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Old 01-21-2009, 02:55 AM   #1
Blastoise
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Gaming news dump: the industry done gone retarded

Hirai: If at first you don't succeed, redefine success

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Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai has dismissed Microsoft and Nintendo as competitors because he sees PlayStation as the "official" industry leader, writes Eurogamer.net.

"This is not meant in terms of numbers, or who's got the biggest install base, or who's selling most in any particular week or month, but I'd like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry," Hirai told Official PlayStation Magazine.

"It's difficult to talk about Nintendo, because we don't look at their console as being a competitor. They're a different world, and we operate in our world - that's the kind of way I look at things.

"And with the Xbox - again, I can't come up with one word to fit. You need a word that describes something that lacks longevity," he added.

Brandishing Sony's commitment to a ten year plan, Hirai said he wants customers to feel confident their PlayStation console will not "fall by the wayside in five years" - a milestone Microsoft has yet to overcome, he pointed out.

"And," offered Hirai, "unless things go really bad, there's no way that at the end of a life cycle our competition is going have a higher install base."

Hirai also addressed the complex architecture of the PS3, which developers have openly struggled to get to grips with.

"We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?" explained Hirai.

He picked God of War as an example of gameplay changing during the long life of the PS2, and said that sort of learning curve will be the same with PS3.

"So it's a kind of - I wouldn't say a double-edged sword - but it's hard to program for, and a lot of people see the negatives of it, but if you flip that around, it means the hardware has a lot more to offer," he said.

Wrapping things up, Hirai said the PlayStation 3 "won't radically change" over the next few years in the same way the New Xbox Experience revamped the competition.

He hopes PlayStation Home will help, by growing to a point where one type of consumer buys the PS3 solely for the virtual world, before discovering games for the system.

"We want to expand the demographics from just a videogaming audience to something that's a little bit more massive," Hirai concluded.
Bolded for notable insanity. Wii and XBox aren't competitors? Hard to program for = MOAR POWAH? What the flying fuck?

IGN: Ever wonder how publishers can avoid making games for the current console leader? Well now you know!

Quote:
IGN: Tell us what happened. Why didn't this game find a publisher? What was the general reaction?

Dan: We pitched Winter tirelessly for months. The response was universally positive. Every single PD department was very excited about it and confident about moving forward. The look, the story, the overall tone and genre, the gameplay mechanics -- it all came together to create something very compelling for the Wii, something that got gamers excited.

With each presentation would come a wave of enthusiastic follow-ups from the publisher. There was so much clamor for the title it was, frankly, kind of overwhelming. We left GDC that year feeling very confident about placing the title quickly and on our terms.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. In almost every case we got hung up with the sales and marketing groups. They simply could not get behind a survival horror title on the Wii. In spite of great sales for Resident Evil 4 and the Umbrella Chronicles, these groups were unable to support the projections required to create a viable P&L for the title. The idea of an "adult" game on what they perceived to be a "kids" console was simply too big a leap for them, regardless of the enthusiastic support of the PD department and the Wii's total domination in the marketplace.

IGN: Aren't publishers creating a Catch 22 situation with their refusal to release darker content on Wii? It'll never sell if they don't help create and sustain an audience for it.

Dan: Sure, but I think that's just one symptom of a larger problem. Publishers are missing a lot of opportunities on the Wii. They can't apply their standard approaches to this platform. Risk analysis and sales projection techniques developed over the past 20-plus years of console development no longer apply, which makes folks very uneasy. They don't want to stick their necks out with a sales projection when they aren't able to cite comparable products. Pitching anything that isn't a kid's game for the Wii is an uphill battle.

Publishers still say to us on a regular basis, "we're still trying to figure out the Wii." It's been over two years since the launch and over three since n-Space first put our hands on prototype controllers. It's kind of ironic really -- you've got this console built on innovation, a console written off by many from day one, that now totally dominates the market, and yet many publishers still hesitate to follow suit with innovative games in all genres.

You have to give Nintendo credit for all this -- the biggest coup in the history of gaming. Lots of publishers talk about innovation, Nintendo bet everything on it and won big. I'm proud to say that n-Space understood this from day one.

It's great to see SEGA's recent comments about opportunity in the hardcore gamer market on the Wii. They seem to understand that the Wii's huge marketshare is not just new gamers, but includes all the diehards as well. Perhaps the tides are beginning to turn.

IGN: Did the fact that the game was an original IP prove part of the problem?

Dan: That's definitely part of it. New IP is always a tough sell. It's a bigger investment and a bigger risk. But the potential upside is also much greater for everyone involved. Whenever we would remind publishers of Resident Evil sales numbers on the Wii they'd wave it off, saying, "but that's Resident Evil." Of course, you can only make RE4 if you have the courage to try RE1.

Some publishers did suggest tying another license to the concept. This wasn't something we were opposed to, but it didn't get a deal signed either. Ultimately, it was a combination of factors that kept us from finding a home for Winter, most related to publishers having to go out of their comfort zone.
Fucking Christ, it's like reading the caricatures in a Malstrom article, except they actually exist. OH FUCK GUYS A HORROR GAME ON THE WII? THAT WON'T SELL NOW IMAGINE: COLONOSCOPYZ THAT FUCKER'LL SELL GANGBUSTERS
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Last edited by Blastoise; 01-21-2009 at 10:02 AM.
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Old 01-21-2009, 03:47 PM   #2
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The gaming industry have their collective heads up their asses? :O
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Old 01-21-2009, 09:16 PM   #3
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They're a different world, and we operate in our world - that's the kind of way I look at things.
I see what Sony did there.

I'm also not surprised at the Wii being typecast as a general audience/children console, given Nintendo's history as a family-friendly company. Of course, why can't we have a third party publisher port it to the Wii, Nintendo doesn't have to have an official hand in it aside from getting royalties right? I think back to Conker and wonder if maybe Conker was considered juvenile too...
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Old 01-21-2009, 10:58 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Doppleganger View Post
I see what Sony did there.

I'm also not surprised at the Wii being typecast as a general audience/children console, given Nintendo's history as a family-friendly company. Of course, why can't we have a third party publisher port it to the Wii, Nintendo doesn't have to have an official hand in it aside from getting royalties right? I think back to Conker and wonder if maybe Conker was considered juvenile too...
Conker had a giant boss made out of shit and you're seriously asking this question?
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Old 01-24-2009, 08:55 PM   #5
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It was mature, but perhaps is considered less so than comparable titles with more blood/gore/sex and without the slapstick. "Crude themes" aren't viewed in the same light in entertainment as violence, which itself plays second fiddle to sexuality.

After reading more about Winter, sans the supernatural edge it seems like a really interesting and lucrative title, especially since Resident Evil has apparently moved beyond its survival-horror niche. Maybe the lack of a publisher is more due to companies acting conservative in tough times, rather than a "Wii must be pure" mentality?
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Old 01-24-2009, 09:35 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Blastoise View Post
Conker had a giant boss made out of shit and you're seriously asking this question?
He sang a song about poo.

It was funny.
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Old 01-27-2009, 05:46 PM   #7
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Lots of publishers talk about innovation, Nintendo bet everything on it and won big.
Still not seeing that innovation guys. So a gesture replaces a button press. We're still playing the same old Nintendo games. Besides the fact that its just a more streamlined version of those numerous plug & play games!

Not that I'm saying PS3, 360, PSP, DS games are innovative either cause they're the same old stuffs to. And before anyone argues, the DS lost its innovative edge years ago soon after becoming popular in the US. Now its just portportport, remakeremakeremake, and strangely enough, sequels with even less touchscreen use!

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Originally Posted by Holy Emperor
The gaming industry have their collective heads up their asses? :O
Pretty much! This generation sucks but I kinda hope that it will last looooong. Not ready to upgrade again ~_~
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Old 01-29-2009, 01:33 PM   #8
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Still not seeing that innovation guys. So a gesture replaces a button press. We're still playing the same old Nintendo games. Besides the fact that its just a more streamlined version of those numerous plug & play games!
I have to disagree with this in some respects. Like the touchscreen on the DS you need to get it right, but when it works it works. Aimed items like the hookshot and bow in Twilight Princess are a million times better with motion controls, same thing with the celestial brush in the Wii version of Okami. I also like No More Heroes' use of the controls: they're minimal in the actual combat but they're used to great effect to add visceral "oomph" (you performing killing blows by swinging the Wiimote).

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Pretty much! This generation sucks but I kinda hope that it will last looooong. Not ready to upgrade again ~_~
It probably will. Sony's trying to recoup losses on the PS3, Microsoft is happy to be shitting all over Sony and Nintendo isn't likely to release a new console if they keep selling Wiis faster than they can make them.

Of course I shouldn't be talking, really. I think I've spent the overwhelming amount of time on my "next-gen" DS and now PSP, so eh.
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