Idle ramblings
OK, I haven’t posted for a week and I feel like if I don’t get something out to the masses I’ll explode. So here goes.
My PS3 is awesome. Works great and Blu-Ray is a dream. Almost all titles have been good except X-men 3. My wife kept asking if there was something wrong with the player, but when I popped Superman returns in she said “Yeah, that’s what it’s suppose to look like”. I think the studios are still futzing with the settings on their new fangled hi-def equipment.
Now most of you know I have a Runco CL-410. Great projector for upconversion. Not so good with true hi-def. I see lines in some of the shrubs on Motorstorm. I may have to upgrade to “true” 1080p next year (Don’t tell the wife :>)
I tried the PSP remote play with one of my nephews PSPs thinking it would be something where I could remotely play PS3 games. No love. It just plays media like stored videos, pictures, and music. It kept dropping out even when I messed with the reponse time on the PSP, and sitting in the same room! I can play a file off of my server in my house, why can’t I hear music in the same room? The movie trailers were cool, but I think more could have been done on the PS3 side to downconvert these then send them (not stream them) to the PSP. I sure home Sony has as large team working out these kinks.
PS2 titles are not as good as they could be. I am worried though because as most of you know Sony bolted on a PS2 inside the PS3. I think that is why they are having trouble with pumping the resolution through HDMI and also why this may not be able to be fixed with a patch. HDMI didn’t exist in the PS2. What scares me is Sony coming out with a PS3.5 with the PS2 being emulated and PS2 games looking great because then the video hardware for the PS3 can be used. Stay tuned.
On another note, I think you guys (and gals) already know about the Denon receivers coming out next year with HDMI 1.3 support. It is just days away from CES 2k7 and I still don’t see any other receiver manufacturer announcing their lineup. I sure hope the field isn’t dry in this respect (Come on Pioneer!).
Lastly I want to comment on the “shortage” of PS3s. I got mine just a few weeks after launch. No problems. Went to a BB, CC and Walmart over the weekend. Counted over 50 PS3s on the shelves. I think some as consumers thought it was a bad move on Sony’s part to put a high price on their units. I think it was brilliant. It short circuited the bundling and scalping because your average 12 year old doesn’t have $800 (PS3, game or two and some accessories) just laying around. The most under reported item I see is the lack of Wii’s on the shelves. I haven’t seen a one since launch. If your counting, there are now more PS3 out there than Wiis. Maybe there was something to the story of the Sony manufacturer that was sabotaged this fall because they certainly have been able to pump them into the channel all through December. I even got my PS3 remote this past weekend at CC.
Well we hope to have a lot more to say in the next few days as press releases come out prior to CES.
Peace and gaming,
Mole
Check out our new sister blog on Home Theater, HTBlog.net
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 am
Dude what? Are you joke posting or something? There are wayyyy more wii’s out there than PS3s.
1.8 million as compared to 750,000, and 2 million Xbox 360s sold over the same period. Link.
I’m not really sure if “short circuiting the scalpers” is a good strategy, if it leaves consoles sitting unsold on shleves whereas last year at this time xbox 360’s were still impossible to find, and wii’s sell out everytime they touch down. I’m not saying sony is dead, but that’s not a good thing at all.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Ah then you missed my point. Why were 360s so hard to find? Because scalpers were still selling units for a hefty profit. With scalping profits down people can buy a PS3 at a regular box store when they want. Not through some back channel and Sony not getting capital to build games and patch.
Maybe there are more Wiis out there, but where are they? On e-bay being scalped. If you check ps3finder and wiitracker it is much easier to find a PS3 at retail than a Wii. It is better for the BB and CC of the world for a consumer to come in and buy the unit directly. It build a better relationship and increases the chance of the consumer coming back. Where is the loyalty in an e-bay scalper? This is just marketing 101
January 4th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Huh? The 360 has the highest tie ratio for games and accessories of any console, obviously there’s some loyal customer out there.
I’m pretty sure it would be better to have a scalper buying the ps3 and reselling it quickly to an eager end buyer, than for new ps3s to sit unsold for a longer period of time. I really fail to understand how that works better for sony.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
and uh, scalpers didn’t cause the 360 shortage, they capitalized on it. you mixed up the cause and the effect.
if there weren’t a shortage, there would have been no scalpers. There were even more ps3 scalpers this time, they just don’t have anyone to sell to. That’s not good.
January 5th, 2007 at 9:25 am
scalpers capitalized, and retailers lost an opportunity to pick up a customer. That is my point on marketing 101. Customers are more likely to buy other items while shopping.
So from the business standpoint it is better to have product on the shelves and connecting with the customer that will be using the product. Not buying from a middleman that jacks up the price and then not creating the relationship with the consumer.