A Few Words About EGM Cover Story

[hyperdine]

As some of you may have already heard, EGM's cover story this month is "Battlestation! The Playstation 3 under attack! What went wrong (and what Sony has to say about it)".

I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before the Sony/Blu-Ray haters start citing this as proof that the PS3 isn't doing well... blah, blah, blah.

So for those of you who haven't read it or have no interest in reading it, I'll spare you the boring details and tell you what you need to know. The bottom line is that EGM interviewed Jack Tretton (head of SCEA) and they asked some tough questions, which he of course handled quite well.

What was disappointing to see, is how the EGM interviewer and accompanying article were so heavily anti-PS3. Replete with quotes from anonymous game developers and game store managers, etc. (what a joke). It really bordered on being unprofessional and just plain tacky.

Anyway, what's important for people to know (because you have to really look for it) is that EGM did this as an expirement to see if they could sell more magazines. Don't take my word for it though. Here's a direct quote from the magazine's Editor-in-Chief...

"Well be watching this issue closely- we're really curious to see how well it sells on newsstands (which is how we gauge our success). We know "Battlestation!" is no 'OMG, Halo 3 first screenshots!' cover story, but if enough people buy this month's EGM, then we know we can and should do more stories like these in the future."

So there you have it. Honestly, I think the best thing to come out of the whole article was Jack's response to the whole Time magazine comment about the PS3. Here's the excerpt...

EGM: But why is the general vibe surrounding your launch so negative this time around? Regular gamers seem disappointed. Time magazine even called it one of the big busts of 2006.

JT: Time magazine...I did an interview with Time magazine- the guy did his first interview ever on the games industry, touched his first machine two days before that, so I would argue that Time magazine may not be as plugged-in to the consumer or the gamer as your magazine is."

Classic FUD-destroying quote. I love it. Of course, he goes on to address the rest of the question, but I wanted to share the Time magazine part of the repsonse because I know a few people have thrown that around as proof that the PS3 was doomed, etc., etc...

What's funny about the whole cover story thing, is that they bash the PS3 because of lackluster games, etc. but then in the very same issue, they gave a PS3 game (Virtua Fighter 5) the "Game of the Month" award...doh!

[Guinness7]

It seems like people either love the ps3 or hate the ps3, but it the haters loss and every other ps3 users gain

[funkybudda]

I will give EGM the benefit of the doubt that the intention of the article is more than just about getting their sales figure up for that issue, as I've read good, brutal interviews by them on xbox360 launch back in 2005 issues.

I would love for EGM to give the same brutal vibes to do a cover story on the trend of bad port games, how about them epic/EA/Ubi, ask why not cater to the gamers by making proper ports, instead of half assed ones.

[BTBuck1]

Great Post Hyperdine...it's good people such as yourself can see through BS. If only more people were like you. Even the Geniuses over avs forums just don't seem to get it, despite otherwise being crafty individuals.

[Blackraven]

I disagree though with what Jack Tretton says:

"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." -- SCEA President Jack Tretton

http://dailytech.com/Sonys+Tretton+I...rticle6050.htm

This guy is bragging to much. In case he doesn't know, there are a few stores that still have PS3s for over a week. I wonder what the hell is this guy smoking anyway?

Not saying that I'm hinting anything otherwise (my PS3 is due April-June or November-December this year) but comments like these are a real turn-off.

Some stores do have a few stocks so it doesn't look like the shortage problem remains. Heck since January, the shortages have somewhat stopped.

Point is: Either he's trying to negate the negative PR that PS3 has or that he is just bragging pointlessly without any proof.

The guy is probably insane.

EDIT: I just looked at this. Quite funny

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/02/10



But does that mean I dropping the PS3 purchase? Of course not. XBOX 360 has absolutely nothing (except GOW and Forza 2). PS3 beats it hands down so any doubts cast are removed.

I expect FF 13 and RR7 to dominate my starter lineup.

[bluearth]

Short and sweet response

People like articles like this because they cannot afford the PS3 and seeing articles that bash it make them feel better.

Now long response...Time Magazine? They call PS3 a bust because it didnt have any good games outside of RFOM. People also seem to forget that at the end of the Time article the reviewer said PS3 wasn't worth the money and time AT THE MOMENT. I agree. I waited until January to pick mine up. No reason to pay rediculous prices on ebay or risk my life waiting in a line for RFOM. Most I know are waiting until March to get their own. Simple fact is calling PS3 a bust because of bad game software lineup for 3 months (DEC-FEB) is misleading.

[HiNRG]

As promised, Sony came out with 1 million PS3's in North America by the end of 2006 and is on track to release 6 million worldwide by the end of this year.

I agree that the game launch titles were unimpressive, but C|NET's reviewer, David Carnoy, said:

"It's always hard to review a new system right out of the gate because it really takes developers a year or even two years to make games that are truly impressive for the system, so the launch titles for the PS3 aren't all that impressive. The graphics, really, are about on par with the Xbox 360 at this point, so there isn't really a game out there that truly distinguishes itself."

When comparing the PS3 to the Xbox 360, David Carnoy also said:

"If you look at the build quality, and the feature set, and the potential of future games, PS3 really starts to look like a better deal."

As far as its price is concerned, it's still the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market at $499, so it's a great deal relatively speaking.

That said, I think TIME's Dec 17 article about the PS3 being a bust was completely premature. They were just using the highly publicized PS3 launch for some cheap shots, which is easy to do since PlayStation is still the big dog in the home video game console market.

[andyn1080]

Originally Posted by bluearth

Short and sweet response

People like articles like this because they cannot afford the PS3 and seeing articles that bash it make them feel better.

Now long response...Time Magazine? They call PS3 a bust because it didnt have any good games outside of RFOM. People also seem to forget that at the end of the Time article the reviewer said PS3 wasn't worth the money and time AT THE MOMENT. I agree. I waited until January to pick mine up. No reason to pay rediculous prices on ebay or risk my life waiting in a line for RFOM. Most I know are waiting until March to get their own. Simple fact is calling PS3 a bust because of bad game software lineup for 3 months (DEC-FEB) is misleading.

very true, i love my ps3 and right now i watch more blu-ray movies then i do playing games on it, blu-ray is the 2nd reason i bought the ps3. but come late feb (virtua fighter 5) and all of march i will be playing my ps3 more then my 360. sure i love my 360 but i really only think i like it slightly more only b/c i have more games for it and the fact that xboxlive is just king.
bottom line: dont bash what you dont own or have not fully experienced.

[JTK]

Just last month EGM was a bit more positive about the PS3.

In any event: For the short term, while the gamers wait for games to come out, money to come in their pockets and/or a price drop...you have another group of people of unknown size that have been in the PS3 equation and will continue to be for some time: The AV and HT enthusisasts, even if they're non gamers.

For every EGM piece like this, you also have glowing uber reviews for the PS3 in publications like Sound and Vision and now most recently, Home Theater Magazine.

The gamers will come around, probably starting in March when titles like MotorSport show up. A year from now this will mostly be moot. That's how long it usually takes for a game console to get running off the ground.

This is a pretty decent article by EGM for the most part. They basically recap the entire affair thus far, good and bad, and I feel like the interview with Jack Tretton is pretty straight up. I really didn't read anything here that most of us haven't already known, but it's fairly well done.

I also liked the other articles about "how to spot corporate shills on the Internet." That one's pretty dead-on and reminds me of several people that we've run across in the past, even on here.

[hyperdine]

Originally Posted by JTK

I also liked the other articles about "how to spot corporate shills on the Internet." That one's pretty dead-on and reminds me of several people that we've run across in the past, even on here.

Yes, that was a good read. I thought it was interesting that they did a spot on that. Seems so appropriate in light of what's been going on for the last 6 months or so.

[akadkins]

I thought it was a decent article, but it needed to talk about the trouble Xbox 360 had at launch as well - anybody remember how long they were selling for big bucks on Ebay?

I agree that Sony rep went a bit too far on the $1200 for a system comment since they are out there - but they are only there for a short time.

Biggest horse I wish Sony would stop riding is the 'rumble' technology take. He says nobody he knows misses it? Stop with the party line already - everyone misses it and the tilt features are a waste (for now). Just admit at least one mistake - please?

[JTK]

Originally Posted by akadkins

I thought it was a decent article, but it needed to talk about the trouble Xbox 360 had at launch as well - anybody remember how long they were selling for big bucks on Ebay?

I agree that Sony rep went a bit too far on the $1200 for a system comment since they are out there - but they are only there for a short time.

Biggest horse I wish Sony would stop riding is the 'rumble' technology take. He says nobody he knows misses it? Stop with the party line already - everyone misses it and the tilt features are a waste (for now). Just admit at least one mistake - please?

Agreed.

[sainraja]

Originally Posted by akadkins

I thought it was a decent article, but it needed to talk about the trouble Xbox 360 had at launch as well - anybody remember how long they were selling for big bucks on Ebay?

I agree that Sony rep went a bit too far on the $1200 for a system comment since they are out there - but they are only there for a short time.

Biggest horse I wish Sony would stop riding is the 'rumble' technology take. He says nobody he knows misses it? Stop with the party line already - everyone misses it and the tilt features are a waste (for now). Just admit at least one mistake - please?

I actually don't miss it. I would like the option to have it but honestly I haven't noticed it gone. I thought I would, but I haven't.

[PeterTHX]

The bounty comic was "meh"...you have to consider when the interview was made. If it was done in December (lead time for a publication and all) then it very well may have been accurate.

As for the article, the comments by the bulletin board were just plain stupid and FUD at its worst, specifically the "no games support 1080p" one.
I must have imagined NBA, Ridge Racer 7, etc. being 1080p.

[hyperdine]

Originally Posted by sainraja

I actually don't miss it. I would like the option to have it but honestly I haven't noticed it gone. I thought I would, but I haven't.

I have to agree. I honestly don't miss it. I know I'm in the minority with that and I can understand why people like the "rumble", but it just doesn't do a whole lot for me. I think the rumble feature hit it's zenith with the original Metal Gear Solid game when Psychomantis tells you to put the controller down and he makes it move with his mind. You MGS fans should remember that That was the high-point of rumble for me

[ps3andlovinit]

It was my understanding the interview was done EARLY January - this magazine had to be printed and put on the news stand for February. No? Or is this online interview as of the last few days? If it was for hardcopy then when he made the $1200 offer it was the case that none were to be found - since then they have caught up with supply and now the quote is being used in a rather silly way since about 6 weeks have passed till it hit news stands.

As far as the Time thing and the "expensive" PS3...that was the main message coming from MS and parroted by Time. Go figure..

PS3 20GB = $500 + $0 for for 5 years on-line + $0 for Blu-ray + HDMI = $500

Xbox 20GB = $400 + $200 for 5-years on-line + $200 for HD-DVD (no digital, no HD sound, no gaming). No HDMI anywhere = $800

Xbox 20GB + proprietary wireless add on another $100 = $900

PS3 + extra 40GB over xbox 360 + Compact flash reader + SD reader + Memory stick reader + wireless add another $100 = $600.

Oh yeah forgot a real browser to go anywhere like Google and Linux.

Also amazing the PS3 has had NO production problems and the xbox 360 is still having problems almost 18 months later ...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=49844

And people are buying the 60GB over the 20GB because even that "horrendously expensive" console is a bargain compared to the price you'll pay for the 360. A 1.5 next gen console to be kind and more money to boot.

HD-DVD and 360 - perfect partners for the dustbin. Poor Toshiba - more roadkill.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

I disagree though with what Jack Tretton says:

"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." -- SCEA President Jack Tretton

http://dailytech.com/Sonys+Tretton+I...rticle6050.htm

This guy is bragging to much. In case he doesn't know, there are a few stores that still have PS3s for over a week. I wonder what the hell is this guy smoking anyway?

Not saying that I'm hinting anything otherwise (my PS3 is due April-June or November-December this year) but comments like these are a real turn-off.

Some stores do have a few stocks so it doesn't look like the shortage problem remains. Heck since January, the shortages have somewhat stopped.

Point is: Either he's trying to negate the negative PR that PS3 has or that he is just bragging pointlessly without any proof.

The guy is probably insane.

EDIT: I just looked at this. Quite funny

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/02/10



But does that mean I dropping the PS3 purchase? Of course not. XBOX 360 has absolutely nothing (except GOW and Forza 2). PS3 beats it hands down so any doubts cast are removed.

I expect FF 13 and RR7 to dominate my starter lineup.

Gotta agree with this post and the dead-on PA comic.