American Ninja Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 DICE: Harrison Addresses PS3 Critics During a D.I.C.E. Summit presentation today, Sony?s Phil Harrison described an ever-evolving PS3, a launch he called "phenomenal" and also addressed third-party criticisms that developer support for Xbox 360 is better than that for Sony?s new machine. In a decidedly laid-back Q&A with Newsweek?s N?Gai Croal, the tech and games journalist cited developers who say Microsoft's support is ?significantly greater? than Sony?s support. ?There?s no point in me being defensive about that. If that?s what people are saying, then there has to be some truth to it,? he conceded. ?We can always do a better job. We can always provide better tools, we can always provide better documentation, we can always provide better service.? He also took time to address accusations from developers that Sony provides documentation in Japanese?certainly something that would slow down the development process, if true. ?I think that it?s a myth that we provide documentation in Japanese. It?s just not true,? he argued. ?I don?t know where that came from. In fact, most of the key components for the PlayStation 3 are from English language parts of the world. ? It?s just a complete myth that we drop the Japanese language on [developers].? Harrison also talked about how onlookers have been critical of the PS3?s launch, calling the PS3?s release ?a phenomenal launch by any measure.? ?We have supplied the market with more products in Japan, Asia and the US than we did the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2, and more software than PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2,? Harrison said. Sizing up the high volume of product shipped to criticisms of the PS3?s launch, he asked, ?So, what?s wrong with this picture?? He also reiterated that the PS3 European launch is on track with 1 million due on the day of its March 23 launch, as sea freight from China is on its way to European ports. Croal also asked how and when will Sony?s online gaming service catch up with Xbox Live on a features basis. Harrison argued that the ?PS3 shipped with some pretty compelling content that delivered a compelling online experience,? as he cited 40-person online deathmatches in Insomniac?s Resistance: Fall of Man. He didn?t delve into specific updates that are due for PS3's online service, but said Sony will be adding more community aspects as time goes on. ?The basic functionality is there. ? We still need to do more, and we will continue to do that,? he said. During the presentation, Harrison also described the PS3 as constantly evolving. ?The launch of a platform like PS3 is not a fixed specification the day you buy a console,? he said. ?The day that you buy a console is the beginning of a relationship. ? We will continue to refine and add features [to the PS3].? Croal also asked if the PS3?s free online gameplay hinders Sony?s ability to fund a truly full-featured service. Harrison?s answer was frank, as he said ?Absolutely not,? and said that Sony would generate online revenue in other ways, with more announcements to be made in the future. User-generated content is also clearly part of Sony's online strategy. Harrison showed off the upcoming SingStar karaoke game for PS3, which will eventually allow users to record their performances on video using a USB camera and upload them to the service for others to view. Regarding the PSP, Harrison said that Sony still has high hopes for the platform, as more functionality will be added to the handheld in the near future. ?We?ve only managed to recreate PS2 in the palm of your hand [with the PSP] ? but I think we can go deeper? We can explore the community and media aspects of the machine. ... It?s not a missed opportunity as much as a future opportunity,? he said. Interestingly, Harrison revealed that he was playing a new LocoRoco on his PSP on the way to D.I.C.E., although he said that Sony's "not making any announcements" about the game yet. Source: http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=c...14&Itemid=2 Nice Q&A :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDQuiksilver Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Good read.. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplySchizo Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Those 40 player games on Resistance MP are insane. Tried it for the first time yesterday and was totally blown away. I caught a feel for the ps3's power there. So much going on on my screen yet not one bit of lag. Things will definitely get alot better as time goes by with sony. Although I dont see anything come close to what Live is anytime soon. I don't think sony will be hurt by this after seeing what games can do in mp alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreqFace Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Please Sony, somehow (possibly magically?) make the development cost of the PS3 much lower, therefore lowering the cost to consumers! I want to get one in the future, but I can't at that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted February 9, 2007 Veteran Share Posted February 9, 2007 Please Sony, somehow (possibly magically?) make the development cost of the PS3 much lower, therefore lowering the cost to consumers! I want to get one in the future, but I can't at that price. Man how I so agree with you. It is funny, I was at EB Games today pre ordering Crackdown for the 360, and I was there during the day so it was just me and the kid working the counter. Since he obviously had some spare time, I started asking him the trade in value of everything I own besides my 360. That includes an Xbox ($30 trade in), Gamecube (even less than XBox but never got a number), my DS Lite ($60), a Logitech PC Gaming Wheel ($20 or so), and some random gamers, all with the hopes that I could possibly get at least just half the cost of a PS3. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_c_b Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Man how I so agree with you.It is funny, I was at EB Games today pre ordering Crackdown for the 360, and I was there during the day so it was just me and the kid working the counter. Since he obviously had some spare time, I started asking him the trade in value of everything I own besides my 360. That includes an Xbox ($30 trade in), Gamecube (even less than XBox but never got a number), my DS Lite ($60), a Logitech PC Gaming Wheel ($20 or so), and some random gamers, all with the hopes that I could possibly get at least just half the cost of a PS3. :no: That seems more like an issue of EB ripping you off on trade in value, which they have done forever. You would likely do far better putting that stuff on eBay instead of taking $30 for your Xbox and having EB turn around and sell it for $75-99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplySchizo Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Gamecube (even less than XBox but never got a number) GC = $20 i was able to take advantage of a trade-in special and got $50 trade for a wii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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