Holiday Console Rant!: Sony's PS3

It's been a while since I've post, so I thought it was due time I ranted about the PS3. This is more or less a follow-up from my previous post on the PS3, so you may want to check that one out before getting to far into my comments.

First off, I have to say, I have been really confused about Sony and how they've approached the PS3. It seems like the system was on the right path with the release of the slim and the price cuts, but I was really baffled how Sony let the whole Netflix thing pass by. In my mind, Netflix was the only thing missing that would turn the system into the perfect media solution for users. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out Sony and Netflix found a solution, specifically to skirt around the whole "console exclusivity" issue with Microsoft and their XBox 360. Granted, neither Sony or Netflix are saying the disc solution they've come up with was specifically to circumvent the agreement Netflix and Microsoft have, but they come pretty dang close.

I must say, though, that I'm really sad about the backwards compatibility issue with the PS3. Sony may feel they don't need backwards compatibility, but their reasoning is not sound to me at all. They say that they've been asking consumers who buy the PS3 if PS3 games are their main reason for buying the system, and an overwhelming majority have said yes. In my mind, though, those numbers mean nothing, because people buying the PS3 now already know the PS2 isn't supported on the system. In my last post, I talked about what I felt Sony's approach would need to be during the Holiday Season to do well, and I'm surprised at how well my comments have held out. Here's the one thing that still gets me:

"In May, 2009, NPD (we will miss them) reported that the PS2's sales were almost as good as the PS3's (117,000 PS2s and 131,000 PS3s). What's more, while I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are, it would appear the NPD is reporting that there have been a total of 44.1 million PS2's sold worldwide, while there are only 7.7 million PS3s sold worldwide."

While I'm sure those numbers have changed quite a bit with the price changes and all the other things going on, it is very sad to me that, during 2009, the PS2 was still selling almost as well as the PS3. This, to me, means that Sony needs to start addressing this issue, instead of hiding their heads in the sand and saying something along the lines of, "Durrr, PS3 users buy PS3 games." If Sony gave their users a way to keep playing their games on the PS3, then they'd have a much better chance of bringing over their PS2 base to their new system. As it is right now, most people will likely be considering the 360 just as much, if not more, than the PS3.

The XBox 360, despite its mess of attachments, is a very solid system. It's hard for me to see Sony ever catching up to Microsoft's system, especially because Microsoft has proven it has the ability to take a beating and not blink an eye. I personally cannot blame anybody for not even considering a PS3 this holiday season, as a friend of mine came up to me last week and said, "Dude, I've found a promotional price on an XBox 360 Pro that lets me buy it for the same price as a Wii!" With promotions like that, it's really hard to imagine people will be willing to go for the PS3.

So, what's the future going to be like for the PS3? I was actually reminded of the staying power the PS3 really has this weekend after finding out more about the development process that went into Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I watched their sixth "Behind the Scenes" video, and was very impressed about how they approached development for their title. Naughty Dog seems to have leaned very heavily upon Assembly Code for the cell processor to take a brunt of the graphics processing away from the PS3's sad little GPU, and the results have shown exactly what the PS3 is eventually going to be capable of. Now, as a person who's had to deal with Assembly code before, I have to say, no wonder developers never want to optimize their games for the PS3. Sony needs to approach Naughty Dog and a few other companies and try and create a more robust set of developer tools for their console. I could see the PS3 eventually having better-looking titles than the 360 if the cell processor is made more accessible to all developers, despite the PS3's GPU inferiority.

To conclude, earlier this year I was excited about this holiday season being the time for the PS3 to rise up and establish itself, but I'm afraid that it simply isn't the right time. The PS3 may be catching up in titles, may be a solid media machine, and may even show promise to be a much better system in the future, but the lack of backwards compatibility and the fact that it's still just a little pricey are going to leave it still feeling left out while the 360 and Wii continue to sell well. I don't mean that it's going to be terrible, it will certainly sell more this year than ever before, but all things considered, that's not saying a lot...