Microsoft exec says Sony stretched too thin

Given the financial sinkhole that the PSP is at the moment, imagine what those resources (in terms of shelf space, advertising, manufacturing focus, and development dollars) would do for the PS3 if they had been shifted there in the first place.

I really don't take into consideration anything one competitor says about another. Of course Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have nothing positive to say about each other.

Sony's biggest problem is arrogance. They have been king of the hill for so long that they don't remember how to compete by designing for the consumer. The PS3 is a total cluster-f*** of a design that is clearly intended to be their move into the central computing spot in the house -- and gamers be damned.

We already know the PSP answer: It should have never been made to begin with. Or, if they absolutely HAD to enter the handheld market, they should have made sure the hardware would be cheap enough to make to ensure a profit on the HARDWARE, since its multifunctionality garauntees it a low attach rate (and thus, low (if any) profit from licensing). The complete flop of the UMD format didn't help. It was anything BUT universal. If they had maybe come out with a cheap UMD player for home use (and/or put one in the PS3), or created a UMD R/W burner for people to put their own content on, things might have gone somewhere. They instead err'd on the side of protecting "intellectual property" by locking the format, which has done little to deter piracy anyway. PSP is a big huge waste of potential.

We'll see what success or ruin PS3 brings them (my bets on ruin). It seems that it will suffer the opposite effect as far as piracy goes, since the ability to put linux on it all but ensures dumps of software from BD-rom and distribution on the net. It's only a matter of time (maybe its happened already) before a hack is found to run PS3 software off the HD with a no BD hack.

Again, the multifunctionality of the PS3 dooms it to a low attach rate, though not as bad as the PSP due to its non-portability. Couple that with the high cost of manufacture leads me to believe PS3 will not be profitable until MAYBE the very end of its life, if at all.

This would have been the first post when I started it. I'm guessing it'll be more like 12 when it gets up.

Blah, blah, blah.

Let the consumer decide. Nuff said.

THIS consumer...as in I...have decided that the Xbox caters most to the true gamer. Casual or Hardcore. MS' machine is the best bang for your gamer dollar.

Nintendo caters to a wider demographic. I feel their focus is to win my family's dollar with tried and true, original Nintendo goodness.

Sony just doesn't seem to have a proper focus. If they wanted my gamer dollar, they should have released this PS3 thing back in March...when they first promised. Forget the stupid BluRay...which pretty much feels DOA. Ditch that stupid thing and give me an affordable machine that I can continue playing franchises I loved on the PS2. If they provided a BluRay-less PS3 option...I bet it would continue to fly off the shelves just as fast as the PS2 did all it's life.

Joe Smith,

What you describe is actually how most tech things in japan are made. They don't invent to fill a need in the market, they invent and the try and create a market for their invention. Thats why they have all the crazy stuff over there like robot dogs and things.

The PSP is crap. It is mostly useless as a gaming platform. The loads times are far too often and long on almost every game. I only use mine as a web browser, and it's not very useful for that either. The PS3 has nothing to offer so far. That could change, but I seriously doubt it. Too much faith in them has been lost from publishers. Exclusives are going to be VERY hard to come by. Who wants to spend 50 million dollars to release a game on a system with less than a million units installed. It will be a year or more before a Ps3 exclusive could even realistically break even. Personally, I just feel Sony is too far behind, with an inferior, overpriced product, to ever catch up. And it is inferior by design, not necessarily tech specs. It MIGHT end up being a more powerful system, but since it is FAR more difficult and expensive to develop for, does the increased power really matter, if no one knows how, or, for that matter, cares to know how, to harness it?

I think the only problem with sony is that they only made 400,000 PS3s at launch. They should have made more because now they are all almost sold out. but for microsoft and nintendo. they just like to hate on sony because sony better than both of them put together.

Microsoft has overextended themselves trying to compete with PS2, PS3 and iPod.

See how easy it is to talk smack?

BTW, PSP sucks.

UNRELATED QUESTION: I thought Nintendo was supposed to release new Virtual Console games every monday following launch... It's past 4pm EST and still no new games are posted. Anyone know what's going on?

Yeah, Steve2, except that your smack talk has no basis or sense behind it whatsoever. Microsoft has mountains of cash lying around. Sony is in some massive debt right now.

That comment was pretty stupid. Good point, but terrible execution.

They probably would have done the best not even pretending that the UMD format was going to catch on. The scariest thing about the PS3 to me is that Sony is once again attempting to use it as a format Trojan horse. Making Blu-Ray universal by virtue of the PS3 is not likely to succeed; it would help if Sony weren't so desperate to push the technology that they were selling a system $200 more expensive than any competitor.

I don't really think a $44 billion company can be overextended by selling two products to two fairly similar markets; I do think, however, that any company can be shortshrifted by believing that slapping high-end technology on a flawed idea will make up for the inherent shortcomings of the plan.

First off, I agree 100% with B33.

Second, I'm not sure that I'd agree that Sony is spread to thin, at least in regard to the PSP and PS3. While I'm sure I'll be labeled a fanboy for saying so, I think the PSP has done very well, when you consider the fact that Nintendo has been the dominate player on the handheld market on a scale not seen since the NES's dominance of the home console market. For Sony, so far, to have sold significantly over half as many PSPs as Nintendo has sold the about $100 less DS so far is amazing, and only ardent fanboys could disagree (IMO). And while it hasn't been mentioned much by the gaming media, the PSP has an overall better Christmas 2006 lineup than the DS (as admitted by at least one DS fanboy - http://www.pspfanboy.com/2006/11/14/ds-fanboy-admits-that-psp-has-a-better-holiday-lineup/#comments) and while the PSP has sometimes more expensive games at launch, its games come down in price far quicker than the DS (as indicated here http://www.pspfanboy.com/2006/11/19/psp-features-more-affordable-games-than-the-ds/#comments)

So, overall, I think that Sony has done pretty well with the PSP, when it is taken into account that prior to the PSP's launch Nintendo had 99% or so of the handheld market, and the PSP has been priced significantly more than the DS all of its life.

So far as the PS3, I will certainly agree that Sony has screwed up royally on its hardware (production, etc), and that they will have an uphill battle to maintain their #1 spot in the next generation of consoles. I just do not think that the PSP has had any significant part in Sony's screw up of the PS3.

PSP was good at first, but then no good games came out at all for it. It was just there.

PS3 is looking the same way with all these exclusives they're missing out on.

Right now, you don't get the bang for your buck on the PS3, but In my opinion, you do with the Wii and 360. Sony needs to step it up.

Community-based-spam-link:
It takes more than cash to succeed. If it only took cash to make a venture go, MS wouldn't be losing market share to Apple in computers and Zune would be all the rage.

My point, that you missed, is that no one at Microsoft knows what Sony's position is as far as being overextended any more than you or I do. And furthermore, Microsoft spokespersons have axes to grind, unlike you or I.

...ok

No matter how bad it gets for Sony, they will continue with the PSP and the PS3. If they are not being ignorant then their next 'PSP2' will be a better design, use carts instead of UMDs, be more power efficient and faster loading times. But the problem is if they decide to put a big touch screen on the PSP2 it will have the reputation of being the '2nd handheld' in the market to that of the Nintendo DS.

Possible unique features for the next handhelds for Nintendo or Sony will most likely be Built in Rumble and/or Tilting action.

If the PS4 is assumably better than PS3 will it have controlls similar to Nintendos' Wii-remote?

If they did another problem occurs, but does Sony really want to let the PS4 be the '2nd console' in the market? I think not, Sony will need to re-invest in a new controller to have a new type of rumble feature which has to be designed to be %100 leagal. But to be different from competitors, they need to add a bit more to their controller like a slideable mini keyboard that slides in to the controller, theres a lot of uses for that.

If Sony were desperate enough to take in this free advice from a commenter that don't buy sony consoles, then the risks are there.

hegemonyhog... you beat me to the punch. A developed, concise, articulate response regarding Sony's blatant and increasing debt and consistent attempt to force feed the consumers with different and rarely better formats and outsourcing themselves.

Seeing as how Sony's credit rating dropped yet again recently, putting them somewhere around the rating of the chia pet, they are making some brave moves. Conversely, Microsoft's credit rating was recently raised, giving them that much more backing.

In fact, I couldn't agree with this topic any more. I have been saying this for over a year now and I certainly ravish in the glory that Sony's ill fate may finally come to fruition. My family has gone from a "nothing but Sony" family to a "if Sony is the best we can do..." family. I used to think Sony was a god in the consumer electronics world, now I see it merely as as a court jester trying to pose as a high ranking general.

I'm not a Microsoft fanboy, but I couldn't be paid to jump back on the Sony bandwagon.

Sony problem is their divisions don't always cooperate with each other. And then when they do, they tend to place restrictions on how certain items will be used. Their divisions seem to compete with one another more than they work together.

Sony seems to be on thin ice here... the biggest issue I see is the stupid blu-ray player... it adds unnecessary cost to the PS3, losing them tons-o-dough... the PS2 was different... it included a DVD player at a time when there were, while not cheap, enough DVD players and discs out there to create demand for the PS2 with one... who the heck NEEDS a blu-ray player right now? there are hardly any movies available and you need an HDTV to really appreciate it... Sony would have been better served by either doing a PS3.5 in about a year, or just using the drive as a cheap add-on down the road... instead they've "chosen poorly" (in the immortal words of the crusades knight in Last Crusade)

Sony is definitely in a lot more trouble than they are letting on. Being called out as 'over extended' isn't something that might be the truth, it simply is.

The fact is, they are losing money in their gaming division due to slowed sales of the PS2, and the PSP getting kicked around the market by the DS. The PS3 is currently selling at too much of a loss, its game sales not high enough to cover that. Atop all of this, they tried to move the system to as many markets as possible with fewer units available than the Wii, and they will feel the effects of this until Christmas 2k7, assuming they can generate interest and available units all next year, coupled with more than one or two decent titles that aren't to appear on the 360 as well.

In my opinion, Sony played directly into Microsoft's hand. They felt the pressure from a system that can't even sell in Japan with games like DOAX2. This IS the country that brought us TV shows like 'HARD GAY'. DOAX2 is tailor made for the male over there, and the 360 can't sell worth a goddamn. This is very uncharacteristic of any company that truly has confidence in a market they lead, to have essentially allowed themselves to be baited into showing their hand early.

They've launched with a mixed bag of games, with not a single one having the same sort of name brand recognition as Zelda. This is fact. None of the launch titles will ever compete in terms of popularity with the new Zelda, and part of that is that there will not be as many PS3 owners to pick up said titles. The other part is that a majority of the PS3 launch set up, like the Wii launch set up, is mediocre.

Earlier, Joystiq had posted an interesting article regarding the Blu-Ray use of Resistance. If it is true that Resistance could have been done on a standard DVD, it's a huge blow to one of the pieces of marketing that Sony is using to tout the superiority of their product.

To answer the question at the end of the article, I say no. There is no way that Sony at this time can honestly expect anything other than a change in market share in favor of their competitors. They are hemorrhaging money on the music, movie, and gaming front. The PS3 is still news, but the PSP is simply floundering. To fix this, they need to price cut the PSP to something reasonable for what they are providing to the world, and they need to get more games for the PS3 out sooner that can cleanly stomp a mudhole in the likes of Gears of War. It also would help that if games that were cross platform actually supported Sony claims of the vaunted superiority of their box, rather than giving us a version of Madden that lacks AA and HDR lighting routines, or a version of CoD3 that actually runs smoother on the direct competition.

It still is awful early to call, but right now Sony needs to decide if they really want to be trying to play in the same field as the DS. If I was them, I'd let the darn thing off the hook and worry a hell of a lot more on the unit that they just released that is seemingly going out of its way to recreate history from 2004-05.

Like a good movie, I'm sooo sticking around for 3 years later to see how everyone's doing. I'd really like for Nin to come on top again, but not necessarily to see XB nor PS be wiped off the face of the planet. They can serve as humble reminders how far Nin fell from the peak of the mountain

Ps3 next Gen Exclusives worth mention (Before March ends): Lair, Heavenly Sword, Motorstorm, Virtua Fighter 5

XBox360 next Gen Exclusives worth mention (Before March ends) : Blue Dragon, Project Offset, Lost Planet, Forza 2

Wii Exclusives worth mentioning (Before March ends) : Wario Ware Smooth moves, Mario Party

The only console that looks really bleak through march, when you should be able to pick up any console you want, is the Wii. Theres really only 2 games worth even thinking about on the Wii between now and the end of March.

360 is good.
Ps3 is good.
Wii is unproven.

Shagi I wouldn't buy any of those games you listed. They all blow chunks.

The PSP is a monumental failure. Whoever said the PSP has sold half of the DS units has no idea what he is talking about. Sony lists how many units they shipped. They have shipped that amount while the DS has actually sold over 27 million.

The PSP honestly does not have any great games out for it other than Lumines. I own Lumines and I honestly say it is a great game. That's something I say often on my DS.

Microsoft exec says Sony stretched too thin



no way!!Thats earth shattering news.

I think it's arguable as to whether Nintendo is competing in both the home and portable markets.

The Wii is, in many ways, a throwaway for the company.

They have ensured that they won't lose money on the hardware, and they're using as a testbed for new technology. It is the home console equivalent of Zune.

It has some neat new features that aren't really fleshed out yet, and it's "participating" in the race, but it's not "competing" with the front runners.

Dude up front past napoleon has cameltoe... hmm.

"The PSP is a monumental failure. Whoever said the PSP has sold half of the DS units has no idea what he is talking about. Sony lists how many units they shipped. They have shipped that amount while the DS has actually sold over 27 million.

The PSP honestly does not have any great games out for it other than Lumines. I own Lumines and I honestly say it is a great game. That's something I say often on my DS." - Kevin



Monumental faliure? Sony selling more PSP systems than any handheld competitor to Nintendo ever has and it is a monumental failure? According to Sony's statistics, about 23 million PSPs have shipped (http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdatapsp_e.html). And yet you claim that Sony hasn't even sold half as many PSPs as Nintendo has sold DSes, meaning that according to you, Sony has “sold” less than 13.5 million systems. Where the hell are the remaining 9.5 million systems, then?! You have to be a blatant fanboy to think that somehow there are nearly 10 million PSPs sold to retailers but sitting on shelves.

I don't have the exact statistics, but I think that claiming that there is a nearly 50/50 discrepancybetween PSPs sold and shipped is blatantly wrong.

As far as not having any good games, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. In the opinion of IGN, and largely in my opinion, the following are great PSP games (well, editors choice games at IGN):

Lumines
Wipeout Pure
Ridge Racer
Burnout Legends
Daxter
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Lumines II
Killzone: Liberation
LocoRoco
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2006
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins
Mercury Meltdown
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Race Driver 2006
Medal of Honor Heroes

Sure, the PSP doesn't have as many truly awesome games as NSMB, but it makes up for that in its greater abundance of great, if not ground shaking games.

@13:
Elebits is another exclusive game for the Wii, and it looks excellent. You also forgot Gears of War exclusive for 360. Just to mention 2 games.

Who the hell wants to play Virtua Fighter 5? I didn't like Virtua Fighter 1. Motorstorm? Seriously? These are NOT the franchises that made me fall in love with my PS2.

Honestly, PS3 exclusives don't mean d**k if you only have a handful of consoles to sell games for. I refuse to camp overnight(s) for any gaming system, so I won't own a PS3 for a year or so. That'll be when FFXIII is released, and the price drops.

As far as the PSP is concerned, Sony DOES NOT report the number of units sold to CONSUMERS, they only report how many units are sold to RETAIL stores.
Nintendo is the only gaming company that reports how many units actually sold to consumers.
PSP is a huge failure. I used to own one, I know. Never bought a UMD movie, cause who really has 2 hours to watch a movie when you are on the go? I only owned 2 or 3 games before I sold the piece of junk.
The PSP is a perfect example of how technology isn't everything. Graphics don't mean anything, if the games are boring. The DS is inferior in the graphics dept, but the games are insanely entertaining and in a varied abundance.

Shagi, you missed: Metroid Prime 3 (which is almost definite), and Sonic: Secret of the Rings (which is definite), and Super Mario Galaxy (which has a strong chance of being released by March, according to Wikipedia)

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Galaxy

Those seem compelling enough, eh?

Wow, Blank, Hegenomyhog and Zebulunite all had some strong things to say I really agreed with. I predict not only Sony losing first place, but as early as last week I saw the death of Sony: a weak launch lineup (only Resistance is worth having) with virtually NO supply to a weakly reviewed system. Those who did get it will have a bitter taste in their mouths from paying 2k for it on Ebay, and the extremely well reviewed Wii is trumping it in any media comparisons and reviews. The 360, which people have gotten to experience and grow familar with at a friends house, and the newly introduced Wii at Thanksgivings will be sitting on shelves freely until what I predict is now late March (the end of Sony's shortage). There simply is no reason for any consumer to get a PS3 unless there are games available that they really want and it is a long, dry stretch in front of Sony for those juicy exclusives to appear as the 360 now begins to sprint and the Wii trounces an unsuspecting market with loveablility. This whole Wii thing is working out way better than my skeptical self thought it could.

Plus, Sony did not get the key sayings in reviews that they wanted "totally worth it for the Blu-Ray player" "the graphics are a big step up from the 360" and most importantly "totally worth the 600 dollar investment." Considering that they delayed launch for a full year in total from the original date in order to hear those things I think it looks pretty grim for them.

So there it is: I predict on this day, Nov 27, 2006 Sony no longer being a viable competitor in the videogame industry. They just don't understand how to compete anymore, when their competitors are obviously masters.

"THIS consumer...as in I...have decided that the Xbox caters most to the true gamer. Casual or Hardcore. MS' machine is the best bang for your gamer dollar."

Ok this phrase pops up again. What makes the 360 so 'hardcore'? whats your definition of 'hardcore'? Is it FPS/Shooting and racing games? thats all the 360 has to offer that cant be found on other systems:

Gears of War
Halo
PGR
Forza

please dont say oblivion. i have that on my pc, its NOT an exclusive, oh wait, scratch GOW off thatlist too, its coming to PC:) so your only left with:

Forza
PGR
Halo
Lost Planet
Odyssey

(please Bioshock, Mass Effect we can expect to see those on PC, i read it somewhere i ll try and find the link)

Those are the ONLY games that are good IMO on this system, and thats after a years headstart. See to me the xbox community has turned the term 'hardcore' to mean games that have a 'mature or adult theme'. If thats the case your NOT hardcore, your brainwashed.

To me hardcore means you know great games when you see them. I consider Mario 'hardcore'. I consider Zelda and Metroid 'hardcore'. Final Fantasy is 'hardcore'. To me it means games that have been around since the early days and still thrive. Newer games like Shadow of Colossus, God of War, Socom, Resistance to me signify 'hardcore'. Halo, as much as i dislike it, actually is 'hardcore' in that it delivers on consoles the shooting equivalent that pc gamers have enjoyed since counterstrike, doom, halo etc..

SO please tell me, what is so 'hardcore' about the 360? are friends lists 'hardcore'? is online chat 'hardcore'? im really curious, what do you think 'hardcore' is? I believe hardcore lies with GREAT games, not mediocre ones.

"Microsoft has overextended themselves trying to compete with PS2, PS3 and iPod.

See how easy it is to talk smack?"

Developing and supporting an MP3 player requires much less money and resources than a handheld game player, witness the countless number of MP3 players on the market manufactured by different companies.

Bad analogy is all I'm saying.

Sonic : Secret of the Rings : This is not a compelling exclusive since every sonic game has sucked since sonic 2.

Super Mario Galaxies: is to be released in April (And since I didnt include april releases for the other consoles, not fair to include).

Metroid Prime 3: is scheduled for a June release.

So no I dont call those compelling games comming out for the Wii by the end of March. In fact most of the Wii line-up looks extermely dismal and I wouldn't besurprised if the first year of the Wii release turns out to be something like the first year of the DS release (Terrible), even though I still think the DS has no good games, dont bother arguing its obviously a matter of opinion.

You can argue plenty about console specs and 'innovative' controlls but when the focus of your console is on 'FUN' and not graphics , frills, etc...then your looking pretty bad when your lineup looks as shitty as nintendos.

The PSP has lost momentum. Sales have actually gone down compared to last year! Every successful console has followed a similar trend: sales rise in 2nd year and peak in the 3rd year (or later). Every system that peaked in it first year has been a historic failure.

The PSP could hurt the PS3 - before the PSP, many people thought that Sony could do no wrong, but the PSP makes Sony appear fallible.

Maybe monumental is a bit strong, but it certainly could end up being written of as a failure for Sony since the software sales are so poor - selling units alone isn't enough, the ratio of games purchased to console needs to high as that is where a lot of profit can be made. The ratio for the PSP is poor.

Million sellers are, to date, few and far between on the PSP.

In at least once territory the DS has been giving the PSP a royal trouncing for ages and ages now, check this thread

http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=8272&page=25

In Japan the PSP has certainly sold less than 50% of DS sales.

Nice comparison of Sony with Napoleon :)

Napoleon had power... and got so enthralled by it he tried to conquer Russia.

Poor Sony... I know they're trying to compensate for their SHORTcoming, but it's too late.

(Yeah, Napoleon puns probably aren't funny...)

I really dont care what Microsoft has to say or any other exec. All I care about are games looking as close to film quality CG as possible with new and creative gameplay. Only time will tell who prevails. I dont think we will see who taht is for at least another 1-2 years. Sure Im dissapointed with the content for the PSP (GPS looks yummy tho), and yes I'm ticked about the PS3 launch lineup, but I know its still early (March is looking pretty good tho). Xbox still hasent convinced me. Gears of War is the only thing they got that I like but thats not even enough for me to dish out for that system. I need more. I wont waste my time with Wii. Graphics dont look nextgen.

I want a game console with enough tech to last for the next 5+ years. It has to have some of the best looking and best playing games and it has to look sweet standing next to my TV.

I'm guessing Sony has privately admitted the PSP is a dead-end and has diverted resources away from the platform.

There will be no "PSP Lite" or PSP2. Game development will come to a halt. That seems to already be happening.

Gran Turismo 4 Mobile anyone?

First off why do you want to play the same tired franchises? Your just making stuff up to support your current stance. I dont want Mario XXIII I want more original IPS, and for the record I don't really care about VF series either I just know a lot of people out there do.

As for Elebits I know nothing about this game and have heard zero buzz about it so I couldn't include it on my list but if you want to that sounds fine.

By the way if you have not seen Motorstorm in action do yourself a favor and get down to a store running a demo and check it out (if you dont have a PS3 to download the demo on to). Its the only next gen title so far that made me smile and go wow, I'm really looking forward to that one.

I think your going to find that as the months drag on towards March people are going to become increasingly disenchanted with the Wii, with the release schedule it just seems inevitable. Oh sure you'll still have the die hards who would defend Scurvy to the death if they had it, but any reasonable person will feel the void.

I want all 3 systems to do well, but I'm being realistic here, both the PS3 and the 360 has fantastic short term release schedules and the Wii has Schmeckle.

Shagi, you obviously have no clue in what you are talking about.

From Kotaku. Games to arrive on Nintendo's Wii system from launch to March 31st 2007.

"[b]Nintendo[/b]
Battalion Wars II
Excite Truck
The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess
Mario Strikers Charged
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Super Mario Galaxy
WarioWare : Smooth Moves
Wii Sports"

It clearly states MP3:C and SMG is coming on/before march 31st.

"Tired Franchises"

First off there are a small few that can even hold a candle to a classic game like Zelda. How do you explain all the Zeldas sold with the Wii?

Sony can only pray for people to buy games with their consoles. They had a tie ratio of LESS THAN ONE!!

What a bunch of losers.

Zelda wouldn't be a franchise if tons of people didn't buy the games, so something must be going good with the franchise.

I am not a Sony hater. I had a PS1, 2 PS2s (1st one broke, imagine that), and a PSP. I just don't deny the facts: Sony is f***ing up BAD! They are trying to do too much. Cramming a damn blu-ray player down our throats. I even have a HDTV and REFUSE to get either HD-DVD or blu-ray. Sony needs to make PS3 cheaper: make a blu-ray free version. It's not like that many games will need 20-50GB, seriously.

Oh and we will see how well the Wii is doing in March. I predict it will be doing great and that people will still be b****ing about how they can't find a PS3.
Probably won't even have a million PS3s made by then. Where will those precious "exclusives" be at then? The 360 is where. People won't develop for a console hardly anyone owns.

Oh and whoever says that there aren't 10 million PSP sitting on the shelves. Think about this: at least a million electronics stores world wide, with 10 PSPs= 10 million paper weights. So no it is not hard to believe that Sony has actually sold half of what the DS sold to consumers.

Kotaku probably has wrong info, and I'm not naming games that are already out. So you can stop trolling for comments joystiq, errr...I mean Earl.

PS including Excite Truck in with the 'Must Own' exclusives is classic, you must have known it would get a rise out of me when I was talking about motorstorm which is like Excitetruck X10

Kotaku?? Don't even know what that is... Guess it is a gaming site, and I didn't post that info. I wouldn't post anything Excite Truck, not much of a racing game fan.

Shagi. So let me get this straight, you know a lot more about gaming then a gaming website (that has heaps of posters and tons of hits)that Nintendo invited to try out the Wii along with IGN, 1up and Gamespot?.

I never said anything about Motorstorm being bad, its a great game. I was just stating that your information was wrong.

As for your "Tired Franchises" how do you explain The Final Fantasy Franchise?.

Not to mention you haven't named most third party titles either.

Although Sony was probably overreaching when it decided to outmuscle the competition in both the handheld and console markets, that was not the true mistake.

Sony stretched itself too thin -- indeed, to the breaking point -- by doing the above ALONG WITH NEW MEDIA FOR EACH SYSTEM. A new form of storage can give an advantage, true, but early adopters pay a price, whether they be consumers or companies.

The UMD's weaknesses became apparent when "It plays both games and movies!" turned into "It plays more expensive games and movies!" Blu-ray is a better technology than its competition, but its newness practically guaranteed (and has delivered) manufacturing bottlenecks.

Napoleon couldn't resist attacking a weak target; Sony can't resist introducing new hardware. In both cases, this tendency has led to great successes and great failures. Sony needs to avoid the fatal mistake of betting everything on a single -- oops, too late.

I like how the Motorstorm demo is essentially Excitetruck with better graphics and more vehicles and a lower framerate, and people on both sides of the fence are using them as actual 'pros' for their respective consoles.

If you're buying a PS3 based off of Motorstorm, there's not enough help in the world for you. At least Resistance is somewhat entertaining, with a decent multiplayer set up. It's a shame that it has had nowhere NEAR the impact on the gaming industry as Halo did when it dropped with the Xbox.

Motorstorm is doing NOTHING that can't be done elsewhere. There isn't a single game on the PS3 right now that cannot be done on the 360. So I ask the fanboys, what justified the purchase to you on November 17th? If you name a single game on the launch list, I can assure you the 360 could have done the same game at the same level of quality, and that currently not a single game on the PS3 is showing off graphical effects found on mere 2nd gen titles on a supposedly lesser system.

Where is the advantage? Blu-Ray?

Consequently, nobody really ought to buy a Wii for Excitetruck. Notice how so many consoles sold with Zelda and something else? Almost 75 percent, if I am not mistaken. Excitetruck is not the killer app, Zelda is. Where's the killer app on the PS3 for the holidays?

There isn't one.

So it comes down to 3rd party support, since PS3 fanboys like to pretend Nintendo software has never been a major factor for their hardware, and Sony has historically had a large number of 3rd parties developing for them compared to any other company. Of course, the same fanboys neglect to mention that the majority of the third party titles on Sony systems are complete and utter schlock, outnumbering decent games by some ridiculous ratio.

Sony doesn't have the same 3rd party support they used to. The supposed 'loyalty' shown in the previous generation is a thing of the past. Sony can't throw money away just to keep exclusives, which is why Assassin's Creed is coming to 360, no longer the PS3 exclusive that Sony was saying it was going to be, which is why Squeenix has expressed their plans to take FFXIII across all three major platforms in some way. Which is why companies like EA, notorious for throwing their chips behind one console early on before branching out, are now all over the place, faster than before, because they know something that most fanboys don't.

Loyalty doesn't make you money. Better to show off your stuff everywhere and give people a taste, rather than have people force themselves to buy a specific console for a game.

Sure, there will still be exclusives, but there will be fewer of them. Developers can't afford to stick with ONLY the PS3 or ONLY the 360.

So, with third party support all over the place, with titles on the PS3 that can easily be done elsewhere, and with the system being difficult to find and being overpriced for a format that is already nearly dead in the water, I still have yet to hear from a PS3 fanboy a convincing reason why they are so insistent on throwing their money behind one console.

Sony was not prepared for this launch. They have nothing out the gate that immediately justifies the system's cost save for Blu-Ray, a questionable upgrade at best. They are overextended. They're like a strong boxer who's getting careless around an opponent they perceive to be weak, and now they are eating fists for it. This was not the way to handle the system's development, and this was an inexcusably poor way to try to get 600 bucks out of consumers. Chances are that if Sony really had confidence that they could have maintained their dominance if they gave the PS3 another 6 months or so, they'd have put some more polish on this thing.

The only reason the PS3 came out this year is because Sony believes they can stop losing money and retain their marketshare if they lose just a little bit more for a little bit longer. They're riding a very thin line.

I was going by the website for game releases I've found most accurate: Ebgames.com.

I have never seen EBgames post a release date that then got moved up, seriously games get moved back all the time but never up. So you can pretty much bank on a release date no sooner than what is listed on eb.

A lot of those 360 titles though are listed for 1/1/2007 which is a BS date, anything listed for that date is guranteed to be pushed back its just the date eb uses towards the end of the year when the publisher hasn't provided a real date and they know its not comming out before christmas.

Anyways, after all you Wii guys finish with Zelda enjoy the long wait through March before anything really meaty comes out for the system...and get use to it beacuse thats the way its gonna be for its whole lifespan. I hope you like classic gaming cause your gonna be replaying a lot of those old games while you wait for new Wii titles.

Yes I have a Wii, I got it for the party games, I didn't buy it thinking it could in anyway become my only console. After playing it for a week I can admit to myself that its got some serious control issues (as well as major graphical issues), but could I buy only one console I would be damned dissapointed had I chosen the Wii.

Shagi: you have my pity.

Zebulunite: I really like how you used only links from a site who's name is all about being a fanboy of the device you are defending. It shows SO much unbiased information and is incredibly convincing.....heh.

Shagi: You bought the Wii and complain about the "graphical issues"? You do realize that the Wii never claimed anything as far as graphics goes.
So there are no "good" games all through March? Played Rayman, yet? Excellent game. FarCry is also coming out, and if the control is implemented like CoD3, then I will have a fun time playing that game also. There is also this little gem called Elebits, it looks fantastic. Definitely not a "tired franchise" like you claim in your other post. Now we can argue release dates, but neither of us now when Metroid 3, or Mario Galaxy will be released for sure. But I have also read an earlier launch date and no I don't check ebgames for my launch dates, or anything else.
It sounds like you don't even own a Wii. You bought it for the "party games," what? Wii Sprts? No party games to be seen for a good while. It's ok, you can be the Sony fanboy and not have to pretend to like the Wii. You're probably just bitter cause you can't even buy a PS3. Sony is treating you like the red-headed step child and it seems to be hurting your feelings. Counseling will help.

What makes PS3's lineup so fantastic? All I see are 360 ports and "tired franchises." Motorstorm, VF 5, VT 3? Just because they change Motorxxxx to Motorxxx4, doesn't mean it isn't a "tired franchise." Do you really think those developers are banking on their games to sell on the PS3? Nope, that's why they are being ported from the 360. What's the point to buying a PS3, when you already own all the games on the 360? None. It's not like the graphics look any better.