@BrianK

This year also saw a drop in the profit because of the battery recall (Dell, Apple, etc.).
The stock market seems to believe that this is sort of the bottom, from a financial point of view, as the stock actually went up today (almost 6 percent in NY).

It looks like the analysts saw things a bit too dark for Q4. Bloomberg came to median estimate of 75.8 billion yen loss for Q4, and it turned out to be 67.56 billion yen. Still a lot of dough though...
But as Minator pointed out, all 4 quarters together ended up in a small plus.

Up till now Blu-Ray seems to be doing better than HD-DVD and multiple articles indicate Blu-Ray is currently outselling HD-DVD (discs, not players) 2:1 and perhaps 3:1. Reuters

So it looks like the movies (cinema, DVD and Blu-Ray) look healthy. If Wal-Mart is going to "interfere" in the HD market is still unclear, but certainly something to keep an eye on.

Bravia LCD's seem to be doing very good. Perhaps one of the few articles where Sony can ask for a premium price without slowing sales too much. Cybershots are still going strong and don't forget the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Reuters

I hope for Sony they can bring down the price for the PS3 real quick and pass on those savings to the customer. It seems there is a lot of demand for Sony products, as long as the price is "right": PSP sells 60% more (weekly basis) in UK after price cut

I wouldn't be surprised we will see some small price cuts for the PS3 in the summer and in November.

@KrasH

Quote:

The PS3 is a 10 year project. Sony expected loses with the PS3 for the first few years. Thats what long term investments are all about.

I highly doubt that Sony expected a $2B loss in the gaming division. But, I think that they knew it was coming in late 06/early 07 was clear. It was then we see Kutagari reassigned and later stepping down. This is the guy with the vision of PS1 and PS2 along with PS3. I'm doubtful Sony had faith in Kutagari's vision for the PS3 and he was replaced by another who they preferred, else he'd still be there.

Personally I see an error in their 10 year projection. If they end up first, and right now that's a big if, they might be able to get 10 years. But, Microsoft is coming in 2011, so it's really only 5 years until they see the 8th gen consoles that they have to compete against. The PS2 has done good so far reaching into the 7th Gen but it has that power because it was #1. As you can see the #2 and #3 consoles aren't selling and the reason is their sales greatly drop when the next gen ships and the economics no longer make sense. 10 years might make sense if you're #1 but won't work if you're #3.

I'll check back in 10years.

@jiyong

Quote:

This year also saw a drop in the profit because of the battery recall (Dell, Apple, etc.).

Estimates I've seen on that are $250M. Or roughly 1/8th of the $2B.

Quote:

The stock market seems to believe that this is sort of the bottom

Hopefully they're right. You're time to buy in!

Quote:

ended up in a small plus..

Yup according to those figures the small profit of ~600M or 1.3B less then last year's profits. Luckly profits in other divisions offset the 1.9B loss in gaming. Though this isn't uncommon. Check out Microsoft whose Operating System and Office Software are basically the only things that turn a profit. Though Microsoft recently confirmed the 360 is on schedule for profitability in 07.

Blu-Ray vs HD DVD. There's a ton more Blu-Ray players on the market now 10:1 over HD I believe, counting the PS3s. Yet 3:1? Pathetic. It's therefore not every PS3 owner interested in Blu-Ray perhaps they all haven't turned in the free movie coupon. $299 HD players are now available. Yes if Wal-Mart does the rumored $199 then I think we'll see some HD DVD upticks. 2007 and likely 2008 will be telling years. Still both combined are selling 1/10th the number of DVDs, little reason for any studio to stand firm via sales.

PS3 needs 2 things -- Games + Price Cut. Games look pathetic this summer. I want Calling all Cars and Lair. The rest aren't exciting. Rumored MGS moved to 08 might well upset the PS3 Christmas chances though there's still Gran Turismo which is a very popular title to help the PS3 along.

@Lou

Quote:

You make it sound like the 360 and Wii are not going to scale down in price as well.

Both will scale down but nowhere near the same degree as the PS3.

e.g. Cell is bigger then the XCPU, chips rise in price exponentially with area so shrinking Cell will save more than shrinking XCPU.

DVD drives are already is mass production so aren't going to fall much. BluRay has a big way to fall.

Wii's GPU can drop but the CPU is a different matter, it's already minute so savings are likely to be minimal.

_________________
Whyzzat?

@BrianK

Quote:

One can hope that the removal of Kutagari put someone better capable in for the PS3, though he was the one leading the winning PS1 and PS2.

Kutagari wasn't removed, he resigned (he clarified this himself).
There are different interpretations of this of course but it looks like it's put him back at the things he was good at in the first place - being the visionary.

Quote:

I highly doubt that Sony expected a $2B loss in the gaming division.

Why not? It's been predicted for months.

_________________
Whyzzat?

@minator

Quote:

minator wrote: @Lou Quote: You make it sound like the 360 and Wii are not going to scale down in price as well. Both will scale down but nowhere near the same degree as the PS3. e.g. Cell is bigger then the XCPU, chips rise in price exponentially with area so shrinking Cell will save more than shrinking XCPU. DVD drives are already is mass production so aren't going to fall much. BluRay has a big way to fall. Wii's GPU can drop but the CPU is a different matter, it's already minute so savings are likely to be minimal.

The Wii's CPU started on the same 90nm SOI packaging as the Cell. It's kinda silly to think it won't shrink as well, it's just that Nintendo doesn't advertise these things like MS and Sony do since Nintendo was making a profit from day 1 on the Wii. The Gamecube had 2 board revisions from the original and I know I've seen 2 different gpus on them as well. I'm sure the GDDR3 memory will also get cheaper and the flash memory as well. Remember, the Gamecube got down to about $40 in costs. I'm sure "2 Gamecubes duct-taped together" won't cost that much down the road.

Also, the material they use on the controllers has already changed since launch. It's not so glossy anymore. :(

@minator

Quote:

Kutagari wasn't removed, he resigned (he clarified this himself).

Too bad they didn't use the typical 'wanted to spend more time with his family' reason. Reading between the lines of reports of management styles it can be seen that Kutagari's do it alone attitude is not what Sony's management desired. Personally, I think this was not a 100% decision by Kutargai to leave.. I think it likely some pursuasion was in play. If you're this in touch with a product like this you want to nuture it's fruitation not leave. Kutargai claimed to have ideas for the PS4 and PS5 but decided it time to leave? It makes very little sense that someone makes a statement like then and decides to retire on their own accord. Of course we all don't know what happened in the board room in this decision. We can guess that everyone's being honest. Then again the PS3 plays in 4D w/ dual HDMI and the Cell doing it all...


Quote:

Why not? It's been predicted for months.

The Cell has been in development for years not months. Companies plan for their product while in R&D and early in the life cycle. If my memory serves correctly the Cell program started Sony when was down and reorganizing . I'm very doubtful they planned for a year one $2B loss, coming in 3rd and subesequently green lighted the Cell to acheive it, in a division which was 50% of their profits at the time. IMO Sony's management is better then that and their planning likely much more optimistic.

Last edited by BrianK on 17-May-2007 at 02:33 AM.

@BrianK

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16171&ncid=AOLGAM000500000000016

_________________
Amiga 4000 CSPPC [retired]
Intel i7 3930K @ 4.3Ghz / Corsair H100 / Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 16 GB / 2 x 240GB Corsair Force GT SSD / 2 x EVGA 2GB 680GTX SC Sig / 3 x Benq XL2420T
27" iMac / i7 @ 3.4 / 680mx / 3TB Fusion / 32GB RAM

perhaps this newsletter I received from GamesIndustry.biz will shed some light on the DS...and possibly Wii - effect:
Quote:

A Small Revolution Despite Japan's important role in the global games industry, attempts at predicting trends in the US or Europe based on the Japanese market have traditionally been on shaky ground. The Japanese consumer, it has always seemed, is a mystery wrapped in an enigma; a strange beast obsessed with franchises and game genres destined to remain forever impenetrable to western minds. That being said, there is compelling evidence which suggests that not all Japanese trends are unique to that nation. For over a year, we watched from afar as Nintendo's Brain Age hung on grimly in the weekly top ten - and was joined gradually by several other DS titles with similarly remarkable chart longevity. This, it was reasoned in some quarters, was another example of how crazy and faddish the Japanese market could be. Fast forward to the present - an unexpected present, where Brain Age has turned out to be just as successful in Europe as it has been in Japan. A year after launch, Professor Kawashima's collection of puzzles, pattern recognition and memory tests has barely left sight of the upper reaches of the UK charts in 12 months. We have enthused before in this column about the remarkable success of the DS and of Nintendo's strategy of reaching out to an audience which has traditionally shunned videogames. We all know how well the DS has done, and the recent announcement that sales of the platform have topped 40 million worldwide are merely an affirmation of that success. What's interesting, however, is to examine just what that success looks like at street level in Japan - which remains the country where the DS has made most headway. Japan is arguably around a year further down the curve of the console's life-cycle than the US and Europe. The first striking thing about the Japanese market is that right now, Nintendo dominates retail. From the hardcore specialist end of the spectrum in Akihabara's Electric City through to the games sections of media retailers like HMV, the tables have been utterly turned on Sony in a few short years. The DS and the Wii occupy the prime retail real estate. Aside from occasional massive PSP releases (like last week's Final Fantasy Tactics), Sony's platforms are relegated to less prominent spaces. Neither the Xbox 360 nor the PS3 is really anywhere to be seen. Walk in to any game retailer and you'll be presented with shelves full of DS software and accessories, with the Wii occupying a significant chunk of space off to one side. Hardware is another story, though; despite the space given to the DS and Wii software and accessories, few retailers actually have any hardware to sell you. Demand for the DS, in particular, outstrips supply by a large margin, and second hand DS Lite consoles generally retail for 3000 to 4000 Yen (18 to 25 Euro) above the SRP. Could western retailers end up looking like this in 12 months' time? Perhaps not. Conditions here are quite different to Japan, in many respects. The existence of a third major player in the console market - Microsoft, whose Japanese presence remains utterly marginal - makes competition for shelf space and promotion significantly tougher, for one thing. In Europe, too, Sony's dominance is arguably even greater than it was in Japan a few years ago, and will be harder to shift. However, some kind of movement is already taking place. Shelf space for the DS is growing, and the vast demand for the Wii is turning heads in retail. We're a long way from seeing Japanese-style store layouts, which force consumers to walk through vast Nintendo displays to find the Sony platforms, but after years of seeing the GameCube and GBA relegated to precarious shelves on the end of aisles full of PS2 games, the shift in the layout of retail in the UK is noticeable - and important. The second, and perhaps even more important, factor that strikes you in any Japanese games store is that the software and accessories on offer for the DS are very, very different to any other platform's offering. The success of Brain Age was a clear sign of where the console was headed, of course, but the speed with which the Japanese software industry has embraced the new, wider demographic it now serves is still vastly impressive. In Akihabara's AsoBitCity store, for example, two vast racks of DS software face each other across the prime ground floor space. One of them is composed of traditional "gamers' games" - RPGs, shooters, adventure titles, platform games and their ilk. The other, however, is an even bigger rack, and is filled with the progeny of Brain Age. Puzzle games of all types, translation and language learning aids, city guides for travelers, simulated board games, kanji dictionaries and tests... An ocean of software, based on the interfaces of videogames combined with the desire for education and mental stimulation, has been opened up for Nintendo's platform, and it is the most powerful force in the Japanese market right now. If there was ever any doubt about the new audiences which Nintendo is reaching, you need only look at the accessories being produced for the DS. Handbags with special carrying pouches for the DS and its game cartridges range from glittering bags for Tokyo's young and beautiful through to sensible brown leather satchels for grandmothers. Replacement styluses come in packs with cute character heads, beloved by children and teenage girs, on the end of them. There are suede covers for the console so fathers and businessmen can use the console on the train and have it look like a grown-up PDA. Cases and bags aimed at young men or teenagers are, amazingly, in the minority - by a huge margin. Already the first tendrils of this change have crept into the west. Brain Age was merely the first of a generation of software; it convinced plenty of people outside the traditional gaming demographic to invest in the console. In Japan, a second and third wave of software for that audience has followed - some of which has trickled through to Europe, but much of which has not, and will not. This, of course, leaves a vast opportunity open for European developers and publishers. The challenge is not to mimic Brain Age, as a number of unimaginative companies have tried to do; instead, it is to examine the new demographics now available to this industry for the first time, and work out what else they might want to do with their console. Puzzle games, board games, traditional pastimes like crosswords, language trainers, literacy and numeracy aids - all of these things, and many more besides, can be readily identified as software which would justify a place on the DS' expanding retail shelves. The opportunity is there. While it's important to remember the caveat from the start of this column - namely, that what works in Japan has often proved inapplicable to the West - it does seem fairly clear that the DS has not peaked by any means. The pocket wonder has proved itself, created an installed base, and is rapidly going from strength to strength in European retail. What remains is for Western publishers and developers to mimic their Japanese counterparts, and start really thinking about how to capitalise on that success.

Nice to see some traditional games in the top spots:
Quote:

News - Japan: Weekly software sales for 5/7 - 5/13 Posted by Josh Freund at 10:03:19 PM EST on 5.16.2007. Japanese software sales for May 7 - May 13: This week's rank. (Last week) Platform - Title - Publisher - This week's sales (Total sales) - Weeks on sale 1. (N/A) PSP - Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War - Square Enix - 154,891 - NEW 2. (1) NDS - Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Square Enix - 38,003 (421,333) - 3rd week 3. (3) Wii - Wii Sports - Nintendo - 30,180 (1,573,776) - 24th week 4. (10) NDS - Brain Training 2 - Nintendo - 27,930 (4,266,115) - 73rd week 5. (8) NDS - New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo - 21,332 (4,440,924) - 51st week 6. (2) Wii - Super Paper Mario - Nintendo - 20,670 (330,851) - 4th week 7. (5) Wii - Wii Play - Nintendo - 20,498 (1,299,628) - 24th week 8. (7) Wii - Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree - Nintendo - 20,063 (117,487) - 3rd week 9. (9) NDS - Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan - Hudson - 18,547 (143,189) - 3rd week 10. (4) NDS - Yoshi's Island DS - Nintendo - 17,423 (808,555) - 10th week Total top 10 sales: 369,537 (down 287,463 from last week) Last week's sales: 657,000 For reference: Last week's sales Source: Media Create

via www.gamesarefun.com

Big drop off in total sales since this is the first week following "Golden Week".

Last edited by Lou on 17-May-2007 at 09:22 PM.

@Lou

Quote:

Nice to see some traditional games in the top spots:

Actually it's kinda sad. I'm all for nostelgia but 6 out of the top 10 games are rehashes of previous things. Final Fantasy Tactics a mighty fine PS1 game, one of my favorites nice to see it on top again. But, again we see people complain about endless sequals and lack of creativity in game play. Is it really little wonder why companies make sequals and make rehashes? The cost to do so is cheap, the formula is tried and true, and the outcome of large sales is a given. When we as gamers buy an 'new' game that's really 10+ years old it's not encouraging companies to give us new content.

Now while you all think of that I'm going back to playing Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSP. FFT rocks!

Just in case anyone with a (US?) PS3 missed it, you can sign up for the open beta of Warhawk.
Beta should be out on May 24th.

Sign Up

Sony's shares have hit a 5 year high due to Sony's positive outlook for this year. For last year Sony's group net profit rose slightly to 126.3 billion yen.

PS3 sales are currently slow in Japan and North America as was expected due to a lack of new game releases. But sales in Europe are still good with for instance the PS3 currently ranking Amazon.co.uk's bestseller.

The lack game releases is temporary though, as demonstrated by Sony at Sony’s Gamer Day Event in San Diego. The following games were shown, some of which really showing off the benefits of a Blu-Ray drive and the Cell processor:

1. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, SCEA
Amazing videos:
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=4572

2. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, SCEA

Great videos:
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2654

3. Heavenly Sword, SCEA

Looking very good:

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=1679

4. SingStar, SCEA
5. SOCOM: Confrontation, SCEA
6. LAIR, SCEA
7. Folklore, SCEA
8. NBA ‘08, SCEA
9. MLB 07 The Show, SCEA
10. THE EYE OF JUDGMENT, SCEA
11. Home, SCEA
12. LittleBigPlanet, SCEA
13. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda Softworks
14. The BIGS, 2K Sports
15. Hellboy, Konami
16. Devil May Cry IV, Capcom
17. Stranglehold, Midway
18. Spider-Man 3, Activision, Inc.
19. Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Tecmo
20. TimeShift, Sierra Entertainment
21. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas, Ubisoft Entertainment
22. Tom Clancy’s GRAW 2, Ubisoft Entertainment
23. Surf's Up, Ubisoft Entertainment
24. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Electronic Arts
25. Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End, Disney Interactive
26. SEGA Rally Revo, SEGA
27. Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM, NAMCO BANDAI Games
28. Conan, THQ
29. Ratatouille, THQ
30. The Darkness, 2KGames
31. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 2KGames

Playstation Network
1. PAIN, SCEA
2. Calling All Cars, SCEA
3. Warhawk, SCEA
4. High Velocity Bowling, SCEA
5. High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition, SOE

Some good looking new screenshots:

Heavenly Sword:
http://www.worthplaying.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1608

Warhawk:
http://www.worthplaying.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1606

Uncharted:
http://www.worthplaying.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1605

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction:
http://www.worthplaying.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1609

US NPD numbers for April:

Nintendo DS: 471K (10.9 million total)
Nintendo Wii: 360K (2.5 million total)
Sony PlayStation 2: 194K (38.2 million total)
Sony PSP: 183K (7.4 million total)
Microsoft Xbox 360: 174K (5.4 million total)
Nintendo Game Boy Advance: 84K (35.7 million total)
Sony PlayStation 3: 82K (1.3 million total)
Nintendo Gamecube: 13K (11.7 million total)
Microsoft Xbox: N/A

Sofware:

Pokémon Diamond (DS): 1.045M
Pokémon Pearl (DS): 712K
Super Paper Mario (Wii): 352K
Wii Play w/remote (Wii): 249K
Guitar Hero 2 w/guitar (Xbox 360): 197K
Guitar Hero 2 w/guitar (PS2): 142K
Spider-Man 3 (Xbox 360): 117K
Spider-Man 3 (PS2): 105K
God of War II (PS2): 101K
MLB '07: The Show (PS2): 79K

Yes, there are still about 5 titles being released for the Gamecube this summer vs. 4 for the Xbox. The GC has been outselling the Xbox since about 3-4 months before the release of the 360 locally and gloabally.

Big drop-off for God of War 2, Super Paper Mario continues to sell well. Pokemon owns. Spiderman 3 did real good considering about a week or less of sales...no PS3 version...

@BrianK
Atleast the remakes that are being made are already A+ games and usually enhanced with better graphics and added features.

Just announced from EA is a Deus Ex title...not sure if it's a remake or a sequel yet. The Deus Ex sequel - Invisible War - was considered so-so when compared to the original. I own Deus Ex and to me, I have never played a better FPS game...and I don't consider the FPS genre my favorite, however I was addicted to this game. I consider it a stealth/first-person/rpg/shooter/adventure with an incredible story. Loved how usually there was always multiple ways to acheive your objectives. Warren Spector is supervising this title and is in-development already.

As for WarHawk and SOCOM for the PS3....it's sad that they are multiplayer-only. Isn't the PS3's spu's all about being able to do better AI... All this to concentrate on prettier graphics... Adventure lies in the single-player story, not in multi-player death matches. It seems that the PS3 is catering too much to the hard-core gamer (and I use the term "hard-core gamer" loosely as it is a subjective concept) and depending on user generated content for games like Little Big Planet.

I think Little Big Planet will fail for 1 reason and 1 reason only. People are lazy. The same goes for HOME. The person who has time to create all this user-generated content is the person without a regular job. The majority of gamers have aged and are in there 20's and 30's and work for a living. If anything, it's this "coming of age" so to speak that it revitalizing the "casual" gamer (again used loosely) market. People simply don't have time for extended gaming sessions. This is one reason why World of Warcraft is successful. You can knock off a quest in under an hour, feel a sense of accomplishment and come back tomorrow.

"Hard-core" games are made for teens and that market is shrinking, not growing. This was stated by Nintendo last year and their shift in focus is clearly evident on every sales chart.

Microsoft is staying on alot of gamer's radar because of XBLA and it has successfully won over alot of the developers who previously only supported Sony. Otherwise it would be no better off in the market than the PS3.

It's great that the PS3 is offering PS1 games for download...however...what I remember most about my PS1 is long loading times and only a few gems worth revisiting...one being Final Fantasy Tactics, which was just remade for the PSP. The sequel is due out on the Nintendo DS. I may have to get a DS (finally) just for that game. I still don't care for handhelds but my GBA and the game Fire Emblem did come in handy for some long bus rides I took a couple of years ago...

PS,
Shock - horror - I owned a PS1! :P With Nintendo 64 envy... It was that envy that drove me to the Gamecube.

Edit to add Canadian info from www.gamesindustry.biz:
Quote:

Meanwhile, Canadian NPD figures reveal that similar market tastes also centre around Nintendo with the Wii and DS the most popular hardware, recording sales of 42,100 and 34,900 systems sold, respectively. Again, Canadian software sales were dominated by Nintendo, with Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Pearl, Wii Play and Super Paper Mario at the top of the charts. Overall, the Canadian game industry recorded a leap in sales of 64 per cent to CAD 80.7 million (EUR 54m) in April.

Japanese hardware sales for May 7 - May 13 from www.gamesarefun.com:
Quote:

System - Weekly sales (Compared to last week) - 2007 sales - Lifetime sales 1. DSL - 163,785 (-121,338) - 3,050,653 - 10,500,537 2. Wii - 52,544 (-48,776) - 1,504,716 - 2,424,359 3. PSP - 34,433 (-739) - 873,828 - 5,405,957 4. PS2 - 10,414 (-4,401) - 335,018 - 20,489,877 5. PS3 - 8,839 (-4,135) - 425,895 - 883,453 6. 360 - 2,105 (-1,100) - 95,655 - 360,357 7. GBM - 408 (+68) - 18,808 - 578,688 8. GBASP - 343 (+41) - 16,691 - 5,935,641 9. NGC - 315 (-79) - 7,078 - 4,176,546 10. NDS - 39 (-30) - 2,023 - 6,584,280 11. GBA - 18 (+7) - 607 - 8,823,813 Total sales: 273,243 (down 180,482 from last week) Last week's sales: 453,725 For reference: Last week's sales Source: Media Create

Wow, the GBA platform is the only platform that gained sales AFTER Golden Week... The 360 and PS3 are selling in the same # of digits...

Last edited by Lou on 18-May-2007 at 11:54 PM.
Last edited by Lou on 18-May-2007 at 02:19 PM.
Last edited by Lou on 18-May-2007 at 01:20 PM.

@Lou

Nintendo doing fine too in Germany in April.
PS3 2nd and 360 trailing.

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/89889

But perhaps we'll see another spike for the 360 now that some machines (primarily chipped ones?) have been blocked : blocked 360

@Lou

Quote:

Lou wrote: As for WarHawk and SOCOM for the PS3....it's sad that they are multiplayer-only. Isn't the PS3's spu's all about being able to do better AI... All this to concentrate on prettier graphics... Adventure lies in the single-player story, not in multi-player death matches. It seems that the PS3 is catering too much to the hard-core gamer (and I use the term "hard-core gamer" loosely as it is a subjective concept) and depending on user generated content for games like Little Big Planet.

Lou, could you please synchronize your bashing with BrianK? BrianK has been arguing that the speed of Folding because of the SPU's are unrelated to gaming calculations, like AI. Now what is it going to be?

Quote:

I think Little Big Planet will fail for 1 reason and 1 reason only. People are lazy. The same goes for HOME. The person who has time to create all this user-generated content is the person without a regular job. The majority of gamers have aged and are in there 20's and 30's and work for a living. If anything, it's this "coming of age" so to speak that it revitalizing the "casual" gamer (again used loosely) market. People simply don't have time for extended gaming sessions. This is one reason why World of Warcraft is successful. You can knock off a quest in under an hour, feel a sense of accomplishment and come back tomorrow.

I don't see much evidence for your story. Second World is not just people without a regular job. I don't see why Little Big Planet and Home can't be enjoyed just for an hour a day. And as long as you have enough avatars that are good to start with, people can adjust little by little. And when you have systems where people can "sell" their user generated stuff, you don't even have to do this yourself.

Quote:

"Hard-core" games are made for teens and that market is shrinking, not growing. This was stated by Nintendo last year and their shift in focus is clearly evident on every sales chart.

Not just for teens. But perhaps it is true the "hard-core" market is shrinking. Or you could say that the casual market has grown faster than the other markets.

Quote:

It's great that the PS3 is offering PS1 games for download...however...what I remember most about my PS1 is long loading times and only a few gems worth revisiting...one being Final Fantasy Tactics, which was just remade for the PSP. The sequel is due out on the Nintendo DS. I may have to get a DS (finally) just for that game. I still don't care for handhelds but my GBA and the game Fire Emblem did come in handy for some long bus rides I took a couple of years ago...

Do you really think they will emulate the loading times as well? LOL

@jiyong

Quote:

jiyong wrote: @Lou Lou, could you please synchronize your bashing with BrianK? BrianK has been arguing that the speed of Folding because of the SPU's are unrelated to gaming calculations, like AI. Now what is it going to be?

This multi-player-only cop-out is a result of the internal developmental squabbling that was reported last year on this site by me and some one else that it would be a downloadable title when this was originally Sony's "premiere" title at last year's E3. As for SOCOM, there isn't much excuse but even the sequels on the PS2 were heading more in this direction. A multi-player-only game means no A.I. and less content. Sony is getting thrifty with their 1st party titles.

Quote:

I don't see much evidence for your story. Second World is not just people without a regular job. I don't see why Little Big Planet and Home can't be enjoyed just for an hour a day. And as long as you have enough avatars that are good to start with, people can adjust little by little. And when you have systems where people can "sell" their user generated stuff, you don't even have to do this yourself.[/quite] Yes, Microsoft promised their users that they'd be able to generate content and "sell" it too...what they really meant was XNA. More marketing bullet points. People are lazy. How much is Little Big Planet going to cost? $60? At $60 I don't want to work to play the game, I want to just enjoy the game. [quote] Do you really think they will emulate the loading times as well? LOL

No but it's the memories that matter. I recently saw the Final Fantasy 7 follow up CGI film. It had a FF7 retrospective/summary with actual in-game graphics... God they were awful, though the game was great. Goes to show gameplay over graphics...(hint Wii FTW) ... But these games are still available for peanuts in some stores and definitely in used/ebay market and playable on a PC using an emulator in better detail that the originals. In 1999 I was playing Tekken 3 in 1920x1600 on a 900MHz AMD with a Radeon 7500 using !Bleem, Today it's ePSXe 1,6. The same can be said of the Virtual Console. I give some credit to MS for actually forcing developers to enhance the content properly in most cases for XBLA.

As for the virtual console, the few games I've downloaded are mostly TG-16 games that I never got to experience. Military Madness, for instance, is a gem and I see where Nintendo's Advanced Wars got their inspiration...

PS,
The FF7 follow-up movie sucked major donkey spheres.

Last edited by Lou on 20-May-2007 at 11:39 AM.

@jiyong

Quote:

BrianK has been arguing that the speed of Folding because of the SPU's are unrelated to gaming calculations, like AI. Now what is it going to be?

What I'm going to assume is you were trying, and failing greatly, at humor instead of a misstatement. No where did anything I write say Quote:

SPU's are unrelated to gaming calculations

. For calculations, both folding equations and data along with gaming equations and data, are done on the SPU. DUH!

Sony releasing 80GB PS3 in Korea on June 16 for $556 and slaps every one in the face.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5696&Itemid=2

Read the article.

No plans to bring it to Europe:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25163

It seems the blue-tooth module has finally been replaced hopefully with one that doesn't randomly stop recognizing the controllers, though this happens about once a month or two on my Wii as well. Not as often as the early reports of the PS3 during launch.

Anyway, my take is that they expect to sell so few of them that Korea acts like beta-testers and they don't continue to bleed money.

That and they like bleeding the PAL territories for money...

Nintendo just announced their NA Wii release schedule for July-September:
July 30: Mario Strikers Charged - Nintendo
Aug. 20: Metroid Prime 3 Corruption - Nintendo
September: Battalion Wars 2 - Nintendo
Aug. 14: High School Musical: Sing It! - Disney Interactive Studios
Aug. 14: Madden NFL ‘08 - EA
August: Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘08 - EA
August: Space Station Tycoon - Namco Bandai
August: Brunswick Pro Bowling - Crave
August: Dave Mirra BMX Challenge - Crave
August: Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection - Crave
September: Brothers in Arms - Ubisoft
September: Looney Tunes: Acme ####nal - Warner Bros.
September: George of the Jungle - Crave
Fall: Boogie - EA

Looking forward to Mario Strikers Charged, Metroid Prime 2 (I should really finish 1 (on final boss) and continue through 2) and Battalion Wars 2.

Last edited by Lou on 21-May-2007 at 06:10 PM.