They say what goes around comes around...

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=computer-games-jobs-in-danger&method=full&objectid=18921943&siteid=50061-name_page.html

Those of you who know me, know I got fired from my job with Sony Liverpool, for unjust reasons, and as I was only on a temporary contract, I couldn't sue them for the way they fired me. So it's good to see that, with the PS3 struggling on all fronts, that the same company is having to axe around half of it's employees due to 'changes' in the industry at the moment. You want to know a few changes?

* Sony can't face the fact that they have fucked up. BIG TIME. I'm a HUGE fan of the PS1 and the PS2, with maybe the PS1 slightly edging out in front, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could even slightly convince me to part with my well-earned cash for a PS3. If ever there was a marketing disaster around, it's the PS3. Blu-Ray DVD at a time when everyone is quite happy with their DVD's? A £500 price tag on a piece of equipment that has an over-priced movie player inside, shit games, a lack of full backwards-compatibility with the PS2, and a total lack of originality (Six-Axis motion was copied from Nintendo Wii, and they didn't even bother to change the controller shell anyway).

* Blue-Ray DVD. I mentioned this above. Blu_Ray DVD is not shit, far from it, but when it's selling feature is crisper quality screens and better sound... who gives a shit? DVD offered all that when it trumped over VHS and it won, MASSIVELY. Blu_Ray doesn't offer much more over the DVD. I could pay £6 for Speed: SE on DVD, or pay £25 for it on Blu-Ray, with nowhere near as many special features on it. Blu-Ray technology has come at the worst possible time, and considering its movies are being sold on the basis that the PS3 can play them, it just smells like PSP's UMD format all over again. Stick with DVD's people, you know it makes sense.

* The Six-Axis was a disaster from day 1. Nintendo Wii announced their brand new Wii-mote a month before Sony unveiled the Six-Axis to the world and... well, Nintendo got it right again. If you wanna see how thoughtful Sony are in regards to their technology, let's do a side-by-side comparison over the years...

Sony PS1 (1995) = http://www.thesafehouse.org/news/uploads/playstation_controller.jpg
vs
Nintendo 64 (1996 - 97) = http://www.syntaxerror.nu/joy018.jpg


I think it's safe to say here that both consoles had their very different yet equally as playable pads. both felt fantastic in your hand, the buttons responded brilliantly, but Nintendo had the edge with their analogue stick (however Sony would release a 'dualshock pad around the same time with too incorporated analogue sticks, but never to the same quality as Nintendo's)

Winner = Draw.

Sony PS2 (2000) = http://www.thegamesnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/PlayStation%20Controller.jpg
vs
Nintendo Gamecube (2001) = http://i.frazpc.pl/pliki/2002/artykuly/art261/gamecube_controller.jpg

So what changed here. Well, the PS2 looks... identical. BUT they added two sticks to every joypad from here on in, as well as sticking a rumble pack inside every pad too. The big N on the other hand, re-hauled their design and made, what has been my favourite joypad of all time. it fits perfectly into your hand, the rumble function feels good, the buttons feel right (especially those GLORIOUSLY clicky shoulder buttons, and the two analogue sticks are the best i've ever used)

Winner = Nintendo

Sony PS3 (2006) = http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/images/mb/GamesRadar/gb/Hardware/PS3/Everything%20else/PS3pad--screenshot_large.jpg
vs
Nintendo Wii (2006) = http://www.ds-play.com/images/news/1317/wiimote.jpg

HOLY SHIT. What the fuck happened here!?! Nintendo totally over-hauled their joypad design and now... it's no longer a pad but a remote control and nunchuk stick. This was revolutionary for the simple fact it gave you unparalled control over your games, unlike anything ever has before. Some people pass this off as a gimmick, don't listen, the Wii-mote controls and plays like a dream, and when you play Wii Sports, you really feel like it's YOU doing the winning.

Look what the PS3 did!!!... oh, nothing. Oh, sorry, they added wireless compatibility to the pad. Yeah!... hmmm. The Wii-mote announced the same thing, only earlier. And... it's more free with your controls. Oh, and the PS3 pad, the Six-axis, looks exactly as it did 12 years ago when the PS1 came out. Some would say you can't fuck with quality, but realistically, Sony needed something different for the PS3, and it simply hasn't happened. If you wanna see why Sony stuck with their tried and tested yet now ageing formula, here's the pad they originally planned on releasing...

http://home.btconnect.com/hgi/ps3/e3-ps3-pad.jpg

...until the backlash that followed the unveiling of the 'boomerang' pad.

Winner = Nintendo, by a mile.

the fact is, Sony have fucked up, big time. And I can't help but feel glad after the way I was treated when I worked for them. A tiny part of me imagines that their bad luck now is from my being fired by them. Who knows. It's definitely weird to see Sony in such a bad market position after the immense success they had with both PS1 and PS2, but Nintendo will tell ya that even the biggest dogs can be put down on their bad day (Virtual Boy anyone?).

I've always been a massive Sony fan, the last 10 years has seen Sony and Nintendo vying for my attention in the bedroom, but for the first time in a decade, Sony slipped. And big time. Nintendo have taken the throne, and I even begrudgingly admit that microsoft now look more attractive to me than Sony, and i've always hated X-Box. Seriously, what a shit name. X-BOX. Gah.

My prediction: by 2010, Sony will have either given up on the PS3, or they'll simply have slashed the prices so lowly that, while the games that come out may be up to standard, they won't be able to match up in the console division any longer due to losses. i sincerely can't see their being a PS4, that's for sure.

Nintendo are having their day and fucking loving it too they are. The Wii will continue to sell like crazy, and when it does finally become available world-wide again (its STILL sold out 7 months after release), a soon-to-be price cut will drive the average housewife crazy for some entertainment for little Johnny on a weekend. Nintendo will tussle with Microsoft for the no.1 position, with Microsoft only just edging out in front.

Microsoft haven't gone wrong much this generation, and they'll continue to hold a nice steady position near the top of the market, with the Wii just slightly behind in 2nd place. Expect the 3rd X-Box to be simply revolutionary, but risking a backlash with a massive price-hike likened to the PS3.