Noonan

It does and is able to pass the signal through HDMI. It does not work with optical or RCA's.

Krayzie

Virtua Fighter 5 isn't really a PS3 exclusive as it is coming out for the 360.

darkside

Yes it does. The cell is able to decode the SACDs and output them as PCM over HDMI. There is some debate whether or not the decoding done by the PS3 is as good as other high end SACD players, but to my ears it sounds very good.

ScandalUMD

The Playstation 3 is not "a bust." The Playstation is still the Playstation, and there's no reason to write it off. It's a big part of Sony's business, and Sony is going to back it.

No matter how well Nintendo sells, a Nintendo system is going to remain primarily a platform for Nintendo software. There will be more third party support for Wii than there was for Gamecube, because the Wii will command a larger market, and because Wii games are less expensive to develop than PS3 software. That makes PS3 the default top system for Japanese developed third party AAA software.

That means, if you like Japanese fighting games or Japanese RPGs, PS3 is going to be the place to get them. But they're more likely to eventually end up on Xbox, like VF5, whereas last generation, Sony could keep Final Fantasy exclusive.

We're also going to have to see what Sony can develop internally for PS3. Sony never had a brand-identified character, like Mario or Master Chief, and it's never been their strategy to drive the platform with first-party software. That will be difficult for them, coming from a weak position in the market.

However, the perception of a botched launch is really just a matter of the "hardcore" gamers not warming to the platform because it was expensive, and didn't have the launch software to back it. One good "must play" exclusive will probably dislodge their wallets.

darkside

I think it will only be a bust when compared to the PS2. Like other people have posted I see the Wii, 360 and PS3 sharing a pretty equal piece of the pie by the time this round of console wars is over. The Wii is off to the fast start, but as time goes by I'm betting the PS3 slowly starts to gain on it and the 360.

No one likes to mention it, but the Wii software lineup is terrible overall and Wii control has yet to establish itself as superior or even preferable to standard control schemes on the average game. Nintendo could be stuck in a position where they again have to carry the entire console with 1st party titles and eventually the PS3 will be the console with the strongest overall mix of 1st and 3rd party games. Microsoft doesn't have the Japenese support to make it a better choice over the PS3 in the long run. It does have Halo though and that will be its ace in the hole for this holiday season.

Really when you look at it, all three have built up 1st party titles that now make all three pretty desirable.

Josh H

Yeah, and IMO it sucks because in terms of exclusives NONE of the three are really worth owning.

At least for me.

It's tough to swallow $250 for the Wii to play Nintendo games, $400 for the 360 to play a couple games a year that interest me (like Gears, Halo 3, Mass Effect etc.) or $600 for a PS3 to just play some of their first party stuff (Ratchet, Sly etc.) and Japanese RPGs.

Of course there are 3rd party games, but it looks like those offerings will be identical on the PS3 and 360, so there's not much incentive for most to drop $1000 on both of them--so in the end gamers who aren't loaded just have to choose to miss out on one systems exclusives.

The Wii is kind of it's own animal. It's a must buy for whores for Nintendo's games like me, and will appeal to casual gamers with the pick up and play stuff like Wiisports, but I don't see the third party support matching that on the 360 or PS3 in terms of AAA games.

Ocelot

^___^
Well said DarkSide...

But the PS3 is a PS2, so for those gamers with dying PS2, PS3 is one option (unlike the Xbox gamers). Unit-wsie, the PS3 needs more time (come on now, the PS2 is out there for a long times!).

Another factor to my overall PS3 experience is that, i got my PS3 for $410 (60 gb), two controllers and Genji. So, with that actual price i paid, what to *itch about? I'm playing Resistance, Ps2 games, BRs and dvds. Not to mention it will upscale dvds soon! Oh yeah, having it hooked to the PSP, priceless... Now, can you do that with the Wii and DS?

Josh H

Soon, Pokemon (next week or two) will be the first game to offer connectivity and apparently more features are coming then or soon there after.

Ocelot

In case you're wondering whether i scalped to get my PS3 and Wii, no, i didn't, i joined CAG and there are ways you can get things cheap, just be smart

p.s. my Wii is $170... almost the price i paid for my PSP. Yeah, i'm bragging again

Canis Firebrand

See, $400 I'd jump on a PS3. But $600 is more then I would pay. There aren't any games that I have to have to make me purchase one now. And I don't honestly know if there are games in the future that will make me purchase.

I bought a PS2 much later in its life for Final Fantasy X and then Kingdom Hearts.

tpc

I think anyone wanting to call it a bust is being very premature. It's definitely stumbled, coming out of the blocks... but I certainly wouldn't sound the death knell yet.

There's a strong online desire to see the established leader fail. I don't entirely understand the "always root for the underdog" mentality, but I would argue that it definitely exists.

I Personally can't see buying a PS3 at a 600 dollar price tag. I don't own an HDTV yet, but plan to in the next 6 months. Then, I see it becoming more tempting.

I enjoy my 360 and think it will serve my HD gaming needs when they exist for the next year or so.

Add that to a huge back catalog of PS2 games I still want to get to: Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, The Jak and Daxter Series, Ratchet and Clank series, and more... and it's not a pressing need for me.

If my PS2 gives out, then maybe it's something I'd consider, but probably not until it hits a $400 price point.

Drexl

Yeah, I know. I meant exclusive as of now.

What I was really talking about WRT Japanese-developed games were the more Japanese-like games such as the RPGs. Lost Planet and Dead Rising are geared towards the American market. We'll see if they make more games for the American market this time around, but I can't help but think they'll want to do things for Japan as well.

slop101

I'm sorry, I pretty much agree with everything you wrote, but I have to point out that if there was a gap between the PS1 and the N64, it was that the N64 had one over the PS1. While the PS1 had more space on it's discs than N64's cartridge for things like video and sound (even though Res.Evil2 took 2 PS1 discs vs. 1 cartridge for the N64), the N64 had a much more powerful processor for games like Goldeneye and Mario64, which could NOT be done on the PS1.

Groucho

But because the PS1 had the CD, they could include beautiful pre-rendered cutscenes, which were of course then used to advertise the game as if the cutscenes represented actual gameplay.

Noonan

And don't forget the even more beautiful FMV cutscenes a la Resident Evil 1.

fumanstan

I'd saying calling it a "bust" is akin to calling certain movies a "bomb" when the word disappointment is probably more fitting. Like King Kong or Superman Returns.

DodgingCars

Disappointment in sales or product? Both of those movies got good reviews and did really well financially: $390m worldwide for Superman and $549m for King Kong.

Josh H

Sales, while those are big numbers people were expecting more, especially in the US box office.

So The PS3 is similar in that it's not a bust as it's moving similar numbers as the 360 over the same time period from launch, but its disappointing as people were expecting it to kill just like the PS2 did.

fumanstan

I was thinking mostly sales when I made the comment, but come to think of it, i'd probably say in terms of product as well. Clearly there were quite a few vocal complaints about both movies, in relation to higher expectations of box office take in the US that it failed to meet. Superman Returns in particular.

hdtv00

NDP numbers for February

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

DodgingCars

Crazy how well PS2 is selling. I'm suprised that Xbox 360 is still outselling the PS3 in Feb as well.

mr.snowmizer

How can one be surprised?

Just take at look at software selection and price. Those two factors alone more than justify a 65/35 split, in that direction, for those two machines.

DarthMarino

It's almost insane that Gameboy advance is outselling the Playstation 3.

Chris_D

Onwards and upwards for the DS.

NitroJMS

From what I've seen at my store, it's mostly the over-30 crowd who is buying it purely on the Sony name, and hillbillies who don't do any research on what to buy.