Sony claims PS3 still on schedule for a spring launch.

riot8ap said:
This may be off-topic, in that case delete it.

Q: Does anyone have an idea of why they release in Japan first? Does it have anything to do with creating hype over here in the US?
Click to expand...

Wow, thats a great question, and perfectly on topic. :)

I'll try to answer your question the best I can, and I'm sure guys like Torgo can help me out along the way.

First off, obviously Japan is the 'home' market. You would be surprised about how ravenous the Japanese are when it comes to gaming. Games actually spin off their own product lines. For example, FFXII is going to have a drink line modeled after the potions in the game. People over there eat that up. Trading cards, bed sheets, clothing, jewelry and cell phones, and that is just off the top of my head. Its a cash cow over there for the devs because the fanbase is so insane about the products.

Because of this, it has always been said a gaming system can be won and loss in Japan. Traditionally that has mostly been true. However this is a new round of console battle and things in this business change fast.

I think the biggest thing you have to consider is that pretty much all of Japan plays games. The revenue generated by all the products gaming related is huge.

Usually the extra time in between a launch of a game in Japan and the US is obviously a bit marketing, but you also have voice dubbing, language translations etc.

Japan is often considered the first priority because that is where alot of the gaming creation comes from.

Hope that helped. Torgo, stevie, and the others will be along shortly, and pwn me. ;)
 
Me? Pwn you? :p
Traditionally, Japan is the make or break. Though the XBox has proven that you can live without Japan and still garner some sales. That said, a whole LOT of the good games come from Japanese developers, and without them you're going to get a lot of North American PC ports (again, XBox comes to mind). The X360 may do marginally better in Japan than the XBox, but it doesn't look like they will make a splash there. Still, the X360 is doing just fine in NA and Europe, and its sales will sustain them.

Sony will be releasing in Japan first because as Rich said, it's the "home" market, and the Japanese are crazy about consoles and handhelds. Their market there is just as big (if not bigger) than our market here. Nintendo plans on releasing "worldwide" similar to Microsoft, however within a 14 week window. No idea how it will work out for them, though, considering that they normally do Japan first as well.

End of October, or mid-November sounds about right for the PS3 in NA, 2007 for Europe.
 
I agree with a lot of Rich said. I have always assumed that it had a lot to do with the fact that until xbox, all the companies were based in Japan, so it was sort of a patriotic thing. I'm sure it's not so true now, but I'll bet in the early days a lot of the consoles were actually made in Japan for that reason.
 
I have to also say that I really believe MS will prove that you don't need Japan to be successful in this round.

Steve made a great point the other day on the frontpage. Let the japanese play the consoles based on gameplay and presentation, without them knowing which console they are playing, and then see what they think.

You think people are brand loyal here on our side of the pond?

But MS has been smart this round and brought on some japanese developers to make them exclusives.

Time will tell I suppose.
 
I have to also say that I really believe MS will prove that you don't need Japan to be successful in this round.
Click to expand...

Actually, I think that if Mistwalker takes off like people are saying, MS will have a nice chunk of the j market anyway. They learned their lesson about japan last time. Although whoever gets treasure games gets my money :D
 
Mistwalker will be multiplatform though... across all platforms. So it won't be as much of an advantage, as it is a blessing for MS to actually have a few Jap devs on board.
 
Sony will release there system no earlier than october state side. However I imagine there jumping the gun about saying spring. Last I looked Blu-Ray specs weren't even finalized. On top of that currently blu-ray can hold only half that of HD-DVD with the POTENTIAL to hold alot more.. vs HD_DVD which can now hold 24 or 30 gigs. Besides:

forget blu-ray and HD-DVD
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8370&feedId=online-news_rss20

you want to push the better tech then go with the POTENTIAL 1.6 terrabytes a disk or 300 gigs currently.
 
spring launch for Japan. Late 2006 early 2007 for everyone else.
 
I'm standing firm that the PS3 will release Q2 in Japan and Q3-4 in the US. Sony can say what they want, but I just don't see it hitting US shelves anytime soon.
 
Drakenn said:
Sony will release there system no earlier than october state side. However I imagine there jumping the gun about saying spring. Last I looked Blu-Ray specs weren't even finalized. On top of that currently blu-ray can hold only half that of HD-DVD with the POTENTIAL to hold alot more.. vs HD_DVD which can now hold 24 or 30 gigs. Besides:

forget blu-ray and HD-DVD
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8370&feedId=online-news_rss20

you want to push the better tech then go with the POTENTIAL 1.6 terrabytes a disk or 300 gigs currently.
Click to expand...

Blu-Ray is up to 50 gigs now, double layer Blu-Ray discs are a reality, not just a tech document.
 
Drakenn said:
Besides:
forget blu-ray and HD-DVD
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8370&feedId=online-news_rss20

you want to push the better tech then go with the POTENTIAL 1.6 terrabytes a disk or 300 gigs currently.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. Forget HDDVD or BLUE-GAY!

These new hologram discs are gonna rock their world. InPhase Technologies has been the sleeper cell apparently. They are set to go on sale Q1 06 from what I read.

Too bad they have no industry support yet. But they will be great for backing up archives and... once DVDJOHN cracks the new drm on Blue Gay we will have somewhere to burn our new collection to. :)
 
NulloModo said:
Blu-Ray is up to 50 gigs now, double layer Blu-Ray discs are a reality, not just a tech document.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected.. Still doesn't touch 300 gigs :)
 
NulloModo said:
HD-DVD = 1080i max, Blu-Ray = 1080p max

Blu-Ray has a higher maximum disc capacity (200 gb vs. somewhere north of 50gb I think for HD-DVD)

Blu-Ray 1x transfers data faster than HD-DVD 1x

HD-DVD uses higher compression than Blu-Ray
Click to expand...

Blu's numbers are still untested in mass production for that capacity.

Hey let's not forget how much more Blu discs will cost to make, and for the players. Between that and the DRM I'm all in for HD-DVD.

It seems most people who don't like HD-DVD are either Pro-Sony or Anti-MS. I've bought Sony TV's and receivers, but the mini-disc was a flop as they wanted to own it all. Now they want to try this with the HD market, and the movie studios love it, because they will have such a lockdown on it with their DRM will have to pay a license to copy it to each device (hypothetically).

Soon as I saw that Disney was on board with Blu that confirmed it. Disney is the worst of all for DVD ripoffs, and their backing of Divx back in the day forever ticked me off from their direct to dvd releases and such. Pixar movies was the only exception (thankfully Cars I think is the last release thru Disney).

For once the bigger ugly corporate gian isn't MS, it's Sony. Hopefully the PS3 will bankrupt them and it flops, trying to cram the blu drive in every box, or Halo 3 release and the Nintendo Rev coming out at super price point will bury it.

Oh btw yes I own a PS2, and a PSP so I am not anti-sony, I'm just looking out for my own interests vs. Movie studios.
 
steviep said:
I too am sick of the speculation. But be honest - we know that Sony is doing the Japan then World launch as they normally do.
Click to expand...
Thats just the thing, we dont know. We dont know what sony is doing, They havent said anything. But im sure we will find out during CES06 or in Febuary, thats for sure.

steviep said:
Remember the PS2?
Click to expand...
Yeah but remember the Xbox? and then Remember the Xbox 360? Two different types of launches. Strategies can change, or stay the same, but i wouldnt declare anything as fact right now; which is what you seem to be doing.

My speculation? They will tell us when they are ready to tell us. (but they better tell us soon damnit! ;))

steviep said:
The fact that final dev kits are STILL not out, and much of the hardware isn't finalized,
Click to expand...
lol, We do not know this either. We do know the final dev kits are going out this month, december. Which sounds about right if they want to be on schedule. 360's final dev kits went out around 3 months before launch. Infact, the final dev kits could be out right now as we speak but we wouldnt know that because all devs should be under NDA. We probably wont hear much speak about them until CES06 when alot of nda's should be rising. Speculation sucks dont it? ;)

steviep said:
But CES may or may not give us some answers to these questions.
Click to expand...
Im thinking it will give us alot more info than we have been gettiing. News has it that Sony is planning the biggest booth they ever have at CES06.

in the new PSM magazine.

Both Sony guys said PS3 will be able to deliver the quality of visuals seen in the E3 demos. (perhaps even better) . " I think that, in the very near future, you'll see some comparable gameplay footage that will really put those rumors [that PS3 can't be as powerful as we're claiming it is] to bed."
Click to expand...
very near future, my only guess is CES.

Another quote to get the brain juices flowing :p
Hirai on the PS3 slipping into 2007, not going to happen, they are still on track for a Spring 2006 launch. Sony still doesn't know when and which country they want to launch in first.
Click to expand...
 
Hey I got an idea to drop the amount of piracy for movies.. cut the price in half.. make better movies and quit spending all the money they make on trying to sell junk.
I might get a ps3.. it really depends a lot on how the blu-ray hd battle shapes up. If blu ray looks to win.. I'll grab one, just because it might be one of the cheaper blu-ray players on the market.
 
AARGH! said:
Blu's numbers are still untested in mass production for that capacity.

Hey let's not forget how much more Blu discs will cost to make, and for the players. Between that and the DRM I'm all in for HD-DVD.

It seems most people who don't like HD-DVD are either Pro-Sony or Anti-MS. I've bought Sony TV's and receivers, but the mini-disc was a flop as they wanted to own it all. Now they want to try this with the HD market, and the movie studios love it, because they will have such a lockdown on it with their DRM will have to pay a license to copy it to each device (hypothetically).

Soon as I saw that Disney was on board with Blu that confirmed it. Disney is the worst of all for DVD ripoffs, and their backing of Divx back in the day forever ticked me off from their direct to dvd releases and such. Pixar movies was the only exception (thankfully Cars I think is the last release thru Disney).

For once the bigger ugly corporate gian isn't MS, it's Sony. Hopefully the PS3 will bankrupt them and it flops, trying to cram the blu drive in every box, or Halo 3 release and the Nintendo Rev coming out at super price point will bury it.

Oh btw yes I own a PS2, and a PSP so I am not anti-sony, I'm just looking out for my own interests vs. Movie studios.
Click to expand...

You are kidding yourself if you think that HD-DVD won't have ultra-restrictive DRM. DVD DRM trumped what was on CD, and next gen format will trump what is on DVD, but no matter what it will be hacked and cracked, such is the way of the world.

DIVX was a cool idea... just implemented badly. Hell, I end up paying enough rental late fees that DIVX would have been great for me... plus, if it had been caught on, it would've only been a matter of time before a program came out to crack the encryption and let you rip the DIVX discs into .vob files on your computer. The biggest problem with DIVX was that most of the movies released in it were fullscreen instead of original aspect ratio.
 
Lamont said:
Hahaha, nope!! Actually, we have to wait till the retail stores get the first shipment(s), then we can order them through the company (usually 2 months after launch). But we do get 1st party games REALLY cheap.

The higher-ups would get them as gifts prior to launch though.
Click to expand...
lol i guess that makes sense. Not sure if you can say or not but, Is your studio making any next gen titles? :D
 
NulloModo said:
Most DVD players already need two red lasers - one for CD and one for DVD. Plus, Blu-Ray will not be much more expensive. Estimates are it will be around 25 cents at most per disc more to produce.
Click to expand...

25 per disk is huge figure if you have to supply a standard best buy with spindals of 100 disks which I will say cost $100 for a 100 set of HD DVD to be made (price is for simplicity) Now $0.25 per disk more adds up

Costs 125 to make 100 blu rays, say you ship out 20 to the best buy, this costs you $2500 while if you were making HD DVDs it would cost $2000. Now lets say you have more than one distributor in the area, maybe a compusa that also gets 20 $5000 compaired to $4000 plus if you are making these you had to get all new equipment to make them in the first place where a HD DVD plant can use modified DVD production equipment (if I recall that correctly). All this while retail end has to price it at competative rates with HD DVDs, I can't say what everyone else will be getting but I rarly use disks to back up data so cheaper is better for me, that goes for burning video as well.
 
Rich Tate said:
I have to also say that I really believe MS will prove that you don't need Japan to be successful in this round.

Steve made a great point the other day on the frontpage. Let the japanese play the consoles based on gameplay and presentation, without them knowing which console they are playing, and then see what they think.

You think people are brand loyal here on our side of the pond?

But MS has been smart this round and brought on some japanese developers to make them exclusives.

Time will tell I suppose.
Click to expand...

If Xbox 360 doesn't sell a lot in japan, then I don't see PS3 failing. Even if MS dominates NA and Europe over Sony, that leaves the huge Japanese market for PS3.

and about the whole protection thing, it's definitely not just sony. Vista is supposed to be super retrictive in these ways.
 
Bad_Boy said:
Not sure if you can say or not but, Is your studio making any next gen titles? :D
Click to expand...
Yeah ^_^!

I think the late summer early fall launch is what's going to happen. Then Europe will get the PS3 around the time Japan and the US get the PS4. We got the PSP's about 3 months after Japan, the first time Sony has ever launched a game platform in multiple markets that fast. It HAS to be this way for the PS3.

What I look forward to this next round of systems is if/when people will start making the push AWAY from making things look real and go for alternative rendering styles. The power is there.

The 360 has impressive specs, and my fav game would be Kameo/Condemned right now.
 
Russ said:
If Xbox 360 doesn't sell a lot in japan, then I don't see PS3 failing. Even if MS dominates NA and Europe over Sony, that leaves the huge Japanese market for PS3.
Click to expand...


Japan — Population: 127,417,244
NA = 295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)
Europe = 707,736,887

Hmmm. Which market is larger? ;)
 
Tiny said:
Japan — Population: 127,417,244
NA = 295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)
Europe = 707,736,887

Hmmm. Which market is larger? ;)
Click to expand...
shit if europes pop is that high im never going there F that
 
Japan — Population: 127,417,244
NA = 295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)
Europe = 707,736,887

Hmmm. Which market is larger?
Click to expand...

actually, i think the right question is, which potential market is larger?
 
Lamont said:
Yeah ^_^!
Click to expand...
Nice! Allowed to say the title(s)? :D

Lamont said:
I think the late summer early fall launch is what's going to happen. Then Europe will get the PS3 around the time Japan and the US get the PS4. We got the PSP's about 3 months after Japan, the first time Sony has ever launched a game platform in multiple markets that fast. It HAS to be this way for the PS3.
Click to expand...
lol, Europe seems to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to Sony.

Lamont said:
What I look forward to this next round of systems is if/when people will start making the push AWAY from making things look real and go for alternative rendering styles. The power is there.
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate on this? I think i have an idea of what your talking about. In the english fan-subbed Kojima video where he was demo'ing MGS4... he was talking about lighting and rendering styles that were only mainly seen in high budget movies. Interesting stuff.
heres a link if those interested havent seen it yet:
http://files.filefront.com/MGS4_PS3_Devkit_Demo_Eng_subs/;4440530;;/fileinfo.html

Id actually liked to see a cell shaded game that looks like the cgi movie that comes on during the newest dbz game. http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/742/742303/vids_1.html (click CG and Gameplay Trailer)

btw Lamont, if you have one, could you pm me a link to your portfolio? you got me interested :D
 
Yeah, cell-shaded games were a start, But it can be much more than that to make it more dramatic. Look at the Sin City comics, imagine a game done like that? A Japanese woodblock, or a Monet?

Miller-Sin-City-Image.jpg


breda.jpg


moon_japanese_woodblock_22b.jpg


monet.parc-monceau.jpg


kahlo_self_monkey_small1.jpg
 
Let me add that nVidia and ATI are both making this possible with their line of videocards and shader language, the work just needs to be done.

Oh, and to keep on topic: Has anyone seen any pre-orders for PS3?
 
Lamont said:
Yeah, cell-shaded games were a start, But it can be much more than that to make it more dramatic. Look at the Sin City comics, imagine a game done like that? A Japanese woodblock, or a Monet?

http://www.actuabd.com/IMG/jpg/Miller-Sin-City-Image.jpg[-IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/velazquez/breda.jpg[-IMG]

[IMG]http://de9.ime.eb.br/~lpsanchez/mine/moon_japanese_woodblock_22b.jpg[-IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/paris/monet.parc-monceau.jpg[-IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fantasyarts.net/Kahlo/kahlo_self_monkey_small1.jpg[-IMG][/QUOTE]

I see what you mean. I think that would be pretty damn cool to see a game done in those types of artistic fashions. Im trying to think of a movie that could put what you mean in motion but none comes to mind. (except for maybe sin city or an ipod commercial)
[img]http://horror.about.com/library/weekly/SinCity/pages/h020sc-15.jpg

I wouldnt mind seeing a complete game done in 100% pointalism (sp?)

Lamont said:
Oh, and to keep on topic: Has anyone seen any pre-orders for PS3?
Click to expand...
I have heard of people going to preorder their ps3's, but I havent yet to go check my local gamestore for myself. I probably will this week before its too late. heh

edit:
I just remembered, if you have ever seen "What Dreams May Come", i think this is a great example of those artistic methods in motion. http://imdb.com/title/tt0120889/ It would be great to see something like that displayed in a video game.
Click to expand...
 
Am I the only one that hates Cell Shading? I hated JetSet Radio, I hated ViewtifulJoe, I hated XIII.
 
NulloModo said:
HD-DVD = 1080i max, Blu-Ray = 1080p max

Blu-Ray has a higher maximum disc capacity (200 gb vs. somewhere north of 50gb I think for HD-DVD)

Blu-Ray 1x transfers data faster than HD-DVD 1x

HD-DVD uses higher compression than Blu-Ray
Click to expand...

I don't know about your facts but from what I read the "actual" discs at best would be 50GB capacity and common sense dictates anything over that amount will be quite costly or is just being researched tested etc etc.

HD DVD they said capacities can go higher and I am inclined to agree with them however HD DVD looks to be more economical or realistic compared to the trappings and accolades I see written about Blu Ray.

Who cares but I am not paying 5+ dollars for a disc even if it is 50GB or more. The transfer rates? Who are we kidding here optical and hard drive storage are slow mediums I will be impressed when they can actually saturate a Sata 1 or Sata 2 theoretical limit.

Blu Ray is created by Sony and although they do have some great ideas they go about their business in the wrong way for over a decade. Sony is on the downslide now and their products are utter crap. Sony PC's, consumer electronics, and in general their movie studios all put out utter garbage. Sony makes a nice TV that is about it nowadays. Sony products are subpar and overly expensive. Sony again puts out very shoddy games in the MMO arena overall the company is bloated.

I don't know anyone that would purchase a Sony product that is even slightly aware of what they are purchasing. Today it's a fact you would be hard pressed to find Sony products that actually are created with quality and are supported and are competitive. It's hard to find a decent product they put their name on these days. They should really just gut most of the company and rebuild with a closed loop process of checks and balances and redo their image.
 
.::MAGE::. said:
I don't know anyone that would purchase a Sony product that is even slightly aware of what they are purchasing. Today it's a fact you would be hard pressed to find Sony products that actually are created with quality and are supported and are competitive. It's hard to find a decent product they put their name on these days. They should really just gut most of the company and rebuild with a closed loop process of checks and balances and redo their image.
Click to expand...
Remember when Sony was like the thing you bragged about (around the 80's to early 90's)? Now the electronics division has crippled themselves beyond repair because of the "fear" of piracy let other products beat them to market, and the quality of the products they have been putting out have sucked (unless you pump out $5k). The only Sony things in my house are the game systems and my VCR/DVD combo deck. To me it seems like they give the lesser electronics to the average consumer (who really count). I don't want to spend $4000 on a TV that looks just as good as the $2000 one with 7 HD inputs vs the 3 on the Sony.
 
Yes I used to actually think highly of Sony products not sure when it started going wrong but I do know in the 90's I wasn't buying much with Sony on it anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top