Shu Yoshida is teh head of SCEWW now >:|

[EvilTaru]

Go Shu!!!111!!! A well-deserved promotion, everything from FPS like Resistance to action-adventure like Uncharted to sports like MLB08 Teh Show are top-notch. Finally we have someone who's from a game development background managing game development at SCEWW.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/gladtomeetya.gif

For those who don't know who Shuhei Yoshida is, he was at the top of the management chain in the NA branch of SCEWW.

[Jay Gee]

Sounds like a good track record to me. Hope he's got good speaking skills since he'll be on the spot this E3.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

This mean Kaz Hirai won't be stretched thin across everything? If so, that's doubly good.

[jako]

You mean no riiiiiiigde raaaaacer this sumer ? :)

[EvilTaru]

You mean no riiiiiiigde raaaaacer this sumer ? :)

SCEWW has nothing to do with third-party publishing on the PS3.

[EvilTaru]

Sounds like a good track record to me. Hope he's got good speaking skills since he'll be on the spot this E3.

I'm just happy someone who's actually good at managing games is now at the helm, instead of just being a good talking head who's somewhat liked by the media. Shu's been with SCEA game development since the beginning and I'm glad he's finally in charge. Now I'm wondering who's going to take Shu's old job... Allan Becker? Connie Booth? Barbara House?

[LiquidEagle]

Go Shu!!!111!!! A well-deserved promotion, everything from FPS like Resistance to action-adventure like Uncharted to sports like MLB08 Teh Show are top-notch. Finally we have someone who's from a game development background managing game development at SCEWW.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/gladtomeetya.gif

For those who don't know who Shuhei Yoshida is, he was at the top of the management chain in the NA branch of SCEWW.

D'ya got a link to that? I'm lazy :-p

Also, Phil was from a game dev background too, no?

[EvilTaru]

D'ya got a link to that? I'm lazy :-p

Also, Phil was from a game dev background too, no?

Before 92 and Sony, I think. Phil really hasn't been as in touch with software development as Shu has been throughout his career.

[LiquidEagle]

Before 92, I think. Phil really hasn't been as in touch with software development as Shu has been throughout his career.

Fair enough. I'll have to look up this Yoshida bloke...

[EvilTaru]

Fair enough. I'll have to look up this Yoshida bloke...

Just look at the credits of any SCEA games, he's the top dog in charge of game development in terms of the NA studios.

[LiquidEagle]

Yeah, I always see him, Phil (used to), Kaz, & sometimes Ken (Insomniac always mentions him), but I've never known what some of these people actually do.

[EvilTaru]

Yeah, I always see him, Phil (used to), Kaz, & sometimes Ken (Insomniac always mentions him), but I've never known what some of these people actually do.

Shu basically watched over all the projects published by SCEA, he's the guy Jaffe had to convince to make God of War, there's also a VP for SCEE and a VP for SCE Japan who do the same things, they're all supposed to report to Phil. After Ken left, Phil basically reports to Kaz. The SCEA/SCEE/SCE Japan Presidents are in charge of sales and marketing, so if there's a shitty game out there, it's not really Jack Tretton's fault.

[yoshaw]

Great news. Let's see what he can bring to the playstation nation.

[VonGak]

Gotta wonder if his repertoire includes Twisted Metal 2 +3, the NBA series, the NHL series, Lair (wow Phil had to take a lot of crap for this one), the Warhawk breakdown, the death of Syphon Filter, Jet Li: Rise to Honor, the NFL adventures, Mark of Kri, ...

Just saying that we should not only look at the few bright spots SCEA had (MLB) when it took so many failed attempts (the rest of the SCEA sports franchises).

I wonder if the new head of SCEA helped deciding to make GoW2 a PS2 title. ^^

[yoshaw]

VonGak, no use crying over spilt milk, right? What's done, been done. Let's all see If he can learn from the past mistakes of his own/sony OR not.

[VonGak]

Agreed, unless he is going to spill some more ^^

I just hope that he got a vision or at least is dedicated to Game 3.0.
Because at the moment the SCEA titles are a bit conservative in terms of exploring game-play possibilities.

[venomv]

What wrong with Twisted Metal 2, most people I have heard say that that one is their favorite, myself included, granted it's a little less, umm twisted, but it plays great. Now TM3 is a completely different story......

[VonGak]

What wrong with Twisted Metal 2, most people I have heard say that that one is their favorite, myself included, granted it's a little less, umm twisted, but it plays great. Now TM3 is a completely different story......

Sorry, I meant 3 and 4 where SCE America decided to change developer.

[venomv]

In that case, I agree....

[EvilTaru]

Gotta wonder if his repertoire includes Twisted Metal 2 +3, the NBA series, the NHL series, Lair (wow Phil had to take a lot of crap for this one), the Warhawk breakdown, the death of Syphon Filter, Jet Li: Rise to Honor, the NFL adventures, Mark of Kri, ...

Just saying that we should not only look at the few bright spots SCEA had (MLB) when it took so many failed attempts (the rest of the SCEA sports franchises).

I wonder if the new head of SCEA helped deciding to make GoW2 a PS2 title. ^^

Every developer has its share of stinkers, except the stinkers from Shu's side aren't these HUGE multi-million, multi-years in development games like Getaway or Killzone, the games that Shu had people developing on a multi-million budget? Those were AAA titles like Resistance, Uncharted, God of War 1/2, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and games like Sly Cooper ain't half-bad either.

[EvilTaru]

Sorry, I meant 3 and 4 where SCE America decided to change developer.

989 is long gone, you compare 989 back then and what Shu had built over the years at Santa Monica, the NA side of game development at Sony is significantly better and much more capable of producing a broad range of quality games, even Bend is making great games now. Phil's side tried to take on the FPS genre with Killzone and they failed miserably, Shu and Connie Booth worked with Insomniac to bring Resistance to the Playstation 3 and it's by far the best FPS on the system with a sequel that will set the standard in the FPS genre for everybody else.

[VonGak]

Every developer has its share of stinkers, except the stinkers from Shu's side aren't these HUGE multi-million, multi-years in development games like Getaway or Killzone, the games that Shu had people developing on a multi-million budget? Those were AAA titles like Resistance, Uncharted, God of War 1/2, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and games like Sly Cooper ain't half-bad either.

Why do you avoid Mark of Kri and the sport titles? Not forgetting all the other flops like Down Hill Domination and Lair.

Also there's the issue of Naughty Dog's titles selling less for each installment, a downward spiral.

Sure titles like KZ and Getaway got (deservedly) bad reviews but they weren't by any means big budget titles and they actually sold very well.

But as I said, I hope he has a vision because the titles from SCEA lack creativity, they aren't trying to do anything new in terms of game-play.
SCEE on the other hand lack polish.

989 is long gone, you compare 989 back then and what Shu had built over the years at Santa Monica, the NA side of game development at Sony is significantly better and much more capable of producing a broad range of quality games, even Bend is making great games now. Phil's side tried to take on the FPS genre with Killzone and they failed miserably, Shu and Connie Booth worked with Insomniac to bring Resistance to the Playstation 3 and it's by far the best FPS on the system with a sequel that will set the standard in the FPS genre for everybody else.

Resistance is a void filler, actually it's a cliché of already existing games and even its strongest aspect the weapons isn't even at the level of the gravity gun in HL.

Which is the problem with SCEA titles in general, they aren't pushing anything but stay in the land other developers already have pioneered because it's safe.
But the problem is that people do not buy a console for those titles, people buy those titles because they have the console.

Some bold moves like Buzz!, EyeToy, LBP, Heavy Rain (from what we know), Motor Storm, Home,.. that's what open eyes and not Half Life face hugging clones.
We all know what happened when reported began calling Uncharted for dude Raider with his Gear of War(unfair but there's nothing we can do about it).

So again, I hope the new head of SCE-WWS has visions and is willing to show guts betting money on unproven unsafe projects.

About 989, they did have more success with sports titles than SCEA currently has. Too bad that the MLB success formula can't be translated to the other SCEA sport franchises (or SCEE's football/soccer franchise which seems to have been discontinued).

NB: Can't wait to see the thing Insomniac mentioned in teir Full Moon Show about a feature which made all the other SCE developers pop their eyes.

[section]

Sure titles like KZ and Getaway got (deservedly) bad reviewsFor once another who has never played either.

Getaway could have been a lot better but it wasn't _that_ bad, KZ was and still is a solid FPS title. Nothing to be ashamed of there, it's not groundbreaking but it's still good.

[VonGak]

For once another who has never played either.

Getaway could have been a lot better but it wasn't _that_ bad, KZ was and still is a solid FPS title. Nothing to be ashamed of there, it's not groundbreaking but it's still good.

Nah Getaway had a ton of fundamental issues and the sequel got worse.

I mean you can't pick up weapons on staircases, the character opens the door even on cars without doors, the bus can turn on a dime(way too sharp) when using the analogue stick but not with the D-pad, one can't be harmed when sitting in a burned out car, the auto aim do not target the enemies closest to the player, police cars turn straight against the player even though there's a wall between them,.. and so on and so on, the game was a mess and I hope they learned their lesson.

For KZ apart from the melee attack, vaulting obstacles, invisible walls, frame rate issues, default control setup,... the game had one big flaw and it was the level design.
The areas were just too small for the AI to shine. And even worse, the level designers often just forced the Helgasts to stand the same place or move in a scripted pattern instead of letting loose the AI like in the battlefields.

I really hope KZ2 got some better level designers. One thing is for sure, they have fixed everything else and then some. :thumbl:

[Segitz]

I thought, the Getaway was a SCEE game? Same with KZ?

[LiquidEagle]

Hey! I loved Mark of Kri and Downhill Domination was pretty fun! :-p

Also, I don't give any credit to Sony for the development of Ratchet or Resistance, that's pure, independent Insomniac at work, I do give Sony credit for hooking up with such an amazing developer though, and supporting them so well :)

[VonGak]

Yup they are both SCEE franchises and though the games were deservedly so(horrid lack of polish) critical flops they still managed to sell very well (especially compared to their production budgets) because they stood out instead of playing it safe.

[VonGak]

Hey! I loved Mark of Kri and Downhill Domination was pretty fun! :-p

Also, I don't give any credit to Sony for the development of Ratchet or Resistance, that's pure, independent Insomniac at work, I do give Sony credit for hooking up with such an amazing developer though, and supporting them so well :)

Gotta love the FSAA and Don Bluth art direction in Mark of Kri, too bad the bird sight, repetitive stealth kills and controls made the experience too cumbersome for the majority.

[Danji]

Sometimes, I forget that Sony makes sports games other than MLB. They really don't advertise them...

I'm cool with him being the head of SCEWW as soon as he can play a shamisen like the Yoshida Brothers.
RERXiliJfdI

I was curious who got the position, thanks.

[Z]

wow, great vid Danji! that was wild. what the hell was that? improvising/playing with classical vs new or what?

[Jay Gee]

For KZ apart from the melee attack, vaulting obstacles, invisible walls, frame rate issues, default control setup,... the game had one big flaw and it was the level design.
The areas were just too small for the AI to shine. And even worse, the level designers often just forced the Helgasts to stand the same place or move in a scripted pattern instead of letting loose the AI like in the battlefields.
Lots of nitpicking in this post. The melee didn't really prove to be a problem in the game considering you didn't even have to use it to kill anybody. Though if the situation did require going up side some Helghast's head, softening them up with gunfire worked wonders. Vaulting obstacles was another one of those things that wasn't really an issue since the game didn't really put many obstacles that needed vaulting in your way anyhow. Invisible walls weren't an issue so long as you knew where you were shooting from. I've never actually run into any except the ones that made up the level's boundaries. There wasn't anything wrong with the default control set up for this game, IMHO. I've played other FPS titles that have done it far worse.

As for the A.I., it fared no better on Battlefields. They shoot lights out on Hard during Campaign, they shoot lights out on Hard in Battlefields. When I say lights out, I mean they will hit you with a Pup round or M203 on CANYON CROSSING from across the level. But they were still dumb in other ways though. I took out an entire team of 8 by myself on Park Assault because the numbnuts kept rushing the bottom in a group. Pick up the ISA rocket launcher and hilarity will quickly ensue.

This game did not deserve bad reviews, however. A game like COD4, with it's short ass SP campaign and disgustingly pathetic lobby system deserves some bad reviews. Killzone, in those aspects, literally shits on COD4. Everytime I play COD4 with my old KZ buddies, they always comment on how much better it is to get ppl together and get into a game there than it is on COD4.

[VonGak]

Lots of nitpicking in this post. The melee didn't really prove to be a problem in the game considering you didn't even have to use it to kill anybody. Though if the situation did require going up side some Helghast's head, softening them up with gunfire worked wonders. Vaulting obstacles was another one of those things that wasn't really an issue since the game didn't really put many obstacles that needed vaulting in your way anyhow. Invisible walls weren't an issue so long as you knew where you were shooting from. I've never actually run into any except the ones that made up the level's boundaries. There wasn't anything wrong with the default control set up for this game, IMHO. I've played other FPS titles that have done it far worse.

As for the A.I., it fared no better on Battlefields. They shoot lights out on Hard during Campaign, they shoot lights out on Hard in Battlefields. When I say lights out, I mean they will hit you with a Pup round or M203 on CANYON CROSSING from across the level. But they were still dumb in other ways though. I took out an entire team of 8 by myself on Park Assault because the numbnuts kept rushing the bottom in a group. Pick up the ISA rocket launcher and hilarity will quickly ensue.

This game did not deserve bad reviews, however. A game like COD4, with it's short ass SP campaign and disgustingly pathetic lobby system deserves some bad reviews. Killzone, in those aspects, literally shits on COD4. Everytime I play COD4 with my old KZ buddies, they always comment on how much better it is to get ppl together and get into a game there than it is on COD4.

The melee was a problem because the context sensitive system quite often wasn't triggered.
Sure one doesn't have to use it but why wouldn't one when it's such a cool feature which sadly doesn't work every time due to a flawed event triggering system.

"Invisible walls weren't an issue so long as you knew where you were shooting from"
Which you only would after you already had finished the game.
Games like GoW1 and 2 stand out because the player can get through traps and puzzles the first time without getting stuck due to bad design choices.

And my post wasn't nitpicking, I didn't even include the issues with character and weapon balancing.

About the AI. It is hampered in the SP, not because it is worse than in the Battlefields but because the level designs straight out suck, even in the Battlefields.

The difference is that the in SP the level designers have restricted the AI. What does it help that the AI procedurally can find the best suited cover in any situation and even do suppressing fire when the level designer has restricted the operating zone to an area without any cover options (left out the question mark on purpose). Sometime the operating zones were made so small that the AI couldn't even move. :S

The Battlefields suffered from bad level design (operating zones) too so objectives just couldn't be protected/taken over but at least they featured big open areas with many cover alternatives.

I was personally very glad to see in the second KZ2 level that there's cover spread out for the AI to use procedurally.
Sure there are still some quirks like like the AI not taking vault time into consideration when selecting cover/action (keeps jumping over the railing) and the level designers not having "informed" the AI about all cover options but there's still a lot of time for polish.

[Danji]

wow, great vid Danji! that was wild. what the hell was that? improvising/playing with classical vs new or what?

That is a music video for a new song by The Yoshida Brothers. They're pretty awesome, you should check out their stuff.

[EvilTaru]

Nvm.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif

[EvilTaru]

A couple of old Yoshida interviews:

http://www.afterworkgamers.com/2005/10/28/shuhei-yoshida/

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/08/29/the-making-of-a-playstation-game/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/EvilTaru/Indifferent2.gif