Microsoft Forced Sony To Do Better: Cheaper PS3, Overhauled PSN, Topnotch Exclusives (Year End Articles)

There are some things that people know is true, and yet will never admit it, they will summon all other excuses in an effort to turn away from the truth. The simpler solution would be to come clean, be honest and get the load off their backs but no, they choose to go the difficult path of making excuses in an effort to defend their stance.

This is displayed perfectly among some PS3 owners who passionately defend their console and fail to see or recognize anything that's good from the other side. One of the issues being the clear evidence showing Microsoft forced Sony to be a better company by forcing it to stay on its guards, not leaving not an inch of room for error, or else get punished for gazing. The software giant kept the heat on the hardware giant and because of it, PS3 owners spend less cash, get better service and second to none exclusives. Let's look at some of the benefits caused by the pressure Microsoft placed on Sony.

A cheaper PS3:

Some will argue that Sony always does this with all its consoles, that is true, but the PS3 Slim came rather early, in fact earlier than all its predecessors and the reasons are so blatant that even a blind person would comprehend. The PS3 is just over 3 years old and Sony has dropped the Price of its flagship console three times. The Reason: Microsoft's Xbox 360 was constantly outselling PS3 globally save Japan, causing Sony to lose market share precipitously; therefore, it had no other options but do something drastic. They did, in August of this year, Sony announced that there would indeed be a redesigned PS3 that would be sold a the new price point of $299. Thanks to Microsoft.

Overhauled PSN:

Ah, many a times people have complained about PSN in the past. I said in the past because they were comparing it to the service that introduced online play and in the process revolutionizing gaming forever. Xbox Live first debuted with the original Xbox and since then the service has grown by leaps-and-bounds. Sony followed suit with PS3 but initially the service was a dud. There's no denying it, if Xbox Live was not established, we probably would still be stuck with only campaign modes in our videogames today. Not only that but the people who complained about PSN in the beginning as being weak and stale, (rightfully so) we inevitably comparing to Xbox Live.

Sony needed to do something, and that's exactly what they did. Overtime the service has grown almost identical with Xbox Live marching its experience in almost every way. Sony also issued a major overhaul to the service recently with firmware 3.0, giving PSN new life and a fresh look. Again, Microsoft deserves credit for forcing the company to create a better online experience.

The Exclusives:

While Sony has been delivering great exclusive games throughout its over 15 years in the industry, a lot of said exclusives were from third party devs. Think Square-Einx - Final Fantasy, Rockstar - Grand Theft Auto, Konami - Metal Gear Solid and Namco Bandai's Tekken. As you can probably tell by now, all of the aforementioned are no longer PS3 exclusives but can now be found on other consoles, namely Microsoft's Xbox 360. So all the great titles that made the PlayStation brand what it is were ending up on the competition's system. That was a problem, a big one that needed immediate attention.

Full throttle, Sony started pumping out fresh IPs from first party devs and some third party partners with whom relationship ties ran deep. New IPs Like Resistance appeared, Uncharted, and MAG helping to beef up PS3's lineup and leading the industry with innovation. MAG will be the first game to handle 256 players at once, Uncharted has surpassed all else in terms of narrative and graphics, and Resistance has been revolutionizing the FPS genre in its own way.

There's one company you should thank, it's Microsoft. They kept the heat on Sony, and the results are benefiting PS3 owners across the globe. So the next time you go to a store and collect a great exclusive, the next time you go online to play against your friends, or the next time you're thinking about buying a PS3 because of its cheaper price point, think and thank Microsoft. Because although Redmond is not solely responsible for all the changes made at Sony, they definitely are responsible for some.

12/24/09 Ernice Gilbert

Will Heavy Rain Be Heavy Fail, Or Will It Set A New Benchmark?

David Cage, Sony and Quantic Dream have been trying their best to get the Heavy Rain hype train full steam on course, and they've accomplished exactly that. For years now Quantic Dream has left gamers awestruck with the title's realistic visuals that promises to bring out emotions of in-game characters like we've never seen done before. The developer is promising a mature experience that will be something new to the gaming world; so obviously expectations are through the roof. But since the game is bringing so many new and unfamiliar experiences in an industry that has gotten used to 'more of the same', the question remains: will Heavy Rain fail hard, or might it be one of the biggest success stories in gaming history?

Founder and CEO of Quantic Dream, David Cage, has been making the rounds on various gaming websites and other media outlets promoting the game to the max. But it's not your conventional marketing strategy, in fact the path they're taking with advertising is one most developers dare not venture. In a recent interview with GameInformer, Cage was asked whether Heavy Rain was an adventure game and how did he feel about said genre being applied to the title. He gave the definition for what exactly an adventure game is and then uttered, "Based on this definition, Heavy Rain is NOT an adventure game," he told the website. "There is no inventory in the game, no objective to combine or examine, no puzzle, the game does not rely on everlasting dialogues. The story is through players actions and not through cutscenes and players actions have significant consequences on the narrative."

As it stands now according the Mr. Cage, the game can't be tagged under any genre, apparently it's not even a game anymore. That's what he told D'toid in a recent interiview adding even more hype, mystery and of course high anticipation if for nothing else, to see how the effort turns out.

"Heavy Rain is not a videogame anymore in my mind, because it breaks most of the traditional paradigms, but it's fully interactive," he told D'toid. "If the format becomes successful, we will probably have to find a different name for this type of experience," he concluded.

One of two things can happen, either Heavy Rain defy all odds and be successful at creating a new genre, or the game will fail miserably. I see no middle ground. But at least Sony and Quantic Dream must be respected for taking risks in an industry that offers no second chances.

Will you purchase Heavy Rain on day one, or are you staring away all together? Share your thoughts below.

12/22/09 Ernice Gilbert

Video Thirst: GT 5 Demo On Display

Take a trip over to VideoGamesZone and you will notice something from Polyphony Digital that will surely leave series enthusiasts thirsty for more.

Beautiful 1080p screens will no doubt be a welcome site and of course video of GT 5 Academy Time Trial track.

I've said enough, go quench your thirst.

12/15/09 Ernice Gilbert

Heavy Rain Screens Are... Well, Heavy

Heavy Rain is the game Quantic Dream and Sony hope will usher in a positive change in the industry, one that will help people on the outside realize that gaming is not just for kids anymore but rather just like Hollywood, it's graduated from infancy stages and now can cater to mature audiences. This according to David Cage, after all, the people who play the games don't stay young forever, and if the art form don't grow and mature with them, statistics show how drastic the results can be.

A recent survey performed by the NPD finds that as gamers age, they eventually migrate from the gaming industry. So I guess Mr. Cage has a point. Actually he has more than one, his latest show-off being new screens from Quantic Dream's upcoming title Heavy Rain.

They're over at Eurogamer. Understand what the man is trying to say people, take time out to understand.

12/15/09 Ernice Gilbert

Again, Sony mentions PSN fees

PS3 owners cringe at the thought of having to pay a monthly fee to get online and play their favorite games like their Xbox 360 counter parts. Well Sony has promised that the service will always be free to play, but now SCE technology platform boss Masayuki Chatani has told Nikkei that Sony will "face difficulties" if they continue to rely on the "sell and forget model".

"Servers and the like have running costs... after we sell the hardware, though, we continue to sell products such as content and services," he relayed.

"We expect to see considerable growth in digital content, such as game downloads services, avatar items and the like.

"We can also accept payment in a growing number of ways.

"In addition to a single-payment package software, there are also schemes like monthly fees, or per-item charges. I think this variety of payment methods will bring about a diverse range of playing methods, too."

Don't sound to reassuring there Mr. Chatani. SCEI boss Kaz Hirai recently said that monthly fees were on the way, but nothing gamers should fear since if won't affect access to play online.

Wait and see friends, wait and see.

12/14/09 Ernice Gilbert

Gold PS3 is.... Expensive

There's nothing much to say other than, wow. For the rich and famous only. Oh you could have it, as long as getting set back $4999 is but a drop in the bucket to you then by all means.

Now all you need is a Gold entertainment center like the one pictured below and you're on cloud nine.

The things money will do for people.

12/10/09 Ernice Gilbert

Sony patents, and patents again

Sony's been on a patenting driving recently and has secured a crazy amount of add-ons for its upcoming motion controller.

Obviously they wanted to cover any and everything you could think of placing on a stick, if your thought of it, the hardware giant most likely patented it.

Kotaku's got them in abundance. According to the description, the patent is for an "Expandable Controller Device Via Hardware Attachment".

You'll be swinging Sony's wand Nintendo Wii style sometime spring of next year. Never thought I'd have seen the day.

12/09/09 Ernice Gilbert

Video Thirst: New Final Fantasy XIII ad is Lightning fast

I wish I was in Japan right now. Seriously, apart from visiting the country being one of my lifelong dreams, I would love to see the pandemonium that will take place on December 17th of this year.

Final Fantasy XIII drops like a bomb in Japan this Christmas season, and believe me, gamers will literally tent outside of retail outlets just to get their hands on what is arguably the biggest RPG of this generation.

This new ad released does nothing to help the situation, it certainly adds to the expected madness however. Oh, and don't blink, it's Lightning fast!

Quench your thirst.

12/07/09 Ernice Gilbert

Sony don't plan on banning MW2 "Javelin" glitch users

While Microsoft plans on banning XBL members who take advantage of the glitch dubbed "Javelin" in Modern Warfare 2, Sony has no plans to follow in its competitor's footsteps.

"I don't believe we're banning people for using the glitch," a Sony representative told CVG.

So you know what that means? PS3 users can cheat till they're convicted of sin, or at least till the glitch is fixed. Will be soon so....

12/04/09 Ernice Gilbert

Ubisoft working on 10 Project Natal titles, 4-5 PS Wand games

There will be no lack of games for Project Natal and Sony's "Wand" controller at launch, at least not from Ubisoft. That's what the company said in their first half of 09/10 results call.

Ten Project Natal games and Five for Sony's Wand. The announcement was made by Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot. He said that over 70 percent of the titles for both motion devices are new IPs. The games for Natal will be released six months ofter it's release.

Next year will be an interesting one. It'll be a sight to see how these motion controllers are received by gamers. I for one don't care too much about jumping up and down all over my house trying to play a game; so the only way I'll be getting the device is if Microsoft and Sony send them to GamesThirst. Other than that, I'll watch from the sidelines.

11/30/09 Ernice Gilbert

Sony: Wii experiencing significant downturn

Give Sony a break will you? The company's been going through some difficult times for the past few years and now things are really looking up. Give them a chance to knock others around, they've been on the receiving end of the stick for quite sometime.

Sony Computer Entertainment boss Andrew House has thrown some stones at a certain rival's house, and it's not Microsoft.

"I think at a time when we're seeing one of the major competitors somewhat losing a sense of momentum - at least in many of the markets I've looked at - it's gratifying to see a platform that's always that's always have a very significant share of sales go to third party publishers to capture that momentum again.

"The knock-on effect can only be a positive one if publishers are making up to 75 percent of the sales on a particular platform, as opposed to a much smaller share elsewhere - then that's the platform I think it's in their interest to see succeed - and I thinks that's the dynamic we're seeing return right now," House added.

He was later pressed on exactly which "competitor" he was referring to, Andrew House responded:

"From data that we're starting to see, in some of the publicly released figures, we're seeing a significant year-on-year downturn for the Wii. I think that's just a factor of this holiday season."

Let the man speak; let him have some fun.

11/27/09 Ernice Gilbert

Sony says PS3 is upgradeable to 3D, company to be profitable in 2011

The PS3 "only does everything" according to Sony, and today at a presentation to investors the software giant gave even more reasons why. Sony revealed that all PS3 systems are upgradeable to stereoscopic 3D via firmware updates and they plan on integrating 3D through Blu-ray and HDTV also.

According them, the goal is to "lead the 3D market" and offer 3D tools to developers that wish to create games with three dimensional play.

As part of the drive to promote the technology and to lead the way, the company plans to install 3000 3D theater projectors in cinemas at the end of the year which when combined with plans already in place, will help them achieve profitability in 2011, this according to CEO Howard Stringer.

The giant went on to project a loss of $1 billion (95 billion Yen) for its current fiscal year ending March 2010, with Howard pointing out that the cost saving measures they took are already paying off.

"Our work is already bearing fruit," he said but did not neglect to stress on the fact that the company "still hard work to do."

Howard made known they were currently ahead of their restructuring plans of saving $5.6 billion (500 billion Yen) in costs, which is in direct relation to the 12 percent workforce reduction over the last year.

The company announced yesterday that it has seen a 70% percent growth in sales for PS3 when compared to last year (October 2008) making it "the only console" to experience significant growth year-over-year.

It's a good feeling to see a great company that has given us so many fun experiences get things together and become stronger than ever. Good going guys.

Associated Press.

11.19.09 Ernice Gilblert

Sony: "Without your support, PS3 wouldn't be what it is today"

A great community is forged by people who care passionately for it. For them, there's a vested interest in said community's survival, in its success. Sony knows that; and yesterday on PSN's 3rd birthday, They acknowledged the ones who are responsible for the growth and success of the PS3, that's you. Here's Playstation 3 marketing manager Kim Nguyen:

"Really, what I'm here to say is, thanks for your support. Without your enthusiasm and feedback, PS3 wouldn't be what it is today," he said.

The boss also was excited about the progress that the Playstation Network had made in such a short period of time, and that he thinks it's only the beginning of what's to come in the future, especially with the sheer amount of exclusives coming out soon.

"We are really hitting our stride here and with how far you've seen us come in three short years, imagine how far we'll go with the next three.

"It all starts with this holiday and blockbusters like Uncharted 2 and Ratchet and Clank, and it only gets better in the Q1 with MAG, Heavy Rain, and God of War III."

A good company always give credit where credit is due, and yesterday, the software giant took time out to solute you.

11/18/09 Ernice Gilbert

PS3 firme update 3.10 goes live, introduces Facebook functionality amongst other things

As I often say, rumors in the gaming industry most times turn out to be true, and yesterday, another one has left the rumor dog house and straight into reality.

Firmware update 3.10 incorporates Facebook into PSN alongside some other tweaks however, there has been no mention of cross-game-chat which is arguably the biggest request from service users. The new Facebook feature will give you the option to automatically update your status with trophy and PSN store activity.

The US PS Blog went on to stress that the new features were just the beginning of their integration with Facebook and they are looking forward to adding more to enhance the experience of PSN users.

Here are some of the highlights:

* Photo Category on the XMB has been revamped to make it easier to see more of your photos stored on the PS3.

* The PSN friends list has been modified based on feedback they received after update 3.0. Also, you can now choose a color for your PSN ID on the XMB.

Video's after the read with details of the upcoming update. Sony's working diligently to please PSN users, a very welcoming sign in an age where big companies only care about profit.

11/17/09 Ernice Gilbert

Rethink Sony, release GOWIII in May 2010, March is overbooked

Now we all know that Final Fantasy XIII will be released on March 9th, but it's not the only title that will hit store shelves in said month. And especially on the PS3 there are big hitters all looking for room on the same plane. Gran Turismo 5, God of War III, Heavy Rain in February, and as stated, Final Fantasy XIII. March is overbooked and the best solution is for Sony to push back two big games, namely GT5 and God of War III into the months of April and May of next year respectively if they want all their big hitters to sell well. Here's why.

Everyone of the aforementioned titles a behemoths, and because they are, each of them needs ample room to breathe. It's like taking the three biggest stars in the music industry and giving each of them a concert at different locations in the same town on the same day; that would be a failure for all the organizers involved because although concert goers would love to participate and be at all the events, it's practically impossible, plus there's only so much cash one can afford to spend on partying.

Same with the games business. God of War III has dedicated fans, but a lot of those same fans are dedicated followers of Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy. It only makes sense that you separate the three to maximize sales potential or else leave gamers with the difficult dilemma of picking and choosing between the titles that they've waited on for years.

I'd say release Final Fantasy on the 9th of March as announced since it'll also be on the Xbox 360 making it harder to change its date. Then Release Gran Turismo 5 on Tuesday April 20th, 2010. That would be good enough time between the two megaton titles and by then GT fans would be more than ready (cash in hands) to get their 'drive on.' And finally, the biggest dog in the house: God of War III should be released on May 25th, 2010 which is also a Tuesday. The distance between GT5 and God of War III would be just over one month, again giving fans of the titles decent space to enjoy each and enough time to save up on cash in order to purchase all and miss out on none.

I think it would be the right move, do you share the same sentiment?

11/14/09 Ernice Gilbert

2009: Best PS3 exclusive lineup ever, 2010 looks even greater

The seventh generation of consoles is in full swing now. Nintendo ran away with the casual market, Microsoft is doing well, and Sony finally got its groove back. But for the latter, it wasn't always rosy, in fact, if you listened to the media in 2006, 2007, and even 2008 when the PS3 was already doing great, you would have thought Sony's Playstation brand would die. But the so called journalists baseless predictions were wrong; they were dead wrong.

It's believed that you make or break a console depending on the amount of first party "exclusive" titles available for said system. Well if that saying rings true, Sony is here to stay.

When the PS3 was released in November 2006, there were many issues plaguing the console. First, the price was much higher than any other next gen system on the market, supply and demand was a constant hassle, since Sony's PS3 carried a Blu-ray drive and components for the technology were always in short supply. This would in turn cause the hardware giant to lose sales because of not being able to instantly make available units to consumers. On top of that, there were few games released for the system at launch. Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the titles that displayed the PS3's potential, but multiplatform games almost constantly looked better, (way better) on the Xbox 360.

But that was then, and this is now. Although 2008 was a mighty good year for PS3, to date, 2009 is the best the console has seen on many fronts:

The redesigned PS3 ~ It's arguably the single biggest move Sony has made this generation in terms of strategy for the PS3. On August 18th, 2009, at GamesCom in Cologne, Kaz Hirai announced the slimmer, slicker version of the company's flagship console that would be made available globally on September 1st, 2009. Ever since then, the PS3 has been the top selling console globally, outselling even the Nintendo Wii.

Advertising ~ It's hailed as the best ad campaign seen in the industry for a very long time, but ironically, the company behind the ads is the same company that has gotten flak in the past. Many people once labeled the Playstation advertising department as the worst ever. Now everyone's singing a different song.

Console exclusive games ~ In this department, not even the most loyal Xbox 360 fanboy would argue the fact that the PS3 hands down outdid the Xbox 360 in terms of exclusive games this year.

~ Killzone 2

~ inFamous

~ Demon's Soul

~ Ratchet & Clank: ACIT

~ Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

All the games listed above are available now for your playing pleasure on the PS3, but if you think that's huge, wait till 2010:

~ God of War III

~ MAG

~ Gran Turismo 5

~ Heavy Rain

~ Agent

~ Resistance 3

~ Quantum Theory

~ The Last Guardian

~ White Knight Chronicles

~ Killzone 3

~ ModNation Racers

~ Final Fantasy Versus XIII

According to this list, clearly Sony has positioned itself to be the leader when it comes to exclusive titles. And although Microsoft's lineup is nothing to scoff at either, nothing can come close to Sony's offerings for 2010.

So if you own a PS3 be a proud owner, find yourself a second Job, because by the look of things, you'll be out of cash buying exclusive games for your system, let alone the awesome multiplats.

11/03/09 Ernice Gilbert

Video Thirst: It only does everything ad campaign win over critics

It wasn't too long ago that Sony was the recipient of harsh criticism concerning their advertising campaign or more accurately, lack thereof. Article upon article would constantly bash the hardware giant, and rightly so. Maybe Sony was waiting for the right moment to put everything in gear, because as soon as the PS3 Slim was launched, all, and I mean all changed.

It only does everything is the branding of Sony's new effort in the advertising department, and across the boards, folks a hailing it a winner. Epic winner.

If you've missed them, don't worry, we've done all the work for you, pick, choose and quench your thirst now.

10/24/09 Ernice Gilbert

Video Thirst: Uncharted 1 was like doing brain surgery with a chainsaw

Erick Pangilinan is the art director at Naughty Dog, and according to him, Uncharted 1 was not an easy project as some might have thought.

"Uncharted one was a hard project because we had a new IP, new team, new system, new engine - new everything. I would always say Uncharted 1 was like doing brain surgery with a chainsaw and Uncharted 2 is a totally different beast. We have precision instruments now that freed up a lot of time for production and that was huge because that gave us the time to do more creating rather than the R&D."

And here you were thinking it was a breeze the first time around. Get a clue.

I'm just joking people, Quench you're thirst.

10/24/09 Ernice Gilbert

ND Devs: No animator could reproduce what we've been able to do

What Naughty Dog has accomplished with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is truly revolutionary. There's no need to beat a dead horse because it has been said so many times before. But there's one aspect of Uncharted 2 that stands out more than any other, and it's the game's cutting edge visuals.

It is arguably the best looking title to grace any console, and to accomplish such a task, it took the lead programmers years of tweaking, changing, manipulating the system, and now, they've managed to master the cell processor. So much so that the devs don't think any other animator could do what they did in Uncharted 2.

Speaking in a video interview with Digital Foundry, one of the lead programmers explained the situation.

"You don't have to have an animator animate every single possible combination of the player putting away his weapon while jumping, or running and shooting, or all these different things," the programmer said.

"Really no animator could animate enough animations to produce the same look that we've been able to do by mixing and matching, by layering animations on top of each other, by blending between animations even of different layers. And that really give the players a lot more control over what he wants to do that's not limited by our animators," he concluded.

A spectacular game don't get made but by much effort and extremely hard work. It also takes a passionate team, and folks who love what they do to accomplish what Naughty Dog has. And by the look of things, gamers are rewarding them with stellar sales. Pick up Uncharted 2 now.

10/23/09 Ernice Gilbert

Pachter: PSPgo is priced too high, might affect sales of PSP-3000

See, you're not the only one who thinks that the PSPgo is too expensive. You might also want to wait a bit if you were planning on getting the digital handheld, because according to Webush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, if Sony does not cut the price, sales of the PSP 3000 sales are likely to be down year-over-year.

"The Go is just priced to high for the perceived value. It may play movies and music but most think iPod Nano ($149) or Touch ($199) for that," the analyst said speaking to VG247. "I don't see it boosting overall sales and without a price cut, the 3000 sales are likely to be down year-over-year," Pachter continued.

"I think Go will sell 400,000 units in the US, 400,000 in Europe and 200,000 in Japan through March. Most of those units will be incremental 'replacement' as people trade up, and they may dampen PSP-3000 demand by half that much. The 3000 is selling at last year's price in a worst economy with new competition from a sub-$200 Wii. I think overall PSP sales will be pretty similar to last year's maybe down a small amount," he concluded.

The PSPgo was released on October 1st, and according to Sony, is not doing bad, in fact it's doing good. But Pachter calls it as he sees it, and say what you want about the man, he actually knows what he's saying, sometimes.

In a recent poll we held where approximately 552 of you voted, 223 (40%) said no to the Go, 92 (14%) said yes, 49 (8%) said it wasn't their cup of tea, and 22 (3%) of you said you loved your DSi. These numbers are tough to behold Sony; you might need to cut the price of the thing after all.

10/23/09 Ernice Gilbert