Ah, rumours. You know how I feel about rumours. I like squashing them little the little vermin they are. So here’s another squishy sound.

One rumour with six legs crawling around recently is the one where Sony offer a low-priced PS3 without a BD drive and a BD drive add-on. The rumour says that this emasculated PS3 could sell for as much as $200 less than the regular PS3 and PS3 Jr.

Hmmm. Think about it. Does your brain immediately reject this as a totally absurd notion? Of course it does. But rumours being the ornery little insects they are, don’t like to sit still.

SPLAT!

Ooops, that one sat still a little too long. Sony has denied this rumour, and I think that Sony should come out and deny stupid rumours like this a little more often.

PS3 price drop?

Okay, there’s a bunch of news I’m getting late on reporting, so I’ll put together this post to pull some of it together.

First up, Next Generation has an opinion piece on why the Sony is far from whipped.

Next, also from Next Generation is an interview with the developers of Heavenly Sword, now a title that, along with Formula 1 2006 and MotorStorm, looks to be delayed to 2007. Argh!

And for all you Final Fantasy fans out there, here are some more Final Fantasy XIII scans.

Lastly, there are also some rumours going around the UT2007 will be a PS3 exclusive.

Here’s a poll about the PS3 controller. As always, vote in the PS3Blog.net sidebar. What do you think of the rumble versus motion sensing trade-off? If you were given the choice of which to put in the PS3 controller, which would you choose? Rumble? Or motion sensing?

Previous poll results:

PS3 price?

* Way too high.: 41% (114)
* High but fair.: 51% (142)
* It’s just fine.: 8% (23)

Total Votes : 279

Here are two reactions to Sony’s use of motion-sensor in it’s new controller. First up Nintendo super legend Shigeru Miyamoto speaking to the Edmonton Sun:

“It’s kind of what always seems to happen. But the fact that they looked at what we were doing and decided it was a good path is kind of flattering, it kind of reinforces in our minds that we’re doing the right thing. What they’ve done is just take your standard controller and add in this motion-sensing device that’s similar to what we did back on the Game Boy Color many years ago. Maybe if they were to completely copy and go with a remote and a nunchuk and two motion sensors, I might be a little more concerned. But I don’t think they’re anywhere close to that.”

Next up is Peter Moore formerly of SEGA & now under the pay roll of Bill Gates:

“At Microsoft we did the same controller six years ago - most people remember that,” Moore said. “The gamers’ response was muted at best. We remember it being applicable to flying games in particular and some driving games but overall there was somewhat of a collective yawn from the gaming community about the motion sensing technology.”

“The motion sensing, particularly at the sacrifice of force feedback - I’m not even sure that’s a good trade off in itself.”

Microsoft’s corporate VP also dismissed suggestions that motion sensing actually provided PS3 with an advantage over Xbox 360, giving developers a new opportunity to explore.

“I don’t think it’s a huge issue. I’m less worried that somehow people are going to ignore a 10 million unit head start because they want to do a game with motion control,” he insisted.

Right, on one hand you have the respectful views of a true gaming legend, Shigeru Miyamoto, who views Sony’s use of motion-sensor technology as a compliment. On the other hand you have the dismissive & arrogant views of Peter Moore who epitomises everything that is disliked about his employers Microsoft. 10m unit head start? What’s he been smoking?!

We’ll see what the like of Hideo Kojima & other developers have in mind for utilising motion-sensor in future games.

Man I intensely dislike Peter Moore & his smug face!

Edmonton Sun - Shigeru Miyamoto Lowdown With A Legend

Eurogamer - Peter Moore Interview

UK retailers speaking on GamesIndustry.biz claim the PS3 price of £425 is irrelevant & they believe people won’t be able to walk into a shop & pick one up off the shelf during the first 6 months. Here’s some quotes to get your teeth into:

“Given the machine is likely to be a sell-out this side of Christmas, I think the price point is irrelevant for the first six months,” specialist retail chain CeX’ marketing manager Jonathan Cronin told GamesIndustry.biz. “The launch frenzy will be there - this is the new PlayStation, not the new Xbox. Four million units globally before Christmas? I don’t think you’ll be able to buy one off the shelf.”

OK the PlayStation brand is strong & I would be surprised if people could just walk into a store & pick up a PS3.

Steve O’Brien, boss of leading independent retailer Action Replay, agrees. “With the amount of product coming into the UK I think Sony could have quite comfortably priced it at twice the price and still sell-out twice over,” he suggested. “In the first round of any console sales it’s the fanboys and hardcore gamers who buy it. I think the strength of the brand is key.”

Now hold on just a minute! I’d class myself as a ‘hardcore’ gamer but I haven’t got £950 to spend on a games console even before games & extra joypads etc & I doubt very few ‘fanboys’ & ‘hardcore gamers’ do either. Maybe things need to be put into perspective a little bit:

“Such high prices are a difficult thing to push at retail level especially with the continued problems of distribution, release dates, and product availability that have dogged UK product releases for some time,” insisted Steve Aspinall, owner of indie V-Ten Entertainment. “And that’s without the mass-discount culture convincing the consumer to wait a few months, and the uncanny shortage of convincing software for the platform, not to mention the continued implication that next gen gaming cannot take place without a next-gen television set.”

The last part is key for me. I don’t have any stats that tell me exactly how many HDTVs have been sold in Europe but I can guarantee you this: the people that have bought them will be in the minority. High-def is big in North America & East Asia but in Europe it hasn’t taken off yet. The people that have bought HDTVs fall into two categories: the people with disposable incomes that will use their HDTVs with Sky’s High-def digiboxes & Xbox 360 owners.

There is no other content available to use with a HDTV.

If you’re like me & you don’t own a HDTV but you want a PS3 then you will have to spend way over £1000 on a HDTV, PS3 & games, to experience next-gen gaming.

Now that’s a lot of money no matter which way you look at. For hardcore gamers with disposable incomes that’s not a problem, but for hardcore gamers like me who haven’t got disposable incomes then that just isn’t going to happen.

It’s looking more & more likely I’m going to have to wait until next year to get my hands on the PS3. Unless there are some major games available immediately at launch. Then the overall price can be justified.

What do you think?

GamesIndustry.biz - UK Retailers Say PS3 Price is Irrelevant

There’s a great article on qj.net called “What Makes A Successful Launch” & it makes interesting reading with a lot of valid points.

We know that there will be some faulty consoles at launch it goes with the territory & the price has already been done to death. However the most important part of a consoles launch for me is games. If I’m willing to pay £400+ for a console then I expect some top quality games available alongside the console.

Games like Mercenaries 2, Gran Turismo, Heavenly Sword, Resistance, Call of Duty 3 & Tony Hawk’s Project 8 are exactly the type of games that would justify me buying a PS3 at launch. However only one of the aforementioned games has been ‘confirmed’ for launch (Resistance: Fall of Man).

If only one of those ‘heavy hitters’ fail to appear alongside the PS3 then I will see the PS3 launch as a failure because I’m a gamer. I want a PS3 to play games on it not to watch Blu-ray movies or go online with it.

However there is no doubt that the PS3 will sell out at launch so that to Sony will make the PS3 launch a success.

So my question to you guys/girls is: What to you makes a successful console launch?

QJ.net - What Makes A Great Launch

We’ve all heard certain developers moaning that the PS3 is too difficult to develop for & we even had THQ CEO Brian Farrell refuse to develop The Sopranos for the PS3 because, in his words, “It was too risky to do it”.

Well that’s not how Mike Ball of Ninja Theory, creators of the fantastic looking Heavenly Sword see things. Speaking in the latest issue of Edge magazine via NextGen.Biz:

“Some developers are frightened by new technology, and they’ll work on the simpler consoles or on mobile phones or Xbox Live Arcade games. Those are seen as a return to traditional gaming values and there will be some really nice stuff there.

“But there are others who are really embracing the next generation and saying ‘let’s get on with it’. Each generation change has brought its own challenges but in retrospect the changes you actually make are quite simple. I’m sure we’ll be sitting here in a couple of years looking back and saying ‘What was the panic all about?’”

If more developers embraced the new technology & viewed it as a challenge instead of moaning & running off to ‘easier’ hardwear (or should that be more $$$) the gaming world would be a brighter place.

Next-Gen.Biz - Interview: Heavenly Sword Developers