Scott Steinberg, SCEA VP of product marketing, had a lot of aggressively frank comments to say in an interview with Next Generation. In fact, he comes off quite arrogant, taking pundit jabs at his company's competitors; however, we actually love this no-holds-barred, non-political, cocky confidence that he displays. It's refreshing to hear such unabashed statements such as "[Our] focus and dedication is unparalleled with any other first party company. Our first-party games will lead the way."
It appears that Steinberg's confidence stems from the PS3's strong holiday sales, and then the ending of the format wars. He says now that the "Berlin Wall" of HD-DVD is torn down, they can focus on one less front and work on pushing the company's 2008 line-up of new IP and "comfort food IP." Yes, he actually used the terms "Berlin Wall" and "comfort food IP."
He no doubt symbolizes SCEA's high spirit and rightfully so as he brings out some very good points. Take this one for example, "In the years ahead our games will begin to distance themselves from other next-gen games ... you'll see games begin to tip the scale at thirty gigs, forty gigs, fifty gigs. You can't possibly fit that on HD-DVD unless you want to do the old floppy disk swaps of years past." This is especially a good point since the PS3 will stick in the game for the long run with plans to last ten years. "The pendulum is swinging," he said referring to developers who once worked on the Xbox 360 and ported to the PS3; he believes there is going to be a huge reversal of this dev ritual. In the end, he believes consumers will naturally see the PS3's advantages and will make the right choice when he says, "Once Grand Theft Auto ships on the platform I think you'll see those folks on the side line saying 'I don't want to get stuck with the wrong one. I'm a PlayStation fan. I waited out the HD-DVD thing and I listened to a lot of misinformation. Now I don't need to wait.' There are lots of reasons to jump in, and PS3's by far the strongest choice."
Reader Comments (29)
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:08PM reson8er said
Rock on Scott.
I truley hope your words are backed up with results.
Let's show em how its supposed to be done.
I truley hope your words are backed up with results.
Let's show em how its supposed to be done.
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:18PM Watcher38 said
There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. I hate the latter. It just makes you look so stupid even when you're slightly wrong. I look forward to the games coming out this year, but enough with the "holier than thou" speeches already.
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:24PM (Unverified) said
So GTA4 is somehow optimized for the PS3?
Posted: Mar 7th 2008 3:34AM phizzyphizzy said
That's not what he meant. He was talking about people without a current-gen console who will want one to play GTA4. It's a fair comment, and I can see a lot of English people getting a PS3 to play it, at least.
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Posted: Mar 7th 2008 5:24PM (Unverified) said
correct me if im wrong, but i heard that gta4 was gonna be in HD on ps3 and only SD on 360 purely due to the disk capacity...
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Posted: Mar 7th 2008 9:50PM (Unverified) said
Nathanical, Your wrong. That would be the biggest douche move Rockstar would make after all the money (or as microsoft prefers to call it 'loan') that was given to them.
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Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:26PM Ves said
The Sony camp (management) is getting a little bit a head of them selfs.
Arrogance is good, but this is bringing it to another level.
Arrogance is good, but this is bringing it to another level.
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 10:48PM (Unverified) said
I think they're hiding some big secrets from us to be acting like this. So they had a good holiday season, but if you ask me, this year is starting off very, very slow. I expected to see 4x the content and games on the PS store so far.
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Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:28PM (Unverified) said
Well until SCEA isn't at the top of that highest rated games list, they actually have room to talk.
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:30PM R5 said
Through Sony, I've managed to find enlightenment and inner peace. It's true I tell you!
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:38PM (Unverified) said
Did he say "jump in"? Isn't that an Xbox thing?
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 5:39PM Dahk said
I'm hesitant that GTA4 will do anything for the PS3, especially when there's exclusive content on the X360 that Microsoft is broadcasting at large.
Even Retail clerks are like, "you might want the Xbox360 version, because i think it has exclusive content that Microsoft paid $50 million for" lol. His words, but oddly enough (this is turning into a story), the other guy fired back:
"I like the PS3 controller better though."
There you have it. Lol.
Even Retail clerks are like, "you might want the Xbox360 version, because i think it has exclusive content that Microsoft paid $50 million for" lol. His words, but oddly enough (this is turning into a story), the other guy fired back:
"I like the PS3 controller better though."
There you have it. Lol.
Posted: Mar 11th 2008 1:20AM (Unverified) said
acctually, the gta4 for ps3 will have exclusive content too. in the april issue of psm magazine it talks about it. so sony didn't have to pay extra like x box did :). plus it is said by the producer, that the ps3 will run smoother with smoother textures and faster frames, to where as the 360 is just brighter lighting, but more jagged bullidings and shadowing.
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Posted: Mar 8th 2008 4:19PM GenGrievous said
Don't believe all the nonsense you read about one version running much better than the other. Even if there are differences, they'll probably be very minor and not like the BS rumors that have been spread the past few weeks.
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Posted: Mar 13th 2008 4:01PM (Unverified) said
I agree, why the f k woul he say jump in, and thats the plzfixme slogan!
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:00PM (Unverified) said
Majed said it not the Sony guy.
Anyway... here-here!
Anyway... here-here!
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:04PM (Unverified) said
This guy is fu#%ing delusional!!! And so is this site!
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:07PM (Unverified) said
You don't think Sony is the Moses of this generation? Blasphemy!! :P
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Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:16PM RileyFreeman said
the ps3 has more power and more disc space when they build ps3 versions its bound to have more than xbox 360 thats why microsofts systems will have a shorter lifespan and they will have to rush out their next system
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:28PM (Unverified) said
Well lets see, the Xbox 360 came out on November 22, 2005. I believe that they will have a new one out by the end of 2010. Yea 5 years sounds OK to me. Not rushed at all. Sony and their 10 year plans....hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Hilarious!
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Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:57PM (Unverified) said
@ xFenixKnightx
Get a life
Hows a 10 year plan funny?
The only reason the xbox came out early is because microsoft rushed it to get it out before the PS3.
How do you know there's going to be a new console in 2010? For all you know the next xbox could come out in 2020.
In conclusion you suck
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Get a life
Hows a 10 year plan funny?
The only reason the xbox came out early is because microsoft rushed it to get it out before the PS3.
How do you know there's going to be a new console in 2010? For all you know the next xbox could come out in 2020.
In conclusion you suck
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 9:06PM SoCoolCurt said
i love how people spin stuff. Sony will have a new console whenever everyone else releases a new console. probably around 2010/2011. when they say "10 year plan" they mean they will support the thing for 10 years, kinda like what they've been doing with the other Playstations for all these years. i wish people would use common sense when posting this stuff. can someone remind me how long Microsoft supported the Xbox? it seems to have slipped my mind....... ;-D
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Posted: Mar 7th 2008 2:39AM (Unverified) said
OT Wheres that Motorstorm 2 Footage we were supposed to get yesterday?
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 6:55PM (Unverified) said
Well a VP from Sony said that Sony will lead......SHOCKING!!!!
Posted: Mar 6th 2008 7:05PM (Unverified) said
The next Microsoft console will probably be here in 2009. They take the shorter lifespan, newer technology approach. Thats fine for people who want great things in the now, but I prefer my consoles to last longer. Everyone has the there own preferences, and thats awesome.
By the way, jobs like this demand cockiness and arrogance. If you are not convincing the shareholders with brimming confidence, you are doing something wrong.
By the way, jobs like this demand cockiness and arrogance. If you are not convincing the shareholders with brimming confidence, you are doing something wrong.
Posted: Mar 7th 2008 11:37AM (Unverified) said
I hope he's right. I like the idea of the lead console for this gen lasting longer than 5 years. That said, I mostly play 360 right now because that's what I can play against / with my friends and it currently has the games I want to play. It's much too shooter-centric for my liking, though, so if the PS3 could take the lead and my friends could be found playing that instead, I'd be happy to buy one. I'd love to have the chance to play LBP, the next Team Ico game, etc. These are games of a type and quality that just don't get made for the XBox. Even our Katamari bites.
I gamed a lot on the PS2 last gen. And all of that said, my biggest worry is that he sounds a lot like Microsoft last gen. Microsoft kep pushing the argument of the graphics. And in the end they could never overtake the PS2. And right now the Wii is beating the 360. So I don't think you can make the graphics argument and sell the system on that alone. I think you need a stronger online community and a smoother online experience (i.e. XMB enhancements). The better argument regarding the 360 vs. PS3 hardware-wise is that one of them is an investment in gaming that you won't have to make again in a couple years. That will eventually become the tie-breaker, I think, once the online component and the games Library catch up to Microsoft.
I gamed a lot on the PS2 last gen. And all of that said, my biggest worry is that he sounds a lot like Microsoft last gen. Microsoft kep pushing the argument of the graphics. And in the end they could never overtake the PS2. And right now the Wii is beating the 360. So I don't think you can make the graphics argument and sell the system on that alone. I think you need a stronger online community and a smoother online experience (i.e. XMB enhancements). The better argument regarding the 360 vs. PS3 hardware-wise is that one of them is an investment in gaming that you won't have to make again in a couple years. That will eventually become the tie-breaker, I think, once the online component and the games Library catch up to Microsoft.
Posted: Mar 7th 2008 1:23PM (Unverified) said
The Wii moves units, but the software sales (attach rate) are dismal. Great for Nintendo, not great for anyone else and we're seeing another Gamecube trend where 3rd party devs are reluctant to waste their time on it. Therefore I don't even consider it in the same league as the X360 and PS3.
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