Why all the Sony hate?

[GotchayeX]

I wouldn't call it hate for Sony in general, nor even hate for the PS3, but I can't say I like the thing.

First, the price is absurd. If I were willing to shell out $600 for a console, I'd just go all the way and pick up a gaming PC. Not only are the graphics better, the games are cheaper, I don't need controllers, and I can actually put the machine's power to use for non-gaming, and somewhat profitable, applications. Running Linux just doesn't cut it.

Second, I think that, insofar as it is successful, it's going to take the industry in a direction that I won't want to follow. A successful PS3 encourages multi-function platforms, when I'm much more of a fan of the iPod 'we do one thing really really well' philosophy. I see BluRay as a completely worthless extra cost that I'm forced to pay if I want the thing, and I simply don't believe that Sony had good intentions in implementing it - they're trying to leverage their PS fanbase into the format war, just as when MS used to put extra 'features' into Windows that made things difficult for competing third party software.

Furthermore, and most importantly, it's too powerful and difficult to work with. I just don't care that much about the graphical difference between Zelda and Oblivion or Halo 2 and Resistance, but it's definitely the case that it takes developers more time and money to implement these improved graphics. I'd rather a system like the Wii, where a given development team can make a great game in under a year, to a system like the PS3, where a similarly great game takes significantly longer. I'm more than willing to accept the graphics hit if it means shorter development cycles and more games from good devs. No doubt there are other uses for more horsepower, but it's the graphics that drive some of the insane costs we're seeing.

Ultimately, it's just that I'm looking at the PS3 and looking at the Wii or 360 and concluding that there's no way that the PS3 experience is worth the extra $350/$200. I really don't understand what could prompt anyone not a big movie fan to take the PS3 over the 360, and the Wii is cheap enough to already be worth a purchase by anyone who calls himself a gamer. Sure, one could argue that the PS3's big titles so far outshine the Wii's (though I think that many would disagree), but it only costs half as much to play the Wii's games. One expects more from the $600 PS3, and I just don't really see Resistance or Motorstorm being better than Zelda or Super Paper Mario, and they're certainly not sufficiently better to justify the extra cost.