The Playstation 3: My Rant
Posted by: Wesley Chaderton on: December 29, 2008
It has been a while since I last posted anything on Rumble My Joystick, but lately I’ve been having a lot of complaints and I figured, “You know, why not publish it and get it off my chest”. My topic of complaint is the Playstation 3. The lineup this year was incredibly solid; not everything was perfect, but solid. The games are not what’s bothering me, it’s the features, or the lack there of.
Back at E3 of 2005, Sony made grand promises for the Playstation 3. Jack Tretton himself said they were to “Under promise and over deliver”. I look back at that and think, “What a crock”. Xbox Live is no doubt ahead of the Playstation Network, no matter how many people wish to fight it. It’s a very integrated service that’s easy to use, and boasts features that the Playstation 3, frankly should have had from the start. Sony has been playing catch up since the release of the PS3 and it’s beginning to really bother me.
Here are a list of features the Playstation 3 is missing that I personally want and some that I believe I really need as a user & consumer.
Communication:
- First off, Sony needs to bundle the Official Playstation 3 Bluetooth headset with the Playstation 3. When playing online, I sometimes forget I’m playing with other human players. It’s sad because even though you can use any bluetooth headset with the console, the consumer shouldn’t have to go out and buy one. It’s just an extra expense that we should not have to deal with. Sony, please give the Playstation Network a voice.
- Voice messaging is another feature that Xbox Live has over the Playstation Network. Most people don’t have a keyboard hooked up to their PS3 and if we have something to say, we don’t want to spend the time typing letter for letter off an on-screen keyboard. I understand that the keypad was just released for the controller but we should have the option to use our headsets, record a message, and send it to our friends. (Along with this we should be able to send a single message to multiple recipients. It saves a lot of time.)
Games Invites & Parties:
- Getting into parties with your friends just to play a quick game is surprisingly difficult on the Playstation 3. With the lack of any sort of game invite or party system it can quickly become a headache. Some developers like Evolution Studios & Insomniac Games have taken a step forward with game invites in Resistance 2 and Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Too bad it’s only a text message without an option to join the game or a prompt to insert the game disc. It just takes out the effort of typing out the message yourself.
- Home is supposed to be Sony’s big community service. As of now, it’s just a glorified chat room. It’s still a pain to get together with friends and launch into a game, especially since the only game you can currently launch is Warhawk. Even within Home, you can’t form a party with your friends. Everywhere you go you have to reinvite the person to come join you. It becomes a hassle and it’s something I don’t want to deal with. Thankfully it’s an optional service and it’s free.. well aside from the clothes, club houses, etc. I just won’t touch on that topic.
Evolve the XMB:
- The XMB (Cross Media Bar) is undoubtedly one of the easiest interfaces to navigate. I only wish it was more appealing to look at. Yes, we have themes and we can even create our own themes. Too bad the majority of themes Sony releases on the Playstation Store are horribly ugly. Even most of the user made ones that you can find on PSU are eyesores. I mean, has anyone seen the ‘Premium Themes’ on the Playstation Store? Don’t make me laugh Sony, who the hell would pay for them? The sad truth is, there must be those poor suckers out there that actually do or else you wouldn’t keep pumping them out. After the NXE (New Xbox Experience) was released, I feel that the XMB needs a big time visual overhaul. It’s just too plain. It also probably wouldn’t hurt to compress some of the categories.
I have some other small complaints but I don’t believe their relevant to even list here. All I’m trying to get across is that, Sony, start delivering first. Then, maybe you can talk about overdelivering.
16 Responses to "The Playstation 3: My Rant"
December 29, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Right now 2009 is definitely looking up for Playstation 3 as far as games go. They just need to catch up on the features.
December 30, 2008 at 9:51 am
It’s really sad. I knew they couldn’t deliver on their original promises (dual 1080p anyone?), but I was still hoping for console with enough features to at least match the 360 online experience.
It’s funny playing my old xbox1 games on my 360 has a better all around setup, which kind of shows you that MS online gaming on consoles really was a head of it time.
I say trash Home (surprise they never after the first year in development) it’s a waste of HDD space, put the PS3 teams efforts into XMB and connectivity between friends. It needs a party mode, that’s all me and my friends now use, sometimes more than the old phone. Here’s to 2009!
December 30, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Sounds to me like you are upset by PSN mostly and not the PS3 its-self. Agreed, Sony has work to do to catch up to Micro$oft in some of the online areas but the PSN service is free. That can not be underestimated.
Also, what is so great about NXE? To me, it’s more of Micro$ofts typical MO of moving things around needlessly. They didn’t really add any functionality with NXE, just A LOT more space for advertisements.
As far as the headset goes, does the 360 come with a headset? Mine didn’t. So why fault Sony for something Micro$oft is also guilty of?
As for HOME, I agree, there is a lot of work to be done there. It’s pretty quiet right now with not nearly enough to do to keep things interesting. But, it is free and optional which mean anyone CAN use it if they like but don’t have to.
Isn’t that what it’s all about; choice?
December 30, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Whats Wrong with they way the XMB looks? I think it looks clean and takes you to exactly what you want without any loading. And one more think party mode on xbox and gamelaunching on home have the same features, its just a pity warhawk is the only game that works with it, but more will in the future.
December 30, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Your complaints seem petty to me. Stop attacking the PS3. You’re as bad as the Xbots if you do it. You say Sony has to include their official bluetooth headset with every PS3. What a waste of money that would be. It would be as bad as including an HDMI cable with every PS3. Not everyone needs or wants a headset. So people who do can just buy one. Adding it with an online game like SOCOM makes a lot more sense.
I find it funny people cry about the PS3 needing to drop in price and people like you say Sony needs to include even more with the PS3. I say the PS3 is just fine as it is. The 360 is cheaper but you have to buy a lot of extras to really use it. So you have to buy a headset for the PS3. Big deal.
December 30, 2008 at 1:26 pm
The complaints may seem ‘petty’ but they’re still my complaints. By stating my opinion I’m all of a sudden attacking the Playstation 3? Believe it or not, it would probably be a good idea to provide a similar experience as the leading competitor in online.
You wouldn’t even believe how many people I hear complain about PS3’s online as a reason they don’t want to buy it over the Xbox 360. My points are valid.
& to answer the XMB & NXE questions: The XMB looks too plain, while the themes they provide are mediocre at best (the majority of them) and the NXE looks more inviting and much more visually appealing. It’s not so flat.
Edit: Yes, 360 normally comes with a wired headset. I’m not entirely sure about the Arcade version. The Premium & Elite do.
December 30, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I’m not going to act like a fanboy and disagree with you. You’re totally right on these issues. While they might not exactly be negative selling points, it’s true that they do create an issue of comparison with the 360.
I mean, let’s face it. The only people who have bought a PS3 are either the loyal PS2 players or the ones who got fed up with the RRoD. People talk about getting the games for PS3, but not necessarily the PS3 itself.
But, I haven’t lost hope in Sony’s marketing team quite yet. The way I see it, if you examine the accomplishments regarding the cell processor (Password Cracking, Folding@Home, Mass-Simulation, etc…), then you can understand that Sony’s Console is severely underpowered at the moment for the simple reason that it CURRENTLY has no console-selling games like GoW or Halo. I think that with the ‘09 games (Heavy Rain, GT5?, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII, White Knight Chronicles, and the other “pop-up” hits), we will see Sony give a large set of new features and commodities at once, so it is noticed and noted along with the new games, to sell the console for the console rather than just for the games. Also, you have to realize that the console is metaphorically walking at a relaxed pace as far as performance goes. I want to see what can push a PS3 to it’s death – to it’s “RRoD”.
Also, I think everybody has forgotten that IBM and Toshiba are still working with Sony on the PS3 projects.
There’s untapped potential, and I’m sure that Sony is patiently biding it’s time…
December 30, 2008 at 2:50 pm
the premium themes are just stupid i mean you coudl make those your self for free and most of them are just a background change which is dumb (im talking about the one with the “girls”)
December 30, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Exactly, there’s no justification for Sony to charge for those themes.
December 30, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Of course, there’s no obligation to buy them either. They are optional for those that DO want them.
December 30, 2008 at 4:06 pm
XMB is fine… no ads, no fluff, no loading 3d avatars that don’t do anything. NXE is a joke and you’re seriously ADD if you’re complaining that your menus aren’t entertaining enough.
December 30, 2008 at 4:40 pm
They’re boring to look at. I’m glad that you’re fine with that, but personally I like things to be aesthetically appealing as well as functional.
December 31, 2008 at 2:19 am
Sony needs to do something quick. It’s a no-brainer to pick the 360 over the PS3. It’s cheaper, has better games, and a more in-depth, easier to use online experience. The PS2’s big selling point was that it was the cheapest DVD player available. A low-end PS3 is like two times the cost of a stand alone Blu-Ray player. I’m in the market for a new console now that I’ve upgraded to HD and Sony, frankly, isn’t even an option for me.
December 31, 2008 at 2:59 am
Jeremiah, I’m afraid that I can’t agree with all your claims. 360 does have the price advantage and SLIGHTLY better online interface (If you read the article, you can tell that none of my gripes are major, but small things that could be fixed easily) as far as games go, the Playstation 3 easily had the better lineup of games all throughout the year. The only clear winner over the PS3 this year really was Gears of War 2, and I’m only basing that claim solely on ratings. I personally play Resistance 2 over Gears. As an owner of both consoles, I can unbiasedly state that the Playstation 3, easily has the better games this year.
December 31, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I’ve got to agree with your point about the XMB, everyone else thinks that this is stating that it should be more like the NXE but really the XMB is almost perfect, it could be fixed easily with a default icon change and a font change and maybe smoother animations worked in, maybe some 3D, being the most powerful console, you’d expect to at least see some visual fan service of some sort to really make the PS3 pop out when placed against it’s competitors.
And on compressing the categories, this should especially be done with the Internet Browser and Internet Search.
I agree with the party feature completely, they should even incorporate it into the Home Clubs.
I’m not too sure about the voice messaging thing though (bad enough I hate using voicemail on my phone), it’d be a nice addition but really I’d rather just type a message to a friend. Cross game voice chat would be nice though.
December 29, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Yeah, it’s been a bit shakey so far, but 2009 and 2010 will be the year of the Playstation3, I think.
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