Typical Sony: Recommendededing Their Products for Their Products
August 12, 2008 – 1:54 pm
For those of us not paying attention, this should say “**** disc recommended.” Not *-eded. Excellent.
Microsoft’s David Gosen Needs Job at Sony. He’d Fit right in!
August 7, 2008 – 8:07 amOMG! In line commentary! My only objective comment: Oh really? Is THAT why I still can’t find Wii Fit in stores?” On with the show:
That’s according to Xbox VP David Gosen, calling on Microsoft ‘research ‘that showed “60 per cent” of people who bought a copy of Wii Fit had only played it once.
In OTHER news 60% of statistics are made up on the spot and 80% of the time are baseless and false, and 90% of THOSE stats are agenda driven and as such, are 100% unreliable.
“What Nintendo have done with the Wii is truly fantastic – there is no question about it. But I think sometimes there is a thin line between gimmick and great gameplay,” he told us after his talk. “We’ve seen some research that says 60 per cent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don’t play it again. So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes – and we have to treat them with respect.
“We’ve seen some research”. Well done! You have SEEN research. Grats on that. Keep looking at stats so that you can do what SONY does and go public to either a) belittle/berate Nintendo publicly based on nothing but “statistics” or b) concentrate on those stats and not on doing something about Nintendo consistently handing you your own ass (notice that Nintendo doesn’t have to even open their mouths - that’s because they have you. Ass.)
“And at the end of the day that comes back down to creativity. We have to ensure that the peripheral strategy that anyone employs makes sense and delivers a truly game changing experience.”
Yeahhhh.. Microsoft’s periperals are SO creative. See: Original Xbox controller as a bad example. See: everything else i nthe Xbox peripheral world as examples of directly copying the PC world. MS has no say in the world of periperal creativity. NONE.
Gosen looks kinda like French Stewart, doesn’t he? Hmmm
We should have bet on Wii, admits EA’s Riccitiello
July 28, 2008 – 9:29 amI’m still moderately stunned at this quote:
He said: “One thing that’s different is we typically figured out who the market leader was going to be before the start of the cycle and bet with our development resources on that platform.
“We made the wrong call there [by betting on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360], which made this transition harder than it would otherwise be. But now we’re catching up, and I think we’re fine. We’ve got some incredibly innovative Wii titles, [and] incredibly innovative DS titles coming. And so I think that issue’s sort of behind us.”
But then again, I’m sure their prediction skills aren’t too wonderful. Let’s face it - they made their fortune by making the same game with a different name (all of their sports games) each year and staggering the releases to keep interest up - and ALL of those games were primarily successful on PS2 and Xbox/360. Thus, I doubt they actually had to “figure out who the market leader was”, they just went with the past stats.
Sony’s Koller, “iPhone more of a threat to DS”. More than PSP?
July 18, 2008 – 10:05 amIndeed! Koller, of course is the PSP brand manager for Sony.
PSP has always faced fierce competition from Nintendo DS, yet Koller remains optimistic about Sony’s prospects through 2009. Concerns over other competitors, such as iPhone, are virtually nonexistent according to the company’s perspective.
Asked specifically about the recently-launched iPhone App Store, Koller confessed, “We think the iPhone is more of a threat to DS than anything else.”
Could this be a reality check for Sony? Seeing as though he is the PSP guy, he’s saying that the iPhone is more of a threat to Nintendo’s DS than Sony’s PSP. Well according to DS and PSP sales stats, he’s right? So what gives on the lack of Sony-brainwashed-scripted-SONYISTHEBESTANDEVEREYONEELSESUCKS talk?
Sony Now 100% Locked Into It’s “Xross” Media Bar
July 18, 2008 – 9:09 am
Sony has decided to add the Xross Media Bar (XMB) that has proved so successful in its PlayStation 3 to its new range of Vaio laptops.
Of course, this is the same UI as the PSP and some Bravia TV’s as well. I hope it has staying power in a it’ll-never-change sort of way because they’re locking into this mess now!
What will they do when they can UPDATE the PS3’s Xross to be different? Everyone else gets left out in the cold! Oh well… who am I to tell Sony that their ideas are short sighted and not well thought through?
Sony Needs to Pony Up
July 18, 2008 – 8:54 am
Sony’s mantra of not writing checks for exclusives—or much of anything—seems to be biting them in the ass a couple times this week. There are at least four cases where the PlayStation 3 has suffered because of Sony’s lack of willingness to open up the purse strings…. backward compatibility and the DualShock 3—but we only found out about the other two during the roundtable session with Sony’s Jack Tretton yesterday.
The first is exclusives. Final Fantasy 13 coming to the Xbox 360 was a pretty huge blow to the PlayStation brand … Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry are two more recent ones, but Wired also lists Assassin’s Creed (could have been PS3-only), Virtua Fighter 5, Beautiful Katamari, and Fatal Inertia. What does Sony have of big third-party exclusives? Metal Gear Solid 4.
…Jack Tretton, … “not in the business of writing checks for exclusives.” Jack goes on to explain … that in this day and age, it’s just much more profitable for game publishers to put their titles on as many consoles as possible, and companies would have to throw out some big chunks of money to convince them otherwise. The kind of money Microsoft has been doling out.
The second is Home. Tretton called the current state of Home a “no man’s land,”
Well done Sony. Well done.
Sony’s Collective Genius Strikes Again!
July 18, 2008 – 8:26 am
Kotaku said it best! Referring to the PSN version of the original PS’s Wipeout:
…It was playable all the way back at TGS, and has been playable at various events since, and yet at E3 this year, it was nowhere. No mention of it, no mention of a release date. So what gives? Looks as if while most of the game simply sings, some of it doesn’t, with the game plagued by a “really, really tricky technical problem” that nobody at Sony has been able to fix.
Yet in their infinite genius they have a December 2008 release date. Impressive Sony. Where ANY other company would say to the world, “The release date is TBA” or just nothing at all, YOU come out and even before you’ve informed the team that is to be working on it you announce that it’s going to happen - only to see your bravado fall on it’s still-bruised-from-the-last-time-you-did-this ass. Pathetic you are.
PIGS FLY: Sony: We Know What’s Wrong with PS3 + BLAME GAME!
July 17, 2008 – 10:00 amNormally companies assign projects to a group or gathering of groups that communicate well, or at least stipulate and/or micro manage communications between whomevers. This is how you get things done properly. Specialists do their jobs, and each specialist tells others who will be directly affected by their work what they are doing so that things go smoothly.
NOT SONY! They just say “We want this - now go do it!” and then leave to go media hype the expectation (which, of course is NOT based in reality) and NOW WE KNOW that’s how it is. Thx Jack Tretton!
In short, they know what’s wrong with the way they made the PS3, and they know how to fix it.
Short summary:
As everyone knows, Sony is a hardware company. But when making the PlayStations, they’ve become a software company as well. The problem came from the fact that they didn’t know whether they’re a software company or a hardware company or even both, which influenced the way the PS3 was developed.
Lead into the blame game:
In this case, the hardware guys developed the console fairly independently then dumped it onto the software guy’s lap, effectively saying “do something with it.” In essence, as Tretton says, the PS3 was not developed in collaboration between the two teams. As a result of this, the software team has been cleaning up the mess made by the hardware team for years.
and the conclusion:
…Hopefully with previous boss Ken Kutaragi out and guys like Kaz Hirai and Jack Tretton influencing development on the sure-to-be-upcoming PlayStation 4, things will be better in the next generation.
I would say props to Sony for admitting weakness, but since it took them THIS LONG, during which their customers suffered their ignorance and bravado, they get nothing. They deserve NO cookie. They should have done a better joj from the OUTSET and not lied to the world on a consistent basis.
Highlights: Engadget & Joystiq @ Sony’s E3 2008 keynote
July 15, 2008 – 2:45 pm
Estranged Big Three execs Phil Harrison and Peter Moore spotted in the wild.
SOCOM is looking fun.
Tretton: “2008 is the year of the PS3, but as great as 2008 is, we’re just getting started.
2 years after PS3’s release: just getting started.
Really hitting hard on the long product lifecycle thing, saying their consoles have at least a 10-year lifecycle. In other words: “Thanks for waiting.” he’s mentioning FOlding@home numbers. Tretton: “Games like MGS4 aren’t just exclusive to the Playstatin 3, they’re only possible on the PlayStation 3″
ROFL!
Big-ass subwoofers in here at the beginning of Resistance 2.
Resistance 2 spokesdude:
Okay, he’s essentially reading us the game box back, but that’s cool because he just told us about 8-player online co-op. Scale, scale scale: This game is big, epic, etc. “resistance 2 offers more than any shooter in 2008 … I’m Ted Price, president and ceo of insomniac games, and this is resistance 2.” *cue the trailer*
LBP tries to get some of the Wii sharehold. And look! They’re dating it (again)!
“Since 1995, playstaiton has generated more than $50b at retail” blahblahblahblah
Jack: “Absolutely unlimited potential” “Great way to expand our PS3 user base beyond males and core gamers”
OOPS! Tretton’s PSN name is DoctorGrip120? Add him!
“…Ratchet and Clank Future, Quest for Booty. QFB is a new concept — it’s a shorter game at a lower price.” Shorter, cheaper… just an expansion, in other words? “Quest for Booty is a continuation of R&C Future” Ah, we get to find out what happened to Clank after he was taken away from us at the end of Future. Light and dark gameplay, answers about Clank’s mysterious disappearance.
PSN’s WiiWare ripoff:
“FAT Princess looks like a funny PSN downloadable game. Titles: R&C: QFB, Crash Commando, Fat PRincess (this looks like Castle Crashers!), PIxelJunk Eden (of course), Pain: Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse (ZOMBIES!), RagDoll KungFu: Fists of Plastic (Media Molecule!) (some breakouts on some of those)
GT TV?
Polyphony Digital and GTTV. ‘pay-per-view distribnution” of automotive shows “footage from ravcing events around the world” So GT’s producer is basically doing a TV show now for PSN. Which, if you’re into cars, is cool.
HOME:
“This brings us to PlayStation Home” I absolutely assure you that when Home is available through out Public Beta,” absolutely worth it He’s thanking us for being patient.
PSN Vid Download stuff:
“PSN’s video delivery service is open for business for all studios” Sony, Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner, Funimation. “this content is portable” download on PS3, bring on PSP “put on multiple devices at the same time” Eric Lempel is taking the stage to walk us through it. 100 minute = 1565 MBs. preview pops-up, and you can full-screen it
SD rental is $2.99
HD rental is $5.99
SD purchase is $14.99
HD Purchases: no mention of it
OOPS:he’s got his hotmail address on the screen
That speaks volumes to me. a) not techie (hotmail? wtf?!) and b) Hotmail is MICROSOFT’s webmail. ROFL
incorporated progressive downloads so a user can watch a minute after starting the download. You can sort by genre.
New PSP bundle blah blah blah new PSP games blah no one cares BACK TO PS3
Attempt to convince people that Sony’s likable:
“Developers like working with us because we’ve embraced multiplatform. For instnace, Google likes working with us. If you hit a homerun in MLB The Show, you can save that video to Google and have it voted on by the community.”
WHO CARES?!?
DC Universe looks good
Starting in September, the 80GB will have the current functionality of the 40GB PS3, for $399. Whoah. 80GB for $399. So $50 more than the 60GB 360. Interesting. Add an XBL membership to your 360 and they’re the same price. (What happens to the 1/2 backwards compatible 80GB now?)
Montage of folks talking PS3. everyone is just talking about how it (PS3) used to be much tougher (to dev for), but they’re all getting used to it now.
Ben Mattes says the Blu-ray is way better than the competition.
Again who cares and get over yourselves.
God of War 3 by Christmas: PS3.
WHOOPTY FREAKIN DOO
MS’ Aaron Greeenburg on Penis Envy and General Jealousy
July 15, 2008 – 10:39 amYeah, I said penis envy. Whaddaboutit? Of course, we all know that the only reason to talk about the competition in a derogatory way is because they’re beating your ass OR because they’re talking sh*t about you, in which case, refer back to “the ONLY reason” earlier in this senetence.
Here’s some snippets (and inline comments!) from a converstaion Gamasutra had with Aaron Greenburg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live:
Aaron’s “suggesting that Wii customers are “going to want to graduate to an Xbox 360 experience” over time.
Genious! PS1 owners might want a PS2 over TIME. I might want a Haircut OVER TIME. I might hang a picture OVER TIME. How generic and bland can you be?
When asked about Microsoft’s initiative to bring more casual gamers to the Xbox 360, and whether it’s possible to appeal to ‘core’ and ‘casual’ game players in the same box, Greenberg commented specifically:
“Yeah, absolutely. I think that there’s a difference in the type of customer that is buying the Wii. When you think about it, there’s a difference between trying to be the number one console with nine year old gamers, and being the console that offers the most experiences from 13 to 33.
Aww look how small that thing is! Isn’t it cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute?! If you want to argue ages, first get your numbers straight and realize that the Wii is selling to everyone from 3 to 93. Second, if you want to argue “experiences” - I believe anyone could see that while graphics are great for people with no imaginations, actually having to MOVE in order to accomplish something would probably make more of an experience than say, pressing buttons like we have been doing for the last 20+ years.
“Everyone says that eventually the novelty will wear off, right? I think that a lot of the people that are buying that console today are not people that have generally bought consoles in the past, right?
You see they’re not buying games on it, right? They’re buying it, it’s like something they break out when people come over, and it’s maybe a fun thing, but it’s almost like the same people that buy a karaoke machine, you know? They’re not really buying it for games, they’re just buying it as a novelty.”
Now there’s an original thought: the “Novelty” argument. Excellent - you’re really on top of your game here. Nothing old about this one, regardless of those sales figures - console OR game software-wise. Oh, did you forget that just recently Guitar Hero Wii outsold ALL OTHER CONSOLES’ Guitar Heros? DOH! And that’s just one example.
You sir have no solid facts, and you made this SONY blog because you should be working for them with your lack of decent argument and obvious penis envy over Nintendo. If they’re not your competition, you shouldn’t have to talk about them as if they are.