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CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XIV : Lack of rumble keeps PS3 controller "affordable"
It's time again for one of our favorite segments, CE-Oh no he didn't! For this week's episode, we're going to talk a little bit about the PS3. Now, we all know that the new PS3 isn't going bring the rumble to our favorite upcoming Sony gaming console. But what we didn't know was why -- yes, yes there were claims that it had to do with interference of motion sensing, or lawsuits from Immersion, but we hadn't gotten a clear reason straight from the horse's mouth, particularly when surveys suggest fans would be willing to pay for it. However, a recent interview by GameDaily Biz with SCEA prez Kaz Hirai says that it's yet another reason altogether:"Is it technically feasible? Absolutely. But the balancing act that you need to do, is to be able to present the controller to the consumer at an affordable price." Affordable? Please. Joystiq points out that a G-Pad Pro for the PS2, which has motion sensing and vibration, costs $30, a whole Lincoln higher than the Dual Shock. C'mon Kaz, can't you at least be straight with us? Now of course, this is from the same folks who said that just a few months ago said that the $500 PS3 was "too cheap," and is well worth the markup compared to the Wii, but backtracked when the company recently dropped the price in Japan. Maybe that means the prices of the controllers are going to come down too?[Via Joystiq]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XIII - Kutaragi sez Sony doesn't care about PS3 rivals
When asked the other day whether Sony's rivals will outstrip the PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi merely replied: "We do not care." Closely echoing the sentiments of David Reeves of Sony Europe, this really explains so much about this product. We just wish we'd known sooner so we hadn't given them as much flack about it -- who knew they weren't playing to win? Strangely enough, Kutaragi fessed up to problems with production in the same interview, saying "Right now, it is an issue, because we can't manufacture enough blue laser diodes for our PlayStation 3s. But we will resolve that." No hurry though, right? It's not like those rivals of yours are going to do something like steal valuable market share in the meantime, or pricing their consoles competitively or anything crazy like that.[Via Joystiq]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XII - Kiloo exec extolls virtues of crack cocaine business model
We usually don't have to wait long for some tech industry exec to give us new fodder for CE-Oh no he didn't!, and Karl Woods, pusherman/Executive Vice President of sales and marketing for mobile developer and publisher Kiloo delivered the goods earlier this week. He decided we should witness the strength of his street knowledge by comparing his job of marketing mobile games to, and we're quoting here, "the crack cocaine model." (Could someone tell him that his company is named "Kiloo," not "Kilo"?) Says Woods: "You offer the customer a free rock, and they get hooked. That's what we're going to have to do with the 90 per cent. But everyone has to do it, the whole industry has to try and crack this, or we'll just keep fighting over that 10 percent."We feel you, Karl. All the crackhouses on our block learned years ago how to stop fighting over that 10 percent and go after the mass market. [Via MoCoNews]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part X - Hirai tired of Microsoft copycats
We're quickly learning that the real gold mine of our CE-Oh no he didn't! posts is Sony, home to blustering executives prone to spewing a seemingly never ending stream of pithy, entertaining commentary on the industry as their flagship game and media device lapses further and further into delay. Up on the chopping block today is Hirai-san, SCEA President who told PlayStation Magazine the following:"Every time we go down a path, we look behind and [Microsoft is] right there - we just can't shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do. If you look at their strategy in other business areas as well, they tend to do that."Really, Sony? Microsoft follows you around? Wait, didn't Sony shun Microsoft's tiered console pricing scheme, only to adopt it in the PS3? And wasn't the PlayStation originally only a response to their failed partnership with Nintendo? And wasn't the PSP merely a response to the hegemonic success of the Game Boy? And what about the new motion controller developers told us was a last minute feature creep to counter Nintendo's Wiimote? And the PS3 online service, slated for introduction long after Xbox Live? Sorry guys, you're not winning any hearts and minds when you try to pull the hype-woven wool over the everybody's eyes.
