Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!news.moat.net!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!local01.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.comcast.com!news.comcast.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 20:39:30 -0500 Reply-To: From: Newsgroups: alt.games.video.sony-playstation,alt.games.video.sony-playstation2,japan.videogames.playstation,rec.games.video.sony,uk.games.video.playstation References: <6Jadnf6iU8XkKmvfRVn-2w@comcast.com> Subject: Re: The Bigger Picture: PlayStation 3 Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 20:39:33 -0500 Organization: Highlander X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Response Message-ID: Lines: 53 NNTP-Posting-Host: 67.184.188.59 X-Trace: sv3-lGAlqxM9WcQG9l3zkqIRxmxsQlOlnN+ZyrkGa3jzTUE15NUhQk9voEG6wOaETkIGRvjFFV4xM/5IRva!ZagLpNJZautuhJjb1n9NSoJj0QBCVIwZrqQQfgzJ+CNJdR8BQ25RAXkz17/S1nPDJV75boOYbSyQ!RLbEGg== X-Complaints-To: abuse@comcast.net X-DMCA-Complaints-To: dmca@comcast.net X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.32 Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org japan.videogames.playstation:414 [continued] The specific platform may not be a hardware device at all. Interestingly, a very senior Sony person told me last year that in the very long-term, he imagined PlayStation potentially being a gatekeeper, a brand - or even a channel - rather than a particular games console that followed 5-10 year console cycles. Obviously, hardware would be involved to host the games (and movies and music), but it might be something automatically upgraded each year, like the service you get from a cable company. Or it could run on any box: analogous to the operator versus handset manufacturer split we see in wireless phones today. In this light, it's very clear why both Microsoft and Sony are fighting to own the platform, be it a device, a channel, or 'the server under the stairs'. Sony won't willingly be reduced to a provider of, effectively, dumb terminals hooked up to a Microsoft box. Equally, Microsoft can't let the PC be supplanted by a TV/DVD/console hybrid that does everything you'd have wanted a PC to do. This contest began with PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but only the more mundane elements of the 'big vision' were satisfied. People used their games machines as DVD players, but that aside there was little that took PlayStation 2 as an entertainment hub beyond games. Equally, Microsoft has struggled to get past Xbox's PC-for-gamers image, although Xbox Live has achieved more progress towards creating that vital channel for the downloading of content (an area where Xbox 360 still seems to have the lead). More opponents PlayStation 3 must be foremost a games machine with sufficiently excellent titles to see of its rivals. But beyond that, Sony will want to extend its reach. All those audio-visual multimedia capabilities in the PS3 spec sheet aren't there just for gamers - they're for home cinema buffs too. And the Ethernet port isn't just for head-to-head Burnout 4, it's for downloading at the least more cars, probably new music to drive to, possibly Burnout 5 - and just maybe Spider-Man 3, the movie. Assuming it pulls it off, Sony's latest transition will still take at least another decade to fully achieve; PlayStation 4 will likely arrive before a 'HouseStation' that does it all. And Sony's opponents number more than Microsoft. Push the vision above hard enough, and what you get is a media company, where competitors would be the likes of Time Warner and News International. How Sony and Microsoft use their proprietary platform advantages - and when and if they break with the established models - will be critical to their ultimate success. New partnerships and alliances will be as important as escaping the past. Regardless, enjoy the games on PlayStation 3. Rarely does mega-corporate strategy result in this much fun.