I just can’t get worked up about Sony’s new console. I own both of the previous incarnations, and I still spend about six hours or so with the PS2 every week, but for some reason, the PS3 doesn’t arouse much interest for me.
It could be the $600 (or more) price tag. Or the fact that games (of which there aren’t many at launch) are around $60 each (with rumors of higher prices in the future). Or the fact that there are already some serious backwards-compatibility issues already popping up.
I suppose the main thing is that slightly-better graphics and faster hardware just don’t cut it anymore.
It’s not as if the PS2 is on its last legs by any means. Okami is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced on a console, and games like Shadow of the Colossus and God of War show that the PS2 still has plenty to offer in terms of graphics and presentation. Truth be told, the best RPGs of the last ten years are PS1 games: Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX spring immediately to mind. Last year, I got ahold of the re-release of Chrono Trigger, and as I played through it, I realized that even in its primitive 8-bit blockiness, it offered an immersement and depth that’s sorely lacking from newer titles.
For me, it’s more about the experience than the presentation, which is something modern developers seem to ignore. All the flashy polygons in the world can’t hide shallow mechanics or story. While the PS2 offered a tremendous improvement in graphics and sound, it didn’t offer much new in the way of creativity.
Looking over the lauch-list of PS3 titles, I’m not seeing anything new. We’ve got the standard stable of sports titles, shooters and platformers. I’m sure stuff blows up real good and that it does so in a more realistic fashion, but that’s not enough to plunk down a couple of weeks’ pay for. (Nor is it worth camping out or getting mugged for.) Do I really need to see more realistic blood spatter? Not really.
Seems I’m not the only one who feels this way, either. Perhaps a year down the road, when the bugs are ironed out and the price comes down, I’ll consider it. In the meantime, I’ll stick with what still works.
(It appears that the PS3 is somewhat easy to install Linux on.)