Third in line
October 15, 2006 1:08 PM Subscribe
Pre-ordering the Wii [at everyone's favourite $1.65 billion website]
I'm sure they have very understanding girlfriends/wives to let them go out in the middle of the night. Oh.. wait...
posted by ninjew at 1:25 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by ninjew at 1:25 PM on October 15, 2006
Yea I was surprised there is more enthusiasm for the Wii than the PS3, especially since its more likely you'll be able to flip the PS3 on ebay for at least $1000 (since the cheapest Blu-ray disc player is $1000), probbaly more. I dont expect people to flip Wiis for much since there is supposed to be 1M console available for launch, and the US will probably end up with 1.75-2M by the end of the year (in the six or seven weeks between launch and new years).
Of course I still want to pre-order a Wii (I was out of town on Friday sadly), I might just get a bundle when those are available online. Other than that, its going to be waiting out in front of Best Buy Sunday morning.
posted by SirOmega at 1:36 PM on October 15, 2006
Of course I still want to pre-order a Wii (I was out of town on Friday sadly), I might just get a bundle when those are available online. Other than that, its going to be waiting out in front of Best Buy Sunday morning.
posted by SirOmega at 1:36 PM on October 15, 2006
ninjew : "I'm sure they have very understanding girlfriends/wives to let them go out in the middle of the night. Oh.. wait..."
Well, out of 13 people, one was buying a Wii for his daughter, and another was buying for a friend buying for their kid, so not bad for a console preorder lineup.
I'd be more impressed by the very understanding girlfriend/wife who let her boyfriend/husband wear a bangbus t-shirt.
posted by Bugbread at 1:37 PM on October 15, 2006
Well, out of 13 people, one was buying a Wii for his daughter, and another was buying for a friend buying for their kid, so not bad for a console preorder lineup.
I'd be more impressed by the very understanding girlfriend/wife who let her boyfriend/husband wear a bangbus t-shirt.
posted by Bugbread at 1:37 PM on October 15, 2006
SirOmega : "Yea I was surprised there is more enthusiasm for the Wii than the PS3, especially since its more likely you'll be able to flip the PS3 on ebay for at least $1000"
I'm wondering if we're going to see a similar thing with the comic book crash of the early 90's, though: everyone buying to flip, suddenly finding out that there are so many other flippers that they can make only the smallest of profits.
I can't see eBay from work, but the last time I checked, there were a lot of people trying to sell their pre-orders, but not so many bidders (of course, selling a pre-order should probably be more difficult than selling a product, but I was surprised at just how few bidders there were).
posted by Bugbread at 1:40 PM on October 15, 2006
I'm wondering if we're going to see a similar thing with the comic book crash of the early 90's, though: everyone buying to flip, suddenly finding out that there are so many other flippers that they can make only the smallest of profits.
I can't see eBay from work, but the last time I checked, there were a lot of people trying to sell their pre-orders, but not so many bidders (of course, selling a pre-order should probably be more difficult than selling a product, but I was surprised at just how few bidders there were).
posted by Bugbread at 1:40 PM on October 15, 2006
Yeah, it would seem these people aren't flippers, but actually WANT the Wii.
heh
posted by synaesthetichaze at 1:53 PM on October 15, 2006
heh
posted by synaesthetichaze at 1:53 PM on October 15, 2006
Yea I was surprised there is more enthusiasm
12 people is "enthusiasm"? It seems these people vastly overrated enthusiasm for the units as they could have just walked in at 10am and bought one without problem.
I also thought it odd that anybody bothered to film such an underwhelming turnout. Weird.
posted by dobbs at 2:30 PM on October 15, 2006
12 people is "enthusiasm"? It seems these people vastly overrated enthusiasm for the units as they could have just walked in at 10am and bought one without problem.
I also thought it odd that anybody bothered to film such an underwhelming turnout. Weird.
posted by dobbs at 2:30 PM on October 15, 2006
Dobbs: Keep in mind that the forecast for PS3 is 400,000 units available for sale for the United States in 2006, and for the Wii is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 million (numbers are vague, since they've only announced worldwide forecast of 4 million worldwide, with the majority (ie at least 50.0001%, but probably more) for the US.
So having more people (if only marginally) than the PS3 launch, for a product which is expected to be something like 5 times easier to get hold of, is impressive.
The word on the street was also that each store would have somewhere between 9 and 16 units for presale, of which store employees usually get first crack, so practically speaking between 6 and 13 or so. So, yeah, in this case, maybe one could stroll in at 10:00 and get one, but that's only true for one guy. The guy who came in at 10:15 would be SOL.
I guess you have to keep up on all the game stuff to really understand it, but considering just how many more Wii are expected to go on sale than PS3, pretty much no lines were expected. Well, sure, 3 or 4 people per store, but certainly not more than the PS3. Word on the street is that pretty much every EB/Gamespot had a full load of waiters, which is much more than most people really expected.
posted by Bugbread at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2006
So having more people (if only marginally) than the PS3 launch, for a product which is expected to be something like 5 times easier to get hold of, is impressive.
The word on the street was also that each store would have somewhere between 9 and 16 units for presale, of which store employees usually get first crack, so practically speaking between 6 and 13 or so. So, yeah, in this case, maybe one could stroll in at 10:00 and get one, but that's only true for one guy. The guy who came in at 10:15 would be SOL.
I guess you have to keep up on all the game stuff to really understand it, but considering just how many more Wii are expected to go on sale than PS3, pretty much no lines were expected. Well, sure, 3 or 4 people per store, but certainly not more than the PS3. Word on the street is that pretty much every EB/Gamespot had a full load of waiters, which is much more than most people really expected.
posted by Bugbread at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2006
Keep in mind that the forecast for PS3 is 400,000 units available for sale for the United States in 2006
I'm pretty sure that's 400k on launch day, not for the entire year. Always hard to tell, though.
posted by Remy at 2:58 PM on October 15, 2006
I'm pretty sure that's 400k on launch day, not for the entire year. Always hard to tell, though.
posted by Remy at 2:58 PM on October 15, 2006
Actually, they have 2 million units built already, with an additional 7 to 9 million by the end of the year. (via) So I don't think they'll have too much trouble filling 10 pre-orders per store. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
posted by graventy at 2:59 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by graventy at 2:59 PM on October 15, 2006
maybe one could stroll in at 10:00 and get one, but that's only true for one guy.
I went to open my kiosk on whatever day preorders/sales started and had to do it in front of 40 people lined up in front of GameStop. It was like taking my morning toilet in front of a crowd.
But my curiosity was piqued so I asked a bunch of different people (a mom, a coupla young kids, some 20-somethings like in the video) what they were waiting for and why. They were all there for the Wii. It was a really diverse group, not just the neckbeards and the obvious flippers. They were there, of course, but there was a good helping of patient moms and dads and, like, totally freaking out little kids too.
After the line completely died (an hour after opening) I went into the store and cluelessly asked if I could still reserve one. The deathlook from the clerk told me all I needed to know. It must suck to be on the low, low functional end of a seller's market, the bumper between big corporate and big mama.
Personal anecdotes aside, what a lame-ass video.
posted by carsonb at 3:02 PM on October 15, 2006
I went to open my kiosk on whatever day preorders/sales started and had to do it in front of 40 people lined up in front of GameStop. It was like taking my morning toilet in front of a crowd.
But my curiosity was piqued so I asked a bunch of different people (a mom, a coupla young kids, some 20-somethings like in the video) what they were waiting for and why. They were all there for the Wii. It was a really diverse group, not just the neckbeards and the obvious flippers. They were there, of course, but there was a good helping of patient moms and dads and, like, totally freaking out little kids too.
After the line completely died (an hour after opening) I went into the store and cluelessly asked if I could still reserve one. The deathlook from the clerk told me all I needed to know. It must suck to be on the low, low functional end of a seller's market, the bumper between big corporate and big mama.
Personal anecdotes aside, what a lame-ass video.
posted by carsonb at 3:02 PM on October 15, 2006
My friends and I cannot wait for the Wii. That being said, we all decided to not preorder and camp out at Best Buy on Saturday night. Why?
- GameStop / EB is not guaranteeing that you'll actually be able to buy a system at launch if you preorder...so you'll still have to camp out.
- I don't want to give $50+ to a company a month in advance for the honor of maybe being able to spend $500+ when the thing launches.
- Everyone had work / school so we couldn't wait in line to preorder anyway.
- Camping out is fun.
- We know tons of people at our local Best Buy who will be able to give us "inside info", such as how many systems they are getting in and whatnot.
posted by Diskeater at 3:37 PM on October 15, 2006
- GameStop / EB is not guaranteeing that you'll actually be able to buy a system at launch if you preorder...so you'll still have to camp out.
- I don't want to give $50+ to a company a month in advance for the honor of maybe being able to spend $500+ when the thing launches.
- Everyone had work / school so we couldn't wait in line to preorder anyway.
- Camping out is fun.
- We know tons of people at our local Best Buy who will be able to give us "inside info", such as how many systems they are getting in and whatnot.
posted by Diskeater at 3:37 PM on October 15, 2006
graventy : "Actually, they have 2 million units built already, with an additional 7 to 9 million by the end of the year."
Ah, good point, forgot about that. So we have more people waiting for Wii preorders than for PS3 preorders, despite there being 600,000 PS3 worldwide versus 11 million Wii worldwide; that is, 18 times as many Wiis as PS3s.
posted by Bugbread at 3:41 PM on October 15, 2006
Ah, good point, forgot about that. So we have more people waiting for Wii preorders than for PS3 preorders, despite there being 600,000 PS3 worldwide versus 11 million Wii worldwide; that is, 18 times as many Wiis as PS3s.
posted by Bugbread at 3:41 PM on October 15, 2006
*Confessor sobs*
Looks like it's going to be a frigid Saturday night/Sunday morning camped out in front of Best Buy for me if I want to get it on launch day. But if any current-generation console could be considered worth the aggravation, the Wii would be the one.
posted by The Confessor at 3:45 PM on October 15, 2006
Looks like it's going to be a frigid Saturday night/Sunday morning camped out in front of Best Buy for me if I want to get it on launch day. But if any current-generation console could be considered worth the aggravation, the Wii would be the one.
posted by The Confessor at 3:45 PM on October 15, 2006
Did this remind anyone else of the Simpsons episode where the advertising execs are watching people break into the toy store to buy Funzo?
- "Wow, only 22 seconds from muttering to door smash!"
- "That projects to a profit of $370 million!"
- "I'd still sleep a little easier if I saw some trampling."
I wonder if Nintendo execs could estimate profits from how early people camp out to pre-order...
posted by molybdenum at 4:30 PM on October 15, 2006
- "Wow, only 22 seconds from muttering to door smash!"
- "That projects to a profit of $370 million!"
- "I'd still sleep a little easier if I saw some trampling."
I wonder if Nintendo execs could estimate profits from how early people camp out to pre-order...
posted by molybdenum at 4:30 PM on October 15, 2006
The Wii's going to sell a lot of units this year based solely on the fact that it's less than half the price of a PS3.
posted by MegoSteve at 4:45 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by MegoSteve at 4:45 PM on October 15, 2006
The Nintendo (and general console) fanbase has been spot on in calling this for ages, pretty much since the beginning rumors for the Wii/Revolution started stacking up against the 360 and PS3.
There's a lot of loyalty for Nintendo that goes well beyond nostalgia. They provide a quality product and unique experience, even if the tech they use is most often less impressive on paper compared to other same-generation systems. (NES vs. Sega Master System, anyone?)
I won't be camping out and it'll probably be a while before I get to play one, but I look forward to it.
posted by loquacious at 5:01 PM on October 15, 2006
There's a lot of loyalty for Nintendo that goes well beyond nostalgia. They provide a quality product and unique experience, even if the tech they use is most often less impressive on paper compared to other same-generation systems. (NES vs. Sega Master System, anyone?)
I won't be camping out and it'll probably be a while before I get to play one, but I look forward to it.
posted by loquacious at 5:01 PM on October 15, 2006
Well, the absolute beginning rumours regarding the Revolution were just baseless daydreaming. The fanbase may have been right about the eventual success of the Wii, but at that early stage it was just luck. Once the first details came out about what the big damn Revolution secret was, well, at that point their predictions actually started having a foundation.
And I'm with you: I'll probably get one, but it will be a while. Certainly not this year. I got burned on buying a Japanese XBox, and have learned my lesson: don't buy the system you think will have lots of good games, buy the system that has lots of good games.
posted by Bugbread at 5:19 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
And I'm with you: I'll probably get one, but it will be a while. Certainly not this year. I got burned on buying a Japanese XBox, and have learned my lesson: don't buy the system you think will have lots of good games, buy the system that has lots of good games.
posted by Bugbread at 5:19 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
Still doesn't change the fact that they were right, bugbread.
TheYamatoPS3 has the stench of a failed project. Sony wasn't ready to ship it yet, but they were willing to make ANY promise to try to dent the 360's progress. It got so bad, for awhile, that I was expecting them to offer coupons for Steak and BJ Day if you'd just, dear God, not buy a 360.
They're trying to do too much; they want their console to make BluRay the dominant HD media format. But BluRay hardare is fantastically expensive, and so they're having to cut out everything they absolutely can to try to lose as little money as possible. The PS3 will not have, for instance, an IR remote control port, so you can't use it with any other universal remote. It's Bluetooth only.
Now, Bluetooth for remotes makes a lot of sense, but not including IR as well is really dumb. That's a fifty-cent part, but they've announced their pricepoint, and that fifty cents is SONY'S fifty cents if they include it. So they're not going to, and they're going to seriously impair the product's functionality as a media player.
There's also strong signs that the hardware isn't really ready yet... at a recent tradeshow, the PS3s were unstable and crashy due to thermal issues. Sony claims that's because it's beta hardware, but these guys will say anything: you can tell they're lying when their lips are moving. They have told some incredible whoppers over the last eight or nine months, things that were so blatantly untrue that it boggled imagination.
If the project were solid and on track, they wouldn't need to lie as much as they do. I strongly think, given their predilection toward outright fiction, that they're not even going to have the limited units they're promising for the launch. It's going to be late, and it's going to be buggy. They're trying to be all things to all people, and they just don't have the expertise or moxie to pull it off.
The Wii, on the other hand, is focused. It's solid hardware that's designed the way Nintendo hardware has always been... to run reliably, to provide a good experience, and (in this case at least) to try to do something completely new, the Wiimote. And, best of all, not break. 360s have been quite unreliable, and I think PS3s will be far worse.
I think Nintendo has knocked it out of the park with this one, and I think they're going to be the dominant force in this generation. The 360 will be, I think, a solid second. (I have one, though I don't like it that well.) And I think the PS3 will be a distant third.. overpriced and unreliable.
posted by Malor at 6:53 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
The
They're trying to do too much; they want their console to make BluRay the dominant HD media format. But BluRay hardare is fantastically expensive, and so they're having to cut out everything they absolutely can to try to lose as little money as possible. The PS3 will not have, for instance, an IR remote control port, so you can't use it with any other universal remote. It's Bluetooth only.
Now, Bluetooth for remotes makes a lot of sense, but not including IR as well is really dumb. That's a fifty-cent part, but they've announced their pricepoint, and that fifty cents is SONY'S fifty cents if they include it. So they're not going to, and they're going to seriously impair the product's functionality as a media player.
There's also strong signs that the hardware isn't really ready yet... at a recent tradeshow, the PS3s were unstable and crashy due to thermal issues. Sony claims that's because it's beta hardware, but these guys will say anything: you can tell they're lying when their lips are moving. They have told some incredible whoppers over the last eight or nine months, things that were so blatantly untrue that it boggled imagination.
If the project were solid and on track, they wouldn't need to lie as much as they do. I strongly think, given their predilection toward outright fiction, that they're not even going to have the limited units they're promising for the launch. It's going to be late, and it's going to be buggy. They're trying to be all things to all people, and they just don't have the expertise or moxie to pull it off.
The Wii, on the other hand, is focused. It's solid hardware that's designed the way Nintendo hardware has always been... to run reliably, to provide a good experience, and (in this case at least) to try to do something completely new, the Wiimote. And, best of all, not break. 360s have been quite unreliable, and I think PS3s will be far worse.
I think Nintendo has knocked it out of the park with this one, and I think they're going to be the dominant force in this generation. The 360 will be, I think, a solid second. (I have one, though I don't like it that well.) And I think the PS3 will be a distant third.. overpriced and unreliable.
posted by Malor at 6:53 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
bugbread
Don't buy the system you think will have lots of good games, buy the system that has lots of good games.
*Confessor nods*
A number of different factors cinched the deal for me with the Wii: the new controller, the virtual console, the "classic" control pad (since the remote could hardly suffice for every application), the E3 showings of Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess...
Not to mention the fact that Nintendo's inevitably strong sales position this console generation will probably lead to strong second and third-party offerings on the Virtual Console, such as authorized re-releases of Final Fantasy I to VI.
As for Microsoft's XBOX 360, I'm holding out on it until (a) Grand Theft Auto IV comes out, and the promise of 'exclusive content' proves true, or (b) the RPGs from ex-Square/Enix employees are released and prove to be high-quality products.
Sony Playstation 3? If Final Fantasy XIII proves to be simply irresistable (and an exclusive to that console), I might purchase the PS3 when the price begins to decrease. Otherwise, the PS3 simply has nothing to offer in the face of the 360's lower price point and mature online component (via XBOX LIVE).
posted by The Confessor at 7:08 PM on October 15, 2006
Don't buy the system you think will have lots of good games, buy the system that has lots of good games.
*Confessor nods*
A number of different factors cinched the deal for me with the Wii: the new controller, the virtual console, the "classic" control pad (since the remote could hardly suffice for every application), the E3 showings of Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess...
Not to mention the fact that Nintendo's inevitably strong sales position this console generation will probably lead to strong second and third-party offerings on the Virtual Console, such as authorized re-releases of Final Fantasy I to VI.
As for Microsoft's XBOX 360, I'm holding out on it until (a) Grand Theft Auto IV comes out, and the promise of 'exclusive content' proves true, or (b) the RPGs from ex-Square/Enix employees are released and prove to be high-quality products.
Sony Playstation 3? If Final Fantasy XIII proves to be simply irresistable (and an exclusive to that console), I might purchase the PS3 when the price begins to decrease. Otherwise, the PS3 simply has nothing to offer in the face of the 360's lower price point and mature online component (via XBOX LIVE).
posted by The Confessor at 7:08 PM on October 15, 2006
The prudent thing is to sell your Wii pre-order on eBay to the parents who NEED it for Christmas for a huge profit, then buy another after the New Year.
Also, this seems to be the first Wii thread where no one is hung up on the name. People really do get used to stuff.
posted by smackfu at 7:13 PM on October 15, 2006
Also, this seems to be the first Wii thread where no one is hung up on the name. People really do get used to stuff.
posted by smackfu at 7:13 PM on October 15, 2006
Uh, how much are these Wii things? I feel like it's Thanksgiving and my dad and uncles are talking about football. So...it's...it's gonna be good? I should get one? Because my subway ride is pretty long.
posted by 235w103 at 7:30 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by 235w103 at 7:30 PM on October 15, 2006
And I'm with you: I'll probably get one, but it will be a while. Certainly not this year. I got burned on buying a Japanese XBox, and have learned my lesson: don't buy the system you think will have lots of good games, buy the system that has lots of good games.
posted by bugbread at 5:19 PM PST on October 15 [+ 1] [!]
*nods* And that's why all of my game consoles/hand holds were bought a good couple of years after their intial release. I wait until I have a sizable list of games that I want to play before I buy. Though I might wind up buying the Wii as a birthday present for myself in January or ask Santa for one the Christmas after next. The Virtual Console sounds like it might tempt me to buy earlier than usual.
On preview:
235w103, the Wii is going to cost about 250 dollars and all signs point to it being very very good. It isn't a portable game system though. (you're probably thinking of the Nintendo DS)
posted by kosher_jenny at 7:40 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by bugbread at 5:19 PM PST on October 15 [+ 1] [!]
*nods* And that's why all of my game consoles/hand holds were bought a good couple of years after their intial release. I wait until I have a sizable list of games that I want to play before I buy. Though I might wind up buying the Wii as a birthday present for myself in January or ask Santa for one the Christmas after next. The Virtual Console sounds like it might tempt me to buy earlier than usual.
On preview:
235w103, the Wii is going to cost about 250 dollars and all signs point to it being very very good. It isn't a portable game system though. (you're probably thinking of the Nintendo DS)
posted by kosher_jenny at 7:40 PM on October 15, 2006
Forgot to post this in my comment:
Related.
Also, even if I'm not getting a Wii right away, I'll most certainly be buying Twilight Princess (just the gamecube version, though I'll probably wind up buying the Wii one later down the road) since I've had that game preordered since the Wii was nothing more than wild rumors. <_<
posted by kosher_jenny at 7:43 PM on October 15, 2006
Related.
Also, even if I'm not getting a Wii right away, I'll most certainly be buying Twilight Princess (just the gamecube version, though I'll probably wind up buying the Wii one later down the road) since I've had that game preordered since the Wii was nothing more than wild rumors. <_<
posted by kosher_jenny at 7:43 PM on October 15, 2006
What I appreciate about the Wii is that it should be readily available before the holiday. None of this "we're having a hard time meeting demand"/marketing-created shortages whipping people into a froth over what they can't have. People that are buying them for eBay resale may find themselves out of luck, because, from the sound of the buzz on the internet, there should be plenty to go around. Imagine that!
I'm not excited about the PS3. That $600 price point is just TOO HIGH for normal people of average income. I don't give a shit about Blu-Ray, which is shaping up to be the 21st century Betamax. (Or 2006's UMD...) While I know there are spoiled rich kids whose parents will spend $600 on a single Christmas present for them, I'd like to think that, when presented with the choice between a $600 PS3 and a $250 Wii, gift givers will pick the Wii and still have plenty of dough left over for games.
It's difficult to predict how things will shake out, but it would not surprise me to see Sony take a major, major fall in marketshare this time around. The Xbox 360 will pick up some ground, but I really think this round is Nintendo's to win.
The PSP has been utterly lackluster in comparison with the DS (September figures here...the Game Boy Advance sold more units than the PSP; PS2 sales still strong); will the PSP's relative failure foreshadow a poor performance for the PS3?
posted by MegoSteve at 8:04 PM on October 15, 2006
I'm not excited about the PS3. That $600 price point is just TOO HIGH for normal people of average income. I don't give a shit about Blu-Ray, which is shaping up to be the 21st century Betamax. (Or 2006's UMD...) While I know there are spoiled rich kids whose parents will spend $600 on a single Christmas present for them, I'd like to think that, when presented with the choice between a $600 PS3 and a $250 Wii, gift givers will pick the Wii and still have plenty of dough left over for games.
It's difficult to predict how things will shake out, but it would not surprise me to see Sony take a major, major fall in marketshare this time around. The Xbox 360 will pick up some ground, but I really think this round is Nintendo's to win.
The PSP has been utterly lackluster in comparison with the DS (September figures here...the Game Boy Advance sold more units than the PSP; PS2 sales still strong); will the PSP's relative failure foreshadow a poor performance for the PS3?
posted by MegoSteve at 8:04 PM on October 15, 2006
The Wii is the only consumer electronic product I am interested in this year (except the Macbook Pro). Nintendo are really doing it right. I hope they do really well from the Wii.
posted by age at 8:29 PM on October 15, 2006
posted by age at 8:29 PM on October 15, 2006
What I appreciate about the Wii is that it should be readily available before the holiday.
The Gameboy Color also came out in November (of 1998) and that was eBay madness. It's not the date that matters, it's whether you can walk into Toys'R'us before Christmas and buy one for your kid.
posted by smackfu at 8:59 PM on October 15, 2006
The Gameboy Color also came out in November (of 1998) and that was eBay madness. It's not the date that matters, it's whether you can walk into Toys'R'us before Christmas and buy one for your kid.
posted by smackfu at 8:59 PM on October 15, 2006
Nintendo fan, live and die, though I'm not going to deal with any of the preorders or, in fact, purchase it at all, until some next-gen Mario sports titles are out. Though, if Mario Wii Baseball involves a controller move that might hit my roommates in the face, it might be a little longer (or much earlier, depending.)
Nintendo proves again, with the Wii, that they have their finger on the pulce of what makes video games fun. XBox is another thing altogether. I hated the XBox, but I adore my (roommate's) 360. The PS2 was, in my opinion and the opinion of all the consumers out there at the time, the best console of its generation. It just felt natural, from the moment you used it, and it was easily multi-functional besides. How many people bought a PS2 because it was easier to use than your standard DVD player, I wonder? My apartment has damn near every system of the past ten years, and the PS2 is still the mainstay. It doesn't get a lot of love, because nothing about it seemed very revolutionary, but for it's time (and still now, for a while) it was just about perfect.
Plus, it had exclusive first-release rights for the GTA games, which helps.
BlueRay is absolutely the '00's Betamax, however, and you'd have thought Sony would've learned their lesson from that previous fiasco. Interestingly, what most people fail to remember is that Betamax was (and still is) far superior to its counterparts. VHS is a piece of shit, as we know now, and was awful even when it was introduced. And if a company insists on pushing quality to the market when nobody else will, is that really such a fault?
But it all comes down to gameplay in the end. Look at the PS2, which made arguably the most comfortable and intuitive controller up to it's time. It knew it's gameplay, and it, like the XBox, took it's design from Nintendo. And while I love my gamecube, I'm still at a loss finding my way around the way that they bastardized their near-perfect previous designs. The 360 controller is comfortable - at least far more so that the jaged rock thata their previous piece of shit used - and allows you to turn on the system from the couch - a first. Sony went out of their way to make the PS3 controller the most comfortable, sleek thing you've ever held in your hand, without otherwise deviating from their previous configuration. Nintendo then took it a step further and made the motion of the controler part of the game, because Miyamoto's still the greatest mind in the industry.
I haven't held a Wii controller yet, and I still hold out hope for Sony and their dedication to quality, but remember, all modern gameplay comes from Nintendo's innovations.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:10 PM on October 15, 2006
Nintendo proves again, with the Wii, that they have their finger on the pulce of what makes video games fun. XBox is another thing altogether. I hated the XBox, but I adore my (roommate's) 360. The PS2 was, in my opinion and the opinion of all the consumers out there at the time, the best console of its generation. It just felt natural, from the moment you used it, and it was easily multi-functional besides. How many people bought a PS2 because it was easier to use than your standard DVD player, I wonder? My apartment has damn near every system of the past ten years, and the PS2 is still the mainstay. It doesn't get a lot of love, because nothing about it seemed very revolutionary, but for it's time (and still now, for a while) it was just about perfect.
Plus, it had exclusive first-release rights for the GTA games, which helps.
BlueRay is absolutely the '00's Betamax, however, and you'd have thought Sony would've learned their lesson from that previous fiasco. Interestingly, what most people fail to remember is that Betamax was (and still is) far superior to its counterparts. VHS is a piece of shit, as we know now, and was awful even when it was introduced. And if a company insists on pushing quality to the market when nobody else will, is that really such a fault?
But it all comes down to gameplay in the end. Look at the PS2, which made arguably the most comfortable and intuitive controller up to it's time. It knew it's gameplay, and it, like the XBox, took it's design from Nintendo. And while I love my gamecube, I'm still at a loss finding my way around the way that they bastardized their near-perfect previous designs. The 360 controller is comfortable - at least far more so that the jaged rock thata their previous piece of shit used - and allows you to turn on the system from the couch - a first. Sony went out of their way to make the PS3 controller the most comfortable, sleek thing you've ever held in your hand, without otherwise deviating from their previous configuration. Nintendo then took it a step further and made the motion of the controler part of the game, because Miyamoto's still the greatest mind in the industry.
I haven't held a Wii controller yet, and I still hold out hope for Sony and their dedication to quality, but remember, all modern gameplay comes from Nintendo's innovations.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:10 PM on October 15, 2006
In the mad rush fallout of the 360 preorder fiasco, I ended up buying something like 4* 360s between launch and Xmas. I just wanted one, but the amount of hoops and hassle I went through was astonishing. So I'm not too worried about getting a Wii between launch and Xmas.
Also, because of EB's handling of the 360 preorders, I refuse to buy from them. From front line sales dude to corporate office, the folks at GameStop/EB are a bunch of liars.
* (one was the EB pre-order "guaranteed" for launch, aka mid-February; one was a Core unit bought online out of desperation; one was a premium bought online but cancelled due to being sent to the wrong location; and the last one was the one I kept. All the others were returned to stores so that some other lucky kids could get one at list price)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:52 AM on October 16, 2006
Also, because of EB's handling of the 360 preorders, I refuse to buy from them. From front line sales dude to corporate office, the folks at GameStop/EB are a bunch of liars.
* (one was the EB pre-order "guaranteed" for launch, aka mid-February; one was a Core unit bought online out of desperation; one was a premium bought online but cancelled due to being sent to the wrong location; and the last one was the one I kept. All the others were returned to stores so that some other lucky kids could get one at list price)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:52 AM on October 16, 2006
smackfu : "The Gameboy Color also came out in November (of 1998) and that was eBay madness. It's not the date that matters, it's whether you can walk into Toys'R'us before Christmas and buy one for your kid."
I think you misinterpreted MegoSteve. He wasn't saying "It will be ready before the holidays" or "It will be available holidays", but "It will be readily available", that is, "it will be so available that you will be able to walk into Toys'R'us before Christmas and buy one for your kid."
posted by Bugbread at 6:32 AM on October 16, 2006
I think you misinterpreted MegoSteve. He wasn't saying "It will be ready before the holidays" or "It will be available holidays", but "It will be readily available", that is, "it will be so available that you will be able to walk into Toys'R'us before Christmas and buy one for your kid."
posted by Bugbread at 6:32 AM on October 16, 2006
BlueRay is absolutely the '00's Betamax, however, and you'd have thought Sony would've learned their lesson from that previous fiasco.
Or the MiniDisc (in the US at least).
Or ATRAC replacing MP3.
Or the UMD for movies.
posted by smackfu at 6:32 AM on October 16, 2006
Sony went out of their way to make the PS3 controller the most comfortable, sleek thing you've ever held in your hand, without otherwise deviating from their previous configuration.
Are you talking about the 'boomerang'? 'Cos the current PS3 controller really doesn't deviate from their previous configuration, (more details here, but I thought the fact they didn't stick to their guns over the controller design really odd. I mean the dualshock design is nearly 10 years old, they really couldn't improve it?)
Actually the fact that, in the face of internet commentary, Sony caved over the controller design whereas Ninendo stood firm over the choice of the name 'Wii' is an interesting contrast.
posted by drill_here_fore_seismics at 9:57 AM on October 16, 2006
Are you talking about the 'boomerang'? 'Cos the current PS3 controller really doesn't deviate from their previous configuration, (more details here, but I thought the fact they didn't stick to their guns over the controller design really odd. I mean the dualshock design is nearly 10 years old, they really couldn't improve it?)
Actually the fact that, in the face of internet commentary, Sony caved over the controller design whereas Ninendo stood firm over the choice of the name 'Wii' is an interesting contrast.
posted by drill_here_fore_seismics at 9:57 AM on October 16, 2006
BlueRay is absolutely the '00's Betamax, however, and you'd have thought Sony would've learned their lesson from that previous fiasco.
Or the 'MemoryStick'.
Sony always seems to have to go it's own proprietary way.
However, remember at the time MiniDisc was introduced - the only comparable alternative was DAT. Which did not fly.
But BlueRay is not like Beta - once you enter the digital world, 0's & 1's - the quality is fundamentally the same for BlueRay vs. DVDHD.
However, I gather BlueRay has a longer potential evolution as it seems to have more potential.
posted by jkaczor at 4:09 PM on October 16, 2006
Or the 'MemoryStick'.
Sony always seems to have to go it's own proprietary way.
However, remember at the time MiniDisc was introduced - the only comparable alternative was DAT. Which did not fly.
But BlueRay is not like Beta - once you enter the digital world, 0's & 1's - the quality is fundamentally the same for BlueRay vs. DVDHD.
However, I gather BlueRay has a longer potential evolution as it seems to have more potential.
posted by jkaczor at 4:09 PM on October 16, 2006
MiniDisc is a difficult example, because unlike Betamax and UMD, it was actually very successful in Japan. So it was a spectacular failure in a lot of places, but a success in one of the primary markets. (Admittedly, betamax was successful in TV production, from what I understand, but there's a big difference between a consumer product being successful in a country and being successful in a field).
posted by Bugbread at 4:21 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by Bugbread at 4:21 PM on October 16, 2006
« Older "While I support freedom of speech, I also believe... | A Poetry Slam, Indeed. Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by rxrfrx at 1:13 PM on October 15, 2006