PlayStation 3 Manufacturing Not Started Yet? 210
aapold writes "Despite reports to the contrary, Sony Computer Entertainment American president Kaz Hirai states in an interview on Gamespot last week that 'We haven't started manufacturing yet. Some of our ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the [production] lines and everything else. But they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going. We've not announced and we haven't set really a specific date to say, 'As of this day we're going to start manufacturing.'"
Reports? (Score:1, Insightful)
Would those reports to the contrary have anything to do with 1up and SLASHDOT deciding to title a previous story about developer kits being sent out as "PS3 Production 'In Full Swing'"?
This just in... nerds hate everything. (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe the reason the video game industry is seeing a slow down is that no matter what any company does we bitch about it. The small publishers are too small, the big publisers are to big, the inovative games are too inovative and everything else is not inovative enough... We need to grow up and quit this fanboyism and infighting, we all may have diffrent taste but we all want one thing, qualtiy entertanment.
Didn't they learn from the PSP? (Score:5, Insightful)
If there are no products that compete with it. If people can't get a console, they'll possibly look to another console such as the cheaper 360 or (potentially) bargain Wii. Sony have received enough bad press over the PS3 in regards to price (especially in the UK where we get especially ripped off), copycat features and lowered tech specs.
The PSP shortages hurt Sony as lots of people bought the cheaper DS instead and as a result the PSP didn't get that vital early userbase.
Re:But you can get a pink (as in ponies) PS2 (Score:3, Insightful)
on topic: manufacturing of the ps3 hasnt started yet. they have the component manufacturers completing and stockpiling components for the time being.
it doesnt make sense to have millions of completed ps3s sitting in a warehouse waiting to be stolen. besides, sony doesnt have to worry about paying to store the ps3s until they are completed. right now its each component manufacturers responsibility to store the components. its a standard manufacturing procedure to wait until the absolute latest minute before shipping to actually assemble the fully completed product.
Re:Another Non-Story - Zonk FUD Story (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you suffering from the misapprehension that Zonk is somehow making these stories up out of wholecloth? A lot of negative Sony articles are getting posted, but i suspect that's because a lot of negative Sony articles are being submitted. Zonk also posted the article about the marketing study saying "PS3 Predicted to Lead Market Through 2011." [slashdot.org] Note that no one congratulated Zonk for overcoming his anti-sony "bias," or argued how this study proved that all the other articles Zonk posted were wrong. Instead everyone criticized the study as being unrealistic and uninformed. Right or wrong the majority of the vocal slashdot crowd seems to have it in for Sony, and these are probably the same people sending in articles.
I think the ones constantly railing against Zonk's "tirades" and "favortisim" are the ones who are looking more and more ridiculous at this point.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This just in... nerds hate everything. (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree with you - despite not seeing anyone complain about innovative games, or companies being too small. And I'm totally against fanboyism, but then I'm also against Root-kits and the complete arrogance Sony has been showing towards their customers rights. I'm very excited about the PS3 only Assassins Creed, but games are a secondary consideration when it comes to supporting companies with which you have ethical troubles with.
It's not called fanboyism to abandon Yahoo because of the way they have behaved in China, and it's not called fanboyism to abandon Sony because of their stance on DRM and Piracy.
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:1, Insightful)
BluRay... Ummm, yeah, I don't feel too good about this tech, nor do many people because of the past Sony media problems.
Online movie and music store... So, you're telling me Sony will let me burn those to take with me too? Even after their attempt at preventing this with their rootkit? I don't think so.
Webbrowsing and other desktop apps... Yes, because that is why I get a game console, to write up my resume and lookup porn.
Tilt controller = pointer bolted on, so you already discredited this one, even though it's a good feature.
Every single developer that supported the PS2 onboard with their games for the PS3... that falls under the 'Full backwards compatiblity for all PS2 titles umbrella', or is there more to it?
Harddrive upgradeable with stadard store bought drives... Wouldn't that void your warranty from Sony?
The whole HDTV thing is questionable currently, but I think it will be valuable in a few years when HDTVs actually become more mainstream and when that happens the non-HDMI connector on the cheap version will likely be useless.
Please cut out the pointless fan dribble and give us the useful features.
The sad part: you're right, the PS3 will do really well in the marketplace. I know this, and it is because the large majority of consumers are stupid.
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:3, Insightful)
At least the people I know and hang out with (30ish with no children, tech jobs) have the disposable income to buy one of these things no sweat. Personally, I'm waiting to see what the games play like before I choose between a 360 and a PS3.
Also, the Euro market doesn't determine a thing in video games. Japan and the US do. Thats why almost ALL games are released in Europe last.
Re:This just in... nerds hate everything. (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, the PS3's price is a symptom of this lack of focused design because it's not only a Game Console but it's also a Blu-Ray movie player; the main reason for the Blu-Ray player is to establish a format to strenghten Sony's media devision. Had Sony dropped DVD and Blu-Ray movie playback (as well as SACD and CD playback) on the base system (as Nintendo and Microsoft have done in the past) they could have saved $50 or more on licencing fees alone; had they dumped the hardware they could probably save $200+ on the system.
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah, 20 year olds might have enough money to one - but how many teenagers do you know who can manage their money effectively? How many 600 bucks "laying" around?
While Europe certainly does drive killer sales, it helps - and you have to remember, the margins for "extra" money are slimming - 600 bucks used to be relatively easy, but it isnt so much any more.
Now, we get to the parents - out in the stores shopping for a christmas or birthday present. They say they want a PS3 - but im sure their parents will hesitate with such a hefty price tag. i certainly would - im sure, as adults, they have somewhere else theyd rather half a thousand dollars. Car payments, debt, credit cards, etc. Many parents will buy it anyways - but how many will not? More than those that do?
You cannot rely on the hardcore to really drive sales anymore. the casual are more significant - and 600 is not casual. just look at standard PC sales - how many gamingmachines does Dell sell? Far less than the casual POS machines tehy kick out the door.
-Red
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:4, Insightful)
Worked for the DS. Enjoy playing all those FPS's with your analog stick.
"And with Sony selling 100+ million Playstation consoles on their first foray into the console market."
So?
"And with Sony selling 106+ million Playstation 2 consoles in their second entry in the console market."
So...?
Sony sold a bunch of systems. Yahoo. So did Nintendo. They lost the roost pretty quick. Heck, the N64 lost to a graphically inferior machine. Times change. For example, some systems are launching for $600 now.
"And now with the PS3 Sony is about to put out.. "
Re:But you can get a pink (as in ponies) PS2 (Score:3, Insightful)
It makes PERFECT sense to have them sitting in a warehouse. Remember the PS2? This is going to be worse. They need stock to sell. If they had any brains and had the ability, they would be cranking them out so they could sell them. Remember that when they got for $2000 on eBay, Sony only gets the origonal $500 or $600. They want more to sell, and making them now would allow that.
Despite all the (sometimes tremendous) screw ups around the PS3, I don't think they are THAT stupid. They aren't making them becuase they can't. The design isn't final, there are cell chip yield problems, they need more blu-ray drives, whatever. If they could make them, I think they would.
I know shortages get free press, but they will get enough of that anyway. If they can make an extra 1,000,000 units I don't think it would stop a shortage if that was distributed world wide. There would still be a shortage, but they would sell more.
Unless they are holding back because despite their predictions they don't think a $600 toy will sell well (especially compared to a 360 that seems very similar and is chaper, and the Wii which is innovative and MUCH cheaper).
Re:Real PS3 facts pulled from experience and thin (Score:2, Insightful)
No doubt, the PS3 will probably be very difficult to produce and will be in very short supply.
Fact 2 - Everyone that has a PS2 and loves it (and also uses it as their primary game machine) wants a PS3. (Just as PS1 owners wanted a PS2.)
That's not a fact, being that I own and love my PS2 and have no desire to purchase a PS3 I am a example which negates your everyone claim. Ultimately, everyone I know that owns a PS2 and heard the price of a PS3 refuses to buy one, even the really rich (always early adopt) crowd; this might change 18 months down the road, but if early adopters do not buy the PS3 it will have disapointing game sales and it's "exclusive" games will become not so exclusive. The difference between a Sony system and a Nintendo system is people buy a Nintendo system for games that can only be bought for a Nintendo System (first party games), a Sony system is bought for games that can be bought (in theory) for other systems (third party games).
Fact 3 - No one outside of Slashdot (and maybe Digg) gives a flying crap about "root-kits".
This one is also false; most of the people who had their computer damaged were those with poor computer skills. When these people when to their geeky friends to fix their computer they found out about the rootkit. The average responce was "Why would Sony, a respected company, want to install a virus on my computer? I don't think I'll buy another Sony product"
Fact 4 - The exclusive (TRUE exclusive) PS3 games (FF XIII, MGS4) will sell PS3 units to everyone that didn't buy a PS3 at launch.
Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy have been finding their way to other consoles lately; these titles are not tied to Sony, they are launched on the market leading platform. If Sony is not leading in market share come November 2007 (which they probably won't be) expect to see these games delayed to be released on other platforms.
Fact 5 - Average consumers don't want to pay 500 or 600 dollars for a game machine. However, they will. Simply because it is PlayStation 3.
At one point in time you could say that Nintendo's consoles would sell because they have "Nintendo" written on them; brand loyalty is a very difficult thing to maintain in highly competative markets. Don't expect too many people to say "It has no games I want, and is really expensive, but that Sony logo is cool so I'll buy it"
Fact 6 - PS3 games, on the whole, will never actually look better than xBox 360 games, the video GPU's are just too similar.
I'd actually argue it is because we are dealing with diminishing returns on system power
Fact 7 - Fact 6 is meaningless, because people "Don't Care". All they will know is that PS3 games "Look frikin REAL, man!!"
Maybe, but at the same time animation is really becomming a problem in these "ultra-realistic" games. I don't remember the name of the game, but the screen shots for it are amazing but the video looks like crap because of how out of sync the animation is to the voice; rather than looking like normal (bad) game animation it looks really creepy. I'm probably alone, but was so offended (bad word for it) by how it moved that I couldn't play that game.
Fact 8 - Tech savvy people (such as slashdotters) will own all three new consoles anyway, and then lie in the
Maybe, I think you'll see a large portion of people owning an XBox 360 + Wii or a PS3 + Wii but I think the number of people who own an XBox 360 and PS3 will be pretty small. The reason for this is that the combined cost is insane ($1000), if you include basic accessories (like extra controllers) it simply is too expensive; also the number of games that are going to be exclusive is pretty small because the cost to develop games for XBox 360, PS3 and High End PC are so high that the risk is too great to release it on one platform.
Re:But you can get a pink (as in ponies) PS2 (Score:2, Insightful)
On the other hand, they probably have the ability to assemble the machines pretty fast. The problem is that the manufacturing of some components (such as the Cell processor) wouldn't be able to keep pace with the assemblage process, and so it makes sence to wait with assembling until there is a good stockpile of components to be assembled.
Jan
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:3, Insightful)
Dropping $300 or more for a video game system that is obsolete before it's released is not only just a bad idea, it constitutes in my opinion, bad parenting.
It just fuels the "I want" mentality.
Until they can switch from "I want" to "I need, because of these logical reasons", it's not going to happen.
Parents who give their child everything they want, desensitize their children to the value of what they receive. Especially when they end up breaking the toy, because they don't care about it. It didn't cost them anything, not even effort, so why should they care. Chances are, they didn't even say thank you when they received it.
My children may get upset as they grow older, as they aren't going to get all the "latest" just because "everyone else has it", however they will appreciate what they do get, and take care of it - as it's the only one they'll get if they don't.
Re:We've found the Idiot of The Day, guys (Score:4, Insightful)
As far as you and your parenting goes, you read slashdot so that kinda takes you out of the general population pool: you're informed new technology.