Well after looking at everything Sony have put forward during today’s E3 press conference I have to say that I’m disappointed in Sony. I know you’re all thinking that I’m totally bias being a Microsoft fanboy (and you could be right) but please hear me out. What has Sony brought to the market here that its competition (Microsoft and Nintendo) haven’t done already? Sure the controller being motion sensitive is cool but the Wii is already known to be doing all that and then some. Sure it has some form of online service (you’ll note they didn’t go into great detail there, most likely because it will be weak at best) but didn’t it look like a watered down Xbox Live service?
So what’s Sony’s wow factor for the high $500USD price tag? Blueray? Nope Xbox 360 has HD DVD as an optional add-on if you want it (so you don’t have to pay for it if you don’t wait it). Ok so how about that 1080p? Well actually that’s not even a standard so games only support it if they want/need to, which to be honest is overrated when compared to 720p graphics. In a way I’m almost concerned that Sony is such a poor competitor in the marketplace. Nothing breads innovation like competition, but it’s almost like Sony have run out of fresh ideas. I think their new slogan should read ‘Playstation 3 - We’ve ran out of ideas in the forth dimension’
Ok so lets put the same scrutiny on the 360, what has the 360 got that the PS3 doesn’t? Well how about the best online service you can have today? How about integration with your desktop PC and a host of web based services? How about a console that’s been released a full year before Sony’s even entered the market? That’s right you can actually play it right now. How about having options on what your console has built into it (Hard drive, HD DVD) to keep your pricing down? How about a price which doesn’t mean selling you kidneys on ebay/trademe? How about a consistent gaming experience at 720p/1080i? How about a whole bunch of cool stuff that’s being announced tomorrow…
I mean don’t get me wrong the PS3 looks like a great bit of hardware but at the end of the day, comparing consoles and services with consoles and services does Sony really think they’re being competitive? Over priced with little new to offer sums up their efforts as far as this fanboy is concerned.
[Update 1] To make matters worse Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 controller has lost its vibration functionality because it interfered with its sensors. Also the cheaper version of the PS3 doesn’t have Memory Stick, HDMI, or wireless (see page 3 of the pdf). Sounds like a bargain at $499USD :O
[Update 2] I should really give Sony some credit actually, the whole second screen via the PSP is quite unique at this point. It does have potential to be quite useful but I wouldn’t call it a killer feature by any means. Still nice of them to have a fresh…ish idea.