Sony employee fired for his comments on PS3 (enclosed)

[Asher]

I still have a hard time believing Stringer will authorize massive losses on the PS3, given how much he's invested in cost cutting across the company.

Look for an expensive-ass console, or one with far less features.

More accurately, I'd guess a 2007 release which would reduce Bluray costs quite a bit.

[Asher]

Originally posted by nostromo
I doubt that the CPU and Bluray are that expensive, though.

Bluray will undoubtedly be that expensive, at a minimum. The CPU is more questionable, but that really is one massive, complex chip. It'll be very expensive.

[Gatekeeper]

Heh. Maybe Nintendo's Revolution will surprise everyone (for the better).

Ah, the memories. I started out on the 8-bit NES, got a 16-bit SNES, then bailed after having an N64 for awhile.

Gatekeeper

[Asher]

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2006/id20060221_374710.htm

Kim Talks Halo 3 and Second Wave
Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim discusses Halo 3, the second wave of Xbox 360 games, and lessons learned from the recent platform launch

We caught up with Shane Kim at the recent DICE summit to talk about the various issues surrounding first and third party Xbox 360 development. Not surprisingly, we wanted to talk about Halo 3, but Kim points out there's a whole lot more going on at Microsoft than that game...

Next Generation: Let's talk about Halo 3. What are we up to?

Shane Kim: I call it The Mythical Halo 3 — we haven't announced any such game yet! Obviously the Halo franchise is very important to us. When you have Bill Gates being quoted fairly constantly, talking about a game, you know it's important to the company. But his recent comments reflect the position accurately. Which is that, if there were a Halo 3 we would be careful about how we announce and introduce it.

It's exactly the same way we talked about Halo 2, where people wanted it a year after Halo. That would not have accomplished anything.

Is it coming out this year?

It depends. If it's the game that everyone is expecting then, yes. For us it's about making a proper impact on the platform. It has to be something with huge significance, so we won't be rushed.

We don't want all the hype and speculation to overshadow some of the great titles that do have coming this holiday and thereafter. Gears of War has an incredible level of anticipation. I think it has more anticipation than Halo did before Halo came out.

If you remember the E3 before the launch [of Xbox] a lot of people were not sure that Halo would be so great. We learned a lot of lessons at that E3. We chose not to show a lot of titles at this past E3. For people in the industry, their first assessment of a title is based on the visual impact.

PlayStation 3 announcements are coming. When they do, will you guys be making amendments to your plans?

I don't think anything is going to change. We've had our plans in place for some years now. The development of titles, of hardware and of Xbox Live takes many years. Our portfolio for the next few years is well on the way.

Those guys [SCEA] tend not to share their plans with us, so we pretty much develop our own strategy based on our vision and where we want to go. Leaders can't afford to be reactors. We have a very good plan and we will execute that.

What have you learned in the last few months since the launch of Xbox 360?

Some of the innovations on the platform have created new opportunities for us that were not available in the first generation of games. Xbox Arcade is an example of that where we are learning new ways to extend our relationship with customers.

We are starting to stretch the way we imagine what the platform is really capable of delivering as are developers who have spent more time with the hardware for the next wave of titles. They are really showing the power of the platform and the power of Xbox Live.

What are the big bets coming up?

We made some pretty significant announcements at X05, but the attention then was focused on the [hardware] launch. We talked about the Crackdowns and the Too Humans or the Mass Effects, and you'll be able to see more from those titles soon, as well as Gears of War.

How much of an improvement will we see in the second wave?

Our general strategy has been to focus on quality rather than quantity. Those four titles — you'll hear a lot more at E3. We have a few other things that we are working on that we'll announce between now and E3, so we haven't told the world about everything.

The hardware shortages must have had an effect on third parties' desire to release games at this time. Surely, there'll be a gap until the installed base is bigger?

There's always a trade-off when you are the first to go out on a platform. The overall portfolio is smaller so there is less competition at the start of the platform life cycle and that leads some publishers to want to be there. But they understand that the installed base is smaller.

Some people also have this desire to lead from a creative standpoint and to show their ability to harness the power of a new platform, so they want to jump in earlier. Other people have a business model that is predicated on selling to a larger installed base and for these people, I think, who maybe had plans to be out in the second quarter, they would like to see more units out there.

We're working hard to produce as many units as possible. I'm pretty confident we'll catch up with demand in the next few weeks and we'll be able to supply all the demand. Of course we are gratified by the overwhelming demand for Xbox 360 but we would have liked to have sold more units, had they been available. I don't see it as lost sales though, only as a time—shift.

Looking back at the launch, and leaving shortages aside, any regrets?

Any game developer will tell you they wish they had more time with the hardware. That's always the case. If you look at the complexity of this console and you add Live...

With the first generation of Xbox we waited a year before launching Live; this year everything went out together. It would have been better to have more time with the development hardware. But this is not a trivial undertaking. It's very challenging to create this hardware and a network like this.

But I look at the quality of the launch games that came out and that is how to analyse the platform's success. Call of Duty is a great game, and Perfect Dark, Gotham, Kameo, Need For Speed are all great games. The launch portfolio was full of good games. There wasn't anything quirky that might hurt the platform or anything that really rose to the top. It was a level playing field for everybody.

Could it be argued that you had too many titles at launch?

If we had gone with half of the titles, you would have more people criticizing us for having too small a portfolio. The breadth and quality of the portfolio offered something for everyone both from the first and third parties. It appealed to a broad audience, not just the hardcore.

Choice is never a bad thing, unless there is a degradation in quality and I don't think we had that situation. It was the strongest launch portfolio in history.

Some have said that the launch lacked a single killer game.

I don't think that's fair. Everyone is looking for a Halo and a GTA, but we have to realize there are only two of those titles in history, and they weren't those big legends before they launched.

It is easy to look back and say 'nothing the size of Halo came out', but the launch titles were all solid good games and there was some amazing work.

I would put this portfolio up against the original Xbox launch portfolio any day. I don't see the fact that there wasn't one game that everyone wanted to buy as a criticism. The strength was in the variety.

If you look at the attach rate that speaks to the quality of the portfolio of the highest attach rate in history which is an indication of real quality.

[DRoseDARs]

Well gee, look at this. Looks like the guy was right... He should see if he can sue for his unjustified treatment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/sony_ps3_dc

Sony's PlayStation 3 delayed: papers

By Yukari Iwatani Kane Tue Mar 14, 10:26 PM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. (6758.T) will delay the release of its new PlayStation 3 video game console until early November because development of some of the technology is behind schedule, Japanese newspapers said on Wednesday.

Sony's shares fell 1.6 percent after the reports, which said consumer electronics makers and movie companies have been unable to reach agreement on the copy protection technology for Blu-ray Disc drives. The PS3 will use such a drive.

The PS3 launch date has been the subject of heavy speculation in the industry as expectations are high for the machine, which will have cutting-edge technology and is expected to enable users to play games and movies as well as download videos from the Internet.

"It's now a full year behind
Xbox which is a concern," said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide, referring to rival Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360 video game console.

Sony is expected to announce the delay at a briefing for software licencees at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Wednesday, which it opened up to media and analysts at the last minute.

Most analysts were not surprised by the reports as they had expected the PS3 to be delayed until late summer or autumn.

Sony currently has about 70 percent of the global market for game consoles, but some analysts have said it could lose as much as 20 percentage points to Microsoft, which is making an aggressive push to increase its 15 percent share.

If the PS3 is delayed until November, it will go head-to head with Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) next-generation Revolution console, which is expected to hit markets around the same time.

Nintendo also has about a 15 percent market share.

A Sony spokesman in the United States said the PS3 was still slated for a spring 2006 launch, but the company warned last month that the launch could be pushed back if industry specifications for some of its technology weren't finalized soon.

Andy Parsons, a U.S. spokesman for the Blu-Ray Disc Association industry group, denied any problems with the copy protection technology.

"As far as we are concerned, everything's on track," he said.

KBC's Kamide pointed out that the reported delay of the PS3 also has negative implications for Japanese software developers, many of whom rely on the popularity of the PlayStation to drive revenues.

"There's nothing in the first half of the year and the install base in the second half will be so small it will have no material impact for earnings at all," he said. "This is going to be a horrendous year."

Analysts expect the PS3 to be launched for about $500 almost simultaneously in the U.S. and Japan with an initial line up of at least five to 10 games.

Sony shares fell to 5,480 yen at the close of morning trade. The electric machinery index (.IELEC.T) was up 0.3 percent and the Nikkei average was up 0.48 percent.

(Additional reporting by Sue Zeidler and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle)

[One_more_turn]

Sony is ruled by a bunch of consumer-hating corporate boneheads. I doubt that bunch is up to the challenges Sony faces now:
- In consumer electronics, Sony is losing money to Koreans (Samsung) and other more competent Japanese companies (Canon, Panasonic). And Chinese are already lurking on the horizon.

- In music business, it's getting banged up by Apple. Sony is not making money here.

- Now Microsoft is attacking the only business segment in which Sony still makes money, and Sony can't deliver. Its problems with PS3 are far deeper than they are willing to admit. I will be positively surprised if the PS3 comes out next Spring (07).

I see a great short in Sony once the current Japanese stock market mania is over.

[Nostromo]

Beat you to it

http://67.15.24.46/~apolyton/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=4328874#post4328874

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by nostromo
Beat you to it

http://67.15.24.46/~apolyton/forums/...74#post4328874

Actually, Asher beat you to it a month ago...

[laurentius]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/03/15/playstation_3_delay_november/

Sony's PlayStation chieftan, Ken Kuturagi, has officially announced that the PS3 is delayed until November.

However, the firm is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide launch with major availability (think: Xbox 360 but without the massive disappointment.)

Sony said it would ship 6 million PS3s before the end of 2006 - to put that in perspective, Microsoft has only shipped about 3.5m Xbox 360s so far since the system launched last year.

Kuturagi also unveiled some of the features of the console. A 60GB hard drive will be included with every machine and it will be possible to run Linux on it, officially. Interestingly, the PS3 will act as a media hub from which you can grab all your content - sort of the opposite of the Xbox 360, which acts as a media grabber.

He also spoke of Sony's as-yet-unnamed online service, which appears to be shaping up very much like Xbox Live - with a free online service for downloads and chatting then a premium service for actually gaming.

The PSP is also to get a price cut, with a UK 'base' unit (sans headphones etc) to come it at around £140, or $199 in the States. An EyeToy unit, that plugs into USB, was confirmed, and official support for downloading PS1 games from Sony and playing them via Memory Stick was also mentioned. Sceptics might say that emulation on a PSP has been around for ages, but this officially sanctioned effort looks rather like the Revolution's Nintendo-heritage-backwards-compatibility.

and so, its official. I'm very excited about the hdd though!

[Verto]

Originally posted by laurentius

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/03/15/playstation_3_delay_november/

Sony's PlayStation chieftan, Ken Kuturagi, has officially announced that the PS3 is delayed until November.

However, the firm is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide launch with major availability (think: Xbox 360 but without the massive disappointment.)

Sony said it would ship 6 million PS3s before the end of 2006 - to put that in perspective, Microsoft has only shipped about 3.5m Xbox 360s so far since the system launched last year.

Kuturagi also unveiled some of the features of the console. A 60GB hard drive will be included with every machine and it will be possible to run Linux on it, officially. Interestingly, the PS3 will act as a media hub from which you can grab all your content - sort of the opposite of the Xbox 360, which acts as a media grabber.

He also spoke of Sony's as-yet-unnamed online service, which appears to be shaping up very much like Xbox Live - with a free online service for downloads and chatting then a premium service for actually gaming.

The PSP is also to get a price cut, with a UK 'base' unit (sans headphones etc) to come it at around £140, or $199 in the States. An EyeToy unit, that plugs into USB, was confirmed, and official support for downloading PS1 games from Sony and playing them via Memory Stick was also mentioned. Sceptics might say that emulation on a PSP has been around for ages, but this officially sanctioned effort looks rather like the Revolution's Nintendo-heritage-backwards-compatibility.

and so, its official. I'm very excited about the hdd though!

Yes, all it takes for you to get excited about the PS, is for Sony to announce they will be copying MS and Nintendo!

[laurentius]

Sony copying MS....riiight

[Verto]

!!!!

[Verto]

It's not like anyone is going to see any real innovation from Sony.