The Real Reason to invest in PS3 (Long Read)

[Ocelot9]

Ok, I found this in the gamespot forums enjoy!


I read a very provocative interview in Game Informer magazine today about the new SCEA President Jack Tretton who took over Kaz Harai's position recently. What he had to say, for me, was revealing and a very big eye opener that gave me a whole new perspective on the state of Sony and the PS3.


I know there is the possibility of some real bias here considering its the President of Sony America talking but from the interview it seemed like he was really just shooting from the hip and telling it like it is. I feel his word can be trusted. He said that Sony is extremely commited to the gamers and the Playstation brand. The PS2 was a large investment over the PS1 but the PS3 was an enormous investment compared to the PS2. Sony has built the factories that can produce every component for the PS3 many years ago. They believe in long term investments of billions of dollars towards the Playstation brand.


Tretton apologized for the initial shortage of systems but said there was bound to be at least some pitfalls when mass producing such an ambitious piece of hardware. He said their vision was to design the PS3 to be future-proof, to be a viable and strong platform for 10 years. That is why they invested heavily in designing their home-brew Cell processor with the 8 core configuration. They knew that multi-core CPU's are the future even if in the short term developers won't know how to harnass all the power.


I used to think that the RSX GPU will become out-dated too soon but I did not understand the unique architecture in the PS3 that connects the Cell to the RSX. Over the years as programmers learn more and more about the hardware, they will be able to offload many tasks from the RSX to the Cell's SPE cores essentially allowing the RSX to evolve it's graphics potential. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, it means that PS3 games will look significantly better as the system ages to stay current with the standards of games. Even if MS releases another Xbox soon, the PS3 will probably be able to keep pace. At least enough to not warrant buying a new system from the competition. Anyway, as console gamers I don't think many of us want to buy a $500-600 system every 3-4 years. But I'm sure MS will try it.


Sony was also aware that standard DVD's would no longer be sufficient for storage much longer but also wanted to offer some real extra value to the PS3 by going with the blu-ray drive. Storage space for games is just as important to them as having a successful format for the next generation of high definition movies. Kojima recently stated that even 50GB of storage was not enough for MGS4 so that is proof already that standard DVD is a mistake if the PS3 had gone with that medium instead.


Tretton said that they knew it would be very expensive to launch an ambitious system like the PS3 by trying to use current technology to make it future-proof. This is the main cause of the blu-ray diode problem causing the shortage but they had 1 million PS3's air shipped to North America during the holidays at great expense because he said they don't care what it costs. The know the PS3 is a long term investment and they are willing to go the distance.


When he was asked about the loss of exclusives such as Assassins Creed, he stated that Sony has never "bought out" developers or made special deals to secure exclusive games. The most they have done is provided help with marketing the exclusive games. Sony has the largest in-house development studios of all three competitors allowing them to have the largest number of exclusive games but he also realizes that due to rising development costs, very few companies can afford not to go multi-platform anymore. Exclusive games will be few and far between in this generation.


The most important thing to take away from this is that buying a PS3 is like buying a piece of the future. We don't yet know exactly what that future will look like but you can be sure that the engineering that has gone into this system will give game developers the most powerful tool ever to bring to life games that will be on a whole new level. On the PS3 we will experience some of the finest creations in gaming history. It's history in the making people. Sony just can't wait to unleash the power of the system and it's just getting warmed up. And I am sure now, more than ever that the PS3 is ahead of its time and will be around long after the Xbox 360 is a faded memory.


Similar interview to GameInformer's here:


http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13886 (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13886)

[saud264]

Sony has never "bought out" developers or made special deals to secure exclusive games

sony should bay for developers to get exclusive games

[Garfunkel]

IMO, instead of purchasing devs, they should fund games.

[Black Dragon37]

Like they're doing with Ninja Theory.

[Garfunkel]

no, i don't mean like that, i mean their first party.

[F089/H]

Nice read....I knew I made the right choice..My Wallet that was $800 Lighter Told me that...

[Z]

IMO, instead of purchasing devs, they should fund games.
that they do, and ambitiously so to boot. and not only that, Sony has great support with great attitude. take it from the horse's mouth, read what Ninja Theory, Insomniac, Factor 5 and others are all saying about Sony. do you know why Ninja Theory decided to go with Sony as their publisher? do you know why Factor 5 announced all their projects to be exclusively on PS3? do you know why Insomniac has made every single game in their history exclusively for Sony? there is no such thing as coincidences.
Sony has never "bought out" developers or made special deals to secure exclusive games
and this is one of the things I admire a lot about Sony's approach to gaming. many think the likes of Insomniac are Sony owned because of the strong support when in reality, they are totally independent devs.
there was a Sony rep that said it best. he said that if you buy a franchise or a game, it will get old eventually. maybe it would even have an early grave. but buying the talent behind the excellent game gives you the ability to work new wonders and bring new excitement and new technology to push things for years ahead. that is why some people think Sony made a mistake by purchasing Guerrilla. well, they don't realize that Sony wasn't after one game, but after the proprietary technology and talent of the whole team.

simple example; Sony buys Crash Bandicoot in the early PSOne days. look at where the poor rodent is at right now. same goes for hits of their time that haven't aged well at all. but instead, Sony buys the talent and tech behind that game. look at what amazing titles Naughty Dog has been, is doing, and will do for Sony in many ways like technically, in novelty, proprietary, new franchises, etc. heck, everybody agrees that Crash sank the day Naughty Dog took their hand off of it. that certainly tells you something right there.

why do you think Sony has collectively the most amazing in-house teams and tech? there is no such thing as coincidences.

[curryking1]

^Great post.

But there are such things as coincidences, I experienced like 5 today lol. But certainly not a single coincidence concerning the stuff you mentioned there Z.

[ded5850]

Um, didn't Sony originally buy out the rights to GTA3 when it came out? And I seem to recall them purchasing the exclusive rights to EA sports online for like a year whenever the original Xbox came out. Is this a bad thing? I don't see how it is. It's no diffrent then anything else.

You can respect a company that chooses not to "buy out" devs all you want, but when the consoles left high and dry with no games/exclusives, we'll see a much diffrent picture and here a much diffrent story

[Siraris]

It is a great post, and it really makes me realize that the reason people are down on the PS3 is because they haven't seen what it can do yet. Sony is willing to weather the storm right now to wreap the benefits later. Even just thinking about this, I am realizing how hard it must be for people who are not Sony fans - like the people on this board - to understand what is going on with Sony. Most people expect short term results and don't think of the future, and so obviously Xbox 360 is looking more appealing, it's been out longer and so it has games RIGHT NOW. If Sony had launched when 360 did, we wouldn't be seeing all this negativity because the games would be rolling in and people would be too busy playing and enjoying themselves.

I am feeling skeptical about the PS3 right now, but I think that feeling is brought on by the fact that there is very little going on right now. I'm really hoping that Sony is able to bring to fruition, what they plan the PS3 to do, soon. I'm waiting for the day when I open up the forums, or IGN or whatever site it is, and I see people talking about some mystery announcement that Sony is planning on making that day, and then seeing the real-time Killzone trailer show up later in the day.

Let's just hope Sony is telling the truth in all this, since most companies are known for exadurating the potential of their product. If what Jack and others have hinted at comes true, Sony will be in completely fine form.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

The real reason to invest in the PS3? Uh, cuz it's supa sweet. Duh.

[IEatFriedPikmin]

I skimmed through it (i have to go to work), and some of it seemed like they were just predictions.

In the end, i honestly see it as what the consumer wants in terms of games, online play, etc... just like last gen. nothing will make one system distinctly better.

[Shadow Voa]

Forget the long read I'll sum up the reason most will buy a PS3 and that is...



GAMES!

I dont need to be any more frank then that. If you loved games on Playstation systems, chances are you'll be getting this system for those game franchises. I know they are marketing it as a multi-entertainment device, but at the end of the day I believe it will still be seen as a gaming machine and so it should be.

Well... at least thats why I invested in this system. I did it for games that I cant play anywhere else and thats all that matters.

[VG Aficionado]

Gaaaaaaaaames!

And personally, I love the multimedia features and Linux OS as well.

[Fats]

Well, it obviously comes down to the games. It always has done and always will, but I'm really looking forward to watching movies in 720p (1080p if I'm extremely lucky :)). It's going to be an awesome multimedia experience! Yey!

[OmniCloud]

It is about the games...but the multimedia could be very nice if marketed right...But really, that's kinda what the articles is saying, that PS3 will continue to evolve past other system and the software will be more amazing every year...We'll see how true these words are soon enough.

btw-am I the only one who can't edit after you post? wth?

[curryking1]

The real reason to invest in the PS3? Uh, cuz it's supa sweet. Duh.

Best reason I've seen yet. I think I'm gonna buy two now lol.:pirate:

[Domination]

I used to think that the RSX GPU will become out-dated too soon but I did not understand the unique architecture in the PS3 that connects the Cell to the RSX. Over the years as programmers learn more and more about the hardware, they will be able to offload many tasks from the RSX to the Cell's SPE cores essentially allowing the RSX to evolve it's graphics potential. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, it means that PS3 games will look significantly better as the system ages to stay current with the standards of games. Even if MS releases another Xbox soon, the PS3 will probably be able to keep pace. At least enough to not warrant buying a new system from the competition. Anyway, as console gamers I don't think many of us want to buy a $500-600 system every 3-4 years. But I'm sure MS will try it.

Yet, some still don't realize this yet. :shrug:

[OmniCloud]

Yet, some still don't realize this yet. :shrug:Because it's not really apparent in the games yet. Software is the loudest statement at the end of the day.

[Shadow Voa]

How does the system make games like MGS4 look so good?

or

When is MGS4 coming out?

The reason I wrote those is simple, the average gamer who doesnt read these forums or online blogs about specs and how the system works and everything it offers wont know or care for the most part. And reagrdless if its MGS4, the games and what they show are what counts. Most dont care how things are done, just aslong as they are done.

Same goes for PS3 games, most people wouldnt give a damn about how the PS3 is doing what it does, they just want to see good looking games and they are happy.

[Domination]

Because it's not really apparent in the games yet. Software is the loudest statement at the end of the day.

And I agree that it is. However, news media reports seem to speak differently from where I am setting since everything seems to be a comparison these days. But for the most part, it gives me a good chuckle.

[Applefiend]

I think that's my feeling about PS3, and not to get too One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest about it but 360 is very big man, PS3 is a small man.

You look at XBox 1 gaming, it's online shooters, western rpgs, and EA Sports at the core. Pretty much everything you get on XBox 1 you now get on 360, only better. Instead of Morrowind you have your Oblivion, instead of Halo 2 you have Gears/Halo 3 MU Beta, updated EA Sports, DOA4 instead of DOA3. It's a bigger console than XBox 1. Come December this year it'll be complete, better than XBox 1 in every way. Bigger better experiance in all ways. I personally don't dig the core XBox experiance but many do. How many times can you shoot your buddy in the head?

Now PS3.... Oh dear. Pretty much everything on PS2 is better than everything on PS3, PS3 games just look better. Instead of Genji 2 you have DMC3, Onimusha, etc, for RPGs on PS2 you have the best ever, you have nothing on PS3,first up is bloody Enchant Arms, for Sand boxes you have GTA3, Bully etc, on PS3 nothing, first up sodding Saint's Row.

Just a few exceptions. RR7 > RR5, COD3 > COD anything on PS2.

PS2 is a much better console than PS3, and PS2 games even look better on PS2. So this is why PS3 probably isn't selling, it's so much smaller than PS2. 360 is much bigger than XBox 1. PS3 is currently a cheap blu ray player that plays Resistance to most people. The PS3 novelty has certainly worn off round my house and it's back to cosy nights in with the PS2. I'll be continuing to enjoy the best games on console, right here on PS2, and will right up till October when next gen really starts with GTA4, MGS4 and the rest.

PS3 doesn't feel like a Playstation yet, know what I mean?

And that's something that needs time to fix, at least 2 years. It's like being in a charity gig and you have to follow Jimi Hendrix.

So there's milestone games PS3 needs to beat.

You know them, GTA3, DMC3, Final Fantasy 12/10, Dragon Quest 8, Gran Turismo 4, Tekken 5, Virtua Fighter 4 Evo, Metal Gear Solid 3, Guitar Hero, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and more and more.

Some will be beat in the coming months, some won't be beat until well into 2008.

Hard act to follow.

As to why to invest in PS3? Right now, because Blu Ray is cool. What's supposed to be the reason PS3 is teh doom is actually it's only current killer app.

I really need to stop writing these long rants, sorry. :)

[VG Aficionado]

I agree that PS3 needs many more games and I have to say that it's been a while since we got a decent amount of interesting news and announcements. I guess the European launch (AKA the real PS3 launch) has a lot to do with the status quo. I am surprised PS3 isn't selling less than it is considering the lack of games and media presence.

I hope we will be happier with this week's news. I believe as soon as more game announcements, important firmware updates and some pleasing surprises happen, everything will be brighter. Don't you feel as if Sony still hasn't told us something important about it?

[Applefiend]

Well I hope we steer away from worst case scenaro. That's mainstream Western gaming confined to 360 with DVD games and subscriptions for all, mainstream Japanese gaming confined to Wii, which to me is a last gen system.

The flame of true next gen gaming still burns! :)

[Viano]

Well PS3 is better than PS2 because you can play PS2 games as well

People tend to catagorize things too much.

Any console that opens any new market yet in the same industry should not be considered last gen my friend.. Because you have to stretch horizontally first in order to reach the top of the pyramid, and that is an ingenious move.

[Garfunkel]

the ps3 is cell times as good as the ps2, you do the math.

[Applefiend]

Not only is Wii last gen, I don't think it's the best of last gen hardware wise. XBox 1 had more storage, better online, 720p games, digital optical out, Dolby Digital, yadda yadda.

I find Wii quite depressing really, you just know some japanese projects will move from PS3 to Wii as the cost of doing your next project on Wii is so much less than doing it on PS3, and you get paid either way. You can just feel it. If I was planning my next project that's how I'd be thinking.

Wii is number 1 new console in japan, look to see it getting number 1 development time.

Reading some interview with Jack Trenton, and he's all "PS3 will actually be hard to cost reduce, but we don't care as it's selling for thousands on ebay" and you think... Man... Maybe they are arrogant and just don't get it.

Aww well... Hope for blue sky around the corner.

[jaxmkii]

The real reason to invest in the PS3? Uh, cuz it's supa sweet. Duh.QFT! as if having a BR player at %50 off wasn't reason enuff:spiny: without even going into the games

[Viano]

Not only is Wii last gen, I don't think it's the best of last gen hardware wise. XBox 1 had more storage, better online, 720p games, digital optical out, Dolby Digital, yadda yadda.

I find Wii quite depressing really, you just know some japanese projects will move from PS3 to Wii as the cost of doing your next project on Wii is so much less than doing it on PS3, and you get paid either way. You can just feel it. If I was planning my next project that's how I'd be thinking.

Wii is number 1 new console in japan, look to see it getting number 1 development time.

Reading some interview with Jack Trenton, and he's all "PS3 will actually be hard to cost reduce, but we don't care as it's selling for thousands on ebay" and you think... Man... Maybe they are arrogant and just don't get it.

Aww well... Hope for blue sky around the corner.

Aren't those two statements contradicted themself? Why would devs want to work on the "last gen" more if the "next gen" give them much more advantages in terms of technology? If this "last gen" could expend the market thus make more people into video games, why not? How it's not called "next gen" from this view point.

Everyone is gamer, and graphic is essential, but it would be too narrow minded for me to believe all gamers are addicted to the visual graphic.

[jaxmkii]

QFT! as if having a BR player at %50 off wasn't reason enuff:spiny: without even going into the games(that are coming.)

[jaxmkii]

^^^ viper its doing it again!

[Viano]

well nvm if you just mean the hardware lo♪　「ー　‘）ｒ

[nemesis121]

The Real Reason to invest in PS3. When you use the word invest you know it cost a lot.

[F089/H]

The reason I wrote those is simple, the average gamer who doesnt read these forums or online blogs about specs and how the system works and everything it offers wont know or care for the most part. And reagrdless if its MGS4, the games and what they show are what counts. Most dont care how things are done, just aslong as they are done.

Same goes for PS3 games, most people wouldnt give a damn about how the PS3 is doing what it does, they just want to see good looking games and they are happy.

As Time goes on people wonder and Get Curious and Become like us..And Want to know why they Own the latest and The Greatest home Console ever and They don't see games that match it's pedigree....That's what I see in the next year...:unsure:

[Khaos]

The only problem I see with developing for the future is that we don't know what way the future will lead. It is quite plausible that the future will take a hard left, leaving the PS3 with "outdated" technology, so to speak. If something else were to be developed to replace cell tech or create a major improvement upon it, that could be a problem.

Personally, I don't think I should 'invest' into a entertainment device. Alot can happen in 5-6 years, when we can expect a sucessor to the Wii and Xbox360. I am just concerned that Sony's PS3 logically has a chance of not being able to compete with whatever happens, if anything.

[curryking1]

Man, I don't need someone to tell me what my reason is to invest in the PS3. I know my reason. FF XIII, FF VS XIII, KH3, MGS4, GT5, GTA IV, Naughty Dog, Killzone.

Yeh, I said it!

[Z]

Personally, I don't think I should 'invest' into a entertainment device. Alot can happen in 5-6 years, when we can expect a sucessor to the Wii and Xbox360.
so you will just stop buying game consoles all together? better then stop buying new TVs, PCs, handhelds and all other CE products as a better one is always around the corner.
:duh:

The Real Reason to invest in PS3. When you use the word invest you know it cost a lot.
you serious with that? I guess you don't know that any console choice is an investment since you won't only buy the console, but you'll have to buy games for it, maybe some peripherals and subscriptions in some cases. and you use the word 'invest' in anything that you'll keep working on after the purchase. buying a console, as many other things in life, isn't a one time deal.
:tardbang:

[Z]

Same goes for PS3 games, most people wouldnt give a damn about how the PS3 is doing what it does, they just want to see good looking games and they are happy.
Reply With Quote
and that's what he's asking: "How does the system make games like MGS4 look so good? or When is MGS4 coming out?"
those are average joe questions.

[Killing Moon]

Well it was a nice read and I commend Tretton on helping keep the morale for Sony’s work as steady as they can. But unfortunately half of it is bullshit.

First off, Sony acquired the development rights to several houses and flat out bought a few in the process. Psygnosis (now Studio Liverpool) is one of them and initially back in the PSOne days, it lead to a nasty legal dispute (Wipeout 64, anyone?). Within the initial phases of the PS2, Sony acquired exclusive rights to Soul Reaver 2 as well and GTA3 (as mentioned previously).

The problem isn’t that Sony has “different” business practices. In fact all three overheads operate the very same way, only in different styles and with different timing. The PROBLEM is that the console is very early and hasn’t shipped with anything strong enough to keep people’s interests to deter its inherent flaws (I’m sorry, but Resistance is just bland as all hell). It’s also why I(!) haven’t bothered purchasing one as of yet, even when I had several opportunities to do so.

I understand that only 2+ months have passed since the console’s debut. And you know me, I can wait for a strong bunch of titles to come along the pipeline. But Sony needs to FIX their PR bullshit ASAP and get these flaws fixed quick-fast-and-in-a-hurry.

Not for nuthin’, but the 360 is looking mighty tasty right now. Especially with simple things like a resolution scaler (for my VGA monitor hook up at 1280x1024 resolutions), an excellent controller (sans the D-Pad) and obvious superb Xbox Live functionality.

I love Sony’s first party and second party efforts to DEATH, man. But I’m very close to just tellin’ ‘em to kick rocks and be done with it.

Here’s to hope (crosses fingers).

[Khaos]

Sorry, I did not explain myself fully. I meant that I should not have to view a purchase of an entertainment device as an 'investment'. The title makes it seem like there is not much reason to purchase a PS3 currently, which is agreable, and that one should be purchased now for said reasons. Until Sony gives me a good reason for me to pay that price for this tech that cannot possibly be used to its potential currently, I will wait and see. I am not saying it is not a good system, just that it doesn't appeal to me currently for above reasons.

The only problem with the slow launch is that this could be the beginning of a domino effect. First a high price, which may be too high for the average gamers, which deters many from purchasing the system. Like someone said above, game producers may be deterred from developing for the PS3 because of its currently low user base and the higher production costs. And less available third party support may not be beneficial for the PS3's sales.

Of course this is all merely conjecture and as such, could turn out to be 100% wrong.