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It’s nearly the middle of the year, scary thought, so I thought I would take a look at where the three main consoles stand and what their future holds.
It looks like Sony have a game they can use to sell systems at last. Around the same time that the massive Halo 3 is released on Xbox 360, another game arrives on the PS3. That game is HAZE, and its big news, being created by the Timesplitters team and also being a timed exclusive title for the PS3.
Ok, so the other formats should get this game in 2008, but Sony needs all the help it can get, and HAZE will provide some sort of relief for fans who’ve bought the PS3 looking for decent games not available elsewhere. HAZe has the credentials and plenty of positive hype around it, not least because it was originally intended to launch on all formats at the same time, so expectations were already raised by 360 owners wanting to get their hands on the game.
So one game does not sell a system, but if that game revolves around enough hype and word of mouth, it certainly helps Sony get their message across when they advertise Home and downloadable titles like Warhawk, which might not get much publicity elsewhere. Now if only someone can sort out the next generation movie format once and for all and the price of HD TVs drops again, then things could finally be looking up for the company.
Of course, the 360 is looking very healthy in game and hardware sales. But Microsoft shouldn’t be complacent; their hardware itself isn’t perhaps as healthy as it should be. With plenty of stories of DVD systems breaking down and overheating issues, and that’s not just launch machines, they need to sort out their manufacturing and their customer services to avoid turning potential customers away with Watchdog style scare stories.
The Elite system seems to have mixed reactions. Some amount of confusion is bound to happen when you have 3 different systems out for sale. While they’re all capable of playing the same games, Microsoft should really ditch the basic unit altogether and allow developers to use the hard drive in their games. As the hard drives are available separately, it wouldn’t hurt gamers who’ve bought a Core unit to buy one if the game was good enough. The Elite is a good idea, but perhaps Microsoft should have included a HD drive built in for the same price, it would attract more people than just the extra HDMI options and bigger hard drive.
But once they get the broadband TV sorted out in Europe, people will see that extra Hard Drive space is an important option. Sony realised this for South Korea, where it will launch an upgraded PS3 with an 80 gigabyte Hard Drive to take advantage of their faster broadband speeds.
Nintendo is probably the most surprising result. Still going strong despite some deriding the Wii as a fad, developers now seem to be putting more and more proficient games together, spurred on by sales and by Nintendo’s own 2nd Generation titles which are now starting to appear. With their first Wi-fi title out, Mario Strikers Charged, they’ve shown that the Wii is more than capable of online multiplayer gaming. The downside? Well, despite Resident Evil, Manhunt 2 and a few others, there’s still not much to pull in the teenage male audience who want more FPS and ‘adult’ style games. Capcom’s decision to make Umbrella Chronicles a lightgun-esque game could be a bad move too, if it doesn’t work there will be people ready to point the finger at Nintendo’s gimmicky controller being the cause, but it’s early days and some of the previews are quite positive.
So it still looks unclear if there will be any losers in this generation at this stage. The PS3 is slowly taking off, the 360 is holding steady and the Wii is still silencing its critics for now. Interesting times, indeed and the gamer is the one to benefit from it all.
It looks like Sony have a game they can use to sell systems at last. Around the same time that the massive Halo 3 is released on Xbox 360, another game arrives on the PS3. That game is HAZE, and its big news, being created by the Timesplitters team and also being a timed exclusive title for the PS3.
Ok, so the other formats should get this game in 2008, but Sony needs all the help it can get, and HAZE will provide some sort of relief for fans who’ve bought the PS3 looking for decent games not available elsewhere. HAZe has the credentials and plenty of positive hype around it, not least because it was originally intended to launch on all formats at the same time, so expectations were already raised by 360 owners wanting to get their hands on the game.
So one game does not sell a system, but if that game revolves around enough hype and word of mouth, it certainly helps Sony get their message across when they advertise Home and downloadable titles like Warhawk, which might not get much publicity elsewhere. Now if only someone can sort out the next generation movie format once and for all and the price of HD TVs drops again, then things could finally be looking up for the company.
Of course, the 360 is looking very healthy in game and hardware sales. But Microsoft shouldn’t be complacent; their hardware itself isn’t perhaps as healthy as it should be. With plenty of stories of DVD systems breaking down and overheating issues, and that’s not just launch machines, they need to sort out their manufacturing and their customer services to avoid turning potential customers away with Watchdog style scare stories.
The Elite system seems to have mixed reactions. Some amount of confusion is bound to happen when you have 3 different systems out for sale. While they’re all capable of playing the same games, Microsoft should really ditch the basic unit altogether and allow developers to use the hard drive in their games. As the hard drives are available separately, it wouldn’t hurt gamers who’ve bought a Core unit to buy one if the game was good enough. The Elite is a good idea, but perhaps Microsoft should have included a HD drive built in for the same price, it would attract more people than just the extra HDMI options and bigger hard drive.
But once they get the broadband TV sorted out in Europe, people will see that extra Hard Drive space is an important option. Sony realised this for South Korea, where it will launch an upgraded PS3 with an 80 gigabyte Hard Drive to take advantage of their faster broadband speeds.
Nintendo is probably the most surprising result. Still going strong despite some deriding the Wii as a fad, developers now seem to be putting more and more proficient games together, spurred on by sales and by Nintendo’s own 2nd Generation titles which are now starting to appear. With their first Wi-fi title out, Mario Strikers Charged, they’ve shown that the Wii is more than capable of online multiplayer gaming. The downside? Well, despite Resident Evil, Manhunt 2 and a few others, there’s still not much to pull in the teenage male audience who want more FPS and ‘adult’ style games. Capcom’s decision to make Umbrella Chronicles a lightgun-esque game could be a bad move too, if it doesn’t work there will be people ready to point the finger at Nintendo’s gimmicky controller being the cause, but it’s early days and some of the previews are quite positive.
So it still looks unclear if there will be any losers in this generation at this stage. The PS3 is slowly taking off, the 360 is holding steady and the Wii is still silencing its critics for now. Interesting times, indeed and the gamer is the one to benefit from it all.
Except the UK and europe are practically meaningless, they wont shape the market in any measure. In the end they'll be forced into following what happens in Japan and the US.
From living in the US (where the HD market is much further along) the impression I have is that Toshiba/NEC simply dont have the heart for a battle over this. Sony & co are aggressively pushing their format, HD-DVD seem quite passive in comparison. If it continues theres only 1 direction for the general public to go.
Even with the HD-DVD's significantly smaller price they still couldnt out sell Blu-Ray last year. And in 6 months that price difference is probably going to be gone. So its difficult to see how that trend is going to be reversed.
I'm not sure about these dual format player either. Supposedly the Blu-Ray licensing prevents hardware manufacturers from supporting other HD formats. LG have released a dual format player
but apparently it doesnt fully support the HD-DVD format. They claimed technical difficulties, but I wonder if thats really true. Especially as theres rumours floating around the net that even Sony might fancy doing a dual format player.
From living in the US (where the HD market is much further along) the impression I have is that Toshiba/NEC simply dont have the heart for a battle over this. Sony & co are aggressively pushing their format, HD-DVD seem quite passive in comparison. If it continues theres only 1 direction for the general public to go.
Even with the HD-DVD's significantly smaller price they still couldnt out sell Blu-Ray last year. And in 6 months that price difference is probably going to be gone. So its difficult to see how that trend is going to be reversed.
I'm not sure about these dual format player either. Supposedly the Blu-Ray licensing prevents hardware manufacturers from supporting other HD formats. LG have released a dual format player
but apparently it doesnt fully support the HD-DVD format. They claimed technical difficulties, but I wonder if thats really true. Especially as theres rumours floating around the net that even Sony might fancy doing a dual format player.
More 3rd parties are signing up to the Wii format, though, plus Metroid 3, Smash Bros and other first party games should ensure a good class of games is available by the end of the year. Thing is, many people on games websites aren't necessarily going to like everything that comes out on the Wii, Nintendo are not just marketing it at gamers.
As for the format war, I don't think anything's decided until more people switch to HD TV. Early adoptors don't really give much of an indication of what the general public will do, as they'll either go for the highest quality option (no matter what the price) or both.
Online surveys conducted by trade magazine ERT Weekly show Uk retailers are putting their money on HD-DVD, partly due to cost to consumers. Other will back Blu-ray, pointing out that the PS3 has allowed this to enter homes (albiet not as many homes as Sony would have liked). Either way, at the moment both formats are getting exclusive titles which means a dual-format option is really the best solution.
As for the format war, I don't think anything's decided until more people switch to HD TV. Early adoptors don't really give much of an indication of what the general public will do, as they'll either go for the highest quality option (no matter what the price) or both.
Online surveys conducted by trade magazine ERT Weekly show Uk retailers are putting their money on HD-DVD, partly due to cost to consumers. Other will back Blu-ray, pointing out that the PS3 has allowed this to enter homes (albiet not as many homes as Sony would have liked). Either way, at the moment both formats are getting exclusive titles which means a dual-format option is really the best solution.
Agreed on the Wii front. While they are impossible to get people will always want them. I got mine on release and to be honest other than Zelda the only other game I have bought is Mario strikers. There are very few decent games on it yet. Whats the betting that this "console shortage" will be sorted out just before the release of Mario Galaxy and the proposed Sega Nights game for the Wii.
I think the next gen movie format war could be over already, we just seem to be going through the motions now.
And its a bit too early to say if the Wii is fad or not I believe. Sales are always going to remain relatively consistent while theres this (convenient) stock shortage. The real key is long term games sales.
And its a bit too early to say if the Wii is fad or not I believe. Sales are always going to remain relatively consistent while theres this (convenient) stock shortage. The real key is long term games sales.
I just hope other people do :)
I write this stuff to get replies, you know!
I write this stuff to get replies, you know!
I don't think staffies look through the gaming forum anymore... =(
It’s nearly the middle of the year, scary thought, so I thought I would take a look at where the three main consoles stand and what their future holds.
It looks like Sony have a game they can use to sell systems at last. Around the same time that the massive Halo 3 is released on Xbox 360, another game arrives on the PS3. That game is HAZE, and its big news, being created by the Timesplitters team and also being a timed exclusive title for the PS3.
Ok, so the other formats should get this game in 2008, but Sony needs all the help it can get, and HAZE will provide some sort of relief for fans who’ve bought the PS3 looking for decent games not available elsewhere. HAZe has the credentials and plenty of positive hype around it, not least because it was originally intended to launch on all formats at the same time, so expectations were already raised by 360 owners wanting to get their hands on the game.
So one game does not sell a system, but if that game revolves around enough hype and word of mouth, it certainly helps Sony get their message across when they advertise Home and downloadable titles like Warhawk, which might not get much publicity elsewhere. Now if only someone can sort out the next generation movie format once and for all and the price of HD TVs drops again, then things could finally be looking up for the company.
Of course, the 360 is looking very healthy in game and hardware sales. But Microsoft shouldn’t be complacent; their hardware itself isn’t perhaps as healthy as it should be. With plenty of stories of DVD systems breaking down and overheating issues, and that’s not just launch machines, they need to sort out their manufacturing and their customer services to avoid turning potential customers away with Watchdog style scare stories.
The Elite system seems to have mixed reactions. Some amount of confusion is bound to happen when you have 3 different systems out for sale. While they’re all capable of playing the same games, Microsoft should really ditch the basic unit altogether and allow developers to use the hard drive in their games. As the hard drives are available separately, it wouldn’t hurt gamers who’ve bought a Core unit to buy one if the game was good enough. The Elite is a good idea, but perhaps Microsoft should have included a HD drive built in for the same price, it would attract more people than just the extra HDMI options and bigger hard drive.
But once they get the broadband TV sorted out in Europe, people will see that extra Hard Drive space is an important option. Sony realised this for South Korea, where it will launch an upgraded PS3 with an 80 gigabyte Hard Drive to take advantage of their faster broadband speeds.
Nintendo is probably the most surprising result. Still going strong despite some deriding the Wii as a fad, developers now seem to be putting more and more proficient games together, spurred on by sales and by Nintendo’s own 2nd Generation titles which are now starting to appear. With their first Wi-fi title out, Mario Strikers Charged, they’ve shown that the Wii is more than capable of online multiplayer gaming. The downside? Well, despite Resident Evil, Manhunt 2 and a few others, there’s still not much to pull in the teenage male audience who want more FPS and ‘adult’ style games. Capcom’s decision to make Umbrella Chronicles a lightgun-esque game could be a bad move too, if it doesn’t work there will be people ready to point the finger at Nintendo’s gimmicky controller being the cause, but it’s early days and some of the previews are quite positive.
So it still looks unclear if there will be any losers in this generation at this stage. The PS3 is slowly taking off, the 360 is holding steady and the Wii is still silencing its critics for now. Interesting times, indeed and the gamer is the one to benefit from it all.
It looks like Sony have a game they can use to sell systems at last. Around the same time that the massive Halo 3 is released on Xbox 360, another game arrives on the PS3. That game is HAZE, and its big news, being created by the Timesplitters team and also being a timed exclusive title for the PS3.
Ok, so the other formats should get this game in 2008, but Sony needs all the help it can get, and HAZE will provide some sort of relief for fans who’ve bought the PS3 looking for decent games not available elsewhere. HAZe has the credentials and plenty of positive hype around it, not least because it was originally intended to launch on all formats at the same time, so expectations were already raised by 360 owners wanting to get their hands on the game.
So one game does not sell a system, but if that game revolves around enough hype and word of mouth, it certainly helps Sony get their message across when they advertise Home and downloadable titles like Warhawk, which might not get much publicity elsewhere. Now if only someone can sort out the next generation movie format once and for all and the price of HD TVs drops again, then things could finally be looking up for the company.
Of course, the 360 is looking very healthy in game and hardware sales. But Microsoft shouldn’t be complacent; their hardware itself isn’t perhaps as healthy as it should be. With plenty of stories of DVD systems breaking down and overheating issues, and that’s not just launch machines, they need to sort out their manufacturing and their customer services to avoid turning potential customers away with Watchdog style scare stories.
The Elite system seems to have mixed reactions. Some amount of confusion is bound to happen when you have 3 different systems out for sale. While they’re all capable of playing the same games, Microsoft should really ditch the basic unit altogether and allow developers to use the hard drive in their games. As the hard drives are available separately, it wouldn’t hurt gamers who’ve bought a Core unit to buy one if the game was good enough. The Elite is a good idea, but perhaps Microsoft should have included a HD drive built in for the same price, it would attract more people than just the extra HDMI options and bigger hard drive.
But once they get the broadband TV sorted out in Europe, people will see that extra Hard Drive space is an important option. Sony realised this for South Korea, where it will launch an upgraded PS3 with an 80 gigabyte Hard Drive to take advantage of their faster broadband speeds.
Nintendo is probably the most surprising result. Still going strong despite some deriding the Wii as a fad, developers now seem to be putting more and more proficient games together, spurred on by sales and by Nintendo’s own 2nd Generation titles which are now starting to appear. With their first Wi-fi title out, Mario Strikers Charged, they’ve shown that the Wii is more than capable of online multiplayer gaming. The downside? Well, despite Resident Evil, Manhunt 2 and a few others, there’s still not much to pull in the teenage male audience who want more FPS and ‘adult’ style games. Capcom’s decision to make Umbrella Chronicles a lightgun-esque game could be a bad move too, if it doesn’t work there will be people ready to point the finger at Nintendo’s gimmicky controller being the cause, but it’s early days and some of the previews are quite positive.
So it still looks unclear if there will be any losers in this generation at this stage. The PS3 is slowly taking off, the 360 is holding steady and the Wii is still silencing its critics for now. Interesting times, indeed and the gamer is the one to benefit from it all.