Sony to launch $99 Revolution-buster?!

Source: A post on the flash-game and movie site Razoric.com by way of Kotaku.

The official story: " The information below is pure rumor and speculation." --Sony spokesperson.

What we heard: By now, it' s pretty much common knowledge what Nintendo' s next-gen strategy will be. By the company' s own admission, the Revolution will be a cheaper alternative to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Current price estimates for the next-gen console range from $250 to as low as $150.

The Revolution will also be targeted at non-gamers, which it will lure in with intuitive gameplay. That will come courtesy of its " magic wand" controller, which will interpret a player' s real-world movements into in-game action.

Given that price estimates for the PS3 are going through the roof, it would seem that Sony doesn' t have anything to counter Nintendo' s novel approach. Not so, says Razoric, which posted an e-mail it received from an employee at Macromedia claiming to have inside knowledge of Sony' s counter-Revolution plans.

" Got some PS2 info if you’re interested," read the e-mail. " Sony intend to make it their ' Revolution Killer.' They' re working on tieing [sic] in Eyetoy and some kind of controller similar to the Revolution controller. With a 100M+ userbase, tens of thousands of mature and documented dev kits and the very low cost of producing Rev style games on the PS2 platform they’re expecting to mobilise [sic] another 50M units over the next 5 years precipitated by a $99 price point in 2007.”

Though from a less-than-reliable source, the outlined scheme seems like a pretty solid plan. With the new slimline PS2, Sony has both streamlined manufacturing costs and reduced form-factor size, facilitating increased shipping volume. Such measures make a $99 PS2 console feasible, if not profitable, from a hardware-cost standpoint.

Then there' s the question of the EyeToy, which has so far only been used for a line of moderately popular party games. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe pioneered the technology behind the motion-sensing device, and likely has a prototype of something akin to the Revolution' s controller tucked away in its R&D labs. If the Revolution proves popular, such a device might be put on the development fast-track--if it hasn' t been already. If it ever came to market, it would set up a showdown between the Revolution and the PS2--one that could be tipped by the latter' s massive installed base and low development costs.

If you' re asking yourself, why a Macromedia employee would have knowledge of Sony' s next-gen strategy, the grammatically challenged e-mailer has a good explanation. " Sony are [sic] prepping our new mobile ' Flash Lite' platform for PSP and PS3," s/he writes. " They intend to combat Xbox Live Arcade with downloadable flash games to your PS3 and PSP."

Besides adding to the theory that Sony is prepping a PSP with enough built-in memory to download games, the e-mailer' s theory makes business sense. " They understand the potential of Flash Lite since the development costs are low and we have a DRM [Digital Rights Management] solution in place so online content delivery is taken care of." Then there' s the fact that Sony has repeated time and time again that the PS2 platform will have a 10-year lifespan. A new, Revolution-style controller would help it draw out those last four years.

Maybe this...



...isn' t that funny afterall!

Did anyone actually think EyeToy was good?

I thought the Kung Fu game was ok for store/arcade environment. I kicked ass at that game. Me and the other guys at work would put the thing on the hardest setting and go nuts with it during quiet periods.

Did we get some strange looks from passers by

The rest I would happily leave. Since then haven' t played or felt the desire to experience again it again. Revolution will do far more amazing things and will be a vastly more polished experience.

Can you image how cool the demo pod will be?

Even if Sony did try with a Rev style device they' ll face hard competition, even in the UK where the mainstream is stupidly ignorant towards most things Nintendo.

I was quite impressed when they used Eyetoy at E3, you know with the cups and water and ducks etc. Obviously that was PS3 though.

I always felt silly dancing around in front of the old Eyetoy but if they had a universal device you could hold to perform tricks that' d be better. And of course they would need better games than window cleaning etc.

I' d still buy a Rev over a PS2+Eyetoy combo though, Ninty' ve got a whole philosophy behind their console, whereas Eyetoy is just an add on at the end of the day. So I' m fairly sure the games will be much better for Rev.

Please be sure to incuded credit and LINK when quoting articles!

I wondered where that came from, then after hopping along to GameSpot guess what I found.

Eye Toy is designed for the same kind of market as Rev but for people not really willing to shell out for a completely new console for a different experience. And as PS2 is by far the most popular in the UK it would make sense for Sony to build off the ideas they' ve already set in motion.

With Revoluton' s cheap pricing I' m hoping people see Nintendo as a real alternative to the other console manufacturers. Plus the signs at christmas retail weren' t as good as expected for Sony, as sales to ' me too' style games like True Crime' and the other mainstream franchises weren' t as high as they have been in the past. (except NFS Most Wanted). All good signs for Rev.

People are clearly getting board of the same type of content, even people who were previously saying how good every urban style games was. Whether or not that will give Nintendo an edge over previous years unclear at present, though judging by the sales of Nintendogs alone and the DS, I think is very well could.

Ultimately it' s going to be non gamers, and the re-joining of some old hardcore gamers (who stopped playing after gaming went a little stale) which help make Revolution a success.

Even though the Rev is not about graphics it will still have much better than the PS2.
And they will have their Virtual Console as well as new cool Nintendo titles and NDS connectivity. Not to mention their big secret.
So even though Sony will make this move, I think Nintendo will be successful anyway.

I think it will take more than that to off Nintendo, afterall the big N has mario, also the Rev will be more powerful than the PS2 is. I think Sony should just stick to the PS3

Just another stupid rumour :)

" Sony are [sic] prepping our new mobile ' Flash Lite' platform for PSP and PS3," s/he writes. " They intend to combat Xbox Live Arcade with downloadable flash games to your PS3 and PSP."

This is interesting.

I hope so, but it' s not guranteed. The Virtual Console thing will sell the machine to the hardcore but the mainstream won' t really care all that much about it.

Success will largely depend on bringing in new gamers and making sure there is enough content for casual gamers alike. Then there' s the big secret they are holding back on. Mmmmm, could possibly change the balance of power.

Japan is a sure thing, I' m just hoping that Nintendo do better in the UK. Ultimately it was mainly RETAILERS not publishers that sealed the fate of GameCube. Most of the big third party releases came out on Cube at the same time (Gun, True Crime POP Two Thrones, COD2, etc), or not too long after. Sadly as the Cube wasn' t selling as quickly or in as much volume as many retailers liked, they began to withdraw all support for cube. Most of the smaller HMV, Virgin, WHSmith and all of the Dixons stores stopped stocking Cube over a year ago.

If Nintendo can convince retailers that this is going to sell, then it should get the support it needs. The debate isn' t whether Revolution is or isn' t going to be awesome games wise, but whether enough people take a chance on it for it to succeed.

I know I' ll be there on day one, just like I did with the Dreamcast, GameCube and NDS.

ORIGINAL: Adam Doree

Please be sure to incuded credit and LINK when quoting articles!

Damn, i thought i had...

My bad! It' s from Gamepsot and located here...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=24355287

If Nintendo can convince retailers that this is going to sell, then it should get the support it needs. The debate isn' t whether Revolution is or isn' t going to be awesome games wise, but whether enough people take a chance on it for it to succeed.

Actually what N does with revolution is more innovative than just gameplay - they support smaller retailers with some new pricing and distribution strategy.This way they (retailers) have the opportunity to compete with huge networks a bit better.

I' ve read some ineteresting stuff about it - sorry for the lack of link or anything - but it shouldn' t be hard to find :)

I hope they' ll have a good marketing campain of their own this time. Their previous campains have all sucked. So far it looks like they have left all the advertising and such to the retailers.

Actually what N does with revolution is more innovative than just gameplay - they support smaller retailers with some new pricing and distribution strategy.This way they (retailers) have the opportunity to compete with huge networks a bit better

Indeed they do, read about this recently in MCV amoungst other things. Sadly I find it' s the large retailers that are the problem, where most people buy their games, going on purely what sell in huge volumes. Obviously retailers like GAME will stock the machine, but others like HMV, Virgin etc, cut back on Nintendo considerably.

Smaller stores (independants) however, have always supported the Cube strongly as they tend to have a more dedicated harcore shopping base.

Either way Nintendo' s relations with stores in general seem to be improving, which hopefully should lead to some heavy marketing and long term promotion of the Revolution.

I want to see a Nintendo rep come in my store every two weeks just like the Microsoft and EA ones do, constantly reiterating how much cool (will be for Ninty) stuff is going to be coming out.

ORIGINAL: Majikdra6on

..." Sony intend to make it their ' Revolution Killer.' They' re working on tieing [sic] in Eyetoy and some kind of controller similar to the Revolution controller. With a 100M+ userbase, tens of thousands of mature and documented dev kits and the very low cost of producing Rev style games on the PS2 platform they’re expecting to mobilise [sic] another 50M units over the next 5 years precipitated by a $99 price point in 2007.”

...
If you' re asking yourself, why a Macromedia employee would have knowledge of Sony' s next-gen strategy, the grammatically challenged e-mailer has a good explanation. " Sony are [sic] prepping our new mobile ' Flash Lite' platform for PSP and PS3," s/he writes. " They intend to combat Xbox Live Arcade with downloadable flash games to your PS3 and PSP."

If any of this stuff is true, then it is the lamest attempt at combating Nintendo and Microsoft that Sony could make! Fighting the Revolution with the PS2!? Pppfft! Going after Xbox Live with flash games!? Don' t make me laugh!!

Perhaps they feel that their user base is large enough to not come up with " viable" solutions! If so, then they can prepare to lose some ground, this round. Personally, I think they' ll counter Xbox Live with a similar service, and will probably ignore the Revolution.

it is the lamest attempt at combating Nintendo and Microsoft that Sony could make!

Agreed!

Pppfft! Going after Xbox Live with flash games!? Don' t make me laugh!!

Agreed as far as PS3 is concerned, because they' ll be facing off against not only Xbox Live but Nintendo' s Virtual Console too. I think it' s good for PSP though!

and will probably ignore the Revolution

I honestly think that ignoring Revolution would be a massive mistake. I think when E3 comes around everybody will realise just what a threat Revolution is going to be.

Exactly.

Whilst Sony publically state their not even considering Revolution they are.

That is exaclty why they are going to further develop Eye Toy and other such technologies, to try and steal the non gamer and casual audience from Nintendo. Downplaying the Rev by stating they are not bothered about it is simply a tactic to make the public feel Revolution is not worth buying compared to PS3.

Sony are likely to be really concerned as this christmas showed that gamers are becoming tired of the same old generic sequels and cash-ins being released. The DS has shown how powerful the true mass market can be, and Sony' s Eye Toy showed this to a lesser degree in the UK too.

I think they know ignoring the Revolution would be a big mistake.

The DS has shown how powerful the true mass market can be

I think (along with the DS Opera web-browser and TV-tuner) will keep DS sales ahead of PSP this year.

I also think that the next iPod will be touchscreen and have Flash based games...