+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted December 7, 2007 Subscriber² Share Posted December 7, 2007 (edited) The PlayStation 3 is a beast. Just look at one and listen it to it hum like a mini nuclear reactor as it deals out stunning visuals and exhilarating gameplay in spectacles like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Heavenly Sword. Last week we gave the misunderstood console 10 big pats on the back as we examined what the PS3 has done right, but we’re not about to ignore its mistakes.For whatever reason, be it the slow acceptance of new technology, tall-poppy syndrome or perhaps good old-fashioned Japanese arrogance, Sony buckled under the pressure of being the world’s premier console maker. Expectations for the Xbox 360 were humdrum, and for the Wii barely measurable, but the PS3 was always expected to be the primo console of choice. But the console throne can’t be claimed along hereditary lines alone, it has to be won. So like the little orphan in an epic RPG tasked with saving the world from next-gen mediocrity, the PS3 has the power within, but will it be awakened? These 10 ‘wrongs’ have us wondering. 1. The priceLet's get the obvious one out of the way first. The PS3 was, and still is, even with the new SKU and packaging, bloody expensive. At the day of launch, the PS3 came in at AU$999, which was AU$350 more than the Xbox 360, and AU$600 more than the Nintendo Wii. We would argue that you would get that much more value on both these competitors with the PS3 if you were in a position to make use of the in-built wireless, Blu-ray, HDMI and other fringe technology. But that doesn’t make it any more palatable to general Joe Consumer. In the end though, it wasn’t so much the PS3’s cost that we feel was Sony’s big wrong, but instead the fact that it was so much more expensive in PAL territories than in NTSC. In Japan the 60Gb console sold for approximately AU$650, and in the US it was roughly AU$750 – only our European brothers got equally stiffed. Since the console is more-or-less region free, bar some Blu-ray movies, the kick to the nuts came with extra back swing. And it is made all the more puzzling by the fact that Australia remains one of Microsoft’s strongest Xbox markets, and thus a region where Sony needed to be competitive. 2. Marketing madness We can’t blame a company for aiming high, but we can certainly blame them for selling us their dream, rather than ours. They chopped down two acres of the Amazon to make the list of marketing ****-ups Sony unleashed in the lead-up to the PS3’s launch, it’s that long. Whether it was claiming two HDMI and 10 USB ports, calling their console a personal computer or simply telling everyone that they will put more hours in at work for the privilege of owning a PS3, it seemed that Sony did not know how to sell their own multimedia HUB. Or even come through with the basic fundamentals of what their multimedia HUB should include (upscaling DVDs anyone? Or what about one simple infra-red sensor?) It all stemmed from ‘those videos’ at E3 2005, where gamers worldwide had their faces rearranged into permanent stun by the next-gen ‘gameplay’ in MotorStorm and Killzone 2. At this moment, Sony was doing a great job of selling the PS3 as a games machine. But then E3 2006 rolled around and the truth became so boringly apparent; the games weren’t even close to the hype. Sony didn’t know which way to back-pedal, so the PS3 suddenly become foremost a Blu-ray player, then an internet browser, a jukebox or even a photo album. They’ve finally committed Kuturagi and started to find more direction and better games, but it has taken some time to recover from the consumer backlash. 3. SIXAXIS Yes, the SIXAXIS was in our ‘done right’ list too as it certainly has it strengths, but they're countered by the controller’s weaknesses. First up is the lack of rumble… what a stuff up. Within seconds of hitting the first ripple-strip on the first corner of the first track in PS3 launch title Formula One, its admission stung like metho on an overly scratched testicle. Rumble was something we had all taken for granted, and its departure took with it an essential ingredient to immersion. Sony have since reintroduced rumble into the latest range of SIXAXIS controllers, but what does that mean for us fools with four of the original dodgy ones. Can we swap for free, please? And while we believe that implementing motion controls was a good thing, where were the good motion controlled games. It took the better part of a year and Warhawk before we actually found ourselves thinking ‘this motion thing can be cool’. Everything up to then felt, at best, tacked-on and at worst utterly pointless. This links in a way back to our concerns about the way Sony marketed their console. For our money Sony should’ve been down at shopping centres demoing its equivalent of Wii Sports to the public on day one if it wanted to take sales away from its competitors, in particular the Wii. 4. No Gamerscore We have long held the belief that one of Microsoft’s greatest triumphs was the idea of the Gamerscore, a global ranking system that grows as you reach milestones in your individual gaming experiences. It’s addictive and rewarding, and it keeps gamers coming back for more. The PlayStation 3 lacks an equivalent system and only offers achievements in a handful of titles. When combined with a bland user-interface / dashboard it makes each gaming experience feel isolated from the next. It takes away a sense of personality in the PS3, as well as limiting an individual’s attachment to the machine. The upcoming Home concept (read our article PS3 Home: the next big thing, or the last great lie.), which gives you a personal space in the PS3 universe, acts to rectify this and it certainly sounds very cool. It sounds like the Gamerscore concept on roids, with actual 3D trophies instead of points. But already delayed once from mid-2007 until 2008, it really needed to launch with the console. By the time it goes live many gamers will not want to give up their Xbox 360 personality and profile to play multi-format games on the PS3. 5. Holding out on developers Perhaps one of the more bemusing wrongs to become apparent following the launch of the PS3 was the support provided by the company to developers. We saw consistent reports of dev kits arriving with key third-parties relatively late in proceedings and barely functional (you may remember the blog from an ex-Sony employee spilling his guts), which not only led to rushed and mediocre launch titles, but a slow turnaround on ports. Gamers will remember how many of the Ubisoft titles took an age to get to the PS3, with Rainbow Six Vegas for one slipping some six months. Even as recent as the Tokyo Game Show, Konami was reporting that they still hadn’t received the rumble code to work into Metal Gear Solid 4 before its release. And that was if the developers could afford to get one. Although Sony has reportedly dropped the price of dev kits by half, it was alleged prior to the console’s launch that investing in the PS3 as a developer was not easy on the back pocket. It’s all relative for sure, the PS3 is a much more complicated machine than the ‘glorified gamecube’ and the ‘pc in a box’, but if Sony was willing to take such a hit on the price of each console sold to consumers, why not go the full hog and take a hit for the developers too. It would’ve worked out for the better, you would think, possibly leading to superior quantity and quality of games. 6. System updates suck We love all the functionality that the firmware updates have brought to the PlayStation 3, but damn it’s getting annoying downloading them. There is nothing worse than thinking to yourself, “dinner will be ready in 20 minutes, which gives me time to frag a few noobs in Warhawk” only to turn on your console and find yet another firmware update demanding to be downloaded. And it’s not like it is a few seconds, it lasts many minutes… often into the double digits. It’s good that it is updated, but it is oh so wrong that the process is consistently invading our leisure time – is there not a happy medium? What we would like to see is the functionality seen in the Wii’s update system. It goes a little something like this: Wii sits there gathering dust in the middle of the night. Update for console becomes available. Wii recognises this, downloads and installs it. Wii emits blinding blue light that wakes up ‘the guy’ on the couch. You wake up and game on with ease. So in short, to right this wrong we need just one more enforced firmware update and that should be the one that allows automatic firmware updates. Get it? Got it? Good! 7. The 40GB SKU So this one has us scratching our heads like kids in a kindergarten class. The concept of the 40GB PS3 was solid, providing a cheaper entry point for consumers who want to jump into the next-gen phenomenon. The removal of backwards compatibility, however, is a wrong we just can’t get our heads around. The other removed features, like the flash card slot and USB ports are strange, but not as alarming as the removal of Sony's trump card, its backwards combatability for the 120 million selling PS2. Seriously, WTF? Who is going to choose to buy the 40GB PS3? The likelihood is that the keen enthusiasts, early adopters and hardcore gamers will be on the premier version, and willing to invest in and play PS3 games. The 40GB model is likely to appeal to either a.) those with limited funds or b.) mainstreamers/families who aren’t totally game focused. In other words the type of audience who are most likely to rely on backwards compatibility to have a solid library of games. That’s the way we see it at least, and it has left us shaking our heads and wondering in exasperation… ‘why?’ 8. Issues with middleware Although there has been a thinly veiled attempt to keep a lid on it, developers worldwide have been hissing through clenched teeth about their frustrations in getting the PS3 architecture to function with key middleware. The most talked about of these has been Unreal Engine 3. As one of the more widely used pieces of middleware it has been sailing the seas of sweetness on Xbox 360, but has seemingly sunk like a stone on the PS3. Even the middleware’s creator Epic Games seems to be struggling, delaying Unreal Tournament III. Ubisoft has also been a casualty, with noticeable frame-rate concerns in many of their ported and current (Assassin’s Creed) releases. Pun very much intended, this is an epic wrong for Sony. It is not a massive surprise that developers would have issues coercing their engines into the strange new world that is the PS3’s innards, but the problem would have been less exposed had Sony taken a more active role in helping developers reach their goals. Thankfully this has started to eventuate, as we’ve seen with Turok (for more info read our article Turok and Unreal Engine 3) and we can feel more confident about the quality of games in 2008. 9. Use of online Sony was always going to struggle to compete with Microsoft in the online space. After all, The Soft has decades of networking know-how and online interface experience through their PC division. As a result, Sony should have opted for the ‘steal approach’. Look, learn, copy and rename, basically. There is no doubt Sony made a big leap from the pathetic service offered on the PS2 with the current PlayStation Network, but most consumers are 'at one' with Microsoft’s vision for online navigation and by comparison the PS3’s option is fugly and unwelcoming. In addition, some of the functionality that had become almost standard following the Xbox 360’s launch is absent. We’re talking the likes of access to friends lists in games, in-game voice-com as standard, the aforementioned Gamerscore, the ability to download and update in the background as well as DivX support (which is coming soon, we hear). Sure, there is still time for such things to be implemented, but why Sony didn’t recognise how popular these features were amongst their competitor’s fanbase and implement them from the start has to go down as a wrong… and arrogant. 10. Alienating hardcore gamers: Sony hasn’t done a whole lot in its opening twelve months to convince the hardcore gamers that the road ahead is one they definitely want to travel. At the tail end of the last generation party games became all the rage and Sony was loving every second of it, focusing a lot of energy into Buzz, SingStar and EyeToy, rather than making inroads on their weaknesses, such as shooters. They’ve neglected some of their biggest brands (whatever happened to The Getaway? Will we ever see Syphon Filter or Twisted Metal on PS3?) and have pushed hard with family-friendly experiences like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, MotorStorm and Ratchet & Clank: Future. Not that Sony is without great gamer’s games, especially thanks to the help of third party games like Konami’s Metal Gears Solid 4 and Free Radical's Haze, but the questions is where are they? And what form will they take? Is Gran Turismo, one of company’s biggest drawcards, really going to ask you to buy cars and tracks off the internet as has been suggested? Sony is certainly pushing that angle with SingStar, providing twice as many songs for download on launch day than can be found on the disc. With consumer rage starting to boilover on some of the Xbox Live Marketplace shenanigans (like paying for cheats), Sony would not want to even suggest they will follow the same track and thus rort the fanbase they desperately need to nurture. So there you have it gamers, the 10 things the PS3 does wrong. But don’t worry Sony fans, tomorrow we’ll take that super loud Xbox 360 to town. Why not prepare by reading our article Read the list: http://www.gameplayer.com.au/PS3/FEATURES/...bc-1b8698f51b73 360Top10 - https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=605311 Thoughts? Edited December 7, 2007 by Audioboxer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zab Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 so what exactly is missing from the 40 gb ps3 thats in the 80 gb ps3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilsbury Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 No memory card reader, 2 USB (as opposed to 4), no PS2 backwards compatability, no SACD playback The only issues I have with the PS3 are that European models lost the hardware based PS2 compatability and that for some reason between version 2.00 and 2.01 of the system software 5.1 SACD playback over optical was taken out again. Certainly mine doesn't "hum like a mini nuclear reactor" - it's almost silent compared to my 360. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emn1ty Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 No memory card reader, 2 USB (as opposed to 4), no PS2 backwards compatability, no SACD playbackThe only issues I have with the PS3 are that European models lost the hardware based PS2 compatability and that for some reason between version 2.00 and 2.01 of the system software 5.1 SACD playback over optical was taken out again. Certainly mine doesn't "hum like a mini nuclear reactor" - it's almost silent compared to my 360. I think what they meant by the hum wasn't that it was loud, but scary sounding. If anyone has been in a room where you can feel the entire vibration of the sound around you, its quite unsettling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huleboeren Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I agree with all of them except number 6 - they come once every 1-3 months.. Cant see a issue there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyJordan Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Certainly mine doesn't "hum like a mini nuclear reactor" - it's almost silent compared to my 360. +1. I can't hear mine unless I go right up to it. Are they doing this article for all the consoles? I read something earlier entitled "10 Things the 360 Does Wrong". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julius Caro Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 No memory card reader, 2 USB (as opposed to 4), no PS2 backwards compatability, no SACD playbackThe only issues I have with the PS3 are that European models lost the hardware based PS2 compatability and that for some reason between version 2.00 and 2.01 of the system software 5.1 SACD playback over optical was taken out again. Certainly mine doesn't "hum like a mini nuclear reactor" - it's almost silent compared to my 360. Original american/japanese 60GB ps3: - Full ps2 compatibility - WiFi (as opposed to the discontinued 20gb one) - 4 USB ports - Memory card reader European 60GB PS3 / American 80 GB: - Lacks the emotion engine, but has the ps2 graphics synthesizer or something - Memory card reader American/European/Japanese 40GB PS3: - Only 2 usb ports - No PS2 compatibility at all - No memory card reader - Reportedly quieter/cooler As for SACD, I think I read somewhere that SACD specs didn't allow digital output of its signal. Taken from wikipedia SACD players are not permitted to digitally output an unencrypted stream of DSD. Players initially supported only analog output; later some proprietary digital interfaces such as Denon Link permitted encrypted transmission of DSD. There are now two standard digital connection methods capable of carrying DSD in encrypted form: i.Link and HDMI (version 1.2 or later, standardised in August 2005 It also says, however, that the ps3 output through optical was DTS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimReeper Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I think the PS3 is in a sad state. I expected the PS3 and 360 to be much more closer in terms of sales but always thought the 360 would win but only slightly. I had a PS2 and couldn't wait for the PS3 but I am not getting one in its current form/price. To me PS3 had some major problems that Sony should have fixed but failed to. The price at launch was way to much for a European/Aussie at AU$999 it was ridiculous compared to the US, this alone I think is what drove all the people I know to not get one. Pay per month subscription, I know a lot of people who don't play WoW who want to because of the monthly fee, Sony should of jumped on the opportunity to match Live! with a free service. They should of stuck with DVD's and had a BluRay add-on as the 360 does with HD-DVD if it was going to increase the cost of them to this extent. I'm not sure the average joe quite understood why blu-ray was so marvelous and was sony's must have item for the next gen console war, a lot of people are still getting used to dvd's and hdtv let alone a new format war. Imo if Sony showed PAL some more love and didnt add bluray I reckon it would have done better, but thats just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunknMunky Veteran Posted December 7, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 7, 2007 I agree with the price issue, although for myself I think I got a good deal. 60GB version, 3 games, a blu-ray movie and hdmi cable for ?400. Sure it's still a high price tag, but if I were to buy it seperate it would have cost me more. Effectively the PS3 was the best part of ?300 in that deal, which is only ?20 or so more I paid for the 360 at launch, so I was happy to pay that. The games lineup and delay are terrible. This is what makes me regret buying the console sometimes, because it sits collecting dust the majority of the time. What is evident, along with the Wii, when a good game comes out like Heavenly Sword or Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, the console shines and it makes it worth the wait. The down side is, it's going to be months before the next must have title is out, and most cross platform titles are released earlier on the 360, perform better on the 360, or simply because of XBL. If Halo 3 was on both consoles (heavens forb:p :p) I would still buy it for the 360 purely because of Live and the experience that goes along with it. I made my opinions pretty clear the past week or so ago on the sixaxis, so I don't think there is much need to revisit th:p :p Removing rumble though, and then using an excuse like they did was pathetic though. Just be honest with the customer when we already knew it was because of the court case. Not come out with PR BS like "rumble is last gen". Again, I've made my opinion pretty clear on removing BC with the 40GB SKU, and for me it's a big negative. Again, don't spout how amazing your console is going to be with 100% BC from day one, then rip it out less than 12 months later and say it's not important. System updates really annoy me on the PS3 and Wii. Not only are they featureless 90% of the time, and add nothing to gameplay experience or anything ground breaking to consoles, they take an age to download and install. The UI on both consoles are ok, they aren't great imo. They work and that's all you could ask for, but I prefer the layout of the Dashboard more. Online browsing for the PSN and Wii Shopping channel is terrible, the speed is awful and the interface is just plain ugly. With XBL, I sign into the whole network as soon as the console is turned on. I don't need to sign in any further to few the latests demos or games available, but it's the complete opposite on PS3 and Wii and it's just not needed. IMO the PS3 is faster at navigating over the Wii, but the Wii is faster at downloading and applying updates from my experience. Online gameplay, well, I don't even use it, regardless that it's free. Which really speaks words. I'm more than happy to pay the ?30/40 a year for XBL and the service I recieve. I would probably pay for a better service on the PS3 if it meant Sony actually put some thought and effort into their online too, but I don't see it happening anytime soon and I think the console is going to struggle the rest of this generation and next playing catch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted December 7, 2007 Author Subscriber² Share Posted December 7, 2007 11. EU store. My brain has been refreshed tonight at how shafted we get with PSN updates... If I don't see ES before xmas I'll not be buying any PH for men! :laugh: (DM you'll probably be the only one to get this :dontgetit:) Jokes aside, the EU store is a shambles :hmmm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunknMunky Veteran Posted December 7, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 7, 2007 11. EU store.My brain has been refreshed tonight at how shafted we get with PSN updates... If I don't see ES before xmas I'll not be buying any PH for men! :laugh: (DM you'll probably be the only one to get this :dontgetit:) Jokes aside, the EU store is a shambles :hmmm: Is it sad/wrong that I'm the only one who will? :cry: We need to get out more :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormier6083 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 While the controller is light, it just feels somewhat unnatural, and my thumbs sometimes bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilsbury Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 As for SACD, I think I read somewhere that SACD specs didn't allow digital output of its signal.It also says, however, that the ps3 output through optical was DTS. At least DTS gave you 5.1 out over optical - in my games room, my only options are analog stereo or optical. It doesn't output DSD over HDMI either - it converts it to PCM, if you switch your AV receiver to DSD you get nothing out, I've tried on my Denon and it just doesn't work. I know SACD is a fairly niche market, but, it was a nice feature to have, and there are some great sounding discs about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I actually don't see the problem with the 40GB version. For me, it fit in PERFECTLY. I have a PS2 Slim, which now resides upstairs in my 'Games Room', which is great, as I now have a DVD player up there too! :D Previously I only had a PS1 and a Saturn, which is no use for DVDs when I'm having some beers up in the games room or something. Also, I don't really have any interest in playing PS2 games. I know I'm of a minority, but I don't see the point playing PS2 games when I have a superior PS3. The physics and AI are far better on the PS3 in most cases, and not to mention the graphics are of course better. I also don't see more than 2 USBs... Perhaps it'll be a problem when PlayTV comes along, and I also want to use my external HDD which requires two ports, but I dont see it being that bad. I also don't need the memory card slots on the front... I just dont. I can perhaps see it being a pain, since I want to store all my photos on my PS3, but I will be backing my photos up on my laptop anyway, as I need to make sure my photos are safe. So put them on the laptop, onto a pen drive, then onto the PS3. It isn't all that hard. Plus, with the money I've saved on the 40GB PS3, I can use that money to upgrade the HDD to a 250GB :D (Well, part of the cost of the 250GB drive) Oh, and my 40GB PS3 (I can't wait to say 250GB PS3) is very quiet. Not sure how I can measure the sound though. It's about as loud as my laptop I'd say, but obviously in comparison, it's louder than my PS2 Slim, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted December 8, 2007 Author Subscriber² Share Posted December 8, 2007 I actually don't see the problem with the 40GB version.For me, it fit in PERFECTLY. I have a PS2 Slim, which now resides upstairs in my 'Games Room', which is great, as I now have a DVD player up there too! :D Previously I only had a PS1 and a Saturn, which is no use for DVDs when I'm having some beers up in the games room or something. Also, I don't really have any interest in playing PS2 games. I know I'm of a minority, but I don't see the point playing PS2 games when I have a superior PS3. The physics and AI are far better on the PS3 in most cases, and not to mention the graphics are of course better. I also don't see more than 2 USBs... Perhaps it'll be a problem when PlayTV comes along, and I also want to use my external HDD which requires two ports, but I dont see it being that bad. I also don't need the memory card slots on the front... I just dont. I can perhaps see it being a pain, since I want to store all my photos on my PS3, but I will be backing my photos up on my laptop anyway, as I need to make sure my photos are safe. So put them on the laptop, onto a pen drive, then onto the PS3. It isn't all that hard. Plus, with the money I've saved on the 40GB PS3, I can use that money to upgrade the HDD to a 250GB :D (Well, part of the cost of the 250GB drive) Oh, and my 40GB PS3 (I can't wait to say 250GB PS3) is very quiet. Not sure how I can measure the sound though. It's about as loud as my laptop I'd say, but obviously in comparison, it's louder than my PS2 Slim, lol. If that becomes an issue all you need to do is buy a USB hub and connect that to the PS3 :) Only cost you ?4~?5 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/106231 Theres one. A lot more on ebuyer to choose from though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Exactly... Oh, and just realised (I'm stupid!) that I can connect my camera via usb anyway! So why would I need a card slot? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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