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Re: What do you want to see for the PS3, 360, and Wii?
Too bad that you want Monster Hunter. Not gonna happen, courtesy of Capcom Stupidity. The game coulda been revolutionary for the franchise, but now it'll just be Monster Hunter 2 With Waggle.
And Feba, you and tdh both make strong points, however it's very tough to say what the casual gamer wants (other than the Wii) because none of us are casual gamers. The only way we can judge things other than sales numbers are the occasional "I work at Target and I see people asking about the PS3 but then running away from the price" or something like that. That said, I do work at Target and I do see that quite often, but the system has been selling well so far this holiday, not quite as strong as the 360 and certainly not like the Wii, but these remote instances are in no way indicative of the industry as a whole. People like the Wii because it's cheap and it's great for groups of new gamers. That was Nintendo's big risk and it paid off, bigtime.
As for games lineup, I do have to disagree with tdh, as so far the 360 has made a name for itself with its set of (equally good) exclusives. Uncharted. Ratchet & Clank Future. Resistance. Warhawk. Four amazing games, but not particularly well-known by the mass public. Ratchet & Clank is the only new IP Sony's launched into the next-gen so far in the states, and while it has been successful in the past (12 million units sold so far), it's not Gran Turismo. It's not God of War.
The word Halo likely brings visions of terror to Sony's execs. Gears of War. Bioshock. Mass Effect...not so much. But the 360's big three so far have been far bigger than Sony's new IPs could have hoped to be. And that does matter. Though Mrs. Soccer Mom may not know anything about games, she does know what her kid tells her: Xbox 360s play Halo. Add that to the fact that the 360 Pro, which most stores stock more of, is $50 cheaper than the base PS3, which more sane people should look to buying, and we have every reason to know why the 360 will outsell the PS3 this holiday. Not in spades, but it'll certainly have a stronger holiday in the US.
Most people predicted Holiday '07 would be lost for Sony, but so far we can tell it certainly isn't. Hardware is healthy enough, though software is suffering. Guitar Hero III is indicative of the situation, as the PS3 version sales trail behind the competition. $399 still isn't the right price for it to become the big hit it can and will be, but it's certainly the price Sony needs to be to survive this holiday season against the big hitters like Halo 3 and...well...WiiSports. 2008 will be a different story, with Sony on the offensive, but I'm glad to see healthy sales for all three consoles this holiday. It shows that the industry still has room to support three very different platforms.
Too bad that you want Monster Hunter. Not gonna happen, courtesy of Capcom Stupidity. The game coulda been revolutionary for the franchise, but now it'll just be Monster Hunter 2 With Waggle.
And Feba, you and tdh both make strong points, however it's very tough to say what the casual gamer wants (other than the Wii) because none of us are casual gamers. The only way we can judge things other than sales numbers are the occasional "I work at Target and I see people asking about the PS3 but then running away from the price" or something like that. That said, I do work at Target and I do see that quite often, but the system has been selling well so far this holiday, not quite as strong as the 360 and certainly not like the Wii, but these remote instances are in no way indicative of the industry as a whole. People like the Wii because it's cheap and it's great for groups of new gamers. That was Nintendo's big risk and it paid off, bigtime.
As for games lineup, I do have to disagree with tdh, as so far the 360 has made a name for itself with its set of (equally good) exclusives. Uncharted. Ratchet & Clank Future. Resistance. Warhawk. Four amazing games, but not particularly well-known by the mass public. Ratchet & Clank is the only new IP Sony's launched into the next-gen so far in the states, and while it has been successful in the past (12 million units sold so far), it's not Gran Turismo. It's not God of War.
The word Halo likely brings visions of terror to Sony's execs. Gears of War. Bioshock. Mass Effect...not so much. But the 360's big three so far have been far bigger than Sony's new IPs could have hoped to be. And that does matter. Though Mrs. Soccer Mom may not know anything about games, she does know what her kid tells her: Xbox 360s play Halo. Add that to the fact that the 360 Pro, which most stores stock more of, is $50 cheaper than the base PS3, which more sane people should look to buying, and we have every reason to know why the 360 will outsell the PS3 this holiday. Not in spades, but it'll certainly have a stronger holiday in the US.
Most people predicted Holiday '07 would be lost for Sony, but so far we can tell it certainly isn't. Hardware is healthy enough, though software is suffering. Guitar Hero III is indicative of the situation, as the PS3 version sales trail behind the competition. $399 still isn't the right price for it to become the big hit it can and will be, but it's certainly the price Sony needs to be to survive this holiday season against the big hitters like Halo 3 and...well...WiiSports. 2008 will be a different story, with Sony on the offensive, but I'm glad to see healthy sales for all three consoles this holiday. It shows that the industry still has room to support three very different platforms.
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