KazHirai
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Sony shuffles PlayStation management, Ken on the outs?
We're still waiting for the dust to settle here, but it looks like the "Father of the PlayStation," Ken Kutaragi, has been bumped out of his top spot as President of Sony Computer Entertainment, to be replaced by Kaz Hirai, the President of CEO of SCE America. Ken will now be Chairman and Group CEO, while Kaz while take on the role of President and Group COO, effective December 1st. While Ken will have oversight of the PlayStation in his new roles, it sounds like he's been largely been removed from the day-to-day operations to make way for the talented Kaz to do his thing. Speculation is rampant as to whether this is a "promotion" for Kutaragi, in order for him to think "big picture" for his console prodigy, or a demotion in response to the numerous PS3 launch foibles -- we're guessing the latter. What we do know that SCEA will, for the first time, be helmed by an American: Jack Tretton, who we're sure to be seeing plenty of over the next few years.[Via Joystiq]Read - SCE Press Release [Warning: PDF file]Read - SCEA Press Release
Kaz Hirai makes himself comfortable with US PS3 price, still
Sorry guys, no last minute price changes for the North American PS3 release. As you may have heard, Kaz Hirai is "very comfortable with the pricing we have announced." He also claims there has been tremendous support by retailers for their pricing also, which is probably true. What store wouldn't want to guarantee selling out of a $600 machine? Also of note, which we already know but it bears repeating, all 20GB models in all regions have HDMI support -- not just the special price-cut PS3's in Japan. For some reason, a little bit of confusion surrounded that. Hopefully none of our well-read readers had such an issue (we know you're smarter than the average bear). That's really about it. Good luck, everyone! If you're camping out, be sure to take pictures and send them in as tips. We'd love to toss a few of them up in lieu of our generally boring pictures.
Journalist's kid gets a PS3, Sony boss's kid doesn't
File this one in the delicious irony department: the same day Kotaku's Brian Crecente posts a video of his son playing a brand new demo unit of the PS3, SCEA boss Kaz Hirai tells the Associated Press that his 12-year-old son doesn't yet have a system. Despite the younger Hirai's begging, Kaz said that his son "hasn't touched one and he hasn't seen one ... that's only fair for everybody."Can this possibly true? Do members of the press now rank higher in the battle for new Sony hardware than the president of the company? Or was Hirai's quote a Steve-Ballmer-style "I feel your pain" PR feint designed to mollify gamers hurt by expected shortages? We report ... you decide.[AP story via VideoGamesBlogger]
Surviving Sony Gamer's Day
I set my alarm yesterday morning. I had a date with Sony Gamer's Day, 2006. And yes, Grammar Rodeo champions, that apostrophe means that it was just for me. Also, about 100 to 200 other journalists and analysts showed up, but I let them stay.Sony's annual all-day press event held few surprises. Instead, it was the last big event before the PS3 retail launch, and we reporters got to play more games, eat fancy hors d'oeuvres, and talk to Sony executives. In the late morning, I attended a lunch that was supposed to be with developers but occurred without them; a roundtable discussion had been canceled. Instead, I got to listen to analysts at my table spout lots of semi-confidential numbers off-the-record. Numbers like "40%," and "5,000,000." (Yes, commenters, those are completely out of context; don't start any rumors.) After eating fancy food that may have been prepared entirely by a team of Cell processors -- it was that good -- I headed to San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood for the presentations.
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]
Sony says no, Immersion says yes
Our colleagues at GameDaily BIZ spoke with Victor Viegas, CEO of force feedback patent holder Immersion, about Sony VP Kaz Hirai's recent comments on the PS3 controller's lack of rumble. Hirai told Kikizo in a taped interview, "If we have to come up with technology ... to isolate the vibration from the sensing, but if that means that the controllers are going to be so expensive, then we're doing the consumer a huge disservice by coming up with a controller that is not very affordable."Viegas responded that his company "knew how to technically solve their problems" and they now "know how to do it without adding any incremental cost." He even cited a third party PS2 controller, the G-Pad Pro, that "incorporates both motion sensing and vibration and goes for the retail price of just $29.95." That's only $5 more than a Dual Shock.We can't help but be shaken, rumbled even, by the irony of proclaiming cost sensitivity as the purported rationale for excising the controller's force feedback functionality when the console it will wirelessly communicate with has been criticized, by most everyone below the 35% tax bracket, for being extravagantly expensive. Note to Sony: We're pretty sure anyone ponying up $500-$600 for a PS3 would be more than willing to shell out an extra $5 for force feedback.With Nintendo's rumbling, motion-sensing controller combo going for a princely $60, and Microsoft's rumbling, motion-free 360 gamepad going for a steep $50, how should Sony price their lightweight, rumble-free Sixaxis? They've already said it's got to be affordable.Other peripheral pricing:PS3: Dual Shake is dead, long live SixaxisRead - Hirai: No Rumble in PS3 Controller Due to Cost Read - Immersion CEO: Rumble + Motion Not Cost Prohibitive
Kaz Hirai video interview! No giant crabs, no massive damage...
Kikizo had the rare opportunity to conduct a video interview with Kaz Hirai, one of the biggest of men at Sony. It's a fairly lengthy one, so we'll give you a teaser of what to expect. Sony after E3 -- what changed? Showing PS3 off to consumers for the first time, reactions PlayStation profitability - "making huge contributions" Losing IP exclusivity on titles like Assassin's Creed PS3 as a completely different entertainment experience Why's all the Rum(ble) gone? If HD-DVD prevails what will become of Sony and Blu-ray? SCEA not concerned with Blu-Ray, but establishing PS3 Launch supplies and ramping up production for Holidays Strategic delay of the European launch Strong platform six or seven years from now That's really about it. Kikizo covered the main points to check out pretty well. All that's left is to download the interview and watch the spin machine on a heavy cycle!
The latest PS3 developments, condensed
With next-gen console news being released at such a fast and furious pace these days, it's starting to feel a little bit like Joystiq around here, so instead of reporting and analyzing every little snippet of new information in separate posts, we've rounded up the latest and greatest PS3 revelations into one tight bit of prose. Since pricing is such an important issue to most consumers, we'll start there -- but unfortunately, the news ain't good. You probably already heard that those lucky gamers in Japan will be able to pick up their 20GB boxes for the equivalent of $428, but despite all the hoping and praying you've been doing, Kaz Hirai has reaffirmed that the recent price cuts apply to Japan only -- though he threw the rest of the world something of a bone when he also announced that everyone will be getting an HDMI port on his/her low-end system. Speaking of high prices, Impress is citing "multiple sources" in predicting that most Japanese PS3 games will cost in the neighborhood of ¥8,800 to ¥9,800, which is between $75 and $85 here in America -- ouch, that's like a whole month's allowance for us, and well above the going rate for 360 games. As long as we're dwelling on the negatives, we should also mention that not only will HDMI cables be absent from the box, both Hirai and Ken Kutaragi are leaning away from even including component action with either package. Now on to the good stuff (sorry, there's not much). First of all, it's been confirmed that all PS3 games will indeed ship region-free (though it's up to the developers to code in multilingual support, and Blu-ray movies will remain region-locked) and secondly, the inclusion of Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD (7.1 channels) is a done deal. Finally, and perhaps least importantly after all these downers, is the fact that the Wii-inspired, rumble-free controller has officially been dubbed "SIXAXIS" -- though without the shakin' action, we imagine that many of you could care less what they chose to call it. Anyway, that's all for now from the exciting PS3 frontier, but keep your broswer tuned to this channel, as we'll have just a little more Sony-related amusement for you later today.Read- No price drop [Via Gamesindustry.biz]Read- Japanese game speculation [Via IGN]Read- Region-free, no component [Via PS3 Fanboy]Read- SIXAXISRead- Dolby
The three heads of Sony speak -- region free PS3!
Phil Harrison... Kaz Hirai... Ken Kutaragi... no, they do not comprise the three heads of the mythical Cerberus, but they do comprise the three heads of a real-life corporation that rivals such mythical beasts: Sony. Game|Life got to interview them all in one night and a couple of interesting tidbits came out. Here they are: Phil Harrison believes there's no North American price drop because the $599 is a "magic price point". Basically, it's the price people will buy at that gives Sony the greatest marginal profit (or if manufacturing costs are still more than the price, the lowest marginal loss). The Playstation 3 is region free for games, but not movies. So you can grab a PS3 from Japan if you really, really want, but you'll have trouble playing local movies. This is also good news for import junkies, especially among fighting game fanatics (less translation to deal with). Oh, this also includes downloadable games. Kaz Hirai and Ken Kutaragi both leaned towards "no" as to the inclusion of component cables in the box. Alone, each point is kind of "meh", but add them together and you've got a bevy of PS3 common knowledge. It's surprising how these more common points are overlooked, so while many may have heard these, there will be some who were wondering about these and, well, now they know.[FYI: if the link to Game|Life doesn't work, just hit refresh. That worked for me!]
Another Kaz Hirai interview to amuse us
This guy is practically the entire Sony marketing division! At least, he's appearing everywhere for interviews the past week or so. While this interview from cNet tells pretty much the same ol' stuff, Kaz does mention the Wii -- the console that doesn't quite get talked about too often on here. First off, the pricing of the Wii. cNet asked if the price would affect the PS3, to which Kaz responded: "The pricing that we announced for the PlayStation 3 is a price that ultimately offers fantastic value to the consumers." Yeah, but what about in relation to the Wii, Kaz? "I think at $599 we're offering a very good value to the consumers." Darn! Close, but not really answering them, Mr. Hirai. One more chance! "Some consumers will compare features or software offerings and decide that they may want to go with a different console...I don't think price is the only determining factor when consumers make a choice in looking at their console purchase decisions." Good, if only you said that in the first place. It is about software.It doesn't seem Krazy Kaz is taking the Wii too seriously as competition and that may come back to bite him. Then again, it may not, since Nintendo isn't actively participating in this so-called "war". Nintendo is Nintendo and they'll always make incredibly fun first-party titles. Even so, at least someone interviewing Kaz tried to get his take on the Wii. It's too Sony vs. Microsoft for the most part.
Sony: Lack of innovation = value
Sony Entertainment President Kaz "Riiiidge Racer" Hirai says the $600 PS3 is a "very good value." Why? Because, thanks to Sony's geological approach to console development, it only costs you $60 per year of faithful service (This is the only answer he came up with):I think that we are offering a very good value for the consumers. We look at our products having a 10-year life cycle, which we've proven with the PlayStation. Therefore, the PlayStation 3 is going to be a console that's going to be with you again for 10 years. We're not going to ask the consumers to suddenly buy another PlayStation console in five years time, and basically have their investment go by the wayside. So for all those reasons, I think at $599 we're offering a very good value to the consumers.To put this in perspective, by the time you take home a PS4, your girlfriend's breasts will be three inches lower and that illegitimate glint in your eye will be in the 3rd grade. But it explains alot. Sony thinks their lack of innovation is actually a plus for the consumer. By this logic, why not stretch the cycle out to 30 years. That way, PS3 fanboys could still be dusting off their super-duper value in 2036 while our grandkids play with their "Xbox Classic" Home Holodecks.The world is just turning a little too fast for Kaz these days.[Thanks KingOfGods]
Thumbs up to Kaz Hirai, reassuring Sony fans worldwide
In the past, when Kaz Hirai opened his mouth, eyes would roll. Lately, his comments have been slightly more understandable and subdued. In an interview with Mercury News, Hirai responded to the comparison of the PS3's production to the Xbox 360's production shortage, saying Sony has "tighter control on manufacturing." Hirai also went over a little of their marketing strategy, saying Sony has met with retailers to pitch the value of the PS3. Other divisions of Sony are working together, stringing in digital TV sales with the PS3 console. Or trying to. Sales are tough.Marketing, schmarketing. What of the Playstation 3? Hirai commented on the size of many of the games that will get shown at the Tokyo Game Show -- many are around 20GB, proof that Blu-ray is doing great things for developers. Hirai said: "You'll see the difference in the game play. In things like the number of levels, the lines of dialogue, the AI." It's nice to see he isn't completely focused on graphics, as AI is a bit more important than particle physics or advanced textures to many gamers.Overall, cool. Hirai recognizes the criticisms of Sony fans, especially after seeing the posts made on YouTube about Dell computers catching fire and probably a few of Microsoft's creations (in fact, you could probably find any console getting whacked on that site). Let's take a different angle to end on... if your PS3 malfunctioned and you had to toss it (for some odd reason) and you put it on YouTube, what sort of destruction would you wreak on it? Or say what you think could go wrong with the PS3 to make it on there (overheating, red circle of death, whatever). We're not condoning PS3 destruction, but if it had to be put out of its misery, be creative, right?
Kaz says Blu-ray is the best choice for gamers
In a rather bland interview with Cnet, Sony's Kaz Hirai proclaims that the Blu-ray format is the best choice for gamers when compared to the capacity in its fiercest competitor, the Xbox 360. He told Cnet:Our decision to include the Blu-ray player ... in all of our PlayStation 3s was the right decision. Look at the massive amounts of data that's required to provide a truly immersive gaming experience in true HD. If you only have a DVD ROM drive, which can only go up to about 9GB or so, you're going to end up with a game that's going to have two or possibly even three discs. And then you're going to have to ask consumers to swap discs out or cache all the game onto the hard drive which I think is an inconvenience -- not to mention the fact that you're going to fill up a 20GB hard drive very quickly with some of these games. So trying to go without a Blu-ray drive in the PlayStation 3 really is a nonstarter. Pretty much a diss to the 360 and its capabilities, Hirai believes that the Blu-ray is key to the PS3's ultimate success. Considering how massive a game like Oblivion is on one disc, does the extra storage capability of the Blu-ray disc even matter?On a another note, Kaz still says that production of the PS3 has yet to start.[Thanks, KingOfGods]
Crazy Japanese video of the week: PSP video calms my nervous spirit
Ya know, there comes a time in a young man's life where he experiences something that forever changes him. Something so important, it triggers feelings and emotions he never thought he had before. Today, I had one of those experiences with this video, and I present it to you now. I don't know what it is exactly. The strange music in the video, which evokes both a state of sadness and joy in me at the same time, most definitely has something to do with it, but clips of people speeding along on a country rode having a wonderful time with their PSP or of our good buddy Kaz heroicly raising the PSP into the air like a viking would his sword after just defeating his enemy certainly adds to my newly found state of nirvana. After watching this video, I can't help but have a feeling of confidence going forward that the PSP is here to stay. I mean, if people have that much fun just riding along with a PSP, how can it not be successful, right? And while I can't ensure you'll have the same experience I did, I'm sure it will touch each of you in a different way. Be blessed my fellow fanboys.
Kaz Hirai misspoke -- Sony clarifies launch plans
Recently, Kaz Hirai spoke about the Playstation 3 launch in an interview over at gamespot. It was a really fun read and all, but there were a few foreboding moments. These moments, like shortages of the console upon launch, aren't uncommon, but still need to be addressed. A Sony spokesman had the nerve (and the common sense) to correct Kaz Hirai in regards to his statements in the interview. The spokesman said: "We are still on schedule to ship 2 million units for our mid-November 2006 launch and additional 2 million units by the end of the year for a total of 4 million units." Isn't that worse? With the production (or just assembly) not yet underway, doubling the number as quoted by Kaz is scary! Maybe 4 million units won't sell by years end, but producing that many is a daunting task. Would Sony (not to mention Nintendo and Microsoft as well) do this on purpose? Have shortages? It may lower risk and they won't have a million sitting in a warehouse somewhere, but is it a part of their plan to say "no, we'll definitely have them ready for you" and then... not? Does a shortage really increase demand and boost sales? It's all speculation, but the facts remain the same: Sony is planning on 4 million units by the end of the year. Good luck, Sony.
PlayStation 3: T-minus 3 months, not started manufacturing
Pretty bold move, Hirai, to admit that you're less than three months out from the global launch of what could be one of the most expensive propositions Sony has ever undertaken -- and you haven't even started manufacturing. According to Kaz, who recently spoke with GameSpot, Sony "haven't started manufacturing yet. Some of [their] ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the [production] lines and everything else." Oh, great, you've got two million units to whip up and you're still in the review process. That's over 660,000 units a month if they start, um, tomorrow. Look, we're not saying it can't be done, but unless the hefty price tag of the Blu-ray behemoth outstrips consumer interest, it seems like we could be in for some serious shortages come the holiday buying season.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Kaz Hirai promises us the PS3 isn't in production yet
Perhaps promise is the wrong word to use, but Kaz wouldn't know anything about that, would he? Seriously though, Kaz Hirai went on record with gamespot to talk about the previous analyst report of Sony topping the charts in 2011. He said the Yankee Group looked at all the information available to them and said that, naturally, "I obviously think that they did a great job on this report." Of course, of course. But what about the title of this article?Kaz: "we're internally really getting geared up to go to market with this beautiful console in three months' time, and at this point in time all signs are good to go." This is good, this is good. What about shortages? Kaz responds thus: "unfortunately, I think it's going to be very much of a challenge to be able to meet every single unit demand that's out there in the market." Basically, yeah, there probably will be. If not in the US, Japan will have some. If neither, then Europe. Someone will.But, really, Mr. Hirai, are the PS3's being manufactured? "We haven't started manufacturing yet. Some of our ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the [production] lines and everything else. But they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going." Isn't that dangerous, though? It's only three months away... maybe not. Whatever. Also, the online service will be up and running upon PS3 launch.There's so much information in this article! Read it! Comment here on it, because there's too much to fit under one subject heading. It's very excellent reading and we can probably find a lot more to discuss.
Catching up with Kaz and the PS3 [update 1]
GameSpot recently had a chat with Sony Computer Entertainment American President Kaz Hirai and the status of the PlayStation 3 as it nears launch three months from now. While Kaz didn't necessarily come out and say anything that wasn't already known, there were a few interesting notes to be taken away from the piece. Here are the golden nuggets, so to speak, of the long-winded interview: My plan basically is to make sure that we keep at least as much market share as we have had with the PS1 and the PS2. ... I'd like to think that our market share will be as good -- if not better -- than what we've accomplished with the PS2 in the same kind of time frame since launch. ... we're internally really getting geared up to go to market with this beautiful console in three months' time, and at this point in time all signs are good to go. ... we've always talked about shipping 2 million units worldwide within the calendar year. Since we're going with three territories, we haven't really come up with an allocation just yet. ... I think it's going to be very much of a challenge to be able to meet every single unit demand that's out there in the market. We haven't started manufacturing yet. I think it's too early to say at this point in time which games definitively are going to be launch titles, and I certainly can't speak for the third parties. We definitely plan, and will leverage a lot -- if not most -- of the entertainment content that Sony brings. Having said that though, we want to make sure that we're not just suddenly becoming a vehicle for delivering Sony entertainment content only. Between PlayStation, PS2 and PSP, the PSP happens to be the fastest-growing product we've ever launched. I think we cleared 20 million units worldwide within the first what, about 18 months or so. And in the US, we've already cleared 5.2 million. Again, [there are] no adjustments on the horizon as far as PSP [pricing] goes. We're happy with the pricing, we're happy with the value proposition ... Even after all the bad press and poor E3 showing, Kaz and Sony still feel very comfortable with what direction the PS3 will be going. What is your ultimate (non-fanboy) prediction now that we're three months away from launch?[Update: SCEA contacted us to let us know that Kaz's statements were "misunderstood." They issued the following statement: "Unfortunately Kaz Hirai's comments in the recent GameSpot interview regarding PLAYSTATION 3 production were misunderstood. We are still on schedule to ship 2 million units for our mid-November 2006 launch and additional 2 million units by the end of the year for a total of 4 million units." Damage control? Perhaps (we're still having trouble rectifying how his statements regarding "2 million units worldwide within the calendar year" could be misunderstood). We don't think anyone (at Sony, Joystiq, or elsewhere) is under the impression there won't be any PS3 shortages, but Sony appears confidant they'll have 4 million of these puppies out the door by end of year.]
Kaz Hirai talks PSP, denies redesign
Nintendo fans have Reggie. We have Kaz. There's no real new info in his interview with Gamespot, but it's always interesting when a Sony exec goes on the record about the system. Here are some bullet points summarizing what he said: Sony is still "hard at work" on Connect. (Note: It was originally supposed to come out in March.) PSone downloads will come "close" to the PS3 launch. "Obviously, we certainly are not going to have 1,200 titles come out at once. You also need to realize that some of the games just don't translate well onto a PSP environment, games that require the use of the two analog sticks, for example." No plans for a PSP price drop OR redesign. Sony is "happy" with PSP; it is their "fastest-growing product."
10,000 dev kits shipped -- Sony pats itself on the back
Get prepared for a heaping pile of good news, Sony fans and Sony so-so's alike! Official news from SCEA's PR Manager, Ryan Bowling, has arrived. Just like Krazy Kaz said at the E3 press conference (although he may have been a bit early in saying so), more than 10,000 development kits have been sent out -- to 208 companies in 11 countries. That's good news, since it's an official statement. What's more is that the number of dev kits delivered is far more than Sony's older platforms, even the XBox 360 didn't send out so many. It's a good thing to get these kits in as many hands as possible.Although... with SO many dev kits at SO many companies, why are we only hearing about a handful of games? How many could be in the works? God of War certainly came out of left field, so who can say something similar won't magically appear at the Tokyo Game Show? The TGS, guys, it's pretty much Sony's last chance to show the world "hey look, we've got a lot of games and more than a handful seem interesting... Riiiiiiiiidge Racer!" Well, maybe without the Ridge Racer. C'mon, you 208 companies! Show us what you've been cooking. We're hungry for some great PS3 gaming.
