So, for two years, those of us with reason and objectivity have had to watch as screaming babies waved their arms around and told us how amazing it is to wave your arms around and play games. Or how fucking great it was to download a movie trailer and pay a subscription so you can pay a bit more to download an old game.
Sure, the PS3 has had hiccups and the whole of the internet trying to hate on it. Sure, most of those people seemed to go pretty quiet when they actually stopped hating on something they’d never tried (and hypocritically bleated that criticism of the Wii if you’ve never tried it is blasphemy)…
..so, allow me to gloat to all of you windbags that reckon you’re important and that your endless bitching on forums actually means ANYTHING in the real world because it doesn’t, it never will, and here’s why:
Record-breaking 165,000 PS3s sold at UK launch
18:45, Mar 26th 2007 by Neil LongNew format becomes fastest-selling home console ever over its debut weekend.
ChartTrack has confirmed that 165,000 PS3 units were sold during the console’s launch weekend.
The figure is three quarters of the total 220,000 UK launch stock for day one, and makes PS3 second only to PSP in the overall launch weekend sales stakes. The Sony handheld shifted 185,000 in its opening weekend back in September 2005.
PS3s record-breaking debut for a home console comfortably beats the previous top seller Nintendo Wii, which sold 105,000 after its frantic launch weekend in December last year. Fellow format rival Xbox 360 racked up an estimated 70,000 at launch in December 2005.
The figure also means that Sony has not sold all of its opening weekend stock, something the platform holder claims is part of its overall strategy at retail.
In other news: God of War 2 is everything I hoped it would be. It’s glorious
I don’t actually believe it. This isn’t the fanboy talking – just that there’s absolutely tons of them out there and I know very few who own one. Perhaps there’s a loophole which gets them classed as sold even though they’re going to other shops…
I dunno, either that or there are loads of rich folk I haven’t met yet.
Or, perhaps the people you happen to know do not represent the entire UK market! “I know 10 gamers and none of them have PS3s so I can’t see how Sony could have sold 165,000 in the UK or 600,000 through Europe – it must be a lie”.
OK, don’t believe it. Do you think I care? The fact that there’s people out there favouring bullshit websites over hard retail information from a company like ChartTrack who have their entire trade based around their ability to accurately deliver this information is a joke.
So the clueless want to believe their fiction over the fact. Which, frankly, proves how little people know and how deluded they prefer to be. I’ve always said I favour facts over hype or bullshit. You kinda prove me right Retroid – but then, you always did!
Gamers and the internet: EPIC FAIL!
I have the most upmost respect for you and your opinions, as you know, and therefore I thought you’d be better than resorting to the childish “I told you so” response, Koffdrop.
This is not to suggest, before we begin, that I have ever suggested that the PS3 would be anything but a success, although I have, quite rightly I believe, suggested that the price point and the late release were perhaps not the best decisions on Sony’s part. Therefore, my reponse below has nothing to do with what I have said in the past, but it is genuinely in responding to the comment you have made in regards to “gamers and the internet”.
May I be so bold as to suggest that perhaps you’ve not been quite the pillar of “objectivity” that you suggest you are. I notice the lack of talk on the success of the Wii on this blog with interest. If you were objective and free of bias, why is there a lack of publishing such details? Where are the details on Nintendo’s very real, if perhaps too early to mean much, successes of sales? That’s what I don’t understand.
Even if you did not have time or did not want to (for whatever reason) publish said sales figures, you could have made an acknowledgement of these successes in this post, seeing as it is apparently “gloating” that one console has sold well. How one can gloat that a box of electronics which one is not affliated in any meaningful way (which I presume, perhaps wrongly) you are not) has sold well is beyond me, but that’s a different argument for another day.
The fact is, your lack of mentioning the Wii in anything but a negative way does not lend itself to being balanced or objectivity. It in fact lends itself to bias. I have no problem with bias per se, but I do have a problem with people claiming that they are “objective” when they are plainly anything but.
And you know as well as I do that sales figures are not in anyway useful to determine long term popularity, or which console “wins” in terms of sales, so I think your “gloating” is jumping the gun.
For something I would consider an objective account on recent occurances:
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23889
Oh and Retroid, as it says in the article, I would suggest that the PS3 sales figures are very likely to be accurate, irregardless of your personal experiences.
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s untrue, it’s just annoying when you hear of how many of something sell and then you can never find someone with one.
Never really doubted that it would sell a lot much, I just started doubting it would a little when I was listening to everyone on forums… that was wrong.
Anyway, as expected, the PS3’s sales dropped quite significantly after the launch date:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23977
FRASIER:
“I have the most upmost respect for you and your opinions, as you know, and therefore I thought youd be better than resorting to the childish I told you so response, Koffdrop.”
Frasier, I’ve been ‘telling you so’ for fucking years. But all of the clueless gamers that think they understand how commercial industry works (if I like something then it will succeed!) are so convinced you’re masters of the universe and that you’re never wrong that you simply DON’T LISTEN to anyone other than yourselves and blame others when the bullshit information you selectively adopt to form your arguments doesn’t work in your favour.
Anonymity and lack of responsibility for what you say means you can pretend you’re never wrong!
Wondering about lack of Wii content on Koffdrop.com? It’s because the Wii holds absolutely NO INTEREST to me. Based on the information I have and the fact that an old game with a new control scheme is not magically new and wonderful (do we really need ANOTHER version of the insipid RE4 on a console that actually plays the original perfectly? – no. But if you listen to those ‘clued up gamers’ this is ‘revolutionary’ and ‘what gaming’s all about’). Fuck that. Old games are old games. And a control scheme doesn’t MAKE a game or a games console.
So, like Zelda TP, the Wii is turning out to be disappointingly exactly what I expected it to be. Mini and party games aren’t my bag. Neither is software drought.
As for Week 2 sales of PS3. Bearing in mind it broke records on launch and is the UK’s most succesful console launch ever (PSP holds that handheld crown) what were the odds that it was going to take a down turn in the middle of the month in a time of the year not supported by ‘holiday’ sales?
Oh, and of course – it’s cause nobody wants one isn’t it? I mean, that must be the only reason.
After all, when PS3 was sold out in Japan and the US it was all “Sony don’t know what they’re doing – having stock is all important” as the Nintendo fanboys gloated.
Now Nintendo’s sold out (sold out, of course, until the start of the new financial year – cheeky bastards) it’s all “Being sold out is what counts. Having lots of stock = DOOM”.
Seriously, you question MY objectivity when there’s this kind of ridiculous bullshit coming everywhere else? What a joke!
Oh – sorry for the delay in showing your comment. My comment-spam system believed you were spam and didn’t publish your stuff until I investigated. Shouldn’t happen again.
“Frasier, Ive been telling you so for fucking years. But all of the clueless gamers that think they understand how commercial industry works (if I like something then it will succeed!) are so convinced youre masters of the universe and that youre never wrong that you simply DONT LISTEN to anyone other than yourselves and blame others when the bullshit information you selectively adopt to form your arguments doesnt work in your favour.”
So I’m a clueless gamer who doesn’t understand how commercial industry works? I see. I know it is easier to pigeon hole people than respond to their argument, but honestly, what the hell do you know about my knowledge of commercial industry? Really? To tell you the truth, fuck all. And do I think of myself as master of the universe? Well really, maybe you know me better than I know myself, but I’ve never thought I did.
So, ironically then, you’ve commented on something you really don’t know anything about, which is what you’ve been telling people they shouldn’t be doing for years.
“Oh, and of course – its cause nobody wants one isnt it? I mean, that must be the only reason.”
Who said that? It’s much easier to respond to an argument that isn’t there than actually respond to one that was actually made.
“So, like Zelda TP, the Wii is turning out to be disappointingly exactly what I expected it to be. Mini and party games arent my bag. Neither is software drought.”
Agreed the Wii has been disappointing – the lack of games has been a real killer on what I thought was a fair if not brilliant launch.
“Seriously, you question MY objectivity when theres this kind of ridiculous bullshit coming everywhere else? What a joke!”
What other people do is of no importance to me. That argument is wrong on two counts:
Firstly, I am calling you up on your lack of objectivity. Not on anyone else’s. We can deal with their biases in another place. But right here, we’re talking about you and you only.
Secondly, you’re the one who lauds yourself as objective. If you’re going to do that, expect a much more fierce critique than someone who does not claim to be objective. If someone holds their hands up and says that they are bias then they will never be open to as much scrutiny as if they pretend to be objective and are not. That’s clearly going to be the case.
“Wondering about lack of Wii content on Koffdrop.com? Its because the Wii holds absolutely NO INTEREST to me. Based on the information I have and the fact that an old game with a new control scheme is not magically new and wonderful (do we really need ANOTHER version of the insipid RE4 on a console that actually plays the original perfectly? – no. But if you listen to those clued up gamers this is revolutionary and what gamings all about). Fuck that. Old games are old games. And a control scheme doesnt MAKE a game or a games console.”
Despite your lack of interest, if you claim to be objective, surely you should hold to that? If you’ve posted an entry saying “the PS3 is successful, I was right”, then surely, to be objective, you’d have to also discuss the Wii’s and indeed the 360’s successes as well?
Obviously, the bottom line is it’s your blog and you can do what you like with it – but I would argue that by omitting basic facts about the Wii you aren’t being objective.
“After all, when PS3 was sold out in Japan and the US it was all Sony dont know what theyre doing – having stock is all important as the Nintendo fanboys gloated.
Now Nintendos sold out (sold out, of course, until the start of the new financial year – cheeky bastards) its all Being sold out is what counts. Having lots of stock = DOOM.”
Oh, I totally agree with that, I’ve noticed the same sort of behaviour. But others’ lack of objectivity is no justification for me not to challenge your claim.
Frasier, stop taking generalisations so personally. Such behaviour is the mark of a guilty conscience. 😉
As for the range of content, I talk about what interests me – not what doesn’t. You’ll notice a distinct lack of topics on flower arranging and stamp collecting. It’s not bias, it’s just that they also don’t interest me. Get it?
“Frasier, stop taking generalisations so personally. Such behaviour is the mark of a guilty conscience.”
Fair point, I wasn’t sure whether you were lumping me with such behaviour or not. I clearly do have a guilty conscience yes.
“As for the range of content, I talk about what interests me – not what doesnt. Youll notice a distinct lack of topics on flower arranging and stamp collecting. Its not bias, its just that they also dont interest me. Get it?”
That is clearly the case yes. My point however is thus – if you want to be objective surely the non inclusion of Wii information is not being objective? Obviously we are talking purely from a games industry perspective here, and in that sense you’d surely have to post something on the Wii and the 360 to achieve objectivity, which is the point I was making. So I would argue that the content of this blog is not objective – but I understand the reasoning behind that – namely you do not have an interest in the Wii. It would be like the BBC calling themselves objective and then not reporting on a success of one political party and not another – although to be fair you obviously aren’t a news outlet so that comparison is only half valid.
How’s work at FR out of interest?
Frasier, you amount to claiming that by simply not talking about something that doesn’t interest me that I must therefore be failing to be objective on the topics that do interest me. I’d rather you attempt to damn me for the things I do say than those that I don’t.
If I don’t talk about same-sex marriages does that mean I fail at being objective on the topic of homosexuality? If I fail to discuss petrol prices does that mean I have something against road users?
Rather than putting so much energy into what a don’t talk about you’ll find things far more satisfactory if you focus on the things that I do. It’s a far less futile exercise.
Oh, FRD is all things awesome. They kickstarted everyone’s Easter by taking all the staff to see 300 last Thursday! 🙂 Best job I’ve ever had. Very fulfilling.
Furthermore, if you’ve got a lot to discuss then why not give my discussion area a whirl? You might like it.
Fuck it, there are plenty of people doubting the Sony figures out there who are also in the games industry (maybe even higher up then you :Shocked:). Just because Chart Track are independent doesn’t mean they are right.
Let’s just assume for second, hypothetically that Sony didn’t sell many PS3’s – what would you do if you were Sony? Do you honestly think they wouldn’t try to save some face… Celebrities in the past have bought their own books when they’ve failed you don’t think Sony may try something similar.
Either way, I know there isn’t exactly evidence to prove my point. But then again I don’t rule out the possibility Sony have sold that many either.
Retroid, let me put this to you so you can understand it:
You’re wrong.
EPIC FAIL.
Your denial of reality and suspicion of an organisation of ChartTrack (who TRADE on their ability to deliver accurate information) simply because they’re delivering some numbers you don’t like the sound of is PRECISELY the kind of screwed up fanboy mentality that decided their idea of a fact is what counts and the real world doesn’t know anything.
Or to put it in other terms: you still think the world is flat.