NYT not impressed with PS3

Sony's new console "just isn't that great" according to The New York Times; online service, emphasis of power over entertainment cited as flaws.

Hundreds of thousands of PlayStation 3s have now shipped out of Sony's warehouses and are now where they belong--in gamers' hands. Word of mouth is beginning to spread as first impressions are surfacing, and according to The New York Times, the final product does not quite match the hype.

The paper's Seth Schiesel opens his experience with the PS3 with this statement to Sony Corp.'s CEO: "Howard Stringer, you have a problem. Your company's new video game system just isn't that great."

Schiesel claims to have spent more than 30 hours with a retail PS3 and played more than a dozen games. After his marathon of gaming, he says that although the PS3 is "the world's most powerful game console," it is "surprisingly clunky to use and simply does not provide many basic functions that users have come to expect, especially online."

The high-profile newspaper goes on to point out several other problems with the console, including controllers that need to be synched up to each PS3 it is used with through a USB cable (versus Microsoft's truly universal Xbox 360 controller), lack of custom soundtracks, lack of a unified friends list, and no background downloading. In Sony's defense, the fact that the PS3 is a connected console means that system updates can be added later, like they have been with the Xbox 360.

There are a few positive notes, but the review is overwhelmingly negative. Schiesel, who lauded the Xbox 360's ease of use when that console launched, feels as though the PS3 is largely "unfinished" with some features that feel "tacked-on."

"Sony can't be happy with this review," Newsweek technology editor N'Gai Croal told GameSpot. "Fortunately, there's nothing like a Tickle Me Elmo-type shortage to keep potential customers salivating, regardless of what the Old Gray Lady has to say."

Only time will tell whether this and any other poor reviews of the PS3 will do anything to deter gamers from buying the much-hyped console, or possibly convince them to buy a machine from one of Sony's rivals.

One analyst thinks it's inevitable supply shortages will maximize the Xbox 360's chances this holiday season. In a memo sent to investors today, Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets said, "Retailers are likely to encourage consumers unable to find PS3 or Wii consoles to consider purchasing an Xbox 360."

Sony was unavailable for comment as of press time.

1363 Comments

  • StarFoxCOM

    Posted Feb 11, 2007 8:23 am PT

    Biased

  • peter_l1993

    Posted Jan 3, 2007 9:20 am PT

    Come on... Stop arguing. The truth is all three consoles-Wii,PS3,XBOX 360-have their own strenghts. Right now I think the PS3 is quite weak because of the price and poor launch titles. However, as time goes on I'm sure things will go better for it.

  • exocel

    Posted Jan 1, 2007 3:22 am PT

    love my ps2 to bits, one of the best consoles of the last 20 years but ill stick with my wii and 360 the ps3 just isnt worth it.

  • Hell-Fire21

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 7:28 pm PT

    I mean really, I'm not bumping the PS3...I'm bumping Sony. Alright so they were worried about the Blu-ray thing and that's what pushed them back. Well now that we're stuck on that, apparently Sony forgot what the PS3 is for: games. Now we'll have to treat it like a CPU; buy it, wait a while for system upgrades...I mean GOOD GOD! Should we have that straight out of the package?? I'm not trying to whine here but if you pay $600 for a system it should turn ITSELF on! Alright well a computer doesn't, but this is a GAME SYSTEM people. It's not about waiting for the price to drop, you might as well wait until they update the whole damn thing so you won't be fretting at home wishing they'd send out that blasted upgrade already. That sucks.

  • StarFoxCOM

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 7:05 am PT

    How come people don't get PC gaming is just better then console.

  • commandokiller

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 1:53 am PT

    Read the Times article about the PS3. The guy is right. No one CARES about the Blu-Ray. It won't be the future. It's too expensive and complicated to produce and not widespread enough for it to catch onto the mainstream market.

  • AntoniustheGrey

    Posted Dec 23, 2006 6:03 pm PT

    PS3 is too expensive! Wii is so much better, sure it's not graphically as impressive, but it's a reasonable price, kewl games, and it's innovative. Oh and go ahead and accuse me of being a Nintendo Fan Boy, but that's not even true, I don't even play my Gamecube. I have a PS2 and a PSP and I buy everything Sony, but I will not being getting a PS3.

    The marketing for Wii was so much better also. PS3's markerting wasn't good, and the advertising was very odd. Not too mention they were so cocky throughout the entire thing. Now look at ebay, PS3's can't be sold, u barely get a profit (at most 20 dollars). Look at Wii, still going strong, people want them, and people that don't have them are still trying to get their hands on them.

  • Colonel_Cool

    Posted Dec 23, 2006 8:47 am PT

    $600 bucks plus $60 extra bucks per game is just not worth it. Especially when you can get an 8800 gtx that is 2x as powerful and dx10 compatible for the same price.

  • nanometric

    Posted Dec 22, 2006 12:56 am PT

    @VinceyPie

    I never said I wasn't a fan boy And quite franckly I don't see any bad points in the PS3, besides all the lunch crap And a PS4 won't bee out sooner than 2010, althou maybe we should wait for a PS4, just becouse MS will launch another system(Xbox720, i think) in 2010 If I wasn't so exited about this gen systems, I would wait till the next one Anyway I can't make realy strong arguments, just becouse I don't own a PS3 yet and won't for another yr, so I'm not worried about bugs or bad launch titles Well anyway again, but at this point we ALL could be wrong, time will tell!

  • everythingj

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 11:04 pm PT

    *laughs at all the sony fanboys*

  • VinceyPie

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    @nanometric
    (disclaimer: I'm flaming u and sony a lil)
    you are being REALLY contradictory.
    first of all, you're stating almost no bad points but the price tag, which is dumb. also, quit trying to pose as a thinking life form, we can tell you're a fanboy. Third, if the PS3 won't be taking over for another 2 years (at which point sony will either give up or have a PS4 out probably) then why not wait till the price drops?
    also, you say that bluray will own format wars, why would that be? it's higher price and it has been stated multiple times that developers have had trouble working with it. Also, you say all this crap about popularity relating to how successful something is, well its also been stated multiple times that many gamers have gotten PS3s FOR THE SOLE REASON THAT THEY WERE PS FANS and were continuing along. Also, you say everyone forgot all the ms mistakes made, but the PS3 flaws are obvious too.
    also, since many people may be getting PS3s for blu ray playing capabilities that means that games will be slightly less successful because people will be wanting to spend money on movies for their overprices junk pile instead of games that are just average quality.
    also, for incrediblistic, although it is true that the 360 had a rough start, it didn't have any same-gen competitors at the time, so they had time to work out the kinks.
    anyway, I'm bored of typing.
    I HONESTLY believe that now that Square Enix has announced plans to attempt to spread to the other consoles PSs will lose A HUGE chunk of their fan base (or at least have huge numbers of people who still love and respect PSs but are going for other consoles) and that the 360 and Wii will do well. I think the wii will do well because it is so much cheaper and so different that it could almost be a separate category. The 360 I believe will succeed due to its earlier launch and because it focused a little more on gameplay than hardware, unlike the PS3 which focuses almost entirely on hardware and looks, they even dropped rumble features!!! (or so I've heard)
    anyway, I'm happy to have a friendly argument if you guys are interested, I like to argue about anything but politics and other crap that I'm not so interested in =D
    wow... thats a big block of text since I said I'm bored of typing.... ^.^

  • Intocable

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 3:00 pm PT

    Guys, lets get real, and stop this non-sense. PS3 !!, 360 !!, Wii !! , whatever, if you are a videogame fan, and of course have the money for it, you'll get whatever system you want, based of games, features, etc; I was a PS2 hardcore fan, but I got an Xbox because of the games, just as simple as that. I own a 360 and a Wii, and hope to get a PS3 later on. And I am sure that Sony is gonna come up with something far better than these launch titles, or at least try. So I say that some of you get out of your bubble and look around for something else and you'll see that each system has their own strengths.

  • schlarbinator

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 11:59 am PT

    Unless every PS3 literally attacks its owner or something like that, I seriously doubt theres any way that it can fail, not with a fanbase that large. Either way, we won't know if the PS3 is a failure until this generation is over.

  • nanometric

    Posted Dec 21, 2006 3:14 am PT

    @incredibilistic

    Dude, I completely agree with you... yes sony isn't as good as it was supposed to be, but it's only for now... Those people who think PS3 will suck all the way are just dark minded... they don't see the future. Sony will dominate the market, it will happen in the next 2yrs. Only thing that the 360 has, is a head start and nothing more. And btw, the PS3 will also include the same ad-on's as the Wii, if you read the article you would know this. So there is no way PS3 could be any worse than any of other two cosoles, only better, bu only time will tell if I am realy right Ok, I might overpay for my PS3, but ir will offer everything what has both other systems, plus a blue-ray drive, wich will also dominate the format wars. I realy sorry for those who blindly think otherwise, what MS is feeding them. one example, DO you realy think that the Windows is the best OS, your wrong if you do, it is only the most popular, same goes for Nokia and all other widely known brands... The point is though sony is known, but that is for a reason- cuality. I am a rpoud owner of a PS and PS3, so far I haven't been disopointed.... the same I can say for MS and Nokia The reoson behing this PS3 bad mouthting is that i din't live to the hype(as stated in the article), but the hype sony created was ment in a long term! ofcourse, sony had to interest buyers, so they din't mention the minuses for the launch. But realy eveyopne seems to forget MS mistakes, when the launche the 360.

    Conclusion- If you have enough money, BUY A PS3, or save some money for it! you will never regret it! I haven't been so far with sony's products! P.S. If I will be wrong after a 1yr when sony launches in EU, I will admint that I was wrong! but thats never gonna happen

  • Omihalcon

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 10:11 am PT

    things are getting heated...

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Dec 19, 2006 9:53 pm PT

    Sucks to be you

  • TryMe01

    Posted Dec 19, 2006 5:26 pm PT

    so true, oh so true...

  • Ryo-Hazuki

    Posted Dec 13, 2006 6:57 pm PT

    I love to admit it: incredibilistic will have a pretty bad surprise in 10 to 12 months.

  • Phaje

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:40 am PT

    i hate to admit it, but incredibilistic makes a good point

  • Bass_omega

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 8:35 pm PT

    ps3 is basically a ps2 with better graphics and a slightly different controller

  • gam3r3OOO

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 2:20 pm PT

    wii60 ftw!!!

  • jordanbijl

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 2:19 pm PT

    I have to agree...

    the ps3 is going to fail... so Far Im highly unimpressed by it...
    no innovation what so ever...

  • Pinkyimp

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 2:11 pm PT

    you're missing alot of awesome games for the 360, and the 360 will have compability with mouse and keyboard, now you can go and kiss kaz hirai butt

    i have a 360 also

  • JL2K6

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 1:38 pm PT

    its got some great graphics, i'll give them that. but so many of the features are taken off other systems (controller tilt, hard drive capabilities, online play, the controllers ON button for christ's sake) and most of the launch games that DONT suck are on xbox 360. but resistance looks incredible. basically the only reason to get one is the fact that there's resistance, MGS4 in a year, the possibility of good games, and maybe blu-ray will take over.

  • Strategy-knight

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 1:08 pm PT

    Well you people who are comparing this to the 360 launch and saying it's not actually that bad should think of the Wii, so far that seems to have only had few hiccups and lets face it minor faults on the online stuff for wii are going to be fixed before Christmas. So in other words Nintendo rules and I gotta say: to bad Sony.

  • incredibilistic

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 11:28 am PT

    How soon we forget when fans abraod were pissed at MS for releasing two systems. How soon we forget that MS didn't have any systems available for nearly 3 months after the launch. How soon we forget that Xbox Live didn't really offer anything substantial for about 4 to 5 months.

    I will say this, after a year the 360 looks like the better system but I strongly believe that Sony will be a similar if not better position in the same amount of time.

    Having said that, will it be harder for Sony to dominate like it did in the PS2 generation? Most likely since the majority of games are going to show up on both systems mainly because publishers have to squeeze every ounce of money they can out of their IPs in order to stay in busniess. I own a PS3 and so far I'm happy with it and looking forward to the potential it has to offer. The only reason may not have seen as many posts like this about the 360 was because there was no competition but I'm sure 360 fans were just as skeptical when they bought into what was considered the Xbox 1.5 thanks to slightly upgraded graphics. But now you have Gears of War, one of the best looknig games out for any system.

    My point, look me up in 10 to 12 months and we'll see how things are going for the PS3.

  • powerslave88

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 11:19 am PT

    im having fun with my ps3 f*ck that dude

  • Havoc51

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 10:55 am PT

    Sony has ruined the ps system's first by the psp which could have been a great portable system however lacked quantity and quality of games. now the PS3! it is a powerful system however it is similar to 360. it just has more computer attributes and less gaming and more expensive. if you are gonna make your system more computer like u also have to balance it with the games so it won't stray off, obviously sony does not realize this. also mostly every game is multiplatform and please sony fans dont say it will be better because of graphics and stuff cuz 360 has great graphics and can rival the ps3 with it and make it have a better online experience. and dont forget about the wii were u have more control on ur characters movements which makes it a great system. also the 360 is gonna pull a "ps2", which means come out with many games however most of them being good. not like how the ps2 did it before but only half the games were good, however xbox countered that by xbox live which made games more of quality. SO PS3 people just go sell the system on ebay oh and did i forget that the wii out sold the ps3 with units. I'm gonna stick with Wii and 360

  • epyon13

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 10:43 am PT

    Haha it seems to me that the xbox 360 fanboys got all hissy fit about the ps3 and are bashin the hell outta a console only a few weeks old. come on guys its brand frickin new things will get better and any and all problems that are there or may be there will be fixed in time. personally ive played the hell outta the 360 and ive had so much more fun playin my ps3 i didnt hock on ebay. hell give the 3 a few months and it will shootin out beautiful and better games its all time. 360 didnt have the best launch titles either so look at the console a lil less biased ms fanboys give it a chance and you just might love it or not. give it time before you bash it into the ground.

  • MaTTuH

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 10:25 am PT

    sam8917
    holy christ! why does everyone only bring up resistance when tlaking about the ps3....i probably wont get one (or any next gen console...like my xbox and ps2 too much) but is everyone forgetting FATAL INERTIA and MOTORSTORM!? they're racing so they arent for everyone but still...looks AMAZING ....................................... http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162235.html ...........................maybe you didn't read this, so you can only include motorstorm, which the demo, um sucks ass and the frame rate is butt ugly, but it is only a demo... but still, i thought the ps3 was suppose to be the god of all video games, the demos should be better then 360 games, right sony fans?

  • MaTTuH

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 10:20 am PT

    Latinbro1
    right now, within the yr 360 has been in the market there has been only 4 good games; oblivion, dead raising, gears of war, and f.e.a.r within the first yr of the ps3 there'll be a potential of 8 good games; DMC4, MGS4, heavenly sword, motorstorm, warhawk, lair, oblivion, f.e.a.r., i see more 'reasons' to get a ps3 than a 360. however, i do am impressed w/ gears of wars...................................well, first of all, its gears of war, not multiple wars. within a year of the ps3 launch, only about half of them are confirmed during the year. if you actually think you'll play dmc4 and mgs4 in 2007, youre a complete idiot. oblivion and fear shouldn't even be on your list, oblivion has been out for almost a year, and fear allready over a year for pc at least, and they are both allready on 360 and you stated them in 360 games. i think you're missing quite a few good games to 360, and don't think you should include multiplatform in your 'reasons' because they are dumb 'reasons' to wait when you could be playing them now, and with a better online system. graw, r6 vegas, pgr3, saints row, gow, dead rising, scda, cod2, all great games you won't find on ps3 ever, or vegas at til next year. and if you want to say sony has more to look forward to in over a year, look at mgs4, ffwhatever number its up to, and i guess warhawk and motorstorm which you will get bored of too quickly, because dmc4 may go multiplatform/ms is trying to get capcom and many games have jumped off sony's ship and gone multiplatform. and then there are games like mass effect, too human, crackdown, fable 2, alan wake, bioshock, new sc, forza 2, k and l, and do i even need to say halo 3. go ahead and play all, i mean most of your ps1 and ps2 games and some multiplatform games, and we'll all be enjoying the same next gen games and a hell of a lot more great exclusive games with a true online gaming network. besides, you won't be able to enjoy the games after 2007 if you got your ps3, because chances are it will be broken by then.

  • Talal_Turtle

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 5:15 am PT

    Wow... that sucks

  • PenguinIzzy

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 4:39 am PT

    To pXxJosexXp:

    XBOX360= Gears of War, Oblivion, Rainbow Six Vegas. All out, all 9.0 rated or above.

    PS3= Resistance, Fall of Man. 8.8, not even 9.0, and this is the only PS3's killerapp at release.

    You do the math.

    Give me my burrito, mi hombre!

  • ryanFF9

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 11:19 pm PT

    A member of the press ripping on the PS3, I for one am SHOCKED!

  • Latinbro1

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 9:18 pm PT

    right now, within the yr 360 has been in the market there has been only 4 good games; oblivion, dead raising, gears of war, and f.e.a.r within the first yr of the ps3 there'll be a potential of 8 good games; DMC4, MGS4, heavenly sword, motorstorm, warhawk, lair, oblivion, f.e.a.r., i see more 'reasons' to get a ps3 than a 360. however, i do am impressed w/ gears of wars

  • pXxJoSexXp

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 8:49 pm PT

    Pinkyimp:
    ok we dont need viberation i played motorstorm and i frogot there was viberation! u paid 400$ for somthing that breaks down and only has 2 good games Gears of war and Halo 3

    HALO WARS Is gonna SUX on the 360 it should be on PC (story for another day) and overall u just like to kiss bill gates's butt .... welp im done

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    you're missing alot of awesome games for the 360, and the 360 will have compability with mouse and keyboard, now you can go and kiss kaz hirai butt

  • pXxJoSexXp

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 8:43 pm PT

    I don't like the PS3, even if Ihave the money, I wouldn't buy it because of it's crappy games, let's face it, the only good games for the PS3 comming are MGS4, FFXIII, DMC4, and God of War 3 ( if is comming) I will just stick to my 360 and my future Wii

  • goez3000

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    i love my xbox 360 and nintendo wii... and in my eyes, the ps3 just isnt worthy to either one. The playstation 3 has no rumble, and the graphics are extremely horrible; for something being next-gen its sad that the ps3 cant even handle call of duty 3 without dropping it's framerate significantly. i strongly stick by the ny times article, but i could be wrong because the xbox 360 had a rough launch also.
    p.s
    the ps3 is running at 67 % full power with fall of man
    the 360 is running at 30% with gears of war

  • Turisman4

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 6:53 pm PT

    Of coure there's going to be a few techincal issues for a system that's only been out for a week! Just wait for a couple of good firmware updates and all your PS3 woes will be gone. Sheesh, a lot of people said the same for the 360, but now it seems they've all changed their minds. Give it some time, people!

  • sam8917

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 6:07 pm PT

    holy christ! why does everyone only bring up resistance when tlaking about the ps3....i probably wont get one (or any next gen console...like my xbox and ps2 too much) but is everyone forgetting FATAL INERTIA and MOTORSTORM!? they're racing so they arent for everyone but still...looks AMAZING

  • bobert3000

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 4:36 pm PT

    whys everybody so hyped about this?
    you can't really tell how good a console will be at launch.

    just wait.

    sony knows exactly how to make a great console

    just wait and see

  • Xrm150

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 4:16 pm PT

    I don't think you should really judge the online services just yet...MS has had alot more time in making their network better. But since sony tried to copy the Wiis remote I guess they should try to copy Live.

  • bboyaztec

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 3:48 pm PT

    Well, the games that are both on the PS3 and the the Xbox360, the ones on the 360 are getting higher ratings on gamespot than the ps3 counterparts. Just see for urselves...

  • darrrrk

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 3:07 pm PT

    Well i dont want to be all fanboyi but in my case (could be only me) when i think in ps3 good games (reasons to buy the console), there is only MGS4, god of war and FF. And I hate to say it, but the first of the them is not that great // me prepares for battle.

    In the other hand when i think of 360 games there are a ton I want to play (some of the future projects included), just check the X06 event.

    And finally there is Nintendo, sure, really really few games BUT what an amazing quality those have.

    Remember, this personal opinion only, dont kill me

  • gamer_rox180

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:50 pm PT

    but does it really suc? cuz they said up there it was awesome, but then said too many things sucked...does it suc? and is the wii all that awesome, cuz it looks awesome.

  • aceburg0413

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:42 pm PT

    Honestly, why does anyone care? The PSP sucked at launch, but people bought it (me included). The PS3 also sucked at launch, but people will buy it, it's inevitable. However, the PS3 won't make any impact on the market until their first real price drop, but even then they will only have a couple of decent games by that time. Sorry Sony fanboys, even you have got to feel kind of betrayed with their outragous prices. Oh and one more point, expect really long load times with the PS3, I mean think about it, twice as much memory but half the RAM as the 360. WOW, Sony must hate the consumer.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 1:25 pm PT

    This doesn't effect me. I still want it

  • dilan94

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 10:55 am PT

    well I say that the ps3 isn't that awesome... but it is good.

  • Frags-o-Plenty

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 10:31 am PT

    I'm not too concerned about this. Just anagram it.

    "New York Times" ---> "Monkeys Write"

  • L710_SCOPE

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 8:51 am PT

    why dont they ship a whole bunch becuase eb games only get 7 a week .....7 isnt enough if ppl are willing to sleep outside....... need 2 ship more

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!