good without bluray….but it GREAT with it.” How is that exactly? Hours of 1080p CGI?

    Why is it when Sony says they will not drop the price anytime soon that PS3 players don’t listen, but anything else coming from Sony (like predictions and promises) they take as gospel?

    Agreed, shooters, platformers, and fighters there are no shortage of on either console. However, I prefer RPG’s above all and do not particularly care for shooters, fighters (Soul Calibur was an exception), puzzlers, racers, sports, or platformers. For gamers who prefer only 1-3 of the less popular/numerous genres, more games are important, especially if you only have one present gen console. If there are enough games in that genre(s) on your console, then you don’t have to get a second console like a Wii or have a PC capable of properly playing the latest graphic intensive games, especially if you have a job like mine.

    PS4 talk already? Wow, I though PS3 was supposed to have blown every other console out of the water in sales by now. “Another couple years” maybe. But really, how many Sony acolytes thought the 360 would be doing this good now? My take? The 360 is winning now and in the foreseeable future with it’s number and variety of good games. Gamers usually care about games, not tech specs. As long as 360 continues to lead in that area they are golden. If Sony comes out with more 1st party exclusives all Microsoft has to do is get more 3rd party exclusives.

  43. darkwhitehair:

    AGAIN!!! ???

    jesus fucking christ… we go through this every single day…

    ok.. one at a time… first of all… I called the adverts of Halo emotional and had a decent storyline… all I know about the actual Halo story is from Wikipedia… and I think its quite good for a action game…

    second… you can always tell the newbies of blorge… newbies as in new users… they make these “lists” about exclusive games… we have already done that before… its really really old… its as old as the first time I started visiting this site… about a year ago I think…

    anyways… I was thinking how great it would be to see some aggressive marketing from Sony… like in the olden days of “Sega does what Nintendont”…

    that would be great… they can have one ad about showing off the home theatre aspects and the family friendly game like LBP… and another where they can show off all the action heavy games and show off Killzone 2 and say… “you ever saw THIS in your console” or they can drop it from a building and torture it and say stuff like “this can survive a earthquake… no other console can”

    boy… Im starting to impress myself… maybe I should get into advertising…

  44. darkwhitehair:

    also… is it just me or are people really impatient nowadays… they bitch about how they had to pay hundreds for a console and then start mouthing off about how they would like the next gen of consoles RIGHT NOW!!!

    have some patience… wait till the current gen consoles have been tapped for all their capabilities… previous experience tells me we have yet to see some of the best games of this gen… they will come a year or two before the console becomes obsolete…

    ahhh how I love Black and Riddick and God of War…

    ohh havent done this in a while..

    GOD OF WAR !!!
    RAWR RAWR RAWR!!!

  45. harry sachz:

    “WoW. The PS3 has nothing but AAA games coming out. GoW3, Twisted Metal, Team Icos new game, Gran Turismo 5, and countless others.”

    Team Icos new game hasn’t even been named, do you really think it’s coming out this year?? Also, I believe someone said that GT5 was due out next year.

    Anyway, I think we’ve got the new Ivan_PSP on our hands.

  46. darkwhitehair:

    I said that GT 5 was going to be out on 2010… because they are still coming up with new content for GT 5 P… sons of bitches…

    dont worry harry… its a phase… first comes the list… then the Red rings… then something else… and soon… acceptance that nothing is going to change here… and thats when they start making sex jokes with you…

  47. CarlB:

    “PS3 has nothing but AAA games coming out this year,” so be sure to pick up your Mahjong Tales and Power Up Forever. At least be balanced enough to realize crap come out for the console(s) you happen to have just like the others you do not (although not nearly as much on PS3 and 360 as Wii) before making statements like this. 1st party exclusives, I get it, but even if I had a PS3 I would still be looking forward to playing Fallout 3, RE5 and FFXIII more than LBP, Lair, Wipeout, and pretty much all the ones you mentioned there except for God of War 3.

  48. darkwhitehair:

    well thats because only a douche bag like Final Fantasy more than God of war… which is you… because you dont like God of war as much as me…

  49. lock_down:

    And you don’t like God of War as much as me DWH…

  50. darkwhitehair:

    FUCK YOU LOCK DOWN!!! My blood runs red like the red line on kratos… when I jerk off I jerk off to… um… thats it… Im not going to go anywhere with that joke…

    so fuck you youre a douche bag…

  51. lock_down:

    If GOW had some kind of multi-player then I’d hack you to shit DWH…

    If you wanna jerk off to anyone in God of War then its gotta be the Oracle in GOW1…

  52. CarlB:

    dwh, you seemed to have missed the “except for God of War 3″ part. What is your fascination with douches anyway? It seems to be a recurring theme for you lately.

  53. CarlB:

    “Although there appears to be a reasonably robust slate of games for the PlayStation 3 this year, Sony continues to lack a clear ‘must-own’ title that will drive sales, while its platform continues to be the most expensive in the market in the midst of a consumer slowdown.

    “Meanwhile, highly publicised platform initiatives such as Home have failed to get off the ground,” he added.

    gamesindustry.biz/articles/analyst-slashes-ps3-sales-expectations-following-disappointing-2008

  54. CarlB:

    I think God of War 3 will be that “must own” title for me.

  55. lock_down:

    If Sony will learn one thing from the PS3 it will be to have KZ2 type launch games ready for the PS4 from the outset.

    If games like GOW3, KZ2, GT5 et al had came out in early 2007 it might be a different picture.

    I just hope Santa Monica don’t botch God of War 3 just so as to get it out as quickly as possible. I’d hate to see that game rushed given that Sony now seem to be inviting journalists to special GOW3 screenings as if GOW3 will be some kind of system seller.

    No way will GOW3 be system seller…which is really too bad.

  56. Bourne:

    DWH how old are you (serious question)

  57. jojo29:

    wow…pretty good responses…okay to end this i will just say this: This year, despite our economy going down the toilet, will give us at least another great gaming year :) on all 3 systems…

    And for the best comment i’ve heard, or should i say idea…by: Lock_Down:

    “If GOW had some kind of multi-player then I’d hack you to shit DWH…”

    If God of War was multiplayer…damn that would be the shit!!!

  58. CarlB:

    God of War 4 or 5… could branch out into you being able to pick your mythology of choice and it’s corresponding “god of war” or similar character… norse, japanese, chinese, roman… (fond memories of Jade Empire coming back…). Who am I kidding though… they are doing fine with just one, and being an “immortal” opens up it’s own possibilities.

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