The PS3 Slim And The Future Of Sony.

I feel a little funny writing this article, being the lead 360 writer for Koku Gamer and writing about the PS3 Slim. On the other hand I own a PS3 and love the games that are on the system too. Be it known first that we here at Koku Gamer are exactly that; Gamers. Regardless of what console we write for we enjoy all platforms as equally as possible. So here are some of my thoughts on the new PS3 Slim.

As of right now the PS3 Slim is the hottest piece of console hardware out there. This bombshell dropped recently at GamesCon with a reduced price of US$299, bringing it into the same price range s the Xbox 360 Elite. People who have complained about the price of the PS3 now have no excuse not to purchase one, unless they hate the console. Now is the time where we see fanboyism shine through.

Since it’s inception to the general public the PS3 has garnered massive fanboy attention, Sony fanboys claiming it’s the redemption of the Sony brand and Xbox fanboys claiming it will continue to fail. What’s more surprising is the number of websites that claim the PS3 Slim won’t save Sony or that it won’t affect the 360.

This $100 price cut and the announcement of the slim is hotter than any game announcement made this year. New Hardware, even if it is just a “fresh coat of paint,” is always big news in the industry. Contrary to what some people may believe this console will sell. Proof of this was when Microsoft cut the price of  their 360 skus. Up until the price cut the 360 was marginally a head in sales month to month according to NPD data. When the price cut came it put it far above sales of the PS3. Why wouldn’t the reverse be true? Why wouldn’t a price cut work in favor of the PS3? The signs are looking good for the Holiday Season; a “fresh” new gadget is always hot on anyone’s list, so the PS3 Slim will be in demand. And of course it’s a Blu Ray Player, and with the ever increasing popularity of Blu Ray this will increase the popularity of the PS3.

The other thing to take into account is the world is bigger than America. NPD is with out doubt a great tracker, but it only covers American territories. While the United States is a major part of the market it is only a part, there is still the European and Asian markets too. In these territories the PS3 is much closer, and in some cases ahead. There is no doubt the 360 is beating the PS3 in America, but a price cut may affect the tide of things. Time will tell whether it will or not.

The Other Side Of The Coin

Now let’s look at things from another perspective; PS3 Slim is still more expensive than the Wii. Whether it’s $50 or not, more expensive is more expensive. Also the amount of casual games available on the PS3 is considerably less than the Wii also. It’s why I feel the PS2 won  the last generation. It had far more casual franchises than either the Xbox or GameCube. Buzz, SingStar and all those other franchises were in abundance, and this appealed to the less hardcore audience which greatly outnumbered the more hardcore. Now the Wii has the majority of the market share. The great success of the Wii can be put down to it’s easily accessible games. You don’t need lightning reflexes or perfect timing to enjoy it.

Not to be outdone the Xbox 360 still has the cheapest console of all, the Arcade sku for US$199. That’s still $100 cheaper than the PS3 Slim, which is a significant difference. To the budget gamer, this is the best option. While it comes with far less features than the PS3 it can still play current gen games. If your budget is tight and you don’t have online then the Arcade sku is probably still the better option. If you do prefer online then once again the 360 is the most popular choice for online. Xbox Live is jam packed with features that PSN lacks. Take in to account the amount of players on Xbox Live and your onto a winner.

We know the PS3 has a great track record when it comes to reliability, but will the 70% reduction costs on the PS3 also mean an increase in failed hardware? There are a ton of variables at the moment, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

The PS3 will sell by the truckload. Whether it will overtake the 360 I don’t know, and quite frankly don’t care. What I care about is the games, and whatever good games come out I’ll be buying for any system.

Sony Won’t Die

All these “The Death Of Sony” articles are garbage. They are opinion based, and opinion is not knowledge, merely someone’s thoughts on a particular subject. My thoughts are similar to an article published by Tyler C, whos article can be found here. Just as Tyler C said in his article, Gamers are the winners, and competition is healthy. Sony and Microsoft grow and learn from this, well Sony more than Microsoft now.

For all those so called “expert” analysts and gaming journalists claiming that Sony will end up like Sega or should just drop out of gaming all together I have one question for them; “Did you say the same about Nintendo after the N64 and the GameCube got beaten outright by the competition?” The ones that did say that have lost some of their credibility and the others that thought it, myself included, have a foot stuck in their mouth.  I know there were a few that thought Nintendo would never make a comeback, but look at them now.

Even if the PS3 was to finish last place this gen Sony is far from done. To write them out of this sales race is stupid, but then so is the notion that they have already won. There is a reason we are called gamers and not consolers. A console is merely a platform upon which we can enjoy video games with. Let the games decide the future of gaming.

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