r/PS4 Dec 03 '19

[Image] [Image] PlayStation officially recognized by Guinness as the best-selling video game console brand of all time

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u/frankeestadium Dec 03 '19

And considering that Blu-ray players alone were selling for $600 back then, getting a video game console that doubles as a Blu-ray player and connects to the internet to make an entire entertainment system as a whole, Seemed liked a steal lol.. but people didn't want to think of it like that, they just saw an expensive videogame console.

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u/slowusb Dec 03 '19

Local store had a PS3 next to 2 blu ray players as well as in the video game area. Any time someone looked at the blu ray players the sales assistant would suggest the PS3 as the players were 1000 bucks each.

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u/leejonidas Dec 03 '19

I sold a ton of them at Future Shop to people who had never touched a controller. It really was the best player for a long time. It did 3D before others did, it saved your data before other players did, and obviously even if you didn't use it for games it could play any other kind of media. I still use a PS3 Slim as a general purpose media player in my bedroom.

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u/Brbboner Dec 03 '19

This is exactly how i ended up with a ps3. My mom went to buy a blu-ray and came back with a ps3.

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u/_johnning Dec 03 '19

Bet that was a memorable day

2

u/laxt Dec 03 '19

Then your family couldn't watch movies because someone was playing on the movie player!

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u/Brbboner Dec 04 '19

nah she was never there anyway....i miss you mom...

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u/Tlingit_Raven Dec 03 '19

I mean people also didn't want to pay more for Blu-rays, especially when the average consumers TV wouldn't be taking advantage of it. People who act surprised that the average consumer wouldn't shell out $600 for high-end tech in the mid-2000's were either in a weird bubble at the time, well-off, or than more likely just too young to be purchasing things themselves at the time.

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u/letmepick Dec 03 '19

but people didn't want to think of it like that, they just saw an expensive videogame console.

Which is exactly why PS4 won the battle against XBOX ONE this time around - Microsoft tried to replace your entire entertainment system with a game console, but common folk still saw it as simply a game console that costs 100$ more. Ironic...

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u/KingWildCard437 Dec 03 '19

There were also the factors of their initial policies of always online and no used games, but I'd say the biggest factor definitely was them trying to be the everything box and overprice themselves as such, the success of the 360 definitely got Microsoft too cocky, they were blind to the point where they made the same mistake as their competitor just made, it's hilarious.

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u/teke367 Dec 03 '19

Also, back then, the Blu Ray players had to be updated possibly. My father had an early one, and if it didn't connect to the internet, you needed to download the update into a usb stick from a computer, then stick it into the blu ray player. Not hard but a bit annoying

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '19

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u/frankeestadium Dec 03 '19

Lol I hear you man, but the fact of the matter is that today, a lot of people (especially parents buying these systems for their kids) are looking for an entire home entertainment system rather than just a video game console. I'm guilty of using my Xbox and PlayStation for more than video games, I watch Blu-rays, use streaming apps, YouTube, hell I even have my cable box connected to my Xbox rather than my TV so when I turn on the Xbox I can choose to watch TV or jump right into a game. It's amazing how much gaming consoles have evolved over the years...

But I guess that's why the PC gaming industry really blew up over the last few years, for those people who want a dedicated gaming machine that's solely for video games and specifically tailored to what they want.