Ask Sony's Phil Harrison About PS3 and Games

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.

Retaining PS3 Exclusives

With a number of previously-PS3-exclusive titles having gone multiplatform, are there any efforts to prevent this from occurring further, or is it of little concern to SCE? That is, should we expect to see more PS3-exclusives go multiplatform?

Are Sony and MSFT relevant?

The wii's sales have been meteoric, despite the "superior technology" of the PS3 and XBox 360. My question is, have Sony and MSFT completely underestimated the penetration, and demand for, HDTV, and are you both feeling that now?

On a standard set Wii titles look better than the last gen, and offer an new, innovative, and most importantly fun experience. On a standard set, a PS3 is a $600 PS2, and a 360 is a $400 Xbox.

Also, wrt Live, Home, etc: do you really think gamers are so eager to install stores under our TVs?

Do you have any vision for the online experience, other than as a way to get my credit card number?

Re:Are Sony and MSFT relevant?

On a standard set, a PS3 is a $600 PS2, and a 360 is a $400 Xbox.

So only Nintendo games look better than their last-gen counterparts?

Also, wrt Live, Home, etc: do you really think gamers are so eager to install stores under our TVs?

After having downloaded a fully-featured Worms game for $8, and a fully-featured Tekken game for $20, I can say 100% that they at least should be.

I find it curious that you neglected to mention that Nintendo operates a service that does the exact same thing, though. In fact, Nintendo's online service is almost EXCLUSIVELY for buying things - at least Sony and Microsoft have online gaming.

Cha-ching

Where do I sign up to get the $1200 per system sitting on the shelf in January that Jack Tretton promised?

mod parent up please

It's high time we started holding companies accountable for the wild ramblings of their representatives.

Anyone who believes in fairness and honesty has a moral obligation not to purchase anything from Sony until many helpings of $1200 are released to many people out there. Which of course we know will never happen...

mod up

I second the request to mod this up. I'd like a straight, non marketting response to the ridiculous showboating Sony's been doing lately. This remark especially emphasizes the idea that Sony thinks consumers are a bunch of morons.

Re:Controllers

Now there is a question I have. Why is it that it's the year 2007, the PS3 is a "High Definition" system, and costs $500-$600... yet still only includes the same composite video cables people have been using since the NES 22 years ago?

Blu-Ray and availability

The PS3 has three major problems as I see it; lack of software, price, and lack of availability. The latter two of these three issues have been blamed on the fact that the PS3's Blu-Ray drive requires an expensive and scarce blue laser.

Given the problems that seem to have come with Blu-Ray, does it still look like including the drive in the system was worth it? And if so, was it worth it for the PS3, for the Blu-Ray format, or for both? What steps are being taken to remedy the problems in price and availability?

Competing with XBox Live

Do you really think you can compete with XBox Live?

Last generation, XBox Live really blew people away and has set the standard for console connectivity. It will be 6 years old this November. Microsoft seems to have learned from it and has enhanced it for the 360 (like achievement points), and will be introducing it for Windows. Nintendo, sadly, doesn't seem to have learned and will be using "friend codes" again on the Wii, with reports that each game will use different codes.

How well do you think your offering will be able to compete with XBox Live? While there is a price associated with XBL, making a service free doesn't make up for what may be lost. From what I know the PS3 doesn't seem to have the same focus and commitment that Microsoft has. And while some of your ideas are quite interesting (like the Home concept), I have to wonder if it will be seen as being as well developed and integrated as XBL is at this point.

Do you think you can beat XBL this generation, or do you think you might be relegated to playing catchup?

20gB PS3.

Why is Best Buy discontinuing sales of the 20gB PS3?

Good enough for $600?

Why should I shell out over $500.00 USD to purchase the PS3 when I can purchase an XBOX 360 and/or Nintendo Wii for the same price? Perhaps even buying the two of them and still paying the price of just the PS3. This is not meant to be a jab, just a legitimate questions.

When are we going to see a price drop?

I understand the strategy of never announcing price drops until they're imminent, but the PS3 is not even on many people's radar at the moment, because of the staggering price. The Neo Geo consumer hardware followed a similar price model. Are you even considering price drops on the PS3 hardware?

Ryan Fenton

Sprite based 2D games

@Mr Phil Harrison

There is this old conviction amongst some that Sony's tried to kill sprite based 2D games and is reluctant to let them be published on Playstation consoles.

Is there any truth to this?

Does Sony have a "stance" against on sprite based 2D games on the PS3? Can a game like Odin Sphere be published on the PS3?

Linux PS3 3D games dev

Is there a chance that the policy of restricting access to PS3 graphics hardware (via the hypervisor) could be revised to encourage us homebrew developers?

I have to ask

When does the ps4 come out?

RSX and Cell development

Sir,

Will Sony be offering up kernel patches and an RSX optimized OpenGL library for PS3/Linux?

Homebrew

If someone manages to get homebrew games running on the PS3, will there be firmware updates to stop this kind of development, to protect your software developers, or is homebrew something you are planning on and even encouraging? How does this strategy differ from your strategy with PSP homebrew?

Re:Homebrew

You can run homebrew games under linux on the PS3 today. You don't have full access to the hardware, but that doesn't change the fact.

Re:Homebrew

They do encourage it. They even officially support Linux, and there's a menu option to install it.

No HDTV, Why Should I Get a PS3

I was going to go with something snarky about the price of the PS3, but I've decided to instead make a more direct point.

I don't have an HDTV. As I understand it, the major selling point of the PS3 is its new HD graphics. I currently have no plans on getting an HDTV. So, sell me on why I should get a PS3 given that I have a 13" CRT TV. Would it still be worth it? Will I still be able to play all the same games that HDTV players can? Or will I have to suffer unreadable text or HUD elements that are too small to understand?

Or, can I hook up the PS3 output to my computer monitor using DVI? Right now I'm more willing to upgrade my computer monitor than my TV, so that might work for me, especially given that my TV is smaller than my computer monitor.

Honestly, the lack of an HDTV is the largest reason I'm uninterested in the PS3 right now. There are other reasons, of course, but I'm sure that they'll be brought up plenty of times by other trolls. Uh, I mean, other posters. :)

Long Term

It has been stated many times that the PS3 is meant to last a full 10 years before being replaced with a new iteration of the Playstation brand. With the rate at which technology advances, how realistic is this plan?

While the adoption of HDTVs is on the rise, the current market penetration is still a small fraction. Many aren't inclined or perhaps capable of acquiring an HDTV, which is required for the full PS3 experience. What reason is there to choose the PS3 for an SDTV when the visual difference from the competition is negligible?

The PS3 is expensive, and at the same time is purportedly sold for less than it costs to make. Beyond the frequent debates over price drops and the formidable barrier $500-$600 presents to many gamers is a concern that the PS3 is ultimately doing more harm to Sony, specifically their bank accounts, than good. Is Sony prepared for the possibility that at the end of the console's lifetime, the PS3 will constitute a net loss?

All three systems are currently in a drought when it comes to top-class titles. Whoever pulls out of it first might gain significant momentum. Does Sony plan to try to capitalize on the situation, or do they feel it is better to let the games come out "when they're done"?

Many are concerned that while an interesting idea, Home will ultimately obfuscate the streamlined processes seen in other online services. How is Home addressing this concern?

Killzone made another appearance at the GDC, after having been mysteriously absent from E3 2006. Why is news for this title so rare, especially after having been so crucial to the presentation at E3 2005?

Those are my questions.

Rumble

How long till there is a first party controller with "last-gen" rumble?

Oblig: Rootkit

How can I be certain that putting a PS3 on my home network won't cause a rootkit to be installed on the other devices?

-q

Full GPU access for homebrew

Is there any possibility of letting an 'OtherOS' have full access to the GPU, allowing accelerated and 3D graphics for homebrew developers?

I don't think this has been asked yet...

People on the internet and in the tech media in general have been raking the PS3 and Sony over the coals for probably a good year now, with a noticeable backlash directed towards Sony's PR department. You've taken a lot of fire as one of the main figures in Sony's PR campaign, and I can't count how many times I've seen your name brought up here or on Digg in a negative light. The consensus seems to be that Sony's got a lot of work to do to win over the gaming public.

How, then, is Sony going to go about changing this mindset? There's still plenty of time to go from being viewed as the last place console to being a legitimate contender, if not the forerunner, but there's lots of ground to cover to do that. Are there any plans for this you'd be able to share with us, and any ideas on how long it might take before we see the PS3 in a stronger position than it is now?

On another note entirely, God of War 2 seems to be getting a more favorable reaction than any of the PS3 titles released thus far. Any thoughts on why that might be?

Philosophy of gaming...

What is your personal philosophy regarding the future of videogames as a genre? For example, where do you see games, in terms of social and cultural identification, 20 years from now, and how do you think the nature of the PS3 plays into the culmination of this overall vision?

What inspired Sony to alienate Europe?

Why does Sony consider it a good business move to alienate Europe with a half-year delay and neutered hardware, and why do you still charge more for this inferior product than the US or Japanese consoles?

Mistakes

Now that you have a few months with PS3s in the hands of consumers and plenty of reviews to pour over, what mistakes did Sony make in the design of the system?

Who is the PS3's target?

The PS3 has been identified by many in the industry as not being overly friendly to the developers. For instance the Ps3 takes up approximately 50 more megs than the Xbox 360, while containing weaker tools. The cell processor with it's independent memory has only stymied developers instead of made their life easier. At the same time this causes the consumers to have less games or weaker games available. The consumers are being asked to pay more for a similar system with more games available on it and the same as another system with their HD video attachment.

Who exactly are you aiming the PS3 for? The Developers are having a hard time with it, the consumers are asked to pay a higher price for a machine that has been proven to be on the same level as the 360?

In addition was there any consideration for developer buy-in before shipping the system?

Finally will there be any work made to bridging the gap between what the consumer ultimately wants and are getting? The buyer of a PS3 wants backwards compatibility which is being removed from the European release and possibly future American release. The buyer wants unique games, they don't exactly demand PS Home, they don't need Blu-ray movies, why is the PS3's target goals so different than the PS3's target consumer's goals.

Where's the Innovation and Fun?

I spent $170 to play Katamari Damacy on the PS2. One of the strongest points of the Playstation platform has been some of the quirky and innovative games available on the PS1 and PS2. Some of the games I still play on PS1 and PS2 are those that focused on gameplay over story or random shooting (Bust a Groove, Hot Shots Golf, Katamari, Guitar Hero, Okami). Where are the unique, fun, creative games on the new Playstation platforms, and why don't companies take risks by creating low-budget, creative, and fun titles at a new system's launch?

Gaming System

What are you doing to support the people that want a gaming system, not a home hub, something never to be plugged into a network?

8 processors, limited functionality

I was pleasently surprised at all the different things a PS3 can do. It can play music, show videos, show pictures, play games.

Why is it with 8 processors, it can only do these things one at a time.

I'd like to start it playing music and display a series of pictures and/or videos. It would be useful at parties.
I'd like to start it playing background music, turn off the music in a game and play a game, without listening to "call to battle" or whatever the track is, over and over and over.

"Alternative" gameplay controls

One of the big things Sony touted with the SIXAXIS controller is the motion sensing technology (though I haven't seen it mentioned much in commercials). The debate over whether that was reactionary to Nintendo's Wiimote is a long debate, but it makes me curious- what other kinds of alternative gameplay mechanics have Sony toyed with for the PS3 controllers?

What is your connection to games

No offense intended, but for someone of your age and with your career, I don't expect that you play many videogames yourself. If I am correct, then what do you draw on to make decisions regarding the direction of the PS3, a product directed at customers who are notoriously passionate about their hobby?

plans for a Europe EE version of the console?

Do you envisige a Euro version of the console that includes the EE processor?
From some of the rumours I'v