$400 80GB PS3 Bundle w/ Motorstorm & Resistance coming soon to Target

[quote name='johnnypark']If their answer is to add a 2-year-old game you can get for ~$25 instead of dropping the price... I think they're officially screwed. $400 is $400, an extra game doesn't substantially increase it.[/quote]

Exactly. Like adding a launch game is going to finally push those people waiting to make the plunge over the edge. Everyone has been screaming at them since the damn thing came out that it was too expensive. They need to get in sync with the general public sooner, rather than later.
 
As several people have pointed out, the two games bundled here are old and although quite decent, many have already played them so there is little incentive to buy this sku. It is still $400 (which is still not bad for this kind of machine).

I like the idea of having a bundle with Little Big Planet. In fact, since the price of those two games total a brand new game anyway, they could even have two bundles. Say Little Big Planet geared to everyone and especially younger audiences (due to the lovable SackBoy) and Killzone 2 bundles geared to the more mature audience (I only say this because of the ESRB rating).

But still, $400 is not a bad price if you do plan on using the system for more than just gaming. I bought the 40gb at $400 and do not regret it at all.
 
I haven't seen anything specific yet at Best Buy.... However, We did get in like 30+ PS3's yesterday. I haven't seen that many at once since the holidays. The ad this week has a free select game of your choice but we won't be selling that many. Price Drop for the system has been in the rumor mill for months now. Killzone 2 is now out so its past that. We did not get any PS3's with the bundle of Motorstorm or Resistance. If they are planning on doing that our Sony Rep will just be in with a million copies of the games and reseal the system boxes with the games inside. Only time will tell.
 
I have no idea what Sony's plans are reference the price drop... however it doesn't seem like a bad strategy to have the 40gb system at 300 and have the 80gb system (w/ two games and BC) at 400. It reminds me of Walmart's strategy.. they have their products (sam's club, walmart brand, and others) which are dirt cheap, then when you pass over those products the more name brand version of the same products are priced higher than regular price of the product at another store (this was discovered when Walmart had to get rid of the "always lowest prices" slogan) Sony probably doesn't want the 300 dollar console to sell, they most likely rather sell the 400gb bundle. People might not want to go out and spend 400 dollars, as they would be much more willing to spend 300. Sony drops the price of the 300 dollar bundle, which gets the consumer's attention. Then they offer a 400 dollar bundle. Joe Consumer who's now in the hunt for PS3 says... oh what the heck, I'll spend the extra hundred for the upgraded system. Which plays directly into Sony's Strategy. You get a system and two games sold.... two games that aren't really worth anything on the gaming market right now.
 
[quote name='oasisboy']So, is this new rumored bundle going to include a HDMI cable or are they still forcing people to buy it on monoprice? (or some idiots buy a monster cable for $40)[/quote]

I regret to inform you that the Circuit City clearance is over, so people can no longer get monster HDMI cables for $40. :whistle2:#;)
 
Hey heres 2 oldass games with your brand new PS3 !!

Yes they are good games. But the PS3 needs a Price drop .. NOW.
More consoles sold = More games will be made for it.
In order to sell more consoles the price needs to drop.


349 +these 2 games would be a nice deal.
399 for the 160gig version would be a much needed price drop as well.
 
Pfffft...this is supposed to make me want to get a PS3? Two games I could get for under $25 together if I looked and still no price drop? fuck that...I'll wait till Black Friday and see if they've come to their senses by then...:bomb:

Watching Sony make *ahem* "deals" like this and expect to sell marginally more PS3s reminds me of the image of Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned...:twisted:
 
[quote name='johnnypark']If their answer is to add a 2-year-old game you can get for ~$25 instead of dropping the price... I think they're officially screwed. $400 is $400, an extra game doesn't substantially increase it.[/quote]
Completely agree.

Sony is under a lot of pressure to get an entry-level (ha) priced PS3 out from developers, but dropping the price any lower right now is financial suicide for them. They're already working at an operating loss for every system sold, so all they can do is sweeten the deal by giving away first party titles that effectively cost them nothing in overhead. Worse still is both those games are mediocre at best.

It's sad, but the PS3 might lead Sony down the path of Sega.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']I get TWO GH games that already have superior sequels on shelves? AWESOME!!!

/sarcasm

Get your shit together Sony so I can buy one to play Killzone 2.[/quote]
You really aren't missing much unless incredible graphics are all you need in a game.
 
I'm surprised by the negativity here. I'm pissed off they removed backwards compatibility last year, but other than that, it's not a bad deal at $400, and throwing in two free games makes it nicer.

Yeah they're older games-that's what usually happens. They can't make as much on them, and they hope you'll buy the sequels. People buying this bundle for the most part have never played either game. I like that it's two games too, since not everyone's going to like both.
 
[quote name='FarmhouseMedia']Doesn't seem like that good an SKU to me. You can buy both those games off Amazon for $56 for BOTH!

Besides, both those games have sequels now! The online for the original Motorstorm usually has less than 100 ppl on it at a time. Seems odd that the system is going to be bundled with a couple of Greatest Hits games which were out just after launch.

That SKU should have had MGS4 and Uncharted or maybe LittleBigPlanet.[/quote]

Right, but if someone is buying a ps3, you're going to assume they've played PS3 games and give them the sequels?

The idea is that you give them good games (I can't wait to get a ps3 to play the first resistance too) that have full price sequels out that they will buy. Honestly, I think it's a good strategy.
 
[quote name='Z_meista']doesn't concern me since i already have a ps3[/quote]

Your post does not concern me since I already have a PS3.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Right, but if someone is buying a ps3, you're going to assume they've played PS3 games and give them the sequels?

The idea is that you give them good games (I can't wait to get a ps3 to play the first resistance too) that have full price sequels out that they will buy. Honestly, I think it's a good strategy.[/quote]

While your point is certainly valid from a merchandising theory standpoint, I have to question the specific market research Sony used in creating this bundle. Judging by the numbers that Nintendo is putting up this generation, it would probably have been a better package to throw something like Little Big Planet in with Blu or two that fit into a 12-15 year old demographic, rather than try to appeal to their meaty middle market, of core gamers/technophiles with 2 games they already likely own or wouldn't want. The Uncharted bundle made sense, this one does not.
 
Some advice for Sony:

1. Include the damn HDMI cable with the console
2. Put Killzone 2 (or MGS 4) and Little Big Planet (or Ratchet & Clank) in the box
3. Include a couple of PS1 games for free from the PSN store
4. Add a free BluRay movie (whatever movie Sony had a hard time selling)
5. Add the Blu-Ray remote and the Blu-tooth headset

MSRP = $400 = DEAL
 
[quote name='Ronin317']While your point is certainly valid from a merchandising theory standpoint, I have to question the specific market research Sony used in creating this bundle. Judging by the numbers that Nintendo is putting up this generation, it would probably have been a better package to throw something like Little Big Planet in with Blu or two that fit into a 12-15 year old demographic, rather than try to appeal to their meaty middle market, of core gamers/technophiles with 2 games they already likely own or wouldn't want. The Uncharted bundle made sense, this one does not.[/quote]

Why are they buying a ps3 if they likely already own the games included?

The reason they are including these is simple. They want to have apparent value added with as little as possible profit taken away. Arguably, someone who buys this bundle doesn't have a ps3 yet, so the games will be new to them. However, these games are so old (and already discounted) that the likelihood of it cannibalizing any sales of them is very small. Plus, if they like the games, they both have nice, expensive sequels for the purchaser to buy.

But really, it's still just a patch until they are ready to drop that price.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Why are they buying a ps3 if they likely already own the games included?

The reason they are including these is simple. They want to have apparent value added with as little as possible profit taken away. Arguably, someone who buys this bundle doesn't have a ps3 yet, so the games will be new to them. However, these games are so old (and already discounted) that the likelihood of it cannibalizing any sales of them is very small. Plus, if they like the games, they both have nice, expensive sequels for the purchaser to buy.

But really, it's still just a patch until they are ready to drop that price.[/quote]

Own was a poor choice on my part. The core gamer audience is made up of fickle, first adopters - which is why you see a pile of each hot title at gamestop a week after it's release. Someone buying a PS3 TODAY doesn't want to play a 2 year old FPS that none of their friends or most of the community is playing - they want KZ2. They want the new Motorstorm. They want LBP. Your line of thinking on the 'gateway' to the purchase of the new versions by including greatest hits is not a stretch by any means, and is logical in the retail realm, but I don't see it being effective in this particular instance. It's poor merchandising on their part - they should have had a KZ2 bundle ready from Day One - and only for the first month of the release of the game, at a price that represents a discount from buying the two separately. It would sell systems...It's arguable, for sure. I don't think Sony's main downfall is software sales at this point- it's new adopters, so they need to be more agressive in selling the system with that piece of software that people desire.the amount of people buying a PS3 and say, KZ2, in the same transaction is probably so small that Sony would never miss the specific revenue from that game sale, vs. what they could do with a KZ2 pack-in.

But your last line there is dead on...it's filler until the real drop. Which I see being $50.
 
Sony never listens to consumers for what's important in features, pricing, etc. It's going to be a very very long time before I'll buy a PS3.

Bundle sucks. Price sucks. No BC sucks most. I can hold out as long as they do.
 
[quote name='Ronin317']Own was a poor choice on my part. The core gamer audience is made up of fickle, first adopters - which is why you see a pile of each hot title at gamestop a week after it's release. Someone buying a PS3 TODAY doesn't want to play a 2 year old FPS that none of their friends or most of the community is playing - they want KZ2. They want the new Motorstorm. They want LBP. Your line of thinking on the 'gateway' to the purchase of the new versions by including greatest hits is not a stretch by any means, and is logical in the retail realm, but I don't see it being effective in this particular instance. It's poor merchandising on their part - they should have had a KZ2 bundle ready from Day One - and only for the first month of the release of the game, at a price that represents a discount from buying the two separately. It would sell systems...It's arguable, for sure. I don't think Sony's main downfall is software sales at this point- it's new adopters, so they need to be more agressive in selling the system with that piece of software that people desire.the amount of people buying a PS3 and say, KZ2, in the same transaction is probably so small that Sony would never miss the specific revenue from that game sale, vs. what they could do with a KZ2 pack-in.

But your last line there is dead on...it's filler until the real drop. Which I see being $50.[/quote]

Perhaps you're right. I'm giving the consumer too much credit here. I'm assuming people are knowledgeable buyers that value good games no matter when they come out and are patiently waiting for certain criteria to be met to make their purchase.

In reality, it's more like "OH noes they dropped PS3 price buy now!!!1!"
 
Isn't it possible that this is just a Target specific bundle guys? Target wants to unload some of their PS3 stock that hasn't been moving, so they've tossed two games into the box? Maybe?

The fact that we've only heard confirmation from Target makes me think this may be the case. Also, it would explain why people are still reporting an impending price drop. Sony is planning a drop to help move stock, Target got sick of waiting and took matters into their own hands.

No retail game experience, so this could be a laughable theory, but maybe?
 
The only way I'm going to buy a PS3 is if they drop the price $100, or if they bring back BC. Preferably both. :D
 
[quote name='MuzykMann']Isn't it possible that this is just a Target specific bundle guys? Target wants to unload some of their PS3 stock that hasn't been moving, so they've tossed two games into the box? Maybe?

The fact that we've only heard confirmation from Target makes me think this may be the case. Also, it would explain why people are still reporting an impending price drop. Sony is planning a drop to help move stock, Target got sick of waiting and took matters into their own hands.

No retail game experience, so this could be a laughable theory, but maybe?[/quote]

It's got its own box (and not just a cardboard slipover). While it may be target exclusive, it's not target "taking things into its own hands." Even the gift card promotions things they do are approved by the manufacturer from what I understand.

[quote name='duffyman']The only way I'm going to buy a PS3 is if they drop the price $100, or if they bring back BC. Preferably both. :D[/quote]

I was always under the impression that they would bring it eventually through software, but then i recall seeing somewhere that the gpu can't be emulated by the current hardware (this caused the GPU only BC consoles that were out for a bit), so that's a no go. It's really unfortunate because if you want a fully BC machine, you've got older hardware that runs hotter and has a lens that may fail.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']It's got its own box (and not just a cardboard slipover). While it may be target exclusive, it's not target "taking things into its own hands." Even the gift card promotions things they do are approved by the manufacturer from what I understand.
[/quote]

Huh... I saw the picture and thought it looked like a sticker slapped on a normal box, reminiscent of the holiday bundle xbox360 I bought a few years back. Guess not. Then I guess the PS3 price drop rumors must be bogus. That's a shame.

I can't justify the price of a PS3 right now, but I'm slowly building points on my Sony card. Once the credits on my card = the price of a PS3, I'm in. It's easy to justify free :)
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']It's got its own box (and not just a cardboard slipover). While it may be target exclusive, it's not target "taking things into its own hands." Even the gift card promotions things they do are approved by the manufacturer from what I understand.[/quote]
Precisely on both counts. Bundles like this, even if exclusive to a store chain, are from the Manufacturer. In a lot of cases, they are under contract terms not to do anything that would change the box or anything. Which is why each Video game section is branded - the companies are paying Target for the space. Plus, then you have the pesky problem of ringing it at POS, with 3 separate skus for the games and system. It's just too big of a mess for a store chain to do anything without the blessing of, in this case, Sony.

As for the gift card promos, they are, as this bundle, worked out with the Manufacturer well in advance. Like the Blu gift card offer a year or so ago - was purely a Sony kick-back, as they worked a deal to pull some off the backed of their fees on the blu-ray players across the manufacturer's spectrum with a few retailers.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']I'm surprised by the negativity here. I'm pissed off they removed backwards compatibility last year, but other than that, it's not a bad deal at $400, and throwing in two free games makes it nicer.

Yeah they're older games-that's what usually happens. They can't make as much on them, and they hope you'll buy the sequels. People buying this bundle for the most part have never played either game. I like that it's two games too, since not everyone's going to like both.[/quote]

Xbox 360 bundles games together all the time and when they do they're fairl new at the time (Lego Star Wars, Kung-Fu Panda, Resident Evil 5, etc.) hell even Sony had the MGS package and from what I've heard they moved quite a few even though those things seemed to be popping up every where despite the "very limited supply" tag they had on them.. so idk..
 
[quote name='arsennel']i assume there is no bc on this one but anyone know for sure?[/quote]

I second that question ...
 
[quote name='h8b1llg8ts']I second that question ...[/quote]

All of the current PS3 SKUs have no ps2 BC but have ps1 BC. ps2 BC hasn't been seen since the 80gb motorstorm bundle and the MGS4 40gb bundle.
 
[quote name='Cao Cao']*Sigh* Once again Sony, you completely miss ze point. Nintendo gets it. Sega got it. Heck, even Microsoft gets it.

- LittleBigPlanet: Wide audience potential, good for all ages.
[/quote]

Little Big Planet would have been an excellent choice. A game that can appeal to family's of all ages. Would make the system targeted to people of all ages and not just adults. That's the first game I would personally buy for the PS3.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']I was always under the impression that they would bring it eventually through software, but then i recall seeing somewhere that the gpu can't be emulated by the current hardware (this caused the GPU only BC consoles that were out for a bit), so that's a no go. It's really unfortunate because if you want a fully BC machine, you've got older hardware that runs hotter and has a lens that may fail.[/QUOTE]

Software emulation IS coming. Also, the SPU is already software emulated on all PS3s, look at the MS/MGS4 PS3s as an example. The GPU while tough, is not impossible, especially when sony themselves has all the specs there with them, along with their best engineers at work.

I think people are not giving sony enough credit for their turnout of a disaster the PS3 has been so far. Seriously, $599 was the price heard round the world. Its shocking they've moved 21 million systems in 2 years with such insane competition and pretty much the world against sony. No one, not even nintendo, expected the Wii to be what it is today sales wise. And Microsoft has taken extreme measures to take out any third party advantage sony ever had the past 2 gens with major success.

Also, i know a insider who said that every major component from XBL will be on the PSN by end of year, this was mandated by sony internally. So cross game invites, cross game voice chat, and more will all be there. Expect a ton more PS1 games out this year (i know its been bleak, but theres a lot coming), and i would not be shocked to see the begining of the PS2 games on PSN soon enough. PSP is also going to get a major push this year in every way possible.

Anyhow, this bundle might be Target exclusive. We dont know. But i expect a price cut very soon, at the least 50 bucks, if not the proper 100.
 
[quote name='blitz6speed']Software emulation IS coming. Also, the SPU is already software emulated on all PS3s, look at the MS/MGS4 PS3s as an example. The GPU while tough, is not impossible, especially when sony themselves has all the specs there with them, along with their best engineers at work.

[/quote]

Do you have a source or a story on that? I know they can do the EE, but haven't heard anything about doing the GPU in software.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Its the Saturn syndrome. They cant drop the price so they have to bundle software to try to stay competitive.[/QUOTE]
That bodes well for the system's prospects of success given the Saturn's rich history.
 
If the games were anything else but these two.. I would've jumped on it. They're just not my preferred genre.
 
1) Bundling HDMI would be a worse idea than these games, those in the know, know they can get HDMI for $3-5. Those not in the know, won't even know they should get HDMI.

2) The newer AAA game is included in the 160gb bundle. This bundle is for the more mainstream less cost spending consumer. Yes, it would be nice if there were newer games but obviously it's not economically feasible.

3) The PS3 is a steal with the Dell deal and other deals that pop up time to time. You're or you're almost saving as much as you do if there was a price drop. I got one last year for $300. Instead of waiting for a price drop, use a deal now to get it for around the same price.

4) If you need to wait for a price drop for some reason, instead of saving just as much or close to as much right now months before it happens, one will be coming this year. I'd be very surprised if it did not happen before the end of August. I really see either a $50 one in the next few months or a $100 one this summer.
 
[quote name='blitz6speed']I think people are not giving sony enough credit for their turnout of a disaster the PS3 has been so far. Seriously, $599 was the price heard round the world. Its shocking they've moved 21 million systems in 2 years with such insane competition and pretty much the world against sony. No one, not even nintendo, expected the Wii to be what it is today sales wise. And Microsoft has taken extreme measures to take out any third party advantage sony ever had the past 2 gens with major success. [/quote]

Indeed. 21 million units is pretty impressive, considering all of the complaints about the price.
 
LBP or Ratchet and Clank should have been included(especially Ratchet if their trying to get PS2 owners converted. Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank or R&C plus LBP would have made a better combo. Sony is taking it slow as usual because they are in this for the long run. Look at the life span of the PS2 honestly I have been playing my PS2 more than any console in the last few months.
 
[quote name='radjago']That bodes well for the system's prospects of success given the Saturn's rich history.[/quote]

The Sega Saturn launched at $400 and managed to sell around 9.5 million units in its lifetime. The Ps3, OTOH, launched at 600/500 bucks and have managed to sell 21 million units so far. The comparisons between the two are exaggerated.
 
[quote name='Vitality X']The Sega Saturn launched at $400 and managed to sell around 9.5 million units in its lifetime. The Ps3, OTOH, launched at 600/500 bucks and have managed to sell 21 million units so far. The comparisons between the two are exaggerated.[/quote]

Yeah, it's not a fair comparison. That generation saw the first successful console launch at 300 (PSX). According to inflation, the saturn at 400 in 1994 is equivalent to 572.00 in 2009. It didn't offer any real technical redeeming features over the psx or n64 either. On top of that, poor 3D and lackluster 3rd party support all did the saturn in. PS3 suffers from none of those.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Yeah, it's not a fair comparison. That generation saw the first successful console launch at 300 (PSX). According to inflation, the saturn at 400 in 1994 is equivalent to 572.00 in 2009. It didn't offer any real technical redeeming features over the psx or n64 either. On top of that, poor 3D and lackluster 3rd party support all did the saturn in. PS3 suffers from none of those.[/quote]

Never said the comparisons couldn't be made because they obviously could. But any doom and gloom predictions for the ps3, especially in comparison to the sega saturn, are just like I said, exaggerated.
 
[quote name='Vitality X']Never said the comparisons couldn't be made because they obviously could. But any doom and gloom predictions for the ps3, especially in comparison to the sega saturn, are just like I said, exaggerated.[/quote]
Exactly. While some comparisons can be made between Saturn & PS3, many of them are either far flung or exaggerated, while ignoring all the other factors that occurred in relation to each.
 
A lot of comparisons can be made between the PS3 and Saturn

1) They both have hardware that was/is difficult to use

The Saturn utilized 2 CPUS.. which was very rare at the time..most systems utilized only 1 CPU to do all their processing.. Most programmers had no idea hot to effecitevely utilize the Saturn's power.
IE) Alien Trilogy was a game that appeared on both the PSone and the Saturn. However, there was a huge difference between the two versions because the company who developed the game for the Saturn, only utilized one 28.6MHz cpu (AS opposed to the 2 CPUs that were equipped on the Saturn).. The PS1 version on the other hand utilized one CPU at 34MHz.. The full capabilities of the Saturn can be seen in Virtua Fighter 2, where each of the 28.6CPU were utilized to process each character.

The PS3 on the has a similar issue because it uses the CELL PROCESSOR, which includes a total of 7 CPU's on it.. all working at 3.2Ghz.. now similiarly to the Saturn, a lot of companies are having a very difficult time harnessing the TRUE power of the PS3, much like companies had a difficult time harnessing the true power of the Saturn

2) Both systems were more expensive at the time of release
With Inflation taken into account, the Saturn premiered at $572 and the PS3 was released at 600...

3) Both systems were the underdog even though they had higher graphical capabilities...

4) Both were colored black (couldn't help myself)


5) They could both easily import games

As we all know the Blu-ray is not region locked. The SATURN was region locked, but an action replay 4 in 1 could remedy that quite easily.. it allowed those with a US Saturn to (1) play import games, (2) added 1 or 4 megs of ram, (3) gave us a way to store saturn games, and (4) served as a gameshark/genie/action replay... All the other systems, you have to jump through hoops to get them to play imports

6) They both had die hard fanboys which hated the other systems and felt that their system was cool or 1337...

7) This is just a comparison between SEGA and SONY, but both utilized a special type of compact disc in their systems which allowed for higher capcity (GD-ROM for Dreamcast and Blu-Ray for PS3)



HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME STARK CONTRASTS

1) SONY is not foolish... it will not pull the plug prematurely on the PS3.. that means that the system can reach its full graphical potential.

One of Saturns main downfalls was the ditching of the Saturn and then making the Dreamcast.. Saturn btw.. had A LOT of Japanese support... it sold horribly in America, but not that bad in Japan. When the plug was pulled people were pretty upset, which helped lead to the downfall of the dreamcast.. that and i would consider it an "in between generation" system.. it looked a lot better than the PSone, but got its ass handed to it by the PS2.

2) SONY had much more success than SEGA... Let's be honest here.. the genesis was all right... but all the money it made from the PS2 sales allows SONY some wiggle room with its current counsel.. SEGA did not have this cushion so support the Saturn.. For instance, the successor of the PS1 (THE PS2) is still being sold at a decent rate.. and where is the successor of the Saturn? On ebay for 25 bucks...

3) Third-Party Support
As mentioned before, PS3 has MUCH more third party support than the Saturn... I reference my previous point of Alien Trilogy where it looked like crap on the Saturn because the developers didn't utilize the systems full capabilities. However, if you look at the PS3, there are a TON OF GAMES that work equally well across the board (PS3, 360, and PC) This defiantly helps boost up SONY's sales and will help prevent it from tanking.

4) FREE Network capabilities
The whole point behind this is that SONY has a faily decent internet service with built-in wireless.. the Xbox 360 has neither of these.. long story short.. the Saturn had little to nothing above their competion.. the PS3 on the other hand, has this,



So long story short, it seems that while there are some similarities between the two systems, one must keep in mind that the company has an important say about whether or not a video game system will become popular or not. There is marketing, first-party games, as well as the company's "financial abilities"....

To be honest, up until recently, I have thought that the PS3 was going to tank terribly. I was afraid it was going the way of the Saturn and fast. However, seeing games like Killzone 2 and MLB The Show '09, and God of War 3... one must realize that SONY has gone through great lengths to make sure that this system will make them money..
 
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[quote name='WuGgaRoO']
3) Both systems were the underdog even though they had higher graphical capabilities...[/quote]

I'm going to have to disagree here. I think that if you look back b4 this gen's launch, most people tended to think that the PS3 would continue to dominate, maybe not to the level of PS2, but most thought Sony would again be the leader. The true underdog here is the Wii. No one predicted that the Wii would sell like this.

But with "expected" exclusives/timed exclusives like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and GTA, along with Microsoft decision to go with limited software BC, most were anticipating that Sony would "win".

Now, things have changed once the game actually started. Partly due to shrewd moves by MS (FF13, GTA4 day and date) and Nintendo (cheap, new market), partly due to bonehead moves by Sony (multi-sku, high price, PR arrogance). But make no mistake, going into this gen, Sony was the clear favorite.
 
[quote name='WuGgaRoO']A lot of comparisons can be made between the PS3 and Saturn

1) They both have hardware that was/is difficult to use

The Saturn utilized 2 CPUS.. which was very rare at the time..most systems utilized only 1 CPU to do all their processing.. Most programmers had no idea hot to effecitevely utilize the Saturn's power.
IE) Alien Trilogy was a game that appeared on both the PSone and the Saturn. However, there was a huge difference between the two versions because the company who developed the game for the Saturn, only utilized one 28.6MHz cpu (AS opposed to the 2 CPUs that were equipped on the Saturn).. The PS1 version on the other hand utilized one CPU at 34MHz.. The full capabilities of the Saturn can be seen in Virtua Fighter 2, where each of the 28.6CPU were utilized to process each character.

The PS3 on the has a similar issue because it uses the CELL PROCESSOR, which includes a total of 7 CPU's on it.. all working at 3.2Ghz.. now similiarly to the Saturn, a lot of companies are having a very difficult time harnessing the TRUE power of the PS3, much like companies had a difficult time harnessing the true power of the Saturn

2) Both systems were more expensive at the time of release
With Inflation taken into account, the Saturn premiered at $572 and the PS3 was released at 600...

3) Both systems were the underdog even though they had higher graphical capabilities...

4) Both were colored black (couldn't help myself)


5) They could both easily import games

As we all know the Blu-ray is not region locked. The SATURN was region locked, but an action replay 4 in 1 could remedy that quite easily.. it allowed those with a US Saturn to (1) play import games, (2) added 1 or 4 megs of ram, (3) gave us a way to store saturn games, and (4) served as a gameshark/genie/action replay... All the other systems, you have to jump through hoops to get them to play imports

6) They both had die hard fanboys which hated the other systems and felt that their system was cool or 1337...

7) This is just a comparison between SEGA and SONY, but both utilized a special type of compact disc in their systems which allowed for higher capcity (GD-ROM for Dreamcast and Blu-Ray for PS3)



HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME STARK CONTRASTS

1) SONY is not foolish... it will not pull the plug prematurely on the PS3.. that means that the system can reach its full graphical potential.

One of Saturns main downfalls was the ditching of the Saturn and then making the Dreamcast.. Saturn btw.. had A LOT of Japanese support... it sold horribly in America, but not that bad in Japan. When the plug was pulled people were pretty upset, which helped lead to the downfall of the dreamcast.. that and i would consider it an "in between generation" system.. it looked a lot better than the PSone, but got its ass handed to it by the PS2.

2) SONY had much more success than SEGA... Let's be honest here.. the genesis was all right... but all the money it made from the PS2 sales allows SONY some wiggle room with its current counsel.. SEGA did not have this cushion so support the Saturn.. For instance, the successor of the PS1 (THE PS2) is still being sold at a decent rate.. and where is the successor of the Saturn? On ebay for 25 bucks...

3) Third-Party Support
As mentioned before, PS3 has MUCH more third party support than the Saturn... I reference my previous point of Alien Trilogy where it looked like crap on the Saturn because the developers didn't utilize the systems full capabilities. However, if you look at the PS3, there are a TON OF GAMES that work equally well across the board (PS3, 360, and PC) This defiantly helps boost up SONY's sales and will help prevent it from tanking.

4) FREE Network capabilities
The whole point behind this is that SONY has a faily decent internet service with built-in wireless.. the Xbox 360 has neither of these.. long story short.. the Saturn had little to nothing above their competion.. the PS3 on the other hand, has this,



So long story short, it seems that while there are some similarities between the two systems, one must keep in mind that the company has an important say about whether or not a video game system will become popular or not. There is marketing, first-party games, as well as the company's "financial abilities"....

To be honest, up until recently, I have thought that the PS3 was going to tank terribly. I was afraid it was going the way of the Saturn and fast. However, seeing games like Killzone 2 and MLB The Show '09, and God of War 3... one must realize that SONY has gone through great lengths to make sure that this system will make them money..[/QUOTE]

Except for the fact that their install base is smaller because they won't cut the price of their console to something affordable. I want a ps3, but If i want an affordable one I need to buy it used off CL or something. NO WAY will i do that with so many of the lasers failing.
 
[quote name='hostyl1']I'm going to have to disagree here. I think that if you look back b4 this gen's launch, most people tended to think that the PS3 would continue to dominate, maybe not to the level of PS2, but most thought Sony would again be the leader. The true underdog here is the Wii. No one predicted that the Wii would sell like this.

But with "expected" exclusives/timed exclusives like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and GTA, along with Microsoft decision to go with limited software BC, most were anticipating that Sony would "win".

Now, things have changed once the game actually started. Partly due to shrewd moves by MS (FF13, GTA4 day and date) and Nintendo (cheap, new market), partly due to bonehead moves by Sony (multi-sku, high price, PR arrogance). But make no mistake, going into this gen, Sony was the clear favorite.[/QUOTE]

There's also the fact that the Saturn was never the underdog--at least not initially. The Genesis even dominated most of the 16-bit era, though was eventually surpassed by the SNES. It was also their third system, after one failure and then one success. Sony had none of this going for them. In fact, with Nintendo's Project Reality and Sega's Saturn, most expected the PS1 to be a flop. Of course, then games started to be shown and the Saturn had its disastrous surprise launch and it sort of turned into the underdog, but most in the industry expected it to beat the PS.
 
[quote name='hostyl1']I'm going to have to disagree here. I think that if you look back b4 this gen's launch, most people tended to think that the PS3 would continue to dominate, maybe not to the level of PS2, but most thought Sony would again be the leader. The true underdog here is the Wii. No one predicted that the Wii would sell like this.

But with "expected" exclusives/timed exclusives like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and GTA, along with Microsoft decision to go with limited software BC, most were anticipating that Sony would "win".

Now, things have changed once the game actually started. Partly due to shrewd moves by MS (FF13, GTA4 day and date) and Nintendo (cheap, new market), partly due to bonehead moves by Sony (multi-sku, high price, PR arrogance). But make no mistake, going into this gen, Sony was the clear favorite.[/quote]

Before launch, the wii was being praised for having an affordable price, new method of playing games, and a target audience of casual gamers.The 360 similarly was praised because it had a 1 year head start , awesome online integration, and the bells and whistels (custom soundtrack, gamerpoints, vibration, etc). The ps3, however, was being slammed for its high price, vibration removal, hardware size, and the lack of user specific details (gamerpoints/tropies/profiles). No one in their right mind thought Sony would dominate this gen with all of those negatives, especially the pricing.

Anyway, i hate all this console wars talk in the deals forum (mods agree?). It brings out the trolls and haters. I think most people here can agree that all three systems have their negative and positive quirks.
 
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