Maybe your unaware of it, but I certainly am not, Sony is in serious trouble!
As are most large companies right now, especially ones like Sony that have the majority of their holdings in financial institutions.
This is why I own stock in Microsoft and not Sony.
On top of that, Sony have become masters at delaying everything! Home is a classic example of this. I cannot understand how it has took them so long to release the damn thing. Don't get me wrong, I love it (I brought a summer house the other day btw), I just can't understand how it has took so long to get to the stage it is at now.
I'm guessing by your response you are not a programmer or involved in the development of software.
My knowledge in these areas is very limited, and yet it didn't take me more than an hour using Home, playing with the incredibly life-like avatar creator tool, and roaming around the spaces and playing with the games to realize this was a massive undertaking!
Not just the program itself, but trying to make it so everyone around the world can use it and connect with each other in this virtual world. In many ways it appears far more advanced then Second Life, which reportedly took Linden Research several years to develop.
If anything Sony is in serious trouble because they are giving so much away for free:
Unless you are into virtual real estate, interior decorating and virtual fashion, then EVERYTHING is currently free...
- PSN = FREE
- Online Gaming = FREE
- Using Home = FREE
- Creating life-like avatars = FREE
- Multiple standard areas to explore and meet'n'greet = FREE
- Harbor Studio
- Central Plaza
- Bowling Alley / Game Space
- Home Theater
- Home Cafe / Night Club
- Multiple developer spaces to explore and meet'n'greet = FREE
- Far Cry 2
- Train Station
- Reuben's Office
- Uncharted
- Multiple hidden spaces to unlock and explore = FREE
- Uncharted
- Smuggler's Den
- Arifact Room
- Film Room
- Call a friend on the Home Phone = FREE
- Invite friends to join you or you join them = FREE
- Joining Private Clubs = FREE
- Participate in developer meet and greets and Q&A sessions = FREE
- Watching exclusive trailers, BTS videos, interviews, etc = FREE
- Bowling = FREE
- Shoot Pool = FREE
- Play Darts = FREE
- Play Saucer Pops = FREE
- Play Chess = FREE
- Play Checkers = FREE
- Play Mancala = FREE
- Participate in organized and unorganized gaming tournaments = FREE
- Play arcade games = FREE
(and win special clothing, furnishings, and items as prizes) = FREE
- echochrome
- Ice Breaker
- Carriage Return
- Mercenary Madness
- Play Classic NAMCO arcade games = FREE
(and win special clothing, furnishings, and items as prizes - including your own arcade systems to place in your club and personal spaces) = FREE
- Pac-Man
- Dig-Dug
- Galaga
- Xevious
- Listening to music at the Listen@Home stage = FREE
- Dance (if that's your sorta thing) = FREE
Besides all that, several clothes, furnishings, items, and personal space are already given to you for FREE.
And that's just the open beta... as if that wasn't enough, here are some other things that are said to be coming to Home:
- Red Bull Island Space
- including 3-D flight sim air race games
- Buzz! Space
- including the game "Buzz! Runaround", which supports up to 32 players
- MotorStorm 2 Space
- Resistance 2 Space
- Warhawk Space
- SOCOM Space
- Killzone 2 Space
- Hall of Fame Space
- 3D Trophy Collections
- MotorStorm Premium Apartment
- Remote Controlled Model Boats, and Cars
- PSP-3000 Treasure Hunt
- Design Your Own T-shirt Contest
- MotorStorm VIP Event
- and certainly more as developers take advantage of Home's Development Kit, including Sega, Activision, Midway, Atari, Eidos, Ubisoft, EA Sports, Diesel, Audi, and more.
So unless you have a massive addiction to virtual items, and want a huge collection of clothing, furnishing, and real estate, and if your concern is cost, you have nothing at all to worry about as far as Home goes. 👍
However, maybe you are right, maybe all this could have been programmed in just a few months time.
Now where Sony is partially to be blamed is for saying they thought it would be ready last year, however, based on what we see and what was originally planned for, it's clear the reason for the extra year was that Home has expanded significantly in both size and scope. I imagine the
Home Development Kit they sent out to third party developers probably took them a year to create just on its own.
Sony have had two years to deliver... nothing! I'll get hold of MGS4 sooner or later, LBP doesn't interest me, and as for the rest of the back catalogue, well, its hardly in the same league as what Microsoft has to offer. I seriously thought this year would be the year of the PS3, sadly though, its the year that never was.
Nothing? For someone that claims to be optimistic you also seem to have a very narrow mind when it comes to games. I can't say you are wrong, because whether you like a game or not is just your opinion, but based on the majority of critics, the PS3 has delievered more games than the 360 has that have earned reviews with scores of 80 or more (4-5 stars)... and this topic also just came up elsewhere so I'll just quote it again here:
BTW: As I am fond of data and statistics, I was curious to see what data Metacritic has on what games reviewers thought were the better exclusive games for each system since the PS3 came out... as some folks forget the 360 came out a year earlier... although I think even a diehard 360 fan would have to agree that outside of Gears of War and PGR3, the games that came out during the first year for the 360 were not exactly great games and certainly not trailblazers or revolutionary... not saying they were bad mind you... but just not great, especially compared to those that followed.
So for those that don't know, Metacritic compiles the scores of a very wide selection of well known published reviewers, converts their scores to a 100 point scale, and then takes the average for each game, movie, etc.
I figured an average score of 80 or more seemed like a reasonable criteria as far as what games have on average received the best scores from critics, and seeing as in general there is a significant difference between downloadable arcade & PSN games, I only included ones that were released on disc, thus sold through standard retail stores, and so over the last two years here are the results:
360 =
12 Exclusive Games w/ average scores of 80 or more
(and as it turns out, my list of top 360 games was pretty close to this) 👍
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
- Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
- Crackdown
- Fable II
- Forza Motorsport 2
- Gears of War 2
- Halo 3
- Left 4 Dead
- Ninja Gaiden II
- Project Gotham Racing 4
- Tales of Vesperia
- Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Yes, it's true, you could say more than half of these are not exclusive to the 360, seeing as they are available in practically identical form on a PC... but some people don't like gaming on a PC, so I kept them in.
PS3 =
18 Exclusive Games w/ average scores of 80 or more
- Buzz! Quiz TV
- Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
- Heavenly Sword
- Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
- LittleBigPlanet
- Metal Gear Online
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- MLB 08: The Show
- MotorStorm
- MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma
- Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
- Resistance 2
- Resistance: Fall of Man
- SingStar
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Warhawk
Now some could argue that Ninja Gaiden Sigma shouldn't be on the list, as it is based largely on the original 360 game, but it also has a lot of exclusive features and content, and at least technically speaking it is considered an "exclusive".
Also, a couple of the exclusive PSN games that scored over 80 are large enough games that one could also argue they should be on that list, but it seemed more reasonable to only include games that were sold on disc.
And for those that don't care for games that are on the 360, then they are in even better luck, as Metacritic lists
nearly 100 games for the PS3 that scored an average of 80 or more.
So again, anyone who claims there are no good games for the PS3, or just a handful... either they have massive hands, extremely picky, feel the same way about all systems, or is just not telling the truth...
That being said, as I feel it deserves being repeated, there are many great games for both systems. 👍
So do you really think Sony delivered nothing in two years and the games are hardly in the same league as what Microsoft has to offer? Seriously? If so, not only is your opinion not shared by the vast majority, but you sound very much like a 360 fanboy in disguise
(not that I believ that is true... only that your comments sound like something you will find from those that are), trying his very best to flame Sony and the PS3... but not doing a very good job of it as the facts do not support your opinions.
I'm trying my hardest to be optomistc about future game releases, but knowing Sony's eagerness to keep me hanging on like a soft one, I don't hold out much hope. What do you guys think?
You really think you are sounding optimistic? I'm certainly no fan of Sony as a company, but I have certainly found it extraordinarily easy to appreciate what the PS3 has to offer, and not just in terms of hardware, but the massive collection of games as well (over two hundred already right?).
If you can't find any games you like, either you just aren't looking, have a very limited taste in games, and thus won't find games you like anywhere (as most games are still multi-platform releases), or you are simply not being honest in an attempt to portray the PS3 in a bad light and or simply start a flame war.
I'm thinking you appear to be leaning towards the last couple.
👎
As far as the comments from bevo about Blu-ray and the market for downloaded movies, J-Pap pretty much nailed those facts. I'd also add that if you track Blu-ray sales, they suggest the opposite is true, and instead of bevo's perdiction of Blu-ray being nothing more than a novelty in two years, sales will have increased by more than double... and that's in the midst of one of the worst financial crisis this country and others are facing.
So no, there are no indications at all that Blu-ray is struggling, and instead the opposite is true, and while DVD sales have steadily declined, Blu-ray sales have rapidly increased.
His predictions sound very similar to what those that were convinced DVD would never succeed and would end up being just a niche product like Laser discs, or those that argued that HD-DVD would beat Blu-ray, or that Blu-ray would never succeed, and we know that none of those predictions came true.
It's also not true that Blu-ray releases are significacntly more expensive than similar DVD releases. There have been many times in fact that Amazon was selling the DVD version for the same and sometimes even more than the Blu-ray version.
I'm impressed with Blue Ray for the most part, other then the ludicrously high price of the films don't really have a complaint about it.
Funny you mentioned the new Close Encounters Blu-ray, here are the prices at Amazon fo rthe Blu-ray and DVD versions:
- $24 Blu-ray version of 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
- $29 DVD version of 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
BTW, you mentioned Best Buy... they are selling the DVD version for $35 which I think even you can at least agree is considerably more than $13!
DVD's are like $12.99 at the most, even new releases
As you mentioned Best Buy:
Top 10 Best Selling DVDs this week and their price at Best Buy:
- $20.00 Simpsons Movie, The (Widescreen)
- $25.00 Rush Hour 3: Platinum Edition
- $20.00 Kingdom, The (2007) (Widescreen)
- $23.50 Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix (2-Disc Edition)
- $30.00 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2-Disc Special Edition)
- $20.00 Bourne Ultimatum, The (Widescreen)
- $25.00 Superbad: 2 Disc Unrated Extended Edition
- $18.00 High School Musical 2: Extended Edition
- $18.00 Ratatouille
- $20.00 Eastern Promises (Widescreen)
So no, most new release DVDs are not any where near as low as $13 let alone
"at most $13". In fact, do a little checking online and you'll find most DVDs that have been out for even as much as a year sell for $15-$25.
For $13 or less you are largely talking about older DVD releases that have long past their sales peak, not new releases.
the cheapest Blue Rays are $29.99 that I'm seeing at the store.
Well conveniently you left out the name of the store, but as you mention Best Buy; just one quick look online, and I see they have over 200 Blu-ray titles, by far the majority that sell for $25 or less, and about 25 that sell for $20 or less.
In fact, the Blu-ray version of
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End sells for $5 less than the DVD version!
Besides that, just before your posts there has been several posts clearly pointing out that there are several retailers selling Blu-rays for much less than $30 if you bother to look, or use a price search site.
Guess you are also a Blue Ray "Fan" Jamie
Might buy the DVD version, more cheaper...and for my non HD TV...I think its the best option.
That would only be true if resolution was the only advantage that films on Blu-ray have over films on DVD. Fortunately that is not the case... and interestingly enough, the MSRP for the 3-disc Blu-ray edition is only $1 more than the 2-disc DVD edition... go figure.
Not to mention the exclusive upcoming
BD-Live features for the Blu-ray version:
Warner Reveals 'Dark Knight' Blu-ray BD-Live Features
Posted on Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 01:00 PM ET on HighDefDigest
With 'The Dark Knight' only days away from Blu-ray release, Warner has revealed the final list of BD-Live features which are set to include the ability to record your own video commentary and other additional exclusives.
Leading the just-confirmed roster of BD-Live functions is "My WB Commentary," which allows users with a webcam to record their own video commentary that can be shared online with others. The track will play as a picture-in-picture track while your friends watch the film. (Bonus View-compatible player required.)
Other features include "My Community Screening," which facilitates real-time multiple viewing of the film via BD-Live. Users can chat during playback, connect to community showings our send out invitations for their own screenings.
Additional web-driven features on 'The Dark Knight' include an online destination where you can shop the WB Store, download trailers of other Warner Blu-ray releases, create your own wishlist of upcoming WB Blu-ray titles, and even create a database listing for your current high-def library.
Warner also says it is planning to host a "My Community Screening" with director Christopher Nolan where viewers can partake in a Q&A with the filmmaker. (There is no confirmed event date, but we'll keep you posted.)
'The Dark Knight' will hit stores on Blu-ray December 9 in standard two-disc (MSRP $35.99) and collectible Limited Edition ($64.99) versions.
Seems like a no brainer... at least for those with a Blu-ray player, especially one like a PS3 that supports BD-Live Profile 2.0, with a secondary video decoder
(for PiP), secondary audio decoder, hard drive, and internet connection. 👍
However, even without a full featured Blu-ray player, and without a HDTV, there are still advantages that Blu-ray have over DVD, like
Lossless HD Audio, cleaner image quality due to bit rates nearly four times greater than on DVD, often given higher quality transfer treatments, exclusive features, much better disc coating protection... and in this case they throw in a Digital Copy edition of the film as well.
That said, I will still occasionally buy a DVD if it's heavily discounted.
These 'opinion' threads come up on all sorts of topics, and while everyone is certainly entitled to express their own personal opinion as long as they follow
GTP's AUP, everyone also has the right to disagree with them.
Furthermore, if you are only offering subjective opinions, and are not going to use actual facts to support those opinions, or worse yet, exaggerate or make facts up in an attempt to lend support to your opinions, you should then also expect many to have a hard time believeing what you say is actually even close to being truthful.
"That's all I have to say about that..." 
, where the hell is it? Fall has gone, winter is here, and spring is on the way, and still no sign of the much hyped update. Surely, there must be a video out there, something showing the state of play regarding where PD are at, or is it still just vapourware?
.
