The Games News

Sony has recently unveiled its plan to release the new PlayStation 3. It is priced at a whopping $499 and $599 for the base and ramped-up versions of PlayStation 3 respectively. It is the price that is worrying both the gamers and critics alike. There is a serious concern that the price of the PlayStation 3 would be detrimental in the sales of the new console. It is widely said that the PlayStation 3 is the most advanced gaming console, but is it the most expensive too?

No, it is not, according to statistics, the console JDO, costing $700 was the costliest console ever. There can be two comparisons, one based on the actual cost and one based on the relative cost. In both the categories PlayStation 3 comes in the top five. The interesting thing to be noted here is all the high priced consoles have fared poorly in the market, in fact were big failures. All the high priced consoles, which included JDO, Neo Geo, CD1, and Saturn were good consoles but they lost out to their lower priced competitors. Experts say the same will not happen with PlayStation 3 because none of the high-priced consoles had a predecessor like the PlayStation 2.

What will happen to the high-priced PlayStation 3? Will it have the same fate as the other consoles or will PlayStation be an exception? We will have to wait and see.

Sony’s new PSP digital camera was put on display at the E3 2006 in March but is due to go on sale on November 2 in Japan. The camera is an add-on, called Chotto Shotto, which means the camera can be fitted into the existing PSP. It will cost approximately $50. The 1.3-mega-pixel camera is not just about taking pictures or recording videos; it comes with an in-built photo editor. The photo-editor allows viewing them as a slide show, modifying the existing photo and many more. The camera rotates 180 degrees making it possible to keep the camera screen right in front of you, irrespective of where the subject is. The camera also has a “zoom” function.

The pictures taken can be saved on the Memory Card in the PSP Media format and the videos in the .Avi format. On the downside, critics argue that the PSP camera is not even as good as a high-end mobile phone. The video recording options are not very innovative either. There are no games, which can be played using the PSP camera, which would definitely be fun. On the whole, the PSP camera looks awesome. It is just a matter of time before some more features are added to the PSP and surely we will have one of the best portable communication devices in our hands.

Sony announced the release date and prices for its much awaited PlayStation 3 video game console in May 2006 at the E3 conference in Los Angeles. The PlayStation 3 will be released on 11th November in Japan, 17th November in North America and will be available in Europe early next year. The PlayStation 3’s base model will cost $499 and an enhanced model will cost $599, substantially higher than its main competitors Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. The PlayStation 3 has features like, a 20GB upgradeable Hard Disk, a Blu-Ray Drive, HDMI Port and many more, making it one of the most advanced gaming consoles ever made. But do these features justify the high price of the PlayStation3?

According to Sony, the high prices are justified but gamers are not convinced. Gaming community consider that, from whatever they have seen, the PlayStation 3 has not lived up to its expectations. Consoles are made for playing games and this version of PlayStation 3 doesn’t have many exciting games lined up. Even the much-hyped hardware is not as good as it should be. One of the PlayStation 3’s main marketing weapon, the Blu-Ray Drive according to critics, gives you images like a normal DVD player, nothing fancy. The gamers do have their doubts in mind, but will this actually have an impact on the sales of PlayStation 3. That has to be seen.

Oklahoma, Louisiana, and now Minnesota seem to be great places to raise your children, especially if you are raising video game playing teenagers. Due to recent signings of the “Inappropriate Games” bill, minors who purchase M-rated (Mature) and/or AO-rated (Adult Only) video games will levy a fine of $25 dollars, instead of fining the retailer who sold the game to the minor. This poses a paradox of sorts: Why fine the minor who bought it when it was the retailer who failed to ask for ID that sold it?

Minnesota Representative Barb Gordon, however, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill so that retailers would get fined as well. “It’s the retailers that buy the games or rent the games that know what they’ve got there. If they choose to rent those to children then they ought to pay the fine,” said Gordon. That’s one statement, if you’re a state government that is trying to pass a bill of this sort, which you need to heed to. If you are going to punish one, then you should punish all. Fine the minor who bought it, the retailer who sold it, and the company who made it. There should be no fine line anywhere in this equation. If you’re going to punish someone, don’t be biased.

“The first five million people are going to buy it, whatever it is, even if it didn’t have games.” These interesting words were spoken by Sony Euro CEO David Reeves during a recent interview. The question, though, seems fit to ask: Would you still buy the PS3 even if it didn’t have games to go with it? I find it a hard question to answer.

Looming in the shadows, the PS3 could lure in some of those 5 million initial buyers with its (somewhat) cheap price considering it has the new Blu-Ray technology. Considering what Blu-Ray could do for the next generation of video games could be another way to grab systems off the shelf. Without games, though, what else is left to imagine for the PS3? If Sony is looking to manufacture for the “social” gamer, then they may lose more than they will gain. If they take the “hardcore” gamers out of the equation, then they are ignoring over 50% of gamers. Gamers don’t buy games because it’s “the cool thing to do,” or because it will increase the appraised value of your home. Gamers buy games because they love video games and the sensation they get when they play video games, whether it is to relieve stress from everyday work, playing together with friends, or just playing in your free time. This, oddly enough, seems to be a fact that some companies seem to be forgetting.