makingmusic476 on 05 June 2008
They say it got smart: a 2008 review of the PS3
Here is the conclusion of the four page article:
A better PlayStation makes a better industry
We didn't give the PS3 much love when it first launched. Parts of the system plain didn't work, the online play was all over the place, and the software support was limited, at best. Multiplatform games played noticeably worse than their Xbox 360 counterparts. So many of us had a bad taste in our mouths from all the claims that the PS3 was going to completely blow away the competition, and that the only real high-definition graphics were 1080p. Sony walked into this generation with a set of claims that their launch hardware and library simply couldn't back up, and the company took a bad beating for it.
To Sony's credit, though, they learned. They slowly, but surely, addressed every beef gamers had with the system: the software lineup improved; developers learned how to work with the system; the price went down; Blu-ray won the format war; and the firmware updates kept adding value to the system. (Also, it helped that Ken Kuturagi stepped down, which was a good move. The man was a brilliant engineer, but anyone who believed he should be speaking to the public deserves to... well, to have Ken Kuturagi say crazy things about their products.)
Today Sony isn't simply playing catch-up; the PS3 has grown into a capable system that does almost everything the Xbox 360 can do, and many things even better. As a home theater box it's impeccable, and it's getting better with every update. As a gaming machine the lineup of exclusives is impressive, and more are on the way. Sony failed when it thought that it was unbeatable, and it rallied when everyone thought it couldn't be saved.
In the end, competition is a great thing. Every gamer, no matter what their system of choice, should be happy that the PlayStation 3 has become a worthy contender. Sony will make Microsoft try harder, as both companies fight to have the best games with the best features. The gaming world is better with a PlayStation product in it, and Sony has proven that it's folly to underestimate its tenacity and power in the gaming space.
The Good
* The best Blu-ray player on the market
* Rock solid hardware with a minimal defect rate
* Excellent media functions across the board
* Dual Shock 3 is a great controller, with many options for creative developers
* Online store has no upper limit on size of games
* Storage is a snap to upgrade
* Excellent convergence with the PlayStation Portable
* An ever-increasing library of exclusives
* Home could make great strides in online gaming
The Bad
* Home has seen too many delays
* Online play still doesn't measure up to Xbox
* Backwards compatibility seems to be going the way of the dodo in newer models
* Focus on media could take away from gaming aspects of the system
The Ugly
* Don't think that numerical scores are coming back, but since we're re-rating the hardware, I thought we'd take them out for one last hurrah, since these days the PS3 gets a...
Score: 9
We didn't give the PS3 much love when it first launched. Parts of the system plain didn't work, the online play was all over the place, and the software support was limited, at best. Multiplatform games played noticeably worse than their Xbox 360 counterparts. So many of us had a bad taste in our mouths from all the claims that the PS3 was going to completely blow away the competition, and that the only real high-definition graphics were 1080p. Sony walked into this generation with a set of claims that their launch hardware and library simply couldn't back up, and the company took a bad beating for it.
To Sony's credit, though, they learned. They slowly, but surely, addressed every beef gamers had with the system: the software lineup improved; developers learned how to work with the system; the price went down; Blu-ray won the format war; and the firmware updates kept adding value to the system. (Also, it helped that Ken Kuturagi stepped down, which was a good move. The man was a brilliant engineer, but anyone who believed he should be speaking to the public deserves to... well, to have Ken Kuturagi say crazy things about their products.)
Today Sony isn't simply playing catch-up; the PS3 has grown into a capable system that does almost everything the Xbox 360 can do, and many things even better. As a home theater box it's impeccable, and it's getting better with every update. As a gaming machine the lineup of exclusives is impressive, and more are on the way. Sony failed when it thought that it was unbeatable, and it rallied when everyone thought it couldn't be saved.
In the end, competition is a great thing. Every gamer, no matter what their system of choice, should be happy that the PlayStation 3 has become a worthy contender. Sony will make Microsoft try harder, as both companies fight to have the best games with the best features. The gaming world is better with a PlayStation product in it, and Sony has proven that it's folly to underestimate its tenacity and power in the gaming space.
The Good
* The best Blu-ray player on the market
* Rock solid hardware with a minimal defect rate
* Excellent media functions across the board
* Dual Shock 3 is a great controller, with many options for creative developers
* Online store has no upper limit on size of games
* Storage is a snap to upgrade
* Excellent convergence with the PlayStation Portable
* An ever-increasing library of exclusives
* Home could make great strides in online gaming
The Bad
* Home has seen too many delays
* Online play still doesn't measure up to Xbox
* Backwards compatibility seems to be going the way of the dodo in newer models
* Focus on media could take away from gaming aspects of the system
The Ugly
* Don't think that numerical scores are coming back, but since we're re-rating the hardware, I thought we'd take them out for one last hurrah, since these days the PS3 gets a...
Score: 9
I just wish they would've waited 1-2 weeks for the 2.40 update, which will include in-game XMB, among many other things.
