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Sony Keynote Offers Hope For PlayStation 3 Fans
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed Mar 07, 2007 04:13 PM
from the hallelujah dept.
from the hallelujah dept.
Once again, the stage was set for Sony to try to get some good will directed towards its next-gen console. Recent weeks especially have seen PR frustrations and setbacks for the company. Today was Sony's day to deliver: and in my opinion they did with flying colours. By the end of the keynote attendees were laughing and clapping with glee at the goodies that the company is going to be bringing to the PlayStation 3. Finally, finally, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the console. Read on for my notes on the keynote, as well as links to other coverage of the event. Note the first: There may finally be a great reason to buy a PlayStation.
Taking a page from the PAX playbook, the first notable event of the Sony Keynote was the introduction of the huge soccer balls into the audience by gleeful PR wags. Front row attendees seemed to delight in targeting photographers, beaning several unobservant cameramen with the huge inflatable spheres.
Jamil Moledina introduced Sony's Harrison, saying that this was a 'great year' for the conference. With all three console out and the tools in place, GDC is focused on 'taking control' and charting the future of gaming. With words about SCEA's future being linked to the developers here, Jamil hands the keynote off to Phil.
Opening with talk of 'audience participation' (ala the big soccer balls), Phil launches into a discussion of Games 3.0. The Time magazine 'person of the year' last year was referenced, as was the Web 2.0 philosophy. The reality is that the concepts are worthless without actual products. So, Sony is now moving in the direction of a new '3.0 philosophy'.
Games 1.0 = disconnected consoles. 2.0 games are connected, but with static content on the disc. 3.0 games are all about social interactions, community, customization, emergent entertainment, with the audience members at the center of the entertainment experience. Open standards are mentioned as a definite possibility.
PlayStation Home will be launching from Sony later this year. (video clip) There's just a new icon on the media bar, allowing access to the new content. Phil introduces Scott Walgerman, producer of the service to do a demo. The service begins with the words 'entering the online world'. When you enter the service, you are in the central lounge. Your avatar is customizable, and extremely detailed. These is *not* Miis, these are better than Second Life quality digital characters. A virtual PSP allows you to teleport around and customize your character. Clothes are added to your wardrobe by buying games. Heavenly Sword being played on the console means you have a Sword t-shirt in your bag.
Dynamic advertising is pushed into the space via banners around the world, and in billboards. HD-quality video is running on the billboards. Users are communicating around the demonstrator, with chat, voice, and emotes.
Other public spaces exist to allow opportunities for social interaction. There's a games lounge with easy games like pool, bowling, and arcade titles. The pool and bowling titles are physics based in the world. The arcade games are customizable, and ... perhaps this is the venue for indie games?
Every avatar has a private apartment, an opportunity to make a statement in the world and a place to hang out with friends. Everything is customizable, and more furniture/wallpaper is downloadable. Unsurprisingly, some will be for-purchase. More interestingly, everything is physics based. Picture frames can be pinned to the wall, and any content on the PS3 is postable up there. Phil demonstrates the ability to do 'user created content' by taking a photo of the crowd, slotting the memory stick into the PS3, and then loading the picture into the picture frame.
Moving to another apartment, which can be purchased and is quite a bit larger. Premium items like the pool tables, arcades, can be put into place. Video can be put into place as well via televisions. Scott demonstrates by putting the Casino Royale trailer onto the display.
We teleport again, to the Home Movie Theater. There's a trailer running in the foyer, and dynamic posters on the walls. The avatar moves up to 'user customized spaces', where they introduce grouper content. By walking into theaters, you can watch the content and chat with friends. Not only Sony brands and big named movies, then, but YouTube like user-created content in this world.
Porting again, we head out to locations based around game publishers. We zoom to a 'sports lounge' with information and views of minigames. Harrison says it's very simple to make these spaces, and thinks that many developers will be happy to make such areas.
The final area they go to, the hall of fame, shows off Trophies that you'll earn through play. You can place them in cases, completely 3d and physics based. It's also possible to show off defining moments from your gaming experience on video screens. The avatar then walks out onto a balcony, revealing a Star Wars senate hall style area with hundreds of other user spaces and displaying hundreds of other trophies.
The whole thing is free. There's a large-scale Beta trial beginning in April of this year, with the service launching in Fall of this year.
Phil then moves on to Singstar. Sold 7 million units on PS2, and they're now looking forward to taking it to the PlayStation Network. He demonstrates the online capabilities of the game, showing recent song additions and what your friends have been singing lately. The store is also very easy, adding songs to a cart with the push of a button. Songs download in the background, which Phil notes is a 'good feature'. If you want to, you can videotape your performance and share it with your friends. They can then be rated. That sounds ominous. May/June release in Europe for the game, with a release 'later' for the states.
The next announcement: PlayStation Edge. A set of core tools and technologies that they've used on first party titles, and will now be shared with PS3 devs. Later today they'll be talking about it in a session. One is a graphics tool, allowing best use of the chipset. The other is an optimization set, allowing 'best of breed' technology use. To be shared via the support network after GDC.
And another announcement. LittleBigPlanet. (video clip) It's the guys who did RagDoll KungFu.. Mark Healy and Alex Evans are brought out, and show off the title, which is all about 'creativity.' Alex beings by saying they'll show how easy it is to make stuff in the game world. With just a few controller elements, they make a block, add a gear, and then set it moving with physics. It looks exactly like the toolset from Second Life, only useable. Everything is very intuitive, and the avatars are adorable. Little brown felt creatures. They then begin adding images to the walls with 'stickers'. There's all sorts of weird little things, and everything is completely customizable. Content on the HDD is addable to your space as well. The two demonstrators collaborate by adding elements to each other's creations. They're even able to add elements to each other's avatars.
They then drop down to show a much more customized area, where Phil and another demonstrator join them. The new demonstrator has a really excellent dragon scarf that flows realistically in the wind behind the character as he leaps through the air. This space is a game. It's a platformer, entirely within the gameworld. They all collect little oranges, knock over blocks, and generally chaos their way from left to right. They can also collaborate to help each other across puzzles by manipulating physical objects. It's amazing. The audience is laughing, clapping, and talking amongst themselves, and the entire thing looks fantastic. There's dynamic lighting, intuitive gameplay ... as interesting as the Home stuff is, if these elements are for real, this is the reason to buy PlayStation 3. The demo gets a huge ovation, and there's a decent amount of cheering. It's just crazy. They then show a quick video showing the way your creations can be shared. It's debuting sometime this year via PSN, on Blu-Ray next year.
"The industry is on the threshold of a new era of communication and innovation." An opportunity for the industry to expand the horizons of gaming. He wraps it up with a wish for good GDC, and the audience response is very positive.
Jamil Moledina introduced Sony's Harrison, saying that this was a 'great year' for the conference. With all three console out and the tools in place, GDC is focused on 'taking control' and charting the future of gaming. With words about SCEA's future being linked to the developers here, Jamil hands the keynote off to Phil.
Opening with talk of 'audience participation' (ala the big soccer balls), Phil launches into a discussion of Games 3.0. The Time magazine 'person of the year' last year was referenced, as was the Web 2.0 philosophy. The reality is that the concepts are worthless without actual products. So, Sony is now moving in the direction of a new '3.0 philosophy'.
Games 1.0 = disconnected consoles. 2.0 games are connected, but with static content on the disc. 3.0 games are all about social interactions, community, customization, emergent entertainment, with the audience members at the center of the entertainment experience. Open standards are mentioned as a definite possibility.
PlayStation Home will be launching from Sony later this year. (video clip) There's just a new icon on the media bar, allowing access to the new content. Phil introduces Scott Walgerman, producer of the service to do a demo. The service begins with the words 'entering the online world'. When you enter the service, you are in the central lounge. Your avatar is customizable, and extremely detailed. These is *not* Miis, these are better than Second Life quality digital characters. A virtual PSP allows you to teleport around and customize your character. Clothes are added to your wardrobe by buying games. Heavenly Sword being played on the console means you have a Sword t-shirt in your bag.
Dynamic advertising is pushed into the space via banners around the world, and in billboards. HD-quality video is running on the billboards. Users are communicating around the demonstrator, with chat, voice, and emotes.
Other public spaces exist to allow opportunities for social interaction. There's a games lounge with easy games like pool, bowling, and arcade titles. The pool and bowling titles are physics based in the world. The arcade games are customizable, and ... perhaps this is the venue for indie games?
Every avatar has a private apartment, an opportunity to make a statement in the world and a place to hang out with friends. Everything is customizable, and more furniture/wallpaper is downloadable. Unsurprisingly, some will be for-purchase. More interestingly, everything is physics based. Picture frames can be pinned to the wall, and any content on the PS3 is postable up there. Phil demonstrates the ability to do 'user created content' by taking a photo of the crowd, slotting the memory stick into the PS3, and then loading the picture into the picture frame.
Moving to another apartment, which can be purchased and is quite a bit larger. Premium items like the pool tables, arcades, can be put into place. Video can be put into place as well via televisions. Scott demonstrates by putting the Casino Royale trailer onto the display.
We teleport again, to the Home Movie Theater. There's a trailer running in the foyer, and dynamic posters on the walls. The avatar moves up to 'user customized spaces', where they introduce grouper content. By walking into theaters, you can watch the content and chat with friends. Not only Sony brands and big named movies, then, but YouTube like user-created content in this world.
Porting again, we head out to locations based around game publishers. We zoom to a 'sports lounge' with information and views of minigames. Harrison says it's very simple to make these spaces, and thinks that many developers will be happy to make such areas.
The final area they go to, the hall of fame, shows off Trophies that you'll earn through play. You can place them in cases, completely 3d and physics based. It's also possible to show off defining moments from your gaming experience on video screens. The avatar then walks out onto a balcony, revealing a Star Wars senate hall style area with hundreds of other user spaces and displaying hundreds of other trophies.
The whole thing is free. There's a large-scale Beta trial beginning in April of this year, with the service launching in Fall of this year.
Phil then moves on to Singstar. Sold 7 million units on PS2, and they're now looking forward to taking it to the PlayStation Network. He demonstrates the online capabilities of the game, showing recent song additions and what your friends have been singing lately. The store is also very easy, adding songs to a cart with the push of a button. Songs download in the background, which Phil notes is a 'good feature'. If you want to, you can videotape your performance and share it with your friends. They can then be rated. That sounds ominous. May/June release in Europe for the game, with a release 'later' for the states.
The next announcement: PlayStation Edge. A set of core tools and technologies that they've used on first party titles, and will now be shared with PS3 devs. Later today they'll be talking about it in a session. One is a graphics tool, allowing best use of the chipset. The other is an optimization set, allowing 'best of breed' technology use. To be shared via the support network after GDC.
And another announcement. LittleBigPlanet. (video clip) It's the guys who did RagDoll KungFu.. Mark Healy and Alex Evans are brought out, and show off the title, which is all about 'creativity.' Alex beings by saying they'll show how easy it is to make stuff in the game world. With just a few controller elements, they make a block, add a gear, and then set it moving with physics. It looks exactly like the toolset from Second Life, only useable. Everything is very intuitive, and the avatars are adorable. Little brown felt creatures. They then begin adding images to the walls with 'stickers'. There's all sorts of weird little things, and everything is completely customizable. Content on the HDD is addable to your space as well. The two demonstrators collaborate by adding elements to each other's creations. They're even able to add elements to each other's avatars.
They then drop down to show a much more customized area, where Phil and another demonstrator join them. The new demonstrator has a really excellent dragon scarf that flows realistically in the wind behind the character as he leaps through the air. This space is a game. It's a platformer, entirely within the gameworld. They all collect little oranges, knock over blocks, and generally chaos their way from left to right. They can also collaborate to help each other across puzzles by manipulating physical objects. It's amazing. The audience is laughing, clapping, and talking amongst themselves, and the entire thing looks fantastic. There's dynamic lighting, intuitive gameplay ... as interesting as the Home stuff is, if these elements are for real, this is the reason to buy PlayStation 3. The demo gets a huge ovation, and there's a decent amount of cheering. It's just crazy. They then show a quick video showing the way your creations can be shared. It's debuting sometime this year via PSN, on Blu-Ray next year.
"The industry is on the threshold of a new era of communication and innovation." An opportunity for the industry to expand the horizons of gaming. He wraps it up with a wish for good GDC, and the audience response is very positive.
Related Stories
[+]
'Games 3.0' Is Nothing New 41 comments
At Next Generation, author Matt Matthews points out that gamers have been 'making things' for a while now. Sony's Phil Harrison touted the 'Games 3.0' vision at his GDC keynote last month, saying that the new thing is gamers making their own entertainment and sharing it with others. "[Harrison's view] ignores an important fact: the tools of game creation have been given to players over and over again for almost a quarter of a century, since at least 1983. The lessons learned since then will be instructive as Sony again puts the players in control." He goes on to discuss titles like RPGMaker, Pinball Wizard, and some of the famous mods that have changed the industry.
[+]
Interviews: Ask Sony's Phil Harrison About PS3 and Games 472 comments
During GDC Sony made an effort to answer questions directly from the gaming community, taking steps to put aside the problems of the past several months. Today, we have a chance to take another step in the right direction with the company. Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, has been the face of the PlayStation 3 here in the United States since before the machine launched. He's agreed to answer questions from the Slashdot community about the PlayStation 3, the console since launch, and their recent announcements about LittleBigPlanet and Home. I've linked a trio of other interviews he's done recently below, to give you an idea of topics that he's already covered. I'm sure there are plenty of questions we might ask that have yet to be put forward in a public forum. So - feel free to ask away. One question per comment, please, and keep in mind that Mr. Harrison is here to answer questions about the PS3 and games only; any other Sony-related questions are outside the scope of this interview. The highest-rated comments will be passed on, and we'll post his answers as soon as we get them.
[+]
Sony Further Details Home, Looks to October Launch 37 comments
njkid1 writes "According to GameDaily, new details have been revealed about the Home service for the PlayStation 3. Not only will the advertising possibilities be 'limitless,' but the virtual community will also be able to serve as a bustling commerce hub. Transactions will eventually be able to take place within Home itself, and the company refers to the possibility of ticketing for virtual events like developer chats or game previews. At the same time, however, Sony said that advertising will be made 'palatable' so as not to drive away users. A Q&A at the official Sony site states that an October launch is planned (pdf) for the service." GameDaily also has an article looking at reactions from Microsoft and Nintendo on Sony's announcement.
[+]
An Evening With Sony Computer Entertainment 253 comments
Thursday evening, senior Sony representatives such as Phil Harrison (President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios) and David Karraker (Head of SCEA's PR division) sat down with the posters from a bunch of websites, looking to ease relations between the company and their customers. Along with folks from The San Jose Mercury News, Joystiq, Kotaku, and MTV, we discussed a number of the issues raised in the comments here on Slashdot the day before yesterday. My goal in going to the event was to make sure that your concerns were heard. Over the last several months, I've heard many complaints leveled against Sony and their products, and I was hoping to bring back some answers. To be honest, I walked away not fully satisfied. Read on for answers to some of the criticisms you, the readers, have leveled against Sony in the last several months.
Offsite: Gamespot LittleBigPlanet Coverage
Offsite: EuroGamer Coverage
Offsite: Gamespot Home Coverage
Offsite: Destructoid Coverage
Offsite: 1up Keynote Coverage
Offsite: Kotaku LittleBigPlanet Coverage
Offsite: Wonderland Coverage
Offsite: Joystiq Keynote Coverage
Offsite: CVG Coverage
Offsite: Gamasutra Keynote Coverage
Offsite: Kotaku Home Coverage
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Light... (Score:5, Funny)
if that's a copy... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Taking a page from the PAX playbook... (Score:5, Funny)
Cool, they're going to offer "Diagnosis Murder" and "Touched by an Angel" for the PS3! I can't wait.
Can you show me... (Score:5, Funny)
Let the record show the victim pointed to THE WALLET!
Parent
Good news indeed (Score:4, Insightful)
SecondLife for the PS3 (Score:3, Interesting)
So is Second Life until you buy shit.
Every avatar has a private apartment, an opportunity to make a statement in the world and a place to hang out with friends. Everything is customizable, and more furniture/wallpaper is downloadable. Unsurprisingly, some will be for-purchase. More interestingly, everything is physics based.
So you will be purchasing stuff in this.
Why do we need a $600 device to play what's already available to anyone that has a computer? It's not like the target audience of the PS3 are computerless individuals. I don't see the point.
Re:SecondLife for the PS3 (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
But for how long? Eventually Sony will stop maintaining it and this feature will go inert.
SCEA has made a lot of noise about how the PS3 is supposed to last you forever (or at least longer than a typical generation in gaming) but I guarantee that they will either bring out a new console around the time Microsoft brings out the next one, or be destroyed. So how long after that will the service still be around? They'll probably create a whole new service like
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Just to point out that Sony's been saying there won't be any PS3 price drops for a year.
Not that I believe anything that comes out of Sony...
Wholy crap.. (Score:5, Insightful)
re: crap ... you aren't kidding! (Score:5, Insightful)
I really *wanted* to find something amazing/interesting about "Second Life", for that matter, and it failed to draw me in. If I feel like having conversations with random strangers, good old IRC seems like one of the most straightforward ways to accomplish it online. If I only want to chat with specific people I know, then you can't beat a video conference with a web cam, or alternately, instant messenger. I don't feel any need to express myself through some made-up "avatar", or spend my *real* money to have virtual 3D items to show off to other players. It's a horrible value for my dollar.
Honestly, the most exciting part of the PS3 to me lies in the ability for software publishers to send out patches and add-ons to their game titles, and to even purchase titles and download them online. In the past, that was a BIG negative for me with console systems. You buy a game on CD or DVD or whatever, and it is what it is. Find bugs in it? Tough... you're stuck with them. I was really happy with my $19.99 download of Tekken 5, and with the updates they're doing for Resistance. THAT is where a PS3 can add real value for customers.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It sounds entirely meaningless to me, but presumably a fat, curmudgeonly old fucker isn't part of Sony's target demographic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that every generation finds its successors superficial, easily distracted by shiny claptrap and utterly lacking in discernment. As I get older I not only turn into m
Re:Wholy crap.. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
There may finally be a reason to buy a PC (Score:4, Insightful)
Game consoles really made sense when they were at least 3 times cheaper than a PC, for people who couldn't afford a regular computer, or a second computer for kids. Perhaps Nintendo Wii is still in that league.
Here's All The Stuff From Sony This Week (Score:5, Informative)
http://download.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_home_
Little Big Planet trailer:
http://download.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_littl
Heavenly Sword:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1450
http://www.playsyde.com/news_4067_en.html [playsyde.com]
Tekken 5DR:
19.99 1080p Arcade perfect port available to download from the PSN store
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmB2cV-Lz-w [youtube.com]
Motorstorm:
12 player dedicated server no lag offroad racing with insane physics and crashes
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1103341 [hardforum.com]
Warhawk:
32 player dedicated server air and ground combat game that will be available for download from PSN store
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1445
http://retromovies.ign.com/games/video/article/69
God of War 2:
Nothing needs to be said about this sequel...
http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/811/811719/imgs_1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwaUIShOM54 [youtube.com]
Lair:
1080p dragon game with insanely large levels and armies
http://www.gfdata.de/archiv01-2007-gamefront/2689
HAHAHAH (Score:4, Interesting)
Working Title: (Score:4, Funny)
I can't help but be unimpressed (Score:3, Interesting)
I tell you, Sony's arrogance is truly something to behold. The irony is that they're competing against MS, which had traditionally been known for stealing ideas. This time, it's Sony who appears to be stealing everything. And they don't even appear to be implementing anything particularly well.
Like MS with the Zune, they know that something is cool. They know how to do a superficial knockoff. But they just DON'T GET IT.
-Eric
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
And you call that arrogance?
Interesting.
Re:I can't help but be unimpressed (Score:4, Interesting)
Pretending to be the pioneer of something that your competitors have already done, ESPECIALLY when you have already copied one of your competitors once...that's arrogance.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Have you ever played Second Life? There are ads all over the place!
The difference, I suppose, is that in Second Life, the real estate to place the ads on is acquired through in-game trading and negotiation, but Second Life is the furthest thing from a non-commercial wonderland.
Second Life: The World's Greatest Real Estate And Advertising Market Simulator (tm)
Re:I can't help but be unimpressed (Score:5, Insightful)
What the hell are you smoking? Most products whether you care to admit it or not are ripped off or heavily influenced by products that preceded them. You claim Sony "stole" Second Life, but the fact is that Second Life ripped off from The Sims Online, VRML (and wannabes), IRC, various 3D IRCs and MUDs. And by your reasoning The Sims "stole" from Little Computer Person which "stole" it's ideas from pet ownership. You claim Sony "stole" from the Mii, yet it's funny you don't mention countless MMPORGS that offered customisable characters way before the Mii turned up. Or Mr Potato Head if you care to go that far back. You claim they're knocking off achievements, yet achievements are just an extension of the sort of stats that you could see in GTA III, way before XBox Live popularised them. Or medals / awards in every day life if you care to think that way.
And if you're complaining about Sony "stealing", why not complain about Microsoft or Nintendo stealing. After all Microsoft is producing knockoffs of Gran Turismo with Forza, or GTA with Crackdown, or Pokemon / Dragonball Z with Blue Dragon? And couldn't you claim Nintendo is "stealing" by adding networking to their console after it proved successful in the XBox? Or Nintendo "stealing" a motion controller even though Sony has the patent on it? Or Apple "stealing" ideas from MP3 players which appeared way before the iPod ever did. etc.
The fact is that Sony's think melds and borrows from lots of sources but in that regard it is no worse than any other producer. So why single them out for the bitching? Why claim they're "stealing everything" when it is not obvious at all that they are or have. I wouldn't look at Sony Home and think "they're stealing", it's simply a progression from many things from before. It sure as hell isn't like the Mii or XBox Live Achievements. It's way beyond either and distinct by a long shot.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Tiem will tell. Sony
Kudos to the Sony PR department. (Score:3, Interesting)
My biggest problem with Sony's implementation of these new enhancements and roll out of new features is that it's a little late in the game to be doing so. The console has been on the market now for roughly four months, things such as online markets and features like the Sony Playstation Home should have been completed at launch much like the Nintendo Mii and Microsoft XBox Gamer Tags.
Rolling out major features like this after launch makes it seem like Sony just rushed to release the PS3 with a, "we'll add things as they're finished" mentality. Call them 'catch-up features'.
Although Nintendo has had several 'catch up features' added, such as the Wii channels finally being completed months after launch, I have to give it to Microsoft in that the changes to XBox Live and the dashboard have more or less just been an evolution over the last year and a half since the 360 was introduced. Sure, much more content has been added since it's inception, but nothing radically new has been added.
So my hat goes off to Sony for being able to spin these new 'features' in a positive light, but I guess the question should be asked, Why weren't these features released with the console when the competitors already had them in place?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Is the submitter being sarcastic? (Score:4, Insightful)
Jesus. What planet do they live on? NOBODY CARES! We want good games, and good multiplayer. That's it. But no, instead we get some worthless service that is designed to appeal to the "I spend $50 per month on ringtones" market. Fucking ridiculous.
Wow Slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess it's obvious that Sony can't win here anymore. They integrate what Nintendo did with the Mii system (which was widely praised) and the community of XBox Live (also widely praised) and put their own personal spin on it and take it that much farther, and all you can say is "Fuck Sony". What if they just made a system that mimics XBox Live? "Looks like all Sony can do is copy Microsoft, fuck Sony." What if they just made a system with Mii's like Nintendo? "Looks like all Sony can do is copy Nintendo, fuck Sony." They put their own spin on what they think next-gen console connectivity should be, but obviously it must still be inferior. Why? They're Sony.
That's not even all they're offering. Is no one excited by LittleBigPlanet other than me? Is that not one of the coolest game concepts ever? Hell, Zonk knows it, and he's the one that's supposedly biased against Sony. But no, screw LittleBigPlanet, let's just make remarks like "this all sucks, where are the games?". Let alone when games coming out for the PS3 ARE mentioned, XBox supporters come out of the woodwork saying "Yeah well online will suck they don't have XBox Live". I guess games only matter when Sony doesn't present a ton of games? This is GDC. You'll see games at E3. Give them a break.
Honestly Slashdot, you've let me down. The Digg community has largely kept an open mind about Sony. Finally some good news, and for the most part, there's some good (but skeptical, understandably) reception. I'm not saying Playstation Home is the savior of the PS3, nor am I saying that LittleBigPlanet is the only game that will matter. I'm saying they've demoed some really cool stuff, and yet still they get blasted. Why? Because it's not the same? Because they're not exactly like the 360 or the Wii? I don't get it guys. I really don't.
Re:Wow Slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)
I could be wrong, but half of the reason people get mad at Sony is not what they do but how they do it
"The Revolution sucks! Motion Sensing is a Gimick!"
"Microsoft are Retards for using software emulation for backwards compatibility"
"Achievements are pointless"
It is one thing to take a good idea, it is another to be a complete douche bag while doing it
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think anyone is upset at Sony adding features. They're upset that Sony are being giant hypocrites, and that they're patting their own back when they don't deserve t
Re:Wow Slashdot... (Score:4, Insightful)
We all know Blizzard. They made Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo 2 and some MMO that 8 million people play. They're extremely successful, rake in tons of though, the only games to even compete on top ten selling lists come from Will Wright. Hard to argue that Blizzard isn't successful.
However, they don't innovate.
Every game they make has horde of people yelling about it because it isn't original. Warcraft was precured by Dune, Starcraft stole concepts from Warhammer, Diablo 2 wasn't the first dungeon crawl, WoW is EQ for casual etc. What people miss is the endearing nature of fitting things together. Blizzard doesn't do anything wholly original, but they do bring together other people's ideas extremely professionally.
For both Home and LittleBigPlanet, certainly most of what you see there has been done before. The potential to both of them isn't that they're innovating new features, but that they're bringing them together. Second Life doesn't allow you to find games of CounterStrike, Home does. Mario Bros doesn't involve 4 players working together, LittleBigPlanet does. These are just small portions of the potential at hand.
Whether or not this is successful is another matter altogether.
Parent
Objectivism please. (Score:5, Insightful)
There seems to be a disproportionate amount of negativity concerning Sony's showing. Sony has said a lot of dumb things, they've done a few dumb things, but this does offer hope for Sony.
That is not to say there aren't criticisms to be brought up, I'm just disappointed at how they have been here. Sony may have obtained the ill-will of gamers, but if we're going to tell them they suck at something we can at least do it intelligently. Calling Zonk a Sony fanboy (oh the irony after all the Nintendo and Xbox related accusations), and dismissing the whole keynote as though it was by default terrible are not effective methods of changing reality. The reality is, Sony and the PS3 have seen the first truly good, even awesome, news for them in a long time. It's not all redeeming, it alone will not outweigh all the crap we've faced. However, if you are truly interested in defending the industry against Sony what I've seen above is not how it is done. This is sticking one's head in the sand.
Point out that Home is needlessly complicated, that it won't appeal to causual gamers, that it makes you unconfortable because it seems designed to overly consumerize online communities. Back up these points with expanded statements, compare them fairly to the counterparts of Live and the Mii Channel, but of all things don't simply pan this without paying attention. If you're intent on keeping Sony your beating horse, you're going to have to put effort into it.
Closing your eyes does not rid the world of light.
Interesting (Score:5, Interesting)
A public chat room of console users? With interactive objects and importable pictures and video? Man, thats gonna be nothing but porn, goatse and 13 year olds screaming racist obsceneties! Should be hilarious for the first week or so, especially if its unmodderated. Can you even imagine? 10 000 12 year olds all vying for attention.. Man I just gotta see the cess pool of prepubescent circus freaks that it would create. It's the same feeling I would get from watching car accidents I think.
I predict that this will be a huge hit. People love playing with dolls. Its vanity. I have this friend who plays ps2 basically all day (unemployed). He likes things like dressing up his characters in gta, picking the perfect paint scheme for a car, and he likes showing that shit off. This service is going to be HUGE, and will quite possibly save the console.
$599 for a virtual apartment? I can get a real one (Score:5, Funny)
I want a games console to, you know, play games. Not sit on a virtual couch, watching video on a virtual video screen in a virtual apartment, on my real TV while I sit on my real couch in my real house.
And what's all this blather about "everything is physics based"? To quote, "More interestingly, everything is physics based. Picture frames can be pinned to the wall, and any content on the PS3 is postable up there." What's "physics based" about pinning frames to the wall? Do I have to buy 30-lb rated virtual pins or the physics-based virtual frame crashes to the floor? Then I have buy a virtual broom and sweep it up, watching physics-based glass shards tumble on the floor?
And what's physics-based about having PS3 content in my frame? I can't put PS3 content in my real, physically physics-based picture frame on my real wall in my real house.
I must just be an old, non-physics based, curmudgeon.
How about scaling? (Score:4, Informative)
For me, this is the single issue that has prevented me from ordering a PS3. Most of the new stuff listed announced kind of cool, but probably not the sort of thing I'd use much--certainly not appealing enough to compensate for a fundamental hardware limitation.
Re:Fristy Piston (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:What no real games? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:What no real games? (Score:4, Interesting)
Having been to GDC, I can say that I am highly surprised that they did not announce any games for their console at their keynote, at least as an aside. In order to keep developers excited, or at least publishers to whom they are accountable, you must keep the gamers excited, and the lack of interesting games is definitely contributing to a lack of excitement.
I mean, there is plenty of excitement around the PS3, but it's pretty much all angry. "What?! Six hundred fucking dollars!? What?! Probably too cheap!?!?" etc.
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Worthwhile games are so passe (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I recently got so fed up with being just a "cog in the wheel" that I dropped my WoW account, cancelled Steam, and went to a library. It's gotten so that the only place I can escape ads is in my own head.
Fourth Question (Score:3, Funny)
What a pile of nothing.
Re:Fourth Question (Score:4, Informative)
> I seem to remember a game like this on the PC. Really fun.
I think you are thinking of Porrasturvat, a.k.a. Stair Dismount [jet.ro], a classic "ragdoll physics" simulation game where you push someone down a flight of stairs. Now available for Mac and Linux. There's also an even more painful-looking truck-themed sequel.
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Re:Some Questions (Score:5, Insightful)
Meaning that there's STILL no way for a hobbyist developer to make anything like full use of the hardware?
Look. They *make their money* selling the right to run games on their hardware. You know that half a billion dollars they sunk into developing the thing? They plan to get it back with a fee of about $10 per-title.
They are not being jerks, it's just the reality of the business model. You know making up your loss on selling the razor back on selling the razor blades. If you want an open development environment -- buy a PC. You'll be able to get the same graphics and processing horsepower, just not subsidized by Sony.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
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a. Likely to attract more users to the console, especially older, more wealthy users feeling nostaligic about Digger.
b. Are not likely to be sellable for $10+ profit
c. Are not likely to keep people from buying a professionally developed game.
In the other words, let people develop for PS3, but require them to release their work, including game date, under BSD-style license. This
Re:Some Questions (Score:4, Informative)
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Some Answers (Score:3, Informative)
Second question: did they reveal what kind of bandwidth you're going to need to walk around a virtual world with HD video streaming on billboards?
I didn't hear any comment, but I doubt they're going to have 20 videos blasting in your face. Most of the video content I've downloaded from PSN has been 20 MB at most, so it can't take that long.
Third Question: Playstation Edge. I assume this is only for licensed developers, yes? Meaning that there's STILL no way
Re:Not quite accurate (Score:5, Insightful)
Free
* With the purchase of a PS3
* Clothes, wallpaper, and other items will cost money
* Since there will be freeloaders who avoid buying virtual goods, there's also streaming video advertisements galore to offset the cost of running the servers.
"Free" is one word for it, I guess...
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I wouldn't be surprisded to find out that their avatar stuff is based on SL code.
Re:Are you for real! (Score:5, Funny)
Toolkit for developers - Check
Another online environment with cuter avatars - Check
Some great new games coming out soon - Err.....
And he spoke for how long...?
Oh hold on... he mentioned Singstar. I can hardly wait...
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