“PS3 in Danger of Dying” Crowd Debunked

Yep. And very few people are affected by the digital switch over. It's not a switch to HD, just to only broadcasting a digital signal over the air. So the only people who need anything are those watching local channels through rabbit ears on analog TVs--and those people will mostly just get the converter box with the government coupon rather than a new TV.

Most people have cable or satellite and that's not affected at all by the switch over.

[quote name='dallow']It's people like them that get studios to remaster their work, and keep improving standards in our AV products.

AV is their hobby. Doesn't mean they don't/can't enjoy a film.[/QUOTE]

The majority yes. I'm just talking the few there that go to the other extreme and literally never post anything but a/v nitpicking and never have anything to say about films. The ones who nitpick both a/v quality and the movies themselves I have little qualms with, the site's just not a place for people like me who don't have a/v interests as a hobby, but rather just as a necessity for watching films. And that's fine. Like I said, I just need to find a good movie site not so skewed to videophiles.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yep. And very few people are affected by the digital switch over. It's not a switch to HD, just to only broadcasting a digital signal over the air. So the only people who need anything are those watching local channels through rabbit ears on analog TVs--and those people will mostly just get the converter box with the government coupon rather than a new TV.[/quote]


Wow, I'm glad to see somebody else is aware of that. I can't even count the number of times I've read forum comments (not just here) insisting that the February switch makes HD mandatory, so everyone is suddenly going to have to get an HDTV. The mandate only affects transmission format, not resolution.
 
[quote name='elmyra']Wow, I'm glad to see somebody else is aware of that. I can't even count the number of times I've read forum comments (not just here) insisting that the February switch makes HD mandatory, so everyone is suddenly going to have to get an HDTV. The mandate only affects transmission format, not resolution.[/quote]

Yeah, but since it affects only old tvs, will those people re-buy another old tv when it gives out or will they go with an HD one?

edit: As for the PS3's cost. True it's $400 but you dont have to buy anything else. You're set. A 360 is what $200? Then you need an HDD($50-100?), Wi-Fi kit($100), Live ($40 a year),you're up to $390+ and you still have no blu-ray playing ability after all that if that interests you. A wii on the other hand is cheap and then you REALLY don't have to buy anything else because there's no games worth buying hehe :p
 
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[quote name='HowStern']Yeah, but since it affects only old tvs, will those people re-buy another old tv when it gives out or will they go with an HD one?[/QUOTE]

Moot point as pretty much every new TV you can buy in stores is HD so everyone will be buying HDTVs from here on out.

The switch over will have no impact on that. And most people aren't going to run out and buy a new TV vs. get a converted box for cheap (or free) with the government coupon. Anyone just watching locals in SD over rabbit ears probably doesn't have the money around to run out and buy a new tv anyway (nor care about PQ enough to upgrade to HD anytime soon).
 
Estimates say that about 7% of all tvs will be blacked out in February (which I assume means total tvs, less digital compatible and converter-added sets - so the 7% will be those that won't have converter boxes). Whether that's the household's primary set or little Judy's tv in her bedroom, I don't know.

Will more people buy hdtvs come February? Hard to say; cable companies are consistently adding more HD content, making it more tempting. Add in the ease with which the market will force you to adopt Blu-Ray over DVD as years go by (you may not have recalled how it happened with VHS to DVD, but I do), as well as lower prices on HD sets, and you have a recipe for a growing HD market.

The only stumbling block - and a *major* one, mind - is people's economic fears. Not just spending their own income, but fear of credit as well (getting it if they don't have it, and keeping it/using it 'frivolously' if they do).

But irrespective of that, we can't assume that owning an HDTV = greater likelihood of buying a 360 or PS3 (or a Wii, for that matter). I'd be interested to see consumer knowledge of the three consoles, and if the average consumer knows enough to differentiate b/w the HD capacities of 360/PS3 versus the Wii. I am really skeptical that they do.
 
I have an HDtv and I use rabbit ears. The picture quality is better than cable HD because it's not as compressed. There isn't as much selection, sure, but I don't watch much TV. Mostly just movies and gaming.
But like myke said I don't think it will go hand-in-hand with consoles really except for the very extremely slight chance of the BB employees who tout/sell the PS3 as the optimal blu-ray player to non-gaming customers.
 
And the digital switchover won't affect people like you who have HDTVs and rabbit ears. :D

But I agree, regardless of the switchover's impact on HDTV sales (which I expect will be non-existent) I wouldn't expect a spike in console sales. We're talking people who have old SD tvs and only rabbit ears for SD locals--I can't imagine a huge portion of such people are gamers. Probably a few who just don't watch much TV and mainly have the TV for gaming, but I'd imagine that demographic of SD antenna only folks skews older and poorer.

I couldn't go without cable or satellite personally--mainly for sports. Got to have the ESPNs, fox sports, MASN, TNT/TBS etc.
 
Neilsen sez:
HDTV penetration currently at 23.2%, up from 12.8% a year ago.
Also, HD households watch 54% more sports.

Japan should be competitive with the US/UK as far as HDTV penetration, and you know what they think of the HD consoles.
 
Right. Those were 2008 spending habits over a 12-month period, the majority of which the American public (who's simply not paying attention to the world around them) were duped into thinking that we hadn't been in a recession since December 2007.

Will we see more penetration in 2009? Well of course. It's not going to go backwards. The question is: will it slow relative to last year (or slow relative to what it's estimated to be)?

We saw Nov/Dec (2008) retail sales drop an estimated 5-8% from the same period in 2007.

So while penetration went up, it's a lousy measure since it can only go in one direction, and it's one case where the long term trends mask much more recent revelations and changes in habits.
 
Year of the PS3 is coming :bouncy:

CWB452.gif

analystwii265928bd5.jpg
 
It would actually be really funny to see all 3 consoles end up relatively even in sales or whatnot by the end of the generation.
 
[quote name='HowStern']
edit: As for the PS3's cost. True it's $400 but you dont have to buy anything else. You're set. A 360 is what $200? Then you need an HDD($50-100?), Wi-Fi kit($100), Live ($40 a year),you're up to $390+ and you still have no blu-ray playing ability after all that if that interests you.[/QUOTE]

But again why does this matter to the general uniformed public? They see $200 versus $400 thats all they see. Till Sony lowers to $300 the sales will be flat and even then the arcade may hit $150 when that time comes.
 
[quote name='dallow']A 360 with no HDD is no 360 at all. [/QUOTE]

It can still play games and save. A casual gamer only needs to do that.
 
Still a damn shame.
Everyone should be able to have access to demos and all those 'casual' games on XBL. (yes, I know some will fit)
 
[quote name='dallow']A 360 with no HDD is no 360 at all.[/QUOTE]

I'll wholly agree with that. Makes me think of another reason I prefer the PS3: I don't care for memory management on my 360, and I'm much happier selecting and installing my own sized hard drive for my own price. Microsoft's approach to hard drives is really, really frustrating.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I'll wholly agree with that. Makes me think of another reason I prefer the PS3: I don't care for memory management on my 360, and I'm much happier selecting and installing my own sized hard drive for my own price. Microsoft's approach to hard drives is really, really frustrating.[/QUOTE]

True, but don't forget about their Wii and their LACK of approach to hard drives.. :lol:
 
[quote name='lilboo']True, but don't forget about their Wii and their LACK of approach to hard drives.. :lol:[/quote]


It's not a lack of approach... it's more like the infallible knowledge that one even exists...

the Wii has USB, there are plenty of external USB hard drives that probably could work fine.

install a Wii update, and plug in one.

Heck, Nintendo could go like MS and make it their on badged HDs and require that you buy an expensive 20GB for like $100.

It would be like making the machine that prints money to go print 2x as fast!


As for the PS3... I wanted it when it was a Bluray player but had poor selection of games.

Now that the Blu portion of it is cheaper as a standalone... how am I going to justify the $400 price tag.

I can't.


^^^Those graphs are way off, and 2011 as the Year of the Ps3... hilarious. and that comic about King Wii... even more funnies. :bouncy:


[quote name='dallow']Oh Wii! :shakes fist:[/quote]

Correction

[quote name='dallow']Oh Wii! :waggles:[/quote]
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']So we were all casual before xbox1?[/quote]
Gaming, internet, media, has changed and evolved. There are better ways of getting access to games on consoles now.

Demo discs are now (or should be) a thing of the past.
 
[quote name='xycury']I
As for the PS3... I wanted it when it was a Bluray player but had poor selection of games.

Now that the Blu portion of it is cheaper as a standalone... how am I going to justify the $400 price tag.

I can't.


Correction[/quote]

Of course you can't...please the ps3 gets the same games these days between xbox and wii, and it certainly has a greater 1st party selection from it's first year. Atleast come up with a better claim for not wanting one like the lack of Downloadable Content on 3rd party games, or the lack of BC on newer models....If you truly wanna see a lack of games on Sony check out the PSP (not actually to bad if you are jrpg fan but me Im not).
 
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Most of us would agree that a 360 without a hard drive isn't really a 360 but most people don't care about that. Most of the people I talked to over the holidays went with the Arcade because they just want to play games. They're not going on to Xbox Live to download demos or videos like we all do. Most people are still just casual gamers. They want to put a fun game in and play for an hour or so and then turn it off for a couple days. They don't compete against the world and they could really care less about achievements.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Microsoft's approach to hard drives is really, really frustrating.[/QUOTE]

Yeah they bled for everyone with the first xbox. Damn them for trying to make money this round.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']Yeah they bled for everyone with the first xbox. Damn them for trying to make money this round.[/QUOTE]

:rofl:

Yeah, they did it because they love you.
 
Its ridiculous to say that because people just want to play single player or local multiplayer games and arent interested in this extraneous functionality that they are casual.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Its ridiculous to say that because people just want to play single player or local multiplayer games and arent interested in this extraneous functionality that they are casual.[/quote]
Not my opinion, to be clear.

EDIT: Ah, it's Mack, hehe.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Its ridiculous to say that because people just want to play single player or local multiplayer games and arent interested in this extraneous functionality that they are casual.[/quote]

How so? Casual players don't want all that extra funtionality. They want to put a game in and play. I had a guy that bought an Arcade and Halo 3 just so him and his wife could play Co-op and that's it. He hadn't played Halo 2 in a couple years and just bought a 360 on a whim. Is that not casual?

Had another family come in and they just wanted to play Shrek, Viva Pinata Party Animals, and other licensed games. Are they hardcore just because they own a 360?

I think you're ridiculous for pinning your definition of hardcore on people.
 
I dont want any of that functionality. I clear 25-30 single player games a year, and I won $1500 in 2008 playing Smash tournaments, never online. What does that make me?
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']I dont want any of that functionality. I clear 25-30 single player games a year, and I won $1500 in 2008 playing Smash tournaments, never online. What does that make me?[/quote]

Obviously not a casual gamer since most people don't even know that there are video game tournaments. You put time and effort into Smash Bros. Most people just pop in a game to have fun. Yes, you're having fun but at the same time you're playing at a level way above the normal Joe.
 
[quote name='Watcht']Of course you can't...please the ps3 gets the same games these days between xbox and wii, and it certainly has a greater 1st party selection from it's first year. Atleast come up with a better claim for not wanting one like the lack of Downloadable Content on 3rd party games, or the lack of BC on newer models....If you truly wanna see a lack of games on Sony check out the PSP (not actually to bad if you are jrpg fan but me Im not). A good advantage it has though if you truly want it just for bluray is that it is a future proof bluray player, with the firmware updates it has going for it.[/quote]

indeed, I should complain more.

I think the PS3 not being BC is rediculous. That's my biggest gripe.

I don't own a PS2, but I want to, if the PS3 had BC, I would gladly use the 129 the ps2 is getting as a down payment, making the Ps3 only 271, which is just a tad more than an Xbox.

I don't care much for 1st party games.

I'm a RPG whore, and thinking of all the goodness that is on the ps2, and not seeing anything for the ps3 is sad.

I don't care for DLC.


PS3 needs more titles, I don't care where, just titles that are good. They can't drop the price, but dropping BC was a completely step backwards for them.

I know the cost of having it in there, but that's Sony's problem, not the consumer for giving another reason why to own a ps3, because they can play ps2 games.
 
If you're a RPG whore, why don't you own a PS2?

As for backwards compatibility, it's been shown that people don't use it nearly as much as they say they do or want to. I got a PS2 early on because I could still play PS1 games on it but just ended up buying more PS2 games and playing them. I didn't even play PS1 RPGs on it since I was too busy playing the new stuff.
 
Yeah, I don't even play PS2 games on it anymore.
I did maybe the first couple months.

You should get a PS2, lots of RPGs out there.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']So we were all casual before xbox1?[/QUOTE]

The space wasn't needed back then before broad band brought downloadable games, DLC, movies, free demos, installing to HDD to reduce load times etc.

Of course, I know you're stuck in the stone age and don't care about those things, but many of us use a lot of that stuff and couldn't got back to a console without a hard drive (or a ton of flash memory when prices drop).

[quote name='xycury']I
As for the PS3... I wanted it when it was a Bluray player but had poor selection of games.

Now that the Blu portion of it is cheaper as a standalone... how am I going to justify the $400 price tag.

I can't.
[/QUOTE]

It's still a good value for some one that doesn't have a 360 and wants an HD console and a Blu Ray player. Even with Black Friday prices you were looking at $450--500 for a 360 with HDD and a Blu Ray player.

And I say that as someone with a 360 and a stand alone Blu Ray player. The PS3 is a good value if you want a game machine and a Blu Ray player. If you already have a 360 like I did, then yes you're probably better buying a standalone player on sale for $150-200 unless the PS3 has exclusives you really want to play.

[quote name='Watcht'] A good advantage it has though if you truly want it just for bluray is that it is a future proof bluray player, with the firmware updates it has going for it.[/QUOTE]

Plenty of standalone players are upgradeable now--via ethernet or by burning or requesting a disc. First thing I did with my Sony S350 was plug it in and download the firmware update to upgrade it to Profile 2.0.

As a BR player, the PS3 is damn good, but it is no longer the best on the market. Many stand alones are as good or better from reviews I was reading before picking up the S350.

[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']I dont want any of that functionality. I clear 25-30 single player games a year, and I won $1500 in 2008 playing Smash tournaments, never online. What does that make me?[/QUOTE]

As I've said before. A weirdo living under a rock who needs to get the fuck off the internet since you hate all technological advance, go back to playing 100% retro games and leave the rest of us alone. :D

[quote name='depascal22']
As for backwards compatibility, it's been shown that people don't use it nearly as much as they say they do or want to. [/QUOTE]

For me, getting an HDTV killed BC for me as I can't stand to play non-HD games. And i don't play old crap enough to keep an SD TV around. But I was never big on it as I'd always rather play the latest and greatest game rather than replaying and old favorite or an old game I never played back in the day.
 
[quote name='depascal22']If you're a RPG whore, why don't you own a PS2?

As for backwards compatibility, it's been shown that people don't use it nearly as much as they say they do or want to. I got a PS2 early on because I could still play PS1 games on it but just ended up buying more PS2 games and playing them. I didn't even play PS1 RPGs on it since I was too busy playing the new stuff.[/quote]

I was poor as a kid and got into the gaming industry by owning a DS first.

Then bought a GC, and Wii, and now I'm looking at the PS2.

I wanted to get a ps1 but then that was before I had money.

I'm not that old, but I was a piss poor kid.

I DO want the ps2, and really want to look into it.

I'd gladly go out and get a ps3, if it could play ps2 games....


This I think is being overlooked, the NEW crowd that could benefit from BC.

But Sony is doing us a favor by taking it out.


Just makes me sad. :cry:
 
[quote name='depascal22']As for backwards compatibility, it's been shown that people don't use it nearly as much as they say they do or want to.[/quote]
That's like the argument that the PS3 is the same price as the Xbox 360 once you factor in hard drive, wifi, etc. It may well be true, but it doesn't help Sony sell consoles. As long as the lack of BC is perceived by potential customers as a big reason not to buy, it's a problem for Sony.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']So we were all casual before xbox1?[/QUOTE]

Did we have games that played on internal storage before Xbox 1?
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']

Plenty of standalone players are upgradeable now--via ethernet or by burning or requesting a disc. First thing I did with my Sony S350 was plug it in and download the firmware update to upgrade it to Profile 2.0.

[/quote]

Thanks for the clarification didn't know that. :)
 
[quote name='depascal22']Why not just buy a cheap used PS2 and wait for a price drop on the PS3?[/QUOTE]

100% the thing to do. Sounds like he's not much interested in the PS3 games now, so why pay $400 for that vs. just picking up a PS3 cheap used (or $130 new).
 
Theme for 2009: The rich get richer, the poor get poorer

PS3 US hardware sales down year over year (10%+), despite a price drop.

360's peak was 2007 (2nd full calendar year). Without Dec NPD 08, its 1.8 million short from the 2007 total. It will not bridge that gap in one month. 360 also down slightly, the same 10%+ range. Dropping the Arcade to $200 in 2008 didnt boost sales as much as keep them from dropping further. Magic price point my ass.

Wii is harder to predict. In theory it should have peaked in 2008, just as the PS2 peaked in 2002 (GC/XBOX in 2003). Blue Ocean waters are hard to chart. With such a record breaking year 2008, I would have to expect a slight drop as well (3-5%?)
 
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[quote name='depascal22']Why not just buy a cheap used PS2 and wait for a price drop on the PS3?[/quote]

That's what I think I'll do, buy a ps2 cheap.

how much are they running now at GS?

I doubt I'll be able to find someone selling it used, all I found was people trying to get 150 out of it with a few games.


Really, If the PS3 had BC, I would be saving up and buying one of those instead.
 
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