Diresu
05-23-2007, 03:24 AM
GamePro: You've been doing game PR for a long time. What's changed over the last 10 years?
Dave Karraker: I actually cut my teeth in PR working at Crystal Dynamics...the big game at the time was a really great platformer called "Gex" for the 3DO Multiplayer. About the same time, I helped launch a graphical Windows interface called "Bob" for Microsoft, but let's not share that with anyone. The funny thing is, so many of the people I worked with back then are actually still around in some fashion, whether as journalists or on this side of the fence. The biggest change has got to be the advent of the Internet. It simply wasn't a factor back then. Now, it is arguably what I spend the majority of my time working on when it comes to speaking with media, and consumers, for that matter.
How long have you been working for Sony?
I've been with Sony since two months before the launch of PS3. It was certainly a crazy time to come on board, but any PR person will tell you that a launch of that scale is exactly what they dream working on. There are just so many opportunities and so many challenges that you can't help but learn something almost every minute of every day. That is what I really love about working at Sony -- every day there is something new to experience. Plus, I am a gamer, so you can't beat being able to play games whenever you want. Getting to see early builds of a game is really fantastic. I was playing the new Ratchet & Clank for PS3 yesterday and it is simply amazing. I have also been spending a lot of time with LittleBigPlanet lately, as well as Uncharted. These development teams are really doing some cool stuff with the system.
Noting the PS3's unique approach, how do you deal with negative consumer perceptions from a public relations perspective?
That's kind of a tough question to answer. I am pretty sure if you asked just about any real gamer out there if they would like to have a PS3, their answer would be a resounding "Yes!" I think a lot of this goes back to the proliferation of the Internet, where a very vocal minority can make a lot of noise and potentially alter perceptions of the masses, whether they are accurate or not. A lot of this, naturally, is driven by the media who seem focused on taking swipes at us lately, without taking in the full picture. It is funny, but I remember people bagging on the original PlayStation when it first came out, and look where it ended up. Our biggest job over here is to continue to push out information on PS3 and our other systems and remind people that there are things you can do on our platforms you simply can't do on our competitor's. It is all about explaining those points of differentiation, particularly the value over the lifetime of the system, that is key in selling any Sony product.
Are some of those [negative] perceptions justified, assuming you feel they exist? Why or why not?
A lot of the perceptions are not justified and seem fueled by people who don't have all the facts or have some kind of axe to grind. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't say PS3 is an amazing piece of technology. Yeah, the price of PS3 is higher than other system, but look at what you get - the Cell processor, Blu-ray Disc, built-in hard drive, HDMI 1080p, Wi-Fi, the SixAxis. That is a lot of truly cutting-edge technology in one box. It is funny how myopic people can be when a new system comes along. They seem to forget that launching a truly next-generation gaming platform is never easy and it never has been. I like to say it is like birth: "The actual labor may not be all the pretty, but the result is pretty darn amazing."
But, as a gamer, I like to concentrate on the gee whiz factor when something new launches. No matter who's platform it is, I look at what is truly new and exciting. I am confounded by people who say they are true gamers but all they do is look for the negatives in a system, or a company, or in the industry in general. Some media, in particular, are just too easily caught up in all the bashing. It feeds on itself, and to what end? How do you benefit the real gamer by bashing on something? These are very smart people who can see through most of the BS.
Sure, there were some perceptions on PS3 that were justified. For example, we didn't have nearly enough hardware at launch to meet consumer demand. That was difficult for all of us and contributed to a tough climate with press and analysts. That's behind us now, but a bit of that still lingers. Frankly, I have stopped talking to media about the launch and am now really just focused on the games.
What is Sony doing to address concerns of gamers who are interested in owning a PS3 but haven't yet made the jump?
The first thing is to continue to educate people on the benefits of the technology and how it does things no other system can do. The second is to explain the value of all that cutting-edge technology: Cell is hands down the most powerful processor in any home entertainment system. Blu-ray gives developers a huge amount of space to create games. We also have free online gameplay, a hard drive in every box, Wi-Fi, and so on. This is a system that is just barely being tapped by developers at this point. There is so much upside potential that will continue to be uncovered years down the road, just like PS2.
And lastly, we have to deliver the content, which we are doing. We will have 15 PS3 exclusives this fiscal from our first party studios. Games like Ratchet & Clank Future; Tools of Destruction, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and Heavenly Sword are looking amazing and are really showing what is possible when you harness the power in a PS3.
Now that the launch dust has settled, it appears the PS3's reception is improving. What do you attribute that to?
The GDC reveal of Home and Little Big Planet certainly helped. Those titles show not only what you can do with the technology in PS3, but also demonstrate vision and infinite possibilities. Those are the things that get people excited. I think the further we move away from the launch -- and the media dwelling on the perceived negatives -- the better the reception will be for PS3. At that point, it is all about the games.
How has SCE's culture changed over the years? What have you as a company done to evolve that culture?
Well, I have only been here eight months, so that would be tough for me to say. I have noticed since when I was working at Sega, that Sony is a lot more open and inclusive, particularly to third parties. There is a real willingness on SCE's side to help third parties develop outstanding content.
What is your vision for overhauling Sony's perception in the media? Should the company be more accessible to journalists and bloggers?
Access and education are the two things I talk about most over here. We want to be as accessible as possible and provide as much information as we can so media can properly cover our products and give the gamers all the news they want and need. That focus will never change. At launch of PS3 we gave an amazing amount of access to media. Kaz, Jack, and Peter must have done hundreds of interviews. That kind of access hasn't stopped, and in fact, I think it has increased with the amount of contact we have on a daily basis from folks in the blogging community.
In a world quick to criticize incumbents, what's the best thing the PlayStation brand brings to the gaming table?
Innovation. You can see it in our hardware and our software. I think if we had just put out PlayStation 2.5, people who have had every right in the world to criticize us. The fact is, we went above and beyond and delivered the most technologically advanced system ever created, which is now being supported by the most amazing games you have ever seen. PS3 will drive the market for the next 10 years, just as PS2 is doing and PSone did before that. That vision and technological leadership is what the PlayStation Brand is all about.
What do you consider your greatest triumph to date, both as head of PR for Sony and as company?
I think you would be hard pressed to find a product launch in the past several years that matched the buzz generated by PS3. The amount of coverage that came out of the launch was staggering. It even surpassed when [Sega, who Dave formerly worked for] launched the Dreamcast, if you can believe it! To a PR person, that is pretty much nirvana. Sony's greatest triumph I would view as bringing gaming to the masses and helping to make the world wake up and realize that gaming is a legitimate form of entertainment, along with movies, music and television. For too long, people who didn't play games thought they were just for 11 year old boys, when that is simply not the case. I think we helped them see the light.
Source : http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/features/112768.shtml
Dave Karraker: I actually cut my teeth in PR working at Crystal Dynamics...the big game at the time was a really great platformer called "Gex" for the 3DO Multiplayer. About the same time, I helped launch a graphical Windows interface called "Bob" for Microsoft, but let's not share that with anyone. The funny thing is, so many of the people I worked with back then are actually still around in some fashion, whether as journalists or on this side of the fence. The biggest change has got to be the advent of the Internet. It simply wasn't a factor back then. Now, it is arguably what I spend the majority of my time working on when it comes to speaking with media, and consumers, for that matter.
How long have you been working for Sony?
I've been with Sony since two months before the launch of PS3. It was certainly a crazy time to come on board, but any PR person will tell you that a launch of that scale is exactly what they dream working on. There are just so many opportunities and so many challenges that you can't help but learn something almost every minute of every day. That is what I really love about working at Sony -- every day there is something new to experience. Plus, I am a gamer, so you can't beat being able to play games whenever you want. Getting to see early builds of a game is really fantastic. I was playing the new Ratchet & Clank for PS3 yesterday and it is simply amazing. I have also been spending a lot of time with LittleBigPlanet lately, as well as Uncharted. These development teams are really doing some cool stuff with the system.
Noting the PS3's unique approach, how do you deal with negative consumer perceptions from a public relations perspective?
That's kind of a tough question to answer. I am pretty sure if you asked just about any real gamer out there if they would like to have a PS3, their answer would be a resounding "Yes!" I think a lot of this goes back to the proliferation of the Internet, where a very vocal minority can make a lot of noise and potentially alter perceptions of the masses, whether they are accurate or not. A lot of this, naturally, is driven by the media who seem focused on taking swipes at us lately, without taking in the full picture. It is funny, but I remember people bagging on the original PlayStation when it first came out, and look where it ended up. Our biggest job over here is to continue to push out information on PS3 and our other systems and remind people that there are things you can do on our platforms you simply can't do on our competitor's. It is all about explaining those points of differentiation, particularly the value over the lifetime of the system, that is key in selling any Sony product.
Are some of those [negative] perceptions justified, assuming you feel they exist? Why or why not?
A lot of the perceptions are not justified and seem fueled by people who don't have all the facts or have some kind of axe to grind. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't say PS3 is an amazing piece of technology. Yeah, the price of PS3 is higher than other system, but look at what you get - the Cell processor, Blu-ray Disc, built-in hard drive, HDMI 1080p, Wi-Fi, the SixAxis. That is a lot of truly cutting-edge technology in one box. It is funny how myopic people can be when a new system comes along. They seem to forget that launching a truly next-generation gaming platform is never easy and it never has been. I like to say it is like birth: "The actual labor may not be all the pretty, but the result is pretty darn amazing."
But, as a gamer, I like to concentrate on the gee whiz factor when something new launches. No matter who's platform it is, I look at what is truly new and exciting. I am confounded by people who say they are true gamers but all they do is look for the negatives in a system, or a company, or in the industry in general. Some media, in particular, are just too easily caught up in all the bashing. It feeds on itself, and to what end? How do you benefit the real gamer by bashing on something? These are very smart people who can see through most of the BS.
Sure, there were some perceptions on PS3 that were justified. For example, we didn't have nearly enough hardware at launch to meet consumer demand. That was difficult for all of us and contributed to a tough climate with press and analysts. That's behind us now, but a bit of that still lingers. Frankly, I have stopped talking to media about the launch and am now really just focused on the games.
What is Sony doing to address concerns of gamers who are interested in owning a PS3 but haven't yet made the jump?
The first thing is to continue to educate people on the benefits of the technology and how it does things no other system can do. The second is to explain the value of all that cutting-edge technology: Cell is hands down the most powerful processor in any home entertainment system. Blu-ray gives developers a huge amount of space to create games. We also have free online gameplay, a hard drive in every box, Wi-Fi, and so on. This is a system that is just barely being tapped by developers at this point. There is so much upside potential that will continue to be uncovered years down the road, just like PS2.
And lastly, we have to deliver the content, which we are doing. We will have 15 PS3 exclusives this fiscal from our first party studios. Games like Ratchet & Clank Future; Tools of Destruction, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and Heavenly Sword are looking amazing and are really showing what is possible when you harness the power in a PS3.
Now that the launch dust has settled, it appears the PS3's reception is improving. What do you attribute that to?
The GDC reveal of Home and Little Big Planet certainly helped. Those titles show not only what you can do with the technology in PS3, but also demonstrate vision and infinite possibilities. Those are the things that get people excited. I think the further we move away from the launch -- and the media dwelling on the perceived negatives -- the better the reception will be for PS3. At that point, it is all about the games.
How has SCE's culture changed over the years? What have you as a company done to evolve that culture?
Well, I have only been here eight months, so that would be tough for me to say. I have noticed since when I was working at Sega, that Sony is a lot more open and inclusive, particularly to third parties. There is a real willingness on SCE's side to help third parties develop outstanding content.
What is your vision for overhauling Sony's perception in the media? Should the company be more accessible to journalists and bloggers?
Access and education are the two things I talk about most over here. We want to be as accessible as possible and provide as much information as we can so media can properly cover our products and give the gamers all the news they want and need. That focus will never change. At launch of PS3 we gave an amazing amount of access to media. Kaz, Jack, and Peter must have done hundreds of interviews. That kind of access hasn't stopped, and in fact, I think it has increased with the amount of contact we have on a daily basis from folks in the blogging community.
In a world quick to criticize incumbents, what's the best thing the PlayStation brand brings to the gaming table?
Innovation. You can see it in our hardware and our software. I think if we had just put out PlayStation 2.5, people who have had every right in the world to criticize us. The fact is, we went above and beyond and delivered the most technologically advanced system ever created, which is now being supported by the most amazing games you have ever seen. PS3 will drive the market for the next 10 years, just as PS2 is doing and PSone did before that. That vision and technological leadership is what the PlayStation Brand is all about.
What do you consider your greatest triumph to date, both as head of PR for Sony and as company?
I think you would be hard pressed to find a product launch in the past several years that matched the buzz generated by PS3. The amount of coverage that came out of the launch was staggering. It even surpassed when [Sega, who Dave formerly worked for] launched the Dreamcast, if you can believe it! To a PR person, that is pretty much nirvana. Sony's greatest triumph I would view as bringing gaming to the masses and helping to make the world wake up and realize that gaming is a legitimate form of entertainment, along with movies, music and television. For too long, people who didn't play games thought they were just for 11 year old boys, when that is simply not the case. I think we helped them see the light.
Source : http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/features/112768.shtml