Sony has been taking a steady flow of criticism from gamers and videogame pundits over PS3 system and game pricing and the possibility of trying to stamp out the resale market, but it is really saying something when videogame legends like Jeff Minter (”Yak”) of Llamasoft start criticizing them. Rumors have suggested that some games may cost as much as $100. They should dial up SNK long before November and ask them about the Neo Geo. Great system, great games, too expensive. We don’t even know yet if the PS3 games will be great, but we do know it will have a Blu-ray drive built-in. Last night I checked out a local retail store shelf and there were two small rows of Blu-ray movies and three small rows of HD-DVD. I can’t see many gamers buying the system to play movies.

[Jeff] Minter, who founded Llamasoft in 1982 and developed a light synthesiser for the Xbox 360, said the machine was “expensive” and lacked launch games. His comments were published in the respected video game magazine Edge.

Minter is an opinion to respect, not just some talking head. Minter’s a veteran programmer who has created games for several different consoles. My favorite console game by him is probably Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar. He also created Tempest 3000 the best game on the ill-fated Nuon system. His lighting feedback effects on the Xbox 360 are stunning (pictured above). I conducted a live interview with Minter about the state of videogaming on June 14, 2002 (show #101). If there is interest, I could revive that archive and dump into a future Hmm interviews podcast. It was one of the most listened to shows in 2002.

As for PS3 pricing, as I’ve said about every system that has been deemed too expensive, pricing doesn’t really matter to hardcore gamers. Most will be there on launch day with preorder in hand or trying to buy one, just like they have with every other system. That’s me.

It’s the casual gamers, the second and third wave gamers that Sony needs to be most concerned about. It seems like Sony is making a huge mistake thinking that the majority of their customer base are hardcore gamers. Perhaps at one time they were, but how many have switched camps to the Xbox 360 which has far and away the best online gaming experience around. Sony makes some sweet hardware, but they are gambling heavily on their new Blu-ray format becoming the next DVD standard and that people will buy the PS3 for that reason. Having not compared HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray but having visions of VHS vs. Beta in my head, I’m not so sure consumers en masse will be that excited.

We’ll find out in November.

• Units decreased, 400,000 Sony PS3 available at launch in US
• Xbox 360 hardware failures don’t impact hardcore gamer sales
• $299 or $399 official Xbox 360 prices, take your pick
• Yak and the Xbox 360, a perfect combination
• Nintendo’s hole card is fun games
• Gametrailers ranks the top 10 videogame systems of all time