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Kaz Hirai comments on the current state of the video game console industry and his view of the future

Sony Computer Entertainment chairman Kaz Hirai made several interesting comments in an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine. The contents of the interview were relayed to the public via Eurogamer and will be available in the February issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Although Sony no longer leads the industry in console sales Hirai believes Sony still possesses "Official" leadership of the videogame industry. He stated, "This is not meant in terms of numbers, or who's got the biggest install base, or who's selling most in any particular week or month, but I'd like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry,".
 
Hirai expanded on his statement explaining how he did not view the Nintendo Wii as competition and declaring the Xbox 360 as a console that will lack longevity. Describing how he viewed the Nintendo Wii's position in the industry Hirai, stated, "It's difficult to talk about Nintendo, because we don't look at their console as being a competitor. They're a different world, and we operate in our world - that's the kind of way I look at things." For the Xbox 360, Hirai continued, "And with the Xbox - again, I can't come up with one word to fit. You need a word that describes something that lacks longevity."
 
Hirai also reemphasized his belief the PlayStation 3 will have the most units sold at the end of the lifecycle for this generation of videogame consoles. He is quoted as saying, "unless things go really bad, there's no way that at the end of a life cycle our competition is going have a higher install base."

As a wrap up, Hirai commented on how the PlayStation 3 was deliberately designed to be difficult to program for in order to increase the overall lifecycle of the console. Sony has often described the PlayStation 3 as having a 10-year lifecycle. Hirai added, "We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"

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Delusional
By Elementalism on 1/21/2009 8:27:42 AM , Rating: 5
Reminds me of the Iraqi information minister.

Intentionally hard to program for hardware does what? How does it increase the longevity of your device? Because it takes twice as long to program?

I am sure it is possible in 10 years the PS3 will outsell the 360 but who cares? At that point it is a 99 dollar or less commodity item. Right now the 360 is kicking your ass. Those software numbers are more embarassing than the recent hardware numbers.




RE: Delusional
By Elementalism on 1/21/2009 8:29:08 AM , Rating: 5
lol I didnt see the picture of the Iraqi information minister at the top of the article.


RE: Delusional
By Aloonatic on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By zebrax2 on 1/21/2009 9:11:07 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"


that totally cancel out your "he wanted to say something more along the lines of..." statement


RE: Delusional
By Aloonatic on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By Torched on 1/21/2009 9:38:53 AM , Rating: 2
The OPM questions were probably sent over in English then translated to Japanese then the answers were given in Japanese and translated back to English. So yes, he probably said the something along the lines of what you said.


RE: Delusional
By rohith10 on 1/21/2009 1:35:53 PM , Rating: 3
He speaks perfect english. This is a video of the guy from 2006's E3: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=eaBUeINW_3s

There's no mistranslation or misinterpretation. He said exactly what he did.


RE: Delusional
By Torched on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Delusional
By rohith10 on 1/21/2009 8:19:00 PM , Rating: 5
He worked in America for around 15-20 years and speaks very fluent English. Plus, remember that he's the chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. I don't understand why he needs a translation.

He said exactly what he did. Whether that's based on mindless hysteria or whether he's just in denial mode, I do not know.


RE: Delusional
By PrinceGaz on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Delusional
By bighairycamel on 1/21/2009 9:35:45 AM , Rating: 3
It's also quite dilusional to think they are still the industry leader...

Up until the PS3's release I would argue that it was definately the industry leader. I mean, the original XBox and 360 were designed specifically with the Playstation in mind, because they were the system to beat. But after release Sony was immediately playing catch up and that still continues...at a higher price point...in this economy.

Kaz Hirai, wish in one hand and s**t in the other and see which fills up first.


RE: Delusional
By Arribajuan on 1/21/2009 10:55:25 AM , Rating: 4
I tis funny how he just does not compete with the Wii... because it is in another world.

To me they are all consoles wanting to get my money.

Step 1 - Remove the real leader
Step 2 - State that all other rivals have no longevity
Step 3 - You are the leader!!
Step 4 - Bask as you success!

The 360 having no longevity is also dumb... That could mean tha in a couple of years we can have a 720 which will take 6 months of developer time to fully utilize. And that will compete with the PS3.


RE: Delusional
By afkrotch on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By eheia on 1/21/2009 11:26:44 AM , Rating: 5
why would a next-gen 720 have graphics only comparable to ps3? in most cases the 360 has comparable or better graphics than a ps3. i would assume a next-gen console would have far superior graphics?


RE: Delusional
By Chaser on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 1:57:32 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
why would a next-gen 720 have graphics only comparable to ps3?


The same reason why games ported to PC look like ass. A lot of developers build games to run on the lowest of the consoles, then port to the rest pretty much.

Rainbow Six Vegas 1 or 2 look the same on PC as it does on console. Even though a PC can easily have 5 times the power of a console or more.

The only time this doesn't happen is when a game is designed around a PC, then dumbed down for a console. Which doesn't happen often.

If a 720 comes out in 2 years, I'd wouldn't expect it to look much better than a 360/PS3. I also wouldn't expect anyone to ever bother making games for Microsoft consoles again.


RE: Delusional
By Arribajuan on 1/21/2009 11:47:31 AM , Rating: 4
The 720 is meant to be the next generation xbox.

The theory is that the hardware will crush 360 and ps3.

At least that is how the releases are promoted.

ps2 is so much better than the ps1
ps3 is so much better thatn the ps2

360 is so much better than the xbox
720 should be so much better thatn the 360

There is no reason the 720 will be on par with the ps3, that is the 360's job.

The improvements the ps3 will have by awesome engineers will not allow for a "next generation leap" in hardware power.

so before the 10 years I expect a ps4 if sony plans to remain competitive


RE: Delusional
By afkrotch on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By foolsgambit11 on 1/21/2009 6:36:42 PM , Rating: 4
I agree that two years is too small a gap, but it's not going to be two years. The 360 was released in November of 2005. If they released a '720' in November of 2010 or, more likely, 2011 (that would be 2 years, 10 months - it will almost certainly be released for the Christmas season, whatever year it may be), that would be 5 or 6 years.

The xBox was released in November of 2001, so that's a 4 year turnover for MS. I think critics agreed it was too soon for comfort, but that the xBox was in need of a refresh because of some... interesting... design decisions. With Sega, it wasn't the 4 year gap that ruined them, it was other business and marketing decisions.

NES (1985) -> SNES (1991) = 6 years
SNES (1991) -> N64 (1996) = 5 years
N64 (1996) -> Gamecube (2001) = 5 years
Gamecube (2001) -> Wii (2006) = 5 years
Sega Master System (1985) -> Sega Genesis (1989) = 4 years
Sega Genesis (1989) -> Sega Saturn (1995) = 6 years
Sega Saturn (1995) -> Sega Dreamcast (1999) = 4 years
Playstation (1995) -> Playstation 2 (2000) = 5 years
Playstation 2 (2000) -> Playstation 3 (2006) = 6 years

5 to 6 years has been the norm in consoles. If the PS3 is really still Sony's top of the line console in 2016, I will be very surprised, and a little disappointed with Sony. No matter what Kaz Hirai says, the system won't be up to snuff in 7 years, assuming MS and Nintendo do what they do best.


RE: Delusional
By BansheeX on 1/21/2009 10:26:09 PM , Rating: 3
It's worth nothing that the PS1 and PS2 have longer lifespans than that list, they're the two exceptions to the rule of getting killed off immediately after the introduction of a successor. That means Sony's product lifespans are longer, but overlap one another.


RE: Delusional
By foolsgambit11 on 1/22/2009 5:48:33 PM , Rating: 2
While they did last a little longer than the norm, perhaps, none of the consoles were killed off as soon as their successor was introduced. For instance, the NES wasn't discontinued until 1995, despite the introduction of the SNES in 1991


RE: Delusional
By Shmak on 1/21/2009 11:30:32 PM , Rating: 2
There are two stupid concepts that have repeatedly made their way into this thread:

1) Games are designed for the lowest common denominator.
This is false. The lowest common denominator in terms of hardware is Nintendo's Wii. However the majority of games on the console market are being produced for the Xbox, since Microsoft puts the PC market in such easy reach from there. Developers aim for the biggest audience, so if they plan a title for either the PC or a console its an easy decision to make. If I may beat this in further, the majority of games would continue to be designed for the PS2 if you subscribe to this nonsense.

2) Processing power will continue to be a major factor.
If there is anything that this generation of consoles has proved, its that the days of pushing for more power and better graphics are over. The PS3 is the most advanced console ever created, and yet Sony has sold far fewer than its compeditors. The Wii, based on last generation hardware, has the crown. It comes down to the simple fact that superior graphics do not make for a superior game. In fact, they have very little to do with the concept of fun.


RE: Delusional
By Samus on 1/21/2009 11:48:49 AM , Rating: 5
XBOX1080 - This shit will have you spinning in circles (tm)


RE: Delusional
By VaultDweller on 1/21/2009 8:53:42 AM , Rating: 5
I think the idea is that by making the PS3 hard to develop for with a steep development learning curve, the games will continue to get better and more technically impressive as time goes by and developers learn the tricks.

Basically, by constraining the quality of early games, they artificially create an improvement arc so that PS3 games will appear to be constantly progressing, whereas X360 games were being made as well as they can be made at launch and won't be able to improve as time goes by.

It's just an illusion of progress, of course, but apparently he believes it was a strategic decision? Sounds more like a rationalization to me, and a rationalization one would make to appease share holders, not the consumer.


RE: Delusional
By FITCamaro on 1/21/2009 10:05:59 AM , Rating: 5
Games were only utilizing at times a single core of the 360 CPU when it was first released.

His comments were some of the dumbest sh*t to come out of Sony yet.


RE: Delusional
By Bender 123 on 1/21/2009 10:42:06 AM , Rating: 2
Agreed, FIT, which doesn't seem to happen often...

The problem with the growth and ten year cycle is that the game makers are going to go for what they know, to save money and development time and sell them on the console that will get them the greatest return from its installed base.

The PS3 is losing out on installed base, so they are being treated as second class by developers and they are not going to take the time to invest in figuring out the PS3, because of the Factor 5 effect...One bad big budget game and all the good will of the past disappears and you shut down.

The 360 is a "safe" investment bet, as it has a high install base, easy to work with and a fairly basic demographic.

The Wii goes the other way. Everyone bet on its failure and now it is getting loads of shovelware as companies scramble to catch up with its market leader status.

The statements above is why the PS3 is in trouble, as the economy and returns on investment slide, they are becoming more averse to risk and will deploy their programmers to the projects that will yield the greatest possibility for returns.


RE: Delusional
By StevoLincolnite on 1/21/2009 11:25:26 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
Games were only utilizing at times a single core of the 360 CPU when it was first released. His comments were some of the dumbest sh*t to come out of Sony yet.


I agree, look at a game like: Perfect Dark Zero, and compare it something like Halo 3's Campaign, Halo 3 looks infinitely better, before Halo 3 and CoD 4 many believed Oblivion was the pinnacle of the Xbox 360's Graphics prowess. (With included performance issues!)

However, The Xbox 360 *is* easier to program for, however code can be optimized considerably than what they are at currently to bring better image quality, Heck the Xbox 360 has the more efficient Operating system which consumes less Ram, hence developers will have an extra few megabytes to play with. (Probably due to Microsoft's experience's with Operating Systems perhaps).

With most games being designed for the Xbox 360 in mind, and then ported to the PS3, most games will probably end up looking and running better on the Xbox 360 anyway.

For Instance look at the PS2 vs Xbox 1, All of the Xbox 1 titles that were available on the PS2 came no where near to utilizing the consoles potential, because they were ported from a weaker system, I doubt that will change much this generation either.


RE: Delusional
By Hiawa23 on 1/21/2009 1:51:10 PM , Rating: 2
Some of the Sony fans give the PS3 way too much credit based on the Sony hype train. I own both the PS3 & 360, & there are things the PS3 does better, mainly due to the blu ray format more than anything else, compared to the DVD format of the 360, & there are things the 360 does better. I will agree, the PS3 is superior maybe graphically by a small margin but some of you act like the difference is huge or something. What do we expect Sony to say other than to continue to hype their overpriced console, & unless something drastically changes, I see the PS3 continuing to bring up the rear. I guess gamers aren't getting the second jobs to buy the console like they claimed before the console released.


RE: Delusional
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 2:17:15 PM , Rating: 3
I personally can't see a difference between either one in graphics and I'm not so lame that I'm going to pause my game to see if there is.

There are things I like better on the PS3 though. Can replace the hard drive myself, can transfer my music/vids on or off the hard drive without any hassles, and I much prefer the XMB over the crap Microsoft has now. Not that I like the old blade interface anyways. Stupid advertising all over the place.

Now I like the playlist options on the 360 music player and they definitely have more content on Xbox Live. Unless you also use a Japanese PSN account. Online multiplayer is much better on the 360. Don't like paying for it, but can't do much against it.

I own a Japanese 360, US 360, and Japanese PS3. I know the positives and negatives of both consoles.


RE: Delusional
By Reclaimer77 on 1/21/2009 1:58:50 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
His comments were some of the dumbest sh*t to come out of Sony yet.


Agreed. And that's a feat really when you think about all the stupid crap they have been saying lately.


RE: Delusional
By Circle T on 1/21/2009 10:09:27 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
...whereas X360 games were being made as well as they can be made at launch and won't be able to improve as time goes by.

Gears of War --> Gears of War 2

I don't know one person who can HONESTLY say that Gears 2 looks no different than Gears 1. And to say that 360 games haven't improved since launch, in 2005, is just silly. Go back and look at ANY game that has had sequels since then. They all look better now. Madden, COD, Need4Speed, etc.

All systems get better with time. I mean, hell, look at the Wii. It doesn't look GREAT now, but the graphical detail is improving. Same goes for MS and Sony. Compare ANY launch game on a system with one from 3 years later, and you will always see improvements.


RE: Delusional
By robinthakur on 1/21/09, Rating: -1
RE: Delusional
By morose on 1/21/2009 10:42:44 AM , Rating: 2
The subterranean city in GoW2 is some of the finest art/design I've ever seen in any video game, on any system, to date. You can fault the game for it's realistic color palette based on taste (aka no Halo style psychedelic colors), but the Locust citadel is breathtaking in it's detail if you take the time to look at it.


RE: Delusional
By BrgMx5 on 1/21/2009 10:15:17 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
Sounds more like a rationalization to me, and a rationalization one would make to appease share holders, not the consumer


Well, if i were a sony share holder, i would dump the stock ASAP, because with leadership like this guy, that company is definitly out of control.

If they are proclaiming "There is no problem, we planed this all along", then a stock holder should read "We know where we stand (dead last), and we will not do anything to change".


RE: Delusional
By Spectator on 1/21/2009 11:51:40 AM , Rating: 2
I think the implied logic is.

later sony can just throw more gpu cores into a newer model and use the existing developers, without forcing them to learn new hardware.

Still looks like a loosing battle to me. MS have always had advantage of "large" numbers of PC developers.

It seems folly to think sony's custom hardware will keep pace with the developement of PC hardware/software.

Then MS will just take a chunk of older PC hardware and make a new Xbox. Job done MS "Ca Ching"

I dont have a Wii or xbox or ps3. so just call it as I see it.


RE: Delusional
By Lightnix on 1/21/2009 10:46:02 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Intentionally hard to program for hardware does what? How does it increase the longevity of your device? Because it takes twice as long to program?


No idea, but if it works, perhaps they should introduce APL as the only programming language for the PS4. The thing'll last centuries. I guess the problem is that after the first couple of decades, you'd start seeing a lot of shovelware because they'd figure out how to make Haze in one line of code...


RE: Delusional
By Cobra Commander on 1/21/2009 1:09:09 PM , Rating: 2
Of course Kaz Hirai may be roughly translated to Crack Head.


Truth vs delusions
By Bateluer on 1/21/2009 8:30:20 AM , Rating: 2
I agree with some of what he said, such as the PS3 not really competing with the Wii. The Wii targets an entirely different demographic than the more adult oriented PS3 and Xbox consoles. The Wii is selling by the truck load still, but there's only a handful of adult oriented games. Some of this is because developers and publishers were really caught with their pants down by its success. And given that we've already passed the limits of what the Xbox 360's capabilities can do, I can easily see the PS3 having a longer lifespan than it.

However, to state that they deliberately made the PS3 difficult to program for to increase its life span is ludicrous. MS would release the Xbox 720 well before the PS3 reaches the half way point in Sony's 10 year life cycle, keeping them at a disadvantage. One of the PS3's strengths was its PS2 backwards compatibility, which was reduced from full hardware to software emulation to gone entirely in the current PS3s. I'm not sure exactly how going from software emulation to no BC at all saves them money though. Perhaps its because they could drastically reduce the staff of programmers writing the code?

The PS3 needs two things to put it on par with the 360. First, it needs pricing parity. Sony needs to get the price equal to the comparable 360 models. Second, it needs a 'killer app'. I would say that this would be FFXIII, but that's being released on the 360 as well. White Knight Chronicles maybe?




RE: Truth vs delusions
By freeagle on 1/21/2009 8:45:19 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The Wii targets an entirely different demographic than the more adult oriented PS3 and Xbox consoles


I disagree. The PS3 and XBox titles are more action oriented, targeting primarily the teen and ~20-25 aged people, mainly men. The Wii on the other hand offers titles practically for the whole age spectrum, starting with kid games and ending with sport/yoga/dancing titles that are being played by people over 30, independent of gender.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By acase on 1/21/2009 8:47:14 AM , Rating: 2
Darn you finished typing it before me.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By Pneumothorax on 1/21/2009 9:11:59 AM , Rating: 2
That's exactly why I put about 60% of my game time on the 360, 30% on the PS3, and only 10% on the Wii. The only time the Wii gets decent play is at family gatherings and social events lol.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By Bateluer on 1/21/2009 10:53:38 AM , Rating: 1
The PS3 and 360 are marketed towards people 18 to 30, which tend to want more action oriented, often mature rated, content. The Wii is targeted towards younger audiences and older audiences than the 18-30 group. Combined, its a market larger market, plus the Wii's cheap price definitely works in its favor.

The only action/mature rated games I'm aware of for the Wii are Resident Evil, Call of Duty(which sucked on all platforms), and possibly Metroid. Twilight Princess might qualify as well. RE and TP are the only titles for the Wii that I'd play outside of a social event, which happen so rarely for me its not even worth the effort. Catch is that the Wii's price tag almost makes it an impulse buy for a lot of people when compared to the 360 and PS3.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By eheia on 1/21/2009 11:35:16 AM , Rating: 2
Manhunt 2 doesn't count?


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 2:29:21 PM , Rating: 2
$250 for a Wii. $200 for a 360. Which one is more of an impulse buy?


RE: Truth vs delusions
By TheFace on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By darkblade33 on 1/21/2009 8:36:51 PM , Rating: 2
Your information is incorrect.

The CURRENT Xbox 360 Arcade for 200 dollars - comes with a wire-less controller. The wired controller is completely GONE from any new system at any package level.

I have all three new systems.. I bought the PS3 for movies a year ago.. use the 360 for most of my gaming.. the best buy- bang for buck is the 299.00 360 pro.. and thats why even in europe the 360 is for the 1st time selling and in some parts outselling PS3


RE: Truth vs delusions
By robinthakur on 1/21/2009 10:59:36 AM , Rating: 2
Yes indeedy, the Wii caters to people who are either put off by the complexity of conventional gamepads and traditionally male-oriented videogames and also the Nintendo-faithful. After the lack of love which the Gamecube sadly suffered from at the hands of the purely gaming community, why is anyone surprised at this?

Nintendo have learned from Apple's successful branding in making something which seems innovative to the vast majority of consumers and packaged it as a sexy looking appliance which has mass appeal and record popularity.

However, they are now back in the driving seat and have a critical mass of installed units to be able to broaden their appeal, if they want.

If anything the Wii's concept of 'adult' games whilst seemingly more pedestrian than the other two gaming company's approaches is actually far more inclusive, realistic and mature in its outlook than 'tits, gore and guns', which is both patronising to men and adults of both genders. i.e. what Microsoft and Sony was aiming for by getting their consoles into every living room as a "media-hub". If you want videogames to be accepted more in popular culture and lose their wince-inducing childish stigma, this differentiation is crucial, and mark my words both MS and Sony will follow what is now an established model.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By acase on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 10:52:32 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Now I would agree that the xbox and ps3 are much more suited for hardcore gamers...but many of the best of these people are about 12.


Yep. That's why your best gamers in the world are over 20.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By DFranch on 1/21/2009 10:52:00 AM , Rating: 1
When MS and SONY say they don't compare themselves to the wii it is only to save face. the fact is that in the console gaming industry Wii is king, 360 is second and PS3 is last. MS and SONY wish they were getting the casual gamers that the wii is attracting. It seems that MS is going after the casual gamer with the $200 arcade version, but SONY with the $400 minimum price is not.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By Heir on 1/21/2009 11:13:32 AM , Rating: 2
Actually Nintendo sells their console at a profit, so they're doing just fine. :)


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 11:23:51 AM , Rating: 2
I never said they didn't. But selling consoles doesn't make you the most money.

I can sell 20 million consoles or sell 1 billion games. Which do you think makes more money?

Besides, 360 made profits off their console like 6 months after release. PS3 is still in the red for that I think, but not sure by how much.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By inighthawki on 1/21/2009 12:09:33 PM , Rating: 2
Take into consideration that for each console sold, MS and SONY needs to sell several games just to make up for lost profits. Then they begin to MAKE money on any extra games sold. The Wii, on the other hand, makes money on every console AND on every games. While MS and SONY break even on a console and several games, nintendo has already made quite a bit of cash.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By inighthawki on 1/21/2009 5:20:35 PM , Rating: 2
I guess theyre making a little bit more now:
http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/report-...


RE: Truth vs delusions
By spikedbanana on 1/25/2009 2:40:36 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Unlike both Microsoft and Sony who constantly update their consoles to bring the cost of manufacturing down, while Nintendo is sitting on it's ass.


Nintendo has updated their system board since launch. They've changed the system board at least 3 times. If you check out the modding boards, you'll see they've try to make changes to prevent modding.

The only reason "updating" would be required is exactly what you've said. To bring down pricing and more specifically manufacturing costs. MS and Sony can't constantly sell their product at a loss. If they did make major money on the games, accessories, etc. they sell, updating wouldn't be necessary.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By Bateluer on 1/21/2009 12:29:04 PM , Rating: 2
Do you have a link to back up your claim that the 360 made profit 6 months after release? Information I've read states that the entire Xbox division is still in red ink, and will be for a quite a while. Mostly do to the advertising they had to spend and the developer buyouts they had to use to get people to develop for the original. A large part is also related to the infamous 360 reliability issues, which still plague the product.

To their credit, I haven't heard of any recalls on the PS3. The only recalls on the Wii were minor and user related not necessarily a failure of the console hardware.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By darkblade33 on 1/21/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By darkblade33 on 1/22/09, Rating: 0
RE: Truth vs delusions
By foolsgambit11 on 1/21/2009 6:53:45 PM , Rating: 2
It may or may not be that the submarkets for the PS3/360 and the Wii overlap. But what does not follow is claiming that you are the "official" leader of the video game industry, and then going on to define the video game industry as not including the biggest seller of video games and video game consoles.

It's like he's saying that he's Emperor of Japan, but that Japan doesn't include anything but the Sony headquarters building.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By Icelight on 1/21/2009 11:01:59 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I'm not sure exactly how going from software emulation to no BC at all saves them money though. Perhaps its because they could drastically reduce the staff of programmers writing the code?


Even the later models of the PS3 that only had "software emulation" still contained the PS2's graphics synthesizer.

So it wasn't fully being emulated in software, there was still a hardware component there doing the rendering.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 3:13:48 PM , Rating: 2
Ya, but the EE was taken out and that's all they said they were taking out on the software emulation BC PS3s. Now, it has neither.


RE: Truth vs delusions
By icanhascpu on 1/21/2009 9:37:07 PM , Rating: 2
"I agree with some of what he said, such as the PS3 not really competing with the Wii. The Wii targets an entirely different demographic than the more adult oriented PS3 and Xbox consoles. "

haha, wait, what? The xbox and Ps3 are targeted at the harder gaming crowd. Not "adults". This means teens and unmarried early 20s. Most adults I know, are married and have a Wii for their child and themselves. Thats where the adults are.

Old people, familyies, and young children is where the Wii is pointed at. Not to mention it is THE party console. Its doing well, because having real friends is alot more fun than playing against some shmuck online through a 1-2 player game that is the vast majority of Xbox/Sony games.


Utter BS
By Visual on 1/21/2009 8:23:02 AM , Rating: 5
The last paragraph specifically is outstandingly idiotic. To say such a retarded thing this guy must've banged his head in a wall so many times that it makes me want to bash it one more time.




RE: Utter BS
By longshot94 on 1/21/2009 8:26:28 AM , Rating: 3
I want to know what color the sky is in his world because it's not the same as in ours.


RE: Utter BS
By zebrax2 on 1/21/2009 9:05:00 AM , Rating: 2
yes i agree with you
why would they even want to game developers to suffer? unless of course they've gone crazy.
makes me wonder what they will do next


RE: Utter BS
By wvh on 1/21/2009 9:59:20 AM , Rating: 2
Fire him?


RE: Utter BS
By wvh on 1/21/2009 10:15:27 AM , Rating: 2
I guess he thinks like a Japanese person. Problem is that Americans always go for the cheapest option with the most immediate bang-for-the-buck value, and happily buy a new Xbox the next year in some sale that is only marginally better. Much less about longevity and quality than consumption and immediate satisfaction. People want a great deal on a new shiny toy and not keep on using last years product. Despite the economy, I don't think it pays off to take a long term vision in the tech consumption market.

If they could somehow market the game console as a media center to people of an older demographic that has no interest in game consoles as such, a demographic that is willing to spend a bit more for a bit better quality, their strategy could pay off more.

I've never been interested in game consoles, but I'm very keen to find out about hifi and media players such as the Logitech/Slimdevices Squeezebox. It's probably just a small (technical) step for a console maker to include this market, and it would enlarge the customer base enormously.


RE: Utter BS
By japlha on 1/21/2009 1:31:27 PM , Rating: 5
Maybe he's starting a new form of trolling?
Corporate trolling?
Wonder if he posts on Daily Tech as PLAYSTATION3. It would actually make sense.


Give it time
By Chaser on 1/21/2009 12:28:09 PM , Rating: 2
There's more to this equation than 360 fans on Daily Tech and U.S. sales numbers. The 360 has most its total sales numbers in the U.S. The PS3 has and still leads in overseas sales and Blue Ray is still in its relative infancy, yet popular and much stronger than 1 year ago.

Console sales in Europe, Asia and Australia aren't to the point where the 360 is a choice over the PS3.

Not to mention the horrible if not deceitful RROD debacle that Microsoft marketing and advertising works very hard to skillfully sweep under the carpet.




RE: Give it time
By novacthall on 1/21/2009 2:18:28 PM , Rating: 2
Please supply a source for your claim that PS3 leads in overseas sales.


RE: Give it time
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 3:29:21 PM , Rating: 2
Sony wins Europe, does poorly in Japan and US. Microsoft wins US, does poorly in Japan and Europe. Wii wins them all, does poorly in my house.


RE: Give it time
By darkblade33 on 1/21/2009 8:27:31 PM , Rating: 2
Although it was true that previously - last year PS3 was leading 360 in europe by a small margin.. Now the tide has turned. Mostly because of the world economy and 360 was priced lower.. Recent sales figures in europe (the last few months) show Sony PS3 sales are well below Xbox 360 sales.


RE: Give it time
RE: Give it time
By novacthall on 1/22/2009 11:15:46 AM , Rating: 2
That doesn't support his original point. I've yet to see an article or brief that points to the PS3 winning anywhere, let alone in the ever-nebulous "overseas" market segment.


Sony is back with their dumba ass PR
By Arribajuan on 1/21/2009 10:49:28 AM , Rating: 5
1 - "We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that [developers] want"

Great, this makes developers so happy...

2 - ", because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do"

This is what you should be looking for. Make use of the hardware!! Why would I buy stuff that cannot be fully used?

It is like getting hired and slack 7 out of 8 hours, so next year you can slack only 6 and expect a raise for that increase in productivity.

3 - ", so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"

you let game developers focus on the following:
- gameplay
- online gaming
- innovation
- story telling
- art
- making fun games

instead you have the game developers struggle for 10 years to make sense out of the hardware.

I am baffled with this speech. It is so wrong in every sense.

-




By humbi83 on 1/21/2009 1:45:31 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
It is like getting hired and slack 7 out of 8 hours, so next year you can slack only 6 and expect a raise for that increase in productivity

ROTFL; Men, You Made My Day !!!!

I have no idea how to +1 for you.


RE: Sony is back with their dumba ass PR
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 3:17:06 PM , Rating: 2
If you didn't know, the PS2 was a big pain for developers also. It kicked everyone's ass for it's time and even now is selling like hotcakes.


By BansheeX on 1/21/2009 10:30:45 PM , Rating: 2
Agreed, he's doing a poor job of explaining the lag effect of realized potential in something more complex. The PS3 CPU has more potential, which is initially more confusing, but its games will pull away technologically in the second half while the 360 has hit its wall.


PS2 ring a bell?
By HrilL on 1/21/2009 10:29:49 AM , Rating: 2
Sony did the same thing with the PS2. Clearly this guy knows what he is doing. PS2 has the largest install base of them all and still sells very very well. The games at the end of its life were astonishing compared to the ones in the first 2 years. And I am sure PS3 will be the same way. While the xbox 360 is currently at its peak the PS3 still has a lot of power yet to be taken advantage of. The only problem with this strategy is that they have to compete with Microsoft and with the PS2 there wasn't any real competition until almost the end of its life span.

Microsoft is probably going for a shorter life span and as long as they keep backward compatibility then they'll end up in the lead. While the PS3 cost more currently it would be cheaper then buying a 360 and the next console Microsoft releases. But after just five years most people probably won't have a problem with spending another 400 on a new console with the latest graphics. The PS3 having more units sold in its life span really won't matter all the much since Microsoft will most likely have another console out a few years before the PS3's life span is over.




RE: PS2 ring a bell?
By Bateluer on 1/21/2009 10:56:05 AM , Rating: 3
The successor to the 360, technically the 3rd generation Xbox, will likely boast far superior performance to the PS3 and ship well before the projected end of the PS3's life cycle.


RE: PS2 ring a bell?
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 3:26:52 PM , Rating: 2
Sony is already ahead of the ball game. With the Cell processor, they have the PS4's processor. Simply get a higher clocked version or one with more SPEs.


RE: PS2 ring a bell?
By foolsgambit11 on 1/21/2009 7:21:14 PM , Rating: 2
That kind of makes sense, and kind of doesn't. It makes sense in that, if people actually learn how to program well for the Cell, then they should be able to learn how to program for a Cell with more SPEs. Assuming there's opportunity for more parallelism in games. But at the same time, it's not as easy as just saying, 'hey, now we can do more the same way we were doing it.' People will have to learn new tricks to program for the new Cell, for sure. I'm betting the processor in the PS4 will have greater specialization among the cores, which will require new tactics. If it doesn't, programmers will have to try to tease out greater parallelization, and will be fighting uphill against the limited instruction set of the SPEs - that, or offloading more and more onto the PPE. Additionally, adding SPEs has impacts on the Cell's abilities, slowing down the circular data bus and exponentially increasing calls to memory through the DMA system. Plus, there are some tasks that require the attention of the PPE. It might make sense to add more PPEs as well (see below...). It will take more changes than just tacking on more SPEs to get worthwhile improvements from Cell.

And besides all of this, since the Xbox 360 uses, essentially, 3 PPEs for its processor, by your logic, couldn't MS just tack on more PPEs and increase clock speeds for their next console? That, or include 18 SPEs in the next console, 6 for each PPE they've already got? That would give them all the power of Cell, times 3. It would avoid the questions of imbalance brought up by having more SPEs and only one PPE. Of course, in the end, this runs into questions of bandwidth, and Xbox developers would have to learn what PS developers would already have learned (although, by that point, then, they could just learn from people who've already figured things out, rather than figuring it out the hard way).


By joeindian1551 on 1/21/2009 9:46:51 AM , Rating: 2
I understand wanting to defend your purchase of a truck or car b/c that is a major investment of $$. But the 360 starts at $199 and the PS3 at $399.

I bought one of each and could care less about listening to who has the biggest epeen b/c they have the most 1337 console. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses hence why quite a few gamers have both.

Let me guess, "the economy is bad I can't afford both". To that I'd say lay off the fast food and talk to me again in a month. In most cases the money is there you just waste it.




RE: Why is there a console war in the first place?
By ninus3d on 1/21/2009 5:23:55 PM , Rating: 2
Money is used for other things than consoles, games and KFC :P


By foolsgambit11 on 1/21/2009 7:24:45 PM , Rating: 2
Homer: [remorsefully] Aw, twenty dollars...I wanted a peanut!
Homer's brain: Twenty dollars can buy many peanuts!
Homer: Explain how.
Homer's brain: Money can be exchanged for good and services.


By mircea on 1/22/2009 2:56:10 PM , Rating: 2
Well because that way there is a winner. And that will dictate the trend for the next gen.

What that means is that we should expect in the next gen(if 3rd party developers finally get to work) a lot of games requiring more inovative/diferent/surprising/awkward/badly thought out controls, atention to diferent demografic, little less attnetion to max power (just little; it'll never go away).

If by contrast PS3 will be claimed winner, well see firstly very expensive, full of tech (that not every one need's or want's) system, hyped for its pay now get all of it in 10 years performance.


He has no grasp of reality
By freeagle on 1/21/2009 8:26:20 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
but I'd like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry


What you'd like and what the reality is as are two very separate things.

quote:
They're a different world, and we operate in our world


If every console said they operate in their own world, all of them would be "the official leaders"

quote:
And with the Xbox - again, I can't come up with one word to fit. You need a word that describes something that lacks longevity


how about... playstation? (now im kidding ;) )

quote:
the PlayStation 3 was deliberately designed to be difficult to program for in order to increase the overall lifecycle of the console


Now this pearl made my day!




RE: He has no grasp of reality
By Chocobollz on 1/21/2009 9:52:50 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
If every console said they operate in their own world, all of them would be "the official leaders"


LOL! I must admit, you're so so, correct! :D

Well, I think if they continue to live on their own world, their own fantasy, they'll be surprised when they wakeup from that dream, because the Playstation, which once being the leader in the console world, now facing its downfall. You're doing a very good job, Kaz! :D


Sony IS #1
By Icelight on 1/21/2009 11:02:55 AM , Rating: 5
Face it folks, Sony is the number one provider of Sony products. They are, in fact, the best in the world at this.

One day you will all learn to face that fact.




Picture...
By oTAL on 1/21/2009 8:50:43 AM , Rating: 2
Stephen, you outdid yourself with that pic.
The Iraqi Information Minister is still a reference when it comes to spinning facts. =)




RE: Picture...
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 1/21/2009 9:54:18 AM , Rating: 2
I agree, definately a top notch picture for this article.


Ooookaiii...
By Oralen on 1/21/2009 8:57:13 AM , Rating: 3
"we operate in our world - that's the kind of way I look at things."

And... That's your problem right there, pal...

But I'm sort of curious: In your world, are you losing money too? Or could I buy a Playstation in your world and pay for it with shiny stars, or with smiles, or something?

"I can't come up with one word to fit."

For the Wii, the correct terms are: "Selling", or "Profitable", or: "Making Money"

For the 360, the word is: "cheaper."

Learn that. You might not be able to use those, but education is always precious.

"was deliberately designed to be difficult to program for in order to increase the overall lifecycle of the console."

Are you f***ing stupid?! I have a PS3, you moron! Does that means I will have to wait 7 more years for good games?




RE: Ooookaiii...
By BansheeX on 1/21/2009 10:18:31 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
For the 360, the word is: "cheaper."


I'd disagree with that statement, a 360 configured similarly to the PS3 is at least twice as expensive. You mean the most basic model, with zero extras, no netplay, no blu-ray, no hard drive, no wireless.

quote:
Are you f***ing stupid?! I have a PS3, you moron! Does that means I will have to wait 7 more years for good games?


The guy is describing something else and doing a poor job of it. What he probably means is, the PS3 is using a proprietary, radical new CPU design. Early on, the games for the system are not going to look as good as the 360, but it's potential will still be getting tapped into well after the 360 has hit a wall and will need another $300 successor. The 360's upgrade curve is so steep that emulating prior consoles will be unfeasible. Nobody really doubts that the second half of the console's life is going to show exclusives like GT4 and GoW3 exceeding the 360's capabilities. Look at God of War 2 for the PS2, that system continues to pull stuff out of its a**, why on earth would you doubt the same thing happening again? Sony has been doing this for two generations now. Because Dailytech jumped on the mass media outlet and predicted the PS3 would fail, and are constantly looking for chances to redeem itself? Stephen doesn't know what the heck he's talking about.


PS3 sales will only slow down
By d4a2n0k on 1/21/2009 10:02:52 AM , Rating: 2
The reason why the PS3 was catching up with the 360 was because it was being used as only a Blu-Ray player by many. It is a great Blu-Ray player and up to just a few months ago, it had the most features for its price when compared to stand alone players.

Now that the stand alone players have dropped in price and come with the same, and in many cases, more features than the PS3, they are in trouble. The game attachment numbers for the PS3 are horrible and with Sony still losing money on each consol, the future for the PS3 doesnt look too good to me.

I was about to pickup the PS3 before Christmas to use as a Blu-Ray player only but then saw the Samsung BDP-2550 which with its latest firmware updates include Netflix and Pandora Radio streaming along with the coveted DTS-HD MA. On top of that, it stacks perfectly with my other home theatre equipment which was a BIG deal to me.




RE: PS3 sales will only slow down
By afkrotch on 1/21/2009 3:40:32 PM , Rating: 2
Get a PS3, load Linux. viola. Cheap PC with a blu-ray drive and can play games too. I would have preferred some USB slots in the back, but whatever.


In other news...
By dj LiTh on 1/21/2009 8:22:40 AM , Rating: 2
According to me, console gaming is dead, with only pc gaming left viable.

Notice the similarities?




RE: In other news...
By KernD on 1/21/2009 8:39:46 AM , Rating: 1
also in the news...

A man died today in Japan, choking to death because his head was stuck so far up his own ass.

Also in the news, GM exec declared they are still the world leading car maker, because Toyota isn't really competing with them... his point being that GM cars definitely aren't in the same league as Toyota's cars.


By cscpianoman on 1/21/2009 8:33:29 AM , Rating: 2
You might go blind from the flashes of idiocy.

Of course, what else are you going to say to a Playstation magazine? "Um, the console is dead and dying, with no success in the near or long-term; "We concede defeat to the better foresight and marketing of Microsoft."

The sales numbers still speak for themselves with the Wii being in a different world because it is selling in droves! How can PS3 make longevity if it is hard to program for and has only beaten XBox 360 sales on a monthly basis a handful of times? Microsoft will already have a new console out by the time PS3 becomes a serious threat.




Poor staff writers...
By parge on 1/21/2009 8:48:41 AM , Rating: 2
This is gold! I actually thoroughly enjoy outlandish comments like this. Can you imagine being the guy who has to write this up for Official Playstation Magazine? You would be looking down at the dialgue and wondering how you were going to sell this so it doesn't sound quite so much like they're in denial.




Comment Translations
By Verran on 1/21/2009 9:44:09 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Although Sony no longer leads the industry in console sales Hirai believes Sony still possesses "Official" leadership of the videogame industry. He stated, "This is not meant in terms of numbers, or who's got the biggest install base, or who's selling most in any particular week or month, but I'd like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry,".

Translation: I think we're the best even though every possible measurement of calculating such a thing says we're not.

quote:
Sony has often described the PlayStation 3 as having a 10-year lifecycle. Hirai added, "We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"

Translation: We've purposely crippled the platform for the first few years that way we can artificially extend its lifetime and therefore delay the need for innovation on our part.




The leader...
By pwnsweet on 1/21/2009 7:33:47 PM , Rating: 2
The leader at being the worst console perhaps.




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