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PS3 will see 'user-created experiences' next year, says Harrison
User-created content, which has long been a fixture in the world of PC gaming, has never managed to gain any real traction on consoles, be that due to technological constraints or a lack of online connectivity. With both of those issues out of the way in modern systems, the time is ripe for users to interact and share their creations and experiences. Sony's Phil Harrison gets behind the idea in a revealing interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo, opining* that gaming needs to move away from presenting "closed experiences." If games are to break free (God knows they want to break free), there needs to be a constant flow of communication between Sony and gamers -- more importantly, Harrison insists that said communication flows in both directions (give us money, here's your money). "Next year you're going to see user-created experiences in a number of interesting ways on PlayStation 3," goes the official and spectacularly vague PR line. A Second Life-styled virtual network has oft been rumored, but Harrison fell victim to "line distortion" before Totilo could get any concrete information about it.So, what entails a "user-created experience?" In the worst case, it's a custom wallpaper and a shared photo between friends. In the best case? Oh, it could be anything, from personalized in-game T-shirts to deadly dungeons designed to foil your friends. Be sure to ask us about it next year. * Basis for an awful pun later in the sentence.Read (and be assaulted by Flash) -- Full interview on MTV News
Sony Australia says nice things about Wii
In an article discussing the repercussions of the Playstation 3's March release date in PAL territories, the Sydney Morning Herald obtains a few interesting quotes from Sony's general manager for Australia and Middle-Earth. Though portraying the PS3 in a positive light is to be expected, the kind words aimed at a competitor's product are somewhat surprising -- especially when they make it sound better than Sony's own product to the uninformed reader. "The Wii-type functionality is more just a sub-element of what the PlayStation 3 offers," says Nic Foster, clearly referring to motion sensitivity. "Wii is a core gaming device. It's a more fun, intuitive sort of product to pick up, where the PS3 is a broader entertainment solution; so you can have your fun, enjoyable gaming ... but then you have a whole suite of other applications ... such as Blu-ray media playback, the ability to access your music, access your photos and the interoperability with the PlayStation Portable." Clearly, the objective was to express the PS3 as a device that encompasses everything the Wii has and more (and there are shades of truth in that), but instead of simply labeling it as such, the Sony man rattles off a bunch of features you're bound to read about on the box. For some, "more fun" might be all that matters in a gaming console and indeed, it's easy to see how straying off that path has made things more difficult for the PS3. Then again, the fact that we had to start that sentence out with "for some" implies that there's some balance to be found between pure gaming and valuable features. Wouldn't you know it, but Foster has a pretty good statement regarding that issue too. "Gamers are extremely aware of what they're after and what they want. So gamers will already have a very good understanding of what PlayStation 3 offers versus what Wii offers and many of them will probably have both devices." Well, it seems like we can all get along after all.[Via NeoGAF]
