At last! Sony’s next generation console is finally on sale in Europe and despite the high price of four hundred and twenty five pounds, I am not that enthusiastic to rush out and buy one.
Why not? I’ve played many of the launch games available on the PlayStation 3 and wasn’t all that impressed. Sure, it looks gorgeous when you hook it up to a massive high definition television set but if you look beyond the visuals, the game play hasn’t moved on since the PlayStation 2 days…
Take for example, Formula One Championship Edition. I’m a big fan of video games based on my favourite sport and after playing this on a 62-inch HDTV I felt the game playing experience all too familiar… In fact, it was exactly the same game as F1 06 on the PS2! Just more pretty that’s all.
Ridge Racer 7 was another game I’ve played. Powersliding these outrageous racing cars is actually quite good fun but I’ve seen it all before… on a PSP.
Sorry to sound all-negative so far in my post, but I expected more from a console that is supposedly the most powerful on the market.
It’s funny to think that I did pre-order this machine months before the Japanese launch and now, that day has finally arrive for European gamers.
The price is certainly off-putting and I don’t see the justification of buying an expensive games console just because Sony are moving into a new digital format with Blu-ray. If there wasn’t a Blu-ray drive, then it will be significantly cheaper.
In addition, the news that the European (PAL) PlayStation 3 will use firmware updates to run old PlayStation 2 games is not great. Without the necessary hardware (the Emotion Engine) to emulate the PS2 games in its original form, the games will feel and look different (or at worst, won’t work at all).
As for the current games on offer, none of them look that special – graphics and game play wise – apart from MotorStorm. The killer or triple ‘A’ titles have yet to appear e.g. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5. So the need to buy one on launch day is not there.
I would rather buy the Xbox 360 instead. Got the Nintendo Wii and even though it’s a fantastic little console, there aren’t any new games available on the system since it was launch. The Xbox 360 has a wide range of great games including Gears of War and Dead Rising and I look forward to buying this new console to satisfy my needs.
Maybe if there is a price cut or more suitable games are out on the PlayStation 3, then I will buy one. But for now, I will say no thanks.