Why It's Sad Sony Lost the Videogame Hardware Race


Recommended Posts

Why It's Sad Sony Lost the Videogame Hardware Race

500x_3dspkinnect.jpg

E3's biggest loser? It's Sony. They've been lagging behind for years overall, but to lose athardware, their strongest suit? What a pity.

Look at all three companies that define the industry. Microsoft is a software company, so Xbox has the best software and services, like Xbox Live, Zune and Windows Media Extender. Nintendo is fundamentally a games company, so they make the best games (or at least, the greatest quantity of amazing, if iterative games). Sony is a consumer electronics company, so they excel at hardware: The PlayStation 3 is defined by Blu-ray and its Cell processor; the PSP blew out the DS in terms of specs, not software. Raw hardware power.

So how the hell has Sony lost the hardware race two years running at E3? Squandering their most valuable brand, PlayStation, is a spectacular failure that doesn't bode well for a glorious return to the Sony of old.

In the Home

True to Sony form, PlayStation Move out-rawrs the Nintendo Wii's motion controls on paper, using the PlayStation Eye camera to track the Move controllers more accurately, with real depth-mapping. (And the technical demos of the hardware are just straight up neat.) But like Mark says, it's just Wii HD. It's derivative, not powerful. You wave sticks around. (It's not even superior to the Wii, at least in some game demos: "The combat? Laggy. And I never felt like my punches were registered the way I threw them onscreen.")

The home console hardware that garnered the most attention?judging by people's reactions, the lines at E3, and our own experiences?is Microsoft's completely controller-less Kinect, which seemingly promises something completely new. You are the controller with Kinect. That's killer hardware.

But wait! PlayStation 3 does 3D! The Xbox 360 and Wii don't do that. But guess what? No one will use 3D?at least not this generation. Sony's 3D advantage is a waste of hype because it necessitates the purchase of a $2000 3D-capable TV and $150 glasses, even though you just dropped a grand or more on an HDTV just a couple of years ago.

In the Lap

Nintendo's 3DS highlights the miserable position of the PSP and the complete bomb that was the PSP Go. When the PSP was announced in 2004, its hardware power shamed the DS. Last year, instead of a true successor to the PSP, Sony released the PSP Go, a sleeker, completely disc-less iteration of the PSP. Great idea (sort of), botched execution.

Now, Nintendo, the same company whose most cutting edge home console is stuffed with 10-year-old guts, is beating Sony on hardware with the 3DS, which has horsepowercomparable to a Wii. And it's 3D!

Viewed in the context of Sony's massive, company-wide push on 3D (an impressively unified effort for Sony), the real swift-kick-to-the-nuts aspect of the 3DS is that it will probably be the first mass 3D piece of consumer electronics. It's cheaper, easier, portable, and you don't need glasses. Sony, the gigantonormous hardware company, just got punked by Nintendo, the short-sighted game company.

Taken together, Kinect and the 3DS paint a gloomy picture, not just for PlayStation, but for Sony and their entire worldview. For Microsoft and Nintendo, hardware is simply a means to an end. In the past, that meant they had out-maneuver Sony's hardware with killer games or services. Now, that ethos has driven them to produce better hardware. Sony didn't just lose at their own game; they've lost their reason to exist.

Source: Gizmodo

Wow... blink.gif harsh...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eventhough I'm not a big big fan of sony but that was little too harsh pinch.gif, It was like kicking someone in the nut when they're down. But as they say the truth hurst and only a friend can tell you that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they are talking about hardware shown at E3, they lost. If they are talking about hardware throughout the PlayStation's whole life then no, they did not lose.

The PS Move is better than the Wii Mote hands down. IGN and every other major gaming site have shown why and how it is better than the Wii Mote. Compared to Natal, I don't know. I have to try both personally before I decide which is better.

As for the PSP, I expect Sony to do the same thing they did with the PS3 Slim with the PSP2. Last year we knew it was coming and we saw leaks, but they didn't announce it at E3, but waiting until that conference in August to announce it. I expect to see the PSP2 announce at TGS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Natal would ultimately be too gimmicky, I sort of see it as the wrong crowd for it. People will buy it all the same but I think development in terms of good software will be limited. At least I think Move can sort of win over who might want the Wii and have games that you would play seriously. And I'm really turned off by the out of sync Natal/Kinect presentation I keep on seeing even if they let you try the real thing. And Sony is always going up against the handheld juggernaut when they took on Nintendo, Sony is the underdog in that battle and unexpected to win.

And is not as though PS3 is not exactly doing well right now and probably have the most traction right now. And really, what is going to be the dominant market in terms gaming? Games that involves traditional controllers. So if Sony is losing the right to exist, they still got a long way to go before they disappear.

And forgive my ignorance but how many people only discovered Gizmodo after the iPhone incident? So are they really just headline grabbing-viewer catching with perhaps controversial statements?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And forgive my ignorance but how many people only discovered Gizmodo after the iPhone incident? So are they really just headline grabbing-viewer catching with perhaps controversial statements?

after the iphone incident i have no respect for gizmodo anymore. they are just a tech tabloid publisher, that's it. Sony hasn't lost anything... If this article came out 2 years ago about bashing them maybe, but everything since the slim has come out has been golden for them.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to agree with rajputwarrior in that I have little respect for Gizmodo, but I do agree with the general gist of the hardware. IMO, in terms of advancing the hardware, Sony has got lazy and is jumping on bandwagons with whatever's popular instead of trying to innovate in some way.

I expect them to bounce back, but it's a hard thing to do in this race since hardware takes so long to develop and perfect.

(BTW: I disagree with their title of the article, but I agree with the article itself. They could've found a better way to phrase it.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(BTW: I disagree with their title of the article, but I agree with the article itself. They could've found a better way to phrase it.)

tabloids don't do that...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The article is nonsense. Not one citation is provided on proof that Sony is moving in a bad direction. Simply stating that Sony is a failure for not making a mobile competitor to Nintendo's 3DS is an obtuse argument. Give me numbers and stock prices rather the opinion piece that simply fans the flames of the shallow fanboy war that most gaming articles aim for. This article is evidence that there is almost no difference between Gizmodo and an amateur video game blogger.

Give me some neutral reporting rather a sensationalist, troll like headline accompanied by a silly immature style of reporting about issues with no justifications that are usually discussed by the consumers rather than the media outlets of the video gaming world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Move part of the article is complete crap. I've used Move. I've seen tech demos in person behind the scenes on how it works. I've used a Wii. It's not Wii HD, period. And anyone who says so should not be writing for a tech website of any sort. As far as Kinect, I have not used it, but the implimentation will show how "killer" it is, or if it's just

.

Re: no PSP2, can't argue there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The article is nonsense. Not one citation is provided on proof that Sony is moving in a bad direction. Simply stating that Sony is a failure for not making a mobile competitor to Nintendo's 3DS is an obtuse argument. Give me numbers and stock prices rather the opinion piece that simply fans the flames of the shallow fanboy war that most gaming articles aim for. This article is evidence that there is almost no difference between Gizmodo and an amateur video game blogger.

Give me some neutral reporting rather a sensationalist, troll like headline accompanied by a silly immature style of reporting about issues with no justifications that are usually discussed by the consumers rather than the media outlets of the video gaming world.

It's an opinion article. There's not really much in the way of "proof" to say that someone's moving in a bad direction because you don't like the technology. They could've said "Kinect is Microsoft moving in a bad direction" and there wouldn't be any "proof" to that, either.

The Move part of the article is complete crap. I've used Move. I've seen tech demos in person behind the scenes on how it works. I've used a Wii. It's not Wii HD, period. And anyone who says so should not be writing for a tech website of any sort. As far as Kinect, I have not used it, but the implimentation will show how "killer" it is, or if it's just

.

Re: no PSP2, can't argue there.

I haven't used the Move, so I can't comment, but the comment "Wii HD" (or something similar) has been used in many articles I've seen, including at Engadget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think they lost, but they definitely made some pretty nasty mistakes. First of all, the PS3 was (is?) way too expensive, had a ****ty library of games, and, to my recollection, didn't have any decent bundles. They've corrected some of their mistakes since launch, but it wasn't enough to really make a dent into the Xbox and Wii sales. They were both out long before so gamers were well-established with them. The Xbox, for example, has a well-known library. The Wii is a multi-purpose device: it is a game station, a fitness station, and god knows what else. Plus, the kids love it. The PS3 is a good system and has some nice hardware, but Joe Nobody didn't give two ****s about HD and Blu-Ray and not everyone has $600 to throw around just to play a game. Also, there's the headsets, other controllers (for driving games I assume?) and all the other junk. It's just too much thrown in our faces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The PS Move is better than the Wii Mote hands down. IGN and every other major gaming site have shown why and how it is better than the Wii Mote. Compared to Natal, I don't know. I have to try both personally before I decide which is better.

But the Wii has been out for 3.5 years. Even if PS Move is slightly better, the Wii is built around this device. This also affects the Kinect, as it's also very late. They wont sell, because casual gamers have already bought Wii for 4 years and are happy with it. I don't think casual gamers will spend a lot of money to buy a new or second hardware for lots of money. That's what "core" gamers do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harsh but true. All points there are exactly as they are. The Move is in effect a Wii HD. Look at the games they showed off, and then expect worse to come.

Nobody is safe from the shovelware now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How have Sony "lost", they took some pretty big gambles with the PS3 and it could have failed miserably, Blu-ray is now the new movie standard which comes with every PS3 which means people were and still are buying them to play movies as well as games. They have finally started to make a profit on every console sold.

Subjective but imo the PS3 has some of the biggest and best exclusive franchises like Uncharted, Motorstorm, Little Big Planet, Killzone, Infamous, God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Gran Turismo, Twisted Metal, etc.. etc.. Its still unhackable people have to actually buy games that Sony gets a cut of due to licensing, multiplayer has and always will be free to play on PS3, its getting some pretty decent exclusivity bonuses this year.

Some might say that Move is just "Wii HD" but look how well the Wii has sold, my biggest criticism about the Wii was always the previous gen looking graphics, HD graphics plus a more accurate controller is a big seller, not only that but Sony are big on pushing new technologies, some might win (blu-ray), some might fail (UMD), things like 3D which is the new must have fad is backwards compatible with every PS3 sold and they are on the forefront of that technology, want 3D gaming get a PS3, no other console does 3d.

But then what do i know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with the article and tbh I think it will take this generation to drill into their heads over at Sony HQ they aren't the best like they think they are. It'll motivate them even more next generation to do things right and go back to their roots. At least that's what I'm hoping for. Just like what happened with Nintendo and the GCN. They came back stronger than ever before with the Wii and DS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty biased report I have to admit.

Aye their reporting of E3 has been less than stellar. Lots of sensationalist headlines grabbing page hits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm i do not own a Playstation 3 but there is one in my house and a lot of people i know swear by them. I don't see this as losing the race... if they stopped making consoles and pulled out of the market completely due to poor sales then maybe i'd say they lost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a big ouch article indeed, especially coming from Gizmodo. In the end, it doesn't matter. Sony is going to market the heck out of the Move and sell it regardless. Yeah, Move is Wii HD, but then again, who doesn't want the Wii sales?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's interesting that they say that 3D isn't going to be used in this generation, since this article has a reviewer of 3D saying how much it adds to gaming. I'm skeptical, and I'm certainly not going to invest in 3D right now, but to say that no one is going to use it on this generation of gaming is a bit over the top. Prices will fall, people will pay, and 3D will be used. That said, I guess both the article that I've linked and the article above do point out Nintendo's 3DS, saying how good it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So how the hell has Sony lost the hardware race two years running at E3?

Who cares about the hardware race? Gaming is about the games, not about the hardware. Sony lost because they are focusing on the hardware rather than the games. Nintendo kicked their asses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see why it's sad at all. If anything it's a good thing Sony is spending less time flaunting it's hardware as hopefully they have woken up and realised its about the software. They could show the most powerful machine of all time to compete with the 3DS but it won't mean anything if there isnt a software library to support it, the last gen showed this. Furthermore Sony has been somewhat bitten by it's hardware push as it's resulted in more expensive hardware. With a market thats not necessarily going to buy a PS3 just to get Blu Ray that really gave MS an upper hand given this generation console exclusives haven't been as common as in the past.

Honestly, the biggest disappointment of E3 IMHO was MS's showcase of the Kinect hardware which IMHO looks fantastic but was let down by a complete lack of software to take advantage of it besides the very predicatble fitness and Wii sports like titles. I really didn't see anything there that looked like it had been given a lot of thought. We knew the hardware was impressive last year so if anything MS's hardware showcase as opposed to concentrating on software was a low point for me.

Not saying I was nuts about SOny's software library...Nintendo won that IMHO but not focusing on hardware isn't a bad thing IMHO.

Ohh and FWIW, not all that many people had HD tv's when the XBox 360 originally came out. Why hold back but when the technologyis there now? If anything it gives a few more people a reason to get a 3D tv now so that when the next generation comes around more people are 3D ready. If people have no reason to get a TV now then when the next console arrives no one will have a 3D set still.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.