PS3 Commentary: The Dark Side

After Wednesday’s announcement, there was much commentary, both good and bad. Let’s get the ugliness behind us first then, shall we?

Not everything is known about the PS3 as it stands, and while we may know the new release date for our favorite gadget, there are still many who have some burning questions, such as price, and who’s buying it for the games and who’s buying it for its media capabilities.

And with PS3s going out at a million a month, it’s still going to be a nascent market, anywhere between two and three million come the Christmas rush. People are concerned that publishers, who have invested heavily in creating next-generation titles, won’t be able to recoup the cost with such a relatively small audience, and hence many are predicting a slow year for consoles. It also leads to the prediction that the launch games won’t be exclusive to PS3, as publishers port their wares to other platforms to support what could turn out to be poor initial sales.

Sony also has a whole lot of catching up to do in making sure they gobble up enough of the next-generation pie the portly Microsoft has already been dining upon for a year come launch time, and that doesn’t take into account dark horse Nintendo’s foray into the market (though they have distanced themselves from the looming PS3 vs. XBox 360 war). It’s hard days ahead for Sony as they contend with convincing everyone of the PS3’s financial viability and organising the mind-boggling logistics for a worldwide launch.
After Wednesday’s announcement, there was much commentary, both good and bad. Let’s get the ugliness behind us first then, shall we?

Not everything is known about the PS3 as it stands, and while we may know the new release date for our favorite gadget, there are still many who have some burning questions, such as price, and who’s buying it for the games and who’s buying it for its media capabilities.

And with PS3s going out at a million a month, it’s still going to be a nascent market, anywhere between two and three million come the Christmas rush. People are concerned that publishers, who have invested heavily in creating next-generation titles, won’t be able to recoup the cost with such a relatively small audience, and hence many are predicting a slow year for consoles. It also leads to the prediction that the launch games won’t be exclusive to PS3, as publishers port their wares to other platforms to support what could turn out to be poor initial sales.

Sony also has a whole lot of catching up to do in making sure they gobble up enough of the next-generation pie the portly Microsoft has already been dining upon for a year come launch time, and that doesn’t take into account dark horse Nintendo’s foray into the market (though they have distanced themselves from the looming PS3 vs. XBox 360 war). It’s hard days ahead for Sony as they contend with convincing everyone of the PS3’s financial viability and organising the mind-boggling logistics for a worldwide launch.