Thu, Aug 13, 2009 | 23:51 BST
July NPD: PS3 is “just getting warmed up,” says Sony
Sony’s responded to tonight’s NPD figures by saying PS3 is “just getting warmed up” and pointing out differences between its console, 360 Arcade and Wii.
“When you compare all the features against other industry offerings, there is no doubt that the PlayStation 3 provides the most complete entertainment system on the market today – right out of the box,” said the firm in a statement.
“Not only are consumers provided a best-in-class Blu-ray player that comes with 80 GB of storage for photos and music, built-in Wi Fi, and thousands of innovative games that appeal to hardcore gamers and families alike, the PS3 offers future-proof technology and free access to rich and ever-evolving PlayStation Network content and services.”
A handy chart was provided to point all this out. Look:
There’s no mention of the NPD figures at all in the PR. Get the full thing after the break.
PlayStation: Your Entertainment Hub
PlayStation continues to set the standard for entertainment at home and on the go. With three successful platforms that deliver a decade’s worth of entertainment in every box, an unparalleled line-up of 350 first and third-party games hitting across its multi-platforms this fiscal year, and a rich offering of games, movies and entertainment content, the company is staged yet again for a tremendous holiday season and year.
PlayStation 3 (PS3) is Just Getting Warmed Up
We know our consumers demand a premium entertainment experience. When you compare all the features against other industry offerings, there is no doubt that the PlayStation 3 provides the most complete entertainment system on the market today – right out of the box. Not only are consumers provided a best-in-class Blu-ray player that comes with 80 GB of storage for photos and music, built-in Wi Fi, and thousands of innovative games that appeal to hardcore gamers and families alike, the PS3 offers future-proof technology and free access to rich and ever-evolving PlayStation Network content and services.
Functionality
PS3 80GB
Xbox 360 Arcade
Wii
Blu-ray gaming/movies YES Not Available Not Available
Interoperability with PSP YES Not Available Not Available
Online Gaming and Entertainment Service FREE $50 per person/per year Limited
Ability to stream digital content (music, photos, video) from computer YES YES Not Available
Wi-Fi YES $100 add-on YES
Hard Drive YES (80 GB) $100-$150 add-on (60GB-120GB) Not Available
HDMI Output YES YES Not Available
In only its third year of its lifecycle, the PS3 system has sold 24 million hardware units and nearly 190 million software units worldwide. In the first half of 2009 alone, PS3 exclusives Killzone 2, MLB 09 The Show,and inFAMOUS received critical acclaim and success with continued sales expected throughout the year. The PS3 software library also features a higher percentage of titles scoring 80 or above than any other console of its generation according to Metacritic data.
SCEA will continue to raise the bar this fiscal year with more than 25 exclusive titles to hit the platform. The highly-anticipated titles include UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, God of War III, MAG, ModNation Racers, Heavy Rain and many more. In addition, SCEA will expand its “Greatest Hits” library with two new best-selling titles. Starting August 16, stand alone version of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune will be available for $29.99 MSRP.
PlayStation Network Feeds the Living Room with Compelling Digital Content
With more than 26 million user accounts and more than 540 million pieces of content downloaded worldwide to date, there is no denying the tremendous user appetite for digital content. In July 2009, paid downloads on PlayStation Network increased 114% over the past year.
There are more than 200 downloadable games and 1500 pieces of add-on game content for the PS3 and PSP systems available via the PlayStation Store, including innovative exclusive smash hits such as Flower, Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake and PixelJunk Eden and dozens of PS one Classics, such as Final Fantasy VII. Leading into the launch of PSPgo this fall and into the holidays, the PlayStation Store will expand significantly with downloadable content for the PSP platform, including highly anticipated titles such as Gran Turismo and PSone classics. In addition, the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service provides PSP and PS3 owners access to over 13,000 hours of video content. Today the service features more than 2,000 movies and 12,000 TV shows for all tastes and interests.
PSP (PlayStation Portable) Sets the Bar for Best-in-Class Entertainment on the Go
With nearly 53 million hardware units sold to date around the world, PSP is the only mobile entertainment device to offer console-quality gaming, music, movies, photos, wireless Internet, Skype, and on-the-go access to your living room’s entertainment content through PS3 interconnectivity. PSP is on pace for a truly break-out year, now with direct access to the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, new digital content services such as Media Go!, and nearly 100 titles launching this fiscal year, including LittleBigPlanet PSP, Gran Turismo PSP,SOCOM: U.S Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, Final Fantasy Dissidia, Madden NFL 10 and more. PlayStation is also offering many new hardware options to meet consumers’ varying needs and preferences, including the PSP-3000, the brand new Limited Edition Hannah Montana PSP (PlayStation Portable) Entertainment Pack with a lilac PSP, and PlayStation’s first digital-only portable device, the PSPgo system, coming this October.
PlayStation 2 Continues To Prove It Still Has Game
Now in its ninth year, more than 139 million PlayStation 2 entertainment systems and an unprecedented 1.4 billion PlayStation 2 software units have been sold life-to-date around the globe. With a $99 purchase price, a library of over 10,240 titles, plus more than 100 additional titles slated this fiscal year — including SingStar: Queen, MotorStorm: Artic Edge and more — PlayStation 2 continues to offer a great value for budget-conscience families and gamers.
No other company can offer the strength of three healthy platforms and is better positioned to deliver the most complete entertainment experience to consumers for many, many years to come.
17 comments
#1
Mafro
13/08/09, 11:54 pm
So the PS3 has been getting warmed up for the past three years, then?
#2
Constantine
14/08/09, 12:00 am
It’s a very slow burn.
#3
Psychotext
14/08/09, 12:01 am
Warmed up? Right now it looks like they’re just about to close the morgue door.
#4
Superfrog
14/08/09, 1:07 am
Interoperability with PSP: YES — N/A — N/A
Plays PS3 games: YES — N/A — N/A
Sony-branded: YES — N/A — N/A
PlayStation-branded: YES — N/A — N/A
Plays PS2 games: N/A — N/A — N/A
#5
SunKing
14/08/09, 1:09 am
“Interoperability with PSP”? Really? That’s kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel in regards to USPs, Sony. Blu-ray, Wi-Fi and a free online multiplayer service are three of the PS3′s greatest strengths, so why make it look like you’re struggling to find the good points?
#6
Superfrog
14/08/09, 1:20 am
Also, they should of course have compared the PS3 with the Elite 360 and not the Arcade…
All these comparison charts make Sony look even more desperate. As far as I followed them, this chart is the most ridiculous so far.
#7
Psychotext
14/08/09, 1:23 am
This one is far more informative: http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/26/855758-xboxisfornerds_super.png
#8
G1GAHURTZ
14/08/09, 6:36 am
Oh dear.
#9
DrDamn
14/08/09, 8:12 am
Whilst it looks silly I can kind of see why the PSP is in there. It’s not that it’s interoperable with the PSP as such but the cool stuff you can do with the interoperability that mark it down as a USP. It’s the sort of impressive stuff I’d expect MS to be doing not Sony to be honest as tech wise it’s great.
Turn on your PS3 remotely and kick off downloads whilst at work, access the content on you PS3 remotely and even play some of your PS3 games remotely is pretty feckin’ impressive. PSP has also sold a hell of a lot more than the PS3 and apparently – given the software sales – for these sorts of media reasons. Wrong sort of thing to big this up in, but they should be bigging it up a bit more somewhere.
#10
Tonka
14/08/09, 8:14 am
OMG, the PS3 really have all the bells and whistles, doesn’t it?
#11
Blerk
14/08/09, 8:25 am
They could really do with throwing another few logs on the fire.
Why do they always compare the PS3 with the entry-level 360 SKU?
#12
DrDamn
14/08/09, 8:35 am
@Blerk
Because that’s what kills them when people walk into a shop and compare prices. They don’t get why a PS3 is so much more expensive than an entry level 360.
#13
Lutz
14/08/09, 8:41 am
DrDamn: I disagree; people aren’t always that daft TBH. It’s more a case of “Ours is better than yours. Look at what ours does and yours doesn’t do.”
#14
Razor
14/08/09, 9:30 am
“3 healthy platforms”? Healthy?
#15
Robo_1
14/08/09, 10:05 am
I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to say if you’re going to compare prices, you have to compare features too, but throwing PSP connectivity in there is daft. If they’re going to go down that road, you open the door on listing every single platform specific feature (like comes with head set – no, comes with motion controller – no).
These sorts of charts would be more effective if they limited them to more functional extras, like wi-fi, like free online and like free controller charging.
#16
Retroid
14/08/09, 10:26 am
I didn’t know that platforms which’re selling 30-40% lower than the same time last year were getting “warmed up”.
I obviously stand corrected.
#17
BBGunner420
14/08/09, 1:36 pm
Its funny but the 360 plays games (No not blu-ray) but does play DVD movies that most people still have from the movie industry pushing on us for a good decade or so before blu-ray.