Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments
Search

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Slashdot Log In

Log In

Create Account  |  Retrieve Password

Ask Sony's Phil Harrison About PS3 and Games

Posted by Zonk on Mon Mar 19, 2007 02:21 PM
from the everybody-be-cool dept.
PlayStation (Games) Sony
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.
+ -
story

Related Stories

[+] Games: Sony Keynote Offers Hope For PlayStation 3 Fans 361 comments
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.
[+] Games: 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.
[+] Phil Harrison Answers Your Questions 185 comments
Right around this time last month, we asked for your questions to pass on to President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison. With the launch of the PlayStation 3 console in Europe, Mr. Harrison has had kind of a full month. He still found us the time to answer your questions, and today we have them to read. Below are his very thorough responses to the questions you posed, ranging in subject from the European delay to the public perception of SCEA. Make sure to give them a look, and many thanks again to Mr. Harrison for his time.
[+] Games: PS3 Firmware Update, Heavenly Sword Demo This Week 72 comments
PlayStation 3 owners are getting a couple of new toys this week. The official Sony blog has announced that the US will see firmware update 1.90 within the next few days. Gamasutra has further details on the patch, which includes a number of functionality improvements: "Ability to rearrange games on the XMB, Option menu now includes 'eject disk', Press triangle to eject games/CDs/movies in the XMB, XMB backgrounds, Change the folder classification, Emoticons, Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz, Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI, Change PS3 video settings in-game, 'Bit Mapping' in the 'Music Setting', Save AVCHD type animations from a Memory Stick, Change settings like upscaling while playing PS and PS2 games, Add bookmarks, Web browser security function in the browser's tool section." Indications are also that a demo for Heavenly Sword will be coming soon. Europe is getting it this Thursday, with no firm word on a US date yet.
Offsite: 1up Interview
Offsite: Wired Interview
Offsite: Gamasutra Interview
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.

Ask Sony's Phil Harrison About PS3 and Games 25 Comments More /

 Full
 Abbreviated
 Hidden
More
Loading... please wait.

  • Retaining PS3 Exclusives (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Sciros (986030) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:25PM (#18404061) Journal
    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?

  • Cha-ching (Score:5, Funny)

    by the_nightwulf (1003306) * on Monday March 19 2007, @02:28PM (#18404095)
    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 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by drinkypoo (153816) <martin.espinoza@gmail.com> on Monday March 19 2007, @02:40PM (#18404259) Homepage Journal

      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 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Unit3 (10444) on Monday March 19 2007, @03:05PM (#18404555) Homepage
      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.

  • 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 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MBCook (132727) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Monday March 19 2007, @02:29PM (#18404121) Homepage

    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?

  • Good enough for $600? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by madsheep (984404) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:30PM (#18404127) Homepage
    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? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RyanFenton (230700) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:30PM (#18404129)
    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 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2007, @02:31PM (#18404155)
    @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 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2007, @02:31PM (#18404165)
    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 (Score:5, Funny)

    by stim (732091) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:32PM (#18404169) Homepage
    When does the ps4 come out?
  • Sir,

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

  • Homebrew (Score:5, Insightful)

    by flitty (981864) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:42PM (#18404277)
    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?

  • No HDTV, Why Should I Get a PS3 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by _xeno_ (155264) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:42PM (#18404283) Homepage Journal

    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. :)

  • Rumble (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SuperCharlie (1068072) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:45PM (#18404329)
    How long till there is a first party controller with "last-gen" rumble?

  • Oblig: Rootkit (Score:5, Funny)

    by Qfour20 (181633) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:49PM (#18404369)
    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 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Tikiman (468059) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:54PM (#18404423)
    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... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Gothic_Walrus (692125) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:54PM (#18404425) Journal
    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... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 7Prime (871679) on Monday March 19 2007, @02:59PM (#18404483) Homepage Journal
    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? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ant P. (974313) on Monday March 19 2007, @03:00PM (#18404497) Homepage
    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 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mothlos (832302) on Monday March 19 2007, @03:01PM (#18404503)
    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?

  • Gaming System (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sqlrob (173498) on Monday March 19 2007, @03:08PM (#18404595)
    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?

    • Spare me the PR answer (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2007, @03:02PM (#18404507)
      Here's their standard sales pitch:

      1. Cell processor, capable of incredible graphics and physics simulations
      2. Blu-Ray, so you can watch movies at 1080p and listen to their excellent surround
      3. Backwards compatibility.

      While none of these claims are false, they all come with some limitations:

      1. The Cell processor is difficult to program for, so don't expect games to use it fully for at least a couple of years, if ever.
      2. You need a 1080p tv and a mid-to-high-end surround receiver to get the full experience of Blu-Ray
      3. BackComp - It's limited, but it's there.

      Frankly, your question was rather soft and almost looks like an astroturf. You might as well have asked "Please praise your system and tell us how good it is." I have no idea how you're getting moderated up.

    • Re:Are Sony and MSFT relevant? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by DrEldarion (114072) on Monday March 19 2007, @03:08PM (#18404593) Homepage

      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.

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.