XI? is that the online one? I forget. I haven’t bought a new one since X-2 (don’t yell at me, I had to know what happened to Tidus). XII is on PS3, isn’t it?
:rolleyes: Someone has self-esteem issues, and it ain’t me…
Anyway, to answer the question, my last console was a Sega Dreamcast. I’ll be happy with any system that lets me play fun games on it, cutting-edge graphics or no cutting-edge graphics. But since I’ve got a household with a mix of gamers and non-gamers, including under-ten kids and over-50 grandparents, a system that has games that everyone can play together gets the nod from me.
And let’s admit it, after twenty-some-years of gaming, breaking the usual joystick/joypad-plus-buttons control scheme is a rather novel idea – if nothing else, it’s sure to be an icebreaker for visitors.
I’ve owned just about every console or handheld you can think of over the years, and still have a lot of them. My PS2 and my Cube are side by side next to the gaming TV. I really, really LIKE the Gamecube, and I always have.
I’m looking forward to the Wii because just about every Nintendo game ever produced is going to be available for it via d/l and because I value gameplay over superhot graphics.
And like I said upthread, the new Zelda game trailer gives me goosebumps. I can’t wait.
Well, if Square keeps on putting out the craptastic RPGs (KH is good, but not my thing), I’ll be happy with a Wii, and just ignore the PS3 until it hits the $200 price point.
Yup, XI is the online one. XII is/will be for the PS2 (depending on whether you want the Japanese version or not). XIII will be for the PS3.
Yeah, it’s a lot for a console, but; It’s also a quality region-free(!) DVD player, with the Blu-Ray capability (allows storage of a great deal more data per disc) that Sony is trying to market as the next step in DVD’s after HD-DVD. You’re getting a lot for $600 even. Hell, that’s including the 60gig Hard Drive and Internet built in, unlike the PS2.
To give more context; All prices I’ve heard for the first Blu-Ray players when they come out are up around the $1000 mark. Think about getting that right-away, with a bad-ass console, for $400 less. Not so bad in that light, is it?
But, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m a fence-rider who usually ends up buying all or most of the home consoles of any particular generation (got the X-Box, PS2, and Gamecube). Not all at once mind you, over the span of a given generation. Anyways, I’m probably not as critical of systems as others.
To some, consoles are kind of like gasoline or cigarettes.
They could just keep hiking the price of the Next Best Thing and they’ll pay it. (and a lot of mommies and daddies will pay for it too)
Except that:
–You’re only buying a first-generation Blu-ray player. Early adapters can always expect to pay a premium, but in this case Blu-ray DVD isn’t even the PS3’s primary function–it’s more of an add-on.
–Electronics prices will always plummet. You might even see Blu-ray players on sale for $600 by Christmastime.
Too bad, Sony. I haven’t owned a game console since the original Nintendo NES, but I do have an HDTV and I was going to dip my toe back into gaming with the PS3. Now, if I have the money to spare, I’ll just get a dedicated Blu-ray (or worse! HD-DVD) player instead.
Oh, pick up a Wii. You’ll be able to play the old NES games. I’m so going to get Duck Hunt. Just to shoot the dog.
Except that I have a perfectly good DVD player, and don’t have a burning need to upgrade to Blu-Ray.
Not to mention that the crippled PS3 doesn’t have HDMI support, so having a Blu-ray player in that unit is meaningless.
I’ll probably still get it. I still have my original PlayStation and about a dozen games, and I still play my PS2 almost daily which I have almost two dozen games for. I have the disposable income and an 52" HDTV-ready wide screen already. $600 is higher than I was expecting but since I had planned on dropping $400 on it anyway, I doubt it’ll prevent me from getting it. I won’t be sitting outdoors in November to get it though. I’ll probably pre-order it and pick it up.
One thing that occurs to me is that with the higher price point, Sony should have fewer shortage issues than Microsoft had with the 360, even if they have similar manufacturing pipeline constraints.
More than the price point, the thing that will determine whether it sells or not is the game selection at launch. Will there be a title that ships with it that is really, really good? Something that defines the next-gen experience? If so, expect great sales. If not, you’ll be able to walk into a store and buy one two weeks before Christmas.
Just my opinion… 
Looking at all the footage and information coming from the E3, it looks like there won’t be any launch-titles at all.
Last year’s E3 had more PS3 info and demoes then this one !?!?
The only thing so far I have seen running was Gran Turismo 4 and looked almost exactly like the PS2 version.
Sony better get his stuff together or they will end last in the next-gen console war.
Every day Sony doesn’t have PS3 out there or at least generating some MAJOR buzz, Microsoft and Nintendo get stronger.
Seriously, I’d have thought that Sony would have stepped this production thing up the second Microsoft announced they were releasing the 360. Either there’s something wrong at Sony, or this is being done by design. Then again, it could be a pleasant potpourri of these two.
Nintendo’s in no rush to release Wii either. Last I heard, something like 80% of the people in the world who owned any consoles owned one of the two Playstations. It’s Sony, guys, they’ve got more industry muscle than Microsoft. I seriously doubt they’ll fall to pieces.
Lastly, to paraphrase Scott Ramsoomair from way back when the 360 launch was announced “Sega made a career of releasing systems early and went out of business for it. Let’s see how Microsoft does.” Food for thought.
Personally, I think Sony and MS are going to be around in this industry for a looooooonnnnnnggg time to come. They’re both so monolithic in terms of what they can throw behind their platforms that only a similarly massive corporation stands a serious chance of knocking them out. In a business whose history shows is by its very nature hostile to anything more than 2 leading companies, the only thing keeping Nintendo from going the way of Sega is they know how not to compete. Instead, they present themselves as an alternative, marketing the fact that they really offer a lot for interests that the other 2 ignore.
But yeah, ultimately it’s all about the games. And trust me, Sony might not have a strong launch (when have they, aside from the PSP?), but they’ll get them eventually. I sincerely doubt this generation will play out any different than the current one.