And this right here is why the PS3 is doing as poorly as it is. Sony gambled its dominance in the video game market on pushing a new home video format, and is losing the former. It remains to be seen if it will benefit the company as a whole.

Exactly. When I think the word "Playstation" I think video games. I do not think movie player. Sure there are some people that buy a PS3 solely for Blu-ray movies, but they are very much in the minority. When Sony decided to make the PS3 more of a movie player than a game machine, it was a HUGE slap in the face to all the previous Playstation owners.

And another thing- what is Sony going to do when there are sub $400 Blu-Ray players and the PS3 is still selling for $500 or $600? That day is rapidly approaching.

They will then say that it's not just a BD player but a gaming system.

I've never been a Playstation fan, but I am about to take the HD TV plunge.

I have the 360 HD add-on, but am thinking about being a dual format adopter.

Any reason to buy a stand-alone BD player instead of the PS3? The possible $100 savings is not a factor, as I'd pay that premium to have the option to someday play PS3 games.

Won't work. Gamers aren't even buying PS3s in the numbers they bought the PS2, let alone casual folks they need to make it a success. Unless Sony drops the price to $299, when a sub $400 Blu-Ray player comes out, the PS3 is done.

That's an interesting theory. Unfortunately, it has zero chance of happening.

The PS3 will be around for a long, long time.

Oh, I have no doubt that Sony will keep it going through sheer force of will.

But don't forget that, for example, both the Saturn and the Dreamcast sold about 10 million units.

Once all the hardcore home theater people and hardcore gamers have a PS3, who will be left to buy it? The mass market will certainly never buy a $500-$600 video game/Blu-ray machine, and if the mass market does not buy, it will die.

The PS3 is not "done" and this is from someone who doesn't really like Sony. At worst, they're "done" for this year: I see them in a non-distant third place this holiday season. People will want to buy either the popular consoles (Wii, 360) or the consoles with the right software coming out this year (360, Wii). The PS3 has no exclusive that is coming at the end of this year that is going to appeal to everyone. The PS2's first holiday season, it had Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, and Madden 2001. That's why it sold millions.

Next year, I see the ship turning around for Sony. A lot of people who are not excited by the PS3 nowadays will make the jump. The console will be at a nicer price ($399), the games will be there, and Sony will pick up some lost ground. By 2009, HDTV penetration will be higher, BD movies will be more plentiful and cheaper ($15 and under), and the PS3 will make more sense.

The problem with this, of course, is that there is a direct correlation between console sales and game development. The PS3 has already lost exclusives, and it's gaining a reputation for being difficult to program for. The games just won't be there.

Plus, the PS2 sold millions because it wasn't ridiculously overpriced. Look at the 360- been out for twelve months longer than the Wii and is still at around 6 million units in the U.S. with the Wii at 3 million in just seven months.

The bottom line- it was too early to foist HD gaming on the masses.

They'll be there. I'm pretty sure the PS3 is doing better against its competitors than the Xbox and Gamecube did against the PS2. As far as exclusivity, that could be a problem. I see Japanese developers jumping onto the Wii or the DS for their games and bigger / more advanced games being released on the 360 and the PS3.

I don't think it's a given that the 360 will be first to 20 million in sales. It's likely the Wii will overtake it. Even if the 360 reaches 20 million with the PS3 hot on its heels, developers will question the install base due to the high number of replaced consoles. I have a hard time seeing a clear winner outside of Nintendo, which sounds shocking.

I've been ready for HD gaming since the last gen!

The very fact that you're posting in this forum would indicate you're not "the masses".

For what it's worth, the PS3 is killing the Xbox360 in Japan, which means that we may continue to see high profile exclusives from Japanese companies (such as Square).

Then again, the GameCube was killing the Xbox in Japan last gen, didn't seem to help much.

Yeah, but they'll also be available on the cheaper 360. And if the install base of the PS3 doesn't get much higher much faster, not many developers are going to bother trying to learn how to take full advantage of the PS3, negating that "advantage".

I have no doubt that the Wii will hit 20 million first, but I'm not sure I see either the 360 or the PS3 reaching that number until well into this gen. It's basically going to be a race to second place, and the 360 is simply in a better position because Microsoft will be able to drop the cost of the 360 lower than the PS3 to spur sales if need be. Also keep in mind Halo 3 in September- the first PS3 system seller won't be coming out until 2008, and it's simply going to be too late.

Despite my jab in the other thread, I don't think the PS3 is dead either, but they definitely have a long hard road ahead for them. I don't see them touching the 360 sales until after Christmas '08, if at all. I think MS's "Perfect Storm" of Halo, GTA and Madden is only going to widen that gap even more, possibly a LOT. Couple that with a possible price drop and you are looking at an un-winnable battle.

As long as MS remains the lead SKU, they will dominate Sony. Publishers will flock to the 360 because that will be their bread and butter. It's cheaper and easier to develop for and will only fuel the continuing the poor port parade. At this point, Sony just has to worry about keeping it's head above the water. I doubt BD will have any affect beyond HT enthusiasts and the early game adopters like taffer said.

Is that any real surprise though? Japanese gamers don't tend to like western developed games and consoles.

Which brings up another point. Sony is getting slaughtered on two fronts. By the Wii at home in Japan and by the 360 in America. Europe is the wild card.

I see them losing there as well. Sony is going to have a tough road, but they look to end up in the Xbox position of last gen and will have to be happy only selling 20-30 million consoles this generation. Again, this is all because of their desire to take the HD movie market so they better hope that ends up covering their lost gaming revenue.

I don't see how it could since the HD movie market is very much a niche market and will probably remain so for several more years at least.

I hope Sony learns their lesson and makes the PS4 a video game machine first and foremost.

I agree. I think both they and Toshiba overestimated consumer interest in HD discs based on the success of DVD. The disc sales are showing pretty clearly that even people with HDTVs are happy with standard DVD.

Anyone counting out sony is just plain silly IMO. MS has no franchise outside of halo that really means much. Sony has lots. Sony also has a very, very long relationship with many of the game companys who have made so much money due to sony in the first place. I think a lot of things will start to change soon after halo 3 comes out. Honestly, 360 is a great unit, but its just a beefier xbox 1 when it comes to its gaming library and its owners. 99% of xbox 360 owners dont even WANT metal gear solid 4, they just want it on the 360 so ps3 doesnt have a selling point to it. Thats the honest truth. Anyhow, once most japanese developers see how poorly japanese styled games sell on the 360, they will not bother and go with the ps3 for their big titles anyway. JMO of course. Ive been gaming for a long time, and i know what kind of gamers go to what kind of system these days. The Xbox owners will never change, and thats how it is.

Your "honest truth" is anything but. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Where do you come up with this shit? So you are basically saying that 99% of Xbox owners are anti-Sony fanboys. I think you have been hanging around GameFAQs too much...

Or with rising development costs, they will most likely make multiplatform games rather than exclusive games. Also, Japanese games are not selling poorly. Dead Rising is one of the hottest 360 games. Lost Planet is fairly popular too.


Again, how do you come up with this shit?