you know, i remember when sony launched the ps2 and all the shortages that followed its release. the upcoming/delayed ps3 launch just seems to remind me of back then, but worse, because there will be even fewer ps3 consoles for an even higher price. i can imagine ebay having ps3s for $1000 or something like that. it costs over half of that already. if you have a high-def television, then you have to fork out even more cash because sony has decided to not include an hdmi cable (for connecting the ps3 to high-def tv's so it can utilize the high-def technology). sure, you can pick up a cheap cable, but you'll get a definite drop in quality. so you'll have to get a good quality cable, costing around $100-200, i guess. plus games, which will go for $60.
i think microsoft had a similar situation when they released the 360, including the price concerns and shortages. it's just now getting to a point where decent games are making up for the cost and the 360 is referred to in a positive light. $400 was too much for a console when it came out, but it doesn't seem so bad now because the ps3 is quite a bit more (double if you need high-def).
sony seems like a power-drunk entity that thinks it can do anything and people will still buy the ps3. this used to be the case, too. when they first revealed the specs (around the time nintendo and microsoft did...a few e3's ago) all the sony fanboys (no better term to use...nintendo and microsoft fanboys also exist) were saying that sony's new console is going to stomp the competition, nothing can come close to it, etc. now those fanboys are seeing sony's recent follies and starting to jump ship on the brand...like they've been burned one to many times.
they might be right, too. sony still hasn't started producing ps3s and the official launch is supposed to be this november. they also ran into a snag with the blue leds needed for the blue-ray capability. estimated console numbers for the launch and end of the year have had to change. originally, there were supposed to be 700,000 units per major territory: north america, japan, and europe. that number has dropped radically to 500,000 units in two markets: north america (400,000) and japan (100,000). sorry europe, you have to wait till next year for your ps3. by the end of the year, sony was hoping to have 4 million units worldwide and now they've dropped to 2 million, but i think even that is wishful thinking with europe's launch postponed till next year. oh yeah, they still haven't started production. i read in one of the articles that sony is slowing production on blue-ray players so they can catch up on the ps3. that doesn't sound like good news.
meanwhile, sony's stocks have gone from incline to decline, starting around may when the pricing for the ps3 was announced. i'm sure microsoft's stock is on the rise with the success of x-box live arcade and some top-notch games on the horizon. nintendo's is definitely on the increase, even though the wii isn't out yet. they took a different approach, though, and it seems to have paid off so far. first, they gave an attractive upper limit on the console price: $200. next, they showed off what their innovations can do so far and it genuinely looks good. so much for graphical power. finally, they kept fans in mind while planning for the wii, emphasizing fun and playability over looks, pushing the boundaries of video games, and updating respected franchises to tap that nostalgia factor. speaking of nostalgia, nintendo's virtual console will have all sorts of old nes games available and online capabilities will be free (as opposed to xbox live).
so i started this post out thinking that the ps3 launch was a revisit of the ps2, but it turned into "what the hell is sony doing and how are the other companies taking advantage?" if the ps3 launch was a revisit, then we could look forward to market domination by sony, and that still may be the case, but it keeps looking like people are fed up with sony. as always, time will tell. below are links to articles i read in writing this post.
PlayStation 3: T-minus 3 months, not started manufacturing
PlayStation 3: 700,000 units
PS3 is HDMI cable free
European PS3 launch delayed
PS3 Launch now worse than 360's
Nintendo stock on the rise!
Nintendo says Wii is on track for launch
if you notice that most (all but one) of these links come from the same place, it's because that's the first gaming news site i read, but the articles/news are reported in numerous places i visit: joystiq, gamesarefun, engadget, techeblog, gamasutra, etc.
i originally saw this from wil wheaton's site a few years back, but forgot about it. i've recently come across it again and figured that i might as well show my true colors: below is my geek code.
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS$/FA/IT$/MU/O$/PA d+(--) s++: a- C+++$ UL P L+ E-- W+++$ N o? K? w++$
O---- M>M++ V-- PS++(+++) PE Y++ PGP t++@ 5 X++ R(+) tv+ b+++ !DI D++
G++ e++ h---- r+++ y+++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
if you want to decipher it, go here.
