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PlayStation 3 and Wii
But still sees PlayStation 3 as clear leader

While Nintendo fans across Europe and Oceania will be out looking for a Wii this week, Sony fans will have to wait patiently for PlayStation 3’s release in March. The Sydney Morning Herald speaks with Nic Foster, general manager for Sony Australia and New Zealand, about the waiting game the company’s loyalists must play.

Despite the delay, Foster doesn't believe this delay will have a significant impact on the PS3's position in the Australian market thanks to Sony’s console having far more uses than just as a gaming machine. “The Wii-type functionality is more just a sub-element of what the PlayStation 3 offers,” he said in an interview.

Foster then goes on to describe Nintendo’s product. “Wii is a core gaming device. It's a more fun, intuitive sort of product to pick up, where the PS3 is a broader entertainment solution; so you can have your fun, enjoyable gaming ... but then you have a whole suite of other applications ... such as Blu-ray media playback, the ability to access your music, access your photos and the interoperability with the PlayStation Portable.”

He then concludes that gamers who are looking for the complete experience will eventually own both devices. Given the tone of Sony leaders in Japan and America, the rather benevolent attitude expressed from Down Under comes as a bit of a surprise.

Make no mistake though; Sony in Australia still firmly believes its machine has a huge leg up on the Xbox 360 thanks to its inclusion of the Blu-ray drive – the very device that is causing the system’s short supply. Paul Holman of Sony Europe shared the same sentiment, saying that adding high-definition storage as a peripheral instead of out-of-the-box is a messy proposition.

The Nintendo Wii launches in Australia and New Zealand on December 7th and in most parts of Europe on December 8. The PlayStation 3 is expected in those territories in March 2007.

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Well
By aGreenAgent on 12/5/2006 11:10:07 AM , Rating: 1
They can talk about what a good value PS3 is all day, but I still don't have $600-$800 to blow on the console plus games. Although, I did have $300 for the Wii + TP.




RE: Well
By lufoxe on 12/5/2006 11:17:24 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Although, I did have $300 for the Wii + TP.


This is going to sound retarded, but Wii and toilet paper?


RE: Well
By whistler on 12/5/2006 11:28:45 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
This is going to sound retarded, but Wii and toilet paper?


I'd assume he means Twilight Princess, but who knows :)


RE: Well
By othercents on 12/5/2006 11:35:06 AM , Rating: 3
I think he needs Toilet Paper for all the hours of playing Wii.


RE: Well
By AzureKevin on 12/5/2006 12:04:51 PM , Rating: 2
Haha! I was actually thinking the same thing for a second there. I mean, TP is synonymous with toilet paper; you can't help the fact that it pops in your mind right away.


RE: Well
By BladeVenom on 12/5/2006 4:05:04 PM , Rating: 5
TP could also mean Transvestite Prostitute. There's just some things the Wii can't do.


RE: Well
By dice1111 on 12/5/2006 5:03:15 PM , Rating: 2
The Wii is just Pre-mod as your TP is just Pre-Op...


RE: Well
By Tamale on 12/5/2006 11:41:20 AM , Rating: 5
TP = town portal of course


RE: Well
By AzureKevin on 12/5/2006 12:05:28 PM , Rating: 2
That's a good one too. Too many hours of Diablo II will do that to ya.


Extra features?
By BioRebel on 12/5/2006 11:25:18 AM , Rating: 2
The Wii can already access songs, pictures, and has connectability with the DS... Pretty much all it can't do is play DVD's/some other form of disc based video. And to be honest Blu-Ray still hasn't won.




RE: Extra features?
By encryptkeeper on 12/5/2006 1:15:21 PM , Rating: 2
After the relatively poor launch of the PS3, some analysts are already giving HD DVD the victory over Blu Ray. I think www.tomshardware.com had the article. If you ask me, it comes down to the price of the players and the movies available for them. The Lord of the Rings movies are coming to HD DVD, (but not to Blu Ray) which says a lot about where Hollywood believes the technology will go.


RE: Extra features?
By killerroach on 12/5/2006 1:32:50 PM , Rating: 2
I think that has more to do with Peter Jackson having control over how his movies are distributed, and the fact that he is working with Microsoft on the Halo movie. In all reality, neither Blu-Ray or HD-DVD have won yet, and it's highly unlikely that either will win anytime soon. Since most of us just use SDTV's still, what's the point?


RE: Extra features?
By encryptkeeper on 12/5/2006 2:11:31 PM , Rating: 1
You might want to get your facts straight.
"Microsoft attempted to secure financing from other studios, including Warner Bros and Paramount, to keep the project moving,[12] but production was officially halted and postponed on October 31 until additional backing could be found." Source: Wiki

You might want to note that NO ONE is working on the halo movie right now.


RE: Extra features?
By The Arete on 12/5/2006 2:21:44 PM , Rating: 2
Peter Jackson was the Director. Not the Producer for LOTR series. He really doesn't have a lot of say in distribution. Producers do have quite a bit of say though. Just my understanding of the Film Industry.

Good point though, The Blu Ray/HD-DVD war has yet to really take off. Personally I'm staving off from buying any of them till a winner is in sight. No point in blowing a few hundred when I don't have it.


RE: Extra features?
By rushfan2006 on 12/5/2006 3:19:14 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Peter Jackson was the Director. Not the Producer for LOTR series. He really doesn't have a lot of say in distribution. Producers do have quite a bit of say though. Just my understanding of the Film Industry.


You are correct. I am not sure how Peter Jackson was billed on the LOTR movies -- if he was just billed as the Director and that is it...there's about a 90% chance he has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the movies' distribution. Sole directors passion is making a great film -- they work with well respected producers and put their faith in them to make the best decisions on distribution deals (btw, producers do MUCH MUCH MUCH more than just distribution deals).

In fact what some people may be surprised to know often the producers do more in terms of volume of work on a film than the director does.

Another tid bit on this subject....Ever see films where the headline start is listed as "Executive Producer"? There is no set definition for what makes you an Exec producer, some stars do that merely to get extra billing credit for a project/movie....often though most big time stars that are also the Exec Producer means they put up a portion (and in extreme rare cases ALL) of the financing for the film project. Why would they put up their own money? Well this isn't hard to understand....when you are financing the film all your own -- gets who has all the influence on how the picture is made? Exactly....you do.

Then of course some stars just believe in their work so much that they finance it theirself to ensure it sees the silver screen.

Anyway..I got carried away but just wanted to share.


That just made my day!
By Le Québécois on 12/5/2006 11:54:17 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Wii is a core gaming device. It's a more fun , intuitive sort of product to pick up


Yes that's it...hold it right there...no need to say more. Coming from the General manager of the PS3 in Australia...That...that just made my day.

More fun.

Who the hek is going out loud to say "hey, their product is more fun than our's". That's just amazing coming from Sony.

Not bashing on Sony at all here. It's just that, well, I can't belive what the guy just said.




RE: That just made my day!
By othercents on 12/5/2006 12:04:01 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, Sony knew that the Wii would be more fun thats why they copied the Wii-type functionality.

Other


RE: That just made my day!
By masher2 (blog) on 12/5/2006 12:40:41 PM , Rating: 2
> "Who the hek is going out loud to say "hey, their product is more fun than our's". That's just amazing coming from Sony..."

I suspect he was misquoted, and may have said, "its more of a fun, intuitive sort of product..."


RE: That just made my day!
By Le Québécois on 12/5/2006 12:55:06 PM , Rating: 2
I hope(for them) it is the case because if not Sony is trying to take the concept of marketing to a whole new level by saying thing like that.

Or should I say : A whole new weird level...


Waiting game!
By bobsmith1492 on 12/5/2006 11:04:02 AM , Rating: 5
Is "The Waiting Game" their most anticipated game for the platform?




RE: Waiting game!
By seamonkey79 on 12/5/2006 11:09:29 AM , Rating: 4
Better than any of their other launch titles, with the possible exception of "Will it Look Good With My Sony HiDef TV?" or "Can I Use HDMI and Get Good Sounds?"


Huh?
By Spivonious on 12/5/2006 11:15:38 AM , Rating: 5
They say the Wii is more fun and enjoyable.

They then say that while the PS3 has fun games, it also plays blu-ray movies, accesses music and photos, and has interoperability with the PSP.

blu-ray: yes it's PS3's standout feature. Practical? No.
music and photos: the Wii can do this too.
PSP: the Wii can see the DS.

So basically, I'm paying over twice as much for a blu-ray player that also happens to play games. This is not the attitude I'd expect for a video game console.