Sunday Thoughts: 19/10/08
Sony's terrible week of misfortune, shitty luck and Xbox 360s.Published 19/10/2008 at 8:25 by nofi
Sunday Thoughts: 21/03/10 [12]
Sunday Thoughts: 07/03/10 [72]
Sunday Thoughts: 28/02/10 [18]
It’s not been a good week, Sony, huh?
When your competition is going all guns blazing with the New Xbox Experience, alongside Avatars and public, 3D meeting spaces, your loyal fanbase is surely hoping that Home is going to beat it to the post. It’s not, of course – there’s more chance of sun in Glasgow than Home releasing before the NXE. For some reason Home has taken about 12 months more than it should have done and it’s still not ready, and now Microsoft have beaten to you it – in precisely one month 360 owners will be able to create their own 3D avatars and bumble about, meet up and chat, all behind a beautiful new Dashboard. And then there’s the fantastic Xbox customer service too – bought a cheaper 360? No problem, they’ll help you out. Bought a cheaper PS3? Ah well, too bad.
Then we’ve got the games. This is probably less directly Sony’s fault, but we all now know that Silent Hill is delayed over here, but there’s a real chance that Sony’s about to lose it’s other major Konami title, Metal Gear Solid, or at least its exclusivity. Naturally Kojima only want to maximise sales, but, you know, if there were a few more PS3s out there then they’d no doubt feel a little less obligued to whore Snake out to the competition, and thus create yet another reason not to invest in a PS3 for its exclusive games. What do we have left from third parties, I’m struggling to think? Sure, our first party line-up is wonderful, but sadly it’s not the Uncharteds and the Ratchets that sell consoles, it’s the stuff everybody knows about, and the less said about third party TV advertising the better.
But our PSN is holding up, right? There’s new stuff coming down the pipes all the time now, and there are the odd exclusive (albeit a timed one) just waiting to pop onto our European Store, but why are we still left behind in terms of who-gets-what? I don’t want to sound like a stuck record, but when the 360 gets a game on a Wednesday, the whole World gets it (give or take) so I know that when Age of Booty lands on the Xbox, I can safely assume I’ll be able to buy it. Not only does the damned game get delayed for the PS3 en masse, but chances are when it does arrive on the US Store it’ll be another 6 months before we see it here in Europe. And don’t get me started on the Beta crap – if you’ve got something to show us, show us, and stop with the pretence that you actually give a shit what we think of your single-level demo.
Speaking of Betas and delays – apparently LBP is delayed. When we were running nofilter we had a story on the ending of the original Saints Row, and because we were the first on the web it became a major traffic pull for the site. Well, it looks like the same is happening with the LBP delay. I’ll keep my own personal thoughts to myself on the whole situation, suffice to say that once again the thoughts of a few have influenced the happiness of many. The original thread is still there, although it’s locked at the time of writing, and it’s clear that not all Muslims feel the same way - the music track was never meant to offend, and to our understanding it’s from a Muslim artist. Go figure. Go create. Oh, wait, you can’t, because every single fucking copy is being recalled around the World at massive expense while Media Molecule create a new master and get the copy machine fired up.
Still, column inches is column inches, right? Well, then you’ve got Sony changing the T&Cs of how your user created content works, the first news of the 360’s GTA IV content, and the results of the Xbox’s price cut over in America having real World results on the sales figures. Last time we checked the PS3’s being outsold in Japan, too. Japan. Sony, this isn’t working. Whatever you’re doing, change it back. Sure, the good games are starting to come in, but remind us what you’ve got that’s exclusive for the rest of the year, please, apart from LittleBigPlanet. Bioshock’s a wonderful game, but it’s 12 months old, and better on the 360. Spending effort and money on Linger in Shadows doesn’t count either, it was a waste of time when your competition is releasing things like Rez HD and Duke Nukem – proper downloadable games. Still, there’s always this, yeah?
I’m trying to think of the bright side, here, but I can’t. I think the LittleBigPlanet situation has brought a massive cloud over the whole week, and I’m only seeing negatives (and that’s as someone with the full game in his hands waiting for the online servers to kick in). The constant teasing of Home isn’t working, people are bored, and all we’ve got left to shout about once Sackboy stumbles over the line is Resistance 2 and Motorstorm 2, neither of which are going to turn the situation around. So, 2009, that’s the year of the PS3 then after all. Roll on Killzone 2. Me? I’ve just bought a 360.
Comments
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DJ Judas | 19/10/2008 16:20
Epic
515 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I lvoe my PS3 (not literally) I think it’s great, I use it all the time, play it watch it, listen to it but I still feel that it’s a total let down. Not only this, I feel that this whole generation of consoles are a let down.
Taken completely at face value the 360 seems brilliant, great games, great online and it just works (well 70% of them do). But I don’t use or enjoy mine. It makes too much noise and I hate the sort of company Microsoft is and has proved itself to be: Using biceps made of dollar-signs they’ve muscled their way into the console world and are the quintessential all-American company with their dog-eat-dog, lack of business etiquette, consumer snow-blanketting techniques that unfortunately the rest of the world is buying into.
Lose a team doubles match on Halo 3 and the smack-talk session that spews from the winners post-match completely sums up why I dislike the 360. The games are great, the experience…..not so much.
The Wii is also brilliant, everyone says how great it is; including me. But aside from gatherings and randomly passing time with friends and family it just can’t hold my attention in a single player context for more than an hour. Even the awesome S-Mario Galaxy couldn’t and having owned mine for nearly 2 years it only gets turned on when the mates are round.
Finally my PS3, as I’ve said I think it’s great, but it’s just so disappointing. My opinion is that Sony just can’t justify spending money on advertising, nor can they trump MS when it comes to keeping their exclusives. Sony are a huge, ridiculously wealthy corporation, but they do not have limitless funds. Losing out on PSP and PS3 for years without seeing any come-back WILL have taken it’s toll and no matter how enthusiastic the presentation is trying to persuade share-holders to release more funds for advertising it’s just not justifyable and they cannot compete with MS.
Sony are sailing on nothing more than loyalty at the moment and it’s fast wearing thin. What more evidence do Sony need of this than a high-profile, non-profit website echoing this very thought?
kellyonline | 19/10/2008 16:35
Member
329 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I’ll tell you what I do understand, that Sony need to start advertising the hell out of the thing, and quick.
Those current 360 ‘head’ adverts might be annoying, but at least they give visibility to Microsoft product and enlighten undecided users as to what the Xbox actually does.
Another example is the Far Cry 2 campaign. Using a review from an Xbox magazine only re-enforces that the product is available on the 360, and oh yeah, the PS3 if you look quick enough.
I wasn’t for one second suggesting that TSA is going anywhere, I f**king love this site and it is the only site I visit on a daily basis, hour by hour. Long may you continue, for your honesty and entertaining articles if nothing else.
I’m just getting sick of having to justify why I brought a PS3 all of the time, it’s a brilliant machine capable of greatness, so why don’t Sony want to tell the world?
As I said in my previous comments, history has shown us that there is always a fight on, but it’s unrealistic to ask people to continue to stay loyal if all we get given is disappointment and delays.
I agree totally with Dafro1989, this is not helping one bit.
Now, can someone please pop round to my house and finish Resistance for me? When did games get so hard?!
Metalgsean | 19/10/2008 18:39
Member
1 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
Hard?My only 1 true problem with next gen games is how short they are,im luckey if it takes me more than 2 or 3 days to finish a game, hell i got Bioshock on Friday and by the looks of things im right around the corner from the finish. MGS4 16hrs, Resistance was about two days, Uncharted a day or two. Now before you say your playing them on easy, I always start on medium, and then move to hard which I find takes about the same time to finish, give or take an hour or two. Dont get me wrong, i fully enjoyed all the games, and played most of them again and again, I just feel that games used to be bigger and tougher (maybe ive just got better), anyone else feel the same? And its not just PS3, i played GoW at my mates and did it in 4 hours (which annoyed him as he couldnt finish it lol!)
kellyonline | 20/10/2008 08:38
Member
329 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I agree, they are too short.
And hard.
Like a midget Ross Kemp.
stefhutch20 | 19/10/2008 17:12
Member
371 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
lol about Resistance – I got it on launch day and only completed it a few months ago.
cc_star | 19/10/2008 19:01
Team TSA: Writer
7874 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
I have an even bleaker view from the ‘inside’ at Europe’s largest videogame retailer… It won’t make pleasant reading, but PS3 game sales are rare to say the least in comparison to all other formats (Wii, 360, DS, PSP & PS2)
During a week on the shop floor, I have seen every console sold (360, DS & PSP in abundance) except one, and no prizes for guessing which console I haven’t seen sold
GamerRiley | 19/10/2008 20:34
Member
327 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
Hey cc I shop at “Europes largest videogame retailer” but I do so online so you won’t see me there!
montage | 19/10/2008 19:52
Member
12 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
As tempting as I find the 360’s lineup, there’s no way in the world you’ll get me to buy buy hardware that unreliable.
To be fair, thie entire generation’s a waste of money.
GamerRiley | 19/10/2008 20:42
Member
327 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
Hey guys reading through this seems you’ve all got a bit of a downer on at the moment. So what if LBP has been delayed for a few weeks, does it really matter? Like I’ve said in a previous post, it will still be here before Christmas, and that’s what really counts. So will Home and then at the begining of 2009 we’ve got the mighty Killzone 2 to come. Cheer up folks things are starting to look rosey!
Vinegar Joe | 19/10/2008 21:30
Member
0 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, eh?
I have both a 360 and PS3 and play both in roughly equal measure. Although the PS3 has a fair amount of catching up to do overall, this year wasn’t exactly vintage for either console.
For every Halo 3 (actually 2007…), Braid and Gears of War 2 you have an MGS4, Wipeout or LBP on the PS3. I challenge anyone to look at this year’s line-up for both consoles and say that the 360’s is far superior. It’s just not. If anything it’s the other way around.
I agree Sony have messed it up in terms of pricing and marketing (and will suffer for it), but for me 2008 has not been a let-down (maybe because my expectations were a little more realistic, though). There have even been a few nice surprises such as Siren and Valkyria Chronicles which I really didn’t expect. Granted, they’re not exactly AAA titles yet they’re still decent exclusives.
The news about LBP has been blown out of all proportion. Losing Tekken 6 and FF XIII were much more damaging to Sony in my eyes. LBP will still be released soon, it’s still got fantastic reviews and still not on Xbox.
Mick939 | 20/10/2008 00:32
Member
895 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
…Surely Silent hill 5 delay works to our favour, i have it i’ve finished it i’ve loved it, why?
Because i have a ps3 and its region free, had i had a 360 i couldn’t of played it.
Mick939 | 20/10/2008 00:33
Member
895 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Oh and sorry to double post but you think all this has brought your week donw, spare a thought for me, my launch day ps3 went down the shitter this week …
Shadow0410 | 20/10/2008 02:34
Member
68 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
I own both the PS3 and the 360 however, even though I have the option to play both I always find myself lured more towards the black box over the white lump.
I am on my 7th 360 now the red ring of death used to haunt me whenever I played Halo 3 or Gears online and it always happened at the worst possible times. So far my PS3 has had no issues what so ever, the console is far better made and tons more solid than the 360 ever will be. I am sorry but someone slotting together a 360 like a piece of Lego somewhere in Mongolia doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
I would like to say here I am not a fanboy what so ever and I do feel both consoles have alot to offer but the gap between the two is getting smaller and continues to do so every time the PS3 is updated. At least I can feel safe knowing I can play my PS3 for marathon sessions without it just dying mid game.
People need to remember the 360 has been around alot longer than the PS3 now and it has an already established fanbase, when all is said and done the PS3 has only just started to walk so please don’t ask it to run before it is capable of doing so. Good things can, will and are happening for the PS3 but if people just keep focussing on the negative stuff then what chance does Sony have of making that black box something truly special like we all know it is.
Patience is a virtue my friends, use it well.
Morphine | 20/10/2008 02:40
Member
0 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
One thing we are forgetting is that Micro$oft ha$ more money$$$$$$
clank250 | 20/10/2008 05:48
Member
649 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
The xbox is getting all of this shit because there are WAY more people with a xbox then thre are for the ps3, so people go for the system which will for sure prevail in the market for money for the product. Yes Microsoft has more money but it’s because they made something that has benifitted society. DAMN YOU WINDOWS! I’m guessing that almost everyone is running off of windows whihc jus tgives Microsoft more money to help their 360 to beat the PS3. Sony just has huge over priced TV’s, over priced fancy HD players, and an over priced system which leads people to say that more people have 360’s more of their friends have 360’s and it’s a cheap system.
The people who have both of the systems (sorry wii but nobody likes you) also say that the controller has i’s issues of not being fitted to a hand. I’ve grown up with the Playstation controller ever since I was three, with my beatiful PS1 (I still have it!) and that’s why I don’t have a problem with the controller, but the people who have 360’s argue that their controller is almighty and awesome but some of the buttons just don’t make sense with me. When my friend says “HIT X GOD DAMNIT! YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!!!!” I naturally press the button that feels right to me, I press A or whatever it is and I die and my friend freaks out.
So really the xbox has a lot of things going for it and that’s why people in Japan are buyig more 360’s than their true native system (again sorry wii nobody likes you) the PS3.
Also with the LBP situation it seems that EB Games (the Canadian equal of Gamestop) is giving out a costume pack instead of just Kratos. It comes with Kratos, Medusa and the Minotaur costumes as well as a sticker pack of these characters.
This is the American TV ad for the pack,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATnpmQwghRA&feature=related
Dafro1989 | 20/10/2008 13:15
Member
629 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
One thing that really annoys me is the 360 being the ‘cheaper’ console. My ass is it. And I know this for fact, as I’ve been tempted to buy one lately.
Just for comparisons sake lets take the 80GB PS3 (which is to become the ‘lower’, standard model) price and a 60GB Xbox price (comparing the Arcade Console doesn’t count, it may only be £130 but it’s got no hard drive, which you WILL need eventually).
game.co.uk:
Xbox 360 Pro with Pro Evo 2009 – £179.99
PS3 80GB with Pro Evo 2009 – £309.99
ZOMG you say? that’s £130 difference.
Now lets see where it gets interesting.
Xbox LIVE Subscription – £40.00
Xbox charge and play kit (unless you have UNLIMITED batteries) – £14.99
Xbox Wireless Bridge – £54.99
That’s £110 in accessories. For me, and many others I’d imagine, those accessories would be a necessity.
PSN Subscription – £0
PS3 Mini USB Charge Cable £0 (one in the box)
PS3 Wireless Capability – £0
£20 difference. That’s all folks. Not to mention that the PS3 is a Blu-Ray player (it’s an under used format, but it still has it built in should you want to) too. 20GB bigger hard drive as well.
Oh, and lest we forget, that LIVE subscription is a year only, so next year, you’ll be charged again. It’s a cheap service (lil over £3 a month), but it’s not free.
So the PS3 is more expensive – but not by much, and you get more memory and a blu-ray player chucked in for £20.
seedaripper1973 | 21/10/2008 13:44
Member
1730 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
where do i sign up???
Eldave0 | 21/10/2008 16:49
Member
60 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
i see your point but for someone like me who is moving into a house with no phone line and intead wants a console just to play every now and then the 360 is 100% the right move in my opinion.
i sold my ps3 this week and picked up everything i needed to get going for 130 quid (xbox 360 arcade + memory unit + saints row 2).
people in that sort of situation where they just want a console to play games with their mates will always go for that option considering the price and the fact the games come out first for the 360 usually.
Metalgsean | 20/10/2008 14:48
Member
1 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
I finished Bioshock yesterday, the last guy was a piece of piss< it would have been harder if you had to fight a big daddy lol! I only had to use 2 health packs! Loved the game but was a bit dissapointed that you cant carry adam over when you start a new game, ah well.