INTERVIEW: PSN - Future Tool of Destruction?

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It was never going to be easy outfoxing Microsoft, but PlayStation Network director of operations Eric Lempel thinks Sony?s made a solid start to its online venture. Here he discusses online strategy, execution, and why PSN?s destined to become a tool of destruction in the console war.

Microsoft got the jump on Sony. A late entrant in the console race, the upstart became the trailblazer when it came to bringing a true online service to consoles with the launch of Xbox Live in 2002. In 2005 Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 and with it a reworked and improved XBL. Playing Call of Duty 2 over XBL compared to playing PS2 games via the system?s Network Adaptor, well, enough said really. The gauntlet had well and truly been thrown down. Sony?s PlayStation 3 debuted a year later and with it a fresh online initiative, PlayStation Network (PSN), was born.

While PSN has made an indifferent start in the eyes of many commentators, Xbox Live?s star has continued to rise. From celebrating its fifth birthday to the introduction of feature-rich dashboard updates, and from Xbox originals to the launch of Video Marketplace in Europe and Canada, Live?s been all over the press in recent months, and Microsoft officials haven?t exactly been reserved when it comes to rival rib-digging. ?We don't have competition. Sony has done some things online, but nothing that can be called a service,? said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft?s Entertainment and Devices division, in November 2007. This is something PSN?s director is obviously keen to refute.

?We set out to bring a great online gaming experience, rich interactive content and immersive online communities,? says Lempel. ?I feel we?ve delivered in all of these areas. We are offering a service and one of the differences between our service and Xbox Live is that our service is free.

?Let?s take a look at what we have today. Right now our users have a single account and user ID that they can use across our titles that have online functionality. In addition, utilizing the same account they can build and add friends to a friends list, they can send and receive messages from their friends, they can have audio and video chats with their friends.? He also notes that, using the same account, users can download free demos and trailers of PS3 titles, as well as purchase PS3-exclusive games, add-on content, classic arcade games and PSone titles via the PlayStation Store.

?Everything I mentioned short of purchasing new content is available to every PlayStation 3 purchaser right out of the box at no additional cost. I would add that we don?t put limits on the size or scope of the content we deliver through our service. We released WarHawk a few months ago through PlayStation Network, and on Blu-ray through retail.

?I think Xbox Live is a solid service with a lot of good features,? he adds, ?but I don?t think any one at Microsoft would disagree that there is still room for improvement.?

Lempel is also keen to stress Sony?s approach to user-generated content, saying the company?s embarked on a path not yet trodden by its competitors. He notes the work Epic Games is doing to allow user-created content to flourish on PS3.

?We do embrace user created content, and what they are doing with UT3 is going to be a great experience for PS3 users. Consumers who create content for UT3 on their PC can bring that content, and use other consumers? content, into their PS3 version of UT3. This is really a great way for users to be empowered with creating the levels and games that they want to play, and you don?t need to be a coder to do it. I think LittleBigPlanet will be another situation like that, where users can create, play and share their levels with others. This is the start of something big, something that?s never been done in console gaming. This concept is something that is going to help further define The Long Journey Homeeen PS3 and the other consoles.?

The Long Journey Home

One of the big hitters Sony had aimed to release during 2007 wasn?t a game itself, but its online virtual space and social networking service Home. PlayStation president Kaz Hirai admitted to being unsatisfied with the current build of Home late in 2007, and Lempel echoed the words of his colleague when he said that Sony would rather delay Home than launch it when it wasn?t fully optimized.

?Lots of communities have sprung up around several of our titles, but it?s no secret that we?re planning on bringing the concept of online communities to a whole new level with Home. It?s coming along as planned and is in good shape. We want to make sure we are delivering a product that lives up to our plans and both our and our consumers? expectations.

?While Home will continue to evolve post-launch, we want the initial experience to be great for our consumers. The team is still working on a lot of great features for launch and we?re still combing through a lot of the great feedback we?ve received from our beta-testers. I know that everyone is anxious to get into Home, but we?re going to take the time to get it right and deliver a great experience."

While Sony believes the eagerly anticipated Home will serve as a major differentiator between the PS3 and its rivals, it isn?t prioritizing Home?s development at the expense of other new features because the company splits its manpower across a number divisions working on different parts of PSN development.

?We have a dedicated group, our Home Platform Group based in London, that is working diligently to make PlayStation Home into all that you have seen and read, and then some. The key here is that PlayStation Home will be a fully functional part of PlayStation Network, and will remain free to consumers. We have groups dedicated to each area of PlayStation Network, from support for free online gaming, support of current features and future enhancements, support of the PlayStation Store from QA and store management, to what I just mentioned about the team for crafting and implementing the feature roadmap for PlayStation Home."

While Lempel said it was ?too early to talk about specifics related to Home at this time?, notably regarding Home?s PSP compatibility, he did say that Sony?s ?goal is to have PlayStation devices connected to all of our services across PlayStation Network toFirmware Updates, New Features and the PS Communityhey can access at anytime, from anywhere?.

Firmware Updates, New Features and the PS Community

With regard to expanding its online service, Microsoft has employed a strategy of releasing twice-yearly, beefy dashboard updates. Contrastingly, Sony has taken to offering firmware updates on a much more frequent basis, creating a kind of trickle-effect whereby users gain access to a smaller volume of new features but on a more regular basis. What?s the thinking behind this approach?

?There are a few ways to look at this. We have several teams developing different types of new features for the PS3. Initially we schedule and plan on combining features in updates so users receive a lot of features in a single update. Sometimes the schedule on one feature will slip and we?ll have a few other new features ready, so rather than hold the release up for a single feature, we?ll release what is ready to go at that time.?

Lempel acknowledges that firmware updates can be a tricky business, and when you?re carrying them out on a regular basis they?re not without potential problems - some PS3 owners have complained of firmware updates leading to games freezing, and even consoles losing the ability to power-up.

?Many of our upgrades have offered tremendous value to our users so I think they appreciate getting these new features as soon as they are ready. We?re certainly going to continue to plan on combining features so we can roll out fewer, but more significant firmware updates. With millions of users using our products in different ways and connecting them to a wide variety of equipment, there is the potential, on occasion, that an unforeseen issue will be brought to our attention. We like to take corrective action as fast as possible to ensure our users are having the best experience with our products. The best way for us to do this is through firmware updates. We are looking at ways of making this process easier going forward.?

Lempel says that Sony has ?a very vocal user base and we take their feedback very seriously?, but, if that?s the case, where are the features a large number of the three million plus PSN members are clamoring for? Each of the platform holders has their own way of communicating with consumers, their own information and marketing blogs if you like, whether it?s Major Nelson?s site for Xbox 360 owners or PlayStation.blog for the PS3 user base, and anyone who?s visited the latter will attest that a number of Sony officials are fairly active when it comes to making posts and generally prompt in responding to users? comments. Lempel has been one of the busiest SCEA employees in this respect, notably when each of the PS3?s ongoing firmware updates have failed to deliver heavily requested features such as in-game integration of the PS3's Cross Media Bar (XMB), prompting a little unrest amongst the PlayStation community.

?While we are happy with what we?ve accomplished during our first year, we?re by no means going to stop with what you see today. We have a long-term strategy for the service and there are still a good amount of features we haven?t delivered. The great thing about the PlayStation Network is that we have the ability to make changes and upgrade the service to meet the demands of our users.

?I recognize that there are a few features that PS3 users have asked for that we haven?t delivered yet? We have a lot of features in different stages of development that I think our users will be very excited about.

?I know that an achievement system is very important to our consumers. With Home, and in addition to Home, we have some very exciting programs planned to recognize our consumers gaming skills and loyalty in new ways that go well beyond a single score.?

Sony CEO Howard Stringer has said that expanding the PlayStation Network will be at the core of Sony?s new innovation drive. Central to this expansion will be Sony?s ability to offer other types of media content to PlayStation users.

?First and foremost games are our business, but digital distribution of media via PlayStation Network is a natural fit for the PS3 and it?s an area that?s very important to us. We want to deliver movies and TV shows to our users and the PlayStation 3 certainly has the power to do it.

?I can?t comment on specific features or release dates at this time, but I will say that 2008 will be a big year in many ways for PlayStation Network.?

Source: http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=c...mp;limitstart=1

Lets see what the underdog can do (Y)

[Antaris Veteran]

I'm looking forward to PS3'08, I'm hoping its the year where it all starts to come together and make sense. The PS3 is a great console, and I do love mine, but XBox Live has not just affected online console play, but its ability to integrate into the Windows environment (Games for Windows Live) for cross-platform play is even more enviable. I wonder if Sony have any plans for this type of functionality...?

And then of course, maybe in a couple of years, they can jointly develop an XBox Live/PSN bridge to allow PS3 players to play against XBox players and intermingle :D. We can dream...