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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Were PS360 too powerful upon release?

I just saw the other thread about Wii being underpowered and it got me thinking, were the HD twins overpowered?

Ive read multiple times that both systems were initially sold at $200+ losses and it took a few years for them to begin selling at a profit. To my knowledge neither have made up those early losses.

Another thing to consider is the cost of developing games skyrocketed, causing many developers to go under, maybe thay could have been avoided if the HD twins werent so powerful. If it werent for cheap to make casual games on Wii, I could see alot more devs going bankrupt. It seems like gaming is coming to the point where most games are either AAA blockbusters or indie titles, mid level games seem to be going extinct.

Games like Gears/Uncharted/Assassins Creed/etc could all have been done on weaker hardware just with less fancy graphics and not so big worlds. Top of the line graphics are nice but most games would have been just as fun without them.

PS3 could have a cheaper alternative to the Cell and DVD instead of Blu-Ray (DVD only became popular in 2000, people were still content with it), they could have always added it in a redesign anyway. 

So lets say 360 and PS3 were both released in 2005 with one sku at $400 selling at a small loss, something like $50-100 per unit. Would they be better off and would the game industry in general be healthier?



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

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i disagree, they are just about right when it came to power of the consoles



BasilZero said:
Apparently not strong enough for games like Skyrim (well the PS3 version at least).


I thought that had more to do with PS3 being hard to develop for and to port to.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

No, not at all. PS3 cost so much because of blu ray and the cell. 360 I don't think was losing as much money as you believe. Those losses this gen came mostly from RROD. Rising dev costs was mostly the studio's fault.



They were too powerful at launch but their life cycles should have ended 2 years ago imo. Games like CoD just kept adding to their longevity. Now they are very underpowered, but its amazing to see how much developers can squeeze out of the hardware



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Edit-double post



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

BasilZero said:
zorg1000 said:
BasilZero said:
Apparently not strong enough for games like Skyrim (well the PS3 version at least).


I thought that had more to do with PS3 being hard to develop for and to port to.


Deja....vu? o.O

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=5566847

or are you stalking me n_n?


Lol Im not sure how that happened but I didnt catch the sarcasm initially lol



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

JoeTheBro said:
No, not at all. PS3 cost so much because of blu ray and the cell. 360 I don't think was losing as much money as you believe. Those losses this gen came mostly from RROD. Rising dev costs was mostly the studio's fault.


Ur porbably right about 360, I read that somewhere awhile back and wasnt sure how accurate it was



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

zorg1000 said:

I just saw the other thread about Wii being underpowered and it got me thinking, were the HD twins overpowered?

Ive read multiple times that both systems were initially sold at $200+ losses and it took a few years for them to begin selling at a profit. To my knowledge neither have made up those early losses.

Another thing to consider is the cost of developing games skyrocketed, causing many developers to go under, maybe thay could have been avoided if the HD twins werent so powerful. If it werent for cheap to make casual games on Wii, I could see alot more devs going bankrupt. It seems like gaming is coming to the point where most games are either AAA blockbusters or indie titles, mid level games seem to be going extinct.

Games like Gears/Uncharted/Assassins Creed/etc could all have been done on weaker hardware just with less fancy graphics and not so big worlds. Top of the line graphics are nice but most games would have been just as fun without them.

PS3 could have a cheaper alternative to the Cell and DVD instead of Blu-Ray (DVD only became popular in 2000, people were still content with it), they could have always added it in a redesign anyway. 

So lets say 360 and PS3 were both released in 2005 with one sku at $400 selling at a small loss, something like $50-100 per unit. Would they be better off and would the game industry in general be healthier?

Well, I don't know about 'too powerful' like sort of like saying someone is too good looking or 'this pizza taste too good!' 

But the Xbox, the Xbox 360 and I think to an extent the PS3, both were above their common contemporaries on the PC.  That was the first time that ever happened, and sadly, this gen it is a little bit behind.  But last gen's jump in graphic was just so good.

I'm playing Alan Wake again and just forgot how good that game looks and sounds.  It is a very well crafted game, in the same way JAWS is a well crafted movie.   Sound, music, story all blend so well together.  It makes the experience greater than the sum of it's parts.



 

Really not sure I see any point of Consol over PC's since Kinect, Wii and other alternative ways to play have been abandoned. 

Top 50 'most fun' game list coming soon!

 

Tell me a funny joke!

BossPuma said:

They were too powerful at launch but their life cycles should have ended 2 years ago imo. Games like CoD just kept adding to their longevity. Now they are very underpowered, but its amazing to see how much developers can squeeze out of the hardware


If it werent for kinect, I think 360 would have had a successor by now. Sales peaked im 2008 then dropped slightly in 2009, if Kinect didnt come out I think sales would have continued to gradually decline.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.