CS Console War Battle Plan: Sony

I’m disappointed in you, soldier. I see the doubt in your eyes. You thought we had given up on the CS Console War Battle Plan didn’t you? “Hey” you say, “What happened to the Sony version? Club Skill must be bias anti-Sony fanboys!” Well you’re wrong. The truth is soldier, that we have been planning so many other goodies for you here at HQ that the Battle Plan was put on the back burner as we prepare. But here at Club Skill we do not dwell on the past. So suit up, private. Sony needs our help and we’re going in guns blazing for our final hurrah.

Sony’s Playstation 3

It’s like the Death Star of the video game consoles. The Sony Playstation 3 is a technological powerhouse: Blu-ray player, HD next-gen console, and multimedia center. On the surface, the PS3 promises to be the next big thing in electronics like the PC or MP3 Player. Announced at E3 2005 at the same time as Nintendo’s Wii console, the Playstation 3 showed off flashy (If pre-rendered) movies with fantastic graphics, notably the talk of the show: Killzone 2. With the champion’s belt from the last round, Sony is sitting in a nice position going into the console war. So much has happened since that E3. Will the Playstation 3 be a runaway success or a catastrophic failure?

 

What They’ve Done Right

You sitting there reading this article. You know that those amazing videos from E3 2005 were not actual gameplay. You know for a fact that those were CGI, pre-rendered, target videos. You know this because you are a hardcore gamer. Casual gamers don’t know this, and therefore Sony wins.

The Playstation name is a brand now because of the enormous success of the PS2. Casual gamers were the reason for that success. Millions of people around the world bought the Playstation 2, and half of those bought it because it was “The Playstation 2″ and that first holiday when it launched was utterly insane. That is where us hardcore gamers come in. We’re the ones who create the mass shortages and initial millions of sales at launch, after that we’re done. The casual gamers are who control the industry. The people who buy consoles for their kids or themselves, but don’t really follow gaming with a passion. As far as a casual gamer knows, that Killzone 2 trailer is the PS3. That’s what it’ll look like. Sony doesn’t care that you call bull on their trailers, because frankly in the scope of things, you don’t matter. David in 7th grade who showed all his friends the “awesome graphics of this new Playstation” is who matters.

That, and the fact that to the casual consumer, Sony is the main reliable company of the big three. Most casual gamers see Nintendo as too kiddy and they don’t know too much Microsoft since they’ve only just grown into their gaming company pants. Unlike the hardcore, casual gamers don’t factor stuff like quotes from executives or durability of product when purchasing. Hardcore gamers look at buying a video game system as an investment into the company. Most casuals know simply that they had a PS1, and they liked the games. Then they got PS2, and they liked those games. The Playstation 3 is their default console for the next-gen.

Most gamers look at Sony’s antics and scratch their heads. The fact is, Sony believes that your money isn’t what they were looking for in the first place anyway. Come November 11, 2006, the people who they want to buy a PS3 will not believe that Sony copied Nintendo’s controller, will have no idea who Kaz Hirai is, and could care less if Sony copied Xbox Live. That’s something that you wouldn’t know from internet message boards. The truth is, the way you think the industry is is completely wrong if you judge it by what other gaming fanatics on the internet think. Sony knows this.

 

What They’ve Done Wrong

The problem with Sony’s logic here is that they’ve catered to the casual gamer so much now that they’ve alienated the majority of the hardcore. Everyday all a gamer is pounded with is more bad news or quotes from Sony.”Sony’s control now named PooS”, “Problems with Sony’s Cell Processor”,”No Rumble feature with the controller.” There has been more bad news then good when it comes to the PS3 ever since the announcement of the price.

Ah yes, the price.

This is where Sony’s strategy fails. When I said that Sony believes that the casual gamer is more important then the hardcore gamer, I was right. Sony is trying to use their strategy from the last generation to win this one, and that’s hooking the casual consumer. They’re confident that this will get them on top. The difference here is that the PS2 wasn’t $600. It was $300 ,and even though that was still a pretty penny at the time, consumers didn’t have high costs of living like they do today. People were ready to take that next leap, not only in gaming, but also in digital media in general with the jump from VHS to DVD. People aren’t as ready for the leap to The Playstation’s Blu-Ray. There is no outright demand, nor noticeable growth in Blu-ray as a medium like there was with the DVD surrounding the PS2’s launch. The $600 PS3 of 2006 is not as a desirable item as the $300 PS2 of 2000. Sony doesn’t realize that going into the $600 mark is an investment, and most casual gamers aren’t going to make that investment.

“It prints money.”

What Sony is doing is banking on the casual gamer to win them another round, and thus alienating the hardcore. And there’s the rub. They don’t realize that this is not the “PS2 2006″, and there’s a good chance that casual gamers won’t even buy this console at this price. Hardcore gamers know what it is and what it can do, so some of them may feel comfortable spending that $600. So not only are they beating at a dead horse in the mainstream market, they’ve also managed to shoo away the only people who had a chance on buying it.

It doesn’t help that The Three Stooges at Sony have something stupid to say nearly every day. Ken Kutaragi, Phil Harrison, and Kaz Hirai, all Sony executives, are the main reason for the die hard consumers loss of faith for the Sony brand. I’ll let you decide. Ken Kutaragi’s best: “The PS3 is not a game machine .“ “The PS3 will instill discipline in our children and adults alike. Everyone will know discipline.” “Microsoft shoots for the moon. Sony shoots for the sun.” Phil Harrison: “The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC.” “When we brought the PlayStation to the market in 1994, we introduced real time 3-D graphics for the first time.” And my favorite, Kaz Hirai: “Every time we go down a path, we look behind and [Microsoft's] right there – we just can’t shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do.” “The first five million [people] are going to buy [the PS3], whatever it is, even if it didn’t have games.” Everytime Sony opens their mouth a fan somewhere dies.

What They Need To Do

Hire a PR who knows how to speak English. Please. For all of our sakes.

Show gamer’s what we’re paying 600 smackers for. Line-up games and say “This is why you should buy our system” instead of “Buy our system because it’s a Playstation”. The Playstation 3 has just as many third-party titles in the works as the Micrsoft 360, but Microsoft is so much better at letting their gamers know what’s coming up down the line. You’re not in the position to just show us a little at E3 and then makes us wait until November for more info. The mystery scheme works for Nintendo because they have an inexpensive system and consumers know enough about the games to take a chance, no one is paying $600 for anything unless they know exactly what it is they’re getting back.

The Blu-Ray Disc: Will make or break the PS3.

Get Blu-Ray out there immediately. Electronic stores need Blu-Ray setups next to DVD setups do people can truely be wowed by the features. Many people could justify purchasing a PS2 because not only were the games promising, the image quality increase from VHS to DVD was so impressive they were literrally wowed. Most consumers have never seen Blu-Ray movie. Put Blu-Ray players in stores, even if they don’t sell well. Put the Blu-ray movies next to the DVD’s on the rack so people know it’s there. Do it now and that’s about three months you have to get the consumer associated with this new media. So when the PS3 comes out, people can say “Hey, it’s a Blu-Ray player too!” instead if “Oh, it plays these Blu-Ray things too”. If Blu-Ray is really as amazing as you make it out to be, proper exposure could make the PS3 huge.

Stop being so cocky, it comes across badly. Nintendo and Microsoft are both much improved from the last generation and can easily take you down if you continue with your attitude. Don’t underestimate your competition. Microsoft for example, instead of belittling the competition they instead support cooperation between the big comapnies. This may be unrealistic and they might not even mean it, but it still helps public image. Nobody likes a jerk.

 

Final Analysis

That price is a hard sell Sony, even for your loyalists. But you can pull it off if you do it right. Give the consumer what they want. They want games with mind-blowing graphics, movies with mind-blowing visuals, and an ultimate media center for their homes. If you can make all that come together with a little bit of flair, $600 won’t seem so expensive after all.

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Well that concludes the Console Wars Battle Plans troops. It’s been a ride. Microsoft’s crew is already out in force on the battlefield taking defensive positions. Link is edging up his blade with the Nintendo Army. Sony’s battallion and mega-weapon is looming above. It’s madness soldier, and if anyone tells you they know who’s winning this war they’re lieing. The only thing I know for a fact is that it’s going to be one amazing showdown, and it’ll be great watching the whole thing unfold. Club Skill will keep you locked and loaded allthe way private. From me and the rest of the gang at CS, see you on the frontlines.

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CS Console Wars Battle Plans
Microsoft – Nintendo – Sony

Rediscovering: Ultimate Spider-Man

“Spider-Man has been ressurected. Ever since the movie came out in 2002, Spider-Man has been on backpacks, Halloween costumes, mugs, action figures, you name it. He is one of the most profitable fictional characters out right now. You can slap Spidey on anything and it means cash. So why haven’t game developers been able to tame the Spider into a 3D environment? There was the Spider-Man games by Neversoft, which were decent but had extremely linear gameplay. There was the first movie game, which was the same with prettier graphics. And then there Spider-Man 2, which gave you freedom to swing around, but still suffered from lack of things to do. And oh yes, Ultimate Spider-Man which came out just last year. How was that one again? Let me think, it was a cold September of two thousand and five…

Ultimate Spider-Man is based on the comic book series of the same name that started just before the first movie. Currently at issue #95, the monthly comic is a modern-day retelling of Peter Parker’s tomfoolery as a 16 year old teenager. Villians with new looks, small unexpected changes in Spider-Man lore, (He’s currently dating X-Men’s Kitty Pryde) and references to current events and fads have this as one of the hot new comics of the decade. Even though I’ve been a diehard fan of the comic from issue #1, you by no means need to read them in order to enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man, though it makes it more memorable.

You began the game as Mr. Parker fooling around with his powers and talking to himself. After a short tutorial you’re off. One thing I really enjoyed about Ultimate Spider-Man was that I didn’t have to go through the nerd-who-gets-bit-by-the-spider beginning for the the 50th time. Once the tutorial is done, the set-up is one similar to Grand Theft Auto. You can skedaddle over to a green area; which is a story-based mission, you can go beat up the common thug; which is a red dot on the map, or you can grab a token in the city and do a timed race. You have to do a certain number of normal and racing missions to unlock more story missions.

I have every Ultimate Spider-Man comic to date, so naturally I loved the story. Comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis brought his humor, and artist Mark Beagley his style in the cell-shaded graphics. The graphics on the game were very appealing, and it’s the greatest attempt at capturing the essence of a comic book. Cutscenes split into panels and comic book onomatopoeias like “RAAAAWWWWRRRR” stretch across the screen. Civilians react to you saving people or bumping into them, and Spidey drops his occasional one-liner every now and then. This helped out the atmosphere a lot, and it truly felt like how a game about Spider-Man should feel.

New York City is gynormous. Swinging from the Empire State Building, to Time Square, to Central Park was the closest thing you could ever get to feeling like Spider-Man. I was amazed by the world because even though you could take high to the skies and swing from one end of the map to the other in about 10 minutes, at anytime you could stop and end up in a different spot. Every little back alley, shopping plaza, or building was different from the last and the attention to detail is incredible. Go to the docks and see benches and ship harbors. Go to to Central Park and see fountains and people walking around. Queens has Peter’s little neighborhood and school, Times Square has bright lights and traffic. This world had so much potential that it’s a shame to see it not fully utilized.

Not to say the game wasn’t good. It just could have been so much better. Even though it was fun for a while swinging through the city between story missions, the normal missions that pop up while you’re swinging around get old quickly. After delivering my fourth patient to the hospital, beating up my third gang, and saving my fifth person from falling off a building, I was just ready to get on to the next part of the main mission. Speaking of the main mission, players will also be able to play as fanboy monster Venom and rampage through the city with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the po-po on your tail. It’s also great snacking on civilans and and clawing your way up skyscrapers, but like Spidey’s missions, after the intial “cool factor” wears off I found it somewhat old. The rest of the sotry is top notch though. As Spidey you’ll be taking on Ultimate versions of Rhino, Electro, Wolverine, Green Goblin, and more. After completing each chapter you’ll always want to see what happens next.

For what it’s worth, Ultimate Spider-Man satisfied my fanboy hunger for a good Spider-Man game. The potential is there for a whole lot more, and with a sequel rumored for next-gen I’m hoping that all my quams will be satisfied. I was impressed by the huge city, and I loved the pen and ink feel. If only the game wasn’t so short and missions were more varied, I may have never been able to come out of the world. Maybe an Animal Crossing like time and calender system? One can only hope. If you’re a fan of the friendly neighborhood hero, you have to at least rent it. For awhile at least, maybe you too can do whatever a spider can.”

Pocketology

Welcome my fellow portable gaming brethren. From now on, every two weeks, I’ll dish out some news on what’s going on in the portable world, keeping you on top of everything. For the ones who stumbled on here not knowing a thing about pocket games, go ahead and read the next paragraph. To all of you who already know your stuff, move right along to the third. So…If you’re ready, let’s get this show on the road…

Before the DS and PSP came into the industry, handheld systems invoked the image of nine-year olds playing Pokemon, and not much else in the minds of gamers. Super Nintendo-like graphics and limited cart space could only offer up so much, and most portable games where weak licensed titles such as Jimmy Neutron and Mary Kate and Ashley games. Although you could find gems like Advanced Wars and Golden Sun, handheld games were mostly for kids. That was until Nintendo and Sony announced their new systems, which were intended to bring gamers out of the “handheld gaming ghetto” as said by Sony. New graphics, sleek looks, and bigger disc and carts are going to change the way handheld gaming is forever. To read more about what went down with the portable wars debut, check out PSP vs. DS: Behind the Scenes of the Portable War or for insight on both systems, readThe DS and PSP (Parts 1 & 2) And once you’re done with that, we can get started with the good stuff, the games and future…

E3 this year will have biggest handheld gaming showcase it’s ever seen. PSP will feature more games, while the DS features a few head turners.

A surprise recently was the impact Nintendo’s game Nintendogs gave to the Japanese public. Famitsu, a popular Japanese gaming magazine known to be extremely tough critics, recently gave Nintendogs a perfect score of 10/10/10. Now this is no small feat, considering that the magazine has only given four others the honor in it’s entire history (Zelda:Wind Waker, Zelda:Ocarina of Time, Vagrant Story, and Soul Calibur). The game was released in three different versions with three different dogs each. Whether the same is done down here in the states or not, great things are going to be expected from Nintendogs.A game for the PSP that is being looked at is NBA Street: Showdown. Probably the greatest arcade game in the history of sports game, NBA Street as been know for it’s controls, flow, and speed of the game. Given the PSP’s graphical capabilities and controls practically identical to the PS2, The gamecan easily be successfully translated onto a portable form. Online capabilities are unknown at this moment, though huge arrays of fun, not just mindless, mini-games are being featured.

Our featured accessories for this edition include the Nyko PSP Theater Experience and PDA Panache’s Pro DS Battle Stylus. The PSP Theater Experience (TE) is a device that you can dock your PSP to substitute as a home theater. Plug in your little baby and the audio will boom through the TE, giving you great sound to listen to your tunes or watch that copy of Spiderman 2. The Theater Experience also doubles as a charger, so your media can play three times longer then it would on the PSP by itself. Nyko’s TE also features two headphone jacks, so you and your buddy can listen at the same time. At $79, the PSP Theater Experience is good buy if you have the money to pay for it, and you are really into the media features of the PSP. Otherwise, you could buy a quality DVD player and a few movies for the same price.

PDA Panache is a company that, obviously, makes items for Palm Pilots. They decided that with the release of the Nintendo DS many people complained about the toothpick size stylus that is included with the system. Adults with big hands have problems with the grips and such making hard for the games to be enjoyable. The problem is now solved with Panache’s Pro DS Battle Stylus. The Battle Stylus is a comfortable, sturdy, metal stylus that can still fit into the slot in the back of the DS. It is slightly heavier then the default stylus and feels nice to the touch. It also has group grooves around the stylus, making it a lot easier to hold steadily in you hand. The tip is orange and doesn’t scratch the DS’s touch screen. If it becomes worn it also can be replaced quickly and easily. Most who have the Pro Battle Stylus say they can’t go back to Nintendo’s brand, because of the comfort, extra weight, and durability. For only 5 bucks more then Nintendo’s replacement 3-Pack, $14.95 is a deal. A near essential for the DS, make sure you pick this one up, especially if you’re having problems with the default stylus. The Pro DS Battle Stylus is a good buy.

Well, if you like what you saw this week wait until our next edition of Pocketology with our E3 Special. Until next time portable warriors…

PSP vs. DS: The Portable War 2004

In mid 2004 Nintendo said they were creating a new handheld for the world to see next year. Japanese and American gamers were excited, and so was Nintendo, a new handheld meant more money because they never had another competition in the handheld department that could hang with their pop culture phenomenon, the Gameboy.

Until Nintendo’s longtime console rivals, Sony, decided to step into the fray and knock the Big N off their throne. Sony decides to unveil their Playstation Portable, which is also known as the PSP. Instantly the none-handheld gamers take notice. Sony gloats with promise that their handheld will match PS2 graphics, play movies, and MP3’s. The technology buff groups, (known in the gaming world as the iPod group) is enticed by this outrageous claim by Sony. Are handhelds going to rival consoles?

The interest is starting to fall from Nintendo’s new handheld. In a turn of events, the handheld giant reveals the look of their system as well. The Nintendo DS (short for Double Screen) is shown to the public. The DS tries and takes on a new innovation by providing two screens on top of one another, the bottom screen being a touch screen. “We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century,” explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president. Then Nintendo takes a page out of Sony’s book and does what almost eliminated them from the console battle. Add backwards compatibility. Through a second cart port on the system you can play all of the Gameboy Advanced games already available on the market, which have been made since 2000. Fans of Nintendo lash out at Sony saying that their system is not a true gamer’s machine. Sony followers accuse Nintendo’s DS to be a kid’s handheld system, not advanced enough for their age group. Thus the first true portable war in the history of video games begins.

All over the internet arguments break out over which system is better. DS fans say that anyone who’s a hard-core gamer and not mainstreamer will know that the DS is a better system. The PSP has too many peripherals and Nintendo is only focused on games. The only ones who will buy it they say are the mainstream, Halo, Madden, Grand Theft Auto only gamers. They argue that because of the two screens, Nintendo offers more then the PSP ever will. A Nintendo representative said, “The DS can do everything the PSP can do, but it’s not the same way vice versa”

Sony fans became even harsher in their arguments. They say that Nintendo is a kiddy system and that the DS’s touch screen is a stupid and pointless gimmick, not an innovation. That Sony’s superior graphics makes the DS look worthless. “Just as Playstation and Playstation 2 revolutionized in-home computer entertainment, we aim to become a new driving force in the portable entertainment platform arena,” said Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “The world of Playstation encompasses hundreds of millions of users worldwide, most of whom view computer entertainment as part of their everyday lives. We look forward to extending the experience through a portable entertainment platform, and are excited about the possibilities and impact ‘PSP’ will have on the market. Along with game applications, ‘PSP’ will have a huge potential for delivering other forms of entertainment as well as live entertainment through the network, anywhere, anytime. This is the ‘Walkman’ of the 21st century.”

Nintendo fans respond by saying that with all the extra things on the PSP and the graphics, it will be over $300 dollars, doubling the $150 mark of the DS. Basically, Nintendo fans say, “What cuts better? A pair of scissors or a Swiss army knife with a pair of scissors?” Sony fans counter by stating, “The DS is a system for 9 year-olds. We have movies, MP3’s, and better graphics, the choice is obvious.”

So the battle begins.

These disputes on message boards, known as flame wars, have begun to get out of hand. Some look on and try to be neutral saying that both systems are great. While others just dismiss the use of intelligent conversation and proceed to annoy everyone by typing in l33t (an aggravating typing language that replaces letters with numbers in words), “P$p SuX0rs” or “D$ 0wnz j00!” or “D$ iS 4 K1dS”. The people on the boards who are one-sided, refusing to change their opinion about their company are known as fan boys, and are looked down upon by other members. Everyone’s wondering, how will the sales go? Will PSP get the 17+ age group and win? Or will DS triumph aiming for the lower age group? The sales will reflect the true nature of the industry, whether all gamers are 17 and up like everyone says, or of it’s the same as 10 years ago, where the children rule the industry.

November 2004: Still a long time to wait for either system to come remotely close to release it seems. Until Nintendo shocks the industry and announces the release date as November 21, 2004: In time for the holiday season. The product flies of the shelves, becoming the hot item for the 2004 holidays. The DS is impossible to find anywhere but eBay, where they were being sold at 50-$100 over the retail price (One that was on a local news channel was sold for $5,300). The sales skyrocket, easily topping the one million mark and making its way to two million. “PSP has been created with the assumption that the golden success formula is still working. We don’t believe that. We’re making every effort so that people will say we were right. We’re focusing on our market, ages 5 to 95 whereas Sony has decided to target a very specific demographic.” says Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata. Nintendo fans have something to gloat about, feeling that the war is over since Sony has no way to catch in sales. Sony fans quite only a little though, because the DS has a weak launch game lineup, and the games will only start to pick up around the PSP’s release. Nintendo shocked the world, and now Sony decides to shock them right back. The Playstation Portable’s goes on sale in Japan for 19,800 yen, which is roughly $185. Everyone is surprised, wondering how Sony can fit all that technology in for less then 30 bucks more than the DS. “If you look at any consumer electronics launch, the price of the product in Japan has always been highest,” says a financial analyst. “It’ll retail for something lower than $185 over here”.

Nintendo’s PR Yasuhiro Minagawa told Bloomberg Japan, “That’s not a game machine. They showed [PSP] at the Tokyo Game Show without any fundamental game software, and you can tell it’s not complete.”

Sony’s CEO Ken Kutaragi snaps back, “People who want to play with Pikachu will need Nintendo’s new-style DS machine, but people who want to play our racing game Gran Turismo 4 will need a PSP, right?”

The field is even, the gloves are on, and the bell rings. The portable war 2004 has begun. Will Nintendo prove they are the undisputed king of handhelds? Or will Sony show that Nintendo is the past, and they are the future? Only time will tell, but I’ve come to realize one thing. 2005 is going to be a great year for video gamer players all around the world.

Sony or Nintendo. The choice is yours.

Written: January 9, 2005