Here's the article that shows why the next gen of consoles is still dominated by Microsoft.
http://www.majornelson.com/2005/05/20/xbox-360-vs-ps3-part-1-of-4/ And to further push the Xbox 360, a very detailed comment posted at the end of the article posted above:
Source:
http://www.majornelson.com/2005/05/20/xbox-360-vs-ps3-part-4-of-4
"PKG Says:
As it currently stands the PS3 is vaporware and there are many things that point to this as being potentially true.
1. The console does not have the Sony aesthetic quality to it. The design of the console displayed at E3 is a behemoth, so large in fact it is either the size of XBOX 1 or larger. Viewing pictures of the Sony executive holding up the PS 3 over his head show that the console is about 1 1/2 times the size of the mans head; quite large.
The Japanese market made such a fuss about the XBOX 1 size to make it a point that the XBOX 1 was so large and unpleasant looking that it would both not fit in their apartments and they would not be caught having such an atrocity in their household. Will the Japanese market be so forgiving to allow Sony’s 1980 retro ColecoVision clone of a console into their households? Possibly the Japanese will buy larger apartments? Only time will tell.
In response: Sony has a great hype department that they can make dog droppings the next big thing that people will want; and the PS3 isn’t that far from it. Thus even if the quality of the console remains the same there will be apologists rampant on the internet and throughout news media clamoring how the design is beautiful, innovative and some may even go to the point of saying is ‘sexy’ but speaking in lower tones how truly disgusting it is.
2. The controller which is reminiscent of a boomerang is going to be both very difficult to use and is also very aesthetically disgusting; also not up to Sony’s typical hardware standards. The controller shown also appears to be much larger than the XBOX 1 ‘duke’ controller.
Again the Japanese market made a fuss about the controller size for the XBOX 1. Articles were written around the world to note how individuals from the East have smaller hands and thus will not be able to manipulate the XBOX controller. Now Sony is expecting their core audience at home to use their ‘innovative’ approach of a gaming pad. Possibly the Japanese will begin to take human growth protein to grow larger hands? Unlikely but they may adapt to the boomerang, I mean controller.
In response: Sony may be realizing a trend in gaming. Segments of the Japanese gaming development studios (Tecmo, Sega) have went on public record noting how the gaming market in Japan has been growing smaller and smaller; while the markets in the West have grown exponentially. It may very well Sony has designed this controller with the American and European market in mind. Yet the controller is ugly no matter how you look at it.
Possibly it is boomerang shaped for when you throw the controller at the screen the controller returns to you? This probably will become more apparent when angry consumers play Killzone 2 and find the graphics aren’t as good as hyped?
3. Ahhh the good old KillZone 2 video and the online chatter it has started. You hear die-hard XBOX gamers world wide proclaim ‘If the XBOX 360 does not have graphics like this f**k Microsoft and I’ll go buy a PS3'. Obviously if these graphics are the reality of in-game play we can only drool and be happy gaming has gotten to this level. After all we all want to play the best looking and fun games no matter what system it is on, only with competition will companies innovate and the consumer will benefit.
The facts are at a 3.2 GHz chip it is UNLIKELY we are going to get such realistic games played in real-time. Yes we will get nice movie sequences that look this great but in-game play? I for one say NO; this is not in-game play footage and IGN on the record states the equivalent:
Is the Killzone sequence a fair example of what people can expect from realtime gameplay on PlayStation 3?
Yeah, it’s basically a representation of the look and feel of the game we’re trying to make.
The keyword being representation, not what the game will truly look like. Hopefully Guerilla puts out a great game with exceptional graphics. But what was shown at E3 was intentionally deceptive to say the least. Microsoft very well could have released all game sequences as well but they THANKFULLY choose the high road.
IGN goes on to say:
There you have it! IGN believes, overwhelmingly, that the video is a fake. That’s where we stand. Prove us wrong, Guerilla. Prove us wrong.
ps3.ign.com/articles/616/616591p1.html
Response: Sony never claimed that what was shown at E3 was in-game play however we all were expecting it and maybe the closet Sony fan boy in all of us really wanted those video segments to be the reality we all wish for.
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Okay so where exactly am I going with all of this you ask yourselves? Basically Sony’s next console titled the ‘Playstation 3' is still in the imaginative stages at Sony’s Japanese headquarters. Sony recognized Microsoft was going to blow the roof off at E3 and at the MTV launch event, and knew they could not let Microsoft have such a head start launching their console without throwing a monkey wrench into Microsoft’s game.
Looking at the console Sony produced it looks very much like a prototype. The back of the console only confirms this more so with the numerous ports available. All hardware manufacturers recognize making hardware less complicated makes it easier for the consumer to adopt and use their product. The reason Sony put out a console with so many ports was to WOW the crowd and show how their console was capable of being an all-in-one type device, thus not only being compatible with many media formats but appearing to be more capable than the XBOX 360. Sony even went to the point of stressing their console is an all-in-one media device by including an SD memory card slot (which by the way competes with their memory stick product line). What all of these design choices show is that the console looks very rushed and not very well planned; the basic concept here was to show off as many capabilities their console may have and compare it to what the XBOX 360 will not have.
Looking at the controller we see this also looks very much like a prototype or a very bad 3rd party gaming pad. Why would Sony put out such a controller you may ask and not just a rehashed dual shock? It may very well be Sony wanted people to feel that this console and controller is ’something new’, and rehashing old concepts does not give the impression of new and innovative. But this approach makes the controller appear as if there was LITTLE TO NO research and development, quality and testing, as well as consumer feedback put into this controller design. Sony could not come to E3 showing a brand new console and an old controller, especially if Microsoft’s controller is revamped to be wireless and has new functionality.
The Killzone 2 as well as the rest of the games shown at E3 from Sony (except for a few notable titles) were all video sequences and not in-game play. Sony was intentionally being deceptive here to try to WOW the crowd. Any console can show movie sequences and show off the movie like capabilities of a console, but that is not the true representation that gamers will see 99% of the time while playing games.
All of this points to Sony rushing to come up with something to answer to Microsoft’s XBOX 360. Sony was caught with their pants down late in the game, they have had MORE time than Microsoft to come up with a replacement for their console, yet they choose to sit at the top relaxing rather than innovating.
Sony was nervous, and in the past few months decided to manufacture a console out of thin air, manufacturer system specs and manufacture video game footage to wow the crowds at E3 and it has worked. The Sony hype machine is now in full force and hopes to destroy Microsoft’s XBOX 360 as they did with Sega’s Dreamcast early launch. The difference here is Microsoft is committed to throw BILLIONS at the XBOX and it’s future.
What remains is what Sony will change in their final console design. Now that Sony released the system specs can they really meet them at an affordable consumer price? Blu-ray is an expensive, untested and risky gamble; not to mention the disc’s are going to be expensive to manufacture. Will publishers charge more for games on PS3 due to the higher cost of blu-ray disc reproduction? How will Sony subsidize the blu-ray reproduction market for publishers?
Sony is trying as hard as possible to play catch-up, what they released at E3 in regards to system specs, console design, controller design and non-playable demos is not so important for them; everything is marked as not being final and potentially being changed. They needed a delay tactic as fast as possible and instead of innovating for the past few months spent valuable time to come up with a gimmick to deceive the gaming industry.
Sony showed absolutely NOTHING of the Playstation 3 user interface, how gamers will interact, how these media capabilities can be used, no online capabilities, and no playable demos of the PS 3 for people to try; on the other hand Microsoft showed most of their console. The fact remains Sony has had years to develop a new console well before Microsoft yet they only show us flashy videos and incomplete hardware that doesn’t even boot up.
Sony right now has hype and are hoping it is enough to sustain them past the XBOX 360 launch. As of right now the PS 3 is Junk Vaporware. Sony’s history shows they have hyped previous consoles before and it wouldn’t be surprising with the PS 3.
Hopefully this time around the PS 3 truly can power nuclear missiles."