2008 will be the year of the PlayStation 3

Even though Sony's PlayStation 3 was slow out of the gates, it has found its stride lately and performed extremely well over the past few months. And as the latest NPD numbers show, more good times are in store. But in the end, it's what's coming that matters and if you ask me, Sony has everything in place to have the best year of any console maker.

Now I know what you're thinking -- aren't I the same guy who said the chances of the PS3 winning the console war are slim? Yep. And I still believe that. But what I also said is the PS3 will probably end up in second place when this whole generation is said and done and the main reason why that's true is because of what might happen this year

Unlike the Wii and the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 is poised to grow at a rapid rate and finally become a major player in this generation. And although some would say that it's because of Blu-ray (and that may be part of it), the real reason is that Sony has finally woken up and realized that it needs to change its strategy, refocus its efforts and make an impact now before it's too late.

It has.

According to its most recent sales figures, NPD claims Sony shipped 280,800 units of its PlayStation 3, compared to 254,600 Xbox 360 units shipped and 432,000 shipped Wii units. And although the difference in sales figures is far more noticeable when the PS3 is compared to the Wii, these numbers suggest a shift is occurring in the market.

Is the Wii doing well? Sure. And so far, there is no indication that it will slow down anytime soon. And considering Super Smash Bros Brawl is a great title that deserves the accolades it's receiving, I don't expect any slow down in Wii sales for at least the next three months. Because of that, the Wii will definitely sit atop this generation by the end of the year, but I'm not sold on the fact that it will hold that title forever.

But I digress. The fact of the matter is 2008 will be the year of the PlayStation 3 and it'll be Microsoft that has the hardest time making ends meet. And though that may be hard for some Microsoft zealots to handle, the proof is in the titles and offerings that simply cannot be found on the Xbox 360.

Reason 1: Blu-ray

Alright, so maybe Blu-ray isn't exactly the most important element of the PS3 on people's minds, but rest assured that it does matter to some. After all, when a person runs to the store looking for their next video game console, their ability to play high-definition movies should come into play, right?

As I've said before, Microsoft has made a mistake by not forming a deal with Sony to develop a Blu-ray player for its Xbox 360. The company is under the impression that most consumers couldn't care less about Blu-ray, but considering the cost of owning either console is quite close if we match specs to specs, and a 40GB PS3 is actually $50 cheaper than an Xbox 360 Elite, why wouldn't someone buy the better-equipped device?

Reason 2: Games

More than likely, your first response to that question was games. Sure, the Xbox 360 currently has a more solid library of games and I simply don't think there's any debating the fact that Microsoft has done much better than Sony at luring developers to its side. But if we look at the upcoming release calendar, I would certainly give the nod to Sony.

And although many titles overlap like, GTA IV, the major headline of the PlayStation 3's upcoming release calendar is Metal Gear Solid 4. The Metal Gear series has always been the cornerstone of Sony's video game library and has sold almost 20 million copies worldwide. Knowing this, there's no reason to suggest MGS4 can't be another big hit and one that should sell a considerable number of consoles for Sony. And when that happens, this race will become even more interesting.

Games sell hardware -- they always have and they always will. And it's that golden rule that will win out this year.

Reason 3: Sony has finally woken up

More than anything else, Sony has finally realized that it can't rest on its laurels expecting the world to stop and wait for it to catch up. In fact, Sony may have finally realized that the original PS3 SKU was detrimental to the company's entire business strategy.

But for once, Sony admitted its mistakes and took it upon itself to right the ship. By working closer with developers and creating more compelling reasons to buy the PS3 with significant price drops and more robust offerings, Sony looks like it's finally doing all the right things to turn the tide.

And it's for that reason that 2008 will be the year of the PlayStation 3 and one that should be exciting to watch.

[ksturm079]

I agree in part with this article. I do believe that the Playstation 3 will have a better year in 2008 but in reality it has no place to go but up. The Blu-ray is definitely a plus, in fact I purchased my PS3 earlier this year for that exact reason. However I don't really believe that Microsoft has made that much of a blunder by not incorporating Blu-ray into it's lineup for two reasons. First is the fact that I believe the majority of consumers will altogether skip the Blu-Ray era and embrace the a format without disks at all i.e. downloaded movies from cable/satellite provider or even the XBox Live marketplace. Secondly the main upside from a gaming perspective is the larger disc size of the Blu-Ray and for this reason I predict that Microsoft will in the end utilize Blu-Ray but not until their next generation of consoles (hopefully not the XBox 720). Metal Gear Solid 4 rocketing the PS3 ahead of the XBox is, in my opinion, bunk. At the very best Sony can dream of Metal Gear offsetting Gears of War 2 in terms of sales and I believe that is pushing it. Other than Metal Gear what else is Sony really promising this year that the XBox isn't? I don't believe that any console can really be considered a failure anymore, especially with the video game industry surpassing the movie industry in terms of sales, but Sony lost has lost this generation. By the time they catch up to the XBox I believe that Microsoft will have already laid the groundwork to release a new console and start a new cycle that Sony will be hard pressed to deal with.

[ghaleon1980]

I sincerely believe that this article has little substance and is poorly written for a multitude of reasons.

Saying that the Playstation 3 will outsell the Xbox 360 is one thing, but to suggest that "microsoft will have trouble making ends meet" is absolutely foolish. Microsoft has developed a sizable niche in the market that will continue to produce revenue for the company. You don't seem to understand the simple concept that games are the money-maker, not console sales. Microsoft touts a huge advantage in number of games per console compared to the Wii and the Playstation 3. Until Sony can turn this around, they can sell all the consoles they want, they wont be making much profit.

You claim with much naivety that Sony "gets the nod" in games that will be arriving for the system, while the only game that you mention is Metal Gear Solid 4. This is further evidence of your lack of education on the matter; For the Metal Gear series, while popular, really has never sold enough games to alter a console war. For perspective's sake; Metal Gear Solid 3 barely sold over 1.4 million copies on Playstation 2, while Gears of War and Halo 3 have each sold 4.9 and 5.5 million respectively. What makes you think Metal Gear Solid 4 is going to make some sort of sizable difference in console sales?

You also state that "Sony has finally woken up" while speaking generalities and not really giving any real examples as to how they have changed their strategy as of late. Sure they gave the 400 dollar SKU, but that is not new news and certainly cannot be the cause of the slight edge in console sales that the Playstation 3 has enjoyed these last two months.

Which brings me to what seems to be the only point of your article that seems to hold any water: Blu-ray. You state that "the ability of playing high-definition movies should come into play" when choosing a console. This is most likely a factor that many people consider when purchasing the Playstation 3, and the downfall of HD-DVD in the press seems to conveniently coincide with the increase Playstation 3 sales. Fancy that.

Blu-ray will most likely be the monkey that will not get off of Microsoft's back as the console war continues, but to say that the Xbox 360 is a failure because of it is laughable. If you compare this console war to the last (PS2 versus Xbox) Microsoft has enjoyed sizable gains in market share this generation due to lessons learned during the last. Bottom line, I am certain that Microsoft considers the Xbox 360 campaign as a resounding success regardless as to whether it ends up 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

If the writer of this article would like to post a rebuttal I would very much like to see it.

[ehutch]

its not only mgs4. theres killzone2, resistance2, little big planet, eight days, motorstorm2, god of war3, haze, socom, the getaway, tekken6, the agency, infamous and more. dont forget about home too. many of these games look amazing so far. then theres a few like final fantasy that will come early 2009, downloaded content is a great strategy for a console without a mandatory hard drive, lol.

[DCBRONCO]

Cnet has a serious credibility problem. I've notice over the last year or two that they have backed the PS3 no matter what is going on. They made this claim over and over only to be wrong. Oh wait for the PS3, wait till Sony gets more games out, wait till next Christmas, wait till for the big titles. Lair, Heavenly Sword, Drake, Ratchet and Clank and Warhawk were all supposed to be system sellers. None could even push copies. All outsold by Viva Pinita. You could combine all of them and they don't come close to selling more copies than Gears of War. And Blu-Ray, please. If it was so important, how come they never did better than 2:1 compared to HD DVD when there were more than 5 times the players, 5 times the studio support and 5 times the number of companies making the players. With a million standalones and 4 million PS3s and a couple of million movies sold, how many PS3 owners actually bought movies. Sony won't release any hard numbers because they are embarrassed. Blu-Ray is all hype. And don't count on Blu-ray being on the new Xbox. By 2010 you can easily expect a 1 terabite harddrive and downloadable games. You'll be able to load the game onto your harddrive from multiple disc if necessary. With compression, even the larger games will only need 20 gigs of space. Hybrid drives would be even better. Blu-Ray was not needed. $40 movies is a joke. Like I mentioned before, not too sure about CNET. David Carnoy was getting too much heat so they got a new herald for Sony. Let's not even go into how they run Gamespot, but I would like to see exactly what their relationship is with Sony.

[DCBRONCO]

I remember those games. I also remember how much everyone looked forward to Drake ,Ratchet, Female God of War(sorry, Heavenly Sword), Lair,Warhawk. Games that look great, but don't do anything different and more than anything, they didn't sell that well. None were system sellers. MGS 4 looks to be the same. I know someone who attended Play and have been told that Haze is so so. Killzone has been in development for years and they still have yet to show anything undoctored and who knows when it will actually come out. None of those games will sell systems except Socom and God of War. Resistance was popular because it was the only good game available. Little Big Planet will be little impact on console sells, actually no impact. All hype. It would sell better on the Wii. How can you forget about Home? Then again everybody forgot about Second Life the first time so keep reminding us. Sony is just using the hype machine to get people to buy into a product that will never live up to the PS2. They'll end up with 30% of the market and hope it's enough to survive till the next generation. They will never get back the billions they invested. They can only hope to make enough to stay in the video game business. Sony may have killed itself. Blu-Ray will never really take hold and they may have over spent themselves out of the video game business. Microsoft has the money to wait this game out, Sony doesn't. Sony needs to become very profitable again very soon. They misjudged and they might be better off cutting their loses and concentrating on electronics again. They can sell off their IP or license it to Microsoft or Nintendo. Actually Microsoft would be the only option since Nintendo doesn't believe bigger is better. Sony may go the way of Sega. People are buying into Sony hype like they have bought into the bs about the American economy. Both have major problems that can either be dealt will honestly or people can just keep faking it until it's too late and it all falls apart.

[jcfilth]

1.Other than Metal Gear what else is Sony really promising this year that the XBox isn't?
.Gran Turismo 5
.God Of War 3
.Resistance 2
.Litlle Big Planet
.MotorStorm 2
.Haze
.KillZone 2
and others.....
An d you can include Home into that entertainment experience!! Trophies instead of simple numbers is a plus, between other stuff.

2.but Sony lost has lost this generation.

Absolutely not true, the only reason why Microsoft is ahead this generation is because they chose to release a crappy faulty console one year before Sony just to full their mouth saying "we have more games, we have sold more, we had that game first"..the result of this, well you all know, RROD and other things like scratched discs and faulty DVD trays, UNHAPPY GAMERS, they knew it was faulty at release but still let it out, did they care about their consumers? you answer that. Not releasing games for the first xbox after the 360 was out , which is the same thing that's going to happen when the "xbox720" is released, "a month ago I read they stopped development of a new game on the 360 and are making it now for the next console" so it looks like they are rushing another console, of course, before this generation is over so they can once again full their mouth saying" we had won this generation" like you said. If you call a two year lifetime of a console a generation, no doubt you got a 360, for me a generation is more than 5 years of good gaming with no malfunctions and new things.

well like the guy in the article said..."a 40GB PS3 is actually $50 cheaper than an Xbox 360 Elite, why wouldn't someone buy the better-equipped device?" well I really don't understand the people who actually go for the 360 at this moment either,but you know, not everyone is smart! and not everyone is informed.

[ksturm079]

I apologize, I stated the, "what are they releasing this year that Xbox isn't?" incorrectly. I should have asked what they were releasing other than MGS4 that I'm really looking forward to. In terms of the games you've listed, I have little interest in other than GT5, God of War 3, and Resistance. This may be as you say a lack of being "informed", but there my subjectivity lies. Regarding the games I am interested in God of War 3 has no concrete release date, and GT5 isn't scheduled until maybe later this year unless you count the prologue, I don't. Trophies vs. Achievements gives me little. Most of my friends have the 360, the only reason I care about achievments is because of its relativity to people I know. I concede that the 360's failure rate is higher than PS3's but that still doesn't change the fact that the 360 is dominating the PS3 in games owned per console, total cosoles sold, etc. The 360 will be around for about 5 years in total and it will take the PS3 that long to catch up, if they do at all. Finally a 40GB PS3 vs. an Elite is a nice argument but not a 40GB PS3 vs. a regular 360. If you don't care about the Blu-ray and just want to game why spend the extra money for a console with less to offer game wise? I guess not everyone is smart, or well informed.

[DCBRONCO]

LBP, I older than 5. Some of the other games might be fine, but none of them make me willing to buy a PS3. GOW 3 is button masher. Motorstorm not my thing, I know someone who has seen Haze at Play this weekend and wasn't impressed(they have a PS3). Killzone is coming out when, oh next generation. Trophies...GOTY 2006-Gears of War...GOTY 2007-Bioshock. Both Xbox exclusives. Name the PS3 game in the running. The console definitely has it's issues, but the 3 year warranty takes care of that. LBP, I will never get that. It's a Wii game. A fake Wii game. I would hope that any game company would stop doing a game that will work better on a new system. I personal want the best game possible. The new Xbox won't be out until 2010-11. Do the math on that life cycle. You're right about MS dropping support on the original. The entire thing was stupid from the beginning. They didn't own the tech and were getting screwed so they dropped it. It would have been stupid to continue. Third time will be the charm though. By the way, the Elite is selling. Better equipped as in Blu-Ray, if Sony fans love Blu-Ray so much, buy the disc. They aren't selling. The games aren't selling, the movies aren't selling. SOMEBODY, please buy some. Sony release some numbers so the truth can be told. I hear there will be a huge price cut on Blu-Ray movies soon. Maybe someone will buy some then. PLEASE. So you're right. Not everyone is smart and not everyone is informed.

[glcm1961]

Here's why the PS3 will eventually top the Xbox 360:

Games: Given a one year head start, the 360 obviously had the upper hand, but now things are evening out and while both will have exclusive titles, the future edge definitely belongs to the PS3.

Customer confidence: Not really a contest. The RROD iswidely known and the consumer is not interested in warranties and the like - they want something they know won't break to begin with. Also, the consumer will want to buy the next gen standard in media, that being BD. Downloads? Please. BD movies will come down to a reasonable price soon, just as CD's did when they were first released. The limitations with downloads are storage space (ie hard drive space), broadband capacity (imagine the amount of traffic generated by downloaded millions of HD movies), and the lack of having a physical disk - consumers want to have the something they can put their hands on.

Hardware: A simple list of facts will suffice. PS3 has built in WiFi, an EASILY upgradable hard drive, a fan so quiet that you can't tell if it's on unless you look at the power light, and is very reliable. XBOX 360 - None of the above.

So far the 360 has two advantages, a better game library, which in one year will not exist, and the online experience, which may or may not be better than the PS3 in one year (not to mention it requires a yearly fee).

Any consumer who does even a superficial job of research will most likely decide that price being equal, they will opt for the quiet, reliable, HD upgradable, free online, built in wifi, Blu-Ray playing media center known as the Playstation 3 over the noisy, unreliable, yearly subscription, no wifi, no Blu Ray playing XBox 360. It's truly a no brainer.

[newjaruz]

I could not have said it better myself. Take a look #'s speak for themselves. Microsoft has had all the time in the world since the first release of their first console... and all they can come up with is 17 million. Considering the fact that they were cheaper (360) than the ps3 if you compare ech consoles first year or year and a half sony is right there.. and honestly sony doesnt just have a gigantic fan base in the U.S. but all over .. The xbox doesnt even sell in Japan .. in total i think sony has sold over 200 million off of ps1 and ps2 and you guys actually think microsoft will compete with that? These fans will end up buying a ps3 at one point or another so we will see how microsoft is doing within the next2 yrs.. there going to need a new console just to be able to compete.... and with the line up for this year xbox is not touching the ps3.. not only is it an inferior machine ( red ring of death) (no blu-ray) (hardware is less capable) what games are going to be released beside gear2...? nothin exclusive besides that.. theres already i million pre-orders for Gran turismo .. and lets not mention the 1st game tto ever really be played online is coming back out socom.. i honestly see the shortlived run coming to an end for this gen .. i feel bad for microsoft consumers who continue to support a faulty console.. and a comany who does give to cents about its consumers .. abandoning the very people who help it succed with every new product.. imagine if microsoft treated windows the same way... and stop fixing their problems one they create a new product and just abandon the millions of people who invested in them.. if this doesnt tell you something then your just an ignorant person.. I have to say i agree witht the guy above me and with the cnet guy

[Deepthroatbigboss0000]

I am disgusted with the video game industry today and my reasons are is that Microsoft efforts continue to blind people completely. First of they did not take the time or the investment to create a true next generation console they just stuffed some custom cpu and gpu in 360 and made sure it was out before sony?s ps3. sony however teamed up with Toshiba and ibm and invested millions in a processor that is able to deliver super computing calculations and realistic animation. The exclusives ps3 games show the way all games should of looked like this generation for example heavenly sword shows facial and physics animation that no other game has and this is the result of cell. Also MLB 08 the show the motion capture is amazing the players move so realistically. Uncharted drakes fortune and Gran turismo 5 show the same realistic graphics and animation. Every multiplatform game could of looked liked these games but instead they do not because developers have to compensate for 360?s inferior processor. Then after multiplatform games come out they have the nerve to do comparisons just imagine what assassins creed or rainbow six 2 would of looked like if they were ps3 exclusives. Just imagine if mass effect had the same facial animation as heavenly sword how much better the game could have been. So in the end what I am trying to say is that the greedy people working at Microsoft only cared about filling their pockets and took advantage of the industry. Another perfect example of how Microsoft took advantage of the industry Is how they forced windows vista on everyone and every company and it was the biggest tech failure of 2007. Vista is no way better than windows xp and never will be they just brought out to fill their pockets and rob everyone blindly just like what they did with xbox 360. They also responsible for delaying blue rays victory by trying to cause confusion so that they can prevail and force digital downloads on everyone. They want to see cd?s and dvd?s and blue ray disc?s off the streets along with billions of people around the world that work with discs because companies will close down and everyone will lose their job. Once everyone loses their job will they want digital downloads after that I hope not I hope the billions of people around the world that work in all stores that sell cd?s and dvd?s and blue ray discs fight digital downloads. I hope that ps3 dominates for the rest of 360?s lifespan and blue ray as well and Microsoft is put to shame with their 360 failure rate and windows vista and they drop out of the next console war. I hope that this letter spreads throughout the internet and people understand the truth.

[birdman_1964]

This isn't something we haven't heard a million times before Deepthroat.This is your perception of the truth and your opinion..fine spin it any way you like.Both systems are strong in their own respects. The technical differences between the 2 are overstated,when you compare games on both neither has shown a huge advantage.You have to weigh what is important to you as a gamer and a consumer.Obviously the reliability issues that have plagued the 360 is a huge blackeye for the system.On the other side you have he developmental issues that have hindered PS3 titles because of the complexity of the system.The Blue Ray player is a nice feature but in the end not as big a factor as some would have you believe.The consumers who are purchasing the console with the idea of having an inexspensive player are more likely to spend their $ on movies than games.This is why you will always see a higher attach rate for 360 games I believe,which is good for developers and gamers.The author of this article may believe his own hype but the truth will be told when we see the year end numbers.I fully expect the 360 to be very competitive and a major force in this generations console war.Those expecting it to drop off and Microsoft to exit the console business is laughable.They are profitable and selling the most software of any system so whether or not they sell as many systems as the others really is a moot point.They could finish last in numbers and still be the most profitable and that is the kind of win that mean something in business.

[hotrodz426]

Oh come on I heard enough about stupid Metal gear solid 4. The other ones were crap I doubt this one will change.

[jtucker78]

Forgive me but I thought the Nintendo DS was winning. The DS is far outselling the Wii.
Why are you mentioning ONLY the Wii, PS3 and 360?

There is the adult / current gen console battle. PS3 vs 360.
There is a casual party console. Wii.
And there are handhelds. DS vs PSP.

If you're refering to an overall console war don't leave out the handhelds.
If you're refering to the adult / current gen console battle stick to it. You can't include Nintendo with PS3 or 360, it is such a completely different machine to the other two consoles and is aimed at a completely different demographic.

I'm guessing you are including the Wii with the current gen consoles because it came out at the same time as the PS3 and it plugs into a TV.
It can't actually run a current gen game. It can't handle the euphoria engines, advance AI, physics, lighting and that is before you even mention graphics.
Online Multiplayer is also defining this generation. Nintendo's online experience is so woefully poor it isn't even worth mentioning.
BUT it doesn't need to do any of that, because - as I am trying to get across - it has entered a new market and it is selling to a completely different audience.

The Wii will win the party console battle (it already has done - i don't see any other entrants), but it won't win the current gen console battle because it doesn't qualify, just the same as the DS doesn't.

PS3 sales affect 360, and 360 sales affect PS3
BUT the Wii sales won't affect PS3 or 360. And they don't affect it.

Yes, the Wii will sell more units than a PS3, but a DS will sell more than a Wii, and an ipod will sell more than that. Stick to subject.

[DCBRONCO]

Finally, a voice of reason. It is amazing how much all these Sony fans talk about the power of the cell and blu-ray. tech experts all seem to agree that the two consoles are about even with a slight edge going to the PS3. Slight edge. They also say that each has some strengths and some weaknesses. Only fanboys turn to extremes. Just this morning I've read several articles that tell the true story, but blinded fanboys won't comprehend.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7304258.stm
Article one deals with the loses for Toshiba on HD DVD.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=185050
Article two deals with the game Fracture.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/bluitv031908.htm
Article three deals with new features for Blu-Ray.

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/U9C2F7B5?page=1
Article four deals with the new IP based systems Microsoft and Sony are working on.

http://www.image-metrics.com/
http://www.image-metrics.com/services/gaming
The last two links are to a website that does facial animation.

For the fanboys that don't get each article. The first showing Toshiba loses(666 million) for HD DVD. People who have actually done any research know that Blu-Ray is far more expensive. They would also know that in two years Sony has not even sold 5 million movies yet. Even if you only double the development cost of Blu-Ray, and I've seen info that it was at least 1.5 billion, add in all the free movies,advertising and paying off studios and stores, and it's over 2.5 billion. Sony can't afford those numbers. Look up their business reports from the last few years.
Article two on Fracture, it's pushing both systems. Not just one or the other. It sounds like they can pretty much do the same thing. It's crazy.
Article three. Reliable equipment? Atl east I don't have to keep buying new machines to get the complete film. And some the things included in 2.0 will be additional content. Sony was working on it for years, but they couldn't get it to work. Now they have, maybe. Microsoft's software for HD was ready far sooner. Sony should have bit the bullet and excepted the superior program. Talk about putting out a product before it was ready. Place Blu-Ray right next to the 360. And Sony will not do a thing to fix old Blu-Ray players.
Article four is self explanatory. The little comment from the Sony exec about Microsoft needing it sooner is BS. Sony knows what is happening, they are just more than willing to recoup as much of their Blu-Ray investment as they can before things change. People who do a little research will find that Sony considered putting movies on PSN just last year when they weren't so sure Blu-Ray would win.
The last two links are for a company that does facial animation and the companies that use it. The future of facial animation. No dots. It's been used in games already, I believe UT3. And I have seen nothing that says it only works on the PS3.

So fanboys please start looking at multiple sources. Start reading the business section. Start reading about other electronics and developing technology. Moore's Law shrunk some time ago. Intel is ready to release a general purpose cpu with 6 core this year. And those six core will be the most powerful out there. Japan is already moving beyond 1080p. So the PS3 is not so future proof. NOTHING IS FUTURE PROOF IN COMPUTERS.
Deepthroat, Sony was in such a rush that they originally thought the Cell could handle the graphics only to learn it couldn't and had to settle on a off the shelf graphics card with some modifications. And by the way, Burnout was done for the PS3 and transferred to the 360 and I don't see much difference. Call of Duty was made separately and all that PS3 power had to be tweaked to get it up to speed with the 360 version. Let's see what UT3 looks like.

Please buy some Blu-Ray movies. PLEASE! SOMEBODY! Let Sony have something to talk about.

Lastly guys, the economy is not really doing that well. Sorry you bought into that one too.

[jrm125]

But but but....but Don...I thought you said Blu-ray didn't matter!?

Eating your words I see. Quit backpedaling just to get hits to your site.

[ksturm079]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338817,00.html

Sony PS2 outsells the PS3 in February. The PS3 does outsell the 360 yet retailers cite supply constraints as a culprit. Looking forward to GTA4 over 9 million units are expected to be sold, 6 million of which are projected to be sold on the 360.

This is the year of the PS3!

[Yellowdart6]

I could care less who wins what between the two PS3 and Xbox. Frankly 90% of their good games end up on the PC anyway, which I have (CoD4, Bioshock, Mass Effect). I'm very excited about Mass Effect on the PC in may. See what patience does for you. You dont have to buy 600 dollar consoles. You can build a co mptuer for 600 bucks that plays them all :) Alot of good points have been made, but none of them by the article author.

The Wii will continue to dominate and so will the DS. (If it isnt going to slow down, then no one else is gonna catch up..they are 2 to 1 in sales at least) Mainly because it has a much larger demographic. Wii Fit will sell like hot cakes and its the kinda game that will push systems out the door to the older (were talking over 40, my mom will want it) demographic which is largely untapped by the video game world. And then theres the online Mario Kart right after Smash Bros. Of course Nintendo needs to open up a couple new factories and get the consoles out cause thats their only bottlneck...lack of hardware. The Wii is way more affordable, and appeals to way more people. Graphics are not the end all, Graphics dont sell systems..or games for that matter.

But this was about PS3. I want one, but mainly for the bluray player. I mean if I'm gonna spend 400 bucks for a Bluray player, i might as well get a PS3. That makes sense to alot of people. The games i could care less about cause both systems have the same crap, and the good stuff ends up on my PC anyway. So I think your just looking at Bluray as compared to Xbox Live. And everyone has their preference or what they are more interested in. But with Bluray winning out on the format wars regardless of Sony or Toshiba losing more money doesnt matter anymore. There is one choice now. Will it push PS3 sales? Yeah. Will it overtake and dominate Xbox 360 this year? No. It still wont have system selling games. Metal Gear has never been a system seller. 2009 will be a better year for the PS3. Final Fantasy XIII will release..and yes its a system seller. Every Final Fantasy game before it has been. Its what sold the Ps1 and its what got the ps2 its start. Sony has quit buying exclusive games it seems.

Sony still seems to be just as stupid as before. They phased out their 60 gig system. WHY? It had full backwards compatability and wifi. Instead they pump out a 40 gig with no backwards compatability and an 80 gig that seems to have 1 out of 10 reviews (that ive seen lately as ive been shopping for a ps3) stating their bluray quit working plus it only has software emulation... WHY? Why do they use a chip that runs ridiculously hot and dont package an adequate cooling system with it? Why cant they put out one system that does all and is reasonably priced? That would be the smart thing to do. I'm really hoping the 80 gig they bundle with MGS4 will have full backward compatability...and maybe some component cables?? Is it that difficult? We gonna spend the money for it anyway.

Bluray hasnt sold well either though, and PS3 has been its lone savior because it was packaged with it. Toshiba shoulda forced Microsoft to include HDDVD in their elite bundle at least and wed still have a war going. That is the only smart strategy that Sony has done. No one wants to pay 400 bucks for just a movie player, when they can get a upconverter dvd player for 70 bucks. Instead of buying game exclusives, they bought the movie exclusive. Probably a smart move, but if they actualy want to sell more games...they need to get exclusive on those again as well. That only means that its gonna cost Sony a ton of money to play catch up. Regardless of how many they sell, they will still lose as far as profability.

Nintendo dominates this generation. Here is hoping that HD is cheap enough by next gen to include in the Wii 2 and keep it under 250 again.

[DCBRONCO]

Sony reworked the PS3 to cut cost. It is still not profitable, but it is a lot closer. The parts for backward compatibility(emotion engine) had to go. 40 gb harddrives are much cheaper than 60 gb wholesale. Money is also part of the reason that they can't keep all those exclusives. They don't have any. Blu-Ray and the cell have cost them around 4 billion and they are losing money on every PS3 and Blu-Ray player sold. They were arrogant enough to believe Playstation would survive no matter what, and fanboys might make that a reality. But, fanboys never look at the industry from the business perspective. They don't think about what developers would do if your machine is expensive and hard to program for, they turn to a cheaper and easier machine. They don't look at the money that goes into advertising and taxes. A game costing 5 million to make and selling only 200,000 copies is a game that doesn't make a profit. Look at the number of games that barely hit that mark. That's why so many developers are going out of business or merging. Blu-Ray is a format strictly made to gain ownership of the movie market from Toshiba. It wasn't needed for games, but Sony has convinced a lot of people it was. Most people don't own HD tvs and most couldn't tell the difference between an upconverted signal and a native HD signal. And most of the gamers complaining that Blu-Ray has better sound quality are probably hearing that difference through their TV speakers or their $250 Home Theater in a Box, yeah right. Uncompressed sound is very nice, but people in that category ain't hearing it. Stop falling for marketing campaigns. Compressed sound at high bitrates is so close you need electronic equipment to tell the difference. A pair of the kind of speakers that let you hear what uncompressed sound is really like cost more than your PS3, and that was at launch. You make a lot of good points, but as far as computers go, I'm not updating the graphics card every other year because of a feature missing on the one I have. I'd rather have a console made specifically for games and with games made to work on those specs. But again, like you said, Nintendo might end up the winner again. Most fanboys don't look at demographics. Most fanboys don't realize that for all the PS2s sold last generation, Nintendo made the most money with Gameboys and the Gamecube.

[popa pineapple]

Deepthroat has it right. The point most seem to miss is the powerful cell engine of the PS3 hasn't even begun to be fully tapped yet. There's no secret why. It has parallel architecture that forces programers into new paradigms that are unlike other game consoles. That's the price you pay for technological breakthroughs. Programmers who've spent decades building linear game architectures now have to throw their hard-won work out and start over. So hang on to your controllers XBox fanboys. You are about to be dazzled.

[WoWoWubsy]

Wow, Its amazing how rabid Microsoft fans get when someone tells them something they dont want to hear. It is also intriguing how they all spew the propaganda that Microsoft puts out there and they simply eat it up. The bottom line is that Playstation is the better product hands down, it is a better value and there is a larger game lineup coming that is expected to surpass that of the 360. When I buy a console, I dont want to worry about it burning out, I want 1080p video and game resolutions, I want something that looks nice in my entertainment center and I want something that easily ties into my home wireless network. I want original games (uncharted, ratchet, little big planet, haze, resistance, etc...) I am looking forward to the Rockstar games exclusive title for the PS3 that will "take advantage of what the PS3 can really do" It is 2008 that we will finally see the PS3 start making retribution for its earlier mistakes and take the helm of this current console war.

[WoWoWubsy]

Also, Maybe you should all check out the graph at the link below and see where the PS3 is stacking up against the 360...I seem to see that little red line higher than the green one for quite a few months now...oh, but I thought Microsoft said that was only 1 month and due to a "shortage of systems" HA HA HA...The PS3 is selling BETTER than the 360 did at the same time in its life so to say that the PS3 is losing is laughable at best.

http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php