Game News Before the success of the PS5, there was the failure of the PS3
Published on 03/07/2022 at 12:00
After having been the king of the video game industry for a decade with the PS One and the PS2, Sony was dethroned by Microsoft, during the seventh generation of console. The PS3, which was supposed to reshuffle the market cards, proved to be a heavy burden for the Japanese giant. We return to the reasons for this failure in this JV Legends.
The processor bigger than the belly
After the unprecedented success of the PlayStation 2, thanks to intelligent and innovative decisions, Sony is quick to launch the development of its next console. To do this, the company analyzes what works with the PS2, that is to say a good gaming experience and the multimedia aspect of the platform with the DVD player. The PS3 has the task of taking this list of principles, but doing better. Ken Kutaragi, head of this project, believes that the new console from Sony must knock out all competition, always seeing bigger. Maybe too big… The goal is simple: reinvent the wheel with the architecture of the PS3. The development teams decide to switch to a brand new high-performance, but ultra-complicated processor, the CELL. This system makes it possible to make numerous calculations in several fields, but is very far from a classic structure, close to PCs. This chip turns out to be a thorn in the side for game designers, due to its complexity. This results in poor optimization of titles on the console. We can for example cite software, like Bayonetta, which run less on PS3 than on Xbox 360, having a more traditional composition. With so many resources put into this project, the price suffers, with an introductory price announced at 800 dollars, then reduced to 600 thereafter. Another argument going against the PS3, the starting joystick in the shape of a boomerang, which will also be quickly changed.
Learn to bounce back from failure
After its release in 2006, the PS3 has a hard life, until 2009, when Sony understands that it must restore the image of its video game division. This involves a change of logo for their console, which took up the typography of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film. The new one is simpler and represents the new direction taken by the box: “we stop selling you a multimedia platform, we are going to give you a real game console”. From this evolution is born the PS3 Slim, thinner and more refined than its big sister. Thereafter, it is necessary to transform the difficulty into strength, with the CELL. Since third-party developers were unable to use the processor properly, Sony decided to teach the chip infrastructure to its own development studios. This strategy allows the Japanese firm to offer high-flying exclusives like Uncharted, God of War 3, The Last of Us and Infamous, all backed by CELL, whose power is finally harnessed properly. Thanks to this alchemy of means, Sony managed to save the furniture, and understood its lesson well. The PS4, released later, is easier to access for developers. The CELL is no longer used, but still remains a potential never exploited 100% for the PS3.