[Dakar V]

I've been considering it. Probably not today, but eventually.

[srfdriver22]

PS3 is on my holiday list. Best blueray player for the price plus games. FarCry 2!

[Brien]

I'll have to wait a bit - need to finish up some other games first - but it looks fun and I'll probably pick it up next time I'm downtown.

[ajprice]

Anyone getting Midnight Club LA? I liked MC3 when I had my PS2, and Need for Speed games haven't been up to much (well, ProStreet wasn't, but I'm holding out hope that Undercover might be better)

MC:LA

[zerock]

Originally Posted by mdc 

Is anyone planning on getting Fable 2 today?
I enjoyed the first one and will be buying this one today.

i got it, yesterday... and i must say it's amazing.. it makes me like my 360 more.. i was actually more of a ps3 fan, but i'm even thinking of switching some of my multi-platform pre-orders to the xbox...

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

Anyone getting Midnight Club LA? I liked MC3 when I had my PS2, and Need for Speed games haven't been up to much (well, ProStreet wasn't, but I'm holding out hope that Undercover might be better)

MC:LA

Been thinking about this one, too, same reasons. I figured I'd wait for the reviews.

It wouldn't hurt if we could get a little bit of a consensus on a racing game purchase around here, for online reasons.

[ajprice]

Well I'm now a PSWii60 owner , got a PS3 at the weekend by trading in old games, phone, iSight and iPods, and paid nothing for an 80gig PS3 with 3 games and a Blu-ray (Burnout Paradise, Saints Row 2, Untold Legend, and Transformers movie 2 disc), also bought Motorstorm and GT5P preowned. Most of saturday was spent watching progress bars for updates, downloads and installs, but Sunday was fun! .

[Peter]

does anyone know if LBP supports multiple local players? I assume it does.

[43skidoo]

Wii owner, and occasional player. I've kind of lost interest in it lately, though.

[Rumor]

I am working on selling my Wii to buy a 360. The Wii is fun, but the friend code thing is horrible. I would rather have Live.

[Peter]

Live is the best online experience, Steam could be a close second with some more polish

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

I am working on selling my Wii to buy a 360. The Wii is fun, but the friend code thing is horrible. I would rather have Live.

It's about damn time.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Peter 

does anyone know if LBP supports multiple local players? I assume it does.

Yes, it does. You can have your other players select an account to pull their characters from on your PS3 (so their stuff is saved) or they can be a guest. I imagine if your other players have accounts on your PS3, when they are logged in, you can choose your account when in LBP so you can also keep your own stuff.

[mattyb]

IMHO, the Xbox pwns at the moment. SO many good games for it : Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 make it worth the purchase alone. I so glad that I didn't splash out on a PC for gaming. Best bit of business I've done in a while was selling the Wii and the games that I had for it.

EDIT : OK the GoW2 matchmaking needs work, hopefully a patch will sort out the long waits.

[jokell82]

FYI - the 360 is best for third party developer sales:
http://tinyurl.com/588hv6

Not that this should come as a surprise to anyone...

[ajprice]

Just realised that the NXE interface is released on Wednesday! 2 mpre days of blades and thats it.. Mii's and Coverflow for the win! .

I am looking forward to it though, if slightly peeved that they are adding the lower res 16:10 resolutions, but not 1920x1200.

[Dakar V]

Netflix streaming here I come.

[jokell82]

The NXE is fantastic. So much quicker than the previous interface. And the avatars are cool, if a bit limited right now.

[Dakar V]

...did they release it early, or do you have "connections"?

[ajprice]

I'm guessing he was accepted onto the NXE Preview Program - http://majornelson.com/archive/2008/...w-program.aspx

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

I'm guessing he was accepted onto the NXE Preview Program - http://majornelson.com/archive/2008/...w-program.aspx

Yep - I got in on the last wave of the beta. Only issue that I'm having is doing a private chat between myself and someone with the old interface is very garbled. But no issues chatting in game or with anyone with the NXE.

[Dakar V]

Nice. I'm a little curious about the Dashboard party system, but by the same token, I'm not sure I see a time where I'll actually use it.

[ajprice]

Playstation Home launched on December 11th (thats tomorrow!)
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/10/p...n-11-december/

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

Playstation Home launched on December 11th (thats tomorrow!)
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/10/p...n-11-december/

Friend of mine is in the beta and he says it's the most useless experience he's ever been a part of. Looks like a Second Life knockoff to me...

[Hawkeye_a]

November 2008 NPD

Wii 2.04M
DS 1.57M
Xbox 360 836k
PSP 421k
Playstation 3 378k
Playstation 2 206k

Link

<edit>

Commentary:
-The PS3 was the only home console to see a decline year-on-year, despite having Resistance 2, Little Big Planet and BioShock come out recently.
-The XB360 doubled year-on-year.... the price drop to $199 and games (Gears of War 2, Fable 2) obviously helped.
-Wii sold more than double the XB360, despite not being the lowest priced home console on sale.
-Software: 2 for the PS3, 3 for the XB360 and 5 for the Wii in the top 10.

Most surprising:
-Little Big Planet was not the 'system seller' most expected it to be. (I didnt think it would be cause it looks way too complicated). it didnt even make the top 10, and Wii Music did (which is kinda disturbing).
-Despite being the cheapest home console with a major system upgrade that makes it more Wii-like(avatars) than ever(at least in the general public's eye), the XB360 could not even sell half as many Wiis in the same timeframe. (I thought XB360 sales would be much closer to Wii this month given it's price point).

Cheers

[Dakar V]

I don't see the system positions changing over the rest of this generation (barring Japan completely skewing the numbers with their practically xenophobic loyalty to Sony).

MS has done all the right moves lately, but I think Nintendo will continue their sales lead over them simply by having increased their production now, which is hilarious, really.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

November 2008 NPD

Wii 2.04M
DS 1.57M
Xbox 360 836k
PSP 421k
Playstation 3 378k
Playstation 2 206k

Link

<edit>

Commentary:
-The PS3 was the only home console to see a decline year-on-year, despite having Resistance 2, Little Big Planet and BioShock come out recently.
-The XB360 doubled year-on-year.... the price drop to $199 and games (Gears of War 2, Fable 2) obviously helped.
-Wii sold more than double the XB360, despite not being the lowest priced home console on sale.
-Software: 2 for the PS3, 3 for the XB360 and 5 for the Wii in the top 10.

Most surprising:
-Little Big Planet was not the 'system seller' most expected it to be. (I didnt think it would be cause it looks way too complicated). it didnt even make the top 10, and Wii Music did (which is kinda disturbing).
-Despite being the cheapest home console with a major system upgrade that makes it more Wii-like(avatars) than ever(at least in the general public's eye), the XB360 could not even sell half as many Wiis in the same timeframe. (I thought XB360 sales would be much closer to Wii this month given it's price point).

Cheers

I think the only people who were saying LBP would be a system seller were desperate fanboys. The game looked good, but it relies too heavily on user created content. And that simply does not sell games.

I was on the fence about buying it, and the beta sealed the deal for me - didn't waste my time with it.

And the only thing "Wii-like" about the 360 update was the addition of avatars. And that happened in the middle of November with no advertising push behind it. I'm not sure why you thought that would affect sales. More than likely it won't start moving consoles (if it every actually does) until you can actually *do* something with those avatars. Right now they're just boring.

And I highly doubt anyone buys a system for the avatars. They buy them for the games.

[Stogieman]

"And I highly doubt anyone buys a system for the avatars. They buy them for the games."

I'm curious. What system selling game has been released for the Wii in the past 6 months?

[slugslugslug]

^ Wii Sports.

(I suppose it's possible Wii Fit moves systems too; the point is, I think people buy the Wii for the cool controller and the idea that it has fun casual games)

[Dakar V]

In the past 6 months?

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by slugslugslug 

^ Wii Sports.

(I suppose it's possible Wii Fit moves systems too; the point is, I think people buy the Wii for the cool controller and the idea that it has fun casual games)

Yep. I would say the Wii doesn't follow the standard console sales pattern. It has struck a chord and will simply sell no matter what games come out until it completely plateaus.

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Yep. I would say the Wii doesn't follow the standard console sales pattern.

Makes sense, as it doesn't sell to the standard console gamer either.

[slugslugslug]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

In the past 6 months?

Oh, right. The reading comprehension, I lack it today. Good excuse to put down the scientific journals and go home to play videogames.

[angelmb]

Well, Animal Crossing City Folk is rather addictive.

[Brien]

Eh, I don't know. It looks like a rehash of the first 3 games. Not that I'm surprised, it looks like the Wii version is a port of the DS version of new features, while the DS version was a port of the GCN version with new features, and the GCN version was a port of the original N64 game, with new features.

That being said, at least the DS version offered something worth buying, with the online play and new clothing/items. It looks to me like they just threw all the stuff from the DS and Wii version into a new 'city' area and added voice chat. Woo-freaking-hoo.

You would think they'd have updated the graphics or something, considering they've got quite a bit more storage to work with. Whatever.

Ps - Just think what will happen when/if Nintendo price-drops the Wii in a year or two.

[Mac User #001]

Gears of War 3 will see a release on the Wii?

[Hawkeye_a]

I'm actually shocked at Sony's performance after winning the HD-DVD/BR-DVD battle. And apparently it's gotten some quality core titles in the past 6 months. I mean seeing a year-on-year decline after just 2 years, while the competitors each post gains, despite selling the box at a considerable loss is.... well....dar i say.... very similar to SEGA during the DC days.

Personally, i dont see myself going "HD" anytime soon just cause DVDs suffice just fine for now. But i really think Sony is doing a terrible job of advertising the value of BR as something needed under every Christmas tree.... either that or the public doesnt see the point of going HD now either?

[angelmb]

I don't have an answer mainly cause I still fail to see the appeal of HD, not saying it is pointless, cause we all kind of suspect the successor to Wi shall support HD and every Nintendo fan shall embrace it, right?. What I mean is that I truly welcome my HD computer display cause I hugely benefice from it, but when it comes to movies or any other stuff, well, in all honest I just don't need it. Anyway, I have no idea what the PS3 (or SONY) is waiting for, and given the new shocking low XB360 price (cheaper than the PSP) well, it just doesn't look good for SONY since the PS3 could be SCE's lost generation.

[exca1ibur]

HD isn't the factor, the bottom line is the price of the system compared to everyone else. That's the number one factor right now. HD gaming has to scale with the HDTV market as a whole, so thats a long term factor. Most people aren't going to buy a TV and a console at the same time so anyone expecting a ton of Bluray/HD-DVD/PS3s to happen over a short time just based on that, is fooling themselves. HD as a whole is going to be a gradual process because you will need a new TV.

If the PS3 was the same price as the 360 at least a year ago, this would be a much tighter race. With the economy in the toilet, not many can justify the price based on what they offer compared to the 360. Their marketing has sucked the entire life of the system, no doubt. There is no chance of winning this generation, all they can hope to do is just be around and hold ground this generation. If the price doesn't match the 360 soon it's all downhill on sales compared to the other big two. The ONLY way they are going to gain ground is lower the price. They have to make a decision between short term profit or a long term profit via more market share with licensing of software. The big factor though is with all the developers and companies being bought out and going under, the economy has hurt them as well a lot harder than Microsoft or Nintendo.

[Dakar V]

I had a discussion about this with a coworker yesterday. We came to the conclusion that if the PS3 were the same price as the 360, but didn't have Blu-Ray, it'd be selling even worse. Not many people are buying it for the games.

Oh, and for a fun stroll down memory lane, check out all the great games that came out for the PS2 in 2001. No wonder that thing sold like mad.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

I had a discussion about this with a coworker yesterday. We came to the conclusion that if the PS3 were the same price as the 360, but didn't have Blu-Ray, it'd be selling even worse. Not many people are buying it for the games.

Oh, and for a fun stroll down memory lane, check out all the great games that came out for the PS2 in 2001. No wonder that thing sold like mad.

I agree with that, to a point. More systems + More developers = More games, earliest in the life cycle as possible. I feel the hard drive is the death of console gaming. Once you give the console TOO much to do besides gaming, the focus shifts and the confusion kicks in... (unless you market it well). Hence the order of success... Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony.

The PS2 was marketed as a gaming platform #1 that played DVDs #2. PS3 was marketed as the top Blu ray player out, then a gaming platform. Now that Blu ray has won and they are firmly in third place the focus is trying to shift. Gaming delays didn't help much either. If the system was marketed as a gaming system first and the price was at least within $50 or so of everyone else at launch, they would be fine as far as sales numbers and market share. As far as profit loss its hard to say, because we dont really know how much of a hit they take per system, but with more marketshare and sales, if might offset to a point. (just guessing there). But with more systems out there you have more options, than you do now at least.

- I think I got my PS2 in the second or third year it was out. They had so much stuff out at that time it took a year or two just to catch up for me.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Makes sense, as it doesn't sell to the standard console gamer either.

Whatever that is.

Perhaps one should re-evaluate what "standard console gamer" means, given that in the month of November, the Wii held nearly 2/3rds of the entire console market. IOW, it sold almost double of the 360 and PS3 combined.

[Hawkeye_a]

While price is a factor, i dont think it's the only factor contributing to poor PS3 sales. If Sony cant lower the price, it should look into mitigating the other factors that effect sales. I would assume that the PS3 would do better in the marketplace if...

-Th PS2 has been, in my opinion, cannibalizing PS3 sales. Sony should have included backwards compatibility from day 1 and discontinued PS2 sales(not support just console sales). IMO, the PS2 was the best thing Sony had going for it when it introduced the PS3, it's a shame they didn't capitalize on it.

-Bells and whistles should have been minimal from the get go. they really shot themselves in the foot by announcing, x controller support, y USB ports, z HDMI ports, etc, etc.... its focus should have been.... BR-DVD, Cell, HDMI. adding stuff later on if needed, not taking stuff out. And possibly making a HDD optional for media capabilities if the end user wants it like with the XB360. Thus no games should have required a HDD.

-Way, way way too many SKUs. I consider myself tech savvy and even i dont know what the different SKUs are capable of. Thats why people get into console gaming imo, keeping it simple. Scare them off and they'll go elsewhere.
-It is my opinion that the bulk of PS2 owners are "casual" gamers. Sony, being so tech focused when introducing the PS3 alienated them imo.

-BR-DVD won. use it to boost PS3 sales, price other stand alone BR-DVD players appropriately so people dont see much of a difference in price if they step upto the PS3.

-Focus. Why waste time and resources on 'Home' and PS3-PSP connectivity ? the later being a mistake they could have learned from Nintendo's last generation of devices. While MGS4, GTA4, Uncharted, R&C, Fallout are good games for gamers, there isnt a single game in the PS3's library that resonates with gamers of ALL demographics. They were hoping LBP would be, but apparently it isnt, they got way too ambitious and the game got way too complex imo.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Makes sense, as it doesn't sell to the standard console gamer either.

As I've told people from the start: The Wii is a completely different category. It doesn't even make sense putting it up against the Xbox and the PS3.

Especially arguing about it. But I guess that's what the internet is for…

[sek929]

The numbers mean nothing to me.

I have three friends with Wiis and ALL 3 OF THEM regret buying it. Why? The hardware sucks, there's no games, no interconnectivity with media stored on computers, and flaky motion controls. In fact, the motion controls kinda suck balls, a lot. No wonder they had to release and add-on to fix it.

This isn't my opinion, this is the observation of three Wii owners over the last year. I can't think of a single person I know that regrets buying their 360, despite usually having to get them replaced.

The Wii selling the most consoles is meaningless, Hannah Montana sells more music than <insert your favorite band here>, it doesn't make her the best, it makes her marketing genius. The Wiis marketing was genius, if only they applied the same thinking to their console they'd be golden.

Cue attack from Nintendo lovers, because we all know that the dozen Mario games available for the Wii really make it the stronger system.

[ort888]

I am a lifelong Nintendo fanboy who grew up with the company... and I freaking hate everything about the Wii. It's the worst console I have ever owned.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

While price is a factor, i dont think it's the only factor contributing to poor PS3 sales. If Sony cant lower the price, it should look into mitigating the other factors that effect sales. I would assume that the PS3 would do better in the marketplace if...

I agree with you but I think that is the major factor, at this point.

-Th PS2 has been, in my opinion, cannibalizing PS3 sales. Sony should have included backwards compatibility from day 1 and discontinued PS2 sales(not support just console sales). IMO, the PS2 was the best thing Sony had going for it when it introduced the PS3, it's a shame they didn't capitalize on it.

Yeah but the price point would have had to have been a LOT lower. Imagine the heat they would have taken if the PS2 @ $129, was killed and the only option for PS2 games was the backward compatibility of the PS3 at $599 starting at launch. That would have been suicide.

-Bells and whistles should have been minimal from the get go. they really shot themselves in the foot by announcing, x controller support, y USB ports, z HDMI ports, etc, etc.... its focus should have been.... BR-DVD, Cell, HDMI. adding stuff later on if needed, not taking stuff out. And possibly making a HDD optional for media capabilities if the end user wants it like with the XB360. Thus no games should have required a HDD.

I agree here. I personally would have killed the HDD and used SD cards for saves. Cheaper for everyone in the long run. HDD optional for saves, media, and/or DLC.

-Way, way way too many SKUs. I consider myself tech savvy and even i dont know what the different SKUs are capable of. Thats why people get into console gaming imo, keeping it simple. Scare them off and they'll go elsewhere.
-It is my opinion that the bulk of PS2 owners are "casual" gamers. Sony, being so tech focused when introducing the PS3 alienated them imo.

There should be on model only and just let the consumer upgrade to a bigger drive if they want in the future. It uses standard 2.5 SATA drives. They could have had one system to market the entire life span.

-Focus. Why waste time and resources on 'Home' and PS3-PSP connectivity ? the later being a mistake they could have learned from Nintendo's last generation of devices. While MGS4, GTA4, Uncharted, R&C, Fallout are good games for gamers, there isnt a single game in the PS3's library that resonates with gamers of ALL demographics. They were hoping LBP would be, but apparently it isnt, they got way too ambitious and the game got way too complex imo.

Yeah, in the past they had more third parties to fill the void though. This time with companies dying and getting bought out. It's a little bit of a different situation. They have to do a lot of that stuff from a first party perspective so that is going to be a tough battle. Rachet and Clank, Daxter are about the only ones that stand out first party I can think of, but they don't get much marketing out there as these bigger AAA titles which are their real target market. Sony and Microsoft are so concerned with each other, that's how Nintendo passed then both, I agree. Someone read the Art of War and put it into the marketing plan at Nintendo.

Originally Posted by ort888 

I am a lifelong Nintendo fanboy who grew up with the company... and I freaking hate everything about the Wii. It's the worst console I have ever owned.

Yeah, they lost me as a customer after the SNES.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by ort888 

I am a lifelong Nintendo fanboy who grew up with the company... and I freaking hate everything about the Wii. It's the worst console I have ever owned.

Same here, I even loved the GC (despite the funky controller).

The Wii lost its' charm after about the 30th game of Wii bowling I played.

[jokell82]

I loved the GC controller. So comfortable. Wavebird + Metroid = Awesome.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

As I've told people from the start: The Wii is a completely different category. It doesn't even make sense putting it up against the Xbox and the PS3.

I love how people keep saying this, cuz I don't really understand why.

It's a console, and it plays games. Ironically, the Wii is the most game-oriented on the bunch. At the other extreme is the PS3 which does everything except iron your clothes... and has a pricetag to match.