Over the course of this (sure to be epic) post, I’m going to look into all the cock-ups Sony has thrown at the fans in the last year as they awaited the Playstation 3. Let this serve as a reminder as to how these guys act and why you shouldn’t fall for their marketing crap.
It’s ordered chronologically starting from 365 days ago. Enjoy the theatre of carnage that is: Sony: The PS3 Story
Remember: This is just about the PS3. Sony have fouled up in plenty of other market segments (take the rootkit on their audio CDs for one example).
- Sony announces they’re sticking with the “boomerang” control
- Sony screw Europe by changing their Japanese Blu-Ray discs to Region 1 (US)
- First hints of a serious delay from the release date of March 2006
- Rumour-of-Retraction 1: Controller will be re-redesigned
- Sony says nothing for too long
- Sony: The hard disk is [optional](javascript:void(0);/1163663566500/)
- $900 price tag, Sony shares tumble
- Confirmed: PS3 is delayed, Blu-Ray blamed
- Retraction: Controller will be redesigned
- Games will be region free
- Sony refuse to demo in Hi-Def
- Sony Devs “confirm” Price tag is $499
- Sony says $499 is incorrect
- PS3 to be unplayable at E3 '06
- Sony still bidding on components at T-6months
- Price: $399 Date: Early November 06
- Sony will lose $900M launching the PS3
- PS3 is no more powerful than a 360
- Partial-Retraction: Price: $499/$599
- Retraction: 20gig PS3 has no HDMI [PDF Warning]
- New controller is here [No link, sorry]
- Ubisoft spits on the PS3
- Sony Pres: HDMI gives you the same quality
- Sony: PS3 is ‘Too Cheap’
- Sony silently remove functionality
- No wireless controller or memory card support for cheap model
- No vibration in the controller
- Sony screws Europe #2: Price: £425 ($802)
- Sony: 5M people will buy a PS3 even without games
- Price (US): Still $599
- 88% say the PS3 is too damned expensive
- Sony: “We get no breaks [on the PS3 price]”
- HDMI is useless
- Porting games to take 3 years
- Sony: “PC Dead, Nintendo For Kids, We Innovate”
- Sony: We want the PS3 to be like an iPod
- Kutaragi confuses the hell out of everyone
- PS3 controller used to rumble in '99
- Sony CEO: “PS3 is Future Proof, Xbox 360 is a transitional product”
- Only 20 PS3s per store
- Japanese Developers [about the PS3]: “meh”
- 90% of developers think the PS3 is too expensive
- First bundle price: $1016
- PS3 still not in assembly for another month
- Sony borrows 80 BILLION Yen
- Rumour that Apple is working with Sony
- Retraction: Sony say putting the Apple logo on their site was a “mistake”
- Leak: Internal Q&A document hits the net
- PS3 Cell CPU yields are terrible
- Rumoured Re-Retraction: Blu-Ray and Cell are both holding back the PS3
- Sony are unsure what the PS3 IS
- PS3 will slow the industry
- Report: Developers avoid PS3
- THQ scrap WWE Smackdown vs Raw '07 [Ed - YEY!]
- More developers ditch the PS3
- Dev kits ship; Devs are “underwhelmed”
- PS3 has worse texture capabilities than the 360
- More cancelled PS3 games
- PS2 memory cards need an adaptor to work in the PS3
- Sony still haven’t started making retail PS3s but aim for 200k units
- PS3 launching with 700k units
- PS3 to have shipped 4,000,000 units by Dec 31st 2006
- PS3 will cure cancer
- Stock Retraction: Only 50% of promised PS3s for Japan
- Sony underclock the PS3’s GPU
- Blu-Ray laser shortage!
- PS3 not shipping with HDMI cables
- Blu-Ray drives are almost twice as slow as the 360’s DVD drive.
- Sony screws Europe #3: PAL delayed until March '07
- Extreme shortages for launch
- Sony screws Japan #3: Launch numbers reduced again
- Sony: No 1080p games at launch
- Sony shares get trashed again from delay news
- Sony Devs cannot get a PS3
- Sony: Eeeek!
- Hollywood: Blu-Ray sucks
- Europe: FU too, Sony
- Gran Turismo HD to cost $1000 for the whole game
- Sony gives away an Xbox 360 as a first prize… Whoops.
- Price drop! Oh hang on… No… only for Japan
- Sony fans: “meh”
- Game price: $75-$85 Retraction: $59.99
- PS3s overheat
- Ubisoft: PS3s have less available memory
- Preorders start
- Preorders stop
- Sony worries about overheating issues
- eBay bans preorder-sellers
- PS3 comes with composite but no component cables
- Sony fake a report
- Sony might screw Europe (tentative #4): Another delay?
- IGN rate the new controller as the worst “next-gen” controller
- Sony definitely screws Europe #4/5: Importing a PS3 is illegal
- PS3 reviews: “meh”
- PS1 games still don’t work
- MS retaliates over #90
- Sony going to miss their lowered targets
- Europe screws Europe: UK Judge agrees with Sony: imports are not allowed
- Sony buries Lik-Sang in legal woes
- PS3 is a massive power hog
- Sony misses 100k target for Japan
- PS3 no better than a Xbox 360
- Nine minutes to install Riiiiidge Raaaacer
- MS reckon Sony’s online gaming network is “busted”
- SIXAXIS controllers go bad
- EA (a Sony supporter) predicts Sony missing targets
- Sony Exec: Sony “overreached” by including Blu-Ray with the PS3
- PS3 boot & start is too slow
- Best Buy cancel all preorders due to lack of stock
- Best Buy Employee: shipments slashed in half
- First proper review scores 6.4
- NBA Live '07 cancelled
- Tony Hawk Project 8 better on the 360
- Three “launch games” delayed and one cancelled
- PS3 rated third of third
- PS3 demos suck
- Glitches on older games
- Sony admits backwards-compatibility is nowhere near ready
- CoD3 is better on the 360
- You don’t get a power cable with the rechargeable controllers
- 720p games play at 480p on 1080i screens
- Four people shot waiting for PS3s
There. 122 reasons for you to drop that crazy idea in the back of your head, put there, do doubt, from watching too many Sony adverts.
The very last thing you want to do is get swept up in “operation human shield”. Let other morons waste all that money on a PS3. Let them find out that the controller sucks. Let them find out that they look (and play) worse than the same games on your 360.
Why people are queuing for this crap is beyond me… But at least its not my money they’re wasting.