Slashdot Mirror


More PS3 Words From the Horse's Mouth

Game|Life had the chance to sit down with Ken Kutaragi, Phil Harrison, and Kaz Hirai; Chris Kohler has some details on things left unsaid at the PS3 conference. From the article: "Q: You're the head of Sony's worldwide development studios. What the hell is up with that Africa game? A: Video games have a function in life, and that is: wish fulfillment. You can become a mercenary, a fighter pilot. On PS3, we can expand the realm of that experience. Africa allows you to experience a very interesting part of the world, a safari in the plains of Africa. The gameplay is entirely non-violent. You don't kill the animals. It emphasizes the positives rather than the negatives. It's about collecting experiences and keeping them for posterity."

78 comments

  1. Anything else they'd like to not say? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Funny
    More PS3 Words From the Horse's Mouth

    Mr. Ed is Sony's new spokesperson?!?

    Figures.

    BTW, does this article remind anyone else of the Chief of Police scene in TMNT 2?

    "Is there anything else you'd like to not tell me, Mr Kutaragi?"
    1. Re:Anything else they'd like to not say? by HTTP+Error+403+403.9 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      What the hell is up with that Africa game?
      Oh no - now I got that damn Toto song stuck in my head.


      It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
      There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
      I bless the rains down in Africa
      Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

      --
      I'm not a Troll, it's reverse psychology.
    2. Re:Anything else they'd like to not say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      damn you

    3. Re:Anything else they'd like to not say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a right son-of-a-bitch.

  2. This sounds familiar. by steveo777 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Anyone remember Pokemon: Snap?

    Seriously, this doesn't really seem like a Sony game here. But I don't really know who's developing it either. So what if they want to make a game that's pure exploration. It'll probably look great, have descent controls, and very little need for AI in anything. I'm sure some one will enjoy it. But I don't see a lot of parents buying it for the kids (60-80 bucks).

    --
    This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
    1. Re:This sounds familiar. by Tokyo_Otaku · · Score: 5, Informative

      I was at TGS today and saw a whack of HD demos at the Sony booth. You're right in terms of looking good. Afrika looked great. In fact it was one of the best games there. Another really impressive one was Shirokishi and Motorstorm looks to be a contender for nicest overall presentation. Devil May Cry 4 didn't look too hot and there were a lot of forgettable demos, although Mina no Golf looked like a lot of fun with solid production values.

      What was *not* cool was MGS4. It was a major letdown. Yes, it was nicely presented in the same way one might put tripe into a fancy gift box. The in-game graphic quality has dropped down a sizable notch from previous demos. And the animation... Everything was very robotic and very unnatural; totally unlike the two previous movies.

      For example, firing a gun has literally two key frames. Normal position and recoiled position. There weren't even any in-between frames. He just fired his gun, snapping forward and back jerkily between the two positions. Not smooth or natural at all. It was a big, big, letdown.

      A lot of games were available to play, but MGS4 (unsurprisingly given the movie) did not appear to be among them. Speaking of missing games, there was not even so much as a whiff of Assassin's Creed, which was really too bad as I was looking forward to seeing it. Maybe tomorrow...

      But the ***HUGE*** loser of the day was the PS3's new Coded Arms game. They have really, really screwed it up. I was watching it for some time in quite some disbelief as I literally saw framerates drop below 5 per second. Like maybe 1 per second. Really. And that kind of stuttering was pretty regular. An unmitigated disaster by all appearances. I'm really hoping I'm mistaken and this is some low budget PS2 version.

      Overall, the PS3 beats out the XBox 360 on all accounts. What the XBox struggles to do, the PS3 does easily. Not only was that my impression, but also the opinion of all of the industry folk I spoke to.

      Enough to save them? Only time will tell...

    2. Re:This sounds familiar. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Beyond Good and Evil had a picture snapping feature, too. You'd collect pictures of all the creatures you saw in the game. Hell, I think Windwaker had a camera that could store up to 3 pictures.

      Like you said, nobody's gonna pay $60 to only snap pictures of fake animals.

      (By the way, it's decent, not descent.)

    3. Re:This sounds familiar. by krakelohm · · Score: 1

      As a big Metal Gear fan I am (hopefully) confident that they will polish that bad boy up. There is still quite a bit of time (sometime 07?) before the release and as of yet they have not failed to produce a wonderful game. Now plopping down $600 to be able to play the game... thats a different story.

      --
      You are all a bunch of idots.
    4. Re:This sounds familiar. by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

      Overall, the PS3 beats out the XBox 360 on all accounts. What the XBox struggles to do, the PS3 does easily. Could you give some examples? I'd like to know what the 360 is struggling with right now, unless you mean like pervasiveness in Japan, which I guess you could argue the PS3 has yet to do too. But I'm assuming you mean power-wise, so I'd like to hear some examples.

    5. Re:This sounds familiar. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honestly, does it surprise you that MGS looks quite a bit different from early movies? I remember (back in 1999) hearing about MGS2 and how everything was going to be modeled and you'd be able to shoot paperclips off of desks and what not; early screenshots also had a graphical quality that no PS2 game ever obtained.

      The fact is that Konami will not release MGS4 until it looks (and plays) at a decent level, it will be delayed until it is ready (so I won't be holding my breath to see it in 2007).

      On a side note, this does bring up something I have been hearing for months. Many developers went out and purchased some pretty monsterous PCs (Quad SLI set-ups or what not) based on the promise of what the PS3 was; with the quantity and quality of content that the games were using they soon were running behind schedule. Upon recieving actually PS3 devkits they found out that the PS3 doesn't perform (at least in any easy way) on the level of Sony's theoritical numbers and are having to go back and re-work most of the content. I have heard of at least 3 PS3 projects (that were initially planned for Q4 2007 release) which are (at least) 6 months behind schedule.

    6. Re:This sounds familiar. by Tokyo_Otaku · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sure. Basically it comes down to frame rate and detail. A number of the heavier 360 games can't always maintain their frame rates and also don't look as good as the PS3 games. MotorStorm is a great example of this. It has incredible detail and great backgrounds as well as solid effects all around. And not a single frame lost that I could see. Not even when things got hairy. Everything pretty much looks like a cutscene...

      This is not to say that there is anything wrong with the 360. Realistically, if the games end up being better (in terms of gameplay and not graphics) on the 360 then that's the way to go. It's still early in and who knows how the platforms will develop, but as it stands, the PS3 appears to be the more technically advanced platform, but also for twice the price (clearly all the budget for which is not soley spent (squandered?) on the Blu-Ray drive).

      On the sales front, ya, the 360 is dead in Japan. But to their credit MS is giving it the old college try. They had a huge booth and I heard they are planning to re-release (3rd time?) with a new Akira Toriyama (Mr. Dragonball) game, whose name escapes me at the moment (Dragon Quest Blue maybe).

    7. Re:This sounds familiar. by Tokyo_Otaku · · Score: 1

      It may just be a development snapshot and very much unfinished. I hope so too. Apparently it's the same story with Coded Arms (i.e. a dev version). None of that was clear at the show. I have to wonder why they chose to display their wares in this way... Not a good impression.

    8. Re:This sounds familiar. by Khuffie · · Score: 1

      I could say the exact same thing you said about MotorStorm to describe PGR3 on the Xbox 360. Framerate issues are not always due to hardware, but unoptimized software.

    9. Re:This sounds familiar. by Stormwatch · · Score: 1
      Upon recieving actually PS3 devkits they found out that the PS3 doesn't perform (at least in any easy way) on the level of Sony's theoritical numbers
      Well, duh. They trusted Sony's specs? The same company that promised the PS2 would display 66 million polygons per second. That's true... for a monochrome wireframe! In-game, when you add textures, shading, effects, the whole rest of the game, it can actually do around 1/6th of that.
    10. Re:This sounds familiar. by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

      Great thanks for the reply. Hadn't heard about any 360 framerate issues, but I'm also not reading a lot of 360 reviews etc... Good to know though.

    11. Re:This sounds familiar. by Rayonic · · Score: 1
      Overall, the PS3 beats out the XBox 360 on all accounts. What the XBox struggles to do, the PS3 does easily

      Odd, since based on everything we know so far the PS3 has a weaker GPU than the Xbox 360.

      Not to mention that the PS3's Cell might be on par with the 360 CPU when it comes to game applications (as opposed to gene folding.)

      As far as I can tell, everything about the PS3 is the same or worse. The only notable advantage it has anymore is the size of Blu-Ray discs.
    12. Re:This sounds familiar. by greentoad · · Score: 1

      I was at TGS yesterday, the overal look and feel of the good PS3 titles surpassed the good XBOX360 titles. (there are obviously crap titles on both platforms and they aren't worth comparison)
      Someone compared Project Gotham 3 with Motor Storm, but Motor Storm's graphics yesterday were far superior and really had a CG movie feel to them.

      In theory the XBOX GPU can beat the PS3 GPU for certain things, but people forget that those figures are based on the XBOX360's cpu bandwidth not being used for anything else. (um, like running a game)
      This is because everything shares the same cache and bus on the XBOX360, even for textures.

      The titles shown yesterday showed a lot of potential, but of course in a few months the 2nd generation of xbox 360 titles should start making an appearance, including Halo 3, and if the developers have gotten good at tweaking, the xbox360 should still be able to hold its own. It is going to have to fight a bit though.

      1080p 60hz Ridge Raaacer was also very nice and using HDR in a nice subtle fashion (adjusting contrast as you enter and leave tunnels, etc).

  3. I have to say... by Otter · · Score: 1

    I haen't followed the PS3 story much, and am mostly familiar with it from that YouTube video ridiculing it. ("So here's this giant enemy crab....Riiidge Raaacer!") From that point of view, the game with the chewing rhino (I assume that's the one mentioned here) is the title I'm most looking forward to!

  4. No cables by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

    Will the PS3 include component video cables in the box?

    I'm not sure, but I think the answer might be "no."


    Yeouch, that surprised me a bit. No HDMI thats fine, makes sense actually. But where the consoles are now I don't think its too much to expect a cable capable of HD. At least in the 360s release you got an HD cable on the more expensive version.

    But who knows, he did say he wasn't sure.

    1. Re:No cables by oahazmatt · · Score: 1
      But who knows, he did say he wasn't sure.
      Yeah, which only adds to the lack of the PS3's appeal.

      "Look, we don't know what's going to be in the thing, okay? Just buy it and we'll find out together. Good? Good."
      --
      Those who believe the Internet is private,
      find their privates are on the Internet.
    2. Re:No cables by Magnusite · · Score: 1
      Actually, HDMI is now included on all models. See the article here.

      It seems that all the complaints finally paid off.

    3. Re:No cables by normal_guy · · Score: 1

      The "port" is included, but the cable will not be included. (#6)

      --

      Linux: Free if your time is worthless.
    4. Re:No cables by bwcarty · · Score: 1

      HDMI ports are included. The HDMI cable isn't.

    5. Re:No cables by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

      Yeah, sorry, I meant no HDMI cable will be included.

    6. Re:No cables by SyncNine · · Score: 1

      Hahahahahahaha

      Man, oh man. I wish I had some mod points. You'd get +1, Funniest Thing I've Seen On Slashdot In Like Two Weeks.

      --
      To the darkened skies once more, and ever onward.
  5. Not all that informative... by mcai8rw2 · · Score: 1
    In these territories, the prices we announced were very well accepted.


    I find it very hard to accept the 'GDP of a small country' for a PS3, a white british IT Professional.

    Ken Kutaragi: (Was accompanied at all times by PR handlers who wouldn't let him answer certain questions)


    shouldn;t that read "...ANY questions..."

    What the hell is up with that Africa game?


    Is that the BEST question you can come up with when faced with the three sony head honchos?
    --
    >>>Scanning for I.D.I.O.T.S. >>>
    >>>I.D.I.O.T.S. FOUND! >>>
    1. Re:Not all that informative... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1
      Is that the BEST question you can come up with when faced with the three sony head honchos?

      If you read the article, it's far from the "best" question. However, it is one of the few questions that Sony actually answers.
    2. Re:Not all that informative... by Tokyo_Otaku · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      What gets me is that everyone here is screaming to high heaven about the price of this full on, and really quite nifty game console/Blu-Ray player (that last bit may or may not end up being a good thing) when I'd be willing to bet the grand percentage of them have $600 video cards in their Windows game PCs.

      So an expensive video card is ok, but a game system chock full over cool goodies (Cell, Blu-Ray, Graphics Cars, Linux) is totally unreasonable?

      And BTW, if $600 looks like the 'GDP of a small country' to you, I suggest getting another job. Clearly your employer is paying you the Indian wages, rather than the going British salary.

    3. Re:Not all that informative... by caffeinatedOnline · · Score: 1

      I am just thinking that it might have something to do with that $600 graphics card is part of a computer, that you can do unlimited things with? A console is made for playing games, that is it. Yeah, yeah, it's going to be made into the 'center of the living room' or some such tripe, but it boils down to 'it plays games'.

      Yeah, that $600 graphics card is bought to play games, but it also has other qualities that make it worth that price. But honestly, I know a grand total of 1 person that has a $600 graphics card in their computer. Most, your 'grand percentage', have a good mid-priced $250 graphics card, which handles games well, just not 16xAA at 1900x1200 res with the graphic quality cranked. $600 for a console is absurd.

      "But it's also a blu-ray player..." Whoop-de-doo. Just what I need, another quality Sony proprietary format on an untested player that chances are will crap out in less then a year. What gets me is all the pro-PS3 people trying to convince me that the PS3 is a great bargain. I make a good wage, over the going British salary I am sure, and I will be damned if I spend $600 for a console, especially one that is pushing a new untested format, that no one has seen a demonstrated online capability for, and by all accounts the games for it are not meeting up to hype that is surrounding them.

      --
      The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
    4. Re:Not all that informative... by EsbenMoseHansen · · Score: 1
      ...have $600 video cards in their Windows game PCs...

      I never had! My gaming rig runs linux! ;)

      On the other hand, I've never owned a console. What's the point with them? Computers are better value for the money, as I see it :)

      --
      Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
    5. Re:Not all that informative... by Tokyo_Otaku · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Your first paragraph is kind of pointless and you sort of indicated that in the second. The point is that it's $600 spent purely for games on the one hand and $600 spent purely for games on the other, yet people decry one and not the other. It's not very sensible.

      And why exactly do people spend $600 on the latest from NVidia and ATI? Don't even try and suggest it's for something other than games. People who don't play games buy $75 video cards or use the on-board. Or they're a professional and buy something like a Quattro.

      Ok, I guess we come from different places. Pretty much everyone I know who plays games has a $500+ video card. I figured most techs like games, have good jobs and will spend their money on tech like sweet cards for their games machine. Maybe I'm wrong. But I'll bet you I'm right that the grand percentage of Slashdot folks *want* a $600+ video card and don't see the harm or evil in paying for it, even if they don't choose to do so themselves. I don't think I've every seen a riot around here on the price of some crazy new video card like I'm seeing about the PS3. And $600 is still $600 (unless you buy the *really* crazy $700 video cards).

      As for the Blu-Ray player; I agree. I think it's basically been a mistake. But if the format, loathesome and proprietary though it is, does actually manage to catch on in a big way, then having it is a big win for consumers. And for the record, I'm not on anyone's side. I am not a raving fan boy for any one platform. I'll buy whatever platform gets me the games I want.

    6. Re:Not all that informative... by leland242 · · Score: 1

      There is totally a difference between paying $600 for a video card that is part of a computer and $600 for a gaming console. Of course you don't need a $600 card for your pc unless you're gaming, but (unless your blind and it doesn't matter) you'd be hard pressed to use your computer without a video card. Plus, if you're spending that much on a video card - you either don't upgrade it very often or do just the opposite and sell your old card and upgrade every year.

      Sure, both the PS3 and your PC allow you to watch DVD's, surf the web, and play games - but at least on your PC you probably don't have any DRM restrictions or hard-drive limitations.

      I could afford a PS3, sure, and I have a HD set too, but in my head, the notion of dropping (let's be realistic) $800 bucks for the system, cables, and a game is insane.

    7. Re:Not all that informative... by Wdomburg · · Score: 1

      I'd be very surprised is "the grand percentage" of people blow $600 on a video cards. Among the people I know (mostly geeks) I know of only one person who likely has something in that range (wife bought him a ludicrously priced Alienware box for their 10th anniversary), a handful of people who bought in the $200-300 range, a bunch of people who bought in the $100-200 range, and a ton of people who use some form of on-board video because they game on consoles exclusively or not at all.

      I fall into the last category personally. I rarely spend as much as $600 on a full machine, much less a video card.

    8. Re:Not all that informative... by Wdomburg · · Score: 1

      My Gamecube was cheap ($229 including a game), low power, quiet, plugs directly into the TV, and saves me from having to bother looking to see if I meet the system requirements for a given game. Seems a reasonable value to me. :)

  6. Re:What? by Aladrin · · Score: 1

    I'm guessing that you've had this problem before and were unable to solve it, eh? Maybe you should choose a different forum to get your answer next time. This one is for 'techs' not 'sex'.

    --
    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  7. From the article: "" by Psykechan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Straight from the horse's mouth as long as you can bypass the "PR handlers"; Ken Kutaragi only answered one of the four questions presented to him and that was with a distinct "maybe".

    My favorite comment was from Phil Harrison:

    "We started by calculating the price for the US and European territories by looking at what consumers considered the 'magic price points'. In these territories, the prices we announced were very well accepted."

    I would really like to see these consumers who accepted the $500-$600 price points well. People that I've talked to, including staunch PlayStation supporters, have said that they don't plan on buying a PS3 because of the high price point.

    1. Re:From the article: "" by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      OMG that's me. -cries- I buy them all. I really can't help myself. I fought buying an X360 until only a month ago, but buy it I did. And I'll buy the Wii at launch and the PS3 sometime in the next year, most likely. If I get bored with my x360 and Wii, it'll be sooner rather than later. Of course, if it never comes out with a game I want, I won't buy it no matter the price.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    2. Re:From the article: "" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People that I've talked to, including staunch PlayStation supporters, have said that they don't plan on buying a PS3 because of the high price point.

      Wow. I'm sure your detailed and in-depth marketing research blows away that of a multibillion dollar corporation with thousands of drones to put on the task.

    3. Re:From the article: "" by XenoRyet · · Score: 1

      Do you know anyone who is really happy with the price? Because if you don't, and I don't, and GP doesn't, sure that's not market research, but it's pretty strong anecdotal evidence, and makes Phil's quote worth questioning.

      --
      If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
    4. Re:From the article: "" by Darth · · Score: 1

      Do you know anyone who is really happy with the price? Because if you don't, and I don't, and GP doesn't, sure that's not market research, but it's pretty strong anecdotal evidence, and makes Phil's quote worth questioning.

      In a country with 190 million people, i can determine market trends by asking 3 guys on slashdot what their friends think about something? Wow. That's gonna save companies a fortune.

      --
      Darth --
      Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
    5. Re:From the article: "" by XenoRyet · · Score: 1
      Yes, information can be learned from the fact that three people don't know anyone who is happy about a price. You're being silly to assert otherwise. No, the information gained is not as valuble as a real study with a viable sample size, that's why I said it was anecdotal evidence, and not flat out proof.

      Lets say each of we three have discussed the matter with 10 people, now clearly that's not a really good sample size, so our margin for error is quite high, but it is fairly random, so that helps. Now the fact that apparently not a single one of those 30 people can be said to be happy about the price means that even with a huge error rate, the original quote is still questionable.

      But really, the argument is irrelivant. You've got to have your head in the sand to think that in general, people are very happy with the PS3 price point.

      --
      If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
    6. Re:From the article: "" by IpalindromeI · · Score: 1

      Three guys on slashdot maybe not, but you don't need many. Sampling size for national opion polls in the US is typically only 1,500.

      --

      --
      Promoting critical thinking since 1994.
    7. Re:From the article: "" by Darth · · Score: 1

      Lets say each of we three have discussed the matter with 10 people, now clearly that's not a really good sample size, so our margin for error is quite high, but it is fairly random, so that helps.

      it's an insignificant sample size. the margin for error is so high it makes the results meaningless. A sample built from the friends of people who read slashdot is not fairly random.

      Now the fact that apparently not a single one of those 30 people can be said to be happy about the price means that even with a huge error rate, the original quote is still questionable.

      No, it doesn't. It means that people with similar interests to people who read slashdot might not be happy with the price point. Considering there's a million slashdot user accounts, 30 people is probably not a big enough sample size to reliably make assertions about how slashdot readers and their friends in general feel.

      But really, the argument is irrelivant.

      I disagree. You are supporting your position with statistically meaningless evidence. I think that is relevant.

      You've got to have your head in the sand to think that in general, people are very happy with the PS3 price point.

      I know there are some people who do not have a particular problem with the price because they've posted in this story.
      I suspect that everyone, regardless of how they feel about the price point, would be happy for the price point to be lower.
      I recognise that the population of the country contains vastly different opinions than I do on a number of subjects.
      I am unwilling to make sweeping definitive statements about the entire population of a country based on, effectively, no data.

      --
      Darth --
      Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
    8. Re:From the article: "" by Darth · · Score: 1

      Three guys on slashdot maybe not, but you don't need many. Sampling size for national opion polls in the US is typically only 1,500.

      I agree that if you build a truly random sample and construct your opinion poll properly, you can determine trends using a surprisingly small sample size.
      There's a whole industry built around those polls. I imagine Sony has probably availed themselves of that industry when trying to figure out how much they could get away with.

      I think we could also agree that the original poster's statistical sample is too small and not sufficiently random to be meaningful in any way.
      I also suspect that the way the people involved were polled was probably not impartial.

      --
      Darth --
      Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
    9. Re:From the article: "" by XenoRyet · · Score: 1
      You keep blowing my statement way out of preportion. I'm not making a "sweeping definitive statement about the entire population of a country", I'm simply saying that someone else's sweeping statement is questionable. I didn't even say it was wrong, I said questionable.

      I said that I belive that we have sufficent anacdotal evedence to suggest the statement "In these territories, the prices we announced were very well accepted." may not be entirely true. I didn't say I had absolute proof that Phil was lying and we should throw him in jail for false advertisement.

      Then again, it probably makes it easier to argue when you turn questioning that you dissagree with into "sweeping definitive statements about the entire population of a country"

      --
      If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
    10. Re:From the article: "" by Keyframe2 · · Score: 1

      Sony had PS3 in beowolf cluster computing poll results, that explains it. Seriously though, poll or not - no matter how much money you have, no one is happy forking out that much money, ever.

    11. Re:From the article: "" by LKM · · Score: 1
      People that I've talked to, including staunch PlayStation supporters, have said that they don't plan on buying a PS3 because of the high price point

      I have to agree. I wonder who the hell he asked about these "magic price points." I have no doubt that the PS3 will sell out during its first few months, but the console race isn't a first-few-months affair. Most of my friends could afford a PS3, but guess what? Nobody I know has even bought an Xbox 360 - even those who own and love the old Xbox.

      Both the 360 and the PS3 simply cost too much for what they deliver.

    12. Re:From the article: "" by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Of course we also have to know what Sony asked the people. Perhaps the question was "what would you pay for a computer that can play HD movies and the newest games?".

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  8. Unfortunately by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    They keep putting the wrong end up to the podium...

  9. Lemme get this straight by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're there with the key top brass of the PS3 crew, the guru, the really big cheese, and the best question is "what's up with that Africa game"?

    Who the heck cares about a game nobody has even heard of. Or wants to hear of. Or could even remotely consider buying.

    How about new sequels of already very much loved games? How about asking 'bout the damn cables? How about BluRay and what about the rumor that you can't "lend" discs because they're being "tied" with your box somehow as soon as you put them in the first time?

    Or was that the only question that guru was able/allowed/willing to answer?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Lemme get this straight by squiggleslash · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's what you get when you get Chris Farley to ask the questions.

      "Hey, do you remember, er, like that game where, er, er, the Ninja... you're the Ninja, and, er, you have to do that thing with the joystick, and, er, you get the bonus screen?"

      "Erm, yep. Yep Chris, I do"

      "That was awesome!"

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:Lemme get this straight by Total_Wimp · · Score: 1
      Who the heck cares about a game nobody has even heard of. Or wants to hear of. Or could even remotely consider buying.

      How about new sequels of already very much loved games?


      This really bothers me. I thought it was unimaginative studios that were pushing all these sequels on us but you're here actually demanding the rehashes over something at least unusual if not totally unique. Because of you (and, presumably millions more like you), I'm going to have to wade through shelfs chock full of things like "Devil May Cry 28 - the Ulitimate Devil" in order to find a few gems like "Something No One Ever Thought of Before that's Actually Really Super Cool."

      Here's a hint: The Sims, Dance Dance Revolution, Eye Toy, and Guitar Hero were very new, totally unproven, and risky concepts when they first came out. Maybe they weren't all completely new (eye toy type stuff had been done on a small scale), but they were totally new to most players. These games were giant hits because of their freshness. Please don't squash my chances at something fresh so you can eat peas-porage-in-the-pot-nine-days-old.

      If you want these sequals, terrific, encourage them and buy them, but for god's sake don't pick on the journalists who actually have the balls to ignore the safe questions and ask about something new.

      TW
    3. Re:Lemme get this straight by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      If the game is a new idea, great. The same game again just with better graphics is boring, granted. But at the very least I'd expect to get SOME information of the game background. A question out of the blue like "Ah, btw, that awesome new game of yours..." sounds a lot like it's been set up to advertise a game. That's not journalism, that's marketing.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Africa game? by soft_guy · · Score: 1

    I don't see the appeal. If I wanted to look at pictures of animals, I would just watch a national geographic movie, or do a search on YouTube. The appeal of actually seeing animals in real life is a bit different (and I could probably just go to the zoo).

    --
    Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
    1. Re:Africa game? by dohzer · · Score: 1

      What the hell IS "that Africa game"? Google didn't help me. :(

    2. Re:Africa game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This video of Sony's E3 presentation should answer ALL your questions. Even those that you don't have yet. ;)

    3. Re:Africa game? by grumbel · · Score: 1
      I don't see the appeal. If I wanted to look at pictures of animals, I would just watch a national geographic movie,

      Meanwhile the rest of the world plays Grand Turismo instead of driving on a real racetrack, plays FIFA instead of doing real soccer and playing Counter-Strike instead of... uhm... ok lets stop here. It of course depends on what kind of gameplay they pack into that Africa game and how good the animal AI is, but I can imagine this to be great fun. That Africa game seems to have some quite realistic animal behaviour and some gigantic landscapes to explore, something that almost no other game has. Even if your only way to interact would be photoshooting one could probally spend quite some hours in there. Yes, this might not appeal to the twitch gamer, but if I just want to relax a bit, then I probally prefer that game over Tekken any time.

      I am of course not sure what they will finally make out of this game, but at this point it does look like they have a very good base to build something up on. It looks nice and has plenty of realistic looking animals not seen in other games these days. Nintedogs sold like crazy and there you only have some single rather stupid dog, maybe Africa will appeal to a similar group. No matter how it turns out, I am very happy to actually see a game that isn't yet another stupi0, always the same, shoot-everything-that-moves title. Innovation is good and that Africa title seems to have some of it.

  11. Can't connect to your TV? by techstar25 · · Score: 2, Informative

    From the article:
    "Will the PS3 include component video cables in the box?
    I'm not sure, but I think the answer might be "no."


    We know it doesn't come with HDMI cables. So how do you connect it to your TV? Is it really composite only? That's remarkable. So out of the box, it will look like poo no matter what television you have.
    They are adding HDMI to all the PS3s now, but they aren't including a decent cable to connect with. Strange.

    1. Re:Can't connect to your TV? by hords · · Score: 1

      I'm guessing it will come with component cables like the 360 did. They would be stupid not to (oh wait, this is Sony.)

  12. The Console World Is Laughing At You... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    1. Re:The Console World Is Laughing At You... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Just to list a handful of the first realtime PS3 games.

      What were they before? Slideshows?

      Oh! I know what you're talking about! This has to do with that... that... that...

      What was that?

      The... Umm... *snap!* Real Time Weapon Change feature! That's it! Yeah, so all these games will all have that Real Time Weapon Change thingy, right? Hey, that is cool! Better shout that one from the rooftops!
  13. Or... by SoapDish · · Score: 2, Funny

    For the same price as a PS3, you could go on a real safari!

    1. Re:Or... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now you're just trolling... Unless you meant "For the same price as a PS3, you could go on a real safari, take a cruise trip around the world, buy two dozen Ferraris and have enough left over to buy a small country."

  14. In retrospect by steveo777 · · Score: 1
    I wonder if Kutaragi's PR gaurd was there to keep him from accidentally 'adding' any features by answering questions. Which probably is what got Sony into a lot of this mess.

    Your typical PR guys get the question, "Can your product do this?"

    Then the answer, "Yes!" even though they have no clue.

    --
    This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
  15. Sony Runaway Trial Began Today by Blnky · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and that wraps up your weekend forcast. Back to you Tom.

    Thank you Mary Ann. Tonights top story, the Sony Runaway Trial. Shortly after noon in San Diego the lawyers representing Fathers Against Runaway Teens opened the court proceedings with hefty accusations against Sony. They charge that Sony has been negligent in its review of computer games and their affects on teenagers. This case originated when Brandon Hill, a runaway teen sixteen years old, was found in Africa three months later. When questioned, he admitted to playing the game Africa on Sony's Play Station Three.

    Mark Hill, Brandon's father said, "My son never expressed any interest in any other countries or continents before playing that game. It obviously seduced him into leaving home and traveling to Africa in order to watch lions and hippos. We all know that teenagers cannot think for them selves and only walk around life as a mimicry of what they play on computers and game consoles. Sony should have known better than to release that game."

    Sony, denies any wrong doing. However, Mr. Hill believes they are only trying to duck responsibility. "My son was almost killed because of that game. Its non-violent approach convinced him he could walk right out into the savana and approach these animals without any type of weapon for protection. Not only did he try to follow a zebra herd around, he also tried to pet a baby elephant." Brandon, who is recovering from a cracked skull, damaged vertebre, four cracked ribs, and multiple contusions was unavailable for comment.

    In a preemptive move, Walmart has already removed all games from its shelves. Stan Grissom, a Walmart spokesman, stated this action was only temporary. The games will return after they have been labeled with both NCA and RRP ratings. These two new ratings have been promoted by many game distributers for the last several years but, until now, have not been used. The new ratings stand for "Not for California" and "Requires Responsible Parents". Though Mr. Hill applauds this action, he feels it is too little too late. "If Sony had required that labeling at the start we wouldn't be here today. I would be suing someone else for my son's problems instead."

    Stay with us. After the break we will show you the latest on how life can cause cancer and what you can do about it.

    1. Re:Sony Runaway Trial Began Today by leland242 · · Score: 1

      The name "May Ann" was such a good choice...

  16. The Horse's Mouth? by ravyne · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Horse's Mouth? You sure you don't have that horse backwards on this one?

    1. Re:The Horse's Mouth? by DoctorDyna · · Score: 0, Redundant

      LOL! I love it.

      --
      Windows has more viruses because linux has more virus coders.
  17. HDMI in all PS3 models by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The news to me (that I may have missed earlier) was that the $500 model will also include HDMI.

    As for the Africa game, that actually could be really interesting and educational, if the AI for the animals is any good. I wonder if they will show lions taking down impala or the like...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:HDMI in all PS3 models by Manmademan · · Score: 1

      The video at TGS shows a cheetah running down some sort of antelope, (at one point from a first person perspective) which is close enough. It may not be the type of game that gets the fanboys foaming at the mouth i.e. Halo, but it definitely has my interest up.

  18. Thanks by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I'll have to hunt down some video from the game. Amusingly I was actually just in Africa on a few game drives so I have a great recent memory to compare it to, I found it funny they had made a game - though I might actually buy it as it was an interesting experience.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  19. Is it an adventure game? by MMaestro · · Score: 1
    You don't kill the animals.

    The animals kill you!

  20. a non-violent safari game? by thesimplicity · · Score: 1
    Africa allows you to experience a very interesting part of the world, a safari in the plains of Africa. The gameplay is entirely non-violent. You don't kill the animals. It emphasizes the positives rather than the negatives.
    Hmm, that sounds familiar.
  21. it has to be said. by ultramk · · Score: 1

    Q: You're the head of Sony's worldwide development studios. What the hell is up with that Africa game?

    He attacked his Weak Point for MASSIVE DAMAGE.

    m-

    --
    You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas
  22. Onboard video by tepples · · Score: 1
    you'd be hard pressed to use your computer without a video card.

    Pull the PCI-e card and power on the computer, and it automatically switches to its onboard 2D video.

    1. Re:Onboard video by leland242 · · Score: 1

      I had no idea - I'm still rocking AGP...

  23. Framerate issues tied to games, not consoles by jchenx · · Score: 0
    Great thanks for the reply. Hadn't heard about any 360 framerate issues, but I'm also not reading a lot of 360 reviews etc... Good to know though.

    Ehh, I'd be wary of getting any type of advice from Sony fanbois. :P

    Really, framerate issues should be tied to the game, not the console. It's not the console's fault if developers write bad/unoptimized code, or are just stressing the console past its limits (whatever that may be). Comparing two different games on two platforms is certainly not "apples to apples".

    A better way to do actual console comparison is to take a multiplatform game and compare it on both. You also have to make sure the game was developed at roughly the same stage. 2nd generation 360 titles will often do better than 1st generation PS3 ones (of course there will be exceptions, as there always ARE exceptions).

    Honestly, despite all the FUD flying about (from BOTH parties), I don't think gamers are really going to get a feel for how much more powerful one system is over another, until a few years from now. And with multiplatform development generally leveling the playing field, it may be moot altogether.

    Of course, better graphics does not necessarily make a better game. But I'll leave it to the Wii-fanbois to explain that one. ;)
    --
    -- jchenx