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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Europe gets a nerfed PS3
USAToday has the story about the PS3 coming out in Europe not having the chip to play PS2 games. There will be a software solution to play PS2 games, but it isn't clear yet how many games will be compatible with that, and how well they'll run. Not that the PS2 chip in the PS3 was working very well, there were a number of incompatible games, but I don't believe removing it will improve the situation for the Europeans. It is a simple matter of cost-cutting.
So for the first time I'm questioning my resolve to buy a PS3. I had already planned to postpone the purchase until christmas, but now maybe I won't buy one at all, or only much later. I have a huge library of PS2 games, and in comparison there aren't all that many PS3 games out I'd really like to play. So unless the PS3 is fully downward compatible, I'd need to decide between the PS2 and PS3, and the PS3 would lose out in that.
Sony is on a bad trajectory, Nintendo is clearly winning the next generation console wars this year, with Microsoft a solid second, and Sony trailing far, far behind. For the PS3 to still pull up ahead there would need to be a major breakthrough of the Blue-Ray system. With the average Blue-Ray player still costing more than a PS3, that would make the PS3 attractive again. But right now nobody knows whether Blue-Ray will be the next Betamax or the next VHS, and paying extra for having Blue-Ray in a gaming console doesn't sound like a good plan right now.
- posted by Tobold @ 10:56 AM Permanent Link
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It's a same problem here in Oz. But that doesn't make the PS3 incompatible with PS2 games. Instead of the chip, Sony are looking at software emulation.
this could be seen as a good thing as the emulators could be tailor made/tweaked for different game, making sure that the games work as opposed to suddenly freeze, run slower etc (problems I've had with backwards compatibility 360 -> xBox and PS2 -> PS1)
It all depends on how fast they can roll the software emulation out and on how consistent a basis.
I already sold my PS2 in anticipation of buying a PS3, so I sort of have to believe in Sony on this, or my library of PS2 games become useless.
As for who's winning the console war, Nintendo are definitely on a surge now, but I'm still confidant Sony can pull things together and still be at the top when it comes time for yet the next gen of consoles (5-8) years).
The console war is a marathon thats just started, not a sprint that nearly finished.
this could be seen as a good thing as the emulators could be tailor made/tweaked for different game, making sure that the games work as opposed to suddenly freeze, run slower etc (problems I've had with backwards compatibility 360 -> xBox and PS2 -> PS1)
It all depends on how fast they can roll the software emulation out and on how consistent a basis.
I already sold my PS2 in anticipation of buying a PS3, so I sort of have to believe in Sony on this, or my library of PS2 games become useless.
As for who's winning the console war, Nintendo are definitely on a surge now, but I'm still confidant Sony can pull things together and still be at the top when it comes time for yet the next gen of consoles (5-8) years).
The console war is a marathon thats just started, not a sprint that nearly finished.
They have become the evil company from ham-fisted Reagan-era superhero comics. I've rarely found myself so consistantly incredulous at the behavior of real-life people, but here it is. Wow.
Has anyone else noticed that the current console war is giving an unexpected boost to PC gaming. For years I have watched disconsolately as the PC game selection of my local game shop has dwindled away under pressure from consoles for shelf space. Over the last few months this trend appears to have reversed. Looking at my local game shop today PS2 still has the lion's share (maybe 25% of the shop) but PC Games are the next biggest selection also around 25% of the shop. Xbox360, Wii, PS3 (preorder?) PSP and others fight it out for the remaining space. It is almost as if the retailer is nervous about which next gen console to bet on and has decided to plump for the old reliables of PS2 and PC.
consoles are lame anyway, why bother? Console games will never compare to a good PC game with their crappy controls and television-as-monitor setup.
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# posted by 
: 6/3/07 23:47
: 6/3/07 23:47<< Home
