PS3 Slim a response to fat problems at Sony

Slim-fever already seems to have gripped retail in the UK, just over 24 hours since the new PlayStation 3 was announced. A walk around the centre of Manchester this afternoon would have been a fruitful one for any Sony zealots; hastily made Slim announcement signs adorning many of the games and entertainment outlets, the current console’s price already dropped to the new RRP of £249.99.

But, it needs pointing out, this is hardly an ideal re-launch for Sony. The company has been forced into this position because things haven’t panned out as the electronics giant initially thought they would. Sony’s PlayStation wing has gone from proclaiming the PS3 as a system people would work overtime to afford (thanks go to Kutaragi for that one) to a format facing a major redesign and rebranding just three years into its lifecycle.

It appears to be even more of a last-ditch attempt to rouse support in Europe, where the original PS3 only launched in March 2007 – less than two and a half years ago. A ‘slimmed’ down version was always inevitable, of course, the respective successes of the PSone and ‘slimline’ PS2 making a revised PS3 a part of the PlayStation process, but both these follow-ups came when the original versions were already in commanding and, arguably, unassailable positions, the PSone actually launching as late as 2000. They both had an almost celebratory affair and, while increasing sales was no doubt part of both of their remits, neither were launched with the goal of clawing back a near 8 million worldwide deficit. And that’s just to move into second place.

That is, without doubt, the PS3 Slim’s target. Sony will, of course, trump the technical advances made by this revision, and while I might not be an expert when it comes to the insides of these machines, no doubt the system is cheaper to make and, therefore, a more commercial prospect. But though retail will actually pitch this as a sign of confidence in the format, much like the way Apple’s yearly iPhone revisions are lapped up by consumers worldwide, in truth the PS3 Slim only exists in 2009 because the format has narrowly avoided becoming a white elephant more than once in its relatively short life.

Back in 2007, when the console was losing franchises previously regarded as stalwart PlayStation exclusives, sales skirted awkwardly close to the embarrassing, Sony’s latest becoming ‘the next Dreamcast’ a very real prospect. Even this year, the world’s largest publisher – Activision-Blizzard – fired a warning shot across the PS3′s bow, company president Bobby Kotick openly questioning whether the publisher would support the system beyond 2009.

Arguably, the PS3′s sole high point came in 2008 – the supposed ‘year of the PS3′ – during the first half of the year, when Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 gave sales a much needed boost and, perhaps slightly artificially, gave the impression of a system gaining momentum. It didn’t last long, however, the Xbox 360 eventually surpassing the PS3′s 2008 tally with ease during a strong Christmas for Microsoft. Sony’s console, even with top exclusives, was just too expensive to be a real challenger in the long-term.

PS3 Slim. Still not exactly a looker, is it?

That, of course, has now changed. Much of the baggage that the PS3 has been lugging about since 2006, both with the press and the consumer, will now be shaken off, the PS3 Slim even dropping the ever-unpopular SpiderMan-esque logo and the games’ box-art apparently being revised. The design, too, will win favour with gadget geeks (though, personally, to me it looks like a cheap Chinese knock-off), making it a likely purchase even for those who already own an original PS3.

You have to wonder, however, just how those who have picked up a PS3 for £299 over the last few weeks, or even months, will feel about a new, sleeker and cheaper system coming to market in September. And there’s also the question of whether knocking £50 off the price in the UK is enough. In my view, while $299 in the States and €299 in Europe might be considered the “sweet spot” by SCEA president Jack Tretton, in the UK, Sony probably needs to slice another £50 from the new RRP to really reach its potential. I personally think £229 would have been a better compromise, enabling the PS3 to keep its expensive ‘hi-tech’ image, while also making it more of an impulse purchase in the run-up to Christmas. As it is, I suspect the PS3 will have a fair few weeks of shifting record-numbers in Britain, before falling back into a weekly third place.

The price-drop is likely to have more of an effect in Europe – where the race is much closer – and the States, but the latter contest already appears to have been lost. The 360′s lead and, perhaps most importantly, fanbase appears to be too strong in Microsoft’s home territory for Sony to really make any serious inroads over there before generation’s end, Slim or no Slim.

But, from a purely tactical standpoint, the PS3 Slim is a smart move by Sony, the company finally taking action rather than simply waiting/hoping for the market to be drawn to the system. It’s still a format weighed down by some major problems – developers’ reluctance to give it precedence over the 360 being the main one – but it’s unlikely that Sony will be facing an early exit from this generation’s tussle now. The Slim looks to have given the PS3 some legs.

July 2009 NPD: Just who is winning anyway?

Well, the slowdown is here. There was a period, back last year, when hardware sales in the States seemed immune to the ‘global financial slowdown’ (or whatever they’re calling it this week), but with sales down across the board in July’s NPDs when compared to the same month last year, any idea that consumers aren’t being a little more prudent with their purchases has gone out of the window. In the statistics released on Thursday, finding anything to cheer about was easier said than done.

A quick look at the figures would appear to suggest that Nintendo is still firmly in charge, the DS and Wii selling 538,900 and 252,200 units respectively. But while the Wii seems to still be riding the crest of a wave, easily outselling both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 month after month, in truth Nintendo must be a little worried about the console’s performance this year. Total sales from January to July number 3.28 million, again far ahead of the competition. But that’s a figure that represents a fall of just over 750,000 units from the same seven month period from last year, with most of 2009′s sales actually coming between January and March. From April onwards, the Wii has been performing rather poorly when compared to 2008, July’s figures alone representing a fall of well over 50 per cent, for instance.

That’s not the result of a steady ebb and flow. That’s verging on a crash.

Of course, the fact the Wii is still ahead of the pack despite this drop shows just how monumental a year Nintendo had in 2008, totally bucking seasonal trends and selling more than 600,000 units in eight of the twelve months. That’s unprecedented. Regardless, this year’s drop – despite notable releases such as this month’s Wii Sports Resort – surely represents the start of a general decline for the system. Some kind of action – whether a price-drop or a form of hardware update – will surely follow after Christmas, but it’s unlikely the system will ever hit 2008′s highs again.

A slightly deeper look at the figures, then, might suggest the Xbox 360 is the system with the most momentum right now. While July 2009′s figures were (very slightly) down on July 2008′s (202,900 this month compared to 205,000 units the same month last year), the 360 appears to be – on the whole – performing steadily, its 2009 total of 1.82 million units so far representing its strongest start to a year since the console launched.

The fact it’s (essentially) the cheapest home console on the market right now certainly helps, but it’s also the oldest (PlayStation 2 aside) and, to be outpacing all previous years in year four is a sign of a system in rude health. Most importantly, while the Wii has a lead of over 5.2 million units in the States despite launching after the 360, Microsoft’s system holds a lead of 7.65 million units over the PlayStation 3 in its home territory, growing almost every month. That’s not a gap that’s likely to be closed before generation’s end, and it’s also nothing to be sniffed at, the original Xbox never even coming close to challenging Sony’s previous two-generation dominance of the North American market.

 Things (would appear) to be much tighter in Europe, but with Natal seemingly around the corner, there’s much to suggest that the 360 is only mid-way through its lifecycle right now, sales in North America that eventually double what its predecessor achieved a very real prospect.

 The 360 could face a stickier Christmas period than last year, however. Exclusive killer-apps would appear to be a little harder to come by than in 2007 and 2008, and while the supposed price-drop of the Elite should make the system just as marketable this yuletide as it was last year, Sony’s pending PlayStation 3 price-cut has the potential to give those sat on the fence something to think about.

Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to suggest that any PlayStation 3 price-cut is likely to propel it ahead of the 360 this Christmas, but it’ll certainly make it much more competitive. It needs to, too. July’s tally of just 121,800 units sold puts it well behind the other two systems and also hangs it dangerously close to the 100,000 unit line. Back in 2007, three whole months passed without the PS3 hitting the 100,000 unit mark in the States, putting a halt on any early ideals Sony might have had to overhaul the 360 in quick time. Any hint of the console falling back to those kind of levels would no doubt make both retail and the development community rather nervous.

They might be pleased to know, then, that 2009′s total so far is leaps and bounds ahead of 2007′s drab sales over the same period, 1.24 million units sold in a healthy advantage over the 922,500 sold two years ago. But it does represent a fall from 2008, when Sony sold 1.83 million units in the same period upon the back of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV. A drop of almost 600,000 units is, perhaps, to be expected for the most expensive console on the market in such an economic climate, but it’s far from ideal when the PlayStation 3 is already a distant third in the States.

Just how much Sony shaves off the Slim’s price will be crucial – the rumours of a $299 price-tag will certainly win over those ‘umming and ahhing’ in recent months, but its unlikely to appeal to the massmarket – the market the console really should be targeting in its third year on sale. Make no mistake, it doesn’t matter how many optimistic analysts predict the PlayStation 3 eventually toppling both the Wii and 360, Sony’s latest is never going to sell the kind of numbers the record-breaking PlayStation 2 managed in its heyday. In the U.S., Sony’s focus should be on making the console a respectable contender by the end of this round of the ‘console wars’ to give whatever follows a good base, lest it have to produce the kind of dramatic turnaround Nintendo managed with the Wii after the GameCube was left out in the cold.

It’s, of course, entirely possible that the PlayStation 3 will find a firmer footing in the States over the next couple of years – the appeal of the PlayStation brand remains largely intact, despite Sony’s own efforts to dismantle it over the last three years. But that price-cut can’t come soon enough. It’s going to be an interesting winter.

Joypad vs. Keypad

Frequently, when ‘fellow games writers’ ask me what I’m up to these days work wise, they react like I’ve just told them that I’m suffering from an incurable disease.

For those of you who don’t know, the main focus of my work these days is mobile gaming – reviewing and covering games on Nseries phones and the iPhone. It was a completely new area of gaming to me, both professionally and personally, but I can safely say that, over a year in, it was a sound move. Not only is the site I write for pretty damn special, but it’s been genuinely refreshing discovering the whole other world of games.

And it really is a whole other world. Because, while some of my compatriots might think mobile games are a mere shadow of their console counterparts, in truth, there’s a lot to love and respect about the companies and gamers involved in this field.

I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so, either. The likes of Digital Chocolate, Glu, Gameloft and even EA of late bring a real sheen and polish to their titles these days, which – on the whole – wasn’t often seen a few years ago. There’s certainly a desire amongst the studios to push the hardware as far as they can with the software. On features alone, many of the sports sims out there rival and even surpass their console equivalents, for instance.

But it’s not just the professionalism of the developers and publishers, but rather the positive attitude of those out there parting with their cash.

I’ve been known to post on a few games forums in my time (ha ha!), and of late, discussions about specific games can be split somewhere down the middle. You either love a game, beyond reason or even sense, or you absolutely hate it, usually before its even come out. Pages and pages are filled pre-release with the supposed ‘fanboys’ salivating over every new screenshot and proclaiming whatever title they’re lusting over as a huge future hit, played off against those who have absolutely no interest in buying the title, themselves only posting to reaffirm their contempt.

The years of build up to Killzone 2 is the most prominent example I can think of right now. On the forums I visited over those years, fans of the original (or general Sony zealots) were confident in their belief that it would prove to be a turning point in the PS3′s lifecycle – a title that swung the balance of power. Conversely, there were scores of people all too willing to proclaim it as a flop, years before release.

Though my actual playing experience is limited to the demo (which, I thought was solid and decent, if a bit clichéd, especially when it came to the tacky musical score), it would appear Killzone 2 neither turned out to be the second coming, nor a disaster, shifting a fairly healthy if not headline grabbing amount of units in the process. Yet, that view was largely drowned out by anyone who had the sense to state it.

From what I’ve seen of mobile gaming forums (and, this might be a surprise to some, but they do exist), such is the formative nature of the industry that almost every title, whether it’s from a studio with a chequered history or not, is greeted with hope and thirst. Naïve, you might think, but it’s also refreshing. People aren’t blasted for getting excited about one particular game, or ripped apart for downloading another. Even if it turns out to be a dud.

In one respect, this makes criticising games that warrant a bit of a dressing down rather hard – very rarely do the folk that post on such forums either agree with, or even want, faults to be pointed out. But this is still vastly preferable to having your flag effectively raised for you if you happen to like a game the ‘community’ loathes, even if they’ve not played the bugger. Naturally, the reverse is just as true.

Case in point, a MGS4 review I wrote last year. Scored 8, was generous, but realistic. It’s certainly not a high point for Kojima in my book, and while there was a lot to love for MGS fans such as myself, there were also whole scores of the game that were nothing more than a self-indulgent car crash. Of course, even scoring the game as high as 8 – which, in my book, is a pretty fucking respectable score – was a travesty, and the review was met with floods of complaints. It was heresy to have Guns of the Patriots down as anything but a solid 10.

I’ve, of course, encountered resistance with some of my mobile reviews, but rarely to the same extent. There’s something of a fresh outlook in these parts, almost as if the gamers are playing and learning as much as the developers. There’s no guarantee that mobile gaming won’t go the same way as its console cousin, but for now, this is an industry with a refreshingly positive fanbase.

The Lost City of Gotham

With my level of excitement from E3 now falling back to normal levels (like the passing of a bout of morning glory, I guess), I’m left lamenting the lack of any Project Gotham Racing 5 news from Microsoft. If, of course, there is any news in the first place.

I’m used to beloved gaming franchises of mine falling by the wayside. There aren’t many days that pass whet I don’t hold some kind of mental vigil for Shenmue’s Ryo, stuck in the damp cave on hardware killed off before its time. Project Gotham, however, isn’t such a hopeless case. While there’s been no official word since Bizarre Creations was snapped up by Activision (therefore blocking its work on the franchise), rumour has it former close ally and current Microsoft studio Turn 10 has considered picking up the label and running with it with a new release.

Microsoft’s official statement at the time of Bizarre Creations’ departure was that PGR was a “signature racing franchise for Xbox 360” and that it planned to “continue the series”, but everything has gone quiet since. It’s not hard to see why.  

 

PGR trailers always impressed existing fans, but the hype never made the leap to the mainstream in the manner the likes of Gran Turismo managed

This isn’t a slight against PGR. Both it, and even Metropolis Street Racer on the Dreamcast, remain to this day firm favourites of mine, but from a pure business point of view, furthering the PGR franchise when Microsoft is so keen to bill Forza as the next Gran Turismo would seem to be a bit of a fruitless task.

PGR was always an interesting beast, offering a beautifully toned line between instant arcade thrills and the honed appeal of simulation. Having reviewed the last two PGRs, I rejoiced in the unique middle ground they both occupied and, up until the release of GRID, PGR4 offered the perfect package in my eyes.

But, as a whole, Microsoft never seemed to find it easy to market the franchise.

It’s bizarre when you consider the kind of buzz it could and should have created, with the almost perfect replication of some of the world’s biggest cities providing many a swanky screenshot or two. Project Gotham, though, never seemed to steal the headlines in the same way as some of its rivals, the name – though logical for anyone who bought into MSR – to this day still leads to some confusion when it comes to the mainstream.

I doubt it’s the sole factor behind PGR’s recent lagging behind Forza in terms of sales (estimates suggest the last two PGRs both sold somewhere around the 1.5 million mark worldwide each, which, while healthy, is placed in the shade by the last Forza hitting 2.5 million in North America alone, undoubtedly aided by bundles aplenty), but it does mean Turn 10′s Forza is now Microsoft’s flagship racer in what is increasingly becoming a crowded market. Unless Forza 3 flops, why would either Turn 10 or Microsoft want to spend dollars on another first-party racer that, however good, isn’t likely to shift the units?

 

Forza 2 enjoyed significant sales from Stateside bundles

I could be being a tad harsh, here. After some barren years, the racing genre appears to be enjoying a post Dirt revival. Codemaster’s GRID made significant inroads into the charts last year, and with sister title Fuel launching today, Bizarre Creations’ own Blur, Disney’s Split Second, Sony’s Gran Turismo 5, the aforementioned Forza Motorsport 3 and the usual collection of Burnouts, Need for Speeds and Midnight Clubs no doubt all making waves either side of Christmas, the racer – both arcade and simulation – could be back as the kind of force it was at the start of the PlayStation generation.

If that’s true, there could be real value in opening up the unique streets of Gotham once again, though with two PGRs already on the 360, chances are any fifth entry in the series could be held back for a new hardware release, which will be…well, with Natal on the way, who knows when?

In truth, putting any fandom aside, the only way I can see Microsoft announcing any kind of PGR progress on current hardware is if Forza 3 fails to live up to its billing as the “definitive racer” in terms of sales and critical acclaim. That’s certainly not a situation I’d welcome, despite my PGR love, because of the genuine progress Forza 3′s E3 trailers seem to suggest Turn 10 is making. Regardless, even if the track does swing by Gotham city once again, without Bizarre Creations at the helm, it’s unlikely any return trip to PGR’s streets would come with quite the same sparkle.

Extra life from E3

I’ve been out of the loop for some time, and it took this year’s E3 conferences to make me realise just how far. I can’t remember a set of conferences (ever since they handily started broadcasting them online four or so years ago, of course) that have gotten me so excited about what’s to come. And there wasn’t even a meaningful hardware announcement in sight! Well, there was the PSP Go, I guess.

Regardless, up until the last year I was pretty much tapped into the comings, goings and developments in the games industry. I’m not suggesting that I had any major contacts or was involved myself in any way, but putting together what amounted to a rolling news feed for (what was) Jolt.co.uk for three or so years meant I covered everything; facts, rumours, gossips, things I had a passion for and things I had absolutely no interest in. Such is the nature of rumours – especially pre-E3 ones – that if you cover enough bases, one or two will be proven true simply by luck. As a result, the last few E3 conferences held little in the way of surprise for me, or anyone else who makes their money writing about games.

I still write about games, of course, but not for Jolt, so my focus has naturally shifted away from rumourville. Going into these conferences, I had little idea what to expect, mainly because I hadn’t read any news stories or press releases about home console or PC gaming for many a month. Maybe even a year.

The end result, however, the day after the last of the three conferences hit the web, is that I now have the kind of excitement I had when I’d read ECTS coverage in the games magazines I’d spend my pocket money on in the early 1990s. I want to be involved again, buy games (which I haven’t for some time) and look forward to the future of the systems I own. Up until this week, beyond the kind of titles we all anticipate, I had little of that. I’d been playing FIFA on the PS3 and little else, besides from those I play for work.

Tonight I plan to have a mini-marathon. A bit of PGR4, possibly Forza 2, along with some Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed and maybe even some Crackdown. All because I want to build myself up for what’s to come. And there is a lot to come.

I might be alone here, but Turn 10′s two trailers for Forza Motorsport 3 blew me away. Graphically, that’s a major step forward and it’s heartening to me that it’s happening on the oldest of the three formats. What else will developers be able to push out of all three systems over the coming years?

A bit of a "wow" moment.

Natal had me shaking, too. As some of my more esteemed friends have pointed out, it’s unlikely that it’ll work in the way Microsoft’s press blurb and videos have alluded to, but the fact that’s the direction they intend to move is refreshing. A console I bought four years ago has the potential to recognise who I am merely by me standing in front of it – it’s the kind of step forward that would have needed a complete launch of new hardware a generation or so ago. Microsoft’s conference was easily the strongest it has had since it launched the 360.

Sony’s PS3 ‘wand’ (as I like to call it), too, raised my expectations. Indeed, the format as a whole seems to have a bright future now, where a year ago everything seemed up in the air. Its sales still aren’t what most would call impressive, but if its E3 is anything to go by, I’d expect it to be sitting on the shelves for many a year to come. That’s really some statement considering the comedy of errors that beset its progress ever since Sony’s shambolic E3 2006 outing.

Final Fantasy, God of War III and even The Last Guardian do little for me personally, but the PS3 seems to have a breadth of software that seemed beyond it a year or so ago. Sony’s conference really did mirror Microsoft’s in almost every way, even if it did lack some of the “wow” moments.

Nintendo’s Wii, of course, did it’s “wowing” many a year ago, and it’s still enjoying a stream of strong sales as a result. Motion Plus, however, wrangles me. It seems to promise the precision Nintendo always alluded the original Wii-Mote would have, and the fact they’re adding it now seems like a bit of a botch fix to me. It’ll be a hit, of course, but only because to play titles like Wii Sports Resort, you’ll need it. I don’t think there is actually much consumer excitement for Motion Plus, itself. In fact, I think if you tried to describe just what it does to the man on the street, he’d assume the Wii-Mote already does most of that anyway.

The PS3′s wand seems to take Motion Plus a step further as it is, with Sony’s demonstration – despite a dodgy start – showing the strength of the concept. I can see it being used in a slightly different way on PS3, however, dodging sports games cash ins and taking the ‘executive’s toy’ approach, which befits Sony’s stylish black console. Natal, on the other hand, has far more potential to go wrong, but – as others have suggested – could well be incorporated into big, blockbuster titles that attempt to plant you in their world. A Fable, Fallout, BioShock, Alan Wake or, dare I say it, Shenmue could make much use of such a wow factor. The fact Molyneux is already involved suggests this could well be on the cards.

Project Natal's "Milo" (Mylo?) might not work as advertised, but the desire is there. Paedos rejoice.

But whether I’m close to the spot or miles off target, the fact I’m so excited about just what’s in store for the three machines this far on in the generation is a good sign. Four years after the Xbox launched, the focus was already firmly on its follow-up. When it comes to the 360 and PS3, it seems clear that things are only just getting going and, I have to say, I’m going to miss not writing about the circle of rumour and gossip that will no doubt surround them both.