Sony: Competition May Have “Punched Themselves Out of the Fight”
By Chris on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 12:00 PM PST In Game Companies, Game Consoles, Game Platforms, Gamer Life, Sony, Sony
Sony VP Scott Steinberg had a fairly harsh assessment of the competition that he shared during GDC, claiming “[O]ur competition has already leveraged all their big assets in the first couple of years and may have punched themselves out of the fight.” Clearly, he was pointing at the release of Halo 3 last year and Microsoft’s lack of any blockbuster that has nearly as much weight to release this year. It’s because of this, the victory of Blu-ray and the wide assortment of games being released for PlayStation 3 this year that has Steinberg feeling like 2008 might truly be the year of the PS3.
Steinberg also discussed several other subjects, including the possibility of downloadable TV shows and movies. On this, he said, “We have entertainment leverage and that means music and movies. No other company has that ability or those assets. The PS3 is the hub….you can probably connect the dots. There are a lot of opportunities and I think no other company can bring that in such a neatly tied bow and package to consumers than Sony. Stay tuned!”
That’s not exactly the “coming later this year!” type of endorsement that we would have liked, given how long Sony has been hinting at such a service. What turned out to be more promising, though, was his assertion that we’ll be seeing more in the way of downloadable PSone games, and possibly even PS2 games – from both first and third parties.
As for the status of Home, the reason for the delay in opening the public beta (originally expected last year) is due to the quality not being where Sony wants it to be.
“Our bar is set high for Home, so we haven’t yet announced exposing more people to the beta. It would be a natural extension for us –you start small and broaden. We are in that first stage still and learning lots and taking those lessons to the engineering side and making it as ready for prime time as it can be. We have high expectations so we are not looking to expose some of the early development until it is ready.”
via PS3 Fanboy
“Steinberg also discussed several other subjects, including the possibility of downloadable TV shows and movies. On this, he said, “We have entertainment leverage and that means music and movies. No other company has that ability or those assets.”
Um, I beg to differ tool. I have been able to download movies straight from Xbox Live for over a year now.
Way to not know your competition Sony.
I own both a PS3 and an Xbox and I prefer my Xbox… I don’t really use my PS3 too much. No matter what the Sony fanboys think, PSN sucks. It’s terrible compared to Xbox Live. The only plus to it is that it’s free but I’m willing to pay $3.85 a month for Live. There’re more users, a way better interface, a single Gamertag, etc. And when everyone says “OH THE PS3 GRAPHICS ARE WAY BETTER *moist*,” they really aren’t that much better. Plus, I’d have to say the controller for the Xbox is better. I prefer triggers, a smoother and more ergonomic design, and I also like how the buttons stick out more and click when you press them. I do think the Wireless adapter for the Xbox is some garbage, a hundred bucks for that thing…
Flamebait: And when exactly did Sony enter the fight? With their cavalcade of mediocre games?
Actual content that will be ignored by the above because they’re too busy fretting over their reply: He does have some good points early on, how the competition has thrown its weight out early, but I don’t see where the deal is in that. To me, it lets gamers know that as soon as they buy the console, they have something looking forward to them. PS3 owners had their PS1/2 games. Not exactly saying a whole lot there.
Unmittigatingly, the PS3 is not a hub. No-one plunges their entire media centre into one device, because if one aspect of that fails, then you’ve lost it all to a repair shop. Sure, the PS2 was a means for a DVD player, but that doesn’t mean that it should be your only one. That’s a bit ignorant (but, suggestive of the price of the console, har har).
The one comment I do have an issue with is this,
“We are in that first stage still and learning lots”
The console has already been out for over a year. They should not still be in the ‘first’ stage of anything and damn right they’re learning about stuff, but they’re missing other stuff too. How about advertising? I can guarantee a Nintendo advert at least twice a day. I’ll be lucky if I see ONE PS3 advert a week. How can anyone seriously expect to compete with that? It’s like having a car race between a 600bhp super-car and a 110bhp family car…it’s obvious who is going to come out better.
I really want Sony to hire better PR and advertising people. They really do suck. At least TRY and make the spin convincing?
I can say that the Xbox 360 and microsoft has released alot of great titles already but its better than being delayed and wondering whats next. As for punching them selves out there will be many great games out for both systems, theres always new games being made, its the business.
Sony will have many stelar releases this year so it may be their year to get the ball rolling. But dont count microsoft out, they are also in it for the long haul. I wont list what games either will have out soon or in the future, thats for the fanboys and people who are intrested to find out. But neither company will punch them selves out anytime soon, theres always a 2nd and 3rd round.
@ Joelteon7
The PS3 is a fantastic media hub. Why do you think it won the EISA award last year for best media centre?
http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/news/articles/detail/item79439/%22A-powerful-media-centre%22/
@ ManOfTeal
I appreciate that you were in a hurry to try and attack anything remotely positive said about the PS3 but try reading what you quoted again dimwit.
He said: We have entertainment leverage and that means music and movies. No other company has that ability or those assets.”
In case you were unaware he is talking about the fact that they own Sony Pictures, MGM and BMG amongst others. Sure other games consoles can show movies and music but unlike them Sony own a lot of the company’s that make the stuff in the first place which is why he specifically mentioned leverage.
The fact is there isn’t a single game being released exclusively on the 360 from now on that anyone who doesn’t already own a 360 gives a shit about. There are still around 100m PS2 owners who haven’t upgraded yet and there is no reason at all why they will pick a 360 over a PS3. Sure the 360 is better online but what difference is that going to make to a PS2 owner? They wont know that and they will care even less. The PS3 has more features, its more reliable and it has loads of exclusives they were playing on the PS2.
Worldwide so far this year the PS3 has outsold the 360 in every region, every week in 2008 so far an that’s before any of its big titles have been released and before it has launched its full online service. Its also at a time when the 360 is selling in most of the world at nearly half the price of the PS3.
Game over.
@ Norbit
I’m sure you’d agree that there’s a difference between capability and physical use though. Most people use one thing for a dedicated use; ie. stereos for music, TV for watching etc. The PS3, just like its predecessor, will be a blu-ray player, but when blu-ray specific players come down in price, people will buy them and the PS3 will become less of one. Being able to do a lot is cool, but what if I don’t want to put everything on there? The fact remains that yes, it easily has the capability, but I very strongly doubt that it is used for its full potential because people simply use other goods.
Perhaps that’s a general flaw that we have, in that we could save money, but I think there’s some common sense there. Take, for example, the idea that the PS3 breaks down. You’ve lost your entire media hub. That sucks, doesn’t it? But, hey, your friend whose PS3 broke ain’t too upset, because he’s got devices that do the other device better, because they’re specifically designed for that. Besides, that’s just suggesting ‘jack of all trades’…which we all know ends with ‘master of none’.
Again, not saying the PS3 ain’t capable, but, I’m saying that there’s too much in it.
@Norbit
Did it occur to you that the 360 came out a year before the PS3? Give the PS3 another year, and unless MGS4 JUST came out in a year, then sales will probably be dropping. It’s simply the life of a product. Eventually, the people that really want one will already have one, so why buy another one? And there’s your decreased sales. Meanwhile, the PS3 is getting into it’s “selling year”, where the price vs performance ratio is right for a lot of people, and it’s being sold a lot more.
Norbit: “There are still around 100m PS2 owners who haven’t upgraded yet and there is no reason at all why they will pick a 360 over a PS3. Sure the 360 is better online but what difference is that going to make to a PS2 owner? They wont know that and they will care even less.”
That seems a bit presumptive. Just because someone was a PlayStation 2 owner (and that also presumes they don’t own any other gaming system) doesn’t meant they haven’t heard or are interested in Xbox Live. As for there being ‘no reason,’ just because a game like Halo 3 has already been released doesn’t mean that doesn’t remain a reason to pick up a 360.
You’re right on their ownership rights of the Sony media stuff. Being able to exclusively offer, say, Casino Royale would be a major plus for Sony, but it remains to be seen how and when they’ll actually pull off their download service.