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Nintendo says 35 million Wiis by 2012
Nintendo is looking to best the PS2's 38.2 million consoles sold and expects to hit the Wii-markable 35 million goal by 2012. Speaking with Bloomberg.com, Nintendo's American marketing chief George Harrison says that production has increased to meet the consistent demand for the console. Nintendo previously stated it expects to sell 14 million Wiis between April and the end of next March.Harrison says that the company will continue to focus on the non-typical video game player market, which means don't expect to see any Wii upgrades in the near future. He says, "We're starting to see in the performance of the PS3 and Xbox 360 that that's not necessarily motivating the market the way it used to ... So we're going to start work on future technology only when we believe it's necessary.'' "Necessary" meaning profitable. Sure, the Wii may be two duct-taped Gamecubes, but it's selling strong and raising Nintendo's stock price. In other words, it knows how to print money.[Via Gamasutra]
Harrison: 35 million US Wiis by 2012
The success of the Wii has Nintendo feeling pretty confident about themselves. They've sold about 2.5 million units since launch, and probably would have sold more if there had been more.Naturally, the six months following launch are completely representative of the console's whole life cycle, which is why Nintendo of America VP George Harrison, in a statement to Bloomberg, was confident enough to predict that the United States would have an install base of 35 million Wiis by 2012.We aren't business experts, but we think Harrison might be committing a Disco Stu Fallacy here. "Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continue...ayyyyy!"
Sony's Phil Harrison talks PS3 homebrew possibilities
Given some of the bold statements that Sony's Phil Harrison has made, hinting at possible PlayStation 3 homebrew plans doesn't seem all that remarkable, but it's still nice to hear it coming from the source. While he unfortunately didn't get very specific, he certainly seemed to be open to the idea in a recent interview with Slashdot, saying that he fully supports "the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone," adding that he believes it's "a vital, crucial aspect of the future growth of our industry." He then went on to earn himself a bit of cred by talking about his Commodore 64 coding past, also citing Sony's Net Yaroze homebrew development kit for the PS1 as evidence of the company's openness to the idea. Let's just hope that any homebrew effort on the PS3 doesn't demand the same premium price that the Net Yaroze did.[Via Gamesindustry.biz]
Rock fans uninterested in Harrison's PS3 auction
Marketing is all about knowing your audience -- what they'll respond to and what will turn them off. Going by that metric, it seems Sony's Phil Harrison wasn't quite a marketing genius at a recent rock concert.Paul Rose, a.k.a Edge magazine's "Mr. Biffo," recounts on his blog the somewhat embarrassing tale of a Harrison-led PS3 charity auction in the middle of a Marillion festival in Holland. Harrison, who's apparently a friend of the British rock band, reportedly took over the auctioneering duties from the band's keyboardist, raising the bidding price from just above €100 to the €600 retail price as he did. What followed was a debacle that Rose calls "one of the most awful things I have ever witnessed." According to Rose, Harrison was only able to get one bid out of the awkwardly silent two-thousand-plus strong crowd. What's more, Harrison reportedly "became increasingly desperate as it grew clear that everyone just wanted him to go away, and nobody was going to indulge his tasteless attempt at publicity."It'd be easy to spin this as an example of the PS3's high price hurting it's saleability, but really it's just another example of marketing tone-deafness of Sony's part. These people were there to hear a rock concert, not to hear a marketing pitch from a Sony executive who wants them to throw down €600+ for a game system on an impulse. Sometimes, you just have to know when people don't want to be sold to.
Phil Harrison reveals new Home details, including privacy and safety features
MTV News' Stephen Totilo has managed to glean new details from Sony's Phil Harrison on their megaton PlayStation 3 announcement, Home, in a video interview (after the break) and accompanying Multiplayer post (scroll down to yesterday's entry).The initial plan with Home is to start with apartments for users, then go on to outdoors, houses, gardens, neighborhoods. Currently, 16 people will be allowed in one apartment at any given time, although that limit is being tweaked. As for lobbies, which will be "infinitely spawned by the number of users online," 64 will be the limit. A search function will be included to help users find their friends online.As to concerns whether the social aspect of Home will take away from time spent gaming, Harrison sees that as a non-issue. "I think that you shouldn't lose sight that home is all about games and creating social interaction between gamers ... [Home is] a springboard to a deeper gaming experience," he said.Also mentioned was that no collision detection would be implemented, so users will likely just walk through one another. While that should eliminate problems associated with crowds, it also reduces the options for those who wish to use their avatars for naughtier means.%Gallery-1950%
GDC 07: Less than half of PS3 owners are "connected"
Sony discussed the number of people that were actively interacting with the PlayStation Network services in yesterday's bloggers meeting. According to Sony, there are about 500,000 PSN accounts open in the North America. However, according to recent sales data from VGcharts.org, one can see that there are about 1.3 million PS3 systems out there: shouldn't more PS3s be connected to Sony's Xbox Live alternative?Phil Harrison was quick to point out that the 500,000 figure represents PSN sign-ups only. You can still use the PS3's online capabilities without ever registering for Sony's online service by uploading music to your console, or by using the Internet Browser, or by downloading a firmware upgrade. The goal of Home, however, is to increase PSN sign-ups, and have people become increasingly involved with Sony's robust online services.
GDC 07: "You can buy a better sunset"
Microtransactions are going to be huge in Sony's upcoming Home. The service, which will be included in a future required firmware upgrade, will rake in the dough through three "revenue channels": Object/item sales, such as new furniture. Games/premium items Advertising/B2B: in-game ads and other sponsorships may become common. The revenue from Home will cover the cost of moderation and upkeep of servers, undoubtedly. However, one wonders if the "democratization" of this virtual economy is going too far. Buying a virtual couch is novel in certain ways, but where will the trend stop? Harrison, during the blogger's meeting, noted that "you can buy a better view, you can buy a better sunset."
GDC 07: Home lets you delete people from your world
At Sony's blogger event tonight, Phil Harrison addressed the issue of parental controls in the world of Home. Home will not only utilize the in-system PlayStation Network parental controls, but will offer you the ability to delete users from your view ... instantly. So if some prick is attacking you with flying dongs, you'll be able to have them disappear from your world at a push of a button. "I wish I could have that in real life," Phil Harrison joked.
Phil Harrison gives respect to the homebrew scene
N'Gai Croal, Newsweek's hard-hitting video game reporter, spoke to Sony's Phil Harrison about a myriad of issues. One of the more pertinent discussions for PSP fans involves his stance on homebrew: "It's always difficult, because officially, we could never condone [homebrew]. Unofficially, I am always very admiring of those people, because they do some really interesting things under very technically complex circumstances. If there was a way to legitimize that--we wouldn't get all of the community, because for some people, the whole dark under the radar element is the appeal. I respect that. I don't like it, but I respect it."Croal then goes on to prod Harrison about potentially using a PS3 as a way to develop for the PSP platform. While it's an interesting idea, it's unlikely to happen. However, with Harrison speaking at GDC about the upcoming "Game 3.0" environment, almost anything is possible.[Via DCEmu]
Sony to reveal "interesting announcements" at GDC
Well, duh. CVG pointed out an interview that Phil Harrison did with 1UP, where he reminded fans of the beleaguered company that exciting revelations would surely take place at the upcoming Game Developer's Conference in March. With E3 being a shadow of its former self, many are looking to GDC as the year's big gaming event, with representatives from Sony and Nintendo presenting keynote speeches.This intrepid blogger will be there, live-blogging from the show floor. Make sure you stay tuned to PSP Fanboy from March 7th for the latest up-to-the-minute info on every bombshell that Sony's sure to deliver the PSP community.
DICE: Phil Harrison PSP tidbits [Update 1]
In Gamespot's DICE coverage of Phil Harrison's Q&A, they had a few mentions of PSP. Firstly that there will be deeper online functionality later this year. Specifics weren't given, but I personally would like the ability to have most web pages finally work on the PSP. Though it could also be a hint at downloadable PS1 games finally being capable without a PS3. The homebrew community may have another reason to disagree wtih Phil Harrison after the event.Also during a talk about homebrew, someone asked about the PSP's role in it. Phil claimed that the system wasn't well-suited for homebrew. Newsweek's N'Gai Croal then mentioned Dark_Alex's work and Phil had some sort of cryptic response about future announcements. So all and all, not a whole lot of new PSP info so far, but hopefully GDC will bring us more news. [Update 1: "This year we'll be adding some functionality to the PSP that will unify our approach," Harrison reveals in an interview with Gamasutra. Seems like PSP might pick up some of the cooler network options of the PS3.]
Phil Harrison speaks at GDC about "always on" gaming
GDC is little over a month away, and big names plan on headlining this potential E3 replacement. Phil Harrison, SCE Worldwide Studios president, will speak about "new opportunities offered by advancements in connectivity." Let's hope that this doesn't end up to be like Nintendo's infamous Pac-Man showing at E3.His keynote, "Game 3.0: Developing and creating for the third age of videogames," will undoubtedly speak about PLAYSTATION 3, but I expect PSP to play a large role in his speech. The concept of "always on" gaming sounds a lot like "Live Anywhere," but unlike Microsoft, Sony has a fully fledged portable gaming device to make "always on" gaming possible.Expect more news at GDC, which begins March 5th.[Via GI.biz]
What's in the name "video game"
Stephen Totilo's recent hour-long interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Studio Head Phil Harrison focused mainly on the past, present and future of the PlayStation systems and brand. But possibly the most interesting quote in the whole piece came at a point where Harrison waxed philosophical about the branding of the industry as a whole."I fervently believe that the biggest challenge we face is that our industry is referred to as 'video games,'" Harrison told Totilo, echoing concerns aired last month by former ESA head Doug Lowenstein about the image of the term. With two industry luminaries bringing up the same issue in such a short time, we had to wonder: Is our industry being held back by its name?It's true that the word "game" in video game automatically makes some people think that our industry is devoted to nothing more than child's play, a claim that is pretty demonstrably false. Still, terms like "interactive entertainment" and "entertainment software" always struck us as a little too clunky and snobby-sounding for everyday use. Then again, terms like "graphic novel" and "cinema" probably sounded a little clunky before they came into common usage to describe the serious side of comics and movies, respectively.So we put the question to you, dear readers. Do video games need to be re-branded to erase their childish image? If so, what new term would you use to describe the industry?
Sony's Phil Harrison congratulates Nintendo
There's no doubt that the PSP hasn't done as stellar as everyone has hoped. But that doesn't mean it's done poorly, either. MTV News spoke with Sony's Phil Harrison about the performance of the PSP so far. He notes that the PSP is doing a "very good job," distinct from the "great job" that Sony did on PS1 and PS2. He thinks that "most people use their PSP at home," an oddity that he'd like to change. Finally, he praised Nintendo and the DS, stating: "Nintendo should be congratulated... [DS owners] are our customers of tomorrow." Certainly, as Nintendo DS owners get older, they'll most likely look towards products that satisfy a more mature taste. It happened with the transition from Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 to Playstation and PlayStation 2, and it may happen again.
Loco Roco sequel confirmed
Sony Computer Entertainment President Phil Harrison recently spoke to MTV News, and made a startling revelation about the PSP exclusive LocoRoco. "It was a very successful game for us and we're continuing to evolve the franchise," he said. "We're going to bring 'LocoRoco' back in a couple of new ways with some new friends in the future." LocoRoco and Friends. Sounds like a sequel to me. Considering how many new levels the development team has created for the holidays, it seems like there's still a lot more LocoRoco to come.
PS3 supports homebrew; did you get one?
The PLAYSTATION 3 has just launched in America, and thousands of Sony fanboys have walked home happy. People have been camping out for days, waiting in the cold, and the rain, trying to get Sony's next-gen powerhouse in their homes. PSP fanboys will certainly want to get access to one of the systems, considering its similar XMB capabilities. The PS3 can play music, videos, show photos, and access the internet, just like our beloved handheld.One of the things that the PS3 will have that the PSP won't is official homebrew support. Wha? The PS3 will allow you to install other operating systems, and in a recent interview with GI.biz, Phil Harrison revealed his excitement over user-created content and games: "I'm most excited about at the moment is empowering user-created content. Embedding the user creation tools into the game application and opening it up to a cloud of users." Sounds a lot like Microsoft's XNA, doesn't it?It's strange to see Sony embrace user-developed content for the PS3. Hopefully, that attitude will expand to the PSP one these days. Now, which of you have a PS3 in your house?
Sony admits to "overreaching" on PlayStation3's Blu-ray production, no relief for Europe
After Ken Kutaragi straight up told his rivals that he "didn't care" about the so-called competition they were trying to provide, and those very rivals laughed in his face over Sony's countless delays in producing its miracle machine, it seems that we're finally getting a bit of good ole honesty from Sony's "worldwide studios boss," Phil Harrison. Referring to the company's inability to gather up those ever-elusive "blue diodes," he stated that the firm had "overreached in production of the Blu-Ray component," later adding that it was simply the "price you pay for adopting brand new, leading-edge technologies that will be future proof." While we have sincere doubts about any technology being entirely resistant to successors, we certainly appreciate the proclamation that all this delay speculation wasn't without merit. Harrison concluded by suggesting that while these perpetual delays seem like a huge public challenge right now, he's hoping expecting that all the blokes in Europe will be quite forgiving come March of next year, and stated that the entire debacle "will eventually pale into zero." We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?[Via EuroGamer, thanks Garry]
Japanese hardware sales, 16 October - 22 October: Nintendo All Hallows Eve Edition
Satoru Iwata (dressed as a vampire): DS Lite perform amazing feat in global market! More hundred thousand units in time of week! Much party enjoyment, everyone, so scary is coming! George Harrison (dressed as Link): Ugh, these tights are starting to chafe. Perrin, wanna trade costumes?Perrin Kaplan (dressed as a slutty cat): Um ... no. But you should ask around, really. Has anyone seen Matt? He looks so damn good in that costume ....Matt Cassamassina (dressed as Mega Man, special guest to the event): Perrin. Storage closet. Now.Perrin: Rawr.Iwata: They are doing the fun, yes?George: Uh, yeah. Where's Miyamoto-san, by the way?Iwata: There. (points)George: The dinette set?Shigeru Miyamoto (dressed as a dinette set): Ah! You see, this is the inspiration for my next masterpiece. Get ready for the next generation of fun!George: Sunnuva bitch. Miyamoto, stop doing shrooms, and...ah! Finally, someone normal. But why aren't you dressed up, Reggie?Reggie Fils-Aime: What do you mean?George: It's Halloween. You need a costume. You're just dressed normally.Reggie: This is my costume.George: ...Reggie: Bitch.George: ...Reggie: Now get me a sandwich.George: Friggin' ... fine ....- DS Lite: 116,941 12,454 (11.92%) - PS2: 22,380 2,347 (9.50%) - PSP: 20,271 1,332 (6.17%) - GBA SP: 2,421122 (5.31%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,660 54 (3.15%) - Xbox 360: 1,287 456 (26.16%) - Gamecube: 638 15 (2.30%) - DS Phat: 130 143 (52.38%) - GBA: 37 25 (67.57%) - Xbox: 6 3 (100.00%)[Source: Media Create]
Wii demo kiosks to be under supervision?
We suppose any Wii is better than no Wii, but having to battle it out in a round of Excite Truck with a proudly-pinned employee watching over each shoulder just seems a bit idiosyncratic. While we already know that Wal-Mart isn't planning on hiring any more smiling faces to oversee the presumably fractious gaming crowd, you just might find a few "helpful staff members" at your side while flinging the Wiimote in your local GameStop. Nintendo's George Harrison has insinuated that all Wii demo stations will feature untethered controllers, but store personnel will be eying the players to ensure the nunchuck isn't used as a weapon (and that it doesn't leave in unauthorized pockets). He also noted that the big N has spent "considerable amounts of time" in designed the forthcoming kiosks, and mentioned (vaguely) that they "could be found at retail outlets, malls, the Nintendo Fusion Tour, and other consumer events." While we still aren't exactly sure where you'll wind up finding that ever-elusive Wii demo station, be sure to mind your manners when you finally do.[Via The Wiire]
Brain Age sells 4 million worldwide
Nintendo recently sent out a press release where they went over the latest numbers for their popular brain-trainer DS title Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. In revealing the numbers for the three major regions of North and South America, Europe, and Japan, Nintendo stated they have sold over 4 million units worldwide. 600,000 of the units were sold in the Americas, 500,000 total in Europe, and an insane 3 million units have been sold in Japan."Brain Age is so easy to pick up and play, regardless of your experience level," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "You can play it for 10 minutes or an hour and keep yourself feeling sharp. As a baby boomer, it's like a treadmill for my mind."[Source: Nintendo Press Release]
