But time will tell for entertainment ubermachine
Although the PlayStation 3 is the most powerful of the next generation gaming consoles, it has fallen behind the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii in sales and general desirability.
Clocking in at 40 times the power of the PlayStation 2 according to the PlayStation Web site, the PS3 has the capacity to run some of the most highly advanced video games ever made.
“The PlayStation 3 system’s Cell Broadband Engine is the very thing that game developers have always dreamt about,” the Web site said. “Its unique multi-processing unit design represents a tour de force in parallel processing.”
Indeed, the PS3 does have an impressive technical layout, yet it has not garnered nearly as much attention as the Xbox 360 or the Wii since its release Nov. 17.
One of the reasons for this is the current lack of games to play on the PS3.
“There’s nothing to push the system,” said Justin Lunn, a GameForce employee.
Lunn said although GameForce has sold quite a few PS3s in the past few months, the PS3 is not competing well with other consoles. He said, however, that once more game titles release for the PS3, he expects that it will become more competitive. Lunn said that as of right now, the Xbox 360 and Wii offer a wider variety of games. He added that since the Xbox 360 has been on the market longer, it would naturally have more game titles to its name.
The Xbox 360 supports a wide variety of games including blockbuster titles such as the “Halo” series and “Gears of War.” The Wii supports titles such as “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” and “Wii Sports,” as well as the ability to play Nintendo GameCube games. There is hope for the PS3, too, which supports titles such as “Resistance: Fall of Man,” and the newly released “God of War 2”.
The PS3’s price tag is another issue that is causing consumers to shy away. The PS3 comes in two models, a 20 gigabyte hard drive model selling for $499, and a 60 gigabyte hard drive selling for $599. This price is high in comparison to the Xbox’s price of $399 and the Wii’s cost of $249.
“I don’t own (a PS3) largely due to the fact that it costs an ungodly amount,” said Lloyd Wilcox, a junior philosophy major.
The high cost of the PS3 is due to its inclusion of Blu-ray Disc technology. Standalone Blue-ray Disc players can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500. This means that PS3 buyers would be saving money on Blu-ray technology.
However, Lunn said Blu-ray technology was not a primary reason why people bought the PS3. He said that, in his opinion, the Blu-ray aspect of the PS3 was simply ahead of its time.
The PS3 boasts a number of other capabilities, such as Internet surfing ability and Bluetooth compatibility.
“I got the sense right away that this is one seriously cool device, capable of doing just about everything from watching home videos and photos to streaming media over the Web,” Cliff Edwards wrote in his PS3 review for BusinessWeek.com.
However, Edwards wrote that the PS3 was currently more useful as an entertainment system rather than a video game platform.
“It’s processing and graphics power are unmatched, but you need games,” Wilcox wrote.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Jon Swihart at jon.swihart@thecampuspress.com.
