Sony's PS3 Dissappointment Timeline...

By: Natural_Mystic
Dec 21, 2006 7:54 pm PT

We all know Sony has been taking a lot of bad press from the PS3, but lets take a look back at the year that has lead us to the Nov. 17th release date. First, we start with Sony itself. Yes, I was going to only make a timeline of the PS3 news, but how can you ignore this arrogance from late 2005?

Nov. 10th, 2005 - Sony is caught hiding a rootkit inside music CD's that place a virus on users computer. Sony's Tom Hesse defends the decision by stating that people don't know what it is, so they shouldn't careNow that we know Sony cares about us, lets move on to the PS3...

Feb. 27th, 2006 - Sony misses it's Spring launch date

May 8th, 2006 - Sony holds it's E3 conference announcing the pricing of the PS3 at $600/$500

May 8th, 2006 - New PS3 controller will have six degrees of motion, but no rumble feature. Sony's Phil Harrison states that rumble was last gen and no longer needed.

May 31st, 2006 - Sony's Phil Harrison denies copying the Wiimote and states that the PS3 will replace the PC

Sept 6th, 2006 - PS3 is delayed in Europe until March 2007

Sept 6th, 2006 - PS3 launch shipment is cut from 2 million to 400,000 in the US (100,000 to Japan)

Sept 8th, 2006 - Sony's President admits that the company's hardware is in a current state of decline

Sept 26th, 2006 - PS3 first-party titles announced to be the same price as third party titles, at $59.99

Sept 26th, 2006 - Square Enix will not exclusively support Sony's PS3 as much as they did with the PS2.

Sept 29th, 2006 - Sony's President Ken Kutaragi states that his company does not care about the Xbox 360 and Wii competition.

October 12th, 2006 - Sony Exec calls the 360 and Wii "too expensive"

October 19th, 2006 - The infamous spec sheet comparison and how Sony claims the Xbox 360 requires HD-DVD to play games

October 20th, 2006 - Announced that Sony may have to replace your PS3 controller for you after it no longer holds charge

October 24th, 2006 - Sony sinks Lik-Sang

October 26th, 2006 - Sony's Q2 profits decrease by 94%

October 28th, 2006 - Sony president Ken Kutaragi said he expects the PS3 to be capable of running games at a stunning 120fps

October 30th, 2006 - PS3 will push Sony $1.71 billion into the red

October 31st, 2006 - Japan launch of the PS3 is cut to 80,000 units

Nov 8th, 2006 - Sony ships without update. You must update your PS3 out of the box in order to use PlayStation Network

Nov 9th, 2006 - NBA Live 2007 is cancelled on the PS3

Nov 9th, 2006 - Oblivion is pushed back from launch title to Jan 2007

Nov 10th, 2006 - Sony's Phil Harrison states that he can no longer confirm a March 2007 launch for Europe

Nov 11th, 2006 - PS3 launches in Japan and rewards few

Nov 11th, 2006 - Sony unprepared for Japan launch

Nov 14th, 2006 - Sony will miss 400,000 unit target for the US. Approx 150k to 200k will be shipped for launch

Nov 14th, 2006 - PS3 has backwards compatibility problems

Nov 16th, 2006 - PS3 downscales 720p games instead of upscaling to 1080i

Nov 16th, 2006 - Sony's Jack Tretton comments on the PS3 BC problems and states that the Wii has 0 backwards compatibility

Nov 20, 2006 - NYT not impressed with PS3

Nov 21, 2006 - PS3, PSP Rainbow Six held till '07

Nov 23, 2006 - Saving Sony, one console at a time

Nov 26, 2006 - More PS3 exclusives head to 360

Nov 26, 2006 - Bloomberg: Sony missed PS3 ship targets

Nov 30, 2006 - Sony shuffles senior execs

Nov 30, 2006 - Analyst: "I cannot imagine a PlayStation 4"

Dec 4, 2006 - Sony Australia: Wii "More Fun" than PS3

Dec 8, 2006 - Court rules for Immersion; Sony to pay up

Dec 11, 2006 - Industry watchers weigh in on "record-low tie ratios" for Wii and PS3 and other results from the month of the new systems' debut.

Dec 19, 2006 - Time says PS3 was a bust

Dec 21, 2006 - Virtua Fighter 5 dukes it out on Xbox 360

Dec 21, 2006 - Sony filed a patent for wiimote style hand-held controler

While it's not all of Sony's fault, they have done little to apologize for their delays and arrogant statements. It's a bad trend that they've started, and the more they continue the more we'll be seeing article after article on Gamespot.....day after day about something else they've done to flaw the PS3's image.I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of flaming cow responses, but hey that's expected. I can understand their crankiness b/c I know I'd hate to be in their shoes atm. Hopefully Sony will have some sort of eye-opener to the amount of distaste they've started among gaming consumers, and will get back to what they used to do best.

Edited on Dec 26, 2006 3:00 am PT Edited 5 total times.

PS3 Freezes on purpose.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/06/12/27/1354222.shtmlAbsoluteZero writes "A Sony rep has claimed to Destructoid that demo PS3 units in kiosks across the country were built to freeze up on purpose. From the article: "We do that so that people won't play it all day long," he explained. "Specifically during Motorstorm, we made it freeze up a lot.""
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WTF?! Freeze on purpose?! Who believes this crap?

MediEvil Hits PlayStation Store

MediEvil Hits PlayStation Store

I guess SCEA didn't want to leave North Americans out in the cold following the robust 9-game addition of PSone titles for the PSP to the PlayStation Store in Japan. So they threw us a bone in the form of the original MediEvil—an odd choice, considering the PSP already has a native MediEvil game for it.

Yeah, I don't think this compares to getting R-Types and Dino Crisis either. Still, it's better than nothing, and I'm still glowing from the Christmas Eve scheduled download of Gran Turismo HD.
more @ source.

Source: Source: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/medievil/medievil-hit...
Originally published on Sat, 23 Dec 2006 16:16:00 GMT

Sony PlayStation 3 (20GB) - $499.99

 

We're using super-fast express fancy shipping to get this to you tomorrow!*

Woot Sells PS3? Wii, Wii!

So, hey, check it out: there’s this awesome new gaming system that we just can’t stop playing. Too bad it’s so hard to find in stores – we guess they just didn’t make enough of them. It’s called the Nintendo Wii, and holy mother of Zelda, is it ever a blast. If the Wii is cool with polygamy, we might ask it to marry us.

The controller – so easy! No more intricate push-this-twice, pull-that-three-times trickery, just easy waves of the hand. The console – so cute! It actually makes our gaming room look better, unlike the bulky, ugly consoles we could mention. How does Nintendo keep the price so low on that thing, anyway? And the games, good Lord, the games! Not to mention those adorable avatars. We’ve already created virtual versions of the entire staff, so we can beat each other virtually-bloody instead of actually-bloody, like we usually do. The only problem is that none of the nose options are as big as Jason’s actual nose. But that’s a minor quibble.

In fact, we love the Wii so much, we want to give a Wii to everybody on our payroll. To fund this Wii-for-the-People program, we're selling this Sony PlayStation 3. The SIXAXIS wireless controller is basically the same complicated gazillion-button-style controller you know from past PS models, but at least you won’t be fighting Grandma for gaming time. Along with the usual roster of ho-hum games, the PS3 can play CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs, and the 20GB hard drive can store music, videos, and music videos. It’s certainly, er, rather full-figured, for those of you who want a lot of heft for your money. And its HDMI capabilities give you polygons and frames-per-second out the wazoo, if you prefer that stuff to having fun.

Best of all, for every PS3 you buy, we can buy Wiis for two of our employees. So when you get frustrated by those intricate combo-button moves, or bored by the underwhelming game offerings for the PS3, keep the spirit of the season in mind. Remember all those happy Woot staffers whose lives have been changed by their super-fun Nintendo Wiis, paid for by you. Heartwarming, isn’t it?

* shipped today via FedEx Next Day with Saturday delivery. Rural and snowbound areas may cause delivery delay out of Woot or FedEx control. Warranty: One year
Features:

• Plays video games and stuff

Discuss this product

Price: $499.99

Source: Sony PlayStation 3 (20GB) - $499.99
Originally published on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:00:14 GMT

New Gran Turismo HD Demo Info

 

IGN has received (and translated) the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, which contains an interview with Kazunori Yamauchi of Gran Turismo fame, who delivers some information about the upcoming demo. Its one track will be called Eiger Nordwand, which among climbers is referred to as the "biggest, baddest north face in the Alps." This is the tarmac rally track we showed you pics of earlier this year twisting between quaint villas and snowy peaks.

Additionally, ten cars will be included, though surprisingly no bikes. The list is:

• Suzuki Cappuccino '95
• Mazda Eunos Roadster '89
• Honda Integra Type R'04
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR'96
• Infinity G35 Coupe
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR'05
• Lotus Elise 111R'04
• Nissan Sky Liner GT-R V Spec II '94
• Toyota Celica GT-FOUR Rally Car '95
• Ferrari 599'06

Kazunori also spoke about plans for Gran Turismo 5, unfortunately not giving a solid answer about whether the game will include the controversial pay-per-car scheme:

Yamauchi spoke vaguely on the relationship between GT5 and GTHD. While not getting into specifics, he stated that his team wants to put both GTHD Premium and GTHD Classic into the new title. Asked if Sony intends on carrying out its ambitious plans for downloadable content, Yamauchi stated that there has yet to be a decision on whether or not to carry the business model over.

The biggest question is, of course, when will non-Japanese PS3 gamers get their hands on the demo, releasing at home on December 24? An American release has not been confirmed, but don't be surprised if there's a little bonus waiting in the Playstation Store for us, too, before Christmas.

Source: New Gran Turismo HD Demo Info
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:55:23 GMT

PS3 sales no longer hotcake-like?

 

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Business

Is there a PlayStation 3 supply glut? That's the provocative question posed by the headline of a NotifyWire press release which asserts customers are already tired of paying a premium for PS3 bundles online.
In the release, Ian Drake, head of the hot-product-tracking web site, cited a recent $1,000 PS3 bundle at eToys that remained available for over 12 hours. "This sort of thing didn't happen with the Xbox 360 until well after Christmas," Drake added for some historical perspective.
A quick look at NotifyWire's recent tracking history, though, shows the PS3 is far from dead in the water. Despite a slight increase in the amount of time the system has been available at a few major online retailers over the past few weeks, premium bundles from the likes of eToys were selling out in less than an hour as recently as Dec. 18.
This data is also a bit hard to interpret without supply numbers for each individual sale -- perhaps retailers have been getting larger shipments since Sony announced it had fixed its production problems. NotifyWire's system also seems to neglect major sites like Amazon.com, which recently showed intense interest in the PS3 through a lottery system.
Still, the longer-than-expected online offerings are a little worrying for Sony when paired with the PS3's rapidly declining eBay price and reports of consistent high demand for the Wii. But let's not dwell on such unhappy things. Let us instead think of pancakes -- moist delicious pancakes dripping with syrup and hot butter. Oh yeah...
[Via GameDaily]

 

Source: PS3 sales no longer hotcake-like?
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:25:00 GMT

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Please tell me this doesn't suprise anyone...

UPS rebel employees steal $19,000 in PS3s

 

 

Three UPS employees have been charged with stealing $19,000 worth of PS3s from the Elmwood distribution center in Louisiana. The men, who worked at the UPS plant in the evening, sent 20 PS3s and 24 SIXAXIS controllers to their day jobs at Andrews Sport Company Inc. by switching the stickers on the boxes.
Although the story broke today, the crime was originally filed on Dec. 11 and the thefts were finished by Dec. 5. So, if you were expecting a PS3 shipment by UPS between launch and Dec. 5 around New Orleans without it ever arriving, then we've got a pretty good idea who's got it. No word yet what the thieves did with the stolen systems.
[Via GayGamer]

Source: UPS rebel employees steal $19,000 in PS3s
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:55:00 GMT

Ubisoft confirms PS3 Double Agent

 

Sam Fisher sneaks onto Sony's next-gen system in Europe and North America next March.

Source: Ubisoft confirms PS3 Double Agent
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:52:18 GMT

Gran Turismo HD PS3 Demo Details

 

Apparently Sony is going to be giving us a nice Xmas present -- a demo of Gran Turismo HD on the PS3. Starting December 24, gamers will be able to download Gran Turismo HD Concept Demo exclusively from the Playstation store. The package will include one course and ten, yes we said 10, cars. The course is the new Eiger Nordwand, and it will be available in normal and reverse. Great news for us, thanks Sony! For the full car list in detail, check the link.

Source: Gran Turismo HD PS3 Demo Details
Originally published on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:20:30 GMT

Konami Confirms MGS4 Is PS3 Exclusive

 

Recently there has been a rumor circulating the internet that Metal Gear Solid 4 is not a multi-platform game. A less than reputable website posted a news article claiming that a Konami "inside source" had given them this secret info. Well, Konami has come out to officially deny the rumor. Really not suprising at all, if you ask us.

Source: Konami Confirms MGS4 Is PS3 Exclusive
Originally published on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:00:23 GMT

Virtua Fighter 5 Release Date!

 

Virtua Fighter 5 is the latest game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was released on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades. Sega has announced Virtua Fighter 5 will release on PS3 in the USA on February 20th, be sure to check out our latest media!

Source: Virtua Fighter 5 Release Date!
Originally published on Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:30:09 GMT

Sony Confesses To "Being Too Clever"

 

No seriously. Too clever. That's how they put it. Sure, I think they meant it in a slightly self-deprecating way ... but nothing could be deprecating enough here. I mean - the site was clearly done by either Sony or an idiot since it was mostly written in bad IM chatterspeak like "u kno - dis is kool lol".
Or perhaps the correct answer is "both". I mean, more than insidious, the whole alliwantforxmasisapsp.com thing was just dumb. Clearly the byproduct of too many people in a room reading about "social online networking" and "search enhancement optimization" without having a real clue.
Sony has some moments of advertising genius ... but apparently is simply not comparing notes with the PlayStation departments. Sad - and bad timing since they don't have enough product clout right now to subside it. They really need good PR and tech these days.
tagged: game, gaming

Source: Sony Confesses To "Being Too Clever"
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:30:58 GMT by Josh

Reeves dismisses talk of PS3 delay

 

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves has told GI.bizthat suggestions the European launch of PS3 will be delayed once again are nothing more than 'speculation without foundation'.

Source: Reeves dismisses talk of PS3 delay
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:33:00 GMT

Dragon Quest 9 (Play Station 3 version)

 

Author: macaku1980
Keywords: dragon quest dq9
Added: December 12, 2006

Source: Dragon Quest 9 (Play Station 3 version)
Originally published on Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:30:55 GMT by rss@youtube.com (macaku1980)

Fake blog admits it was "too funky fresh"

It looks like the now-infamous Sony blog, "all I want for Christmas is a psp," is going to keep it real. Shockingly, the blog writer "isn't a real hip-hop maven." The apology states that the blog will now be used to give "nothing but the facts" on the PSP, but we're sorry, Sony. No way you're going to compete with us!

Source: Fake blog admits it was "too funky fresh"
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:20:00 GMT by Andrew Yoon

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Wow...  Gotta love Sony marketing.
 

NPD Reports November PS3 Sales of 197K

 

I was hoping that the early reports were wrong and PS3 shipments were close to Sony’s target of 400K. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that happened. NPD reports 197K PS3 sales in North America for the month of November. NPD System Sales Data for the Month of November in North America System Name NPD Units Sold. PS3 197,000 PSP 412,000 Wii 476,000 Xbox 360 511,000 GBA 641,000 PS2 664,000 DS 918,000 It is [...]

Source: NPD Reports November PS3 Sales of 197K
Originally published on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:50:12 GMT by Darrin

Sony plays the pretend game

Sony plays the pretend game
from Game Addicts by Edwin
Looks like Sony has shot itself in the foot again, if this thread in the Something Awful forums is anything to go by. There seems to be a deluge of Sony PSP fansites appearing all over the Internet overnight just like mushrooms, and it seems as though demand for this portable handheld gaming system has skyrocketed to an unprecedented high. All I want For Xmas is a PSP is yet another of such fansites, but upon further investigation, there is more than meets the eye.

Despite giving the illusion that this fansite was started by a couple of “kids”, there are a couple of disturbing clues which make their credibility dip to an all time low. One of them raps atrociously while looking way too mature to be a pimply-faced teen, all in an effort to persuade their parents to pick up a PSP for them this Christmas. Heck, if I were the parent, I wouldn’t want to pick up a handheld that causes my kid to act in such a weird manner! In addition, the site uses only lower case letters, uses the number “2″ in favor of the written word, publishes fake user-generated comments in an effort to bolster its credibility, while posting homemade rap videos that are truly the domain of those who can stomach bad music.
All the above isn’t really a crime, but what stinks is the registered domain is owned by a marketing company known as Zipatoni, and judging by Sony’s past actions, it isn’t beneath them to test the stupidity of their target market with carelessly strung advertisement campaigns.

CNET's James Kim and family missing -- have you seen them?

CNET's James Kim and family missing -- have you seen them?
Posted Nov 30th 2006 8:45PM by Ryan BlockFiled under: Announcements
We've received word that a respected member of our tech community, James Kim (whom many of you may know as CNET's senior editor of digital audio), and his family have gone missing. As we understand it, last weekend James, his wife Kati (above right), and his very young girls Penelope (left) and Sabine (baby), drove from their home in the SF Bay Area to Seattle. They were expected back some time Sunday, but were last seen by a hotel clerk at 5:45 PM on Saturday in or between Gold Beach or Portland, Oregon. We sincerely do hope they are all safe, and our hearts go out to the Kim family.We'll have more information as we get it. If you have any information as to the Kim family's whereabouts, please contact the SFPD at 415-558-5508 during normal business hours, and 415-553-1071 after hours.