Why the Wii and Xbox are killing Sony's PS3 Posted by Dave Rosenberg Today's Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece illustrating why the PS3 is floundering in the contest with Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. PS3 sales are on the decline while the competition is rising at a dramatic rate. So, what are some of the main issues with the PS3? It's overpriced Microsoft dropped prices on the Xbox 360 to gain market share, and it worked. Sony is intent on becoming profitable (the right motive) but is doing so at the sake of building momentum. A console that starts at $400 (with only one controller and usually zero games) puts you over $500 before it's much fun. According to the WSJ article, "U.S. sales of the PS3 fell 19 percent last month from a year earlier, while sales doubled for the Wii console and rose 8 percent for the Xbox 360, according to research firm NPD Group. Analysts say they expect PS3 sales for this month to be flat or lower than last year, while sales for its rivals are likely to rise." Lack of exclusive games It's gotten much harder to find compelling games that are only available on PS3, a strategy that has been very successful in the past. Sony also is suffering from a lack of attractive titles that are exclusive to the PS3. Microsoft has hit the jackpot with two action-adventure game franchises, Halo and Gears of War, which are available only on the Xbox 360. Most of Nintendo's top games are made in-house and are playable only on the Wii. Minimal modern touches (i.e. social features) The Wii makes your goofy little Mii character come alive by connecting consoles online. Xbox Live has a community and marketplace. Playstation Home is compelling but empty, which should even out over time. But, the competition is so far ahead, Sony needed to do something much bigger and better. Personally, I thought the social stuff was a little stupid until my nephew destroyed me in Wii bowling while playing 3,000 miles away. Now I get it. It's being significantly out-marketed by the competition Generally, games drive the marketing for consoles, but the Wii and Xbox have both built very strong brand awareness around the products themselves. The games are the accessories to the Wii lifestyle, and Microsoft makes the Xbox the center of your interactive gaming lifestyle. From the consumer perspective, the PS3 is a good gaming console, but not a brand that users feel a huge loyalty to or affinity for. The user experience is somewhat burdensome The games themselves look and feel good, but the experience of launching a game and getting up and running takes way too long (I feel this way about most consoles), to the point where many users I spoke with get so annoyed that they curse the machine. For the record, the cause may rest with the game developers, but the perception is that the console is the barrier. Don't forget the Internet A bigger threat looms for all console makers, and that's the fact that people spend way more time online then ever before and that browser-based casual games are not feeding console sales, but instead pushing consumers to stay on their PCs..source site here
Interesting. The only thing that kept me from buying a PS3 was the price, even though it was a combo Blu-ray player. Maybe they'll drop it soon.
Additionally, the PS3 as a blu-ray player is not user-friendly. There's a delay with the remote(that must be purchased separately), speaking of which is not an infared. An infared remote can be acquired but you need to plug in a receiver for it. The PS3 is a nice console but so many features of it could have been executed much, much better.
The prices cannot be compared. The PS3 has a built in wifi-adapter while the Xbox 360's is sold separately for $100. If I'm correct, the prices are now even. Also, the default size for a PS3 HD is 80GB which is 20GB more than an Xbox 360. The controller for the Xbox 360 will eventually cost you money if you want to spend $10-20 on a rechargeable battery kit. The PS3's controller comes standard with this feature. Not to mention the fact that the Xbox 360 can use any Bluetooth wireless headset, mouse, and keyboard. If you want a wireless headset for the Xbox 360, you'll have to drop $40-50. The PS3 doesn't come with a headset, but I'm sure you can get a Bluetooth headset for less than $50, hell, you can probably find one lying around your house. Total Prices: (considering you want the full experience) Xbox 360: $570 Playstation 3: $450 Note: I wont throw in membership pricing, I'm being nice. ---------------- Although the PS3 has few amazing titles (note that I said amazing), a lot of the popular ones on the 360 are available for the PS3. The Xbox 360 was released in Q4 2005, while the PS3 was released in Q4 2006. That's a year headstart, which is made up by now, but this gives the Xbox 360 the upper-hand. ---------------- The PS3 is not a bad console, it's just not as popular at the moment. If the PS3 does not shine in 2009, then I'll be disappointed. These articles are rediculous, biased, and very uninformative.
Biased? Doubt it. Also, they're not talking about add-ons. They're talking about getting a gaming experience. Not the full experience. As it is, it's much cheaper for the 360 then the PS3. Your point about the goods ones also being on PS3 also helps the 360. Think about it, let's say I want to play Call of Duty:WaW. I have no consoles or anything. If I look at the PS3 and the 360, I can get it for the 360 cheaper then on the PS3.
Hold on hopefully you guys realize that every 5 years for however long I have been playing video games there has been a new system. Well we only have 2 more years for the 360.
Ok you guys are throwing in waay to much into account in my opinion. lets go back to the very basis of videogaming, which is a console, a controller, and a game. Xbox Arcade comes with 6 games (crappy ones, but games nonethless) and a controller all for $200. PS3 has no games and a controller for $400 This is why people buy xbox. You get more bang for your buck. OH BUT PS3 HAS MORE THAN THE XBOX FOR LESS! Ex. blu-ray, free live, etc. etc. If your a hardcore gamer, that would apply. However, the reason xbox and wii are doing so well is because families are buying them. If your buying a system for your family, xbox or wii is much more appealing because of the entertainment you receive for the price. Your average family doesn't care about blu-ray or online play or headsets or any of that crap. Theyre just looking at the basics. console, game, controller, done. Thus, why the $200 Wii w/ Wii Sports and the $200 Xbox Arcade w/ assorted games are doing better than the $400 PS3 with no games. A family will have to spend around $460 before they get the same entertainment as an xbox or wii out of a PS3. Thats the facts. Actually Microsfot and Sony said theyve reached the limit for the most part as far as consoles go. The only real thing they can do to improve their systems would be better graphics, but it wouldn't be by a huge margin. They say they might release different versions of their current system (ex. Xbox 360 Elite) but they think that the current systems aren't going to rotate out in 2 years and actually might end up having a lifespan of 10 years before another, new system is released.
The Wii is pulling in consumers that have never owned a console before, and that is why it's outselling the other systems. It also has a lower price point than the other systems (excluding the arcade 360) which is also more appealing to parents and children. The 360 would probably have better sales if their hardware didn't constantly fail all of the time. I'm sure many consumers have been scared away by the "RRoD". The PS3 simply costs too much for the average user. Not everyone needs the blueray player inside the machine, nor does everyone need the built in wifi. Sony killed themselves when they priced their system so high. The Playstation 2 was so successful because it was cheap and it had tons of great, exclusive games to choose from. The Playstation 3 completely lacks in both those areas.... and Microsoft and Nintendo have taken advantage of that.
How is the article biased? It's based on statistics. You can't be biased if you have numbers telling you about the sale rates. Now, think about why people are buying the 360. It says because of it being cheaper. If that is the true reason people are buying the console, then they probably won't have the money to buy the add-ons you are talking about and are given the option not to purchase them. Why should they buy the $100.00 wireless adapter for the 360 if they could just use a regular network cord? I'm sorry to say, but playstation console series have been out for a longer time than the xbox series. So shouldn't they have a ton more sales, if you are taking that approach? People are desperate right now. They will take what they can get especially at a time of economic struggles. Microsoft and Nintendo just happened to plan it out a bit better than sony and it's showing. - Toxic Spade
The Xbox router costs a $100? Really? I bought a used one for $30. They're not even that expensive to make. I could grab an old Linksys router, flash the firmware, and turn it into a wifi-receiver a la Xbox Wireless Router. Anyways, the trend right now is Xbox>Wii>PS3, at the moment. My friend has a PS3, but I'm more inclined to have him over than me go over to his house because frankly, the games suck. Heavenly Swords bombed completely. Resistance 2 was okay, but it definitely can't justify the $400 spent on just the console.
the only reason i'd buy a ps3 is to look really rich and cool. its day will come. all of this trying to pick which is the best is ridiculous. It doesn't matter. The only people who care are the xbox 360 fanboys who want the ps3 to burn. Without the ps3, we would have what we call a monopoly children.
or if you already have a laptop, just use that. i use my macbook as my wireless adapter. no extra purchases required.