Monday, November 13, 2006

CNN on Japanese PS3 launch and console war



CNN ran the following item on the Japanese PlayStation3 launch.

Please note: This is a clean-feed version (i.e. without supers). Interviewees are Paul Constantine (the customer) and Hirokazu Hamamura from Famitsu publisher Enterbrain. Atika Shubert reports.





Here are some interesting quotes from the above package:

IT'S COLD, RAINY AND VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING. BUT THAT HASN'T STOPPED MORE THAN A THOUSAND GAMERS FROM COMING OUT TO BUY THIS: THE PLAYSTATION 3. THIS SCENE IS BEING REPEATED AT ELECTRONIC STORES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. BUT WILL THIS BE ENOUGH TO PICK SONY OUT OF ITS SLUMP?

AN EDGY AD CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN DRUMMING UP EXCITEMENT FOR WEEKS ... AFTER MONTHS OF DELAYS FOR THE PS 3 DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS AND PRICING CONCERNS. IT'S NOT CHEAP. SIX-HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE 60 GIGABYTE GAME CONSOLE. AROUND 90 BUCKS FOR EACH GAME. BUYERS CAN EASILY SPEND MORE THAN 1000 DOLLARS. SONY SAYS IT'S MORE THAN A GAME CONSOLE: IT'S AN ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. (...)

THE COMPETITION HAS A HEADSTART. MICROSOFT'S XBOX 360 HAS BEEN ON THE SHELVES FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND COSTS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS. YET, IT STILL GETS REGULARLY OUTSOLD BY PLAYSTATION.

THE SURPRISE WINNER MAY BE NINTENDO'S WII - A REVOLUTIONARY GAME CONTROLLER THAT ALLOWS PLAYERS TO PHYSICALLY ACT OUT THEIR FANTASIES - WHETHER ITS TENNIS AT WIMBLEDON OR SWASHBUCKLING ACROSS AN IMAGINARY KINGDOM. AT LITTLE MORE THAN 200 DOLLARS IT'S A MUCH CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE - DUE FOR RELEASE IN JUST A FEW WEEKS.

CNN´s online coverage has also been outspokenly critical of the PS3:

Tatsuya Mizuno, analyst for Fitch Ratings in Tokyo, believes it will be hard for Sony to maintain the 70 percent market share domination it has built with previous PlayStation consoles, and Sony will likely lose some of that market to rivals, especially Nintendo. Sony has sold more than 200 million PlayStation series machines over the years.
Source: CNN

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here are some questions for potential interview partners:

Red Steel team :

Is Wii more powerful than the original Xbox?


What tricks has Hollywood up its sleeve ?


Did you try to get the most out of Wii with Red Steel ?


Is there still some room for improvement ?


Is Wii capable of normal mapping?


Does Wii feature shaders ?



Why is 1 to 1 movement not possible on Wii ?


Will you continue to work on Wii in the future ?


Why did you choose the U2 engine and not 3 ?


Why does Far Cry Vengance look worse than its Xbox iteration ?



Will you put more effort into future Wii titles as far as the graphical presentation is concerned?



How come that there are no Wii titles that surpass the standard that RE4 set 2 years ago on a system not as capable as Wii ?


Is it due to the learning curve requiered in order to come to terms with the new controll method?




-IALS

Anonymous said...

NEW IALS IGN TOPIC IS UP.

Its called :

"The problem with Zeldas graphics"

50 posts and counting...


http://boards.ign.com/nintendo_wii_

lobby/b8270/131135647/p1/



Feel free to participate in the discussion.



-IALS

Anonymous said...

IALS -
Why are all your questions focused only on graphics?

Do you judge movies based on how many explosions it has or the story?

Do you judge a book based on it's cover?

Have you even tried the Wii-mote or are you basing your opinions on the comments of people who have?

Have you ever played any sprite based games where gameplay is the focus and not graphics?

- Joe

Anonymous said...

I have never played Wii in my entire life.
Thus all I can do is judge Wii based on the visual impression I have through screenshots and videos.

It wouldn't be fair to make comments on anything else as long as I haven't played Wii myself.



-IALS

Anonymous said...

As a note that more relevant to the original blog post. I saw a TV ad for the Wii today in the UK.

The add started off with the Word Wii on the screen. Then it faded away to the Wiimote on its own and a voice said something like "What is it?" The a hand faded in holding the Wiimote (the controller hadnt moved) with the wrist strap. Then it Faded to the words Wii and 08/12/06 on the screen (as well as nintendo and all the copyright crap on the bottom).

The art style was the same as the TGS05 video of the controller coming out of that white liquid looking stuff.

Anonymous said...

People are complaining about Wii graphics now, I wonder how Nintendo will survive 5 years with such awful grphics !? I'm a nintendo fan, I was devastated inside when I saw gears of war, OMG look at those grafix, awsome !!, I use to say that about my GCN , N64, SNES and now I'll have to suck it up, I'm buying a Wii to play zelda TP , period, I'm affraid i will sell it right after I finish the game, and buy a 360, sadly nintendo is no longer for me.

2:12 PM

Anonymous said...

WHERE IS THE REVOLUTION ? all I see is a GCN 1.5 with a new controller and the best launch game , and probably the only game worth buying for a long long time is a GCN port , is this a a revolution I don't think so, it's Wii !!!!! the name is a perfect fir for teh system, and I say it again , THE NAME STILL STUPID !

Anonymous said...

It still surprises me that some people see wii in such a light. Why are you all judgeing wii on it graphical capabilities? Anonymous said..."WHERE IS THE REVOLUTION ? all I see is a GCN 1.5 with a new controller"

You really dont see it because its not a visual upgrade as such, its a serious gameplay upgrade. Do you really think that the PS3 and 360 are that great with there three generation old controllers? Seriosly, for consoles that are soo advance you would think there controllers would move with the times.

If graphics are that important too you as a gamer and you feel its the vital part of a game then im afraid you need a pc. Not something that will stay the same for 5 years. And I know wii is included to that but when you get used to the visual flair 360 and PS3 bring your left with a PS1/PS2 and a x-box, dreamcast, N64, NES, SNES ETC...Shouldnt we be exploring that vast BLUE OCEAN???

Shouldnt we all try wii out and not judge it as the ugly child???

Wii is more powerfull than GC, but I expect that developers are spending that development time on the controls rather than visuals...after all look at the games being made on PS3 and 360 there controls are still not perfect and they have been working with basicly the same controller for well over 10 years!!!

And for the miss-guided individual that is getting a wii for twilight princess only to sell it after its completed you seriously will regret it. Ive played wii and its soo amazing you wont think wow look at the graphics. You wont think at all, you'll be sucked into the wii's gameplay that much.

Anonymous said...

Wiimote price...

Why does everyone argue about the price of wii's remote and nun-chuck? Granted its more than any control device gone before as far as my memory serves? But then isnt the PS3 and 360 controllers over priced too? I thought the more a product is made and the more technology advances hardware that has been around for this long goes wayy down in price?

Anonymous said...

after reading all the winging i forgot what the post was about.
oh thats right, i think all the people waiting 2 gt the ps3 probably dont no all the crap thats been gong wrong with sony

Anonymous said...

cut the crap

all three next gen consoles will suck in one way. ps3 and x360 are basiclly THE SAME as ps2 and xbox, just with better graphics. wii is a updated cube with new controller (i dont't care if there is different tehnology in it, on TV it looks the same as cube to me). it would be nice if we could merge ps3 graphics, x360 live feature and wii's controller into ONE system. BUT WE CAN'T!!!!

if your'e relly nuts to buy a $600 system, then go for it, i know i won't. that's just ridicilous, $600 for a video game system?? get a life. AND i have to spend extra cca. $2000-4000 for HDTV just to be able to see that HD graphics. I'm pretty sure that ps3 hooked up on regular TV WILL LOOK like RE4!! I'm not spending $600 on that!

i'll be happy with wii if it can make re4 x1.5. it's not the wii's fault if developers are lazy to make good graphics. just look at mario galaxy and mp3. they are slightly better that gc's prequels and i am just fine with that. i love gc's graphics. i can sell my gc for $50 and buy a wii- all my gc games and controllers will work and i have a brand new system with cool controller.

and twilight princess's graphics- IT'S A GAMECUBE GAME!! NOT A WII!! IT JUST FEATURES WII CONTROLLER; THAT'S IT!!! GET OVER IT!! it looks GREAT on gc, not as RE4, but still great.

sorry for my english

Anonymous said...

I will have to disagree with the above post; I own a 360 and must say it is not just an Xbox with better graphics. There are so many more variables that go in to it then just graphics. Some of these variables are; advanced collision detection, draw distance, number of audio channels, advanced AI, just to name a few. An example of a great game would have to be Gears of War. This title not only looks amazing (on HD and standard televisions) but also has great game play. I’m not going to say anything else but play it and see for yourself.

I’m not a 360 fan boy just a fan of video games in general; I will be purchasing a Wii when it is available. But I am not going to lie; judging a game by its controller is just as foolish as judging a game by its graphics (are you telling me RE:4 and Zelda WW/TP for GC are crap because of there controller?). A great game is a great game. It is the developers that will make this happen; not Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo.

I feel that all three consoles have something to offer gamers, there is no need to argue over which console will be better.

This is just my opinion…

Also note that Smash Bros Brawl will use a standard/GameCube controller; not the wii-mote.

Anonymous said...

Ironic isn't , one of the much anticipated games on The Wii will use THE GCN CONTROLLER !!!!!

Anonymous said...

“It’s disappointing to see the number of next generation games out there that are really current generation games with better graphics. We are committed to next-gen gameplay, to experiences that are different. The tent poles of that are doing innovative things with character and with story.”

LucasArts project lead Chris Williams


/Silver