CORBIE'S GAME BLOG

I thought it might be nice to sit down and come up with three things that each console manufacturer needs to do in order to make their console successful. Today we’re looking at the Sony Playstation 3 system and what Sony needs to do in order to keep their lead in the console race this upcoming generation. Keep in mind, these are just my random thoughts on the situation, and if you have any comments, please feel free to post them or email me. Don't worry, I can take it.

1. Sony needs to make use of the momentum they’ve built up after leading the past two console generations. They’ve established a solid reputation among gamers, not to mention a lot of game series that have become synonymous with the Playstation name. Like they always say, you’re the king until someone knocks you off the throne and so far no one’s been able to do that. Sony just has this knack for keeping quality titles rolling out at a steady pace, and they also always seem to have a counterpunch when another game company releases something big. Sony’s obviously learned a lot since they got into the video game hardware business and they need to rely on that experience in order to keep the pressure on the other two console makers.

2. You have to really impress gamers to entice them into throwing down $300 or $400 for a game system, but to get them to drop 600 Washingtons, you’ve got to blow them away. And that’s exactly what Sony is going to have to do in order to sell their $600 console. One only need take a look at the tech demo Sony was using of Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy VII remake to see that the Playstation 3 is a console to be reckoned with. After watching that there was no doubt left in my mind that the PS3 was going to be everything it was touted to be and then some and clearly the most powerful game console ever created. But that’s not going to be enough to bring the sheer number of gamers that Sony is going to need to continue their lead in the console race, so they’ve got to keep these visual masterpieces coming and at a steady enough pace to make sure no gamer gets away without seeing the sheer power of the Playstation 3 system. Because that’s how you sell a $600 game machine.

3. Last but certainly not least, Sony needs to get their online gaming service up and running and it needs to be at least as good, if not better, than Microsoft’s Xbox Live. Online gaming is really beginning to take off now that most internet users have moved up to broadband connections. Microsoft has used their Xbox Live service to great success and Sony needs to make sure they too capitalize on it as well. It also wouldn’t hurt if they released some of the more difficult to find Playstation 1 games on their online service as a download. Any little bit will help to steer more gamers to the Playstation 3.

Coming Tomorrow: - "For Nintendo Wii to be successful..."