PS3 in the US press...

The best example of this is using game rankings, but I don't think It supports that opinion. resistance is a good game but I don't think there's anything in it that provides decent "Wow" factor. But you're right it is subjective.

I agree, Resistance does not have the "WOW!" factor that past console launch games like Halo had. Halo made me want an Xbox, while Resistance looks like a solid game it just does not seem to offer anything mind-blowing or new that I cannot find on my Xbox 360.
 
I think the new york times review lost its credibility when it said that Xbox360 is innovative and powerful. I give microsoft that its very powerful system but innovative? I'd call Wii innovative but not PS3 or Xbox360.

Wii it'self isn't innovative. The controller and how you interact with the software "is"... However I think they were talking about the hardware and software services as a whole. In that respect the 360 is a pretty innovative machine. the first console to offer a unified online system in all games, the first to offer smaller down loadable games, the first to offer a built in system for transactions, the first to offer content out side of games, etc... Sure they aren't doing anything really innovative with the hardware, the real innovation has to come from the software and the way people interact with it. So the 360 combined with the software has provided some innovative features.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think the new york times review lost its credibility when it said that Xbox360 is innovative and powerful. I give microsoft that its very powerful system but innovative? I'd call Wii innovative but not PS3 or Xbox360.

Live, upcoming movie/TV show downloads, Media Player streaming and all of it working transparent to the user with minimal effort on their part is quite innovative.
 
I think both articles come off as biased junk..

Seriously though if your writing an article on a games console in the non-gaming media then why are you comparing PS3 to Xbox360 at all??

I mean how many gamers (overall) own a 360 yet?.. And how many non-gamers own one?

So I would expect that it would have probably been fairer to compare Sony's next-gen console with the PS2 since not only do the majority of gamers own one, the majority of non-gamers that would even be remotely interested in reading the article have probably definitely played on one before they would have ever experienced game-time on a 360..

*Shrug*
 
The reviewers highlighted flaws in Sony's current iteration but did not have any/much space for PS3's strength/potential.
From the 2 articles, I think there are 2 major points for Sony management to grapple with:

(A) Sony's budding PS3 OS capability
========================
Typical hardware approach is to be hands off when the product is out the door. In evangelizing a platform, Sony needs to stay on the same track for 10-15 years... and never stop until the experience is differentiated in the users' hands.

e.g., Establish and maintain a unique identity by integrating XMB UI with Sony's vision of Internet/Playstation Network/Home network. Also enforce UI guides, improve usability, better APIs, ... etc. While Sony has done a great job updating PSP, it has failed in integrating the user experience. Every PSP update is piece-meal and does not necessary have multiplier effect when added up. So as a step-up, some sort of holistic, end-to-end PS3 OS plan needs to be in-place (if not already). Even MS sucked in Windows 1.0 so it's not a shame. Just sustain the update cycle with a clear vision.

e.g., Now that the package is complete, prove to the world (and me! :) ) that Cell and Blu-ray platforms really matter, no matter how hard it takes.

(B) Sony's bad PR
============
There are more than 1 perspectives on anything, and more than 1 way to communicate good/bad news. From the look of things, Sony does not seem to have deep relationship with major press.

Kaz mentioned that Sony gets bad PR because Playstation is #1. Once he thinks that way, Sony may have distant themselves further from the press and user-base. They need to approach the press like a newcomer, explaining their strategies and approach more sincerely and in more details. The article might come out to be less harsh.

Here're some true stories:

* Getting the reviewers' involved early is usually a good thing. In this case, Xbox 360 and XBL has been out for more than a year with ample time for improvements and great reviews. So naturally as a "newcomer" Sony will need to do extra work. e.g., Some companies rope in these reviewers as early alpha testers or some sort of advisor panels (instead of just 30 hours of review time) to cultivate long term relationships. Once they hands are involved even in developing the product, the reviews will likely be more positive. In some cases, the reviewer will also argue in his/her article why things must/should be done in certain way... and product "X" does it correctly.

* When Creative Technologies sold PCs in US, they were consistently getting low scores in reviews even though in their honest assessment, their gigs were more powerful, bundle more software, and giving more values for the consumers in general. They tried to raise the bar further and still nothing changed on the PR and review front. By accident, they found out that major PC manufacturers in US were giving the reviewers a better experience while reviewing the gears, including sponsored market studies of the space, comprehensive and "objective" studies of competitors' products (ready to be used intelligently in the article), better and more materials for the reviewers' guide, ... etc. Once the reviewers have an "idea" of who the winner is likely to be (based on the objective data), the reviews will likely come out with a slant.

In the PS3 case, some honest insights plus more in-depth and personal analysis from the hand hanchos would have helped (These are not the usual and tiresome PR talks, but good hands-on explanation on why things are done in certain way like what Steve Jobs did). Ken probably can't execute the move alone, so he'll need help from Phil and/or Kaz. Charisma count.

Finally, be mindful of the Internet community. They are both friends and enemies. Get some help from your interactive and network marketing arm here, Sony :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, Resistance: Tha Fall Of Man in some opinions seems to blow pretty much every xbox 360 game out there out of the water, some even review it better than the xbox 360 flagship title Gears Of War.
Call of Duty 2, Xbox 360 launch flagship FPS, GameRankings: 90.1%, Metacritic: 90

Gears of War, Xbox 360 holiday 2006 flagship FPS, GameRankings: 95%, Metacritic: 95

Resistance, PS3 launch flagship FPS, PS3 holiday 2006 flagship FPS, GameRankings: 88.8%, Metacritic: 89

It looks like Resistance isn't quite ranking as high as the 360s flagship launch FPS, it's not even close to Gears of War.
 
I agree, Resistance does not have the "WOW!" factor that past console launch games like Halo had. Halo made me want an Xbox, while Resistance looks like a solid game it just does not seem to offer anything mind-blowing or new that I cannot find on my Xbox 360.

This is the precise reason I never ever buy a console at launch. There are never enough good games for me to justify the purchase in the beginning. Price drops and Greatest/Platinum hits then I buy them.
 
Well, Resistance: Tha Fall Of Man in some opinions seems to blow pretty much every xbox 360 game out there out of the water, some even review it better than the xbox 360 flagship title Gears Of War.

Out of the water!? At best it's on par with the best 360 games, Sony needed to do better than that. I think that's a big reason for such negative press, the other stuff could've been overlooked if it had delivered a truly amazing game at launch.
 
Call of Duty 2, Xbox 360 launch flagship FPS, GameRankings: 90.1%, Metacritic: 90

Gears of War, Xbox 360 holiday 2006 flagship FPS, GameRankings: 95%, Metacritic: 95

Resistance, PS3 launch flagship FPS, PS3 holiday 2006 flagship FPS, GameRankings: 88.8%, Metacritic: 89

It looks like Resistance isn't quite ranking as high as the 360s flagship launch FPS, it's not even close to Gears of War.

CoD2's score doesnt give the right indication. I doubt the same game would have scored as much if it was released with Resistance and GoW as competitors.

That score describes the quality we got in 2005, but not in 2006.
 
Live, upcoming movie/TV show downloads, Media Player streaming and all of it working transparent to the user with minimal effort on their part is quite innovative.

Those are all upcoming features, they are talking about the Xbox360 launch there that it was innovative to begin with but the PS3 somehow isn't? :)

I give Live is perhaps innovative in its own right but I don't think that really makes the system innovative by itself.
 
CoD2's score doesnt give the right indication. I doubt the same game would have scored as much if it was released with Resistance and GoW as competitors.

That score describes the quality we got in 2005, but not in 2006.

I don't think the scores are any different now that a year has passed. Games are rated in relation to the products out at the current time, not games that came out a year later. In relation to Gears of war, both games have scored lower.
 
Those are all upcoming features, they are talking about the Xbox360 launch there that it was innovative to begin with but the PS3 somehow isn't? :)

I give Live is perhaps innovative in its own right but I don't think that really makes the system innovative by itself.

Ya, upcoming in 2 days! :p

The system has brought alot of innovation, if you define it as stuff that wasn't there before, the networking capabilities w/ videos and audio streaming via PC and Mac, the free live service with demos/game & music video downloads, XB Live arcade, X360 pc devkits, Media center plugin with PVR functionality and radio streaming, and now downloadable HD movies and TV series for rent and purchase.

That's not to shabby for a single generation!

btw, If you go back to last generation, standard HDD, standard nic, and robust online infrastructure are all big steps forward.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Those are all upcoming features, they are talking about the Xbox360 launch there that it was innovative to begin with but the PS3 somehow isn't? :)

that's the thing. nobody (Joe comsumer) gives a damn that the xbox 360 didn't have certain features when it launched. Adding new features to live raised the bar above what was included with the PS3, and thats the difference.
 
Yap ! The Xbox 360 owes a lot to MS's position in the PC market. Many of the recent enhancements came from there.
 
that's the thing. nobody (Joe comsumer) gives a damn that the xbox 360 didn't have certain features when it launched. Adding new features to live raised the bar above what was included with the PS3, and thats the difference.

I think the point is that the PS3 also offers many things to be happy about, compared to other systems or otherwise. But that will be lost in an article like this where a journalist will hear more loudly all the things that aren't right with the system, than those that are. It's natural, but it's not a good way to gain a fair impression of the system.
 
I think the point is that the PS3 also offers many things to be happy about, compared to other systems or otherwise. But that will be lost in an article like this where a journalist will hear more loudly all the things that aren't right with the system, than those that are. It's natural, but it's not a good way to gain a fair impression of the system.

Maybe that's because the things offered have a more narrow appeal? I mean, web browsing in the living room, and the ability to install linux are not huge on most peoples priority lists I would think(I know I'm missing some stuff). While, chatting, texting, and audio playback are?
 
Maybe that's because the things offered have a more narrow appeal? I mean, web browsing in the living room, and the ability to install linux are not huge on most peoples priority lists I would think(I know I'm missing some stuff).

You are, but nonetheless that's purely subjective. I'd argue as many people would be interested in using youtube on their console as having a custom tracklist, for example (not that that's an impossibility on PS3, it's just game-dependent at the moment). Things like the rather excellent photo browser and movie playback capability are also very 'casual' things (and I'm glossing over the apparent quality of their implementation - things you'll also miss just looking at a spec sheet of formats or whatever).

Also, on the things you note - those things are available in some games, it's just not universal yet. You can chat and voice chat and video chat to your hearts content in the xmb - in game, that currently depends. It's not like it's not there altogether though, but I'm sure you knew that. Not to mention there's the most casual attraction of all there - it's completely free.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Maybe that's because the things offered have a more narrow appeal? I mean, web browsing in the living room, and the ability to install linux are not huge on most peoples priority lists I would think(I know I'm missing some stuff). While, chatting, texting, and audio playback are?

Possible but still not the complete picture. Free online game has not fully panned out yet. Same goes with refering to web during gaming... (whether it's in the living room or not, might be irrelevant in this case). What Sony needs is just to follow through and better communication/relationship with the press and user community.
 
I think the point is that the PS3 also offers many things to be happy about, compared to other systems or otherwise. But that will be lost in an article like this where a journalist will hear more loudly all the things that aren't right with the system, than those that are. It's natural, but it's not a good way to gain a fair impression of the system.

Well Titanio, can you name something he didn't mention in his article that the PS3 also offers that others do not? I don't recall there being any significant (feature wise) that he missed.
 
Back
Top