Sony Makes The First Move......PS2 Price Down To $199 (1 Viewer)

[Dean Cooper]

Evan its the games that are going to sell systems, like you said Crash Bandicoot launched Sony in to the console game. MS has a lot of games comming down the pipe that are going to blow anything the PS2 can do right out of the water. It's the long haul that counts and the PS2 and Xbox are at different stages in their life cycles (Xbox is catching on and PS2 is peaking out). I'll be surprised if the PS2 is still outselling everyone by next holiday season.

Dean

 

[BrianB]

What I'm saying is that about 7 years ago, when Sony debuted the Playstation 1, they were in the same situation as Microsoft is in now. Nintendo dominated the market with the N64.

You've got that the wrong way around, Evan. When the PSX came out, it was competing head on with the Saturn - a machine that was launched incredibly badly. The PSX was leaps ahead technically of the competition (SNES, Jaguar, 3D0 etc) - it was the first real 3D console & attracted developers like nothing else. The N64 was vapourware at that point - it came out much later with much less support etc. But that's another thread
The N64 sold well in the US & definitely was a 'success' in that territory, but the PSX was the winner worldwide.

 

[Andy Sheets]

If Microsoft wants to win this war, they had better change the course of their marketing strategy and fast. That's what I'm getting at. My question is not why the inadequacy exists, but why developers and Microsoft are not doing anything about it except lowering price (which is immediately being followed by a PS2 price drop).

Just be patient; E3 is only a few days away. I think Microsoft might have some announcements they'll want to make there about what their strategy is. They don't want to shoot their whole load too soon, like they did last year

 

[JoshF]

Evan:

Actually, the PSX (PS1) came out before the N64, and the N64 was more technically advanced than the PS1. (The N64 is 64-bit while the PS1 is 32-bit, for starters).

Game publishers publish games for systems that will make them money, and right now, that's the PS2. It's as simple as that. Putting a game out on the Xbox or GC instead of PS2 just doesn't make financial sense. What's more, sales for the Xbox in Europe and Japan are pretty pathetic, and publishers need at least two markets to make a game viable. The Xbox just isn't providing that.

If technical superiority were the de-facto metric for a console's success, then the Dreamcast, 3D0, and N64 would have won their relative console wars.

 

[BrianB]

I think the commonly accepted reason the Playstation took off while the N64 disappointed is that Nintendo refused to go with disc-based games.

Cheaper cost of goods, cheaper royalties to console manufacturer, MUCH better support for developers, etc.

 

[JoshF]

I'll be really surprised if some amazing "blow your mind" games come out for the Xbox. I hate to be a naysayer, but I know several game developers, and every single one of them has written off the Xbox. I won't repeat what Sam Houser at Rockstar calls it, but suffice it to say, the developer support isn't there. Just look at Namco's 2002-2003 release list. All of them are for PS2, and not a single one for Xbox.
For a taste of what I'm talking about, read the forums at Link Removed - it's a game developer forum.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

For a taste of what I'm talking about, read the forums at Link Removed - it's a game developer forum.

Looks like a lot of posers to me.

 

[JoshF]

I'm probably wrong about the Namco thing, but their most recent pre-E3 press release had no Xbox games listed.

Call the freaks at fatbabies.com what you will, but they're the posers making games.

 

[BrianB]

Using Fatbabies as a judge of developer support? LOL.

And nice name dropping. How is Sam doing these days?

 

[Dean Cooper]

You're so positive Josh
Look at what games sell Nintendo units...Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon. MS is mainly a software company, even if the 3rd party developers were shy right now who cares. MS has already proven that they can deliver an outstanding game. Halo, Ralli Sport Challenge, Amped, Project Gotham, Brute Force, Crimson Skys. We haven't even seen what is planed for online games, I'm sure you know as well as I do how well "add ons" get supported by 3rd party developers. The Xbox has everything it needs to make someone's online game happen.
Dean

 

[Paul Richardson]

I can understand the public's affinity with Sony seeing as they had an established market with PS1 and the software is compatable with PS2...however, before Sony hit the gaming market, they were going head to head with industry leader Nintendo and were able to crack that market and gain share because of a better system technologically than the N64 at the time.

This isn't really what happened. In terms of power, the N64 had the advantage. What really hurt Nintendo was the PSX's one-year head start, and the big N's disasterous decision to use cartridges in an era where FMV was the big trend.

It's the games that matter. To the average consumer, progressive scan and 5.1 sound are meaningless as most people play games on an interlaced television with stereo sound. Plus, with backwards compatability, the PS2 has a library that is impossible to match.

Sony's decision to drop their price is not out of fear from the other console manufacturers. Like Nintendo dropping the price of the GBA despite ZERO competition, they have decided that they've gotten the bulk of what they're going to get in terms of sales at the $299 price point, and are ready to take it to the next level. Remember that the real profit is in software licensing and sales.

Sony isn't reacting to the competition...the competition will react to them. They are the trendsetters, no two ways about it. Also, the PS2 has been out a full year longer than the other consoles...as such they are much cheaper now to manufacturer. A $100 drop in retail hurts them a lot less then it would Microsoft, or even Nintendo.

 

[JoshF]

Hehe. As I said, I don't mean to be a negative ninny, nor do I mean to namedrop. I'm just telling you what I know, and I thought that might be appreciated. No need to get defensive.

Fatbabies.com is really the only thing I could use to show an indicator, as I can't really give you their phone numbers.

And Sam is as ornery and cheeky as always.

Dean: I would never doubt Nintendo. They own the platformer and children's game markets. They also own the handheld market. I do, however, doubt the future of the Xbox. That doesn't mean I won't buy the cool games that come out for it, just like I still look for cool Dreamcast imports.

 

[Dean Cooper]

Sony isn't reacting to the competition...the competition will react to them. They are the trendsetters, no two ways about it. Also, the PS2 has been out a full year longer than the other consoles...as such they are much cheaper now to manufacturer. A $100 drop in retail hurts them a lot less then it would Microsoft, or even Nintendo.

In this case Sony is reacting to the competition and they are playing hardball. The general uninformed public is going to think MS is the follower when really it's the other way around. Dirty little thunder stealing bastards!
Dean

 

[Robert Ma]

I read Doom 3, and Duke Nuke em Forever are both going to be Xbox only when they are released (with the pc version at the same time of course).
Thats great news for Xbox fans. Also, a Halo 2 will definately be in the works.
I am an XBox owner because of Halo! We need more games like that and Doom/Duke are perfect. Mix in some RPGs (Morrowind next week ) and the PS2 can't come close to satisfying me.
True, PS2 has many more games but they are targeting a teenage boy audience. Nintendo markets to the little tikes...

 

[Evan S]

I've never had a post that generated so many quotes. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't buying a dinosaur when the X-Box drops their price because right now, it's the one I'm leaning towards buying.

Looks like the consensus is still up in the air towards the X-Box's future.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

Nintendo markets to the little tikes...

Uh Oh, Somebody missed the RE thread.

What people are missing, is what took me much time and many threads to realize........

Second generation titles! (and patience for them of course)

It always takes a year of programming a console before they get into a groove and really knock the socks off of the gamer!

Patience my friends, patience.

Hey JoshF, stop raining on my parade! lol

 

[Michael St. Clair]

For those who count such things, I read an IGN preview of upcoming games (for all systems) to be shown at E3.

As far as the XBox goes, there were (I think) around 99 games. 40 of them were 'exclusive', at least initially, though not necessarily by contract. 9 of them were to be published BY Microsoft.

There weren't that many obvious PC ports, and most of those were also going to other consoles. I think there were around 70 total GC games, maybe 13 exclusive.

These numbers mean little to me, I'm not a numbers guy when it comes to predicting console survival.

That was an initial list, they expect many other games to be announced/shown.

 

[Robert Ma]

Uh Oh, Somebody missed the RE thread.

Whats that?

 

[Masood Ali]

Here are a couple quotes to chew on. The first one is regarding Nintendo's Euro launch:
"The average age of a Nintendo GameCube owner, however, is according to Nintendo itself 23 years."
This next one deals with Capcom's lineup into 2003. Here is simple proof why Sony has unmatched developer support:
"Capcom has a combined 36 titles planned for release across the three platforms between April 2002 and March 2003, according to Manichi. There are 22 PS2 titles planned, nine GameCube projects, and five Xbox ones. Many of the offerings coming are still unannounced by the company. Capcom is expecting sales of 8,750,000 pieces of PS2 software, 3,200,000 units of GameCube software, and 600,000 Xbox pieces through March of next year."
It's interesting they still plan to sell over 3 million units of GC software, even though the PS2 installed base is 3x-4x larger than the GC.
And guys, let's keep this thread from heading down the wrong path

 

[Robert Ma]

"The average age of a Nintendo GameCube owner, however, is according to Nintendo itself 23 years."

I find this hard to believe. I suppose they all play Luigi's Mansion too!