The mainstream media is even getting into the game (forgive the bad pun), as everyone is screaming at Sony to drop the price or "sacrifice the console war" here and now. Oh yes, that makes a gigantic amount of sense. Don't ever give the media - it pains me that I'm part of it right now - too much credit, whatever you do. Don't expect them to view the bigger picture, as Sony has been doing ever since they entered the video game console market almost 15 years ago. Right, with around 28 million Xbox 360s and around 24 million PS3s out there (those numbers are only estimates based on recent findings), the PS3 is just getting "blown out of the water," especially after launching over a year later and always having the more expensive system. The PlayStation Network, which is still free, continues to make giant strides and in my humble opinion, is currently outstripping Xbox Live. Read that article in full, by the way, before making any rash assumptions.
Sony says there are 25 million active PSN accounts, and just about everyone agrees that Sony's exclusive lineup for the PS3 easily trumps that of the 360. Feel free to look up the titles on tap for the upcoming 12 months; I'm tired of doing it, if you want to know the honest-to-goodness truth. It's so painfully obvious, I'm not going to bother anymore; if you can't figure it out for yourself, you have your own biases to deal with. But the point is this: I believe most will agree that the PS3 really didn't come into its own until 2008, and let's not forget what the sales numbers and software lineup was like in 2007. Therefore, in about two years time, with the most expensive console on the market, even in a freakin' recession, the PS3 has somehow managed to - shock of shocks - not die. In fact, it has only managed to close the gap, which it will likely continue to do. Of course, it will remain behind the 360 for longer if Sony doesn't drop the price, but what are we really talking about here? A difference of 4-5 million units? That's the catalyst for this sudden outpouring of anxiety-ridden pleas?
You know, it's almost as if the Sony haters found something negative to latch onto and are once again trying to make something out of nothing. They had plenty of ammunition for the first year of the PS3's existence - let's face up to facts - but as each drawback began to disappear and people started to have difficulty locating bullets, the naysayers ran and hid. They never go far, though. No, they hide behind a tree, peeking around the corner and waiting for another piece of rubbish to float down the river. Then they'll jump on it and gleefully proclaim it came from Sony, and "something must be done." Right. Fine. You keep doing that. Sony will drop the price of the PS3 at some point, so just stop worrying, and in the meantime, let's actually examine the current situation for what it is. Hell, at this point, I think people might actually pay the old $600 just for a shot at playing God of War III.
...look closely at that last sentence. It's only one example of many I could make, and so could you.
6/29/2009 Ben Dutka - PSXExtreme - original link
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