Slashdot Log In
Sony's Harrison on Sony Arrogance
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Jul 14, 2006 04:30 PM
from the it-is-opposite-day dept.
from the it-is-opposite-day dept.
Joystiq had the chance to exchange a few words with Sony's Phil Harrison at the UK Develop Conference. They asked him some hard questions about the crazy comments that have been coming out of the company since E3. From the article: "There's always going to be a risk when you are market leader for ten years that we start to lose perspective; and we have to make sure that we don't lose perspective. But I don't think we're arrogant, I think we have to recognize that we're in a highly competitive industry and that anything that we say will be eternally editorialized by professionals and consumers alike. So we're always in the spotlight." After the tape was off he snarked that he hadn't been asked very nice questions. Poor guy, having to answer questions that aren't 'How awesome is the PS3 going to be?'
Related Stories
[+]
A Chat With Phil Harrison 27 comments
Next Generation sat down with Phil Harrison after the Sony keynote last week, and they discuss the PS3, the PlayStation Network, and Harrison's place in the company. From the article: "Q: Aren't retailers going to be slightly annoyed that they're selling this hardware for next-to-no margin, just so the software can ultimately be sold directly via downloads? A: I completely disagree with that. The software business for PlayStation 3 will continue to grow. PlayStation 2 has more software on it than PlayStation 1 - more units sold in more countries to a wider demographic of consumers. PlayStation 3 will continue to grow the market and will generate a bigger opportunity for everybody - retailers, developers, and publishers alike. So I do not accept your statement that retail is going to be in any way affected by this other than positively."
[+]
Jeff Minter on Sony's Arrogance 200 comments
Regular Edge columnist Jeff Minter has lashed out at Sony over what he perceives as incredible arrogance on the console-maker's part. From the BBC article: "Mr Minter, writing in his regular column for Edge, said: 'They seem absolutely certain that even when they say it's going to be considerably more expensive than existing consoles... nevertheless us eager customers will rush out in droves to buy it because it's, hey, a new PlayStation.'"
[+]
More PS3 Words From the Horse's Mouth 78 comments
Game|Life had the chance to sit down with Ken Kutaragi, Phil Harrison, and Kaz Hirai; Chris Kohler has some details on things left unsaid at the PS3 conference. From the article: "Q: You're the head of Sony's worldwide development studios. What the hell is up with that Africa game? A: Video games have a function in life, and that is: wish fulfillment. You can become a mercenary, a fighter pilot. On PS3, we can expand the realm of that experience. Africa allows you to experience a very interesting part of the world, a safari in the plains of Africa. The gameplay is entirely non-violent. You don't kill the animals. It emphasizes the positives rather than the negatives. It's about collecting experiences and keeping them for posterity."
[+]
Why Sony Needs a 'Major Nelson' 84 comments
Microsoft's 'Major Nelson' and executive Peter Moore have been visible representatives of the 360 console for well over a year now. 'Grandfather of Gaming' Shigeru Miyamoto and asskicking Reggie Fils-Aime have have preached the Wii concept through good writeups and bad name jokes. Sony ... well, Sony has Ken Kutaragi, Phil Harrison, and Kaz Hirai. They say helpful things like 'we don't care', and 'disks won't matter', and (my personal favorite) 'the PS3 is a computer'. RPG Site has a compelling argument stating that Sony needs a Major Nelson to cut through this crazy executive talk, and reconnect the company with real gamers. From the article: "While it's not something that appeals to every group of people that play games - the casual market and kids, for example, the existence of these people allows the part of the market that is most opinionated - the core gamers, those who have a very clear opinion on what they want and what is good and bad - to interact with somebody who can actually bring about change. Hell, on a lesser note, it even gives the fanboys someone to worship."
[+]
Sony Defends Rumble Loss 145 comments
Eurogamer reports on comments from Sony defending the loss of rumble in the SIXAXIS controller. "'I think the caveat to that statement always has to be based on the fact that when we make a pad, we're making maybe 150, 200 million of them,' Harrison explains. 'So it has to be done at a price, and it has to be done at a volume that fits our production requirements. I think the decision that we've made to build in the SIXAXIS functionality, and Bluetooth wireless, and great battery life, and all the other functionality that comes with it, far outweighs the chatter that we're getting on vibration. And, it's incredibly light! Just pick it up!'"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Dear Zonk (Score:4, Insightful)
You are not a journalist nor a competent editorial writer. Please post your snarky comments (in response to others' snarky comments) in the comments section like I'm doing, so that they may be voted "+5, Taking potshots at the market share leader in a given field."
Re:Dear Zonk (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
^^ Phil Harrison (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Dear Anonymous Fanboi, (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't give a damn if they're #1 or #100, frankly I don't like Sony due to all the crap they've been pulling of late like the rootkits.
And I'm sick of fanbois who act like "oh no, our precious Sony! they gave us the Playstation, you can't criticize them!"
Face it: Sony sucks. And I don't care how good their games are, or even if the PS3 lives up to the hype. I won't buy it because I won't endorse the things Sony has done. They "promise" not to use the patent that kills our ability to rent (or even loan!) games to others, but don't explain why they hell they bothered to patent it if that's true (umm, yeah, so our competitors can't sue us for infringing upon it when we're not, umm, going to do that! suuuurrre....) or how we can ever trust them again after the rootkit?
Parent
Not about the PSP, they're not. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Not about the PSP, they're not. (Score:3, Insightful)
One "zonked" tag to go please (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:One "zonked" tag to go please (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:One "zonked" tag to go please (Score:5, Interesting)
Compare that to MS who while not great did show a wide variety of games and had some good announcements (GTA no longer exclusive to PlayStation for one).
Then there was the "little guy", Nintendo. A fantastic showing of tons of games that got tons of press. People were interested in much of it. Wii Sports, Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Red Steel, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and more. Name 7 big upcoming games off the top of your head for either other system.
I've gotta say, I thought the PS3 would be a scarce but big hit with great graphics. Now I'm starting to get much more interested as it seems the PS3 will be overpriced with great graphics and a fair helping of "what are they doing now."
Parent
Well there's a story (Score:3, Interesting)
Well now that you mention it, there was an interview [ign.com] with the same Warhawk developers that were the ones that stated they got the controllers just a few weeks before E3 - in the interview it said the statement had been misconstrued; Sony in fact had let them know about the tilt feature much earlier but had only delivered physical controllers with the tilt sensors built in a few weeks before E3. The exact words:
Actually, Incognito has secretly been working with
Re:One "zonked" tag to go please (Score:3, Interesting)
This isn't a negative story. This isn't a story at all. This is 100% content free. The non-biased thing would be to ignore it.
And that's my comment on your comment on zonk's bias for posting an article about a Sony exec's comment on joystiq's question about the feeling that there was arrogance percieved in Sony execs' previous comments. Write a blog post about it. It's sooooo relevan
$599 is fine (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:$599 is fine (Score:3, Interesting)
On the one hand, you're right. I think MS should have done that. Just put all the console up for bid in one giant eBay auction and let people pay what they are willing to.
That said, it doesn't have to be that way. I bought TWO PS2s on launch day in a major metro area for the launch price without having to sit in line from 2:00 AM or something. I could have easily done the same for the 360 launch or the XBox launch without any problem.
But with the PS3 instead of having a choice of trying on my own or payin
And $500 is better (Score:3, Interesting)
$500 is also very expensive, no need to raise the figure any to complain about price.
That said, I totally agree with your point. Pretty much all through December I don't think a 360 sold on eBay (any model) for less than $800 - Sony I think is just
General Motors execs used to sound like that (Score:4, Funny)
Company spokesman says company is doing fine (Score:3)
Here we go again. (Score:3, Insightful)
News flash: Jeff Minter is Nobody [tri-bit.com]. Film at never.
(His two famous games are a Robotron ripoff and a sequel to someone else's game which is essentially a graphics upgrade and a speed boost. Most people have to look him up online to even come up with another one of his games. C'mon. Arrogant means to exaggerate your own worth in an overbearing manner, and here's some guy who has released 40 games, the sum total of which don't outsell even one game in the Playstation2 Top 100, talking about Sony's full of it because he doesn't like their new price line? Pots and kettles, man.)
If they REALLY want to ask tough questions... (Score:5, Insightful)
Quoth Phil Harrison to Spiegel Online: This was part of his response to a question relating to the tilt controller, specifically wanting a response to those who thought they stole the idea. My question is two-fold: First, what are you hiding? It should be easy to relate the design process that ended with having a tilt controller (needing a feature now that they can't have dual-shock would have been more than sufficient). However, you simply called the allegations "stupid" and tried to move on as quickly as possible.
My second question (and the most pressing): Why are you LYING to the public about Sony's achievements? And before you get upset about the question, let me point out my proof:
- 1980: Atari releases Battlezone. This game featured real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics, and was also (technically) an FPS.
- 1992: Sega releases Virtua Racing in the arcades. The game was composed almost entirely of real-time 3D graphicsf.
- February 23, 1993: Nintendo releases Star Fox for the SNES. The major selling point of the game was real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics.
- November 22, 1994: Sega debuts the Saturn, which is fully capable of providing real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics. Titles such as Daytona USA sell extremely well among owners of the system. This same year, Virtua Racing is ported to the Genesis, and Virtua Racing Deluxe is released for the 32X.
- December 3, 1994: Sony releases the Playstation, which was originally to become a CD add-on for the SNES to compete with the SegaCD.
This clearly shows your assertion that "...we introduced the concept of real-time computer-generated 3-D-graphics for the first time..." to be flat-out wrong. This is all commonly available information, which someone authorized to speak on Sony's behalf should know off the top of their head. So I ask again, why the lying? If it was intentional, then you have only proven the arrogant desperation of your company. If it was a mistake, then you are proving yourself unqualified to speak for an entire company. Unfortunately, I am inclined to believe that it was intentional in light of Kaz Hirai's statement of "...With our original PlayStation, we ushered in the era of the CD-ROM and 3-D..."So to conclude, you may not think of yourselves as arrogant, but your words and actions say otherwise.
Re:Have you stopped beating your wife? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't see that as badgering Sony. It is asking relevant questions. Had the question been "Why are you so arrogant" it would have been a different story. The questions were asking for responses to accusations, not accusing in themselves.
Parent
Have you stopped r00ting your customers? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, Sony have given some world class stupid answers lately. I think the ones that did the most damage were.
Now that was arrogance.
Is it surprising if their other business interests get tarred with the same brush? I know it changed my mind a
Re:Have you stopped beating your wife? (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Arrogant? (Score:3, Insightful)
The facts are that the best hardware does not lead to the market leading position (something Sony should know
Thanks for playing FUD (Score:3, Insightful)
Nintendo hasn't "given up trying to compete technologically", they never did in the first place. Nintendo is about games, not marketing numbers or CPU/GPU power like Microsoft or Sony. Anyone remember the PS2's "emotion engine"?
As for calling the Wii controller a "gimmick" or even a "pointing device", you don't even know what you're talking about.
Pot...Kettle...Black? (Score:5, Informative)
60-70% of the Japanese retail find your competitor more interesting/capable.
65-70% of the Japanese develoupment houses interest rests with your competitors.
65-75% of Japanese consumer market interested in buying your competitor's product citing the #1 reason as "cost" against your product.
And in Famijitsu, THE japanese gaming mag...you are pulling 5% more popularity in Japan than the Xbox 360... (* That right there alone should be causing panic!)
Sources:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_cont
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_cont
Parent
Re:Arrogant? (Score:3, Insightful)
What, and a seven-way processor isn't a gimmick?