[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

I have to admit that i am VERY VERY disappointed with third party "support" for the Wii, which has so far produced crappy-PS2-production values (even for PS2 games)..... that i have no desire to invest $50 in. there arer a few exception.... RayMan and Red Steel come to mind...but the rest just seem like filler crap.

I take it you don't have Super Monkey Ball?

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Little Big Planet! Yeah it does look pretty fun there for sure.
GameTrailers.com - LittleBigPlanet (Playstation 3) - Media, News, Reviews, Previews

All I could think of was: "How much easier would this be to control with a Wiimote?" *sigh*

Graphics probably would be a lot crappier though

[icruise]

Easier with a wiimote? How so?

[Peter]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

I have to admit that i am VERY VERY disappointed with third party "support" for the Wii, which has so far produced crappy-PS2-production values (even for PS2 games)..... that i have no desire to invest $50 in. there arer a few exception.... RayMan and Red Steel come to mind...but the rest just seem like filler crap.

Nintendo consoles are always like this...

[zro]

No, they aren't.

Or weren't, I should say.

[icruise]

Since the Nintendo 64, it's been pretty much like this.

[Hawkeye_a]

Well look at that CoD3, GodFather(not released yet), Scarface, etc....these games look subpar to even first gen GameCube productions, just cause they are "lazy"-ports of PS2 games. My recommendatiion to publishers....either go the distance and make quality titles, or dont bother. Id rather they release 1 great must have title than 20 crappy PS2 ports. They seem to be doing what Eisner did with Disney, and i dont like it one bit. I would have picked up Sonic if it wasnt for that horrible arabian nights theme they had going....it was like Sonic meets Prince of Persia !! cheesey.

I love the Wii, Twlight Princess' visuals were very acceptable to me, the gameplay is just entertaining and fun....but it looks like the third parties are more focused on $$$ than they are on quality. Unlike Nintendo which seems to keep both ofthose factors in balance rather well with their hardware/software.

[ort888]

If the Wii keeps selling like it has been, the 3rd parties will come back.

Did everyone see the NPD numbers for February? The PS3 got outsold 2:1 by the 360. That is crazy! It even got outsold by the Gameboy Advance.

Nintendo DS 485,149
Wii 335,324
PlayStation 2 295,102
Xbox 360 228,225
PlayStation Portable 175,651
Game Boy Advance 135,887
PlayStation 3 127,321
GameCube 23,844
Xbox 480

[icruise]

Those aren't very good PS3 numbers, but it doesn't make much sense to make a big deal out of the GBA outselling the PS3. Not only is it several orders of magnitude cheaper, the GBA is a also consistently high seller -- in November it sold 641,000 units, outselling the Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3 (the latter two having just launched) and only barely being beaten out by the PS2, which sold 664,000 units.

December was even better, with the GBA selling 850,700 units!

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by ort888 

If the Wii keeps selling like it has been, the 3rd parties will come back.

Did everyone see the NPD numbers for February? The PS3 got outsold 2:1 by the 360. That is crazy! It even got outsold by the Gameboy Advance.

Nintendo DS 485,149
Wii 335,324
PlayStation 2 295,102
Xbox 360 228,225
PlayStation Portable 175,651
Game Boy Advance 135,887
PlayStation 3 127,321
GameCube 23,844
Xbox 480

Also worth mentioning is that Sony, just last month, said that it was shipping close to 100k units per week to retailers. Assuming all the numbers we have are true, i dont think the PS3's problem is a supply issue any more.

[goMac]

Ooooo, I'm excited, Katamari Damacy is no longer a Sony exclusive and is being released for all consoles in October (Wii in November):
Orange Lounge Radio - Beautiful Katamari rolling onto the PS3 & XBOX 360 in October, Wii in November

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

Also worth mentioning is that Sony, just last month, said that it was shipping close to 100k units per week to retailers. Assuming all the numbers we have are true, i dont think the PS3's problem is a supply issue any more.

I don't think there has been a supply issue for the PS3 since around Christmas. Starting January every Target, Best Buy, Walmart, etc that I went into (Looking for a Wii) had plenty of PS3s on hand. If Sony has upped the rate of shipment retailers may run out of shelf space for the consoles.

[ort888]

Playstation 3's have been available everywhere since late December. Sony just keeps putting out press releases to try and cover this up.

I see PS3's in every store I go to. I have yet to see a single Wii on the shelves.


Penny Arcade! - We Accept Paypal And Most Major Credit Cards

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Playstation 3's have been available everywhere since late December. Sony just keeps putting out press releases to try and cover this up.

I see PS3's in every store I go to. I have yet to see a single Wii on the shelves.


Penny Arcade! - We Accept Paypal And Most Major Credit Cards

Don't forget the PS3 still is NOT a global market machine either.

I've yet to see a Wii since it was release and to this day have never even seen a game on it, because no one even demos the damn thing. Just a video demo playing over and over.

[angelmb]

Didn't notice this until today… another HUGE miss for PS3, Formula 1 is anymore a SONY exclusive.

February 27th 2007 - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced the loss of the Formula 1 license to rival developers EA Sports. EA, known for their series of sports games that include the FIFA and Madden series, has previously had half of the Formula 1 license in a shared deal with the FIA and Sony in 2000 and 2001, but showed no interest in renewing the deal. However, starting with F1 2007 this November, EA have announced a 'much needed revitilization' into the series. EA Sports have become notoriously acclaimed for their series of sports games, ranging from Golf to American Football. F1 2007 is expected in all major gaming outlets worldwide on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii this November.

[icruise]

LOL at "notoriously acclaimed."

I guess maybe F1 racing is popular in Europe, but it isn't a big deal in the US is it? I admit I don't follow racing of any kind.

[ort888]

Devil May Cry 4 is no longer a PS3 exclusive either. Also, the Ace Combat series has switched from a Sony exclusive to a Microsoft exclusive.

[pyrite]

devil may cry 4 is a huge loss for sony... and yes, F1 has a huge following, not so much in numbers as in loyalty. if a GOOD F1 simulator is released, you can rest assured every F1 fan on the planet will own it. and it will sway those buyers in their decision to purchase 360/PS3.
F1 may not have the hard numbers in the US, but most fans of F1 are hardcore fans, and will be hanging for the next game to come out (myself included). there hasn't been a great console F1 game since Formula 1 '99 on PSOne in my opinion (grand prix challenge on PS2 was quite good).

[pyrite]

ace combat has switched to M$??? ooooohhh sweett!!!!!!

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by pyrite 

devil may cry 4 is a huge loss for sony... and yes, F1 has a huge following, not so much in numbers as in loyalty. if a GOOD F1 simulator is released, you can rest assured every F1 fan on the planet will own it. and it will sway those buyers in their decision to purchase 360/PS3.
F1 may not have the hard numbers in the US, but most fans of F1 are hardcore fans, and will be hanging for the next game to come out (myself included). there hasn't been a great console F1 game since Formula 1 '99 on PSOne in my opinion (grand prix challenge on PS2 was quite good).

Big deal. Its all numbers. They don't have the user base for exclusive third party titles. I'm surprised it took Capcom this long. Why would they make an exclusive AAA title for 2 million users, when between the other 2 there are close to 15 million users. There is no loyalty in the gaming industry, never was. There loyalty to the PS2 was a market of selling to 100 million users. Its all money and numbers, period. There will be VERY few third party exclusives this generation, due to costs of development now, so most AAA third party titles are going to be multi-platform. The only exclusives that are guaranteed are first party, thats it. Give it a year and you'll see Final Fantasy on the XBox360 as well. If you are looking to buy a console this generation on third party exclusives you will be very disappointed.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Give it a year and you'll see Final Fantasy on the XBox360 as well. If you are looking to buy a console this generation on third party exclusives you will be very disappointed.

You really think so? For this one franchise at least, I would hope Sony would be smart enough to compensate Square Enix for whatever they might lose by keeping it a PS3 exclusive.

[pyrite]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Big deal. Its all numbers. They don't have the user base for exclusive third party titles. I'm surprised it took Capcom this long. Why would they make an exclusive AAA title for 2 million users, when between the other 2 there are close to 15 million users. There is no loyalty in the gaming industry, never was. There loyalty to the PS2 was a market of selling to 100 million users. Its all money and numbers, period. There will be VERY few third party exclusives this generation, due to costs of development now, so most AAA third party titles are going to be multi-platform. The only exclusives that are guaranteed are first party, thats it. Give it a year and you'll see Final Fantasy on the XBox360 as well. If you are looking to buy a console this generation on third party exclusives you will be very disappointed.

i wasn't talking about loyalty in the gaming industry, i was talking about F1 fans' loyalty to the SPORT i'm the least loyal of them all in terms of gaming, i've always just gone with whatever i've liked in each console generation

[exca1ibur]

My fault, pyrite. This generation it pretty crazy thus far. I'm never got a change to watch or get into F1 much, but I have to admit the game is pretty fun though. I think any fan of F1 will like it.

Yeah, icruise. I think unless they get to a good market share by the end of the year, they will move the franchise. Metal Gear Solid, might also, but since its not due anytime soon there is plenty of time for them to get more marketshare. Time will tell. I think the European launch will give the biggest foresight.

Everyone seems to be trying to offset their cost of development this generation. More so the third parties. What I'm curious about is since Capcom is going to go multi-platform, does that mean Lost Planet and Dead Rising will be multi-platform, as well, or it is just for future games. They never said specifically.

[pyrite]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Big deal. Its all numbers. They don't have the user base for exclusive third party titles. I'm surprised it took Capcom this long. Why would they make an exclusive AAA title for 2 million users, when between the other 2 there are close to 15 million users. There is no loyalty in the gaming industry, never was. There loyalty to the PS2 was a market of selling to 100 million users. Its all money and numbers, period. There will be VERY few third party exclusives this generation, due to costs of development now, so most AAA third party titles are going to be multi-platform. The only exclusives that are guaranteed are first party, thats it. Give it a year and you'll see Final Fantasy on the XBox360 as well. If you are looking to buy a console this generation on third party exclusives you will be very disappointed.

...i'm not so sure i completely agree with your theory on third party exclusives. i think the reason we're seeing a shift to multi-platform at the moment is because the PS3 user base is too small to merit exclusives FOR NOW, and 360 is gaining popularity. only my opinion, but i think it will settle, after developers have decided which camp they want to stick with...
having said that, i think there will always be heaps of multiplatform games, but smart developers will often still opt for a single system so they can pour all their resources into making it rock solid on that particular system. i'm sure you'll agree that most of the absolute greatest console games ever have been exclusive to one particular system, as the devs get a chance to optimize it for the particular hardware they're working with. i hope i'm right, coz the history of multi-platform hasn't been too hot in general

[exca1ibur]

I agree with you totally, that most multi-platform games blow, due to them pretty much just being 'ports'. The exclusives without a doubt are better because they take advantage of THAT system as much as they can.

[pyrite]

for sure... the one trend that really bothers me is that next-gen games are getting so expensive to develop that only the large developers can afford to create most of them, and many of those large developers are way too interested in money to NOT go multi-platform. EA are clearly the whores of multi-platform, but since they publish the Burnout series, i'm prepared to forgive a few transgressions

[Kent]

My roommate in college stole my first playstation.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Kent 

My roommate in college stole my first playstation.

See ? thats why u dont buy a playstation !!! serves you right.

[Naplander]

Bring on Friday!

Finally I can put my Sony Bravia HD TV to good use!

(PS3 Europe launch)

[Kent]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

See ? thats why u dont buy a playstation !!! serves you right.

It wasn't worth it anyways. It needed to be fixed and it was his problem then.

[pyrite]

Originally Posted by Naplander 

Bring on Friday!

Finally I can put my Sony Bravia HD TV to good use!

(PS3 Europe launch)

you could have put your Sony Bravia HD TV to good use over a year ago by plugging a 360 into it

(i did)

[TETENAL]

Apparently the Europe launch was today.


Ritasu Thomas – UK PS3 customer #1


Bastian Schiwiola – Germany PS3 customer #1


Arash Nahjavi – Sweden PS3 customer #1

[Dakar²]

Do you know how many they launched with in Europe?

[- - e r i k - -]

Crowds go mild at PlayStation launch:

The launch of Sony's PlayStation 3 games console got off to a feeble start last night with officials, media and security outnumbering customers for most of the evening.

Over 500 retailers around the country threw open their doors as the clock struck 12:00am, expecting the frenzy that accompanied the games console's overseas debuts.

But most stores were virtually deserted, despite the 20,000 pre-orders Sony said it had received.

At midnight, about 40 PS3 buyers had arrived to collect their consoles, causing distress for the army of camera crews who turned up expecting to capture launch mayhem.

Desperate producers unashamedly asked the crowd to fake excitement when the cameras were rolling, while a team from 2Day FM let out bogus cheers to convince their radio listeners that a launch extravaganza was underway.

Crowds go mild at PlayStation launch - Games - Technology - theage.com.au

*snort*

[Dakar²]

I guess the next chapter won't be told till GT5 & GTA4 is sitting on shelves.

[TETENAL]

So I have just seen one live for the first time. They are not sold out, so if somebody camped to get one:
They had Formula 1 running. It's basically the exact same game as the PS2 version with better graphics. So the fun factor should be about the same. The graphics are visibly better than the PS2 version but not mind blowing.
The design of the device looks very nice in reality. It's not like Apple's simplistic designs; it's another design approach, but still looks very good imo.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by icruise 

You really think so? For this one franchise at least, I would hope Sony would be smart enough to compensate Square Enix for whatever they might lose by keeping it a PS3 exclusive.

Rumors have been widely circulated that Microsoft is trying very hard to get FFXIII to the 360.

[pyrite]

yeah and if they pay enough money for it, they'll probably get it, too.
The australian launch for PS3 was laughable. people dont seem to fall for that marketing crap here. they've had demo PS3 units in our major electronics and games retailers like JB HiFi and Electronics Boutique for weeks and in general people have been saying 'it's nice, but it's no better than a 360'.. i don't think we'll find many aussies rushing out paying launch price for it unless blu-ray absolutely concretes itself in peoples' minds as the must-have next-gen format very quickly.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by pyrite 

yeah and if they pay enough money for it, they'll probably get it, too.
The australian launch for PS3 was laughable. people dont seem to fall for that marketing crap here. they've had demo PS3 units in our major electronics and games retailers like JB HiFi and Electronics Boutique for weeks and in general people have been saying 'it's nice, but it's no better than a 360'.. i don't think we'll find many aussies rushing out paying launch price for it unless blu-ray absolutely concretes itself in peoples' minds as the must-have next-gen format very quickly.

Might explain the australian launch here.
Over $20 million of PlayStation 3 hardware pre-ordered - PlayStation 3 News - Australia's PAL Gaming Network

Also if the european deal they had was the deal here, I sure as hell would have camped out at launch.
PS3 finally hits UK shelves - PlayStation 3 News at GameSpot

[- - e r i k - -]

My friend had one on pre-order, but decided to forfeit it when he realised he really couldn't afford it at this stage in his life.

I mean seriously. How bad is it when a game console is seen as investment and not a commodity?

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Might explain the australian launch here.
Over $20 million of PlayStation 3 hardware pre-ordered - PlayStation 3 News - Australia's PAL Gaming Network]

What does it explain? It says nothing more than the article I posted above:

But most stores were virtually deserted, despite the 20,000 pre-orders Sony said it had received.

.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Also if the european deal they had was the deal here, I sure as hell would have camped out at launch.
PS3 finally hits UK shelves - PlayStation 3 News at GameSpot

What European deal? That they gave out HDTVs to people who camped out at one store in London? If anything that will just piss off everyone who didn't camp out at that store.

But hey, good on the people there.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

What European deal? That they gave out HDTVs to people who camped out at one store in London? If anything that will just piss off everyone who didn't camp out at that store.

But hey, good on the people there.

Don't get your panties in a bunch. Thats all I said. Geez.

[- - e r i k - -]

That's not what you said. You said European deal, implying that it was a widespread thing.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

That's not what you said. You said European deal, implying that it was a widespread thing.

Which is why I gave an article for THAT deal. Typical Internet miscommunication. Moving on...

[icruise]

The PS3 is totally kicking ass at Folding@Home. At the moment, it's got nearly twice the performance of all other computers combined (and that's only 19,000 or so PS3s versus 200,000 computer CPUs).

Folding@Home

[goMac]

Originally Posted by icruise 

The PS3 is totally kicking ass at Folding@Home. At the moment, it's got nearly twice the performance of all other computers combined (and that's only 19,000 or so PS3s versus 200,000 computer CPUs).

Folding@Home

The PS3 can't compute the complex datasets, so it's a bunk comparison:
http://forum.folding-community.org/ftopic18763.html

The GPU clients for computers should show the same numbers.

[icruise]

I don't understand what you're talking about, and that link doesn't shed any light on the subject.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by icruise 

I don't understand what you're talking about, and that link doesn't shed any light on the subject.

The Cell doesn't work like a desktop processor, so they're running the GPU based client on the PS3. The problem is the GPU client can't process complex units. So you're comparing how many simple units a PS3 can compute vs. a computer that's processing more complex data.

It's like comparing Quake 1's framerate on a Pentium 3 vs. Quake 4's framerate on a Pentium 4. It's a poor comparison for what the Cell can accomplish.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by goMac 

It's like comparing Quake 1's framerate on a Pentium 3 vs. Quake 4's framerate on a Pentium 4. It's a poor comparison for what the Cell can accomplish.

That's not a good metaphor, though, because the Pentium 4 will run Quake 1 faster than the Pentium 3, while the PS3 is in fact much faster than the PC *when doing the same work.* But I will grant you that the PC and PS3 are doing different things.