Feb 05
PS3 – Why Buy One Now?
Sony’s Playstation 3 was released in the States on November 17, 2006. If you do the math, that’s about one and a half years ago.
Up to release day and even after, lots of game fans had to ask themselves, “Why should I buy a PS3?”
Today, many are still haunted by this question and unfortunately – I still don’t think Sony has a real answer.
Do you?
Where Are the Games?
Personally, my biggest problem with the PS3 is the games. Namely, that there aren’t any worth buying the system for. And coming from ME, that’s a big statement because not only will I often buy things JUST to buy them, but I OF COURSE love video games.
You look at the 360, and you have Gears of War, Halo 3, Bioshock…And going back to the PS3, I’m really struggling to come up with ONE must have game. In fact, just looking at this “Top PS3 Games” list from Gamespot, I STILL don’t see anything I want to get the system for that’s currently out and not already available for the 360.
What the Devil is Sony Doing?!
I’ve heard on various sites that Sony is finally turning the proverbial corner with their PS3 profits. But I honestly just don’t understand how that can be. Again, me and friends are hardcore gamers and only two of them own PS3s. One of them also owns a 360 and says that the ONE game he has for PS3 is “Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight” and that PSN is “WEAK” compared to XBL.
I know I’ve complained about it a lot before so I won’t drag it out much longer, but I really still can’t believe that PS3 has up ’till now done SO LITTLIE with their online network especially knowing how successful the original XBox live was.
So My Question To You
Why buy a PS3? I’m desperately searching for a reason to buy a PS3 but even in my warped video game mind, I can’t rationalize the purchase. If you have a PS3 now, any thoughts on all of this? And if you don’t have a PS3 – Any chance you’re going to get one anytime soon? (Like before Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out?)
February 5th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted were enough to justify me having one last year, two of my favourite games of 2007. But there isn’t a total killer app like MGS or FFXIII (and I hate Final Fantasy anyway) for me to recommend the console to folks.
The multiplatform stuff such as Burnout Paradise, ASSassins Creed and CoD 4 are almost identical on 360 and PS3 now and yes the lack of unified online is a bust compared to Live.
But I also love Resistance, Motorstorm and some of the PSN stuff such as Everyday Shooter is great. Sure does make a pretty Blu-ray player too
February 5th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Ha. Well been a while since I’ve posted but I see where you are going with this… knowing I’m the friend with the PS3 that you’re talking about.
I love my Xbox 360 but I know both of us just bought it recently. The 360 has been out for 1 more year than the PS3. I know neither of us felt a strong urge to buy the 360 till around when Halo 3 came out, why should it be any different for the PS3?
I guess what I’m saying is if you buy a PS3 in about 8 months, roughly as long as we gave the Xbox 360 to get some things going, I’m sure it will be a heck of a lot better than it is now. I guess no one had high expectations for Microsoft because when the 360 came out the gate there wasn’t nearly as much hating on it as there has been for the PS3.
Oh yea and what Pete said. Its a hella good lookin Blu-ray player. Haha.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
@Pete – I was hoping that you’d comment on the subject. (#):) And thanks for keepin’ it real. Yeah, maybe I should just buy it for a Blu-Ray. But for me, I don’t think that I could get the system for Ratchet & Clank or Uncharted. Maybe when Tekken 6 comes out so I’d have a reason to keep playing the system. *shrugs*
@NoobTastic – YOU’RE the friend? Naaaaa. Really? Well, maybe.
And good points about the 360 vs PS3 stuff though we BOTH agreed too that one of the big differences between 360 and PS3 was when one gets the system, one could get other good games. And last time I talked to you, you still only had Warhwak. My point being that while 360 has been up, a SOLID library has been building up with it. I don’t know that I can say the same with PS3, but I’m sure Pete could correct me either way.
Oh and I didn’t know that you had a Blu-Ray movie for it yet. What’d you watch?
February 5th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
The PS3 is a Blu-Ray Player first and a Gaming System second in my opinion. It’s the best Blu-Ray player on the market. That’s all Sony cares about right now.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:04 am
@Apexad – Interesting. I’m not sure if I ever heard anyone quite put it like that but I think I have a much better chance of picking it up if I DID take that mentality. (#):)
February 6th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Right.
You asked us to convince you to buy a PS3. You asked why I might buy one. The answer is because I might buy a Blu-Ray player. I already have a 360 and if I bought a PS3 I would probably not buy a single game for it.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:07 am
The PS3 is a very capable Blu-ray player and with all the Profile 1.1/2.0 junk going round at the moment its the only safe bet for future compatibility via firmware updates. But later on this year expect new high end players from people like Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony themselves that support all the new formats and the important network stuff (you know, the stuff HD DVD had from the outset!). From my own personal experience, the Pioneer LX720 is the best looking Blu-ray player right now but that’s a very high-end piece of kit. The PS3 gives the best bang for the buck right now.
I would say the 360 library is still solid, whereas the PS3 one is still a little patchy. If you purely owned one console then the PS3 would be a good bet due to the quality multiplatform stuff. But right now the 360 has the better looking library overall.
Microsoft were very focussed on 2007 and weren’t talking 2008 at all last year, it remains to be seen what happens and where they go. But I expect Sony to continue to build the base with quality first and third party titles and Microsoft to do the same. This fall will be when it will all kick off I think. From casual observation Sony are looking stronger right now, but we have to wait for Microsoft to play its hand.
Expect a ton of news from GDC shortly.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
@Apexad – Hey, can’t argue with you there. (#):)
@Pete – Interesting comments in regards to the 2008 outlook for PS3. I found this, Next-Gen Biz which seems to bring up a lot of the points you do and lists some games coming up for the PS3. My problem with the list though is first, most of them are still going to be on 360, and the others I don’t care much about. I guess I’ll be waiting for GDC announcements myself. (#):)
(Or if I get a high def TV soon, maybe I’ll get the PS3 for Blu-Ray)
February 6th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
The only reason I’d want a PS3 is to be able to play Ratchet and Clank. I miss them.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:16 am
@Teeni – You know, I’ve never played a single Ratchet and Clank game. Or Jak & Daxter(sp) for that matter. There are probably a lot of games that I’ve been missing out on. Maybe when my kid gets older I’ll buy the games “for him” and maybe check them out myself. (#);)
February 7th, 2008 at 7:57 am
We just got our PS3 a month ago, but it was a wedding gift. I couldn’t really think of a good reason to buy, especially since I’m now being told that most of the heating issues have been fixed in the new waves of Xbox(es)
As for games, my husband loves The Orange Box and Assassins Creed, but they’re multi-platform. I actually play Castlevania:Symphony of the Night almost exclusively, but 1. It’s actually a PSOne game and 2. I’m pretty sure it was available for download on the X-Box.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am
1) You’re correct and 2) You’re also correct there. (#):) And btw, I saw your Boo wedding cakes. FREAKIN awesome! Did you just get married last month?
February 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Thanks. I <3 my geeky cakes. (Yes “my”. I wear the geek pants in the relationship)
We got married in December. I do wish I knew about the PS3 in advance so we didn’t buy some of our games for the PS2 instead orr the PS3. Not that I’m complaining.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:57 am
@Kali – Well congrats on the new marriage! And I find it a bit hard to fathom a relationship where the girl is the geeky one and the guy doesn’t have any of that in him! YOU TWO are living in a world of Virtual Insanity. And I think being a cake head, that makes like three of us that visit this site.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
If you like the Super Mario franchise, I think you’d like Ratchet and Clank. I can’t speak for the PS3 version but the earlier ones were great. I’ll have to try and find Jak & Daxter now.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
@Teeni – Oh yeah? I’ll keep that in mind, thanks buddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd-y!
February 9th, 2008 at 3:58 am
PS3 Ratchet is awesome and should be purchased by all
February 18th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Great comments everyone! I was also toying with the idea of getting one “just because” as mentioned, I’m a gadget geek and figured the recent news about HD-DVD should make me re-examine the whole situation. First let me say, I’m a happy 360 owner. I even had the red circles of death and promptly had it replaced for free by MS so no big complaints there. Love xbox live and I’ve had great game nights on rainy days with friends who joined me online. SO easy to do. My problems is much as everyone elses, no games and really more of a BluRay player than anything else right now (for non-Ratchet & Clank fans
. Then, when I looked at what’s happening in the world of HD video I took another look at how smart Apple is being with Apple TV and the new Hi Def rentals and I thought, “Why buy BluRay discs at all?”. I love having a collection of movies but I’m a little loath to buy a PS3 to just start slogging out cash to replace my current favorite titles (or even get new ones). Maybe I should be more exited about BluRay but I haven’t been. I have yet to sit down with a friend and watch a movie and be blown away. I have however been buying stuff off of iTunes and just playing it through my macbook via VGA and it’s awesome. I haven’t rented HD quality material yet but I’m going to test it to see how it looks maybe later today.
Also, and this is just rumors mind you, I had heard that Microsoft is willing to consider jumping on the BluRay bandwagon (which means an ad-on OR an included player could be in the future).
I would commit to PS3 on games alone if there were some reason right now but I can’t find it. I’d get it for just BluRay as well but I’m more inclined to buy an Apple TV or better yet, a refurbished Mac Mini with a DVD player built in to watch HD stuff via iTunes rentals and play standard DVDs (not sure you you can upscale with a mini). Then you have the added benefit of a full blown computer hooked up to your HDTV and it takes up zero space).
Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful comments. I think you just talked me out of an impulse purchase!
February 19th, 2008 at 9:53 am
@Tembrock – Welcome to the site buddy and thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Before I got married, I used to LOVE spending money so even though I’m glad we talked you out of an impulse buy… A degenerate part of me is a bit saddened. ha ha
But good points about the rental aspect of things, I’ve been looking over the rentals on iTunes myself lately and I think with the price tag ($5-$6) vs the cost of a high def dvd purchase, ($20-$30) it may still have some people hesitant to start building a library.
But you know, maybe the whole high def dvd market is still reserved for higher end home theater enthusiasts. With so many consumers not even knowing whether or not they’re looking at HD feeds on cable, I don’t know that they’re ready to jump into all this stuff. *nod*
Oh, and I’m still waiting for Metal Gear Solid. (#);D