What does the Playstation 3 need?

The Playstation 3 has had a rough launch, to say the least. GameSpot recently put out a list of 10 Things to Make the Playstation 3 Worth Buying. Most of which are easier said than done. "Reconsider the price" sounds nice as a consumer, but considering the fact that Sony is already losing $300 on every PS3 console, I doubt they'll be able to lower the price for quite some time. So if the price isn't going to change, they really need to do… something.

The number one most important thing a console needs to have is good games. And the PS3's been falling way short on that. With GDC recently gone by and E3 coming up in a couple months, this is the time of year when we'll really start to see what the PS3's lineup is going to be like. But independent of upcoming game announcements, the PS3 really needs to offer some good games now. Some do seem to be trickling in. I was checking out the video review of MotorStorm, which looked like a fun dirty driving game. The graphics look great, and as Alex Navarro put it so elegantly: "it looks rad when you break stuff." But whenever I see a game like that I wonder, "wow, that looks sweet, but can't the 360 do that too?"

It's also critical that the PS3 nail down a lot of the services that gamers are growing to expect. It still blows my mind how much better Xbox Live is than what the other systems are offering. And I'm not even talking the current evolution on the 360 - even the Xbox Live from the original Xbox trumps anything that the PS3 or Wii have. Sony's trying to up the bar with their newly announced Playstation 3 Home, but what they call "infinitely more exciting" I call "inefficient and creepy." But Second Life seems to have a large following, so maybe it'll take off in some circles. Just don't try to override your social networking feature as a matchmaking and achievement lobby.

There's a lot of potential in the PS3. But Sony's got a lot of work to do to make anyone give a crap. In the meantime, I'll continue to rock my Wii60 setup and be content with that.

How You Killed Your Brand

Check out this YouTube music video.

I try to hold back and not bash Sony. But as an avid gamer it's hard not too. Still, I try. I've currently topped off my GameFly queue with PS2 titles (Okami and Bully, soon to be followed by FFXII), and I don't even own a PS2 (I've temporarily traded for my Gamecube).

But Sony has completely missed the boat on this round of consoles. The Wii is mastering the art of fun. The 360 is nailing the hardcore and online markets. And the PS3 is wasting everyone's money by whoring out their game console as a trojan horse for a DVD upgrade that no one wants. They've managed to set new records for cocky statements, yet completely underdeliver on the sorts of things gamers actually care about. Somehow out of all of this, Microsoft has come out looking cool. You've gotta screw up pretty bad for that to happen.

Anyway, watch the video. It's funny.