As if Sony could not do any worse...

[Triforcer]

The person ebaying screws is the guy behind you in line that isn't rich enough to buy it from ebay so he stood around all night after hunting through dozens of stores to try and get one.

Sorry, I don't feel bad for him either.  Maybe he needs to ditch the obsession with being "guy with the new shiny", because we know that the system is going to be readily available in a matter of months.  Or, if he wants to keep his obsession, he needs to take a second job to meet the prices that eBay demands.

In any case, I have no obligation to him.  For all I know, that guy in line behind me (or the homeless guy I've paid to stand in line) is in line for just the same reason; to sell it on eBay.  This is just the natural consequence of a rare product being in high demand.  You can't blame the person seeking to profit from such a situation, it's what keeps this crazy economic system we've got going working.

You've forgotten this site's attitude towards capitalism.  The people decrying the Ebay seller aren't being hypocritical at all.   

[HaemishM]

The Ebay seller is providing a service to capitalism. He is raping over people who have enough sense to make enough money to pay three or four times what the system costs, but who don't have enough sense to see how fucking retarded it is to pay three or four times what the system is worth. Those are the people that require gas stations to put signs on the pumps saying "This is not a beverage. Don't drink this."

Sometimes the exploitative nature of capitalism hits just the right people. This is one of those times.

[Jain Zar]

Ebay has been the great slayer of common sense purchasing.

Ebay has proven that there are plenty of idiots willing and able to pay vastly more for a product because its rare, out of print, or to get it early/first.

These idiots with more money than sense are related to the gambling idiots I have to deal with every week, except they get something for their defecation of the dollar as opposed to losing it all.

And its not just videogames.  That new World of Warcraft CCG is going 8-11 dollars for a 15 card booster pack.  And morons are paying it.

Morons will pay anything to have what they want even if its stupid, or is practically guaranteed to be more readily available and cheaper within a few months.

[Yegolev]

There's nothing exclusive about Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

I thought it was because, well, it is bolded on that list.  Also, I had thought that the Ninja Gaiden I like so much was Xbox-only, but maybe I am wrong.  I don't plan on looking it up.  So it seemed interesting that Team Ninja was changing consoles.

[Velorath]

There's nothing exclusive about Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

I thought it was because, well, it is bolded on that list.  Also, I had thought that the Ninja Gaiden I like so much was Xbox-only, but maybe I am wrong.  I don't plan on looking it up.  So it seemed interesting that Team Ninja was changing consoles.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is pretty much Ninja Gaiden Black with some updated graphics,  extra content, and Rachel as a playable character.


Edit:  Just read about the latest big complaint a lot of people are having with the PS3.  Apparently on TV's which support 480i, 480p, and 1080i, but not 720p (a number of older CRT HDTVs are like that), games that run in 720p will be downscaled to 480p rather than upscaled.  This probably isn't too big a deal for most people, but just a heads up for anyone planning on getting a PS3 that doesn't have a TV that doesn't support 720p.

[Strazos]

8-11 bucks for WoW CCG boosters? Had a guy last week spend about $200 for a whole box of boosters +6 starter kits.

[Riggswolfe]

Ebay has been the great slayer of common sense purchasing.

Ebay has proven that there are plenty of idiots willing and able to pay vastly more for a product because its rare, out of print, or to get it early/first.

Those first two have nothing to do with Ebay and have been true for most of human history since the printing press. Hell, there are some amazing novels, gaming products, etc that are out of print that I have been willing to buy for extra money.

[Yegolev]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is pretty much Ninja Gaiden Black with some updated graphics,  extra content, and Rachel as a playable character.

Worth a purchase to me.  I bought NG Black even though I already owned the initial release, and it didn't even have better graphics.

[Etro]

At least some good will come from the sale of ps3's on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMESC%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330050346981&rd=1&rd=1

[Strazos]

They do realize they are only bidding on 2 games, right?

EDIT: Nevermind, bonus met = system as well.

[Nija]

Rumor has it that Sony and Ebay have an agreement to not allow PS3s on ebay for a little bit.

I hope that's true, for the sake of comedy.

[Big Gulp]

Rumor has it that Sony and Ebay have an agreement to not allow PS3s on ebay for a little bit.

I hope that's true, for the sake of comedy.

And that's going to cut Amazon out of the loop how?

I really, really dislike eBay nowadays.  I can remember around 2000-2002 when I used to go straight to eBay looking for stuff, but I haven't bought anything off of there in years.  Hardware?  Newegg.  Games, books, and electronic gadgets?  Amazon.  Unless you're looking for something really obscure you're better off just hitting Craig's list for other stuff.

[Strazos]

Not sure that it matters, but my GS got in the PS3 demo unit today.

It was DOA. It will not run any discs inserted, or run the demos stored on the HDD.

[Brolan]

Quick inventory update.  My local Walmart had 12 360s last year for the launch, this year it only has 6 PS3s. 

If this ratio holds up any PS3 is going to be worth gold.

[Signe]

Not sure that it matters, but my GS got in the PS3 demo unit today.

It was DOA. It will not run any discs inserted, or run the demos stored on the HDD.

I don't know what any of this means.   

[Strazos]

You kidder you.

When in doubt, make Righ translate. That's what you keep him around for...right?

[Quinton]

I imported a 20GB unit from play-asia, because I am insane -- though after finding that bundles are going for $1400 from walmart, etc, maybe importing actually is cheaper!

Things I have learned:
- It looks beautiful on my samsung 720p DLP TV
- It refuses to display HDMI->DVI on a Dell 2405 24" flatpanel
- It does display HDMI->DVI on a Dell 2407 24" flatpanel (has HDCP -- what gives, I thought only bluray content was supposed to care about that)
- PS2 content seems to output at 480p, leaving me to the mercy of the craptacular scaling in the samsung TV (hence, ps2 content seems to for some weird reason look better on a ps2 w/ component)
- You can (as of tonight) create a US playstation online account and get at the online store dealie (I'm downloading the 895MB Resistance demo at the moment)
- PS3 will rip CDs to mp3/aac and let you copy the ripped music to USB storage devices
- PS3 will let you copy PS2 savegames to USB storage devices
- The OtherOS installer (needed to install PPC64 Linux) is not available yet, but assorted docs and kernel patches are
- Haven't tried any full PS3 full games yet, since it's cheaper to buy locally than import, so I'm waiting until tomorrow to buy any game software.  I expect games will be pretty easy to come by (In Japan, reportedly 0.98 games were sold per PS3 sold...)

From schild's list 'o gaming goodness, I am looking forward to FFXIII, SMT4, flOw, and R&C: Next.

The only thing on that list that looks even remotely exciting  is the list of JRPGs and frankly, I'm getting to a point where this racist "only publish them on a Japanese console" shit is  pissing me off.

Developing for the dominant console in their home market and the platform controlled by the company that owns something like 70% of the console game market is "racist"?  Sounds like good business sense to me.  Is developing for windows instead of Mac "racist" or is it just making the decision to go after 95% of PC users vs 5%?

- Q

[schild]

Link to signup? I can't find it for some reason.

[Quinton]

Link to signup? I can't find it for some reason.

I meant that you could create an account using the PS3.  When I got my jp ps3 on tuesday, account creation was only available in Japanese and you could only choose Japan as your location, even if you set the console language setting to English.  I'm not sure how the interwebs version works.  I'd heard that they would be enabling web based account creation on the 17th, but no specifics (or URLs).

- Q

[Strazos]

Sony controls 70% of the console market? Or did you mean only in Japan?

[Quinton]

Sony controls 70% of the console market? Or did you mean only in Japan?

I was trying to find some numbers for this stuff earlier today when a friend was insisting that xbox360 would render sony obsolete next year or something...

I can't find the exact article I found earlier, but this one (which predicts xbox360 victory in 2011) seems to believe that ps2 holds 69% market share today:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11718

If someone has a good source for decent hard numbers on console installed base, etc, I'd love to see it.
My search skills are not strong, it seems.

- Q

[Strazos]

What about console overlap? ie: How do they count people who own multiple consoles? How are they arriving at Any of their numbers?

[Quinton]

What about console overlap? ie: How do they count people who own multiple consoles? How are they arriving at Any of their numbers?

Yeah -- I've seen a number of articles like this and never any indication of where the data's from.
I'd love to see some more extensive breakdown of things.  I'm pretty sure that at 105 million (last I heard), there are far more PS2s out there than xbox and gamecubes, but exactly how much of a margin they have, hell if I know. 

Anyway, ignoring the 70% thing, my point was that (to the best of my knowledge), PS2 is the dominant console system and I suspect business decisions are a bigger factor than "racism" or nationalism or whatnot, when Japanese gamesdev shops decide what hardware they're going to target. 

Personally, I think for all the "PS3 is more expensive to develop for" claims, the PPE+7xSPE+GPU architecture has some serious wins compared to the 3xPPE+GPU architecture of the 360.  Scheduling more discrete tasks to more specialized cores rather than just doing the SMP thing across identical cores appeals to me though -- and I'm an embedded systems and OS engineer, not a gamesdev guy, so my perspective is probably a bit different.  Microsoft does win on tools, hands down, from what I hear from friends in the industry.

- Q

[WindupAtheist]

I strongly suspect the term "market share" in this context simply refers to PS2 sales as a percentage of total console sales. 

[Triforcer]

I repeat my assertion from a few months ago that the Wii will either be a flop of virtual-boy esque proportions, losing most of Nintendo's remaining 15-17% marketshare, or will explode in a burst of WoWesque success and will surpass the PS3.  I just don't seem them standing at current market share in either case.

P.S. Most of the early newspaper articles I've read have been high on the Wii and cool toward the PS3.  This:  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/16027982.htm is a typical example of the sort of thing I have been seeing.  Still, pundits playing for a few hours is one thing, and the public's LONG-TERM reaction to the console is another. 

[OcellotJenkins]

Still, pundits playing for a few hours is one thing, and the public's LONG-TERM reaction to the console is another. 

This is precisely why I canceled my pre-order.  There is a significant chance that the Wii will be a novelty machine that provides good entertainment for a few weeks then collects dust with the other unplayed consoles in my living room.  I want to believe otherwise and hope it gets wildy good reviews months from now so I can feel good about the purchase.

[Etro]

Sorry, just to add:

A good reason not to buy a ps3 on launch

[vex]

Sorry, just to add:

A good reason not to buy a ps3 on launch

Damn queuers.

[Triforcer]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/17/edwards.ps3.ap/index.html

Will PS3gate destroy his chances in 08?  Discuss. 

[HaemishM]

Wow, slow fucking news day.

The Wii is a 2- or 3-year cycle machine. By Christmas 2009, Nintendo will have a new HD-heavy system with better motion control than any PS3 games out there. Just like the X-Box 1 wasn't the real competition to Sony, the Wii is not meant to be the PS3's competition. It is a transitional pave the way machine.

Even if the Wii flops badly, Nintendo will survive for 2 reasons. 1) Every Wii sold is profit and 2) the DS/GBA owns the handheld market hands down.

[Merusk]

I'm considering just painting a big fucking "N" on my garage door.  The daughter wants a DS (to play Nintendogs) and I think "Santa's" going to bring a Wii to put under the tree.  The cube's  seen more action in the last 2 months than the PS2 has the entire time we've owned it.  Hell, most of the time on the PS2's life has been FF games.  If it weren't for those I dobut we'd even own it.

What's my motivation to drop $300-$600 on some variant of the other two machines (particularly when the HDtv isn't planned to be bought for 3-5 years) again?

[Riggswolfe]

The only thing on that list that looks even remotely exciting  is the list of JRPGs and frankly, I'm getting to a point where this racist "only publish them on a Japanese console" shit is  pissing me off.

Developing for the dominant console in their home market and the platform controlled by the company that owns something like 70% of the console game market is "racist"?  Sounds like good business sense to me.  Is developing for windows instead of Mac "racist" or is it just making the decision to go after 95% of PC users vs 5%?

- Q

It is racist because of the reason that the Playstation is the dominant console in Japan. It has nothing to do with quality. Sony could put a turd in a box and call it the PS4 and it would still outsell any American made console. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.

*clears throat*

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=8639.0

Need I say I told you so?

[OcellotJenkins]

I will readily admit that I am buying this on Day 1 for Resistance, Ridge Racer 7, Genji 2, Gundam (seriously, dead seriously - and I don't even like Gundam... just looks FUN) and Blu-Ray discs.

Gundam?

Let us know how that one works out.

[Sairon]

The only thing on that list that looks even remotely exciting  is the list of JRPGs and frankly, I'm getting to a point where this racist "only publish them on a Japanese console" shit is  pissing me off.

Developing for the dominant console in their home market and the platform controlled by the company that owns something like 70% of the console game market is "racist"?  Sounds like good business sense to me.  Is developing for windows instead of Mac "racist" or is it just making the decision to go after 95% of PC users vs 5%?

- Q

It is racist because of the reason that the Playstation is the dominant console in Japan. It has nothing to do with quality. Sony could put a turd in a box and call it the PS4 and it would still outsell any American made console. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.

*clears throat*

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=8639.0

Need I say I told you so?

If you've played Japanese games and compared them to what the majority of the xbox games are like you could also find some hints. Also, where do you think the majority of xbox marketing is done? Not in japan I bet. The stereotype Japanese travels the world and copies western culture. Might not reflect reality though.

[Riggswolfe]

If you've played Japanese games and compared them to what the majority of the xbox games are like you could also find some hints. Also, where do you think the majority of xbox marketing is done? Not in japan I bet. The stereotype Japanese travels the world and copies western culture. Might not reflect reality though.

Nationalism is perhaps a bit closer to what I was referring to than racism, at least as it is thought of in the United States. Or perhaps culturalism? In any case, I love the Japanese culture (the modern incarnation of it) but there are some aspects I'm not to fond of. (This racism/nationalism/culturalism being one, and the whole effeminate male stereotype in anime and jrpgs being another.)

If any of you get a chance, check out I think it's called Peter's List. He sells Japanese merchandise and some of it is quite cool.