Sony's Real War Begins

[Evil Avatar]

Next Generation Online has a new editorial online, Sony's Real War Begins (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2116&Itemid=2), taking a look at some of the recent rumors that have been flying around about the launch of the Playstation 3.

Could Sony be planning to surprise everyone with its PlayStation 3 plans? With the introduction of Blu-ray, and the next generation games market up or grabs, the company is getting ready for the fight of its life. Colin Campbell looks at Sony's big conundrum...

[DiBiddilyBop]

I'm personally anxious to see what the next "real" announcement from Sony is. They've been quiet a loooong time.

[Klade]

Wow this piece was so vague they wouldn't even call it a rumor. Instead it was a rumor of a rumor and speculation about the rumor of a rumor....

Would that make the posts in this thread speculation on speculation which concerns rumors of a rumor?

[RichardTowler]

you can never direct link to that site or is just me, atleast on the 1st visit, when you get that full page ad there is no option to go direct to the article?

[Cubfan]

Sony may or may not make an announcement regarding the PS3 in the near future, or quite possibly later. This console is speculated to be released either this spring or fall in Japan, and in the spring, fall, or later in the U.S. The price of the console is still up in the air, it might be higher than the 360, or might not. In either case, Sony will be selling the console at a loss, probably. As for the launch lineup, upon release their may be a large number of games, or a small number. A launch of anywhere from 1 game to 100 games being possible. Our sources, who may or may not exist, have confirmed one thing as fact, Sony will release something, sometime, and at some price. Stay tuned.

[Crenor]

how about the big news is there getting rid of that dumbass boomarang controller.

[NACIONAL]

Our sources were unable to make the connection about whether this means the U.S. launch will come at the same time, even later, or, just maybe, much earlier

Really?.. are you really saying that the PS3 will launch in USA before or later or at the same time in Japan?.. I will crap my pants!!!

This article is really worthles.

[Roc Ingersol]

it's S VHS vs ED Beta people.

Joe and Jane Six-Pack don't have an HD TV -- they still don't even have pro scan.
Hell, they're buying Pan-and-Scan DVDs for the most part.

The whole next gen disc format thing assumes your average person is buying into the next hardware upgrade cycle, just because it's there.

That's never really been their thing.

[Borys]

E3 2006.

Or bust.

[Vandenh]

>E3 2006.

>Or bust.

Yeah I expect E3 to be the big launch event for PS3 as well were they finally show off what they got. If not.... RIP.

That being said.. that article is pretty crap (Bluray pays royality to MS, so MS doesn't really care who wins from a format point of view) but I really do wonder if Sony doesn't earn more (or at least easier money) on Bluray disks than on games.

[Balthasar]

it's S VHS vs ED Beta people.

Joe and Jane Six-Pack don't have an HD TV -- they still don't even have pro scan.
Hell, they're buying Pan-and-Scan DVDs for the most part.

The whole next gen disc format thing assumes your average person is buying into the next hardware upgrade cycle, just because it's there.

That's never really been their thing.
Except for the fact that SD will be off the airwaves circa 2010, making it considerably more difficult not to upgrade their tv set.

[Kefkataran]

Sony may or may not make an announcement regarding the PS3 in the near future, or quite possibly later. This console is speculated to be released either this spring or fall in Japan, and in the spring, fall, or later in the U.S. The price of the console is still up in the air, it might be higher than the 360, or might not. In either case, Sony will be selling the console at a loss, probably. As for the launch lineup, upon release their may be a large number of games, or a small number. A launch of anywhere from 1 game to 100 games being possible. Our sources, who may or may not exist, have confirmed one thing as fact, Sony will release something, sometime, and at some price. Stay tuned.

GIVE THIS MOTHERFUCKER A PULITZER IMMEDIATELY. HARD-HITTING JOURNALISM (AND CAPS) FOR THE WIN!

[automaton]

Some of this doesn't make sense. That article speculates that Sony might launch the PS3 earlier with poor software support just to get Blue-Ray players out in peoples' hands sooner and be cheaper than HD-DVD players. Well, if Sony wants to get Blue-Ray players out sooner and cheaper, just realease a loss-leading blue-ray player earlier. Don't take away my reason for buying a PS3 (to play games) by releasing it without any decent games. I'm not intersted in buying a Blue-Ray player. I'll be happy to take one for free with a kick ass next generation console. I imagine that is how most people feel. If Sony starts sacrificing standards on the PS3 side of the the equasion, they will fuck the whole thing up.

Personally I think Sony should remove the cloud completely and just put a standard DVD player in the PS3. Especially if it would make the PS3 $100 cheaper. I'm so tired of this hardware rat race merry-go-round. Next gen, I'm going to be looking at value more closely when purchasing video games. The Nintendo DS proved to me that I don't have to spend $700 on an Xbox360 to have a good time playing games.

[Opty]

Except for the fact that SD will be off the airwaves circa 2010, making it considerably more difficult not to upgrade their tv set.
No no no no! Every single thread that mentions HDTV has some "informed" person stoping in and going "HD's gonna be required after 2009/10!" That's NOT TRUE. What's going to be required is Digital TV signals, not High Definition TV signals, switching from current Analog TV signals. All it means is that your antenna won't work anymore unless you get a new set-top box to interpret the digital signals. That's it, you don't need a new TV or anything. Cable's already digital, and so's satellite, but antennas aren't and that's all that's going to change.

DTV will allow people with antennas to get HDTV shows, but what's it matter because if they don't have enough money to have cable already why would they have an HDTV?

[Roc Ingersol]

No no no no! Every single thread that mentions HDTV has some "informed" person stoping in and going "HD's gonna be required after 2009/10!" That's NOT TRUE.
You've got more patience than I do.
I normally just let 'em go. There'll always be another one in the next thread.

[JazGalaxy]

Sony may or may not make an announcement regarding the PS3 in the near future, or quite possibly later. This console is speculated to be released either this spring or fall in Japan, and in the spring, fall, or later in the U.S. The price of the console is still up in the air, it might be higher than the 360, or might not. In either case, Sony will be selling the console at a loss, probably. As for the launch lineup, upon release their may be a large number of games, or a small number. A launch of anywhere from 1 game to 100 games being possible. Our sources, who may or may not exist, have confirmed one thing as fact, Sony will release something, sometime, and at some price. Stay tuned.


*applause*

[Balthasar]

No no no no! Every single thread that mentions HDTV has some "informed" person stoping in and going "HD's gonna be required after 2009/10!" That's NOT TRUE. What's going to be required is Digital TV signals, not High Definition TV signals...
Funny, because if you actually read what I said (unaltered!), I never said "HDTV is going to be required." Read again:
"Except for the fact that SD will be off the airwaves circa 2010, making it considerably more difficult not to upgrade their tv set."

Now, if I were saying what you fallaciously claim I was, then why wouldn't instead say that everyone MUST upgrade their TVs? My mistake was not differentiating analog and digital SD, and for that I'm very, very sorry. :( But it should have been clear that I was not saying older tv's would be completely worthless when this happens. Which, one could reasonably infer, would NOT mean I think "HD is going to be required!!!!"

You should also note, though I did not say this before, TV manufactuers will likely stop producing SDTVs. I don't doubt that HD of varying qualities will be the broadcasting standard as well, forcing people off their old sets eventually. But hey, it's always fun reading someone get a shit fit when they spot the one thing they know on the net that they feel they can discuss intelligently. It's your time to shine, boy. Suck it in.

[Mason]

Except for the fact that SD will be off the airwaves circa 2010, making it considerably more difficult not to upgrade their tv set.
Yeah, and we've had legislation requiring us to switch over to the metric system repeatedly since 1866. But my car still gets four hogs-heads to the mile.

You're missing out on the basic economics of retail. If there were no more SDTVs, manufacturers couldn't get away with selling HDTVs priced like a luxury item, as they are currently. And they really like making that much profit per sale. A slow, drawn-out transition is really the best thing for them, instead of forcing everyone to go out and get the cheapest DTV they can find over the space of a year. They'd make more immediate cash that way, but the overall profit would be much lower.

[mister_slim]

So, that would be the same Sony and Toshiba that just re-uped their agreement on Cell development? The same guys that are depending on each other to bring Cell manufacturing costs down?

I think he might be overstating the conflict there a little bit.

[Balthasar]

Yeah, and we've had legislation requiring us to switch over to the metric system repeatedly since 1866. But my car still gets four hogs-heads to the mile.
So, what, you're suggesting when the government states they want the analog airwaves back, it's even remotely similar to the reasons why we don't use the metric system for everyday, non-scientific measurements? Come on, now. Calling that analogy "broad" would be an overstatement.

You're missing out on the basic economics of retail. If there were no more SDTVs, manufacturers couldn't get away with selling HDTVs priced like a luxury item, as they are currently. And they really like making that much profit per sale. A slow, drawn-out transition is really the best thing for them, instead of forcing everyone to go out and get the cheapest DTV they can find over the space of a year. They'd make more immediate cash that way, but the overall profit would be much lower.
You seem to be missing several basic facts, both about the economics of retail and the history. For one, the price of HDTV sets have been steadily going down, so the idea that these companies only want to sell them at exhorbitant prices is flat-out wrong. Secondly, it's far better buisness for them to be able to sell HDTV sets at a price that gets them into more hands. Consumer devices ALWAYS go down in price as their adoption rate increases, which can be supported by numerous real-world examples. It's not just that manufacturing costs decrease over time; it's that profit margins become considerably greater. Look at what happened to DVD players and surround sound systems. Both were priced well above what the average joe could ever afford, but with more people having to buy DVDs and desiring to hear their movies as intended, the prices have hit the floor (relatively).

Also, the government wants the airwaves back around 2010, so you're also exaggerating the speed of this transition (which has already been slow and drawn out, quite frankly).

[SMES]

One thing that stumps me about the PS3 (has nothing to do with this topic) is that I thought Blu Ray was going to require caddies or something, because the protective layer of the disk is thinner and requires protection.

But the PS3 looks like it has a slot loading (ala Revolution) disc drive. Caddies or no caddies? Can someone clarify this?

Oh and I think it's amazing that the PS3 is getting so much publicity and Sony doesn't have to do anything at all. They are pretty smart. Each of my local GameCrazys, the only chain around me that is pre-ordering the PS3, already have about 100 preorders at $50 each. And this is in an area with like 6 GameCrazys and many EBs, Best Buys, Targets, etc. Whenever Sony releases this thing, they better make about 5 million of them for launch.

[bobbler]

>E3 2006.

>Or bust.

Yeah I expect E3 to be the big launch event for PS3 as well were they finally show off what they got. If not.... RIP.

That being said.. that article is pretty crap (Bluray pays royality to MS, so MS doesn't really care who wins from a format point of view) but I really do wonder if Sony doesn't earn more (or at least easier money) on Bluray disks than on games.

From my understanding, the royalties per BR disc pressed is likely going to be counted in cents. A game is likely to make Sony somewhere around ~2-10 dollars per copy of it pressed from licensing alone... if its a first party title then it could be upwards of $30 per copy (assuming the copy gets sold). I don't think BR is more important to Sony than Playstation is. Playstation just happens to allow for BR to succeed, where it likely would have a hard time previously.

BR, like DVD, is going to just be a steady stream of income... the royalties on BR shouldn't touch the amount of money brought in by licensing fees of PS2/3/P games.

[bobbler]

One thing that stumps me about the PS3 (has nothing to do with this topic) is that I thought Blu Ray was going to require caddies or something, because the protective layer of the disk is thinner and requires protection.

But the PS3 looks like it has a slot loading (ala Revolution) disc drive. Caddies or no caddies? Can someone clarify this?

Oh and I think it's amazing that the PS3 is getting so much publicity and Sony doesn't have to do anything at all. They are pretty smart. Each of my local GameCrazys, the only chain around me that is pre-ordering the PS3, already have about 100 preorders at $50 each. And this is in an area with like 6 GameCrazys and many EBs, Best Buys, Targets, etc. Whenever Sony releases this thing, they better make about 5 million of them for launch.

No caddies... BR was originally going to have them, but the association realized that nobody wants caddies. TDK created a "Durabis" coating for BR discs so they'd be fine without them (also used on some of their DVDs... its pretty sweet stuff) -- the DVDs coated with it are pretty hard to scratch. I imagine the BR discs will at least be as resistant as a normal DVD, possibly more so (but I have a feeling the coating is made for mass production and cost efficiency, so it may not be like the ones on the specially made DVDs).

[SMES]

the royalties on BR shouldn't touch the amount of money brought in by licensing fees of PS2/3/P games.

I don't know, game royalties may be higher per disk, but if BluRay is adopted as the next gen disc standard, then everyone and their mother will be paying those "micropayments" to Sony. That could (and probably will) add up to a greater sum of money than game royalties.

If for every 1 PS3 game Sony gets a couple bucks, that's nice. But if there are a million times more BR movies out there, a few cents per disc would overwhelm game royalties.