Playstation 3 Fanboys Strike Back

[korsjs]

http://www.extremetech.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=198989,00.asp

By Jim Lynch
My column last month about Playstation 3 Losers needing to get a life brought out quite a reaction from readers. Some loved my column, and others agreed with some points but not with my tone. But there was another group—the PS3 fanboys—who pulled no punches in email and in the forum feedback thread. These folks were downright angry as my column apparently violated the central tenet of their videogame religion: Thou Shalt Speak No Evil of Sony. I'll get to their reactions shortly as I respond to some of the feedback from the column.
Please note that in some cases, I've had to bleep out some of the nastier language as we try to be a family-friendly site.
Some people took umbrage at the use of the term "losers" to describe the various people involved with the PS3's launch (consumers, Sony, media, etc.). Some also accused ExtremeTech's editors of plotting to publish "flame-bait" in order to reap more traffic.


Ahmedfarazch writes:
I think it's you who is the biggest loser, writing such a lame article just to generate some traffic! I think ExtremeTech after all these years has become stagnant and lazy


Well here's some background on how my column actually took shape, Ahmed (nice to know that folks in Pakistan are reading ET). It never came about as a suggestion at an ET editorial meeting. Instead it popped into my head as I watched the PS3 media coverage on TV and read stories on the web. The more I found out, the more I considered the situation to be pretty much total lunacy. At that point I had some strong feelings.

The usual way I express those feelings is to sit down and write. So what readers got was a visceral reaction to what I'd seen happening during the PS3 launch. It was an honest and straightforward opinion piece that covered the gamut of my reaction to what I'd seen. Nobody at ET even knew I was planning to do it until I mentioned it. It basically evolved organically as most of my opinion pieces do.

Now could I have toned it down? Made it blander? Made it more...palatable...to those easily offended fanboy types? Sure, but then why bother to write it in the first place? Sometimes an emphatic response to certain things happens and that all came out in the writing of my column. While not every column or review I write contains such emotion, some do and I don't apologize for that at all. You'll see more of it from time to time.

Also, the fact that it was an opinion piece seems to have escaped a few people who claimed that we weren't publishing "objective" reviews, etc. Well an opinion piece is just that, it's not a review nor should it be considered as such. If a reader does make that kind of mistake, it's on him or her to realize that what they are reading actually is meant to be.

One last point, a couple of folks in the forum had a sense of humor and thought I might have written my column because I couldn't get a PS3 at launch. Heh, heh. Thanks for the thought guys but I wasn't in the market for one. Continued...


One of the misconceptions by some readers was that I'm not a gamer and had never played a console system before.

Dragonwarrioriv writes:
You don't understand how people could pay $500+ for a video game console eh? That's easily understood because, well, you aren't a gaming enthusiast. And, your opinion as a tech editor is severely tarnished in my opinion. Why? Because you're a non-gamer writing an article about games. Leave that to the grown-ups, Jim. Stick to the writing that you do best.


I've been gaming since Pong so, yes, I have played lots of different consoles and hundreds of different games in my life. Apparently though, one is not considered a real gamer unless one worships at the altar of Sony and accepts everything the company does as gospel.

Also, some of the fanboy geniuses found my profile in the story and assumed that it was completely up to date. Well sorry for the confusion guys but Tribes isn't my favorite game at this point, World of Warcraft is what I'm playing these days. The info in the profile is outdated and shame on us at ExtremeTech for not updating it earlier.

Blu-ray Uber Alles
Another point that some folks disagreed with me on was the inclusion of Blu-ray in the PS3. This has added around $150-$200 to the price of the PS3 console. Is it worth it? Not in my book, but some disagreed strenuously with me on that.

Masaville writes:
I am thoroughly enjoying the Blu-ray player in the PS3, which by the way is significantly cheaper than a stand-alone player. That alone justified the $500 price tag of the PS3.

Jimbonics writes:
The 200 dollar price difference between the 360 and P3 is easily justified by the inclusion of the Blu-ray. The 360's HD-DVD add-on is $199, so.....

I'm glad that folks are enjoying the PS3's Blu-ray drive but my feeling is that Blu-ray is still an unproven format and may succumb to the betamax syndrome as time goes by. It faces stiff competition by HD-DVD and it remains to be seen whether or not Blu-ray will even survive. So why should PS3 gamers be forced by Sony into coughing up more money to support a format that may go the way of the do-do? Why not make it an optional drive that not all PS3 gamers have to buy?

Wake up PS3 gamers. You are being used as pawns in the DVD format wars. Doesn't this bother you? You've been forced to pay a higher price for your game console solely to support Sony's bid for high resolution DVD supremacy. Shame on Sony and shame on the PS3 gamers for going along with it. Continued...


Some folks took me to task about the column because they felt that ExtremeTech and other Ziff Davis publications had hyped Blu-ray and the PS3 in the past.

Digit_F6 writes:
WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE ALL THE HYPE?! Last time I checked, you guys (at Ziff Davis) were all saying how great Blu-ray was and how the only way to get it "cheap" was with a PS3. However, you were also saying that the public should wait until the Blu-ray format was implemented and available with more movies. But guess what? SONY CONTROLS A LARGE PORTION OF THE EMTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!!! Why wouldn't the idiots go out and buy a PS3, especially if the PS3 is the only thing that plays Blu-ray discs?

I put a small part of the blame on YOU JIM, and any other journalist for helping sustain the demand for this electronic dope if not outright helping create it (the demand, that is). Think about THAT at the upcoming CES show! You didn't say what an over priced piece of junk you thought the PS3 was THEN so in a small way you are guilty for the problems the marketing strategy created. You might even say the same for XBox, Nintendo and even "Pong." But because YOU (journalists and any one else of influence) didn't help LESSEN the demand you might as well have shot those people yourself


So how dare I write a column pointing out all the flaws and problems with the PS3 launch, eh Digit? Well I don't speak for anybody at Ziff except myself in my column and nobody else who writes for Ziff speaks directly for me in their columns. Each of us has a unique voice and we express it how and when we want to.

So you may very well have read a lot of what you thought was hype, written by other writers at Ziff Davis. Just remember that they speak for themselves and not for me (and vice versa). Whenever I feel compelled to write about something, I will do so regardless of what anybody else at Ziff Davis or any other company has already written about that topic.

Shortages? There Are No Shortages!
Another thing some folks took issue with was shortages of the PS3 (and other consoles at launch).

Mkozlows: "Fake shortages?" This is a ridiculous canard tossed out by people who want to seem sophisticated and cynical, but who are actually clueless. The reality is that the console makers can pretty much sell everything they can make at launch, and they would absolutely love to sell millions and millions of consoles— but they can't, because they can't manufacture them that fast. Sony in particular was nailed by manufacturing difficulties that caused them to scrub the worldwide launch, and even then massively underdeliver to the US and Japan. You don't piss off Europe and revise forecasts downward as part of a clever marketing ploy. The shortages are real.

Sorry Mkozlows but I have to disagree. All Sony and any other manufacturer would have to do to avoid a "shortage" is give themselves enough time to stockpile their products before launch. Since they don't do this and never have, it's clear that they are aiming to induce hysteria among the masses via media reports about fake shortages. It's an excellent marketing strategy but that doesn't make it any less of a lie. Continued...


Although I got some very well written feedback, with detailed responses, I also got what can only be called fanboy gibberish. These folks went right off the deep end, without pausing or looking back.

Read the article that started this storm: PlayStation 3 Losers Need to Get a Life .

Here's some of the classier fanboy feedback (profanities are bleeped):

From Yulier:
You BLEEP. I hope you know you just insulted Millions of people. YOU PC NERD STOP PLAYING A GAME THATS 3 YEARS OLD ,TRIBES LOL WHAT AN OLD BLEEP BLEEP GAME.YOU BLEEP UP BLEEP

From Nathan:
You know BLEEP all rofl, it's a sad day in hell when losers like you start trying to think they know BLEEP about what's cool and what's not.

From Amandeep:
YOUR A PIECE OF BLEEP!! I HATE YOU!!! YOUR A BLEEPING BLEEP!!! YOU BLEEP BLEEP


From Graham:
What a stupid BLEEP you are...ignorant, brainless, BLEEP little BLEEP such as yourself.

From Justin:
Have a cry you stupid BLEEP.

Well what can I say to you guys? Your intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate emails have me reeling and reconsidering my position on why some PS3 gamers are losers. Not.

Nathan, Amandeep, Graham, Justin and Yulier weren't the worst emails I got. One actually included an alteration of a photo of me. The alteration involved Michael Jackson and a male body part. I can't get more specific than that or include it here as, I said above, we are a family-friendly site. Suffice to say that some folks were off their meds when they were emailing me. Fortunately, I've got a thick skin so none of it bothered me though I did find most of it amusing in a silly sort of way.

Thanks for all the email and feedback in the forum, guys. Glad you all liked the column, enjoy those over-priced PS3s.

 

[JoeSp]

Interesting read. Obviously Mr Lynch is not very happy with Sony. He feels the unit was overhyped. Does it do HD gaming -- yes. Does it come with a hard drive -- yes. Does it come with bluetooth technology that works -- yes. Does it come with a BluRay drive that works -- yes. Does it overheat -- no. Is it loud -- no. Does it damage discs -- no. Does it lock up and quit working -- no. Does it have a FREE online service -- yes. Are there 1080p games -- yes (but not enough and some stating 1080p will only be 720p -- does that mean they are not HD?). Have the games reached 60fps -- not yet (once again some games coming out stated 60fps and are only delivering 30fps - if stable does this really make a differance?). Did Sony deliver the number of units at lauch that they said they would - no. Did they keep delivering to retailers reaching over a million by the end of December here in the US-- yes. The bulk of the promises by Sony were kept. A few were not --- so lets drop the hammer on Sony and the PS3 -- oh wait Mr Lynch has done it for us.

So just what is Mr. Lynch pointing to in his article? Is Sound and Vision, HomeTheater Forum, The Home Theater magazine reviewers wrong when they say the PS3 is a very good to excellent BLURAY player? Does Mr. Lynch hold a key to future knowledge that states BluRay with all of its backing in studio, manufacturing and retail compaines is definately going to fail? I don't think so. He is upset over something and he is taking it out on Sony and the PS3.

Bottom line, Mr. Lynch wrote an article about the hype surrounding the PS3. Where was he after the launch of the XBOX360 when 1 out of 3 units were failing and M$ had to hold off production for serveral months to try and fix the problems. Where was he when M$ after six months of these problems were making their customers pay for repair? Now M$ has extended the warranty and is paying back customers but I did not read or hear of any article from Mr. Lynch about how cheap M$ was treating its customers. I am still reading of unit failures a year after the release -- this should not be happening yet no Mr. Lynch to be found smacking around M$ because of their miss-steps.

A year after launch and the XBOX360 is doing just fine. It has a megahit on its hands (GOW) and has more hits on the way. Say, I wonder if after a year and the PS3 is doing just fine if Mr Lynch will print a retraction or at least say something nice about Sony and the PS3. Hummm, I kind of doubt it.

 

[KwestJones]

And how bout the racisit quip....

http://www.extremetech.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=198989,00.asp
Ahmed (nice to know that folks in Pakistan are reading ET).

I guess its an insult for an insult huh....

 

[tonyp56]

JoeSP,

To begin, the whole thing about Blu-Ray isn't that it don't work or that it plays HD disc, it is that Sony forced that onto people that wanted a PS3. Would it not have been better to sell that Blu-Ray player as an add on? Instead of forcing that $200 drive onto everyone that bought a PS3? I mean how many people don't own a HDTV, let alone would be interested in HD DVD's? ( I know people that don't even have a DVD player!) Not to mention, Sony did this so that it would artificially inflate the numbers for Blu-Ray, their project baby. Already people are tauting that Blu-Ray has sold over 2 million players, of which, about 2 million is PS3's, and that don't mean that they are all in the hands of consumers, just means that is how many is out in the market place.

Not to mention, out of those 2 million or so consoles, how many of them are being used for Blu-Ray playback? 50%? 10%? 90%? Who knows? No one does, those numbers serve Blu-Ray and Sony, by making everyone think that Blu-Ray is the format of choice of that many people, which it isn't. Just because something happens (2 million consoles sold) doesn't make the other legit (2 million+ plus Blu-Ray players). In other words, 2 million consoles being sold doesn't say that many people chose Blu-Ray, it simply means they chose PS3's. That don't even mean they chose the PS3 for HD capabilities. (when you buy a car do you buy it based on how fast it will go? If a car that does 300MPH was the top selling car in America, could you say that everyone in America like to drive 300MPG? No) Let the consumer decide if they want that Blu-Ray drive or not. Don't just force it down every one's throat who want/wanted a PS3.

As far as the shortages go, Microsoft, Sony, etc. all are guilty of that. But when your console goes public and someone actually dies because they were standing in line, that goes beyond normal shortages to get people in a panic so they rush out to buy your console! That pushes the envelope towards causing mass hysteria, and becoming a social danger! What time of the year were PS3's released? In November, during the last minute, "oh crap, I better get some Christmas presents" time. Why didn't Sony release say, after Christmas? When they would have had more product, less "oh crap, I got to get one right now" demand, and they could have had more product in transit to stores so there wouldn't' be as much of a panic?

All Sony fan-boys should really look at this, and realize that not only did Sony cause that mess, they also pushed a unproven technology onto everyone that bought a PS3. What if it goes bust?--as far as the format for HD playback, I think I can see it becoming a very good storage format.--What then?

However, the point of the article, IMO, wasn't to bash gamers it was to bash those few that 1) ran out and stood in line for hours to get PS3, only to come home and sell it on E-bay for 300%+ for what they paid for it. 2) the few that trampled over others, shot others, made things bad for others, and 3) those that so blindly followed the hype that Sony was feeding them.

Of course, it did bash Sony, and IMHO, Sony deserved it. They are the ones that made that mass hysteria or at least panic, that there weren't going to be that many PS3's available. Which drove up the prices on E-bay, which inturn, drove up the demand for retail priced units. Some wanted a PS3 to play games, others wanted it to make a small fortune, via greed.

Come on, tell me you understand that argument? Don't say Sony couldn't have done things better, and that gamers--at least a few, but I recall being taught in school, it is always the few that ruin it for the many--couldn't have acted a little more like adults and had a little bit of patients?

 

[JoeSp]

Lets put one thing to rest. I was not forced to buy a BluRay drive. I was forced to buy a Playstation 3 for a low cost BluRay drive. I think you have that turned around. I did not see anyone holding a gun to the heads of the over 700,000 PS3 owners when they purchased their PS3s. And 2 million BluRay players including the PS3 only does not count if no one buys BluRay discs. I currently own 19 and I am sure most who purchased a PS3 have purchased a few BluRay movies even if they don't have a HDTV just to check it out. If the consumer does not want a BluRay they can buy the XBOX360. It is a very capable game machine. Don't blame Sony for adding a BluRay to the PS3. To those who own one it is a welcomed addition and I am posistive none of us feel ripped off. Those who do, take the PS3 back and get a XBOX360 and be happy.

No one can force anyone to purchase anything-- got that!

Second, there was no mass hysteria other than that caused by greedy SOB's that decided to purchase PS3s and rip others off. If someone was stupid enough to pay more then retail then it was their money to waste. I purchased mine at a 10% discount the first week of December from Target. Don't blame the actions of a few greedy SOBs and the idiots that edged them on by paying their rediculous prices on Sony. And the incidents that happened around the country were done by mostly those same greedy individuals.

As for unproven technology. What unproven technology are you talking about. A CELL processor that not only works but is being put into supercomputers for medical and scientific research? A BluRay drive that not only works but delivers great HD picture and lossless sound? How about Bluetooth technology that not only works but works flawlessly? A video GPU from a company that is one of the major leaders in video GPUS? Just what unproven technology from IBM, Sony, Nividea and Toshiba are you talking about here? Gee, that's right, Toshiba helped design the CELL chip.

Could Sony have done a better job -- yes. But I have not yet seen a company release a new product that did not have any problems with the release of that product. So, yes Sony could have done a better job -- but they still delivered. They delivered a product (while not in the numbers they were pushing around) that worked and they kept their word about contiuning flow to the retailers. Name me one product that has been released in the last 10 years that did not have hiccups during and after the lauch? Heck even Nintendo has had to recall all of their controllers because of flying controller accidents. And while you are at it name one new popular portable entertainment product that does not immeadiately go to EBAY for sell at a rediculous price?

Your statements are rambling BS trying to put blame where blame does not belong. The article by Mr. Lynch is primarily flaming and additional BS. Maybe before the PS3 was out your's and his statements had some validity but the PS3 is out now. It works, it doesn't melt discs, freeze up, overheat, die or kill any of its owners-- it just plain works and works well! And if you are unhappy about that then don't buy one. Nobody is forcing you to-- are they?

 

[IcEWoLF]

JoeSP,

To begin, the whole thing about Blu-Ray isn't that it don't work or that it plays HD disc, it is that Sony forced that onto people that wanted a PS3. Would it not have been better to sell that Blu-Ray player as an add on? Instead of forcing that $200 drive onto everyone that bought a PS3? I mean how many people don't own a HDTV, let alone would be interested in HD DVD's? ( I know people that don't even have a DVD player!) Not to mention, Sony did this so that it would artificially inflate the numbers for Blu-Ray, their project baby. Already people are tauting that Blu-Ray has sold over 2 million players, of which, about 2 million is PS3's, and that don't mean that they are all in the hands of consumers, just means that is how many is out in the market place.

Not to mention, out of those 2 million or so consoles, how many of them are being used for Blu-Ray playback? 50%? 10%? 90%? Who knows? No one does, those numbers serve Blu-Ray and Sony, by making everyone think that Blu-Ray is the format of choice of that many people, which it isn't. Just because something happens (2 million consoles sold) doesn't make the other legit (2 million+ plus Blu-Ray players). In other words, 2 million consoles being sold doesn't say that many people chose Blu-Ray, it simply means they chose PS3's. That don't even mean they chose the PS3 for HD capabilities. (when you buy a car do you buy it based on how fast it will go? If a car that does 300MPH was the top selling car in America, could you say that everyone in America like to drive 300MPG? No) Let the consumer decide if they want that Blu-Ray drive or not. Don't just force it down every one's throat who want/wanted a PS3.

As far as the shortages go, Microsoft, Sony, etc. all are guilty of that. But when your console goes public and someone actually dies because they were standing in line, that goes beyond normal shortages to get people in a panic so they rush out to buy your console! That pushes the envelope towards causing mass hysteria, and becoming a social danger! What time of the year were PS3's released? In November, during the last minute, "oh crap, I better get some Christmas presents" time. Why didn't Sony release say, after Christmas? When they would have had more product, less "oh crap, I got to get one right now" demand, and they could have had more product in transit to stores so there wouldn't' be as much of a panic?

All Sony fan-boys should really look at this, and realize that not only did Sony cause that mess, they also pushed a unproven technology onto everyone that bought a PS3. What if it goes bust?--as far as the format for HD playback, I think I can see it becoming a very good storage format.--What then?

However, the point of the article, IMO, wasn't to bash gamers it was to bash those few that 1) ran out and stood in line for hours to get PS3, only to come home and sell it on E-bay for 300%+ for what they paid for it. 2) the few that trampled over others, shot others, made things bad for others, and 3) those that so blindly followed the hype that Sony was feeding them.

Of course, it did bash Sony, and IMHO, Sony deserved it. They are the ones that made that mass hysteria or at least panic, that there weren't going to be that many PS3's available. Which drove up the prices on E-bay, which inturn, drove up the demand for retail priced units. Some wanted a PS3 to play games, others wanted it to make a small fortune, via greed.

Come on, tell me you understand that argument? Don't say Sony couldn't have done things better, and that gamers--at least a few, but I recall being taught in school, it is always the few that ruin it for the many--couldn't have acted a little more like adults and had a little bit of patients?

I agree with u to a certain degree.
Sony has done a great job so far.
And the editor..well he is a loser.

 

[IcEWoLF]

Well you are calling us losers that got a PS3...there are losers all over PC,xbox 360, and the wii...

Extremetech, you have no right to call people losers...If you saw me on the street and i just got a ps3...would you call me a loser? Hell i think if you, did you would get ur..............!
Atm you can call people all you want losers because you are hiding behind a computer..but guess what? You are no one in RL.