Three Years of the PlayStation 3

90 Comments Posted November 17, 2009 - By Sterling McGarvey

High-Quality PlayStation 3 Slim Pictures Released

November isn’t just a time for big games to launch. It’s traditionally a time when game consoles make their big splash in the States. With the exception of the PlayStation 2 and the PSP, every major game console of this decade has launched in November in the US. Today’s the three year anniversary of the PlayStation 3’s American launch. Over the next few days, many of us will be taking a look at each of the major consoles, their history up to now, and the prognosis for 2010. Just for the hell of it, I pulled up a birthday horoscope for today:

“Although you have a talent for communicating, you are not an open book. Your personality is vibrant, and others notice you wherever you go. As emotional as you are, you prefer to present the strong side of your personality to others. You may readily discuss your personal past, but you are not one to whine about your life. You do have an interesting life story, no doubt about it, as you tend to attract change and even crisis into your life with your controlled yet powerful emotions. Your life is far from static, likely because your personality is very dynamic.”

Yep, sounds like a PS3 to me. Here’s the specs:

Launch Date: November 17, 2006 (US)
Launch Price: $599 (60 GB), $499 (20 GB)

Significant Price Drops and Hardware Iterations:

80 GB PS3 (introduced 2007) eliminated the Emotion Engine, which allowed for hardware emulation of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. It dropped the price to $499.
40 GB PS3 (introduced late 2007) eliminated PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, as well as two USB ports and flash memory readers, yet it existed alongside the 80 GB hardware iteration for nearly a year. It also dropped the retail cost down to $399.
120 GB PS3 Slim (introduced in August 2009) reduced the size and power consumption of the console. In addition, it brought the price down to $299.

Games of Note

Resistance: Fall of Man

Year One: 2006-2007

Metal Gear Solid 4

Year Two: 2007-2008

Uncharted 2

Year Three: 2008-2009

Features That Made It Better

When you look at a chronological list of updates, it’s amazing to think that the console has seen so much tinkering since 2006, nearly all of it for the better. Here’s a look at the most notable firmware updates that have really improved the PS3 experience:

PS3 System Update

Update 1.50 fixed the horrific jaggies that kept many an early adopter from swiftly hocking their PS2s and ruined many hours of Final Fantasy XII and Okami during the 2006 holiday season.

Update 1.80 opened up the feature floodgates. Among its features, update 1.80:

Provided HD upscaling for PS2 and PlayStation games, which immediately caused a surge of used PS2s at GameStop (not actually proven)
Let you transfer PS2 save files freely between your console and memory card, which meant that you could transport your PS2 saves to a memory card to bring to your friends’ houses to play on their inferior hardware.
Allowed Blu-ray playback at 720p (previously, you could only watch HD movies in 1080i or 1080p)
Allowed upscaling of DVD movies to resolutions up to 1080p
Allowed DLNA compatibility (what’s up, TVersity and PlayOn!)
Introduced Remote Play over the Internet (I used this feature during Games Convention 2008 to play Bionic Commando: Rearmed on my PSP, which was in San Francisco. But it was kind of laggy).
It was at this point that the PS3 started to become serious business.

Update 2.00 introduced rumble in time for the Dual Shock 3’s 2007 bow and nullified Kaz Hirai’s spin of eighteen months prior.

Update 2.30 revamped the PlayStation Store and eased navigation through its menus, which addressed the surge of content on the platform.

Update 2.40 introduced in-game XMB, which killed many PSN users’ ability to conveniently ignore friend messages while playing games. It doubled the PSN friends list from 50 to 100. Also, it introduced Trophies, which allowed fanboys to brag about their time spent playing games instead of meeting girls, and ravaged my Gamerscore irreparably. I'm at least 8000 behind where I would’ve been had I played on 360.

Update 2.41 fixed the fatal error in Update 2.40 that bricked select consoles. Ouch.

Update 3.00 provided a big aesthetic update to the interface and got rid of the blingy noise when you fire up a game.

Things We’ll Try to Forget

Ken Kutaragi

Ken Kutaragi’s audacious claims prior to PS3’s launch. When you think about it, it wasn’t that long between launch and his resignation.
An awkward launch that did early adopters few favors.
Not using the Blu-ray player much for the first seven months.
“Rumble is so last-gen.”
Loose and fast DLC regulation takes coin out of developers’ pockets far too easily.

Things Console Warriors Might Forget (But Shouldn’t)

Despite the awkward launch and a year of PR faux pas, the end of the PS3’s first year brought great games like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Warhawk (arguably the game that has lived up to SOCOM’s community-focused multiplayer more than any other first-party game), and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. There were indisputably games to play, if you had the coin for the machine. And the legacy of those games is still being felt to this day. Well, except for the rumored Starhawk. (We’re tapping a foot impatiently.)
Although multi-console owners bitched about having to update their PS3 “every time they turned it on” throughout 2007 and 2008, Sony’s frequent updates gave owners new content more often, rather than hitting users with twice-yearly updates.
In spite of the higher quantity of games on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network has taken a more boutique approach to downloadable games. Granted, there’s no shortage of crap on either platform, but exclusive titles like Flower and the PixelJunk brand really stand out among a sea of downloadable games.

Flower

Unless you’re a sulky teenager whose game purchases are dictated by your parent’s wallet, the cheaper PS3 Slim (which comes in at half the launch price) has enabled more gamers to become multi-console owners, and roughly at the same time in the console’s lifecycle that many gamers adopted a second console in the last generation. GTA: San Andreas and Halo 2 pushed many a gamer to bring a second console home five years ago. If you’re a 360 owner, this may very well be the year to take the plunge.

Prognosis for Year Four: 2009-2010

Positive. The biggest deterrent for most consumers hasn’t been a lack of games. It hasn’t been solely based on Xbox Live. It’s the price. At this point, the PS3 costs as much as a launch-era PS2. That’s a hell of a lot more reasonable than the $600 price point it launched at.

Although both Microsoft and Sony have made some big strides in providing on-demand video content through their platforms, G4 readers are vocal in their love for physical media. And they might not be a vocal minority. As more consumers move over to HD and Blu-ray movies slowly drop in price, the PS3 could be poised to repeat the “DVD player plus more” strategy that made the PS2 such a success.

God of War III

And then there’s the games. Between Gran Turismo 5 and God of War III, Sony has two huge franchises to anchor for the first half of 2010. The jury’s still out on Heavy Rain, but if Sony manages to hit the sweet spot with marketing, it could crossover to an audience that doesn’t traditionally play adventure games. Don’t be stunned if Insomniac makes any big announcements regarding the Resistance franchise prior to March’s Game Developers Conference.

At this point, the PS3 has overcome most of its growing pains to deliver a great entertainment experience.

Tags: PlayStation 3, Videogames

Comments

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JTHMROCKS

Pretty cool article. When I get a job, I'm saving up for a PS3.

Posted: November 17, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Report

+45 thumbs up thumbs down

2 Replies
gamersince1995

&HEAVENLY SWORD... well i got to say im more please on the ps3 rather than my old traded 360...

happy 3 years!

Posted: November 17, 2009 4:22 PM | Reply | Report

+32 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
gamersince1995 Show Hide(5 Replies)

consumer satisfaction... anyone?

Posted: November 17, 2009 4:25 PM | Reply | Report

-28 thumbs up thumbs down

5 Replies
dj8002

I must say I am quite satisfied with my purchase, although I do regret not currently owning a 360. I will own one soon though and I will then own all the current gen consoles, yay!

Posted: November 17, 2009 4:39 PM | Reply | Report

+3 thumbs up thumbs down

4 Replies
Kagez28

this makes me want to get a ps3 even more...

Posted: November 17, 2009 4:57 PM | Reply | Report

+35 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
ender_x

I have all consoles, and so far I'm most impressed with the usability of the ps3. The library of the 360, and the uhm...
I dont know about the wii.
Oh, 1st party games are gems.
the rest suck.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:00 PM | Reply | Report

+21 thumbs up thumbs down

3 Replies
Tman88

Happy 3rd birthday PS3

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:23 PM | Reply | Report

+31 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Sterling McGarvey

No need for the system wars here. Every platform is getting its due during this year's anniversaries.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:27 PM | Reply | Report

+35 thumbs up thumbs down

2 Replies
baraka007

thanks for the great read Mr. McGarvey.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:29 PM | Reply | Report

+9 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
ejsponge61

I love my PS3, even though it has a couple haters. But, its rising, and it just may be the biggest comeback in gaming history, if Sony plays their cards right.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:33 PM | Reply | Report

+28 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
mm542

wow wat a great summary of the ps3 life so far...the games get better and better each year and hopefully developers can harness the true power of the ps3 hardware!

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:33 PM | Reply | Report

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pcNorth_mOnster

there is one fault to the frequent updates no cross game chat thats all there lacking yes the music but i for one like to be able to listen to the in game track rather than little wayne while playin assasins creed ect.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:33 PM | Reply | Report

+5 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
HomerKong

This is a great article with very intresting points. I've had my PS3 from day 1. I did have buyers remorse for a few months there since there really wasn't any great games out....but now I don't even even know were to begin, I just started Uncharted 2 and I'am hoping to start on Assassin's Creed 2 after that and I'll be playing Modern Warfare 2 in between games till Heavy Rain and God of War 3 come out! That's too much for my plate MAN! All in all it's a great system that keeps getting better and better with better features and games, I just hope that the PS3 can crawl back to #1 were it belongs. Happy Birhtday PS3

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:43 PM | Reply | Report

+16 thumbs up thumbs down

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ps3izghey Show Hide(14 Replies)

Wow 3 years, and 9 different skus, three diffrent controllers, a second life ripoff (why rip off something that was crap to start with?) oh and lets not forget the mandatory installs and the fact bluray sucked until about a six months ago.

yeah the ps3 is sooooo much better >.> /Sarcasm

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:47 PM | Reply | Report

-50 thumbs up thumbs down

14 Replies
DaTruth521

I'm a loyal sony supporter and happy to see it make it to 3 and I agree w/ ejsponge61 when PS3 dominates the market it will be the biggest comeback ever.

Posted: November 17, 2009 5:52 PM | Reply | Report

+18 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Grifrvb Show Hide

my ps3 got pawn this sucks :(

Posted: November 17, 2009 6:05 PM | Reply | Report

-11 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Nobar550

Where is the MAG representation? Its supposed to be a giant MMOFPS (with actual tactical warfare and a command chain) and yet it is so under-hyped. Modern Warfare 2 has taken all this years spotlight, so anything that releases soon is overlooked. I was hoping for a good MAG support in regards for PS3 reflections (unsure of release date). Oh well, beggers cant be choosers.

Posted: November 17, 2009 6:07 PM | Reply | Report

+10 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
pwnagninja12

Happy 3rd B-day PS3

Posted: November 17, 2009 6:09 PM | Reply | Report

+7 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
SiK

Wow, this article was amazeing!
I cant belive they took out the SD reader :(

Posted: November 17, 2009 6:11 PM | Reply | Report

+4 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
Sawblood45

I remember when I had enough to buy a new console, everyone was telling me to get the 360 and showed me gears of war, tempting, but I did my research learned about the 360 and ps3 and dug for good information, so despite my wallets crying, I bought my ps3 on June 13th 2008 midnight in a metal gear bundle. It was five hundred, but the $100 walmart giftcard i got was just as good as cash so, anyways, I love my ps3, its great, and the firmware updates just keep expanding the value of it. There is a huge list of games that are great, got gears of war for PC, purchased some really great games ( I love Killzone 2 ridiculously), and I think this is just the beginning of the ps3s impressive offerings, the only thing people could honesty complain about in the beginning was the ps3s price... well its the same as 360 now, and that "no games" excuse died about a year ago, so I know I made the right choice, dished out an extra Benjamin, but it came back quick and then some.

Happy birthday ps3! Thanks to Sony giving me a great console that is reliable and worth the money, keep the great games coming and good luck this holiday season.

HEAVY RAIN FTMFW!

Posted: November 17, 2009 6:15 PM | Reply | Report

+25 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply