PS3 a platform for programmers to realise potential
Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi has discussed SCEI's business strategy.
Speaking in an interview with Japanese website PC Impress Watch, Kutaragi said that Sony will not be following the traditional model of hardware, content, and royalties - something he referred to as a product of the Nintendo era. He said "our message is clear: hardware is our business," adding that the plan is to make the PS3 "a common platform, on which top programmers can realize their full potential."
It's not all about the PS3 though - Sony has committed to the future of the PS2 and will continue to support the platform with first-party titles. "[With the PS2] we're putting out a considerable amount of content. But we don't step on third-party companies' toes; it's more of a friendly rivalry."
Kutaragi also had time to address the PlayStation 3's high price point, explaining that it's all down to brand perception. Using Apple as an example he said that "Steve Jobs could slap an Apple logo on the PS3 and sell them for $2,000 each," which is something he says Sony couldn't do.
Also in the interview, Kutaragi revealed more information on the PlayStation 3's PC-like capabilities, pointing out that the console would have no problems running popular Operating Systems such as Windows, Linux, and OS X. He said that "to the PS3, an OS is like any other application," but added "I think that perhaps you'll see a general purpose Cell [built-in] OS."
User Comments
Cable@ mike
I plan on buying a PS3 myself because I love the titles that Sony brings to the gaming world and to 360 has to many FPS and sports games compared to other genre. I will purchase all of the consoles because I would like to see these consoles fighting it out for or money a little competition is good. I don't think Sony forgot about its gaming fans because I know I would lover larger more detailed games even if they are on blu ray. Another way to look at is the fact that people are still buying cd players for the same price as the PS3.
I am not so sure that HD DVD will become the format of choice according to some sites Sony and there partners will be able to control roughly 36% of the market with blu ray while HD-DVD does not have any area in the DVD market yet. I have also read that the average blu ray disk will only cost around $23.45 for new movies and $17.99 older ones. If this is true Sony may actually be able to succeed with blu ray but you never know whatÂ’s going to happen until it does.
Exnor@ mike
mohit@ mike
People say BLu Ray is the future, its next gen, the thing is none of that is certain at this point, I remeber feeling bad that I didnt have a LaserDisc player, and remember Betamax, look at movie sales for UMD, its just not a sure fire future media format yet. So imagine paying 600$ then saying "its ok, its does Blu Ray movies too" only to have HD DVD become the format of choice. Whiole 600$ may be a small price to pay for some, it will not be for most, and since people who buy consoles want to play games, they will be inclined to purchase cheaper alternatives, like the 360 and especially the Wii. Also dont use the first few months after the PS3 launches to predict the future. I'm talking about the long run here.
This is where things get interesting, IF Blu Ray really takes off, then Sony are in the money big time because the industry will be using their proprietary format, which means ALOT of cash flowing Sonys way, but to make certain that Blu RAy has a good chance of adoption, they put it into their PS3, why? so that every time people buy the PS3, they buy a Blu Ray player, getting alot of blu ray players out there is important (statistically) when studios are looking at deciding what format to choose for movie distribution.
I think Sony is piggybacking the Blu Ray onto the ps3, because the Playstation brand is a juggernaut of sorts. All in all its a clever plan, its gutsy too. It will be very interesting to see how things play out.
Plus none of these companies are charities so stop trying to make out that only MS is evil.
Anonymous@ mike
scott@ mike
Carebear@ mike
Just think. PC for the win.
not a fan boy@ mike
Blue@ mike
Blue@ mike
And please Yeah they might have a good backing of games but please, MGS4 and Grand Turismo is way past its due by date. It wouldnt be worth the disc its put on. There is one thing for certain, Sony know how to bleed things dry thats for sure. And atleast Rockstar has come to the sensible conclusion that the 360 is worth the GTA on it, with sony not having an Exclusive right to it hahaha.
But with regards to the 2 packs Sony is bringing out HOW ORIGINAL, they are only following the the example set by Microsoft. And With regards to the comment above how the xbox 360 looks better than PC games, well depending on what graphics card u got of course its going to be, and please there are some games that do. And u would think sony could come up with another original idea about the Live thing, Microsoft has set the example for that and sony like the little sheep they are, are trying to beat microsoft in it, Please it will only result in Sony wanting to charge more for this and that. Please there is no big woop about the Blue-Ray really, wow it can hold more woop dee doo, they have to have a good game for that and i dont reckon its going to take over the standard dvd in a hurry, its like to bloody expensive.
I reckon Sony couldnt fight their way out of a paper bag really. I reckon the only reason y sony will beat microsoft in the markets IF IT HAPPENS, will be because of all the mindless drones that are following them and dont want to stretch their minds and find something different, they are all Sheep. I reckon the Wii console will be quite good and beat sony, they have an original idea(unlike sony) and are going all out to fully benefit the controller, it will be nice to see nintendo out sell sony. And its cheaper, unlike the sony, Please harddrive space is only good if u are going to fill it up, please who in their right mind will put 60gb of stuff on their console, thats what a computer is for DAH. Unless the saved games are going to be huge. And another thing, Xbox live anywhere is going to rock because people on computers and consoles can play games, it opens up a whole new can of whoop ass.
And please people if they had a brain and didnt have others think for them would buy an xbox360. Please ssj-04 reckons that no one wants to buy one, well please if they are in the millions of sales, then i think someone if very SPECIAL ED and stupid to think that no one wants to buy the 360. I used to be a fan of sony but now, im all Microsoft, because they arnt afraid to change and be different. Who cares if there is not special sensory thing in the controller atleast they havent changed to follow the trend. I think i have got my point across. SONY PEOPLE ARE SHEEP. they need to really step outside the box and try something different. who knows u mite like it. And just dont go on what other people say, really things like my friend has one so i will get one and so on and so on, really that is just following the trend and being a Sheep and not willing to look outside the box. Try a wii console when it comes out, try a 360. Who cares if u are different, atleast u will have something that u like not because u cant think for yourself. 360 ROCKS. that all i got to say, Wii is second best, with SONY FALLING FLAT ON THEIR ASS.
ssj-04@ mike
lets see what Sony and M$ have to offer:
300$ Core Xbox 360:
-Dosn't come with 20gb of 3.5 hdd (no hard drive)
-Need memory stick to save games play (40-60$)
-upgrade to 20gb hdd will cost you 100$
--Dvd player (dvd-9 disc is 7.9gb of storage)
-Enternet port
-Xbox LIve for online gaming 50-70$ a years.
---------------------------------------------------------
total: 300$ (with mem stick: 340-360$)
400$ Premiun Xbox 360:
-20gb 3.5 hdd Gaming System
-Dvd player (dvd-9 disc is 7.9gb of storage)
-Enternet port
-Xbox LIve for online gaming 50-70$ a years.
---------------------------------------------
total: 450$ to 470$
M$ also coming out with a HD-DVD player add on to the 360 with no HDMI output that dosn't play games only play hd movies for: 150$ to 200$
------------------------------------------
450$ 360 premiun + hd-dvd palyer without hdim output total: 600$ to 650$
500$ PS3 Version:
-20gb 2.5 hdd Gaming System
-Blu-Ray Palyer "next gen HD player" (blu-ray disc is 50gb of storage)
-Ethernet port
-Free Onling Gaming
-browser for surfing the web
-Linux Os
-Buying music online like Itune
----------------------------------------
total: 500$
600$ PS3 version:
-60gb 2.5 hdd Gaming System
-HDMI ouput*
-Wi-Fi*
-Enternet Port
-Memory Card reader*
-Blu-Ray Palyer "next gen HD player." (blu-ray disc is 50gb of storage)
-Free Onling Gaming
-browser for surfing the web
-Linux Os
-Buying music online like Itune
----------------------------------------------
total: 600$
"mike_mgoblue"
What are you talking about, why are you trying misleading peoples? Japanese poll are not like what you state it. Only 6% of the japanese is considering of buying the 360, and 18% of them is considering of buying the PS3 and the rest is going for the Wii.
You also said that PS3 dosn't have good game? and M$ have all of the great titles? The only good games M$ shown at E3 is Lost Planet, Gear of War, and I think that it. PS3 shown alot of great titles, like Heavely Sword, Resistance: Fall of Man, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, Naughty Dog PS3 Project, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, Assassin's Creed, Unreal Tournament 2007, The Eye of Judgment, Warhawk, WarDevil (Enigma), and guess what all of these titles are exclusive to the PS3 only.
"GIGGAS2"
Don't go calling anyone a fanboys when you are a fanboys yourself, Oh yes buying a 1k to 2k Labtop is better than a PS3 for 600$. Why wouldn't you want to go online on your HDTV with the shape and clearness of HDTV. Who would not love to Surf and watch Vid online on there 50-60in HDTV? If you don't than you're simply in denial. And plus the Online gaming took, why pay M$ for Online gaming when Sony is offering it for free. Saying that online gaming would str8 out suck, than I guess all of the free Onine gaming on the PC all horriblely suck right? Like Diablo II, Guild Wars and many others, I guess they are all Suck right? because they offer free online gaming. No wonder So many Magazine and peoples said that is one of the best oline experince ever, and guess what is the best part about it? "IT FREE"
Now stop bring up false claim and lying about the PS3. Enough is enough already, andy guess what Developer had already state that Next generation games will need more than 7.9gb of storage on the dvd-9 for the 360, they said that games on the PS3 will surpass 20gb or even 40gb within 1 or 2 years periods. Saying that more space on blu-ray will become useless is just ignorance talk. Like back then when peples said 1gb is all we need and will never need more than 1gb of hdd. WOW look at how time fly, Please before claiming some BS at lease though it over before saying it, and stop being a stupid fanboys already, No one want to buy the 360 ok. Just because you own one dosn't mean is the best system in the whole damn world, Damn some of the 360 fans are even claiming that 360 games look much better than PC game. WOW what a stupid claim... Ok im done...
GIGGAS2@ mike
So what if they didn't invent the concepts. You seem to be living in the past, for a lot of things. Sony ripped off the wireless aspect from MS and the motion sensitivity from Nintendo. Sony hasn't invented everything.
I'd like to see Sony's online strategy. Honestly, everything looks like a pipe dream to me. Microsoft has gone beyond anything that anyone has ever thought they could do with online gaming. I don't understand why you would want to browse the web when you have a computer for that. If it's really a problem to surf the webs when you're on your couch, invest in wireless networking technology and a laptop. It will not only be more efficient, but it will probably be safer, since I haven't personally heard anything about anti-virus software for PS3.
I don't see anyone being a bad consumer other than you. You are being a complete fanboy to Sony, which is the worst possible idea. You can use that 600 dollars to buy a PS3. Why should I care anyway? I mean, I'm not spending excessive amounts for my gaming rig.
Oh, and way to be responsible for your comments. Keep being unregistered and hypocritical.
YOUWILLSEE@ mike
600 dollars is not too much for a blu-ray player and espesially not too much for a blu-ray player and a game system, and multi-media device. It just so happens that I and many others are in the market for all three. You and MS can kiss that, and know that we will be waiting for the PS3.
Do you think MS invented the D-pad or the analouge stick, do think nintendo invented motion sensitivity, HECK NO, but they use it with their systems. MS did not even invent the 'windowing' concept used in Windows. You got some nerve buddy! Or your just not well rounded. You are breast feeding on hype, a MS pawn.
Before you say that the PS3's online system is not as good as MS's could you let it come out first. Can you play an online game first, then talk about your findings. Pesonally, I don't give a darn about all that other junk in XBOX online I just want to play games, video conference, browse the web, and download music. Two features of wich, the 360 currently does not support but will probally update there system to do so just because SONY has the functionality out of the box.
Don't worry rember my name on Nov17th.
You got some nerve!!
mike_mgoblue@ mike
The fact that Sony showed over promising prerendered computer graphics at the 2005 E3, and then under delivered at the 2006 E3 when it came to showing actual in-game graphics for the PS3 that were very disappointing is not good for Sony--Sony clearly clied to people. At the 2005 E3, Sony said that the PS3 would have 2 HDMI ports. At the 2006 E3, we found out that the $599 PS3 would have only one HDMI port and the non-upgradeable $499 PS3 would not have an HDMI port. Clearly Sony lied about all of these things. Sony has a reputation of doing these things: Remember at the 1999 E3 when Sony said that the PS2 would be able to deliver actual in-game performance similar to the movie Toy Story! That obviously never even came close to happening. All of these reasons are why Sony has earned the name Fony.
Although Sony claims that their online service will be free, they do not say that actual online gaming will be free. The Xbox 360 Silver offers free online features to everyone, but in order to play against real people you need to subscribe for $4 a month with the Xbox Live Gold membership. This is something that Sony will also charge for, or else the performance will be significantly below that of the Xbox 360.
The fact that Sony is making statements in interviews that say things like, "The PS3 is a computer; it is more than a videogame system," is very disappointing to the people who used previous Playstations as videogame systems. This is the main reason why the Sony Playstation 3 is being called Fony Plagiarization 3DO--because 3DO said all of those things in 1994.
Also, the fact that Sony employees are making statements saying things like, "Our goal with the Playstation 3 is not to receive the largest percentage of market share, because our goal is to simply expand the market to a new group of users," is a pretty strong indication that Sony knows they will be significantly outsold worldwide by the Xbox 360, just like all of the people at Merrill Lynch and other industry analysts have been predicting.
Early support from third party companies in Japan who believed in the false hype Sony generated at the 2005 E3 will not continue showing strong support if sales are disappointing. Even in Japan, 88% of people interviewed said that the Playstation 3 is too expensive. The Playstation 3 is really going to be in trouble if the Wii is the most successful system in Japan. In a recent Japanese poll, 50% of the people polled said that they were considering purchasing an Xbox 360, while only 43% said that they were considering purchasing a Playstation 3. This is something that the employees of SquareEnix will be forced to consider when they think about releasing games exclusively for the Playstation 3. Microsoft had so many games at E3 that were amazing, I believe that they wanted to save the announcement of a Final Fantasy game for the Xbox 360 for the Tokyo Game Show.
GameJunkieJim@ mike
With the PS2, they still dominated charts, but the margin was mostly due to the PlayStation's success, and people like myself that had to buy multiple consoles because they kept breaking. I play games a lot. The worst problem I had with my Playstation was overheating, which I could solve easily by tilting the machine on it's side so it got more air. With the PS2, I've had burnt CPU's, DRE's, video issues, and overheating, and with the PS3, they're doubling the number of things that can go wrong. I play my consoles close to 60 hours a week, and I want something that will sustain me as a Gamer.
I already have a Linux PC, and my wife has a Windows PC, one of the XBoxes runs Xdebian. The PS2 ran Linux OK, but my primary purpose for those two was to play games. Homebrews or otherwise. Most people aren't going to want to pay a premium for something that performs a function they already have a machine for.
How many people have PS2's and how many of those have Linux kits for them? How many of those actually want a machine that can run their home business? There are better solutions for that.
Lefein@ mike
I think they are being smart, but the typical teenage gamer probably won't get it. Seems like the Playstation is growing up with its fanbase, though if you ask me.