Atari Founder Forecasts PlayStation 3 Failure

[malware]

Nolan Bushnell, creator of Pong and founder Atari, was interviewed by Red Herring about the state of the video game industry today. When asked about which areas he still follows of his former industry, Bushnell said, "I'm very curious and interested in the Nintendo Wii. I think it may expand the market beyond the hardcore [18- to 24-year old]". He also expressed fondness for Microsoft's online strategy, saying, "Xbox Live is interesting because it potentially becomes the platform for the living room". But when he was asked about the PlayStation 3 console, he said, "I think Sony shot themselves in the foot… there is a high probability [they] will fail. The price point is probably unsustainable. For years and years Sony has been a very difficult company to deal with from a developer standpoint. They could get away with their arrogance and capriciousness because they had an installed base,". He also added, "They have also historically had horrible software tools. You compare that to the Xbox 360 with really great authoring tools [and] additional revenue streams from Xbox live… a first party developer would be an idiot to develop for Sony first and not the 360. People don't buy hardware, they buy software". You can read the full interview with Nolan Bushnell here.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Jimmy 2004]

Or maybe he is just planning the new Atari console and doesn't want people to buy a PS3...

Not really, but TBH the Playstation series has such a huge fan base that it will sell. Admittedly the delays and price mean that more people will go for the Xbox 360 or Wii (such as myself, a PS fan moving back to Nintendo) but it comes down to whether they sell enough to make up for the money they're losing from developers and the Blu-Ray format. I'm not sure which way it will go but I don't think it will be the end of the Playstation series. That's just my opinion.

 

[overcast]

While I don't feel it will be as successful as the PS2, it's certainly NOT going to be a failure.

 

[lemonadesoda]

STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING, Bushnell is right. Because SONY is losing market share. Given SONYs strategic objectives, it is a strategic failure. If X360 or Wii win over PS3, not only are PS3 sales down compared to plan, but PS4 will be an even harder sell.

I give Bushnell a 10/10 for strategic thinking, and a 5/10 for choice of diplomatic wording. But then again, I do like straight talk.

@Jimmy 2004, please read the linked article, and you will see what Bushnell is up to. Innovating again. Whether a success or failure, at least he's still got some kick in his shoes.

 

[Lord_Garshna]

Sounds like someone is an anti-sony fan... and why shouldn't he be didn't they kick his companys' ass last I checked. Ah yes atari, that is who we need to listen to... do me a favor Nolan... when you are able to actually maintain a system and make a good game, give me your opinion then.

 

[wazzledoozle]

Xbox is the new "Playstation", Sony's brand loyalty lies only with fanboys now.

The ONLY person I knew who was waiting for PS3 lives in Michigan, and he gave up one week ago and bought a 360 for Gears of War (Awesome game btw).

 

[jocksteeluk]

The fact that the PS3 online services are totally free for everyone , the fact that its also a Blu-ray player without the need of an external addon drive will play in Sony's favor, think of it this way you can buy the same game for Xbox360 but the diffrence being you gotta pay a subscription to play it online with the xbox if online console games are your cup of tea then the PS3 with free online games will appeal a heck of alot more

but anyways PC ftw!!! dont forget "pay per car" Grand turismo and for microsoft pay per enhancement that should have been in the games in the first place - hopefully nintendo beat them both but i cant see that happening.