Slashdot Mirror
Ask Sony's Phil Harrison About PS3 and Games
During GDC Sony made an effort to answer questions directly from the gaming community, taking steps to put aside the problems of the past several months. Today, we have a chance to take another step in the right direction with the company. Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, has been the face of the PlayStation 3 here in the United States since before the machine launched. He's agreed to answer questions from the Slashdot community about the PlayStation 3, the console since launch, and their recent announcements about LittleBigPlanet and Home. I've linked a trio of other interviews he's done recently below, to give you an idea of topics that he's already covered. I'm sure there are plenty of questions we might ask that have yet to be put forward in a public forum. So - feel free to ask away. One question per comment, please, and keep in mind that Mr. Harrison is here to answer questions about the PS3 and games only; any other Sony-related questions are outside the scope of this interview. The highest-rated comments will be passed on, and we'll post his answers as soon as we get them.
With a number of previously-PS3-exclusive titles having gone multiplatform, are there any efforts to prevent this from occurring further, or is it of little concern to SCE? That is, should we expect to see more PS3-exclusives go multiplatform?
I like basketball!!1!
The wii's sales have been meteoric, despite the "superior technology" of the PS3 and XBox 360. My question is, have Sony and MSFT completely underestimated the penetration, and demand for, HDTV, and are you both feeling that now?
On a standard set Wii titles look better than the last gen, and offer an new, innovative, and most importantly fun experience. On a standard set, a PS3 is a $600 PS2, and a 360 is a $400 Xbox.
Also, wrt Live, Home, etc: do you really think gamers are so eager to install stores under our TVs?
Do you have any vision for the online experience, other than as a way to get my credit card number?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Where do I sign up to get the $1200 per system sitting on the shelf in January that Jack Tretton promised?
The PS3 has three major problems as I see it; lack of software, price, and lack of availability. The latter two of these three issues have been blamed on the fact that the PS3's Blu-Ray drive requires an expensive and scarce blue laser.
Given the problems that seem to have come with Blu-Ray, does it still look like including the drive in the system was worth it? And if so, was it worth it for the PS3, for the Blu-Ray format, or for both? What steps are being taken to remedy the problems in price and availability?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Do you really think you can compete with XBox Live?
Last generation, XBox Live really blew people away and has set the standard for console connectivity. It will be 6 years old this November. Microsoft seems to have learned from it and has enhanced it for the 360 (like achievement points), and will be introducing it for Windows. Nintendo, sadly, doesn't seem to have learned and will be using "friend codes" again on the Wii, with reports that each game will use different codes.
How well do you think your offering will be able to compete with XBox Live? While there is a price associated with XBL, making a service free doesn't make up for what may be lost. From what I know the PS3 doesn't seem to have the same focus and commitment that Microsoft has. And while some of your ideas are quite interesting (like the Home concept), I have to wonder if it will be seen as being as well developed and integrated as XBL is at this point.
Do you think you can beat XBL this generation, or do you think you might be relegated to playing catchup?
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Why should I shell out over $500.00 USD to purchase the PS3 when I can purchase an XBOX 360 and/or Nintendo Wii for the same price? Perhaps even buying the two of them and still paying the price of just the PS3. This is not meant to be a jab, just a legitimate questions.
I understand the strategy of never announcing price drops until they're imminent, but the PS3 is not even on many people's radar at the moment, because of the staggering price. The Neo Geo consumer hardware followed a similar price model. Are you even considering price drops on the PS3 hardware?
Ryan Fenton
@Mr Phil Harrison
There is this old conviction amongst some that Sony's tried to kill sprite based 2D games and is reluctant to let them be published on Playstation consoles.
Is there any truth to this?
Does Sony have a "stance" against on sprite based 2D games on the PS3? Can a game like Odin Sphere be published on the PS3?
Is there a chance that the policy of restricting access to PS3 graphics hardware (via the hypervisor) could be revised to encourage us homebrew developers?
When does the ps4 come out?
Browse at -1 to keep an eye out for abuses.
Now there is a question I have. Why is it that it's the year 2007, the PS3 is a "High Definition" system, and costs $500-$600... yet still only includes the same composite video cables people have been using since the NES 22 years ago?
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Sir,
Will Sony be offering up kernel patches and an RSX optimized OpenGL library for PS3/Linux?
It's high time we started holding companies accountable for the wild ramblings of their representatives.
Anyone who believes in fairness and honesty has a moral obligation not to purchase anything from Sony until many helpings of $1200 are released to many people out there. Which of course we know will never happen...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
If someone manages to get homebrew games running on the PS3, will there be firmware updates to stop this kind of development, to protect your software developers, or is homebrew something you are planning on and even encouraging? How does this strategy differ from your strategy with PSP homebrew?
Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
I was going to go with something snarky about the price of the PS3, but I've decided to instead make a more direct point.
I don't have an HDTV. As I understand it, the major selling point of the PS3 is its new HD graphics. I currently have no plans on getting an HDTV. So, sell me on why I should get a PS3 given that I have a 13" CRT TV. Would it still be worth it? Will I still be able to play all the same games that HDTV players can? Or will I have to suffer unreadable text or HUD elements that are too small to understand?
Or, can I hook up the PS3 output to my computer monitor using DVI? Right now I'm more willing to upgrade my computer monitor than my TV, so that might work for me, especially given that my TV is smaller than my computer monitor.
Honestly, the lack of an HDTV is the largest reason I'm uninterested in the PS3 right now. There are other reasons, of course, but I'm sure that they'll be brought up plenty of times by other trolls. Uh, I mean, other posters. :)
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
How long till there is a first party controller with "last-gen" rumble?
How can I be certain that putting a PS3 on my home network won't cause a rootkit to be installed on the other devices?
-q
Is there any possibility of letting an 'OtherOS' have full access to the GPU, allowing accelerated and 3D graphics for homebrew developers?
People on the internet and in the tech media in general have been raking the PS3 and Sony over the coals for probably a good year now, with a noticeable backlash directed towards Sony's PR department. You've taken a lot of fire as one of the main figures in Sony's PR campaign, and I can't count how many times I've seen your name brought up here or on Digg in a negative light. The consensus seems to be that Sony's got a lot of work to do to win over the gaming public.
How, then, is Sony going to go about changing this mindset? There's still plenty of time to go from being viewed as the last place console to being a legitimate contender, if not the forerunner, but there's lots of ground to cover to do that. Are there any plans for this you'd be able to share with us, and any ideas on how long it might take before we see the PS3 in a stronger position than it is now?
On another note entirely, God of War 2 seems to be getting a more favorable reaction than any of the PS3 titles released thus far. Any thoughts on why that might be?
Goo goo g'joob.
What is your personal philosophy regarding the future of videogames as a genre? For example, where do you see games, in terms of social and cultural identification, 20 years from now, and how do you think the nature of the PS3 plays into the culmination of this overall vision?
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
Why does Sony consider it a good business move to alienate Europe with a half-year delay and neutered hardware, and why do you still charge more for this inferior product than the US or Japanese consoles?
Now that you have a few months with PS3s in the hands of consumers and plenty of reviews to pour over, what mistakes did Sony make in the design of the system?
Here's their standard sales pitch:
1. Cell processor, capable of incredible graphics and physics simulations
2. Blu-Ray, so you can watch movies at 1080p and listen to their excellent surround
3. Backwards compatibility.
While none of these claims are false, they all come with some limitations:
1. The Cell processor is difficult to program for, so don't expect games to use it fully for at least a couple of years, if ever.
2. You need a 1080p tv and a mid-to-high-end surround receiver to get the full experience of Blu-Ray
3. BackComp - It's limited, but it's there.
Frankly, your question was rather soft and almost looks like an astroturf. You might as well have asked "Please praise your system and tell us how good it is." I have no idea how you're getting moderated up.
I second the request to mod this up. I'd like a straight, non marketting response to the ridiculous showboating Sony's been doing lately. This remark especially emphasizes the idea that Sony thinks consumers are a bunch of morons.
-- sudo.ca
What are you doing to support the people that want a gaming system, not a home hub, something never to be plugged into a network?
I was pleasently surprised at all the different things a PS3 can do. It can play music, show videos, show pictures, play games.
Why is it with 8 processors, it can only do these things one at a time.
I'd like to start it playing music and display a series of pictures and/or videos. It would be useful at parties.
I'd like to start it playing background music, turn off the music in a game and play a game, without listening to "call to battle" or whatever the track is, over and over and over.
One of the big things Sony touted with the SIXAXIS controller is the motion sensing technology (though I haven't seen it mentioned much in commercials). The debate over whether that was reactionary to Nintendo's Wiimote is a long debate, but it makes me curious- what other kinds of alternative gameplay mechanics have Sony toyed with for the PS3 controllers?
(I believe Mr. Harrison first joined Sony's SCEA branch in 1996).
Phil, if you could go back in time and give professional advice to your 1996 self, what would you say?
If you were to give professional advice to people interested in entering the industry today, what would it be?
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
As a PAL gamer frustrated by the lack of availability of more niche titles, I have a large library of both PAL and NTSC-US PS2 games. With the removal of the Emotion Engine from the PAL PS3 and the move to software emulation, is there any possibility that Sony might be able relax region restrictions on PS1 and PS2 games? The inability to play half of my game collection on such an expensive piece of hardware is a significant barrier to entry for me.