What is sony thinking??

[Shinjifei]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26176800

I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing...

[Dancer O_o]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26176800

I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing...

Over the holidays the Wii was again hard to find, most that could not find it just went out and bought a PS2. The PS2 sold almost a million in the month of December, this tells Sony that the PS2 is long from dead and that the PSP and PS3 can be sustained along with the PS2 almost indefinitely. Sony also made a boatload of money over the holidays with the Playstation©®™ brand. Being that this is the case, it makes sense to kill the backwards compatibility on PS3s to help PS2s continue to sell well into 2008 and even 09 and convince developers to also continue PS2 title development since you can still make a buck off the system.

Personally, I feel lucky to have gotten an original 60gb launch model with EE chipset and bell and whistle. I play PSX games over remotes access for slower paced games and am currently playing Hitman Blood Money PS2 game on the PS3 with no issues so far. This industry is still growing and Sony thinks it can sustain all their consoles plus the competition and I am inclined to agree with them on that.

[DrunkenThumbmaster]

Please Dancer. They know the PS2 is canniballizing PS3 sales. Like me and TMG have been saying for months. They could'nt move a million units of there current gen platform in December. They're trying to push there PS2 fanbase into the next gen. Now watch with this move you still won't see a PS2 drop to $99 because they don't want to increase PS2 sales they want people to buy those PS3's.

[silversparrow]

The decision to remove b/c from the PS3 was more of a strategic decision than a fiscal one. It's largely an effort to get new PS3 owners to buy more content for their console. The 360 and Wii don't have this problem because the GC and Xbox libraries dried up years ago.

PS2 hardware sales by themselves don't really cannibalize the PS3, given that most of those making the purchase are budget gamers, who probably don't even own an HDTV. The Wii shortage is still in effect, so there's bound to be demand for a cheap console. It's wise for Sony to make as much money off this crowd as they can. The fact that the PS2 still sells so well after so many years on the market never ceases to amaze me though.

[Fivespot]

Yeah but to Dancer's point, they're strengthening the Playstation brand name regardless of whether it's a PS2 or PS3. Obviously Sony doesn't feel an immediate need to push the PS3 as they believe they built a console that will last for many years to come. Since the PS2 is so strong, why risk alienating that crowd when they will eventually switch over to PS3's down the road (an investment into their future)?

Furthermore the demographic of people buying PS2's is different from those who would purchase a PS3 (less income, not ready for "next gen", no HDTV, etc..). I don't think it's going to cannibalize their business at all.

And last but not least, for the videogame nerds such as ourselves, Sony is proving that they mean business when they create a console. The PS2 is coming up on 10 years in the market and may still be viable at that point. Doesn't that make you feel more comfortable about dropping $400 on a PS3? At least you'll know it's going to be around a while. Creates more value in the consumers mind.

[theWacoKid]

Multiple skus with varying capabilities leads to consumer confusion which leads to reduced sales. The motorstorm bundle is due for a change regardless, how long can you keep selling the same game wiith a system.

B/c is a double edged sword, good for consumers who want to consolidate, but not so hot if you want your kids to keep playing their ps2 games on their tvs in their bedrooms. The ps2 has always been the greatest enemy of the ps3. Why buy HS if you can buy GOW2 instead?

One sku at $399 solves problems for retailers, and having to explain the differences. Third parties are happier because no ps2 games to compete against. Manufacturing is easier. Bluray is now the dominant format, its time to press bluray and ps3 games as the primary selling points of the ps3.

Also, this shouldn't come as a surprise, as sony has hinted earlier that the 80gig would also be phased out. These types of problems are bound to occur when you create a do it all unit that is feature rich and you find that certain features are underutilized. Like 4 usb ports when 2 do quite nicely, SACD playback that almost nobody uses, an 80gig hdd that few people are really going to exploit, the memory card reader, etc, etc.

Sony's primary goal going forward should be one sku, and get it down to $299.

[Tappy_Tibbons]

Poor people buy PS2s and you'll notice the software sales as of late are horrible

[ThaMaskedGamer]

I think this really confirms that Sony's strategy was wrong all along in many ways, but in particular with regards to b/c. I hope going forward this ends b/c being put into future consoles from all manufacturers, it has been a disaster for both Sony and MS, it has been implemented poorly for both companies as well. All it has done is drive up costs of both consoles and increase complexity. And it really is just a short term fix. If people want to play old games then they can just keep their PS2, of course it is a little bit more convenient to have it all in one new console, but the cost of that convenience is not worth it.

I said from the beginning that this was a great idea, the $400 console from Sony. Basically you are taking the standard $300 price point and then charging extra for a HDD and network capabilities, it would be nice if there was a rumble controller, but this is a fair price for the PS3. It is not a retard pack at all, like MS XBOX with no HDD. And 40GB is enough storage, 80GB was overkill and just additional unnecessary cost. And as we have seen, this unit is now way more popular with the consumer than any other model of the PS3. Now Sony is really going to be in a good spot, because like Whacko said, they have one SKU it is better for retailers and it is better for the consumer.

What is Sony thinking? Well the point is they ARE thinking, now! Before they weren't, all that jazz about people are going to do whatever is necessary to afford a $600 PS3 was bullcrap. Now Sony realizes they have to offer a trimmed up efficient value laden package, and they have done that. Now just get some more games and they will probably be in a better position year 3 -5 than MS and the 360. I think no matter what this year is another easy win for MS, but going forward Sony could make huge strides after this year.

[Cuddly Knife]

Well, I for one think phasing out b/c is a big negative. My PS2 just broke two days ago, and I love my last-gen games more than anything current-gen. Good thing I have the 60GB PS3, only now I'll have to start every game from the beginning. Now, if my Xbox takes a dump on me, I would be SOL on a number of greats like my beloved Stranger's Wrath and Otogi 2.

[Gadfly2317]

Well, I for one think phasing out b/c is a big negative. My PS2 just broke two days ago, and I love my last-gen games more than anything current-gen. Good thing I have the 60GB PS3, only now I'll have to start every game from the beginning. Now, if my Xbox takes a dump on me, I would be SOL on a number of greats like my beloved Stranger's Wrath and Otogi 2.

There's a cable/adapter you can buy for $14 that lets you transfer your Ps2 files onto your Ps3 harddrive. I've been playing all my Ps2 games on my Ps3, except for Culdcept (because I haven't gotten a second controller for Ps3--still waiting for rumble.)

[T.Tashi]

What's odd is it still has BC for PS1 games.

[ilnadmy]

What's odd is it still has BC for PS1 games.

Not really. You can probably emulate PS1 games on a phone nowadays lol.

[theWacoKid]

Well, I for one think phasing out b/c is a big negative. My PS2 just broke two days ago, and I love my last-gen games more than anything current-gen. Good thing I have the 60GB PS3, only now I'll have to start every game from the beginning. Now, if my Xbox takes a dump on me, I would be SOL on a number of greats like my beloved Stranger's Wrath and Otogi 2.

You don't. Just buy the mem card adapter, transfer all your old saves to your hdd and return the sucker to a best buy. And in case your hdd bricks on you, back up your game saves to some cheap sd mem cards.

[Cuddly Knife]

Yeah, unless Wally World or Radio Shack sells them, I'm SOL. I can't justify a 7 hour drive just for a reader. I will look into that though. Thanks Waco and Gad.

[silversparrow]

I can't justify a 7 hour drive just for a reader.

Come on Cuddly. Haven't you ever shopped online?

[theWacoKid]

Yeah, unless Wally World or Radio Shack sells them, I'm SOL. I can't justify a 7 hour drive just for a reader. I will look into that though. Thanks Waco and Gad.

Its a sony first party peripheral goes for $14.99 US, and should be available at Waldo World.

[Cuddly Knife]

Come on Cuddly. Haven't you ever shopped online?
I used to. I've been burned many timed, in many different ways to trust it too much anymore. Occasionally, I'll still do 'er, and just might if I can't find one at Wal-Fart, but only because it's really cheap.

[Gamer From '78]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26176800

I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing...

In reality, I think it IS a good thing. Like Wacko pointed out, multiple SKUs lead to confusion. I don't think that the average consumer is DUMB...but when they walk into a store and see two boxes in a case, one labeled "40 gig" and one labeled "80 gig" and they can't read any of the other crap on the box because it is locked behind glass, it causes problems.

I went with the 40-gig for several reasons.

1) I don't need backward compatibility. The PS2 is dirt-cheap anyway and I own one less than a year old now.

2) I don't need a buttload of various memory card slots. And if I need to back up the HDD, I can plug in an external memory card USB device which I have several of already.

3) Motorstorm? I can live without it. This was the one reason I would have picked up the 80-gig, but I picked up a new/sealed copy off eBay for $20 + shipping.

4) 20-gigs on my 360 will be more than I ever need, 40 on the PS3 is basically overkill already for me.

Moving forward, Sony will have one SKU in two different colors (black and white), same features across the board and can concentrate on battling Microsoft and Nintendo.

[silversparrow]

I used to. I've been burned many timed, in many different ways to trust it too much anymore. Occasionally, I'll still do 'er, and just might if I can't find one at Wal-Fart, but only because it's really cheap.

Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-Memory-Card-Adaptor/dp/B000K1GZIU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1201365492&sr=8-1) is pretty good IMO. Nobody I know has ever been burned by them.

[Gamer From '78]

I used to. I've been burned many timed, in many different ways to trust it too much anymore. Occasionally, I'll still do 'er, and just might if I can't find one at Wal-Fart, but only because it's really cheap.

I'm sorry to hear about all that bad luck buying online Cuddly. It is just the opposite for me. I cannot tell you how many times I bought a game, CD, DVD, etc from a retail store only to find that it had been previously used and re-shrink wrapped or worse-the original disc had been stolen. The worst experience I had with this was when I bought Guilty Gear X 1 & 2 from Toys 'R Us in Sunset Hills, MO (it's in St. Louis). The first had been previously used and carefully re-wrapped. It was complete though. The second-and I guess because DVD's were harder to copy at this time (it's been awhile back) had some music sampler CD stuck inside of it. Needless to say, after the 1+ hour drive back home, eagerly opening my game to play it and finding that, I was pissed to no end. I kept a cool head and contacted the manager at the T'R'U and explained the situation which they rectified the very next day when I drove back up.

Now online? No problems to speak of. I have purchased nearly 1,000 items from eBay sellers with the only issue being an Asian bootleg instead of an original VCD. Best Buy, Amazon, Fingerbutt...errr hut, and just about every other place has been good times. When I want a new game DAY ONE, I buy it on Gamestop.com and use next day air shipping. It's $10 for that. But....it would cost me $12.00 in gas (120 mile round-trip @ approx 30mpg) and two hours + of my life to make the trek. Not to mention people want to innevitably stop and get something to eat/drink or BOTH when we go. :rolleyes: I swear...people. Here we are talking about getting a game and they want to eat! WTF?! :mad: :D

[Gamer From '78]

Yeah, unless Wally World or Radio Shack sells them, I'm SOL. I can't justify a 7 hour drive just for a reader. I will look into that though. Thanks Waco and Gad.

The adapter is at just about every Wally World I have gone to. It's only $15 or so.

QUESTION FOR EVERYONE: Can I use a USB HDD through my PS3 to back up files and transfer files TO it?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-Memory-Card-Adaptor/dp/B000K1GZIU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1201365492&sr=8-1) is pretty good IMO. Nobody I know has ever been burned by them.

I agree. I shop on Amazon.com, though not with credit card (I have trust issues). If Target Direct or Amazon.com themselves have what I need, then I have no problems with it.

[thelastword]

QUESTION FOR EVERYONE: Can I use a USB HDD through my PS3 to back up files and transfer files TO it?It's the ideal device for backing up IMO, you can backup everything to it, including all your gamesaves, demos, movies. It's easy and breezy, you won't be able to play your demos off the USB HDD though, you can play your videos and music however, but I'm thinking that's common knowledge for all PS3 users out there. You won't be able to use your gamesaves directly from it either, but if you do have plans to upgrade your internal HDD, restoring your files, demos and current profile down to your current theme is a snap. Everything is restored just as it was when you backed up, which is the point really.

Backing up to a USB HDD is better, because it can easily take everything from your 40-60-80 gb PS3, of course, that depends largely on the capacity of your USB HDD, but I'm thinking, anyone talking about a USB HDD in this day and age can't in all honesty be talking of a sub 40gb HDD, if they are, frankly, that is a bit uncivilized.

[ilnadmy]

Not to mention people want to innevitably stop and get something to eat/drink or BOTH when we go. :rolleyes: I swear...people. Here we are talking about getting a game and they want to eat! WTF?! :mad: :D

Tell me about it. My mom's the same. "Go eat!" she says. I had a bag of Doritos last week, thank you very much. "Take a shower!" Pshh. The only reason I actually got up and took a shower was because the flies were starting to obstruct my view.

[Mochan]

Not really. You can probably emulate PS1 games on a phone nowadays lol.

Not on a phone but you can emulate PS1 games on the PSP.

[ilnadmy]

I know Moch, I was being sarcastic. :D

[theWacoKid]

The latest word is that the 80gig is NOT being phased out, apparently, according to npd figures, this was the best selling model of the two during the holidays. It looks like Motorstorm is out as a pack in game.