Wow, being an owner of a PS3 is a really rewarding experience… However starting this April being an owner of a PlayStation 3 will be downright phenomenal. It marks the start of the biggest releases in PlayStation history. It also marks the unveiling of the new PlayStation Store.
April 15th (though its been bumped forward to April 4th) – The Dual Shock 3 will be released in North America. While not big news, its still adding to the hype.
April 15th – Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will be released, not a full game but rather a preview of what’s to come. One of the biggest PlayStation franchises in history. Complete with online races, 1080p visuals, and the most accurate portrayal of many top brands of cars in gaming. A $39.99 price tag will help this game sell millions.
April 17th -The launch of the new PlayStation Store with a redesigned storefront. Day one when someone opens up the new PS Store they are going to be in for quite shock. Confirmed items that are ready for day one are as follows, GT5:P, Warhawk Expansion – Operation: Broken Mirror, and Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta (you’ll need to enter a code). Other things that are being talked about are PlayStation Home open beta, and a movie download service, among other smaller store items.
PlayStation Home Open Beta is definitely a possibility, its slated for a Spring 08 release, and well its spring. Also we have Susan Panico, Senior Director of PlayStation Network stating in the May issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, “We’ll be opening up the Home Beta to the public very soon and hope to see you there”. We also have today’s Warhawk 1.3 patch which brings Home integration as one of its features in its changelog. And the last reason goes hand and hand with the next item on out list.
April 29th – Grand Theft Auto 4, one of the biggest games in history. The first direct sequel to the smash hit that started the GTA fame and infamy, Grand Theft Auto 3. While this isn’t a PlayStation exclusive franchise, Sony is still going to do its best to make it a PlayStation 3 system seller. How will they get people to choose the PS3 for GTA4 over the Xbox 360? Well I already began listing why…. Why do you think the Store is getting updated in April? Why do you think GT5:P will be released 2 weeks prior to GTA4? Why do you think MGO Beta is coming in April? Why else would they want to release Home Open Beta? Sure all these things are good for Sony, and don’t necessarily means they are happening because of GTA4, but its seems like more than just a coincidence that all this is happening just 2 weeks prior to GTA4.
Well, pretty much all those things are to ensure that people will know that when they choose GTA4 for the PS3, they are also choosing undeniable quality, franchises synonymous with the PlayStation name (GTA, DMC, GT, MGS), they are choosing a 3d virtual world where gamers can meet and connect online. They are choosing the PS3, not just for GTA, but for so many reasons. So much value… Did I mention its a Blu-Ray player? Well for the past couple months one of the PS3’s biggest selling points was that is was a Blu-Ray player. People will soon forget about Blu-Ray and finally see the value that is the PS3, not for its multimedia functions, but for its amazing lineup of games. That’s what really sells consoles right? I mean people buy consoles to play games. So wouldn’t they want to buy the console that had all the BEST games? Its the exact same reason why the 360 has done so well, so far. But that’s all about to change.
Who cares about DLC for GTA4, when you have all the reasons mentioned above?
And of course all this leads me to the next big console seller. Hell it sold me a PS3 on launch day, and at that point only one video had been shown. That game is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
June 12th – MGS4, to me and many other… No game is bigger. I would happily skip out on GT5, and GTA4, just to play MGS4. In fact, if I could only play one more game for the rest of my life it would be MGS4. That is unless Kojima did a MGS5… lol… This game is a definite system seller. So much so Sony is bundling it with an 80GB PS3 and a Dual Shock 3 controller. If you cant see what a great value that this bundle is, then you wouldn’t know a value even if it slapped you across the face and then urinated all over you.
Things are really looking up for Sony, and the PlayStation 3. And all I covered was 3 games, Home, and an updated PS Store. I didn’t even touch base on In game XMB, PS3 as a Blu-Ray player, PSN games, remote play with PSP, and an impending price drop before holiday 08.
If you haven’t bought a PS3 yet. After reading this, you would be a fool not to.
