10 reasons why the PS3 Slim will save Sony

[Dave U. Random]

PC World

In a recent PC World article, one of my colleagues
suggested that the "Slimmed PS3 Won't Save Sony."
http://xrl.us/WontSaveSony Let's play devil's advocate and
consider the alternative, which is that it will, with an
appended "and then some." Sony just slashed the price of
its flagship console by $100, a full 25% drop, significant
by any measure. For 300 bones, you can have a Blu-ray
playback device with integrated wireless, 1080p HDMI
output, a 120GB upgradeable (within warranty) hard drive,
and free online multiplayer et al. support. (Amazon.com:
http://xrl.us/120GBPS3 ) Not too shabby.

Sony's has its work cut out, to be sure, but the PS3 Slim
knocks the legs out from under the "boutique pricing"
caveat. In fact I think the Slim puts Sony back in the game
with bells on, whether Microsoft pulls the trigger on a 360
Elite price drop (from $400 to $300) or not.

Here's why..

Continued: http://xrl.us/PS3SaveSony

[Jim]

Got his 6&9's mixed up for #8.

[Doug Jacobs]

Post by Dave U. Random
Here's why..
Continued: http://xrl.us/PS3SaveSony

Well, sales of the PS3 are up (way up) everywhere, but you have to take
the news with a grain of salt. For instance, UK sales of the PS3 are up
1000%, with the PS3 Slim selling around 40,000 units. But then, that
means that the PS3 sold a total of what, 4000 units in the previous
month? That's pretty terrible if you ask me. Now, granted, this could have
just been because everyone was expecting a price drop, so they were just
waiting. It will be interesting to see what the numbers say this month.
Was the spike short lived, or are we seeing the beginning of a new trend
for the PS3?

"It's a $300 1080p Blu-Ray player with WiFi!" yeah, big deal. We're
seeing blu-ray players at sub-$150 price points right now, and I expect
we'll see a clearance sale of older blu-ray players for $100 during Black
Friday. Those who want just a blu-ray player, can do just as good, if not
better, than the PS3 and at a lower price. Sure, if you want to play
games and watch blu-ray movies, the PS3 is a strong contender, but the
days of buying a PS3 just for blu-rays is gone. The PS3 has to start
standing on its own with its game library now, just as the PS2 had to.

"the PS3 IS backward compatible" - sure, with PS1 games. But PS2
compatibility was dropped from the PS3 as of last August. It's great I
can still play PS1 games on my PS3, but let's be honest here, playing
console games that are 10-15 years old on a HDTV is not going to be of
interest to ~99.99% of gamers anymore - and most of those that DO still
care, are holding onto their PS2 because their PS3 won't play their PS2
titles anyways. Finally, when's the last time you saw PS1 games at your
local BestBuy? I don't even think GameStop carries PS1 titles anymore, so
this is really beginning to sound like a strawman argument.

"Losing Linux" - was this EVER a serious selling point for the PS3? Yes,
I know some people used it, including one college student who built a
cluster computer out of a rack of PS3s, but honestly, unless you're an
avid fan of Linux and/or Slashdot, no one cared about this.

"The slim's matte finish" - again, who cares? I don't know about you, but
I don't have a shrine in the middle of my living room for admiring the
shininess of the PS3's case. It just sits in my entertainment center
where I don't even see the top or sides of the thing. I only interact
with the thing long enough to shove a disc its slot.

"Less power consumption means less heat" - I thought the PS3 didn't have
heat problems, or even a fan? Has this ever been a problem for people who
take reasonable care of their systems? I'm pretty darn sure my first PS3
didn't die from heat.

"Games" - I'll agree the lineup on the PS3 has done much to catch up with
the 360. But I wouldn't point to the "coming in 2010" games, as many of
them have already slipped from year to year, and buying any console now
for a game that's "coming soon" is never a good idea. Anyways, exclusive
games on the 360 tend to be cheaper, and easier to find. I haven't seen
Valkeria Chronicles in stores ever since it sold out when GameStop marked
it down to $30 3 months ago. I don't get it. This is easily the best
exclusive RPG on the PS3, and arguably one of the best RPGs of this
generation, period, and it's impossible to find, unless you go digging for
used copies on Ebay/Amazon.

"online is free" - true, but considering my personal experience with how
dog-slow PSN is, I'll stick with Live.

I don't see how the Slim is going to save Sony. It'll slow the bleeding,
but it's hardly going to singlehandedly undo the huge amount of red ink
the PS3 accumulated so far in its lifetime - to say nothing of about the
rest of Sony.

[Vidar Olavesen]

Can I ask a question about what's different in the new Slim? I mean other
than that is slimmer. I heard something about less quality on the DVD
playback (not sure if that was only DVD or Blu-Ray also) ... Sound output
same?

Thanks

[Jim]

Post by Vidar Olavesen
Can I ask a question about what's different in the new Slim?

45nm Cell which means less heat. No Linux but can bitstream TrueHD/DTS-HD
(phat can only ouput them as PCM). Bravia Link allows you to turn off PS3
when you turn of TV on Sony Bravia&other TVS that support CEC.

[Miles Bader]

Post by Doug Jacobs
Well, sales of the PS3 are up (way up) everywhere, but you have to take
the news with a grain of salt. For instance, UK sales of the PS3 are up
1000%, with the PS3 Slim selling around 40,000 units. But then, that
means that the PS3 sold a total of what, 4000 units in the previous
month? That's pretty terrible if you ask me. Now, granted, this could have
just been because everyone was expecting a price drop, so they were just
waiting.

Yup, it was pretty clear that ps3 sales pretty much dried up in
preceding the slim's release, and the big jump afterwards was quite
expected.

Another statistic I've seen is that the slim outsold its competitors by
a factor or 3:1 in the week following release -- and _that_ seems kind
of pathetic: after weeks of essentially no sales, and a huge price
drop, the first week of slim sales certainly represents some kind of
pent-up demand; is 3:1 the best it can do, against competitors who are
basically just sitting there doing nothing?!

As you say later in your post, it's the long-term effect which will be
interesting.

Post by Doug Jacobs
"The slim's matte finish" - again, who cares? I don't know about you, but
I don't have a shrine in the middle of my living room for admiring the
shininess of the PS3's case.

People are shallow... :)

I wouldn't let aesthetics prevent me from buying something I really
wanted, but I did find the bloated and tacky design of the original ps3
kind of off-putting.

It's not like the slim is all _that_ much smaller -- sitting next to the
Wii, it looks _huge_ -- and the design is pretty similar to the old one,
but I think the massiveness does put off some people, especially in
Japan, and especially in the less-enthusiast market that Sony almost
certainly wants to have a part of (in Japan, pretty much everybody who
could still breathe had a ps2).

Post by Doug Jacobs
I don't see how the Slim is going to save Sony. It'll slow the bleeding,
but it's hardly going to singlehandedly undo the huge amount of red ink
the PS3 accumulated so far in its lifetime - to say nothing of about the
rest of Sony.

I agree.

FWIW, I actually _bought_ a slim (only had a Wii before), so I'm not
anti-ps3. Still, I'm kinda glad Sony has been humbled a bit; the
late-stage Kutaragi head-spinning-around insane arrogance was not very
endearing.

-miles

[The alMIGHTY N]

Post by Doug Jacobs

Post by Dave U. Random
Here's why..
Continued:http://xrl.us/PS3SaveSony

Well, sales of the PS3 are up (way up) everywhere, but you have to take
the news with a grain of salt. For instance, UK sales of the PS3 are up
1000%, with the PS3 Slim selling around 40,000 units. But then, that
means that the PS3 sold a total of what, 4000 units in the previous
month? That's pretty terrible if you ask me. Now, granted, this could have
just been because everyone was expecting a price drop, so they were just
waiting. It will be interesting to see what the numbers say this month.
Was the spike short lived, or are we seeing the beginning of a new trend
for the PS3?

40k units isn't bad regardless of what kind of increase it represents.
And really isn't what we're all looking for an increase in those sales
so that the platform can be competitive again?

Post by Doug Jacobs
"It's a $300 1080p Blu-Ray player with WiFi!" yeah, big deal. We're
seeing blu-ray players at sub-$150 price points right now, and I expect
we'll see a clearance sale of older blu-ray players for $100 during Black
Friday. Those who want just a blu-ray player, can do just as good, if not
better, than the PS3 and at a lower price. Sure, if you want to play
games and watch blu-ray movies, the PS3 is a strong contender, but the
days of buying a PS3 just for blu-rays is gone. The PS3 has to start
standing on its own with its game library now, just as the PS2 had to.

I think it can do that now. Obviously, the 360 has a wider range of
games still but it's not as big a factor as it used to be. The multi-
platform library of games this generation is quite solid now so you
can't really go wrong either way as far as game selection.

Post by Doug Jacobs
"the PS3 IS backward compatible" - sure, with PS1 games. But PS2
compatibility was dropped from the PS3 as of last August. It's great I
can still play PS1 games on my PS3, but let's be honest here, playing
console games that are 10-15 years old on a HDTV is not going to be of
interest to ~99.99% of gamers anymore - and most of those that DO still
care, are holding onto their PS2 because their PS3 won't play their PS2
titles anyways. Finally, when's the last time you saw PS1 games at your
local BestBuy? I don't even think GameStop carries PS1 titles anymore, so
this is really beginning to sound like a strawman argument.
"Losing Linux" - was this EVER a serious selling point for the PS3? Yes,
I know some people used it, including one college student who built a
cluster computer out of a rack of PS3s, but honestly, unless you're an
avid fan of Linux and/or Slashdot, no one cared about this.
"The slim's matte finish" - again, who cares? I don't know about you, but
I don't have a shrine in the middle of my living room for admiring the
shininess of the PS3's case. It just sits in my entertainment center
where I don't even see the top or sides of the thing. I only interact
with the thing long enough to shove a disc its slot.

I actually like the new matte finish. I'm trying to think what other
device it reminds me of. In any case, I was never a big fan of the
shiny finish of the PS3. Like you said, I rarely look at it, and when
I do look at it up close, all I notice are tons of smudged finger
prints.

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Less power consumption means less heat" - I thought the PS3 didn't have
heat problems, or even a fan? Has this ever been a problem for people who
take reasonable care of their systems? I'm pretty darn sure my first PS3
didn't die from heat.

Less power consumption by itself is a good thing, though. Utility
prices are through the roof in some areas (especially where I live) so
any savings is good.

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Games" - I'll agree the lineup on the PS3 has done much to catch up with
the 360. But I wouldn't point to the "coming in 2010" games, as many of
them have already slipped from year to year, and buying any console now
for a game that's "coming soon" is never a good idea. Anyways, exclusive
games on the 360 tend to be cheaper, and easier to find. I haven't seen
Valkeria Chronicles in stores ever since it sold out when GameStop marked
it down to $30 3 months ago. I don't get it. This is easily the best
exclusive RPG on the PS3, and arguably one of the best RPGs of this
generation, period, and it's impossible to find, unless you go digging for
used copies on Ebay/Amazon.

Because JRPGs just aren't as popular as they used to be... they've
lost relevance in today's gaming world. You don't find it because
there's not much incentive for the companies to release lots of copies
of this game if nobody's going to buy them.

Post by Doug Jacobs
"online is free" - true, but considering my personal experience with how
dog-slow PSN is, I'll stick with Live.

Irrelevant, though, since a new consumer will not have experienced
this.

Post by Doug Jacobs
I don't see how the Slim is going to save Sony. It'll slow the bleeding,
but it's hardly going to singlehandedly undo the huge amount of red ink
the PS3 accumulated so far in its lifetime - to say nothing of about the
rest of Sony.

Save Sony? No. Make it relevant and competitive again? I think so.

[Doug Jacobs]

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Less power consumption means less heat" - I thought the PS3 didn't have
heat problems, or even a fan? Has this ever been a problem for people who
take reasonable care of their systems? I'm pretty darn sure my first PS3
didn't die from heat.

Less power consumption by itself is a good thing, though. Utility
prices are through the roof in some areas (especially where I live) so
any savings is good.

The power difference is 30W. Say you use the PS3 4 hours a day, 365 days
a year, that's about 44KWh/year, or about $1/month savings even with
California's out-of-control power rates.

Yeah, it's something, but it's definitely gee-whiz-terrific.

In addition, the Slim no longer has a hard power switch, so it's always in
standby unless you unplug it or power off the power strip it's plugged
into. I believe this is another 1-2 watts per hour which is another 17.5
KWh every year.

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Games" - I'll agree the lineup on the PS3 has done much to catch up with
the 360. But I wouldn't point to the "coming in 2010" games, as many of
them have already slipped from year to year, and buying any console now
for a game that's "coming soon" is never a good idea. Anyways, exclusive
games on the 360 tend to be cheaper, and easier to find. I haven't seen
Valkeria Chronicles in stores ever since it sold out when GameStop marked
it down to $30 3 months ago. I don't get it. This is easily the best
exclusive RPG on the PS3, and arguably one of the best RPGs of this
generation, period, and it's impossible to find, unless you go digging for
used copies on Ebay/Amazon.

Because JRPGs just aren't as popular as they used to be... they've
lost relevance in today's gaming world. You don't find it because
there's not much incentive for the companies to release lots of copies
of this game if nobody's going to buy them.

Normally, sure. But considering how many RPGs were on the PS2, it seems
downright strange there aren't nearly as many on the PS3 - and when a good
one comes along, it's neigh impossible to find, even despite the PS3's
lower sales in the first place. Even the stores I've been to are a bit
annoyed by this because they're getting customers asking for the game,
and no one can get a hold of it, and the game's barely been out that long.

Disgaea 3 is another hard to find title, but being released by Atlus,
that's not a big surprise. Valkeriya, however, is from Sega. Seems they
can't get anything right.

[The alMIGHTY N]

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Less power consumption means less heat" - I thought the PS3 didn't have
heat problems, or even a fan?  Has this ever been a problem for people who
take reasonable care of their systems?  I'm pretty darn sure my first PS3
didn't die from heat.

Less power consumption by itself is a good thing, though. Utility
prices are through the roof in some areas (especially where I live) so
any savings is good.

The power difference is 30W.  Say you use the PS3 4 hours a day, 365 days
a year, that's about 44KWh/year, or about $1/month savings even with
California's out-of-control power rates.
Yeah, it's something, but it's definitely gee-whiz-terrific.

I never said it was something to go crazy about. I just pointed out
that less power usage is better. You seem to go out of your way to
dismiss anything sort of improvement just because it's the PlayStation
3.

In addition, the Slim no longer has a hard power switch, so it's always in
standby unless you unplug it or power off the power strip it's plugged
into.  I believe this is another 1-2 watts per hour which is another 17.5
KWh every year.

Fine with me. I unplug my game consoles most of the time.

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Games" - I'll agree the lineup on the PS3 has done much to catch up with
the 360.  But I wouldn't point to the "coming in 2010" games, as many of
them have already slipped from year to year, and buying any console now
for a game that's "coming soon" is never a good idea.  Anyways, exclusive
games on the 360 tend to be cheaper, and easier to find. I haven't seen
Valkeria Chronicles in stores ever since it sold out when GameStop marked
it down to $30 3 months ago.  I don't get it.  This is easily the best
exclusive RPG on the PS3, and arguably one of the best RPGs of this
generation, period, and it's impossible to find, unless you go digging for
used copies on Ebay/Amazon.

Because JRPGs just aren't as popular as they used to be... they've
lost relevance in today's gaming world. You don't find it because
there's not much incentive for the companies to release lots of copies
of this game if nobody's going to buy them.

Normally, sure.  But considering how many RPGs were on the PS2, it seems
downright strange there aren't nearly as many on the PS3 - and when a good
one comes along, it's neigh impossible to find, even despite the PS3's
lower sales in the first place.  Even the stores I've been to are a bit
annoyed by this because they're getting customers asking for the game,
and no one can get a hold of it, and the game's barely been out that long.
Disgaea 3 is another hard to find title, but being released by Atlus,
that's not a big surprise.  Valkeriya, however, is from Sega.  Seems they
can't get anything right.

The companies do their research. They know that consumption of JRPG
games is down so they don't produce as many. It's better to under
produce a little bit than to over produce a lot, which is what these
companies tended to do in the past. Atlus has the right idea - they
know their target audience and produce accordingly. They don't
accidentally create too few - this is their plan all along.

[Wolfing]

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Less power consumption means less heat" - I thought the PS3 didn't have
heat problems, or even a fan?  Has this ever been a problem for people who
take reasonable care of their systems?  I'm pretty darn sure my first PS3
didn't die from heat.

Less power consumption by itself is a good thing, though. Utility
prices are through the roof in some areas (especially where I live) so
any savings is good.

The power difference is 30W.  Say you use the PS3 4 hours a day, 365 days
a year, that's about 44KWh/year, or about $1/month savings even with
California's out-of-control power rates.
Yeah, it's something, but it's definitely gee-whiz-terrific.
In addition, the Slim no longer has a hard power switch, so it's always in
standby unless you unplug it or power off the power strip it's plugged
into.  I believe this is another 1-2 watts per hour which is another 17.5
KWh every year.

Post by The alMIGHTY N

Post by Doug Jacobs
"Games" - I'll agree the lineup on the PS3 has done much to catch up with
the 360.  But I wouldn't point to the "coming in 2010" games, as many of
them have already slipped from year to year, and buying any console now
for a game that's "coming soon" is never a good idea.  Anyways, exclusive
games on the 360 tend to be cheaper, and easier to find. I haven't seen
Valkeria Chronicles in stores ever since it sold out when GameStop marked
it down to $30 3 months ago.  I don't get it.  This is easily the best
exclusive RPG on the PS3, and arguably one of the best RPGs of this
generation, period, and it's impossible to find, unless you go digging for
used copies on Ebay/Amazon.

Because JRPGs just aren't as popular as they used to be... they've
lost relevance in today's gaming world. You don't find it because
there's not much incentive for the companies to release lots of copies
of this game if nobody's going to buy them.

Normally, sure.  But considering how many RPGs were on the PS2, it seems
downright strange there aren't nearly as many on the PS3 - and when a good
one comes along, it's neigh impossible to find, even despite the PS3's
lower sales in the first place.  Even the stores I've been to are a bit
annoyed by this because they're getting customers asking for the game,
and no one can get a hold of it, and the game's barely been out that long.

What I did was, since I use Gamefly, I put it at the top of my queue,
and when I got it I used the 'keep it' option. Paid like $20 or 25 for
it used, but I already had it in my hand so I could see it was working
just fine (and they send the box and manual and all)

[Anonymous Remailer]

It's the nature of technology to get better and cheaper. Consoles have been
displaced by PCs for a long time and this trend will certainly continue
until they go the way of the vinyl record album.

Sony is stupid for *not* positioning the PS3 as a small-fast-light PC *as
well* as a gaming console. The corporate fear of licensing infringement has
overtaken logic. A gig of RAM and and a choice of Linux or Windows on a 300
dollar machine that you can browse the web with and watch blu rays with and
game with would be hard to beat.

[The alMIGHTY N]

Post by Anonymous Remailer
It's the nature of technology to get better and cheaper. Consoles have been
displaced by PCs for a long time and this trend will certainly continue
until they go the way of the vinyl record album.

What are you talking about? The PC gaming market is essentially casual
games and MMORPGs (read: World of Warcraft) now. While shooters and
whatnot are still made for the PC, consoles are clearly the choice of
the video gaming consumer nowadays as it has been for many years. It's
an Easter Egg hunt just to find a damn PC game in retailers nowadays.

Post by Anonymous Remailer
Sony is stupid for *not* positioning the PS3 as a small-fast-light PC *as
well* as a gaming console. The corporate fear of licensing infringement has
overtaken logic. A gig of RAM and and a choice of Linux or Windows on a 300
dollar machine that you can browse the web with and watch blu rays with and
game with would be hard to beat.

What would be the point? 1GB RAM is barely enough to run Windows and a
few standard apps like Microsoft Office. HDTVs don't work *that* well
as computer displays. If someone's going to go with a $300 computer,
they're probably going to go with an ultra portable netbook, anyway.

[Doug Jacobs]

Post by Anonymous Remailer
It's the nature of technology to get better and cheaper. Consoles have been
displaced by PCs for a long time and this trend will certainly continue
until they go the way of the vinyl record album.

Eh? I think you mean CONSOLES have done the displacing here. The PC game
market has been on a constant downward trend for the past 10-15 years. If
it weren't for World Of Warcraft, the retail PC game industry would be on
life support.

Post by Anonymous Remailer
Sony is stupid for *not* positioning the PS3 as a small-fast-light PC *as
well* as a gaming console. The corporate fear of licensing infringement has
overtaken logic. A gig of RAM and and a choice of Linux or Windows on a 300
dollar machine that you can browse the web with and watch blu rays with and
game with would be hard to beat.

Yeah, good luck with that. You gotta remember, the PS3 isn't using
standard PC hardware, so unless you want to dedicate an entire army of
developers to doing nothing but porting and/or recompiling Linux and
Windows software for the PS3, this is a horrible idea.

Besides which, Sony was(still is?) losing money on the sale of PS3s. All
console makers do this in order to get the hardware into peoples' homes.
The real money is made from selling the games. However if Sony sold the
PS3 as a "home PC" at a loss of $200-300 PER UNIT, how exactly are they
going to make that money back - much less make a profit - during its
lifetime? It's not as though Sony sells software for Linux or Windows, so
how do they make money in the PC market?