Wrestlevania Posted October 31, 2006 Eurogamer is reporting that Sony have cut the number of PlayStation 3 consoles available at launch yet again, the number this time dwindling from 100,000 to just 80,000. Sony have cited difficulties with limited supplies of components being the primary cause. Speculation is now rampant that this - coupled with Sony's recent agressive action towards grey importers Lik-Sang - will have a direct and significant impact on the European launch date. Pessimistic estimations stretch to as late as Christmas 2007, depending on whether or not Sony can firm up their component supply lines over the coming months. How crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BooJaka Posted October 31, 2006 I was never going to buy it in the first place but they can't be serious not expecting it out until another year in Europe. How much do they depend on European sales? (Not too much I'm guessing). Could this be a nail in the Playstation coffin? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpiderMonkey Posted October 31, 2006 Europe loves the Playstation brand. The PSP launched last here, in similarly near-farcical circumstances, but from what I recall, it's actually doing stronger here (in terms of comparison with the DS) than either Japan or the US. I don't expect anyone to really remember the delays or the shortages. The real fight is next Christmas, not this Christmas, after all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted October 31, 2006 Ahahaha! The more bad news I hear of that worthless piece of upcoming scrap plastic, the better! I'm not really angry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marek Posted October 31, 2006 IHow much do they depend on European sales? (Not too much I'm guessing). Actually, Europe has always been PlayStation's stronghold territory. The reason they're launching there last is so they can put up a fight in Japan and the US. The Europeans will buy it later anyway. At least, that's what it says on the Sony corporate flipchart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BooJaka Posted October 31, 2006 Bringing everything here last sure looks like they don't care as much as they could Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gfoot Posted October 31, 2006 It's all about sales projections. If they think Europeans will buy the console anyway, regardless of how late they bring it to the marketplace, then they couldn't care less whether it's this year or next - better to ship the units they can produce right now to the territories where making them available will have the biggest impact on profits^Wlosses. Another factor is production costs - the production costs are likely to be a lot lower by next year, so again if they can delay manufacture they get cheaper rates. Plus I'm sure they're well aware of just how much PS3s are going to be selling for on E-bay - the PS2 was massively understocked on launch, and they got a lot of hype and media coverage on account of that. So I'm sure they still care about Europe, they just think Europeans will respond better to a bit of a wait than either the Japanese market or the US market. We're used to it, right? The real question is whether all the other issues that keep coming to light are going to wear down the Euros' blind demand for the product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpiderMonkey Posted October 31, 2006 The real question is whether all the other issues that keep coming to light are going to wear down the Euros' blind demand for the product. Most "issues" are constrained 100% to the internet message board bubble. I expect that the only issue that has arisen to date that will bother ordinary punters will be sticker shock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted October 31, 2006 Most customers probably won't realise there's a PS3 until they see it in a shop, which is when they buy it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lailoken Posted October 31, 2006 I am worried, apparently last time around (at the PS2 launch in Japan) someone killed himself, so maybe this time it'll be two? Anybody interested in getting a pool going on this one? Honestly at this point it will be a relief simply to see the PS3 actually make it to market. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony simply folds over the difficulties of the past year. As far as the European launch is concerned I believe the official statement has always been that it's too diverse a market in terms of lingual and cultural circumstances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Tingler Posted October 31, 2006 No, they just don't give a rat's ass. Admittedly all games companies are like this (here I go again, playing Sony Advocate - I hate the bastards!), and we've only just barely got the Wii for 2006. The Xbox 360 has already got quite a firm hold on the market - another year's wait might consolidate that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lailoken Posted October 31, 2006 Actually I don't really see Xbox 360 expanding to a point where they would actually threaten PlayStation territory. For a huge chunk of people video games==PlayStation as it was their first step into video games. As we speak PS2 outsells Xbox360 in some markets. But with further delays PS3 looses more and more of its exclusive deals and that might hurt them down the road. That and IF THEY NEVER MAKE IT TO MARKET Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tanukitsune Posted October 31, 2006 We all know that when us European will open the evil PS3 box, we'll just get 100,000 fire ants that will eat our skin... And Sony will make us like it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted November 1, 2006 Actually I don't really see Xbox 360 expanding to a point where they would actually threaten PlayStation territory. For a huge chunk of people video games==PlayStation as it was their first step into video games. As we speak PS2 outsells Xbox360 in some markets. But with further delays PS3 looses more and more of its exclusive deals and that might hurt them down the road. That and IF THEY NEVER MAKE IT TO MARKET So it was for Nintendo before Playstation. The market is fickle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n0wak Posted November 1, 2006 Sony strategy 1) Announce high price in its home region 2) Announce low stock in its home region 3) Announce price drop 4) Announce stock drop .. 6) Profit!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oath Posted November 1, 2006 There will be no profit, only suffering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted November 1, 2006 The video-game industry is well known to other industries as the only one which is able to deliver bullshit and incredible lies to their clients, not respect their delay, cost or quality constraints and still not witness any drop in their final sales. Based on that, I think that what Sony is trying to do here is to find the point at which their measures will cause the uproar and negative comments to gain mass medias which reach the general public. Then only will they stop messing around... but that's just a guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gfoot Posted November 1, 2006 I think that what Sony is trying to do here is to find the point at which their measures will cause the uproar and negative comments to gain mass medias which reach the general public. Then only will they stop messing around... but that's just a guess. QFT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
General Fuzzy McBitty Posted November 1, 2006 http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/playstation-3/ridge-racer-7-takes-5gb-of-hard-drive-space-211402.php Also, apparently the games do copy to the hard drive. Interesting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BooJaka Posted November 1, 2006 Wow. Four games at a time? If that's true then that is, without a doubt, one hell of a design flaw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermes Posted November 2, 2006 Wow. Four games at a time? If that's true then that is, without a doubt, one hell of a design flaw HAHAHaaa - supercomputer indeed... it seems they have made a bottleneck there which actually makes the enormous amounts of data a game can be due to the blueray - stupid ... (it will probably not be a real problem, but its stupid none the less considering the ravings of the xXxtreme power of PS3)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlevania Posted November 2, 2006 Installs do not appear to be mandatory. Subsequent load time improvement for installed games seems negligible (25-50% decrease). Non-installed load times seem relatively quick anyway (15-30 seconds depending on the game). All of which leaves me wondering: what's the point of offering an installation option in the first place..? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
General Fuzzy McBitty Posted November 2, 2006 It is good that they aren't REQUIRED.... installation is what I have a PC for... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted November 2, 2006 Installs do not appear to be mandatory. Subsequent load time improvement for installed games seems negligible (25-50% decrease). 25% to 50% is negligible improvement ? I don't think so. Non-installed load times seem relatively quick anyway (15-30 seconds depending on the game). 4 gigs in 15-30 seconds from blu-ray to HD ... is it me or is it unheard of in current gen PC HD ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlevania Posted November 2, 2006 25% to 50% is negligible improvement ? I don't think so. As opposed to 15-30 seconds load time otherwise? ...seriously? 4 gigs in 15-30 seconds from blu-ray to HD ... is it me or is it unheard of in current gen PC HD ? Right, because there's no way you could, I dunno... perhaps just stream what was needed for the current part of the game into RAM as required? Call me insane, but it's just an idea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
