Phil Harrison out at Sony
By Ryan Block 
posted Feb 25th 2008 4:54AM
posted Feb 25th 2008 4:54AM
Not but a few days after some decided anti-Sony Japan commentary by a very frustrated Phil Harrison, the Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President is out, with his role to be assumed by the monolithic Kaz Hirai. Phil recently expressed his frustration for SCE Japan's resistance to online and social gaming, which, as it turns out, is exactly where Sony needed to be like five years ago. From the sound of things, Phil's departure is a little unceremonious (and, dare we say, acrimonious?), but who's to say what really went down behind closed doors?Read - Phil pulled his hair out over Sony Japan's conservative nature
Read - ... and now, mysteriously, Harrison is out
Sony?
Whos Sony?
yeah don't they rip off that awesome brand of modestly priced electronics called COBY?
dude its time for you to come out frm under your rock.
wow, the early morning crowd lacks intellect, ability to detect sarcasm, and humor. how trite.
Phil is absolutely right. The Japanese tend to be resistant to change and this is another reason why the Japanese economy goes through a boom and bust economy.
Let's see Major Nelson speak out against Microsoft in such a situation *Cough* 007 *cough*. Will never happen!
Yea, I don't like Major Nelson either, but he's just PR, not a executive. That's PR's job, it's a completely different thing. They got rid of the one guy that is turning around the PS3, I'm starting to wonder if Sony is going to fail this generation. I just bought a PS3, I already have the 360 and wii, and I want it to succeed because I think Microsoft is getting cocky.
And outing him for being right seems to be the characteristic Japanese management move from what I've seen.
It's how they manage every plant/facility I've ever been involved with anyway. Interesting how they make so much money with that kind of "if I didn't have the idea it doesn't count, and if you have an idea, you'd better credit me for it" kind of philosophy. Seems like it would be counter to a successful overall business model, but they make it work.
sony = EPIC FAIL (making some one with brains retire is not gonna be good in the long run)
"CE Japan's resistance to online and social gaming" Interesting. This would tell me, the consumer, that if I want to stick with a platform for online and or social gaming then Sony isn't the answer. Nice to know. I own a PS3, which I got for movies, and this just solidifies my not even thinking about gaming on the PS3 over the Xbox Live effort.
I too own a PS3 and I have been frustrated with the PSN experience, with the bizarre lack of PS1 titles available (such as Intelligence Qube, available in Japan but impossible to find on disc and not available on PSN to a yankee). I also have been flabbergasted at how long it's taken to get a mere public beta for Home out there.
Could it be that Sony is really unaware that the internet is the key to most technology these days? We need achievements, easy to use friends lists, universal chat features, networking features like Home promises, etc etc etc.
Phil Harrison was a visionary. When he demoed Home or other tech, you really got into it and saw that he was taking this PS3 somewhere awesome. Why the fuck would you fire him? For being critical? The PS3 is doing a lot better now, but isn't it obvious it's had enormous problems compared to the last two iterations? Why not let someone be honest that mistakes were made? How else can I know Sony is getting back to the right track?
Sadly, I have no where else to turn. The Wii is a terrible system with no interesting, original games (Zelda and Mario an Metroid again and again is not my pref) and an annoying controller. The 360 doesn't even work, and MS seems to be pretty unethical, and though it has a lot of games, I don't like FPSs again and again, so it's not really any better than the PS3 for me. (fanboys, I realize this is my opinion alone, and I hope you love your consoles)
So I guess it's back to the PC. Luckily, I can stream my games to my PS3 over my wifi network, and hope that Sony gets back in the grove. Phil Harrison was not part of the problem. This is a baaaaad omen.
Dude have you ever played Wii???
There are plenty of cool games(current and in the pipeline): No more Heroes, RE Umbrella Chronicles, Fire Emblem, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Okami, Mario Kart. You may think that it is a terrible systems but critics and consumers disagree with you. It is outselling both PS3 and Xbox360.
As for the XBox not working: It works just fine, and not all the games are FPS you know.
I totally agree with Jimbo. The PSN needs some serious improvements. I like the 3rd party games, which allow for some pretty interesting innovative gameplay (see Echochrome), but much more needs to be done. Especially when it comes to synchronising regional updates (I'm in Europe, we get it the worst).
The Wii is innovative and fun, for all of a few weeks. After that, the games get boring (how many times can they make a Wii tennis game?) and the control schemes get irritating. Things like Wii Fit just make me think that nintendo had a spark of creativity and vision with the Wii, then just lost it and are now trying too hard to get that impression back.
I never liked the 360 much. MS's marketing just never appealed to me. It seems to all be about a handful of games (GoW, HALO), and they're all FPS games. I don't like the idea of paying for Live either. And I don't like the technical limitations (DVD9). Every year at Microsoft's developers conferences, you get scores of developers begging for the ability to put their games on HD-DVD. That'll probably stop now, but when games like Mass Effect have to be scaled down and require much more effort to fit on a DVD9, it doesn't look good for the future.
360 doesn't work!?!?!?! then who the fuck put this ps3 in my 360 shell cuz the games look badass, oh its just a 360 fooled you, guess it does work
Saying the 360 doesn't work is pretty silly. I have all 3 systems, and yes, I had a 360 fail. But the rest my over 2 years with it have been great. It has a warranty, fantastic online, and great games. I recently got the PS3, and boy are some things about it frustrating. The online is ridiculous compared to the 360. If you don't own a 360 you really don't understand online community the way it's supposed to be. Boy is the PS3 quiet though.
I don't known how we jumped from blame ps3 to blame xbox360 or wii.
KarlW :do you own or has played a wii?.
FYC :there are several games for wii outside wiisport and wiiplay. Just take notes that Wii users are pretty different to xbox360 users or ps3 users, Wii users are most likely adults and childs that don't want/care to learn special combos and don't have the time (or the expertise) to play any game online and spend many hours leveling their character.
another classic sony public blunder...
LittleBigPlanet's the most exciting thing on the ps3, and it's exactly what Phil's talking about. I'll miss the lil bald maverick, but I imagine he'll pop up somewhere else important sharpish.
First Ken, now Phil...
haha, i knew he made the comments coz he knew he was on his way out,
all these sony haters, get a grip, competition is good for consumers!
Phil - Go work for Microsoft and make great games for my Xbox like you did for Sony. Phil Harrison - A true British legend. If it wasn't for Phil, the Playstation brand would not be a success as it is today.
I was thinking the same thing, watch as microsoft hires him. It would be a nice addition to have him on the xbox live team.
Could not agree more. This is Sony's loss, and the gain of whoever hires him next (I doubt he'll be looking for too long). Bet he got a huge payoff too.
I guess he wasn't being paid ot have opinions :(.
He is one of those execs who actually deserves a HUGE pay off. I am a Microsoft fanboy and they better snap him up quick!
Except he is probably under a non compete claus esspecially if he got a buyout.
MS Game devision would be more than happy to have another Lex Luthor on their team.
Yes, but Lex Luthor was evil. Phil is more of a legend around here.
That's a shame Phil, oh well, sod 'em. Doesn't bode too well for Sony in my opinion, like when Mike Gascoyne got sacked from Toyota F1 and Toyota went from an up and coming team to virtually the worst team on the field. Give Nokia a call and give them some much needed guidance.
Now that's what I call a duck!
They must of found his Xbox 360 hidden under his desk with an HD-DVD drive attached, I hope they don't ban his account like they did to Hitler :P
Actually critics agree. Look at the rating of most Wii games. Terrible.
We bought our Wii just over a year ago. We played it for a month, until Wii Sports got old. It then sat around untouched until Mario Galaxy came out. That bought it another 2 weeks. It has not been turned on since November now.
That'll change for the new Smash Brothers, but I had been a Nintendo guy until this generation, but right now the Wii is bringing nothing interesting. At all.
As for Sony's reluctance to attract groups: duh. The PS2 had two controller ports. The internet is part of the future, but as the Wii is proving, the couch is more important. The couch is really all that I care about. Halo 3 wins out over CoD4 because I can have three people on my couch and still go online. Before that the Gamecube ruled the day because of its split-screen goodness. The N64 dominated the PS when I was in college due to its ability to put four of us on at once.
I have never owned a Sony system. The PS3 hasn't changed that. I do the vast majority of my console gaming with other people and Sony has just never embraced that. I don't want to spend hours on the couch by myself. If I'm alone I'm doing something more productive. Gaming is a social experience, not a solo one.
Rumor is, he's joining Atari. Wait...ATARI?
To create a new system.....O_O
Well, having a non gaming wife and 3 kids under 7 kind of makes gaming alone the only option to not gaming at all. At least my multi player gaming on my PS3 is free even if the PSN isn't as robust as XBL at this point.
If you would expand your gaming horizons (or something less corny) you could see some great games on wii...
It between the release of galaxy game great games like, super paper mario, Fire Emblem, Zack and wiki, battalion wars 2, Wario ware, the virtual console games and Metroid prime 3...
Maybe if you don't just think only of the HUGE blockbuster games, you could see some smaller games, that I've played more the galaxy that got great reviews...
I do not have anything against Phil on a personal level but he should have known better than to bash the company in public. He was also the most negative of all the Sony big wigs. Good riddance, Phil.
The problem with Phil is that he does not know Japanese culture, and should have found a better was of airing his grievances that in public. He public embarrassed Sony Japan, and these are the people that pay his check. It will not be hard for him to find a job, but in his spare time he should consider reading a book on Japanese culture.
Did you ever think that he said that not because he doesn't understand Japanese culture, but because he does, and he realizes it's killing the PS3. Perhaps as hard as it is to believe, he actually cares about the PS3's success, and is passionate about it. It should tell you something about the company that he would be so frustrated he would make a job ending public statement like this.
I just read the article in the first read link... What's shocking is this...
"Sony Europe already had three products on the market designed specifically to encourage social gaming in the living room before the Wii was even released – the EyeToy, SingStar and Buzz – but Japanese execs didn't believe in the concept of families enjoying gaming together."
Wow... If Sony had pushed this further... It could have been even more popular than Wii currently is... It's so sad to see that Phil's abilities and efforts have been wasted because of those Japanese execs. It's really really depressing.
Phill Harrison is absolutely right !
"Phil's departure is a little unceremonious (and, dare we say, sanctimonious?)"
...what?
Does he mean acrimonious?
Phil joins Atari and works with EA on the one console future.
I'm still don't get it the attitude from some "oriental" companies. For example RPG, there are several online RPG sold only on Korea, China and Japan but the rest of the world. I known that there are a cost involved with the localization but in many cases they don't care about "foreign" market even if the cost involved a translation was marginal in comparison with the potential market they can achieve with it.
American market is the opposite, a lot more viral and global that oriental products.
Phil is right. I have a PS3. Some of the cross platform games are great but the main stay PS3 games are not best for online. If the game is online I buy it for 360 if given the option.
I dont think Sony like the fact that someone not from Japan had the job to start with so they we looking for any mistake. To bad they didnt find one.
There's no freedom of speech in Japan. Well, there might be, but you will have to find another job. If what he says is true, they pay him to heed his advice/feedback and to use his guidance. It almost seems that their attitude was, "Your not Japanese, so your opinion doesn't matter", to the point where he gets frustrated enough to make a statement like this in public. Nice culture ;)
'you're', edit button FTW! =P
whats up with the glamor shot? (hand on chin?)
Sup bechez, sup becheez!
It's ChadWarden here.
Soone Japan thought online play was just a figment of their imaginination.
Guess whos wrong!