Boycott the PS3!

So the Geek is a proud owner of the Xbox 360 and the Wii. But amongst the gaming hardware strewn about the fortress, you will not find a PS3. Simple oversight? I think not. In fact, the Geek demands you boycott the PS3! Now why such a harsh reaction? I’ll explain.

First, it’s important to understand that there is a lot of good in the PS3. The cell processor is a great chip, matching the Xbox360 out of the box, and if Sony’s designers know what they’re doing, should outperform the 360 in coming years. They have built in wireless and HDMI outputs on their deluxe model. All of these things combine to form an excellent system.  And then they ruined it. What brought the PS3 to ruin? In a single word…  Blu-Ray.

Now we have all heard about blu-ray, but what is it really? In truth, it’s just a disc that holds more than a DVD. This extra space allows it to hold high definition movies as well as hold more game data. But what do we really get? Well, you do get high def movies. Well kinda. If you have a high def TV. And the right cables. And you don’t run your signal through any of your older equipment. And well… it’s not quite high def, as the movies weren’t shot in high def. Instead their shot with regular cameras, and then they just sharpen it up. Ok, well not always. Sometimes it’s still kinda blurry, and looks like a regular dvd. So while one day you will have great high def movies, your going to have to hope for the best right now.

But what about games? Well they can have high def cut scenes, but I don’t really know anyone who buys a game for its cut scenes, especially when most are done with the in-game engine these days. What else can Blu-ray do for your games? Well, some developers brag that they can fit the English, French, and German versions on the game on one disc, isn’t that exciting? Other than that, you don’t get much else, as most games can still fit their content on a DVD.

So we see what little Blu-Ray has gotten us, now let’s look at what it has cost us. Well, put simply, about 200 bucks. If Sony would have stripped out the drive and went with dvd, they could have come pretty close to matching the 360’s $399 price tag. Then, there’s also the matter of timing. With a standard drive, the PS3 could have launched over 6 months sooner, with millions of units available for the Christmas season. And just make it a little bit worse; the Blu-Ray drive is slower than a standard DVD drive, making loading times even worse. So why would Sony do this? Why would they saddle their most important product with such an unnecessary drive? Why, greed, of course.

You see, Blu-ray is a format owned by Sony. Every, movie and game released on Blu-Ray puts another dollar in Sony’s pocket. And if their disc can win the format war with HD-DVD and become the new standard, it could mean billions in revenue for Sony. And so they did what all greedy companies do, they attached their money maker to a system that didn’t need it, to sell to consumers that didn’t want it. Consumers like you. They know you want to play PS3 games, and they can force their drive down your throat. Unless, that is, you do as I suggest and boycott the PS3. Send a message to Sony by getting a 360 or grabbing a Wii. And when you see a PS3, just spit in its general direction.

Comments

[Sir Snax Alot]

Wow, lots of good points are made here. I think the best feature of xbox, is xbox live and feel the ps3's online capabilities leave much to be desired. Sony screwed us with the PSP so bad, I thought it said Sega on the back of the unit. As more and more developers realize how expensive it is to make games , we are seeing less and less titles exclusive to any system. This is good news to us!!! Joy!!