Five reasons why I despise Sony

[d21lewis]

thismeintiel said:

Screw it, I'm bored enough to make counter points. Maybe it will lead to conversation. That's not boring, right?

Anyway...1. Technically, Sony launched a rumble controller the exact same month Nintendo launched the rumble pak. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately), they only released it in Japan since they wanted to perfect the tech before releasing it elsewhere. That lead to the Dual Shock.

2. Nintendo did release one of the first analog thumbsticks to market (there were a couple of others in the golden age of gaming). However, the tech and design of their stick was inferior and less accurate. Sony used the same potentiometer tech used in their flight stick, which launched a couple of months prior to the N64. This is the same tech everyone, including Nintendo, uses in their thumbsticks today.

3. Sony was a gamble for 3rd parties, as they hadn't proved themselves in the gaming market, but it was a gamble that paid off. The PS1 was a HUGE hit and helped push gaming into the mainstream. It sold more than both Nintendo and Sega sold the gen prior combined. Speaking of which, regardless of who came out with the tech first, it was Sony, not Nintendo, who popularized rumble and analog thumbsticks. Even their controller design changed gaming controllers as we knew them.

4. While the Move is completely different tech-wise and was in development before the Wii was announced, I will admit it was the success of the Wii that inspired them to finally perfect it and push it out the door. It was also where they found inspiration for the Navi.

5. Well, this is where you got me. After hours upon hours of research, I have concluded that Sony has never been, nor is currently, Nintendo. Oh well, can't win them all.

Counter-attack!!

I remember reading video game magazines looooooong before the N64 came out (and it was called "Project Reality" and later, the "Ultra 64") and nobody was even allowed to show a pic of the N64 controller.  It was top secret.  The best we got was a blurred out picture in EGM that looked like a dinosaur's footprint.  It wasn't until they finally unveiled the N64 controller at Space World or E3 or Tokyo Game show in 1995 that Sony produced their dual analog controller.  Sony's Dual analog joystick thingy came out in 1996 with a Dual analog controller finally being released in 1997 (with no software support to my knowledge). Even 3D games like Jumping Flash, Gex 2, Crash Bandicoot, and many others ignored the potential of the analog stick.

The Dual Shock (vibration added) didn't hit until 1998.  Starfox introduced the "Rumble Pak" in 1997.  Games that did support PS1 rumble and some sort of right analog stick support didn't hit until 1998 (Gran Turismo, Quake II, etc).  Most of the games before that only used the left stick and it wasn't until MGS1 in 1998 that a game allowed the use of both the analog stick and the d-pad.  Before that, it was one or the other.  And when Ape Escape (Sony's showcase for the potential of the right analog stick) finally hit in 1999, even they didn't use the right stick as camera control.

As for N64 accuracy in comparison to the Dual Shock, the N64 controller was VERY accurate.  Sony and Nintendo used different methods to achieve nearly identical results.  The tech that everyone uses today (including the tech that Sony used for their analog joystick and Dual Shock) actually is a derivative of the analog tech used in the ancient Vectrex controller.

As for the Rumble Pak, it's true that the capability was released at the same time for both consoles (though only in Japan for Sony until 1998).  It would be impossible to say who came up with the idea first.  I also don't recall any unveilings of the tech in the U.S. aside from the Starfox 64 promotional video tape I got in the mail saying rumble was "Only on Nintendo 64".  That's no evidence, though.

 

For the record, Sony's Dual Shock was (in my opinion) infinitely better than the N64 since Sony had the sense to include two analogs, two shoulder buttons, and internal rumble without the need for an external power source.  I just don't think that many of these features would have been supported on Sony's console if Nintendo hadn't announced them.  And there's nothing wrong with that (if that's the case).  Nobody wants a competitor to have a feature that they don't have.  Ignoring the competition is just plain stupid.

 

As for third parties--Nintendo were assholes to them during the 8-Bit/16-bit era.  Nobody could release more than a certain number of games.  If Nintendo were releasing a platformer or RPG, nobody could release a game that competed with their title.  Companies had to buy expensive cartridges from Nintendo and had to buy a set number (either too many or not enough) before their game was even released.  It sucked.   Some companies (like Namco, Capcom, Square, and Konami) were already legendary among Nintendo 3rd parties, though.  Konami even had to create a second company called Ultra Games to release more games since they had already reached their limit under the regular Konami name.  I think Rare had to create "Tradewest", too.  Anyhoo, Sony came along and gave third parties all kinds of freedoms that Nintendo didn't.  Sony was like a pimp that wouldn't smack its bitches.  What hoe wouldn't want that?

As for points 4-5, fuck it.  My hands are tired.