DaveKarakker
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Sony promises to 'aggressively pursue' PS3 pirates
With reports of hackers foiling versions 1.10 and 1.11 of the PlayStation 3's firmware arising, Sony is already making it clear as to how it'll respond to acts of and relating to piracy. SCEA spokesperson Dave Karakker tells GamesIndustry.Biz, "The best we can do as a company is to make our security that much stronger and aggressively pursue legal action against anyone caught trying to use an exploit in an illegal manner." Hackers have thus far managed to get illegal copies of games to boot on the PS3, but not play. Homebrew games have also not made it to a playable state, but as with every console before, it's only a matter of time before they do. Sony may choose to ban infringing systems from the PlayStation Network -- like Microsoft has done with Xbox Live -- though Karakker adds that the chance of users accidentally bricking theirs consoles should also be seen as a deterrent. "Naturally, any use of an exploit on the system software does void the warranty on the PS3 system... Which could be a costly mistake to see if you can run an old SEGA CD game on it." Especially if it's Road Avenger.
Sony explains God of War's dead goat antics
"Slaughter: Horror at Sony's depraved promotion stunt with decapitated goat" is the sort of headline that sells newspapers -- the UK's Daily Mail in particular(NSFW). Starting with an evocative first word and ending with outright animal cruelty, it's a snappy summation of an event that was probably rife with sexual debauchery, devil worship and inappropriate hobnobbery! And that isn't even a word! Indeed, how could other papers even compete with their silly "facts" and less sensational headlines like "Promotion: Butcher-obtained goat displayed in dramatization while journalists drink soup from china bowls!" Well, we suppose that one is a little bit on the long side.Then again, so is the story revolving around Sony's European God of War II event. It seems somewhere between the Daily Mail's spin and the Official PlayStation Magazine's (now recalled) retelling of the Greek-themed costume party, things... goat a little out of hand. Sony's senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karakker, told Joystiq that the reporter responsible for the OPSM article didn't even bother to attend the event. The basis of his article was the invitational pamphlet, "which employed a degree of hyperbole in order to encourage attendance."Furthermore, the infamous goat was thoroughly dead upon arrival. It was procured from a qualified butcher, was returned after the event and was never allowed to be touched by journalists (no kidding around). The goat was filled with "a meat soup, made to a traditional Greek recipe and served to attendees in china bowls direct from the caterers," leaving claims of "offal" as someone likely mishearing a complaint about the actual taste of the dish. No soup came directly from the goat. "We recognise that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves. We are conducting an enquiry to establish the circumstances behind the event in order to ensure this does not happen again. We also apologise to anyone offended by the article in the OPSM (subscription copies were sent out ahead of street date)." It was undeniably tacky, but hardly the "Phil Harrison bites the head off a chimp and mows down the audience using a Tommy Gun" debacle you may have envisioned before. (They're saving that one for The Getaway 3.)
Sony pleased as Punch with PS3 launch
And do note the capital "P" in the headline. Quite surprisingly, the true origin of the phrase has more unintentionally amusing connotations than was previously expected -- the thought of a bowl of pineapple party punch being simply delighted as drunk teenagers scoop out its innards never did make any sense. Now we know better and, thanks to Sony's neck crushing PRm (as in PR arm, you see), we even know that Sony is satisfied with the events that comprised the PS3 launch. Then again, who isn't? Right?According to Dave Karakker, senior director of corporate communications for SCEA, the primary points of interest are as follows: Good news, everybody! The initial allocation of consoles sold out within hours. And by everybody, we don't mean consumers. The best-selling game was Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man, followed by some angry football guy. Neither of these games manages to live up to the excitement generated by being shot while waiting in line or engaging in gladiatorial combat over that last PS3. The $599 PS3 model outsold the cheaper version. The "buzz" around the PS3 launch had a halo substitute effect on other Sony products, giving the PSP and PS2 healthy sales boosts of over 20% each. Furthermore, Sony remains committed to pumping out a million PS3 units before the end of the year. The sooner we get this launch nonsense out of the way, the sooner we can switch on our consoles and start playing some games. That's the medal that awaits us once we leap over the launch hurdle. (Feel free to interpret that phrase a bit more literally.) Sony's official launch statement is after the break.
