Sony' s Playstation 3 is Not Worth the Hype

People who have been camping out for days finally get their PS3s today. Sadly, both their time and money has been wasted.

Sony released the Playstation 3 in Japan on November 11. That was last Saturday. By Thursday Japanese import units had already made their way halfway around the world to New York City' s Chinatown, where they were available for a 100% markup — and they were selling. That' s how high the demand is for Sony' s new video game machine: people would actually pay double the price to get it one day early.

The Playstation 3 goes on sale in the U.S. today, but I wouldn' t recommend buying one, not even for the regular price, which is plenty expensive without the import markup. Sure, the Playstation 2 was the bestselling machine from the previous generation, and sure, the Playstation3 is powered by a stupendously powerful chip, the " Cell processor." (I' m sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you' re compensating for something.) Patience, young padawan. The time has not yet come.

Look at what you get. The Playstation 3 is expensive: $500 or $600 bucks, depending on which version you buy, plus $60 for each game. (An Xbox 360 only costs $400 max, and Nintendo' s Wii — yep, that name, still funny — is only $250.) For that kind of scratch you want the deluxe treatment, and the PS3 simply doesn' t deliver it. It' s got some good-looking games, but unless you have a top-notch TV, the difference isn' t mind-blowing. (And even if you do have a fancy TV, Sony makes you supply your own HDMI cable. Stingy.) And Sony' s launch line-up just isn' t that interesting. Almost all the PS3' s outstanding games — F.E.A.R., Madden NFL ' 07, Need for Speed: Carbon, Call of Duty 3 — are available on the Xbox 360, and most (all except F.E.A.R.) are out for the Wii, too. There just isn' t the leverage there to make buying a PS3 de rigeur.

The only exclusive Playstation 3 title I' m really excited about is Resistance: Fall of Man, which is a truly fun shoot' em up set in an alternative version of the 1950s. Aliens have invaded earth; your job is to put bullets in them. While doing so you prowl through some gloriously detailed, beautifully gloomy factories and labs and shattered cityscapes. The audio is gorgeous, the weapons copious and diverse, the levels huge and complex. In short, it' s my idea of a good time.

But so is Gears of War, the stunning shooter just out for the Xbox 360. Resistance isn' t enough to drive sales of a $600 console, or it shouldn' t be. Playstation 3 doesn' t have a battle-tested, feature-rich online service the way the Xbox does. It doubles as a Blu-Ray DVD player (that' s the main reason for the high retail price), but guess what? Nobody cares. And did I mention Playstation 3 controllers don' t rumble? Whose genius idea was that? Without rumble, it just ain' t a jungle.

Give it time. The price will (probably) come down. Sony' s online strategy will (probably) mature. More decent games will come out — the Playstation3 is notoriously difficult to develop for, and game-makers are still figuring out how to get the most out of it. Next holiday season, it just might be worth it.

For now it' s pretty much moot anyway. Because of the difficulty of manufacturing Playstation 3' s, Sony has only been able to put a few hundred thousand units on sale in the U.S., so unless you spent last night camped out in front of a Gamestop, buying a Playstation3 is not an option. Congratulations: you made the right call. And you smell better for it, too.

PS3 sucks ass!

Is this all of the write-up? If it is, it' s pretty pathetic.

Edit: Kk, can read the whole thing now.

At least talk about the available games and so on...

But this is funny: (I' m sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you' re compensating for something)

I mistakenly posted ony the first 2 paragraphs. It' s fixed now, and here' s the LINK

My general feeling about Time magazine is that they' re a good example of a news organization relying on ubiquity to give the impression of credibility.

I do agree that this time next year, the choice of which next-gen console to get will only be more difficult.

Majikdra6on

I totally agree with this article. It is most definitely not worth the hype. And let me just say that Gears of War is most definitely better that Resistance: Fall of man.

My philosophy pretty much is..Buy a 360 and a Wii and have double the fun playing video games rather than getting a PS3.

P.S.- who gives a shit about cell processors? its like campaign ads when the canidate takes pictures with little kids by his side or something to help get voters attention. oooooooooohhhhh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh...not really.

PS3 sucks ass!

lol You Sound like quez

P.S.- who gives a shit about cell processors? its like campaign ads when the canidate takes pictures with little kids by his side or something to help get voters attention. oooooooooohhhhh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh...not really

LOL

I' m sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you' re compensating for something.

Best line in Time ever.

Snipers Enck

Welcome!

I' m sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you' re compensating for something.

Snappy.

But completely oblivious to the fact that all processors have always been named. Ever hear of Pentium?

My personal favorite? Zilog Z-80. I bet no one here can name two consoles that were powered by the Zilog Z-80. A virtual cookie to whoever can do it.

Neo-Geo
Master System
Sega Genesis


You didn' t specify what aspect of the consoles were powered by them so I listed the ones that utilized the chip :D

Anyways, please send me my f**king cookies ASAP!!

I totally agree with this article. It is most definitely not worth the hype. And let me just say that Gears of War is most definitely better that Resistance: Fall of man.

Welcome to Kikizo, but I disagree. They' re two different games. I' ve played it, & seen firsthand that Resistance doesn' t have Gears' polish, but then again, 360' s been out for a year now. They' re quite different in terms of gameplay.

My personal favorite? Zilog Z-80. I bet no one here can name two consoles that were powered by the Zilog Z-80. A virtual cookie to whoever can do it.

Pfft! forget Terry, I' ll give you five! Master System, Old Pac-Man arcade machines, Game Gear, Caleco-vision & Neo-Geo. (if you' re counting sound processing)

Game Boy used a jacked up version thereof, but I don' t want to crush Terry completely.
Alright then... so...

GiMmIe MaH CoOkAyZ!!!

Game Boy used a jacked up version thereof, but I don' t want to crush Terry completely.
Alright then... so...

I forbid you to NOT crush me completely!!!!

I live to be crushed!

Game Boy used a jacked up version thereof, but I don' t want to crush Terry completely.
Alright then... so...

I forbid you to NOT crush me completely!!!!

I live to be crushed!

Fine, if you say so...


GRRARRRGHHHHHH!
SHPLUNCH!!!
EEEEEAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!
(" Sega Soul Scream" )

Ps3 isn' t worth getting now,only if you' re a fag kid who has to brag at school for having a ps3 and play what?

I-8? lol.

Ye wow... im so jealous.

It would be a lot more credible without the praise towards the 360. It seemed like the magazine was trying to pay back for the failure of the 360 in Japan.

Welcome to Kikizo, but I disagree. They' re two different games. I' ve played it, & seen firsthand that Resistance doesn' t have Gears' polish, but then again, 360' s been out for a year now. They' re quite different in terms of gameplay.

Well I refute your disagreeing. Insomniac was sure to be the first developers to get an SDK from Sony...PS3 was postponed a year...using the " 360 has been out a year" defense is bullshit as it stands currently. Insomniac had the time, PS3 is just too hard as hell to code for...360 is Superior...people need to realize that. I' m not a Microsoft Fanboy although I may sound like one, but seriously the facts are present Microsoft is winning right now.

All right, congratulations Terry and Eddie on naming some consoles with a Zilog Z-80 on board!

Feast upon your well-deserved cookies!




An interesting side note about the Colecovision... if you compare the tech specs of the Colecovision and the Sega Master System, they are architecturally almost identical! The main difference is that the Master System had a lot more system RAM and video RAM, and the cartridges could hold a lot more data. But the Colecovision was really quite powerful considering it came out a good 4 or 5 years prior to the SMS.

Terry, I actually wasn' t aware that there was a Z-80 in the Genesis/MegaDrive. The CPU was a Motorola 68000, so what was the Z-80 doing in there? Audio?

I don' t even trust dedicated gaming magazines for videogames, why the fuck should trust Time magazine?

I didn' t read the article but if they siad that its not worth it now, then I agree. Sony is arrogant with their supposed dominance in the videogame industry and we can hate them all we want but they will have games that make the PS3 worthy...eventually.

Now Sony can just hope that that " eventually" is sooner than later...I' m betting later however.