Will PS3 WW sales ever stop dropping?

[Bodhesatva]

Dryden said:

zaphodile said:
I never thought about this, but could FF and MGS actually HURT PS3 sales as a whole? I know alot of people who want those games, but are just waiting for them to come out before buying the PS3. How many of these, possibly millions, will see what the 360 or Wii has to offer and buy one of those before FF and MGS even comes out?
Undoubtebly they will be huge system sellers, but they could also be the cause of the low sales right now. Problem is, when they eventually come out, it may be too late for the PS3.

For every one person that is holding out on buying a PS3 when that one 'killer app' is released, there are 100 more that are waiting for the system price to drop below $300. I don't think there's any other way to cut it. Videophiles who want Blu-Ray don't want the games console, and hardcore gamers that want the best machine won't drive the Blu-Ray film side in substantial enough numbers to 'end' the current format war. Sure, there are exceptions, but as a general rule the number of people that want everything the PS3 has to offer are few and far between, and most of them bought it already at launch, hence the trend of great sales in Week 1 and a plummet in each successive week following Week 2 in virtually every territory.

The last overly ambitious $600 console that vied to be the ubiquitous "black box" that controlled every aspect of your TV was the 3DO, and we all know how that turned out. It was a fabulous machine, but the bottom line is Road Rash, Twisted, FIFA, and Star Control II weren't worth $600 to play. If the PS3 isn't selling with the general quality and well-reviewed titles it has now, such as Motorstorm and Resistance, then a bunch of hi-res sequels to games we've all played for 15+ years, plus Home a Second Life clone with less functionality, aren't going to make much of a dent.

This crosses with the PS2/PS3 launch thread, but in 30 years of buying consoles I cannot name one game system that was successful following the business model of, 'Oh, well when X, Y and Z are released, THEN it'll sell like crazy.' Not one. Screenshots and promises don't sell consoles.

This needs repeated over and over again: Hardcore gamers don't drive the gaming market. The NES, Genesis, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 weren't successful because they had the best exclusives or the promise of the best exclusives to eventually arrive. They won over their fans and generations because they cost either $249 or $299 and had the best libraries at launch. Their points of critical mass weren't reached with gamer-centric killer apps, but rather with puzzle and rhythm games completely out of left field.

Final Fantasy, Zelda, Mario, et al didn't sell a bajillion GameBoys and NESes. Tetris did.

This trend WILL NOT ever change, regardless what "hardcore gamers" think.

 Well worded and insightful post. I agree almost entirely on every point made.