
Hop on the merry-go-round and hold on for dear life -- here's a Phil Harrison interview. In speaking to GameDaily BIZ, the Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president touches on several interesting topics, including "so called negativity" in the press, potential PS3 price drops and the omission of rumble technology in the Sixaxis controller.
- On negative press: Mr. Harrison isn't fazed at all, pointing out that those who have purchased a PS3 have been naught but satisfied thus far. He goes on to say that negativity originates from "a fairly narrow section of the media" (Time Magazine and New York Times BURN) and that if there "were genuine criticisms, then of course we'll address them, but there's nothing that bothers me." Nothing at all?
- On PS3 price drops: Sony feels under no pressure to drop the price of the PS3 this year, expressing comfort with their current strategy and the level of software currently available.
- On the lack of rumble: Phil Harrison says motion controls offer far more opportunities to innovate than rumble ever did, adding that rumble is like, totally last-gen. "Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it's not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is." Analog stick, your days are numbered, my friend.











(Page 1) Reader Comments
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... huh?
"I think Nintendo is."
... right!
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Roughly translates to:
"We at Sony are incompetent, and we can't steal rumble from our competitors [we already had it] so we decided to ditch it in favour of something new [and stolen]. Don't worry, as soon as Microsoft/Nintendo replace the analogue stick, so will we [being the cutting-edge, innovative folks we are]"
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Really, I've got nothing to say at this point without dipping into that irrational, primal scream fanboy mode.
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It's like Sony hooked up with a fugly(PS3) and they just can't accept that they screwed up.
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*shakes head*
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He's may still be shilling for Sony but at least he won't prop up his comments with BS like the aformentionned do.
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I think dropping the PS3 price to $300 will improve their disposition and image.
So Phil Harrison is claiming that Time Magazine and the New York Times provide news to a narrow section of the media... am I also to understand that those people who read such publications are also narrow? What a douche.
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HOWEVER, rumble as a LAST gen feature!? Why on earth would you go on to say something so stupid as that?! Why omit it then? Digital pads were a freaking last-last-last gen feature...still got those.
Meh...you know, I don't hate Sony as much as most, but man...they really do continually talk themselves into a deeper hole. Who are they really trying to fool? Hardcore gamers are the guys buying your stupid PS3 Sony...you think convincing them rumble is last gen is really gonna work?
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I’m sure Joystiq must hate Sony, they have to, Sony has never had anything good. It’s not like anyone at Joystiq ever loved a ps2 game or even a ps1 game.
They post what news they get and interlude with there opinions. If you do not like it go some where else. Good luck finding anyone who is no opinion of there own or has the exact opinions you do.
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Anyway, can we start taken down how many of these rumors have fallen flat on their face and negative press that has resulted in simply the spread of false information?
1) Europe BC list will be published and will probably be relatively extensive. Software emulation isn't anything new and Sony announced they would make the move before in mid-2006. They did the same thing will the PS2 to reduce costs and that didn't impact the compatibility for most people.
2) In the same announcement, they've stated that they will continue to work on the software which means that Sony is "addressing any issues". Similiar to the way they address the jaggies with the PS2/PS1 discs last month.
3) Can we start talking about the freaking games on these sites? I'm getting a little tired of talking about sales numbers, market share, and business strategy. I want to hear about the compelling games for XBOX360, Wii, and PS3. I'm not a simple drone that follows the leader; let the games speak for themselves. Everyone has different tastes, but if you don't talk about the games people won't know which system fits their needs.
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I say that Phil Harrison is senile.
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He should talk to the three disinterested Sony fans at my local Gamestop who returned their PS3s for stor credit towards a Wii. Not for an actual Wii itself, theyre all sold out, but just for store credit until more come in.
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(hehehe, sorry, the "Nintendbot" came out at the end there...)
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Normally, I'd have thought for sure it would have kicked in by now and people would've started feeling bad for Sony and all the crap they're taking.
But here we are almost 4 months later and people are STILL angry at them. The "ho-hum" attitude towards the PS3 has apparently already transfered over to the more casual gaming crowd. I can only wonder how much longer it'll be until the actual anger over the PS3 moves along, too.
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As far as backward compatibility: I haven't used the feature a single time. I have a PS2 if I want to play PS2 games. I bought a PS3 to play PS3 games and Blu-ray movies and it does an excellent job at each.
Y'know, everybody wants to trash PS3 and talk about how Wii is selling so much better, but shouldn't a console that retails for half (or less) be ahead by more than .5m units? And shouldn't 360, which has an extensive library of games behind it, be outselling PS3 by more than 20%? Despite the high pricetag and all the negative press surrounding Sony, PS3 has been an unqulified hit. And once Lair, Heavenly Sword, Singstar, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear, and Final Fantasy are out, Sony will once again be waving at the competition in their rear view mirrors.
JET
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The only thing that really bothers me with the above article is the lack of a price drop. Granted, they aren't going to say one is coming anytime soon, but it also effects the other console prices as well.
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Believe me, these f*cking dumbass comments are damage control and nothing more. And Sony will be doing damage control for the entire life of the PS3 (ten years, according to crazy Ken).
How can you not have rumble? Even the Wii's wiimote has f*cking rumble. Just because something was implemented last gen, doesn't mean you abandon it on future versions (unless you are not allowed to use it because you refuse to pay your lawsuit).
I love rumble. It is great feedback for shooting, driving, flying, action, adventure, etc......, games.
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Blue ray isn’t needed for games and was quoted by Oblivion developers that it is indeed slower therefore they had to repeat the same data on the disc to get the speed needed to run the game smoothly.
Rumble isn’t “last gen” and if Sony had paid the company that Sony apparently stole it from in the first place it would be included in this generation.
They list games like Motorstorm, Liar, Heavily sword and FLOW, to be console sellers, that is another joke. These games are not console sellers this system at this point doesn’t have much to offer, most games that you find on the PS3 have been or soon to be released for other next gen consoles. I couldn’t imagine putting down $600 for me at least because all it would be is a Blue-ray player.
Does anyone that currently own a PS3 find 600 dollars worth of value in it?
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Most people don't have the humbleness to admit to a $800-1,000 mistake... but then again, most people don't own PS3's, or want to own them in the first place.
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A Decision was made by whoever in Sony and these public figures have to stand behind it if they want to keep their salary check with all those 0's in it. It isn't spin, it is him doing his job. If people would stop asking him about the rumble feature he would stop having to give the same answer over and over again.
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Believe it or not but many sites that previously used to bash the PS3 actually has had a few positive articles on the system in the last few weeks. I guess Joystiq would disappoint their loyal followers if they put a positive article up.
Is this site ever actually going to report news correctly instead of being EXTREMELY biased?
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Just curious, but care to point any of these positive articles out? If there is positive news to be told I sure haven't heard it.
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"PS3 has been an unqulified hit."
Are you living in the same parellel universe that Phil and the rest of the Sony crew are currently living in?
Wake up dude; PS3 is a flop so far.
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http://www.vgcharts.org/ngwars.php
5.00m - 1.88m = 3,120,000. More than half a million.
Different numbers, same conclusion at http://nexgenwars.com/
Even if your point about the relative price was valid (to which I don't agree), the numbers don't support it.
Now for some fuzzy math of my own:
If Wii and Xbox360 sales continue at the same pace, the total number of consoles sold will meet in June 2008. That would be only two months after the PS3 reaches the Xbox360's CURRENT total (not at that point).
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Get off the drugs, they have clouded your senses.
It's not fun, maybe if they cut the price by $200 it could be more fun. Lack of games, and the coming death of blu-ray have made it hard to enjoy.
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do you want to invest $100's in games and just have your system crash when the warranty runs out? or do you want a system made by people who know hardware.
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i was told by a gamestop employee that they get a 50% return rate on the 360.
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do you want to invest $100's in games and just have your system crash when the warranty runs out? or do you want a system made by people who know hardware.
Posted at 5:38PM on Feb 26th 2007 by 360 killer.
People who know hardware? I've stopped buying Sony products because it seems like with the exception of their TVs, the stuff they make has turned to crap. I've got a 6 year old Wega that still works great but CD & DVD players, not to mention a PS2 have all fallen by the wayside to be replaced by Toshiba or Phillips. Sony just doesn't mean quality to me like they did 8-10 years ago.
I did buy a slim PS2 recently so I could play GH again, though...
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If you want to see positive articles, submit them.
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- this technique is standard practice within the industry. as a matter of fact, they used the exact same technique in the xbox360 version of oblivion. i guess you didnt read that part of the interview since it was devoid of the form bias that you prefer.
"They list games like Motorstorm, Liar, [Heavenly] sword and FLOW, to be console sellers, that is another joke. These games are not console sellers this system at this point doesn’t have much to offer, most games that you find on the PS3 have been or soon to be released for other next gen consoles."
- of course these games are not console sellers. of these, only flow has been released. also, all of those are exclusive titles. it takes a while to build a solid exclusive library. look at microsoft; it took them over a year to build a library decent enough for me to want to invest in an xbox360. what i will give sony credit for is the fact that they are demonstrating the fact that they are building a "diverse" library of games. for an example of wht i mean by lack of diversity: imagine the xbox360 library without any games featuring guns.
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"No, actually our products are perfect and superior to the competition in every way imaginable. We are Sony, afterall."
They try to talk about rumble as if is a bad thing.
He says every customer is nothing but satisfied. I know two that own a PS3 but only play their 360s. They don't dislike the PS3 by any means and look forward to its future, but the software can't compete with the 360. There is just way more fun stuff to do with your 360 and it will remain that way for some time.
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I like FPS. Are you saying when I let off a few rounds there will be no: Budda! Budda! Ak! Ak! Ak!?
Lame. DS has rumble you lamo losers! Play Metroid pinball with rumble, that is some sweet twittering tak tak action!
Blu-ray is the only thing I like about PS3!
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...
Now for some fuzzy math of my own:
If Wii and Xbox360 sales continue at the same pace, the total number of consoles sold will meet in June 2008. That would be only two months after the PS3 reaches the Xbox360's CURRENT total (not at that point)."
good point, however it does not take into account the fact that the ps3 has not completely launched worldwide yet. also, you would have to take into account how certain variables would come into play. namely, how each company's exclusive mega-hits will affect console sales. considering that as of now sony has the most "announced" titles that are potentially AAA sellers, that could swing the numbers wildly. Even that would not take into account the runaway success factor of a niche game: take brain age, nintendogs, or guitar hero's effect on system sales for example. no one would have been able to predict that those titles would have pushed as many consoles as they have.
market analysis of the video game market is not as simple as looking at a chart and choosing the current leader, ask micheal pachter. lol.
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