Next PS3 firmware one more reason to buy console as Blu-Ray player
Update: This story now reflects NPD data showing improved PlayStation 3 performance in the first two months of the year.
For many people, Sony's oft-maligned PlayStation 3 video game console had one no-doubt-about-it selling point: when it launched, it was by far the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market.
That's no longer true, what with plenty of low-cost players flooding the market now that Blu-ray has effectively vanquished HD DVD as the next-generation playback standard.
The PS3 will once again offer users the most advanced Blu-Ray features, despite the console's tepid appeal to video gamers.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment of America)But with its announcement of a forthcoming PS3 firmware upgrade, Sony has once again given consumers a reason to buy the console for little more than its Blu-ray capabilities.
As Sony said, the new firmware will allow users to take advantage of something called BD-Live, and to dynamically download "additional content and special features" associated with movies on Blu-ray.
That means, Sony argued, that BD-Live "will keep your (Blu-ray) discs fresh with new content and in some cases exclusive content only accessible to owners of BD-Live enabled discs."
As an example, the company pointed to the planned April 8 Blu-ray release of two Sony films, The 6th Day and Walk Hard, both of which will have features accessible under BD-Live.
"With this update, the PlayStation 3 becomes the first Blu-ray player on the market with BD-Live functionality," Sony bragged.
Therefore, once again, consumers who want to be on the cutting edge of Blu-ray technology have one distinct place to go for it: the PS3.
Never mind that not once in the blog entry about the firmware upgrade on the official PlayStation blog does Sony use the words "video game." Never mind that in the mind of some in the video game community, the PS3 is the bastard child that has been outclassed most of the way since its launch--at least in sales--by Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. New data from the NPD Group does show that the PS3 outsold the Xbox in the first two months of 2008, though Microsoft attributes that to shortages of its console in that time frame.
If you're Sony, do you care? Not if you can get people to buy the machine--which, unlike the Wii and the Xbox is available everywhere with no delays at all and has been throughout the past many months--to take advantage of the newest Blu-ray features.
After all, they say, when faced with lemons, make lemonade.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
Considering that it has outsold the XBox 360 globally for 4
months straight and outsold the Xbox 360 in America for 2
months straight and has sold more units than the Xbox 360 did
in it's first year, I'd say that his comments weren't thought out or
researched well enough. The PS3 is selling very well.
The update information given seems to be on track with what
Sony released, so that part is, in fact, true.
I think you misread the article. The writer suggests that the PS3 is a lemon as a video game station - not in sales. A good chunk of PS3's were sold to folks buying a cheap Blu-ray player. Thus the lemon to lemonade.
Yes yes you like the PS3 yes yes you bought one.. but why bother being a fanboi.. its not goign to help you get any of those amazing games that are motnhs and years away any sooner.
Perhaps you have not noticed that the PS3 has outsold the 360 for the last three months in a row now. The PS3 is the next generation leader on all fronts but online functionality.
I have a 360, wii, and PS3. I havn't used the PS3 for anything but movies in months, my 360 is great for streaming downloaded divx movies to my TV but I havn't played it since I beat portal. My wii is the only system I use to actually play games on regularily.. the wii has also far outsold the PS3 in every catagory since the PS3 launched. I'm not sure where you get "leader" from
PlayStation 3 has been outselling the 360 by a factor of 2:1 worldwide in 2008, and for the next two years it looks to have the best gaming lineup with the most promising new game-related features being added like home and in-game XMB.
But this article is already favorable to sony.. why not just let it be.
I'd hate to nitpick here, but thats a huge nit to pick. Atleast be accurate in your insults.
The system lacks a killer ap. This is of course due to the use of a cell processor. Programmers hate threading like that. It's just not that easy to design for - considering that they like to test on theyre two to four core traditional architecture processor desktops in the early stages. Its not like theyre literaly designing games on the consoles you know... though it would seem the wise thing to do givin the addition of redhat. Just throwing out there geeks.
The dam cell processor is a good idea, untill you take the lag in programming vs hardware devolopment time that has plagued the industry since its inception. Simply put, its designed to do things we haven't propperly written the code to do. Its like a brilliant autism patient. Sure its amazing, but who the f-ck cares. It still has to compete in the special olympics.
PS3 did outsell the Xbox. And I have updated the story to reflect
this. Thanks for pointing this out.
HD DVD go bust.
So it's nothing to do with HD DVD busting....
it helps..but not the only factor pus it over the top.
As for writting for multi-core...there are tons of PC games using multi-core...I don't see people complaining about writting games for PC.
It's the programming tool sony has that is harder to use.. but then again programmer are in the I.T. industry and nothing comes easy. They will learn to program better.
it's not like xbox is a PC port...
- Article
- by Caligo4 March 22, 2008 5:28 PM PDT
- I've never studied journalism, but this article is just of poor quality in my opinion. Probably written in about 10 minutes.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(15 Comments)I quote:
"Never mind that in the mind of some in the video game community, the PS3 is the bastard child that has been outclassed most of the way since its launch--at least in sales--by Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360."
You are quoting "some" in the video game community? I mean your facts may be the best facts ever, but this is what you choose to go with?
Let me give you an example why I am astounded to see this in a cnet article.
With the same accuracy I can say that "some in the mind of some in the video game community, the author is considered to be a comi pinko fascist and cnet to be a safe heaven for alkida"
I dare you to fact check me on that.
(this is just an example meant to be slightly comical, not to actually express my own views. I obviously read this publication.)
You are in effect sneaking in your own personal opinion of the console, into the article under the pretense that you are quoting someone.
By the way, from that quote it sounds like people think that PS3 is a bastard child, has been out classed, and selling like crap AND people fault it for that. My feeling for the community has been that people think that the PS3 outclassed the users themselves by becoming too expensive and loosing viability in all but the most hard core gamer environment.