Playstation 3 a bargain?

[Diamond]

Yes, I had to upgrade (meaning buying a brand new rig) for NWN2.

 

(I had a 4 year old laptop).

[TravisPennington]

I'll endup downloading Linux on my PS3 in the future, but at the moment I'm preoccupied with playing games.

 

I messed around with the Motorstorm Demo a bit more. I must have sucked really bad at it before, but I'm starting to enjoy it a lot now. You feel like you're going *really* fast when you hold boost down for a while, and there's a geat motion blur. It feels like a Burnout game, but done in a different style. We'll see how it turns out at the end.

[metadigital]

Because you could stop upgrading your PC every time a game comes out. Buy a $400 console and you're set for 5 years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So a bunch of games developed for a static platform will DEMAND upgraded specs on a PC?

 

I'm playing NwN2 on a three year old laptop; the only imperative to upgrade remains personal whim.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I disagree. Very few games are optimized for the lowest-common denominator. Most PC games are designed to run well only on the latest hardware configurations and provide a sub-par gaming experience on older machines. Some are very well made in that you can experience most of the content as the developer intended even on slightly dated hardware, but if you have a new system you will get additional bells-and-whistles and eye candy that enhance your experience. HL2 and Guild Wars are two such games. I can't think of many other games that use this philosophy. Most are designed to provide a satisfactory experience only with "recommended" configurations.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I didn't say there was no reason to upgrade, I was refuting the claim that playing games on a PC REQUIRED one to spend money continually upgrading. Which is untrue.

[Diamond]

No, I didn't say there was no reason to upgrade, I was refuting the claim that playing games on a PC REQUIRED one to spend money continually upgrading. Which is untrue.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Depends on your "upgrade style". If you tend to buy newer and more expensive hardware, you'd upgrade less often; on the other hand, if you upgrade just to meet minimum requirements, yes, you will be continually upgrading.

[karka]

One interesting point is, there are no JRPGs among the PS3's launch titles but two 'rpg wannabe' hack&slash games.

[SHodges]

I really don't know how people can say this "PS3 is a bargain" stuff and still take themselves seriously. When I look at the PS3, I see a more expensive version of my 360 with an inferior controller and $200 tacked onto the price for a next-gen storage format that my games don't need and my TV can't use. I see a much smaller game library, with the only exclusives being games I have absolutely zero interest in. But this is somehow a bargain because it forces me to pay for things I don't need (Blu-ray, wifi, etc) while the 360 lets me save money by making those things optional. I just don't get it.

Edited December 12, 2006 by SHodges

[WITHTEETH]

Gamespot.com did a graphic comparison for the XBox 360 and PS3, XBox 360 won. It generally had better lighting and the same graphics if not very close every time.

 

For me half the fun is tinkering inside my PC case!

[mkreku]

I really don't know how people can say this "PS3 is a bargain" stuff and still take themselves seriously.  When I look at the PS3, I see a more expensive version of my 360 with an inferior controller and $200 tacked onto the price for a next-gen storage format that my games don't need and my TV can't use.  I see a much smaller game library, with the only exclusives being games I have absolutely zero interest in.  But this is somehow a bargain because it forces me to pay for things I don't need (Blu-ray, wifi, etc) while the 360 lets me save money by making those things optional.  I just don't get it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I sure as hell don't feel that the Playstation 3 is a bargain right now either. But I do have the ability to foresee the potential and future development of the machine and all that surrounds it (and I won't even mention the Linux part of it). The Playstation 2 had the biggest library of games of all the consoles. The Playstation 3 might get there someday, thanks to Sony's connections with third party publishers.

 

The controller sucks right now (as some people miss the rumble feature, me not included) but perhaps someone will find a way to make it work? Like perhaps a LocoRoco for the Playstation 3, where tilting the controller will tilt the world? It has potential to become good and useful.

 

The Blu-Ray inclusion doesn't really bother me. History tells me that we'll need bigger storage formats soon. Perhaps not this year or next year, but soon. I mean, I am pissed if a game of today is being sold on a bundle of CD's instead of a DVD. It wasn't long ago when games were sold on floppy disks and CD's were the future. Blu-Ray will come in handy in two to three years. The bad thing about it is that it's not optional. The good thing about it not being optional is that it can be used for games, unlike the HD-DVD for the Xbox 360. It's all about potential and different trade-offs.

 

I agree that almost noone has any use for 1080p right now. And, as expected, almost no games are using that resolution on the Playstation 3 yet. But flat screen TV's are outselling fat TV's by four to one in Sweden already. They are mostly 720p, with a few being 1080p. More and more TV's produced will be 1080p compatible though, as the screens for making LCD's will become cheaper and cheaper. Who knows what kind of TV we'll be using in two to three years time. Again, potential.

 

The "next-gen" console games I am most interested in right now are Bioshock and Mass Effect (I'll exclude Assassin's Creed right now), two Xbox 360 exclusive games and that's a huge advantage for the Xbox 360. But the game I am actually playing the most right now? Singstar on the Playstation 2. Don't think for a second that the Playstation 3 won't be getting its fair deal of must-have titles too.

 

The Playstation 3 is (still) all about potential. Some people like paying for potential, some people don't. It's all a matter of taste. Take our own money-pooping board member Bokishi for example: he just spent $600+ on a eVGA Geforce 8800GTX video card for his PC. That's more than what you'd have to pay for a Playstation 3. What made Bokishi shell out so much for that single video card? For one thing, it has hardware support for DirectX 10, even though no games will actually use DirectX10 until around February 2007. It's all about the potential.

 

I should get a Wii.

[SHodges]

I hear Sony talking about potential all the time, but it really just isn't there, it's a sham, like everything else Sony has talked about and hyped up for their consoles. The Playstation 2 had the largest library of games because it had the largest userbase and was out for a longer period of time than the other consoles, not because of any "connections with 3rd party publishers". The playstation 3 doesn't have that, the "potential" isn't there for a larger game library any moreso than it is with any of the other consoles. And no, blu-ray is absolutely not needed by most developers. Go look up a game called Roboblitz sometime. A little lossless compression goes a long, long way. The only time developers are truly going to eat up a DVD this gen is when they're not using reasonable compression, or are overusing CG. So no, blu-ray has no real potential to deliver gaming experiences that I can't find elsewhere. It remains a $200 addition to the PS3's price for something I can't even use, nor have any interest in. The PS3's "potential" is a lot of hype, and not a lot of substance. There's no truth behind any of it.

[kirottu]

And no, blu-ray is absolutely not needed by most developers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I agree. It

[mkreku]

The PS3's "potential" is a lot of hype, and not a lot of substance.  There's no truth behind any of it.

There's no truth in Playstation 3 being able to run Linux? Wow, right. No potential there, huh?

There's no truth in Playstation 3 being able to use ANY 2.5" SATA hard drive? Right, no potential for upgrading there, huh? (And have fun shelling out the same amount of cash for Microsoft's own 20 GB hard drive as Playstation 3 owners pay for 100 GB equivalents.. with 7200 RPM speeds..)

There's no truth in the Playstation 3 being difficult to develop for? Ok, let me explain. Gamespot did a graphics comparison between games on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 recently (Source: http://www.gamespot.com/features/6162742/i...t&click=topslot ). The Playstation 3 lost. But the mere fact that the games are even comparable is actually something that makes the Playstation 3 reek with potential. The games for a console that's been out for over a year look comparable to the release titles on a console that's supposedly very difficult to develop for? Either the Playstation 3 is easier to code on than most people think (which would mean great potential for upcoming games) or the machine is powerful enough to compensate for shoddy programming (which means there's a lot of untapped potential still left in it). Either way: potential.

 

I think you're short sighted. But you have the advantage of not having to look into the future to support your arguments, and I sense a slight anger towards the subject coming from you, so I guess I won't continue the discussion.

 

I think the Playstation 3 has huge potential, you think it has no potential. The future will have to decide who's right. In due time.

 

 

 

Why do I always end up defending the Playstation 3? I'm not even getting the ****ing thing.

[metadigital]

Why do I always end up defending the Playstation 3?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because you are arguing against shoddy argument style, not the particular subject.

[SHodges]

I agree. It

[Sand]

The way I see it is that if PS3 can run Linus then it could run other OS extensions that use Linux like Wine. If the PS3 can use Wine that means I could run some PC applications on it. With that in mind a larger hard drive capacity is a definite plus. So, with the PS3 we have the potential of a console/PC hybrid, something that I would be very much interested in getting.

[Pidesco]

Did Epiphany procreate or something?

 

Edit: Apparently, the Japs think the PS3 is a bargain, as more units have already been sold in Japan than Xboxes 360.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Pidesco

[Setzer]

Edit: Apparently, the Japs think the PS3 is a bargain, as more units have already been sold in Japan than Xboxes 360.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's pretty sad.

Edited December 13, 2006 by Setzer

[Pidesco]

Especially, if you consider that PS3 demand has far exceeded supply.

[Deraldin]

Especially, if you consider that PS3 demand has far exceeded supply.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You say that as though that would really be all that hard.

[Pidesco]

 

No, not at all. It's just that Sony managed to beat Xbox 360 sales without even trying.

[SHodges]

That really doesn't make it a "bargain", but ok. That'd be like saying "The japanese clearly think the 360 is a bargain, since they bought all 100,000 units of the Blue Dragon bundle as soon as it was made available" (source). It doesn't have any real relevance to whether or not something is a bargain. At best, all it really proves is that the Japanese gamers want to play PS3, Wii, and yes, even the 360 when games are developed for it that appeal to them.

Edited December 13, 2006 by SHodges

[metadigital]

Mr SHodges, you are assuming that the next-gen gaming machines are primarily (or exclusively) for gaming, which isn't the case. They are convergence devices, meant to be the living room entertainment device (hence the large harddrive capacity for internet store purchases and free downloads, like the back catalogue), as well as a new player for the new 1080i (or 1080p, in the case of Blu-ray) storage standards.

 

And I'd say that the PS2 must have had some potential, as it is still selling five years after launch, even though it is outclassed by the newer Xbox 360.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think the new PS3 is yet to prove itself, but I think your sour grapes is prejudicing your opinion.

[mkreku]

I agree. It

[kirottu]

I agree. It

[Epiphany]

Yeah, and the funny thing is: it was true! The absolutely best games for the Playstation 2 have come in the last year or so (Resident Evil 4, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy XII etc.). They definitely show how developers have managed to tap the potential of the hardware over time. Only someone who doesn't want to see it will be able to miss this fact. Like Epiphany.

 

At no point have I ever discredited the PS2 for its achievements in God of War and Shadow of the Colossus. Try to keep your ignorant accusations to yourself.

 

 

Again, your short-sightedness astounds me. And no, I didn't know they had a limit for how much hard drive space games can use. Provide a link for that?

 

I'm beginning to think that Epiphany was banned and SHodges is just an alt. to get around the ban.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm beginning to think you're wrong.

[Sand]

After one year's time we shall see which system is tops, Wii, PS3, or XBox 360. From what I have heard so far Wii and the PS3 have better backwards compatibility than XBox 360.