PS2 Launch in France:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgZl0zlka08
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PS3 Launch in France:
http://www.jeux-france.com/news19695_la-...urope.html
Jeux-France as translated by Google Wrote:Sony Computer Entertainment organized as envisaged a launching at midnight of PlayStation 3 on a boat which accosted with the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, with a thousand of machines available to the sale. The event unfortunately attracted only one score of people on the quay, and 4 to 5 people maximum on the other event organized simultaneously with Fnac of the Élysées Fields in Paris. One will note the unexpected presence and rather amusing of Microsoft come him also with his boat Xbox 360!
(pictures available through the link)
Video of the X360 barge:
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/ps3/vi...cement-ps3
... and for comparision, the Wii launch in France. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbAQkIG1cBA
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Things are no better in Austrailia...
http://kotaku.com/gaming/ps3-launch/aust...246437.php
Good news, though: Supposedly things went better for Sony in Sweden.
Awesome... :)
The way the music selections contrast with the visuals...
http://www.jeux-france.com/downloads7564...ion-3.html
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hahaha oh God I hate the french.
Sony spent millions on that launch for 5 people that showed up. That's gotta sting.
XBox 360 loves you? Is that a french thing?
Well considering it's in English, I'd have to say no. It seems equally likely to be on a giant television screen attached to a building in Japan.
Sony apparently gave free TVs, big ol' TVs, to the first 100 people in line at SOME place in Europe.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/23/sony-g...ers-in-uk/
I guess that's something.
Microsoft sent a barge down the river by the Eiffel Tower where Sony was having its launch party (about 30-50 people showed up, while Sony was expecting a thousand at least)... :) I don't know why it was in English, but it was. That's what made it so funny... :)
The other major Paris launch event, done by that store (with the picture of the "line" with one person in it), indeed had a whole launch event... and five people came. :D
MS also ... interfered ... in England -- some people working for MS provided chairs for the people waiting in line for PS3's at one of the main London launch things... Sony didn't notice because the chairs just had a URL on them --
http://www.shkyw.org/ . Check it out to see the results... :)
Nice.
Microsoft definitely took the bull by the horns this gen. Nintendo hasn't made a single attempt at directly comparing themselves to either company except for Reggie's "we're doing better in europe than MS". I mean there hasn't been a single "Wii is better than X system because..." statement, they're just riding the wave and raking in sales.
Sony is gonna hit with Home, but even then they still have to get people interested in the system and in Bluiray which is already getting the boot by retailers like the UMD format. What's really horrible is that with PSX and PS2 I could find 5 games atleast that I would enjoy playing, going all the way back to Warhawk and Jumping Flash to FFT, the Castlevania games, Silent Hill series, etc. But I actually dont have any interest for any game on the PS3.
There's that upcoming Small World or whatever it's called that looked like fun, it had sort of a Pikmin without the pikmin look and feel to it (playing as tiny explorers). But I dont see that super charging interest in PS3.
Actually Bluray movies have been outselling HDDVD on a 2 to 1 ratio.
Really I don't care which format "wins". I'll just wait until the dust settles.
Is that true? Then why is my walmart getting rid of bluray?
I agree though, i'm not buying an HD player just to find out the format is toast.
Quote:Sony is gonna hit with Home, but even then they still have to get people interested in the system and in Bluiray which is already getting the boot by retailers like the UMD format. What's really horrible is that with PSX and PS2 I could find 5 games atleast that I would enjoy playing, going all the way back to Warhawk and Jumping Flash to FFT, the Castlevania games, Silent Hill series, etc. But I actually dont have any interest for any game on the PS3.
The PS1 did have a pretty good lineup in its first few months... Warhawk, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer, Toshinden, etc... PS2 didn't, but the hype was enough that that didn't matter, and it had some huge exclusives by its second holiday season (late '01) -- MGS2, DMC, FFX... but the PS3? Not only does it have a weak early lineup, almost all of the best games out so far or coming this year are multiplatform. The recent DMC4 to X360 announcement (Sony fans are so, so unhappy this week... :D) is just one of many signs of this... the PS3 is not a total failure, but it clearly is not heading in the direction of the PS1 or PS2, and there aren't any games coming anytime soon that could change that. MGS4 is the only major exclusive this year I can think of... there's no way FFXIII/FFversusXIII will be out in '07. If they end up PS3 exclusive...
Quote:There's that upcoming Small World or whatever it's called that looked like fun, it had sort of a Pikmin without the pikmin look and feel to it (playing as tiny explorers). But I dont see that super charging interest in PS3.
What was that game's name... Little Big World, I think. Yeah, it did look good. Not the greatest thing ever, but solid fun... but yes, not a system seller. Home might be... we'll see.
Well Little Big Planet has multiplayer and it will apparently allow you to design your own levels. That caught my interest.
Ah yes, there's actually a petition to BOYCOTT DMC4 because they hurt their fans. Let's see... they made their game MORE available! Yep, that totally screws... no one actually. How did this hurt them? Why is it that some idiots see the lack of exclusive access to their grand group as "harm" done to them? That's some messed up logic there.
And for those who agreed with me up until that point, I sure hope you thought the same thing when RE4 was released on the PS2 :D.
Quote:And for those who agreed with me up until that point, I sure hope you thought the same thing when RE4 was released on the PS2 .
I'm not opposed to them porting it, but they should have waited to announce it until AFTER the GC version had been released, instead of the week before, because despite the 11-month gap, it definitely sabotaged sales of the GC version of the game, and that's too bad...
Got to love Bill Gates he is so rich he can waste money taunting rival companies to no gain.
And who does that hurt? I'd have been upset if they had waited, because there is extra content in that PS2 version (even if it does have worse graphics). Going to the store being fully aware of your options is always a good option. The only reason it sabotaged sales was because some people, hearing about the PS2 version, wanted THAT one instead. How can that be considered a bad thing, that people got what they wanted? It only hurt the inner citadel of Nintendo headquarters, but ya know, I care more about the customers than the companies. Call me old fasioned.
Look, the fact is that Nintendo fans buy more games published by Nintendo than by other companies. Of the third-party games, exclusives often seem to get more attention (and sales) than multiconsole titles. Capcom knew this, and went on and announced the PS2 version just before the release of the GC one -- making a lot of Nintendo fans mad at them (and perhaps losing those sales as a result), and convinced a large chunk of the mass market which was perhaps on the fence to just wait. Perhaps this doesn't affect Capcom at all, if the game's overall sales make it worth the second version, but it definitely was a major blow to Nintendo at the time. I'd imagine that Nintendo simply wasn't willing to pay Capcom enough to gaurantee exclusivity... so they went with Sony.
Now, on the other hand, an eventual PS2 port was pretty much a certainty, since all of Capcom's other successful GC games had been ported, but at least for Viewtiful Joe and stuff they didn't announce the PS2 versions until much later...
Look... of course this DMC4 thing is bad news for Sony fans. But just like with Capcom and the Wii, companies go after the bottom line, not the hardcore fans' wishes...
How does this actually hurt the fans? As I just said, the important thing is that the people now will know exactly what they will be able to get, and that's an ADVANTAGE for ALL consumers. THAT is what is important!
The idea of basically waiting just so people who may not otherwise have got it will get it? That's trickery and that doesn't help anyone, except those fanboys who want to be able to brag that "hey, you can only get it on my favorite system". That's just stupid selfishness. That's not a real advantage of any sort.
Just how many people were killed for a ps3 in france in that massive crowd where they where being handed out as the lucky few were trying to get out alive.
*He got one! Kill Him!!
Quote:Just how many people were killed for a ps3 in france in that massive crowd where they where being handed out as the lucky few were trying to get out alive.
*He got one! Kill Him!!
Massive crowd...
(Is that a joke or are you confusing the PS2 and PS3 stuff?)
Quote:How does this actually hurt the fans? As I just said, the important thing is that the people now will know exactly what they will be able to get, and that's an ADVANTAGE for ALL consumers. THAT is what is important!
The idea of basically waiting just so people who may not otherwise have got it will get it? That's trickery and that doesn't help anyone, except those fanboys who want to be able to brag that "hey, you can only get it on my favorite system". That's just stupid selfishness. That's not a real advantage of any sort.
Exclusivity does mean something, though. It says that the company believes in the platform in question enough to release the game only there and not anywhere else -- ideally it is a statement of confidence, or of acknowledgement that the platform in question best matches the target audience of the game. It's also a prestige thing for the fans, of course... so when a company announces a port of a game that had previously only been announced for only one system (and people had a reasonable expection that it might stay exclusive), people are naturally upset. This DOES matter! If your fans are upset, as I said, they might retaliate... witness that very petition of angry Sony fans. Or the reaction to the RE4-PS2 announcement.
As for the trickery thing... you're right of course, but if you want to win, you have to get people to buy your system somehow, and paying third parties for timed exclusivity is a time-honored way of doing that. Getting them to not announce the port until after the first version is out is just one step above that... whether it's right or wrong, it happens. And seriously... if you want the first version to sell as well as possible, doesn't it just make sense to not announce more versions until after it's had a chance to sell? This does not apply to simultaneous or near-simultaneous multiplatform launches, of course, but those games aren't what I'm talking about here.
Whether it's the first version or the second, it balances out overall in sales. This petition is irrelevent anyway. The number of people boycotting this (idiots, all of them) are vastly outnumbered by 360 owners who will buy the game.
Matters eh? Well this whole confidence mentallity is irrelevent. They just need to understand that it doesn't hurt them at all and helps others get to the product who might otherwise not be able to. That's net benefit. Indeed, all exclusivity deals seem to be breaking down because 3rd parties everywhere are starting to realize it is not in their best interest to make these deals to begin with, and for the life of me I just can't seem to consider that a bad thing for anyone except the first parties.
A Black Falcon Wrote:Massive crowd...
Did you watch that first video! True it wasn't as big a turn out as say maybe the ps2, but that room was wall to wall frechmen! People in the video were trying to push their way out after colleting there ps3 and not get shot and robed in the process.
toven that IS the PS2 launch. Read before you click.
lazyfatbum Wrote:toven that IS the PS2 launch. Read before you click.
Ow. So it was, my bad. It's all Russia's fault! Running around half naked in those dresses / kilts, get some underwear for Christ's sake! Not like those Scottish people with there race to get into space first. Scots rule! With pants!
I mean look at Scottie from Star Trek! He was Russian and his main achievement involved a drinking game. Not like Chekhov he was Scottish and chief of engineering.
*Non Sequitur :)
The PS3 launch is the *third* video. You know, the one with almost no one there. :D
Quote:Whether it's the first version or the second, it balances out overall in sales. This petition is irrelevent anyway. The number of people boycotting this (idiots, all of them) are vastly outnumbered by 360 owners who will buy the game.
Matters eh? Well this whole confidence mentallity is irrelevent. They just need to understand that it doesn't hurt them at all and helps others get to the product who might otherwise not be able to. That's net benefit. Indeed, all exclusivity deals seem to be breaking down because 3rd parties everywhere are starting to realize it is not in their best interest to make these deals to begin with, and for the life of me I just can't seem to consider that a bad thing for anyone except the first parties.
DJ, seriously... so everyone should just say "I don't care which consoles win, let all the games go to all the platforms, whatever"? That, I'd say, goes against human nature. Once a person makes a buying decision -- like buying a PlayStation product over an Xbox product -- that person identifies with that choice and rationalizes why it was a good choice, and starts wanting 'their' product to win. It's natural, just like rooting for your local sports team (... not that you'd understand that, but ... well anyway...). Seriously...
You are right that the number of people protesting are far fewer than the number of people who will buy it for X360, though, almost certainly. That's why Capcom is doing this, after all...
Anyway though, back to the point. I think it DOES matter to them what Capcom does -- once you start supporting the other platforms more seriously, isn't there a chance that some games that if the games start selling better there than on your system, the company might make some games exclusive to that OTHER platform, or might start making games first for that system with yours getting the inferior ports? And if that happens, unless you've got the money to buy all the systems and like them equally, you're going to be unhappy... so yes, it does matter.
For instance, games for the PS2 and Wii. Wii owners are getting the game, but with motion controls! Why complain about the not-so-great graphics? ... yeah, exclusives are better. It does seem that this gen third-party exclusives are getting a lot harder to find, though... we'll see where things go. If the Wii wins Japan as decisively as it seems to be winning so far, things might change... remember, in Japan, unlike in the US, there has always been one platform that wins the generation decisively, while all of the others follow far behind. Sometimes there is an opening for a while, like the PC Engine in the gap years while the Famicom faded but before the SFC was released, but once the leader catches on, it's always been a one-system race on the top... the US is different of course, with the SNES-Genesis race as the best example of that but also with a closer race between the N64 and PSX than there was in Japan, etc, but still, in every region, whichever console wins gets the games... and since you can't port Wii games easily (tech-wise) anywhere other than maybe the GC, PS2, and PSP, and the GC is dead, the PS2 won't last forever, and the PSP ... is not a success...
Anyway, that's completely irrelevant to this discussion... my point is, exclusives do matter, and losing exclusives matters too. It matters to the fans, mentally ('they should just get over it' isn't going to just solve things), but it also matters as a sign of the company's support for the platform... that they don't trust it as much anymore, and might reduce their support in the future. But really... can't you admit that the idea of thinking "I want the thing which I spent so much time and money on to do well" makes sense?
Yes on that last part, but the rest of that is rather speculative don't you think?
As for "human nature" I guess I'm just not human? Is that what you're saying?
No, you just seemed to be saying that people shouldn't care if games are ported, and I was saying why they do.
I'm a Nintendo fan I want to see Nintendo do well, just like a sports team. With RE4, NON-GC owners were going to buy a GC for RE4, but when they heard its heading to PS2 (with shit visuals to boot) they mostly opted to hold off and Nintendo lost that pie.
If you dont care, great wonderful stupendous write - a - book - on - it, just remember that you're a "wrong" and people will hate you.
What part of "more people can enjoy the game" aren't you getting?
What part of "Nintendo lost money" aren't you understanding? :D
So? Nintendo's still making games and I'm still enjoying them. Like I really care if they get some extra money from a 3rd party. I don't work for them.
I guess I'll never understand this "team spirit" thing. Well, that's not really true, but I won't understand why some people do it when they are not ON the team in question.
Capcom's response:
"We are certainly moved that people are so passionate about our products that they would go to such extremes. At the same time we feel that allowing more people access to our content pleases far more people than it displeases (after all, we're not denying DMC 4 to anyone that was already going to get it). It really is the best decision for the company and for consumers."
That pretty much sums it up. Stop whining, it's not like we took the game away from you, and in the end this makes far more people happy than (unreasonably) unhappy so we're doing it.