Sony's Harrison on Sony Arrogance

Joystiq had the chance to exchange a few words with Sony's Phil Harrison at the UK Develop Conference. They asked him some hard questions about the crazy comments that have been coming out of the company since E3. From the article: "There's always going to be a risk when you are market leader for ten years that we start to lose perspective; and we have to make sure that we don't lose perspective. But I don't think we're arrogant, I think we have to recognize that we're in a highly competitive industry and that anything that we say will be eternally editorialized by professionals and consumers alike. So we're always in the spotlight." After the tape was off he snarked that he hadn't been asked very nice questions. Poor guy, having to answer questions that aren't 'How awesome is the PS3 going to be?'

Dear Zonk

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Zonk,

You are not a journalist nor a competent editorial writer. Please post your snarky comments (in response to others' snarky comments) in the comments section like I'm doing, so that they may be voted "+5, Taking potshots at the market share leader in a given field."

To Sum Up

[Anonymous Coward]

So let's see...Some guy from joystick.com does an ambush interview that basically amounts to "Do you admit that you are arrogant, Yes or No!"

And this is...news?

Re:Dear Zonk

[tfurrows]

And yet, in spite of Zonk's apparent lack of writing skills, hundreds of /. readers will take this opportunity to get their energy out concerning yet-another arrogant industry-leader... None of us uses slashot for the quality (or grammar) of the writing, but for the chance to participate in the mele of the comments :)

Have you stopped beating your wife?

[jharv13]

Any answer Sony gives is "wrong."

"We're not arrogant" yields, "see?! Seeeeee??"

"Ok, we're arrogant" is just as stupid.

I can't imagine how joystiq figured that'd be a useful question, except in the context of badgering Sony. Why he'd set out to do that intentionally is clearly up for debate. When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail, I suppose.

So, joystiq, "have you stopped badgering Sony?"

\harv
-
no sig today, maybe tomorrow

Arrogant?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, it's only July and the anti-PS3 hype is already at a fever pitch. Those latest abysmal 360 sales figures must have stung...

Your company sold 100+ million consoles on its first effort in the console market.
Your company sold 105+ million console so far in its second effort in the console market.
Your company is outselling one of your 'competitors' newest console for 6 of its first 7 months on the market with your six year old current console.
Your rival Nintendo has given up trying to compete technologically with you in their next console and is turning to gimmicks like the Wii's pointing device.

And your third console looks like this:

The $499 PS3:

1080p BluRay movies over component
BluRay Live support - additional dynamic content updates and information for movies
DNLA compliance - http://www.dlna.org/home/ [dlna.org]
1080p Games over component
20gig hardrive
Free online play for all non-MMORPG titles - confirmed over and over again by Sony
Full backwards compatibility for all PS1 titles
Full backwards compatiblity for all PS2 titles - PS2 chips included in the PS3
Linux
Online movie and music store
Webbrowsing and other desktop apps
Tilt controller
Every single developer that supported the PS2 onboard with their games for the PS3
All parts of the system except the HDMI port are upgradeable
Harddrive upgradeable with stadard store bought drives

And the $599 PS3:

60 gig harddrive
WiFi
HDMI

Arrogant? No.

Confident.

Re:Have you stopped beating your wife?

[oahazmatt]

Any answer Sony gives is "wrong." "We're not arrogant" yields, "see?! Seeeeee??" "Ok, we're arrogant" is just as stupid. I can't imagine how joystiq figured that'd be a useful question, except in the context of badgering Sony. Why he'd set out to do that intentionally is clearly up for debate. When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail, I suppose. So, joystiq, "have you stopped badgering Sony?

The question is relating to how he felt regarding comments of Sony's arrogance. The question moved on to how the negative comments are affecting Sony.

I don't see that as badgering Sony. It is asking relevant questions. Had the question been "Why are you so arrogant" it would have been a different story. The questions were asking for responses to accusations, not accusing in themselves.

Re:Arrogant?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, Confident is releasing a console at $400 knowing that no successful console in history has ever sold for more than $300; confident is charging $10 more for games knowing that no market leading system has had $70 games in modern times. What Sony is, is beyond words; "stupid and cocky to the level which everyone will take pleasure watching them fail" comes to mind but seems to need a little more.

The facts are that the best hardware does not lead to the market leading position (something Sony should know being that they've had the worst hardware 2 generations in a row and were still successful). The PSP is a much more powerful system than the Nintendo DS yet the DS is raping the PSP in worldwide sales; the XBox and Gamecube were dramatically more powerful than the PS2 and were raped in sales by the PS2; and the N64 was far more powerful than the playstation but (once again) was raped in sales by the Playstaion.

The system that wins is (always) the system with the most high quality sofware, at an affordable price with affordable hardware. So far Sony has 0 of those three components.

Now Shut up Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll!!!

$599 is fine

[rsilvergun]

for launch. I don't know why people are surprised. The last 3 console releases (ps2, Xbox and Xbox360) where all scalped on ebay for way more than that. Sony's just responding to that. Expect the price to come down pretty quick as sales drop.

Re:One "zonked" tag to go please

[NonSequor]

What bias? How do you expect him to report anything good about the PS3 when there isn't any good news about it available?

Thanks for playing FUD

[Yvan256]

Your rival Nintendo has given up trying to compete technologically with you in their next console and is turning to gimmicks like the Wii's pointing device.

Nintendo hasn't "given up trying to compete technologically", they never did in the first place. Nintendo is about games, not marketing numbers or CPU/GPU power like Microsoft or Sony. Anyone remember the PS2's "emotion engine"?

As for calling the Wii controller a "gimmick" or even a "pointing device", you don't even know what you're talking about.

Re:Not about the PSP, they're not.

[monopole]

And instituted a yet infinitely stupider format in its place. Dropping the UMD in favor of a $60-120 memory stick which will only play one movie (out of a choice of Hitch, S.W.A.T., The Grudge, or XXX: State of the Union) at 240x320 resolution! We can rule out arrogance at this point in that it implies self preservation.

Re:Arrogant?

[happyemoticon]

Your rival Nintendo has given up trying to compete technologically with you in their next console and is turning to gimmicks like the Wii's pointing device.

What, and a seven-way processor isn't a gimmick?

Dear Anonymous Fanboi,

[Anonymous Coward]

> Taking potshots at the market share leader in a given field

I don't give a damn if they're #1 or #100, frankly I don't like Sony due to all the crap they've been pulling of late like the rootkits.

And I'm sick of fanbois who act like "oh no, our precious Sony! they gave us the Playstation, you can't criticize them!"

Face it: Sony sucks. And I don't care how good their games are, or even if the PS3 lives up to the hype. I won't buy it because I won't endorse the things Sony has done. They "promise" not to use the patent that kills our ability to rent (or even loan!) games to others, but don't explain why they hell they bothered to patent it if that's true (umm, yeah, so our competitors can't sue us for infringing upon it when we're not, umm, going to do that! suuuurrre....) or how we can ever trust them again after the rootkit?

Here we go again.

[stonecypher]

I'm honestly getting a little tired of these fanboy reporters wasting what could have been productive interviews by instead parroting the rantings of a clone-factory also-ran [tri-bit.com]. There's a reason nobody can name a game of Jeff's that isn't a sequel or a ripoff: they don't exist. Why is Sony arrogant for not tipping their hand? They've cornered what was a thoroughly dominated market in under two years and held it for more than a decade. Yes, the price is high, but Sony knows how to handle markets; their seven year old PS2 is outselling Microsoft's brand new XBox360 in every territory, even though the 360 is the only one of the next-gen consoles available, and probably will be so until at least Christmas.

News flash: Jeff Minter is Nobody [tri-bit.com]. Film at never.

(His two famous games are a Robotron ripoff and a sequel to someone else's game which is essentially a graphics upgrade and a speed boost. Most people have to look him up online to even come up with another one of his games. C'mon. Arrogant means to exaggerate your own worth in an overbearing manner, and here's some guy who has released 40 games, the sum total of which don't outsell even one game in the Playstation2 Top 100, talking about Sony's full of it because he doesn't like their new price line? Pots and kettles, man.)

If they REALLY want to ask tough questions...

[FSWKU]

...then I've got one that should cause him to sweat a bit.

Quoth Phil Harrison to Spiegel Online:

On one level I understand why people say that. But it's a little stupid, if you don't mind me saying so. When we launched Playstation in 1994 we introduced the concept of real-time computer-generated 3-D-graphics for the first time.

This was part of his response to a question relating to the tilt controller, specifically wanting a response to those who thought they stole the idea. My question is two-fold: First, what are you hiding? It should be easy to relate the design process that ended with having a tilt controller (needing a feature now that they can't have dual-shock would have been more than sufficient). However, you simply called the allegations "stupid" and tried to move on as quickly as possible.

My second question (and the most pressing): Why are you LYING to the public about Sony's achievements? And before you get upset about the question, let me point out my proof:

• 1980: Atari releases Battlezone. This game featured real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics, and was also (technically) an FPS.
• 1992: Sega releases Virtua Racing in the arcades. The game was composed almost entirely of real-time 3D graphicsf.
• February 23, 1993: Nintendo releases Star Fox for the SNES. The major selling point of the game was real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics.
• November 22, 1994: Sega debuts the Saturn, which is fully capable of providing real-time, computer-generated 3D graphics. Titles such as Daytona USA sell extremely well among owners of the system. This same year, Virtua Racing is ported to the Genesis, and Virtua Racing Deluxe is released for the 32X.
• December 3, 1994: Sony releases the Playstation, which was originally to become a CD add-on for the SNES to compete with the SegaCD.

This clearly shows your assertion that "...we introduced the concept of real-time computer-generated 3-D-graphics for the first time..." to be flat-out wrong. This is all commonly available information, which someone authorized to speak on Sony's behalf should know off the top of their head. So I ask again, why the lying? If it was intentional, then you have only proven the arrogant desperation of your company. If it was a mistake, then you are proving yourself unqualified to speak for an entire company. Unfortunately, I am inclined to believe that it was intentional in light of Kaz Hirai's statement of "...With our original PlayStation, we ushered in the era of the CD-ROM and 3-D..."

So to conclude, you may not think of yourselves as arrogant, but your words and actions say otherwise.

Re:Dear Anonymous Fanboi,

[Anonymous Coward]

Companies make mistakes. If they do it again, THEN you can crucify them.

Funny, when I was arrested for hacking back in my college days, that excuse didn't cut much ice with the prosecutor's office. Why is Sony entitled to a break? I guess if you're a huge multinational corporation, the rules are a bit different, huh?

Re:$599 is fine

[rohlfinator]

The last 3 console releases (ps2, Xbox and Xbox360) where all scalped on ebay for way more than that.

But to how many buyers? 50k? 100k? The Xbox 360 had a pretty weak launch as it was. If Microsoft had sold it at $600 retail, it would have been plain embarrassing.

The eBay market can give the impression that hardcore gamers are willing to pay a lot for a new toy, but it's not entirely accurate. If money was not a concern to gamers, people would have purchased the $300 360 Core system (which was readily available) and upgraded it with the HD and wireless controllers. It might have cost a bit more, but it would have been cheaper than buying on eBay. Instead, most people waited until they could purchase the full bundle at a fair price.

Expect the price to come down pretty quick as sales drop.

A price drop within the first six months would be seen as desperate, especially if it was due to a lack of sales. Typically, the oldest console leads the price drop wars, so Sony probably won't make the first move unless sales are really weak. Plus, Sony has been using the PS3's price to imply a certain degree of value. It would be tacky for them to turn around and drop the price so soon, effectively telling early buyers that they paid too much.