The PS3: “The Dreamcast of this Generation”?
It’s the week of GDC and many are predicting a massive announcement from Sony concerning a price drop on the PlayStation 3. Both developers and consumers have been calling for Sony to slash prices on their big box of tricks for some time, it seems like now would be the perfect moment to do it. Price drop aside, I began to muse about what Sony have going for them and what they could do in order to improve sales, win back their once loyal fan base and ultimately flog a load more Playstation 3s. Can they regain their dominance, or are they doomed to be “the Dreamcast of this generation”?
Anyone who was a gamer before the launch of the next-gen consoles will have witnessed the PlayStation brand at the height of its success. The original console went down a storm and the PlayStation 2 has gone down in the history books as the highest selling games console of all time. But just where have Sony gone wrong with the PS3?
When the PlayStation 3 was first announced there was, undoubtedly, a huge hype. That was before Sony announced the price. Seriously, who in their right mind was going to buy a games console/entertainment centre that cost $600 (£500) at launch? Not forgetting that with that they’d need games, controllers and all the other bits and bobs you need to get the most out of your console. Sure, people bought it, but not enough people. Even as a loyal Sony fan who had owned both a PS1 and PS2 wasn’t tempted into spending that colossal sum on a games console. At least not right away.
Two years after launch, for the most part, the story is still the same. The monthly NPD numbers roll in and everyone stands and gazes in awe at the massive sales of Nintendo’s consoles, slowly looking down the list until they find the PS3, sitting close to the bottom of the chart with a meagre 200,000 plus sales. But who is accountable for the PS3’s failure? In fact, is there anyone to blame? Well, yes and no. Anyone who claims to be a ‘hardcore’ gamer, that’ll be most of you, will notice that for the first year or so of the PS3’s life cycle it was highly under marketed. Of course, there was the odd advertisement here and there, but Sony never did anything substantial to market the PlayStation 3. Sure, they stepped it up a little when major titles were coming out or after press events, but it soon seemed to die down. Leaving Microsoft and Nintendo to reign supreme. It’s only in the last, let’s say, six months or so that Sony have really made a huge push with their marketing. Putting huge emphasis on the launches of ‘Motor storm 2’, ‘Resistance 2’ and, most recently, ‘Killzone 2’. It seems like they might have begun to realise that they can’t live on their, once synonymous, brand name any longer and have gotten their act together.
Not only have they pushed the retail space, but Sony has teamed with some great people in order to offer quality games in the downloadable space too. There’s a plethora of titles waiting to be discovered on the PlayStation Store, ranging from the imaginative, peaceful experience that is, thatgamecompany’s, ‘Flower’, to the new takes on classic genres with titles like PixelJunk Monsters. With more to come in 2009, it seems that Sony might actually be catching up to Microsoft in this area. Something else you can add to your list of pros and cons if you’re thinking of buying a new console this year.
So, it’s the beginning of 2009, and already Sony has a big exclusive to offer their fans and help tempt the non-believers. With a massive line up of triple-A exclusive titles to come it seems that Sony might have the quality games to stop the 360 fan boys crying out: “but it’s got no games” or “they’re not good enough”. To be fair the Resistance sequel has little to be desired when compared to other shooters on the market, but are people seriously ignoring games like ‘Uncharted’ and ‘LittleBigPlanet’? It seems so. Everyone seems to talk about how “’Game X’ will save the PlayStation 3”. In my opinion those games are already out there, it’s just Sony needs stand up and promote awareness of the existing games. I doubt GDC will be stage for such a massive marketing push, but with E3 ‘back to normal’ this year I can definitely see Sony pulling something massive out of the bag.
So, back to the ‘saving’ of the PlayStation 3. Many, including myself, are predicting that Sony will announce a price drop at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC). It seems like the perfect time to announce something like this. You’ve got the attention of every major games developer as well as the full attention of the gaming media. Surely, that’s going to drum up some interest and make people acknowledge the true potential of Sony’s PS3? The announcement of a price drop would surely help Sony to regain favourability with developers who had previously been disinterested. An impending price drop does beg the question, with Sony already losing money on the PS3, can they afford a price drop?
Well of course it’ll cost them, but then again they lost $1.7 billion last year they need to do something drastic to get their sales back on track. A price drop seems the obvious solution. Combine this with an increase in marketing and a big push on ‘triple-A’ exclusive games and 2009 could well be the “Year of the PlayStation 3”? I’m not sure. However, I am sure that despite all of its problems and its ‘failed’ launch the PlayStation 3 is the most underrated of all the consoles on the market today.
In my humble opinion, I feel that the “Dreamcast of this generation” moniker will be dropped by the time this year is out. I’m certain of it.
http://paragamer.com/the-ps3-the-dreamcast-of-this-generation/
___________________________
FINALLY!
this is a great thought that the author has put forward
& yes I do feel PS3 gets criticism it DOES NOT deserve.....and certainly the last paragraph of the author is PURE GOLD in my eyes!
______________________
_____________________
