Run up to the release of the PS3:

If anybody remembers correctly Sony began talking about the PS3 the same time Microsoft began talking about their next console.

Sony had originally expected it to be released in 2007. As Sony began spec-ing the system Microsoft replied with many “us too” specs. Two I specifically remember is the multicore processor. The second was HD content. Microsoft announced their console 2 years before the PS3 release. While Sony knew that Microsoft had essentially bought it’s way into the console market, it did have a fan base and the wildly popular Halo. Sonydecided to fast track the PS3 shaving a year off it’s intended release.

The original PS3 was going to have all kinds of features, audio outs, two HDMI ports, memory card slots, the works. As cost creep began, features started dropping off the list. The one they ended up keeping is actually the most useless. Why bother with the memory card ports? Whatever uses the memory cards can be plugged into a USB jack. If they were going to keep any of those features it should have been the audio outputs. Running two HD TVs would have been cool, but I don’t think it was realistic. Sony claimed the CELL was extremely powerful and apparently it is. We will see if it out paces the 360 or not. I remember Sony stating that the PS3 would have the CELL running everything and have 8 PPU’s. Then Sony added a graphics chip and shaves off a PPU so they could get more CELL chips off of a wafer.

Sony was indeed caught with their pants down when Microsoft gave the 360 a release date two years before the release of the PS3. There’s a couple things that makes me positive the PS3 was shoved out the door early. The first being the lack of quality titles. There was not an original quality PS3 title from launch to the following September. The other thing is how the developers responded to the PS3 it seems like Sony had just created this amazing piece of hardware but had none of the tools developed for it.

The Launch:

The PS3 launched at an outrageous $599 for the 60gig and $499 for the 20gig. I was an idiot and bought one. In the end I’m glad, because I got hardware emulation for old titles. It also launched with only one real decent title Resistance Fall of Man. It wouldn’t be until Spiderman 3 that anything worth buying came out. This was followed with Oblivion, which luckily was enough of a distraction from the lack of titles for me. For others though it would be a long wait until late August for a quality title to show it’s face. Sony was very arrogant during launch and turned a lot of people off when it came to justifying the price This was aided by massive internet backlash and a Microsoft viral marketing campaign. Sony honestly thought they were releasing the must have piece of electronic hardware. They hit the price barrier hard.

The PS3 is the perfect example of how a piece of electronics can be on the path to “Ipodness” and then get derailed. The aim of a media center is to put all forms of media, media serving, programs, games, sound, etc into one device. The PS3 didn’t do this so it failed as a media center. It’s yet one more box on your shelf. Two things prevented it from becoming a single all inclusive device. It’s lack of audio outputs required me to keep my receiver. It’s horrendous OS was the second. My PC died and I was forced to rely on the PS3 for two months for my computer needs. I still wake up screaming in a cold sweat. Sure the PS3 allowed Linux to be installed on the system but it was slow and did not have access to the graphics chip. So the PS3 ended up not replacing my computer. Finally my DVD player had already been replaced by my PS2. So in the end Sony marketed to me this device that was going to replace all my media hardware. All it ended up doing was replacing my PS2. Sony could have crushed Microsoft’s PC gaming monopoly, but paranoia prevented it.

If Sony had just made the PS3’s OS Linux based in the first place. Came up with tools for both Linux PS3, and Linux PC it would have been on par with the 360’s XNA development tools. This was one of the biggest selling points the 360 had with developers. This would have done more than just make porting from the PS3 to the PC cheaper. It would have crushed the Microsoft PC gaming monopoly. After all what PC gamer doesn’t want to drop the windows tax. Hell that’s 2gig more ram or a significantly better graphics card. This was the biggest failure of Sony this console generation.

Sony had heard the statistics of how the PS2 accelerated the DVD hardware adoption. It was developing it’s own optical disc technology designed off the blue led. Hell I can remember when Sony bought the Blue LED technology off of some small Japanese company. I remember reading an interview of it’s inventor. Anyway Sony has always tried to push it’s own formatmost of the time with little success, this time Sony succeeded. I knew it would from the get go, anybody telling you any different was paid or fooled.

A year later:

Literally nothing happened with the console it’s first year on the market. Not one quality exclusive since launch, bad ports, nothing. Finally around August September some decent games came out and by Christmas the PS3 would have a good selection of titles under it’s belt. However plenty of titles were pushed back to ‘08. Ps3 sales stagnated early on and Sony was forced to price cut the PS3 twice. This seems to have solved the price complaint. Sony said it’s consoles were constantly selling out but it wasn’t true. The console was only hard to find until after Christmas 2006 and were always on the shelves there after.

To Sony’s credit it has put out a quality machine, it’s had nowhere near the hardware problems of the 360. Apparently the PS3 really is powerful as some developers saying they’ve only tapped about 30% of the PS3’s power.

Sony’s score as it stands:

The PS3 is finally being put in a positive light. People are beginning to see the reason behind including both a HDD and Blu-ray. Developers are beginning to come around to it’s hardware. There are also plenty of titles in the works for ‘08, many of them must have. This fact lends credit to the fact the PS3 was a year early. Imagine The PS3 being launched with a more polished Resistance, Oblivion/Shivering Isles, Orange Box, Unreal. How good would have been Lair or Heavenly sword? Then to follow up that launch with the ‘08 lineup. They are already starting to say that ‘08 will be the year of the PS3….the bumps are past the PS3, now begins the endurance race.