It seems like finally Sony has solved one of the biggest
problems of its gaming platform. Ever since its launch, Sony’s PlayStation 3
was criticized for the lack of quality and exclusive games, but in June things
have changed.
In June, it was released Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the
Patriots, a PS3 exclusive title and the seventh in the successful Metal Gear
series, which is credited with kicking off the sales of PS2 and the original
PlayStation.
The Japanese company introduced also a PS3 bundle, which will
include an 80GB PS3, along with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and
the DualShock 3 wireless controller, all for $499.99.
MGS4 follows Old Snake, the special operations agent and
mercenary who works for a fictional black ops and espionage unit. Snake is
trying to figure out the rise of a conglomerate of Private Military Companies,
or PMCs.
There is a new form of camouflage called
"Octocamo" which allows the wearer to blend in with any surface
within a few seconds. Another neat feature is the Threat Ring, which appears
when Snake is stationary and indicates approaching danger. Also, the new
monocular device called "Solid Eye" combines night vision and
binocular devices into one unit.
Graphics look stunning, which combined with the already
legendary gameplay of the series, now further improved, have driven the game's
Metacritic score to 95 percent and the Game Rankings score to 92 percent. The
only consistent criticism is linked to the awkward storyline which doesn’t
always make sense.
However, the game sold over 450,000 units sold in just seven
days in Japan and 1 million
units in Europe in its first week of
availability.
And it seems like the game is a huge success in the US
too. According to the figures released by The NPD Group, Metal Gear Solid 4
sold 774.600 units in June.
However, the good news is that the game has also doubled the
sales of PS3. In June, Sony sold 405,500 PlayStation 3, more than double
compared to Xbox 360.
In fact, from the beginning of this year, PS3 outsold Xbox
360, almost constantly. Of course, the difference was small. For example, in
May Sony sold 208,000 PlayStation 3s compared to 187,000 Xbox 360s, while in
April Xbox 360 sold only 188,000 units and PS3 followed in close with 187,000
units.
Indeed PS3 failed to match the Wii sales, but at least it
seems like it has found the key to the success.
This week at E3 Sony introduced a new PS3, the upgraded
version of its 40 GB version which will feature an 80 GB hard drive.
Microsoft has also cut the price of its Xbox 360 and
introduced a 60 GB version, which will go on sale for $349. So let us now wait
for the July figures to see where the gaming console war is going.
