I have nothing against Sony (am waiting equally breathlessly for the Revo AND PS3) but sometimes their PR people can sound kinda...dumb.

PS3 the ONLY HD console in town

So what does this mean? That anyone who forked out for a 1080i HDTV won't be part of the HD era? That without 1080p there is no enjoyment? I seriously think the PS3 will be an awesome console without having to resort to stupid comments like that one.

LoL I get what you mean. So yeah, let's all hold our breaths and hope Sony pulls off this big IF, hehehe

After all is said and done, it's all still gonna be about the games. I'd play a kickass 720p game anytime rather than a gorgeous 1080p dual screen game with sucky controls... but if it works, more power to us!

You're forgetting one thing:

The 3DO and Neo Geo both flopped, horribly.

Funny that you say I didn't look at the chart. I looked at BOTH charts, thanks to curmudgeon_gamer. I don't know which charts YOU were looking at, but My point that I was trying to make is simple:

Why launch at a price point that indirectly links you to OTHER console launches that ended up to be failures?

The graph is clear on one point: any console that launches in excess of USD 600 ultimately flops. Why be associated with that?

OTOH, Nintendo consoles seem to be getting cheaper with each iteration - and relatively successful at that.

So, did you look at both graphs?

Without getting into fanboyism, let's just say that I've made my point. It doesn't matter that Nintendo's market share has dropped or Microsoft's not doing well in Japan. No where did I say that price alone determined a console's success - but it can play a MAJOR part in determining whether it becomes something that parents will buy.

You have to remember to discriminate between early adopters (hence your Gfx card analogy) and the REST of THE WORLD.

Sure, some people will buy it the moment it launches, but I'm thinking that a lot of us will wait till the price stabilises, especially parents.

FYI, I don't need permission from anyone to buy my games. I earn on my own, thankyouverymuch.

I didn't say discriminate EARLY ADOPTERS. I said to discriminate BETWEEN them and regular people so we can understand the bigger picture. Try reading slowly.

Like it or not, even though you belong to this so-called "young-adult" demographic that makes a bundle and buys every single console release the day they launch, when the PS3 launches families are going to feel the pinch. They're gonna stop before spending the USD 600 on an Xmas gift and think about their purchase really really hard.

Sure, early adopters fulfill an important role - but just how many are there compared to regular people? How many of your friends/colleagues/relatives know about/care about Bluray? So my argument still stands - it's gonna take a LOT of convincing before people start buying your much-worshipped PS3 in droves.

Hehe bro Matrix, thanks for an OUTSTANDING explanation. I'm afraid I'm much to blame as I should have used "differentiate" in this case.

Of course, words (taken out of context) can be very powerful...

Well, in any case, if you've read IGN's report on Sony's financials this year we all can agree that Sony's betting the bank on this one - and we may see the results of that gamble by Xmas.

Yup, agree with you, Matrix.

On a related note, the reason why Sony's receiving such a bashing is that they seem to be thumbing their nose at their 100 mill (or so) installed fanbase by reducing features and releasing statements that smack of arrogance.

While MS isn't much better in terms of business practices the 360 IS a good console. I'm more of a Nintendo guy, but if given a choice between a console I KNOW has good games available now and soon and one that has promised a lot then underdelivered, MS has my RM 1400 at least till Sony reveals what their real intentions are.

Yeah I agree. One moment they say "console gaming rox cause I don't need patches etc" and the moment console makers turn it around on their head suddenly it's the best thing since sliced bread?

And the comic strip is RIGHT. If Macs had more penetration, the case would be absotively the same as Windows right now. Macs aren't "special", none of the OSes are. Geez, it's hard to get some points thru to some people.

Which doesn't really make sense. I mean, Resistance looks cool and all, but downplaying Killzone for Resistance (that honestly looks a little like Lost Planet, or any other 3rd person shooter)?

That doesn't compute. They could have just shown fans some more videos (prerendered or not, who cares?) to hype the excitement, but why the sudden quietness from Sony?

Still doesn't make sense. A killer app is a killer app is a killer app, IMHO.

The only PROBABLE reason that Killzone mysteriously disappeared from E3 is that it wasn't ready. I bet you even if MGS4 wasn't in playable mode, Sony would still have shown it. How else can you explain videos of non-existent games like Lair when almost every other game is there?

It doesn't make sense. Sony knows it, and we all know it. So yeah, come on Sony, show us gameplay for a change.

You're right of course. But I suppose partly the reason behind all this intarweb animosity towards Sony is that fact that all this while they were ridiculing Ninty's motion sensing controller and all of a sudden KA BLAM they have one too.

Well however they spin it, bottom line is even Sony's internal people can't really make up their minds on what the PS3 is supposed to be. I can imagine it being the "centrepiece" of your home entertainment but your PC?

If network capabilities were all that defined a PC I'd agree with you - but Sony this year has brought on a lot of bad publicity simply by not being able to keep their mouths shut. If theirs truly is a better console - just shut up and deliver the goods, that's all we're saying.

Thanks for reminding me of that. Yes, the PS3 DOES "compute".

I agree with your points - trying to take on not only the home entertainment market but also desktop computing? No matter how many Linux geeks are salivating over the possibility of a Cell-server (and I'm interested to see how it goes) point is Sony is widening the gap between their installed fanbase with every little news bite that comes out, and that can't be good.

So right now I'm wondering: what the hell do I get for my USD 600? A games console, a home entertainment hub that plays bluray, a PC, or all of them? And why shouldn't just get a PC that's ultimately modular?

Games consoles should play games. Everything else is just dressing.

I suppose I'll believe it when I see it. Sony's promises are at the moment...nebulous.

The problem is, will devs code in vibration function when the majority of PS3 owners won't have rumble? Does this mean that most if not all PS3 owners will have to buy a thirdparty rumble controller? Man, that sucks.

Perhaps it's because the Wavebird was an N64 controller and rumble wasn't really a big deal back then? I dunno - but I guess these days a lot of people take it for granted that rumble comes with your console.

Still, I suppose games WILL be playable for the most part...until we hit Gran Turismo and you can't tell if your tires are slipping or not on the tarmac. Worse if it's Colin Mc Rae.

Agree. Don't mean to slam the PS3 at all, I KNOW there'll be all sorts of goodness for it as it matures. Just a bit puzzled about Sony's direction in all this. I guess time will tell.

The rumberang? lol. Maybe - and I'm sure Sony fans will all breathe a sigh of relief when it just pays off the bloody lawsuit and make the controller rumble, goddamit.

Well shops in Malaysia have been known to inflate prices. One of the shops in Sg Wang charged RM 3000 for a PSP last year. He sold it within 2 days. I shook my head, but of course the shop owner was very happy.