Wild industry statements to prepare you for tomorrow
by Dan Choi 
{ Mar 14th 2006 at 10:30PM }
In just a few short hours, Ken Kutaragi will take center stage at a Sony press event (previously open only to
third-party licensees) and drop some details about the PS3.As the only thing we're fairly sure of at this point is that the system will be delayed for a few months, we want everyone to be prepared for the massive spin and boisterous boasting that will surely ensue.
That's why it's important that you gird yourself for the worst by reading IGN's Top 10 list of the wildest statements made by industry veterans, 'cuz once you read everything that Ken and company have had to say in the past, nothing will seem all that outrageous in the future. We think... "Starting from next year, you can jack into The Matrix!" Before the PS2. Not as metaphysical as living Peter Moore's lucid dream, but still... wow.
See also:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael Sweeney @ Mar 14th 2006 10:41PM
"we need more time to put in the unicorn breeding device!"
Bill Cosby @ Mar 14th 2006 10:42PM
Nah I have been to the future, you can't plug into a matrix like system for another 17 years.
Zero_ @ Mar 14th 2006 10:43PM
I thought the whole delay thing on the Playstation 3 was a newspaper report. It wasn't 100% confirmed or anything right?
But, as for IGN's list. Peter Moore is so awesome, really.
Mike @ Mar 14th 2006 10:44PM
Hey joystiq are yall going to stay up all night updating us on what happening in japan?
Aniseed @ Mar 14th 2006 10:53PM
There's some very heated arguments presented here (and elsewhere) about the importance of Japan as a market share (mainly from the Sony fanbois..) Why is Europe ignored? Europe has almost twice the cumulative shipments of PS2, almost equaling USA. Together USA and Europe make 80% of all sold PS2's. (numbers from sony's own PR)
Dan Choi @ Mar 14th 2006 11:10PM
"Hey joystiq are yall going to stay up all night updating us on what happening in japan?"
To answer your question, Mike: Yes (as long as there's still news to report =).
bv @ Mar 14th 2006 11:14PM
To [Mike],
Originally the conference was meant for software developers but was changed at the last minute to include the media. It is supposed to begin in Tokyo at 3pm, but that could end up being anything from 3 to 5 since I haven't seen any official press release from Sony stating a specific time. 3pm will translate to 10pm PST or 1am EST. I suggest refreshing the following link to view headlines from the same japanese newspaper that announced this morning a November delay for the Playstation 3:
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/CF/FR/TNKS/nikkeinews.cfm?GenreID=1&PageSet=1
I'm projecting that Sony will not announce a launch date and will only reassure the public that a Spring 2006 launch is still the norm. If Sony were to release such a major announcement without much warning, it would cause the focus at E3 to be more on the Revolution due to the fact that details on the system are nearly non existent. I think Sony likes having the element of suprise up its sleeve, it generates hype and leaves the consumer waiting and waiting and waiting until the good or bad news is finally unveiled.
Jeff @ Mar 14th 2006 11:15PM
"Together USA and Europe make 80% of all sold PS2's. "
Now go look up the percentage of games sold worldwide developed in Japan.
The Japanese game industry as a whole - hardware and software created in Japan and sold worldwide by Japanese companies - is more than half of the world's video game industry. It is larger than the industry in the United States and Europe combined. That doesn't have to mean (and it doesn't mean) that Japan buys the most systems and games. But it should tell you why it is that people think of Japan as important.
Heck, even Microsoft is trying their best there. They know this. You can't be truly successful in video games without Japan behind you. You can get to a certain point, but you can never be #1 and you will probably never be profitable. That has held true since the crash of 1983... and really, if Atari and Mattel had been successful in Japan (they did try to break the market), there might not have been a crash to begin with.
geves @ Mar 14th 2006 11:15PM
i'd like to know why europe is ignored (for the most part) too. i know europe bought a crap load more gamecubes than US did.
but oh well, the sony fanboys will be going crazy. good article. if they release any info that's even halfway important, there's going to be more spinning than the damn killzone 2 trailer. god the spinning on that by fanboys, almost made me break my PC.
i like the earlier article when sony, even said that there would be few launch titles & the graphics would be underwhelming... looks like SONY is just going to talk big and release just like the 360 did.
i expect nothing but smacking gums from sony from this.
Probot @ Mar 14th 2006 11:27PM
I know IGN is just trying to be funny, but some quotes seem to be taken out of context and others seem to have their importance exaggerated.
In their #1 quote, Yamauchi articulates Nintendo's next-gen philosophy. He said it was too early for new machines and Nintendo still hasn't released one. What's wild about that?
That quote about single player games is really out of context when you consider the in-depth post Koster made after DICE.
http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/02/10/are-single-player-games-doomed
Didn't Bill Gates once say something about not being interested in the internet? Times change and so do people. Not that big a deal.
Thomas @ Mar 14th 2006 11:32PM
Im still thinking that Sony has an ACE up their sleeve, I just got me a 360 (which I told myself I wouldnt buy, but there I found one siting a BestBuy saying BuyMe BuyMe, booy Im glad I did..)
But I still have this feeling that E3 will be when they set the date and that it will be only weeks b4 the Japan Launch.. They are just being tooo quiet..
And NO, I do like sony, dislike M$, will buy a Revo, BUT IM NOT A FANBOY!!
mofomojo @ Mar 14th 2006 11:43PM
Hmm...
It wouldn't surprise me if they announced a spring release and have really been somehow keeping the whole thing underwraps to surprise us, and more importantly boost sales.
See, everybody's so set on buying it in a few weeks, what if Sony said that the PS3 was actually being released in a month? I bet a tonne more people would purchase the console then.
That's just my theory, though.
bv @ Mar 15th 2006 12:32AM
"Daisuke Nakata, spokesman for Tokyo-based Sony Computer Entertainment, declined comment on the reports from the business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other papers. But he said Ken Kutaragi, who oversees Sony's game business, would detail PlayStation plans later in the day."
Taken from http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8GBPATG6.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down&chan=tc
The Mole @ Mar 15th 2006 12:46AM
What is Sony's game here? Obviously they want us to think that the Playstation 3 won't launch until December. Are they preparting us for the worst, or are they going to pull a Steve Jobs? Based on everything I've read from Ken Kutaragi, he has a tendancy to over-promise for a machine that under-performs. Sure the PS3 is powerful, and maybe it can make toast, but can it play games?
I think somewhere along the line Sony began to think that since the PS2 played DVD's that it was somehow their most succesful DVD player ever. But honestly, do people buy the PS2 to play DVD's or to play games?
The PS2 sold 100 million systems because of Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, Final Fantasy X, Grand Tourismo 3, and Metal Gear Solid 2. Great games will always be able to sell systems. PS2 had the best developers developing the best games. The Xbox never quite caught up. If the PS3 forgets that it's a game console and worries too much about Blu-ray, it will fail.
bv @ Mar 15th 2006 1:03AM
The Mole-
Don't worry about the games, they got em:
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Unreal Tournament 2007
Devil May Cry 4
Resident Evil 5
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo
Spider-Man 3
Warhawk
Project IM (working title)
Stranglehold
Lair
Vision Gran Turismo
Killzone (working title)
Sonic The Hedgehog
Fatal Inertia
Alan Wake
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent
Scarface: The World Is Yours
Tekken (working title)
The Darkness
Formula 1
I-8
Ni-Oh
Full Auto
Heavenly Sword
Madden NFL Next Gen (working title)
Fear & Respect
Killing Day
MotorStorm
Endless Saga
The Getaway 3
Gundam World
Def Jam 3 (working title)
Final Fantasy (working title)
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
Grand Raid Offroad
Brothers in Arms 3 (working title)
Possession
Dark Sector
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Eyedentify
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 3
Way of the Samurai 3 (working title)
Fifth Phantom Saga
Genji 2
The Outsider
Turok (working title)
Vampire's Rain
Armored Core 4
Project Delta
The Wheelman
Driver (working title)
Untitled Western Shooter (working title)
Dark RPG (working title)
6GUN II
Assassin (working title)
Transformers (working title)
Shin Megami Tensei (working title)
Elveon
Alone in the Dark (working title)
Dirty Harry (working title)
Blade Storm: Hundred Years War
Redwood Falls
Project Assassins (working title)
Stuntman 2 (working title)
BB (working title)
Data-Fly
Project D
Secret Service
Indiana Jones (working title)
Untitled DC Comics MMO
Black Blade (working title)
Gradius (working title)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu
Derby Stallion (working title)
Project Psychic (working title)
Bomberman
ShadowClan
Omikron 2 (working title)
ActiveDogs
Angel Rings (working title)
Schwarzenberg
Train Simulator Online (working title)
Sengoku Musou BB
Avalon Car Combat
L.A. Noire
Extreme
Monster Carnival (working title)
Makai Wars (working title)
Rengoku: The End of the Century
Project Force
Minna no Golf 5 (working title)
X Quest
The Eye of Judgment (working title)
Aquanaut no Kyujitsu: Inner Mind Adventure
Untitled John McTiernan Game
Hitsuji Mura (working title)
Super Robot Taisen (working title)
Pro Mahjong Goku Final (working title)
Shin Ten Makai VI (working title)
Shinseiki GPX Cyber Formula (working title)
Bipedal Movement Simulation
Seikan Horror Action Adventure
Naxat Plan
Akari Project (working title)
Yamasa Digi World DX (working title)
Master Project (working title)
Sunrise Eiyuutan (working title)
Slotter Mania
Mahjong Taikai (working title)
Sekai Saikyou Ginsei Igo 7
Mahjong Oh
Pachinko Jikki
Value 2000 Igo
Value 2000 Shougi
Saikyou Ginsei Shougi 7
Shougi World Champion Gekisashi (working title)
*adapted from gamespot.com
bv @ Mar 15th 2006 1:09AM
can anybody decode this??
http://waonlinegame.com/Intro/Intro01.html
Enigma @ Mar 15th 2006 1:15AM
The Mole
We heard the same comments about the PS2 and "carring about DVD".
It has the games, will have the games, has the specs just as much as the 360 does. It wont fail, the lack there of info about launches is IDENTICAL to the PS2. Heck they didnt even show off the PS2 with any games at E3 and it launched a month later in Japan and was SOLD OUT.
Same thing will happen. People need to lighten up and wake up to boot.
Dan Choi @ Mar 15th 2006 1:19AM
^^ Perhaps these links will shed some light on the WA! venture, bv:
http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2006/02/09/joint-venture-backs-ps3-online-support/
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/686/686960p1.html
bv @ Mar 15th 2006 1:22AM
Nice! Good work Dan. Was wondering if it was a big deal or not.
bv @ Mar 15th 2006 1:32AM
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/696/696043p1.html
^^^^ press conference updates!
Dan Choi @ Mar 15th 2006 1:38AM
Thanks, bv!
spoo @ Mar 15th 2006 1:47AM
Thanks a bunch bv!
untitled @ Mar 15th 2006 1:49AM
"PSP will get a videophone in Fall and PSP EyeToy will be released.
Hot Shot Golf GPS is also scheduled. Macromedia Flash will be supported in PSP by the next firmware update."
epobirs @ Mar 15th 2006 2:29AM
#7
Atari, Coleco, and Mattel's video game market didn't collapse for lack of Japanese sales. The console makers left most of their overseas business to regional licensees. Nor was the problem a lack of Japanese arcade games on US consoles. The ColecoVision, after all, had Donkey Kong bundled with it at launch. All of the Japanese arcade companies licensed their titles to US console makers or third party publishers like Parker Bros.(Nintendo's Popeye), or had their own publishing operation like Sega. (Sega also did a lot of licensing such as Zaxxon to DataSoft.)
Back then Nintendo was so enthusiatic about licensing their games to other companies they sold rights to Donkey Kong to both Coleco and Atari. Coleco was under the impression they had sole exclusive US rights but Atari's contract gave them the ability to put the game on any computer, which was distinguished from consoles by the keyboard. This meant there was a Atari Donkey Kong for the Atari 800 computer but not for the 5200 that used the same chipset. (Also DK Jr. and Mario Bros.)It also meant Atari felt free to produce a version under the Atarisoft label for the Coleco Adam that was more complete than Coleco's own original version. Coleco was understandably displeased.
The collapse of the original video game industry was due to a lack of control. The consoels were designed with little provision to prevent unauthorized third party publishing. Companies like Atari made no revenue from titles produced by Activision and could not prevent lesser companies from flooding the market with utter garbage games.
The industry was resurrected in Japan not due to any special Japanese talent for game design but because nintendo hit upon a business model that made third party publishers a major revenue source for the console maker and allowed them to prevent most unauthorized products from being sold in major retail outlets. Many established publishers like EA resisted at first but eventually saw the wisdom of this system. The console maker took a piece of the third party publisher's revenues but also gave much in return by providing a reliable environment. As a result of Nintendo's influence the Japanese presence in game development grew to dominance because that was the first region where the Famicom made it a viable career for a large number of people. Opportunity shaped the culture.
Pikachelsea @ Mar 15th 2006 11:48AM
Oh I sure hope maybe the PS3 will let us "jack into The Matrix" since it didn't happen with the PS2!! PLEASE MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE, KEN! lol, what an idiot..
Jon @ Mar 15th 2006 12:12PM
Wow...I never saw a list of coming PS3 titles. I think the 360 has a much more interesting lineup. And the thing about 360 titles is that the A list titles are already arriving. By Christmas 2006 the 360 will have an impressive portfolio of Titles behind it while The PS3 and Revolution battle it out.
Given Playstations track record with product shipments...I don't see how they will ship anymore than 1-1.5 million units by the end of 2006. 1 million units a month sounds way off for a reasonable supply chain for such a complex device.
I expect PS3 shortages to be even worse than the 360. All the while, consumers will have 360's on the shelves to choose and the Revolution as well.
I also don't think their online network is going to be ready in 2006. Remember what they did with the PSP, they delayed the online update till months after initial release in Japan.
HYPE:
I think the following statements were hype:
1. Free Online - Surely they will be charging for premium online capabilities just like Xbox Live. The 360's lead in this area hopefully will cause developers to maintain a high quality of Online features not to be dumbed down for Sony's initial offerings.
2. Hard Drive mandatory: Something about this news strikes me as odd. Unlike the 360, the HD is not needed for Backward compatibility. And they aren't saying that a HD will be included with the PS3...so where the hell does that leave us??? Maybe more hype so people think that Developers can rely on HD for PS3 when in truth that's probably not the case. The mandatory addition of an HD puts the PS3 way out of the entry level pricing of the 360 and revolution. They can't be that stupid can they?
3. Playstation will be Live: Nice pat on the back to Xbox Live, but I'll believe it when I see it. There's really no reason to assume or give Sony credit in the Online space. They will have to show us their wares and we can judge if their ready for prime time or not. In the mean time...no soup for you.