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TGS: Blogging Ken Kutaragi's PS3 keynote [update 1]
It's hot and humid outside the room in which Sony's Ken Kutaragi will deliver the most anticipated keynote address of Tokyo Games Show. The journalists who are queuing up are sure to be tired and cranky by the time they get into the show, ensuring, perhaps, a properly sceptical reception for the tsu-hype-nami to follow.After a raucous round of DS PictoChat, the keynote starts at 10:11am. Introducing Ken Kutaragi, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment, reading from his latest work, "PS3 Creating Next Generation of Computer Entertainment."Sony asks us to refrain from taking pictures of demo stuff. Fine, we'll oblige, but we won't like it. 'Cause you wouldn't want to show off the product you want everyone to buy in a couple months. Instead, we'll provide some additional color commentary, courtesy the press and attendees hanging out in the DS PictoChat chatroom.
Kutaragi keynote address yields a PS3 surprise
Leave it to a well-known Japanese reporter to squeeze the best information possible out of our lovably affable laughable bearable er... our Ken Kutaragi. Twin-K (you may pronounce this as either Twinkie or Twin-Kay) gave the reporter two things, count 'em, two, that turned the audience into a massive clapping orgy. The basic PS3 will retail for around 49,800 yen... that's about $425. Will North America get it at said price? Translation was rough and it remains a mystery, but chances are... no. Sony is including HDMI in the console. Kutaragi preceded this with saying that HDMI was unheard of in most TV's at the time of E3, but has become more available and so it is being included with the console... we're assuming he means that the lower-end PS3 will now have HDMI abilities. There is most certainly going to be more Playstation 3 news as the night and day and night and day drag on, so we'll do our best to keep you informed! Now is the time to make any, any requests about things we should hunt out and gather information on. We'll do our best to bring it to you... but, uh, keep it oriented towards Sony and/or the PS3.[via Joystiq]
PS3 is weighed and judged by Joystiq
While the original article can be found at the Associated Content site, our pals at Joystiq have summed up the pros and cons of the PS3 in such an easy to peruse way. This list will highlight the most important, albeit opinionated, pros and cons. Feel free to check out the original or Joystiq's for this game of internet telephone.Pros: Backwards compatibility Standard hard-drives Web browsing Cell processor potential Cons (roll your eyes now): Cost No more rumble feature Game prices may be high The other cons seem to be there simply to make the list in comparable length to the pros. System size? Ken Kutaragi? Okay, but they seem fairly... lame. Who cares if a system is larger than a lunchbox (GameCube)? Ken Kutaragi isn't going to be popping out of our PS3's anytime soon, so he shouldn't be mentioned. He may be a concern to developers, but not us. He's a source of humor and silliness. What of Blu-ray? Well, the storage size doesn't quite seem necessary and it's expensive, but judging something before we can actually see results is unfair. So it's been left off of this condensed list. Same with the online service. Since none of us have been able to utilize it, we can't rightfully say anything about it. Make of it what you will.[via Joystiq]
Sony's Yuhara: more red ahead
Following yesterday's doom and gloom from their Games division, Sony Senior VP Takao Yuhara had more bad news for investors today: the PlayStation maker expects significant losses for Q3. As manufacturing costs for the "too cheap" PS3 continue to put Sony in a financial hole, the electronics leader is becoming even more reliant on consumers' willingness to plunk down $600 for the next gen console. In order to recoup losses within an estimated five year period, the cell processor must also be successfully incorporated into other consumer devices.Yuhara commented, "We might see valuation losses of a size that we cannot laugh away in the quarter." Think this is stopping "Crazy Ken" Kutaragi from laughing?
Kutaragi, hast thou forsaken the gamer?
Normally, rumors should be treated just as rumors and taken with a couple dozen grains of salt, but every once in a while one comes along that is, at the very least, fun to debate. According to Kotaku.com, a reputable source recounted an off-the-record conversation with Ken Kutaragi regarding his motives. He is said to be interested "only in consoles and technology. He does not care about the market." There's internal strife at Sony, since many disagree with Kutaragi in that respect. Not to mention twin-K's stance on the PS3 being for a "specific customer" and not a machine for all people (a la Wii's angle).Another point of noticeable dischord is an inability to agree on what the PS3 actually is. Some say a game machine, some say a movie player. But no one is saying it's akin to a PC? Hmm. I thought that was a Sony angle, but apparently it wasn't even mentioned. The split in what the PS3 is causes a rupture in the market as well. People wanting a game machine will be put off by the Blu-Ray inclusion and people wanting a movie player aren't interested in a game machine.Development costs were also mentioned. The source claimed that "many small and medium-sized developers are not making PS3 games, because costs are astronomical. Instead, they are switching to the Wii, the DS and the Xbox 360." More or less, but the last statement from the source claiming everyone thinks the PS3 is a risk is a bit off, since we've mentioned quite a few supporters now and then. Again, grain of salt. What does everyone think?
Kutaragi to not make a fool of himself at the Tokyo Game Show
Ken Kutaragi, the big man at Sony, will be delivering a keynote address at the TGS entitled "Next Generation Entertainment Made By The PS3". In a sort of debate, without the actual arguing, Square-Enix head honcho Yoichi Wada will deliver a type of counter-speech entitled "The Game Industry's Potential and Problems". While being able to sit in on these speeches would be awesome, they're being given the day before the TGS opens for the public. Oh well.What could Krazy Kaptain Ken Kutaragi (not to be confused with the non-kaptained Krazy Kaz and his silly mouth) show the press? Last year Nintendo unveiled their Wiimote. That's a tough act to follow. Showing game previews is all well and good, but, isn't that what the actual TGS is for? Perhaps there's something else we overlooked about the PS3 that will be explained, (memory card saves, please! Well... some people have a lot of memory cards with a lot of data... some people.) or we could just forget about last year's big deal and let Kutaragi roll on his own. This show might just showcase some of the more coveted titles coming out for not only the PS3, but every next-gen system. Better late than never.
Stringer says PS3 is "future proof."
According to 1Up, Sony head honcho, Howard Stringer, claimed yesterday that the PS3 is "future-proof." Speaking of the 360, Stringer said that it was a "cheaper transitional" product. Stringer re-emphasizes the idea that PS3 is going to magically break the console cycle and last for decades: "When you bring into new technology, do you go for a cheaper transitional [product], or do you take a chance on future-proof, higher technology which will keep you going for many, many years?" Concerning PS3's incredibly egregious price, Stringer stated, "The price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential." Really? Potential? And all this time I thought I was paying for something that plays video games. Of course the PS3 will be successful, but come on. Lay off the shtick, Howy. You're starting to sound like Krazy Ken. [Via Aggravated Gamers] By the way, Weblogs Inc. started having server problems as I typed this post. It happened at about the same time that I uploaded the pic of Howy there. I'm not saying the two things are related. I'm just saying is all...
Ballmer and Kutaragi "don't matter," says Business 2.0
In addition to running a list of the top-50 people who do matter (including Blizzard's Mike Morhaime), Business 2.0 compiled its counterpart as well: a list of "10 people who don't matter" in business.Included in this dubious roundup are both Microsoft CEO Steve (FrankenSteve) Ballmer and Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken (what'd he say?) Kutaragi. While Ballmer's role at Microsoft clearly affects the relatively isolated Xbox group, Kutaragi's role at SCE is much more entangled. Business 2.0's criticisms of Kutaragi are, therefore, rather pointed:"Remember the Betamax debacle? Sony seems to have forgotten all about it. Under Kutaragi, who is the power behind Sony's PlayStation videogame consoles, the company is launching another format war with its Blu-Ray high-definition videodisc, the successor to the venerable DVD. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3, which was supposed to put Blu-Ray into millions of living rooms, is months late and hundreds of dollars more expensive than competing consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo - largely because it includes one-of-a-kind technologies like Blu-Ray. The delays and cost overruns are likely to make both the PS3 and Blu-Ray nonstarters."Ouch! So Sony gets rapped on their knuckles, Microsoft gets detention, and Nintendo ... well, looks like Satoru Iwata and co. managed to go unnoticed, like the shy, likable kid who sat at the back of the classroom.
PS2 is not a computer, says Lord Justice [Update 1]
After a lengthy journey through legal loopholes and import tax laws, an English court has come to the conclusion that the PS2 is not, in fact, an "automatic data processing machine". This doesn't come as a revelation to Sony but rather, a crushing disappointment in a campaign that might have netted them a hefty 63 million dollars (or 50 million Euro). Had Sony's lawyerbots managed to fool convince the powers that be of the PS2's true computer lineage, the corporation would have received a huge tax refund on import duties, as computers (real ones) didn't fall under that particular tax umbrella between 2001 and 2003. The Court of Appeal's heroically labeled Lord Justice Chadwick wasn't best pleased by Sony's "skeleton" arguments, noting that they went "beyond what can be regarded as acceptable written advocacy" and exceeded "the bounds of propriety." If there's anything we've learned over the years, it's that one should never cross a man who wields a tiny hammer. It simply isn't a VAIOble strategy. (Sorry.)All of this comes on the heels of Ken Kutaragi's insistence that the PS3 is "clearly a computer." It's okay, Ken. You can drop the act now. European import tax on video game consoles dropped to zero percent in 2004.[Update 1: Clarified our amusement at the "Lord Justice" label. Surely, he must be a superhero of some sorts.]
Pressures to deliver Gran Turismo HD demo
Imagine you're in one of the most premier developing houses around, and you've suddenly been asked to ensure the showing of a historically impressive franchise at the biggest videogame gathering in the world. And you've got three weeks to do it.This is what was going through Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi when he was personally asked by Ken Kutaragi to have something ready for E3 concerning Gran Turismo. So with three weeks to go before the big event, the staff set to work. The magic happened thanks to hi-res car models from the Photo Mode in Gran Turismo 4.Now if only every developer had that kind of work ethic (Duke Nukem Forever anyone?).
Kutaragi: PS3 online will be free, digital distribution is the future [update 1]
Speaking to Japanese site PC Impress Watch, Sony's original smack talker (not that one) Ken Kutaragi has confirmed that the PlayStation 3's online service will be free. Indeed, Kutaragi believes the revenue will come from digital downloads provided to the PS3. "We really wanted to do this with the PS2," said Kutaragi, "but now Apple has realised a successful e-distribution program, it's about time we made our move, too."In the same interview, Kutaragi predicts that consumers will embrace digital downloads within one to two years. Eventually, he believes, optical drives will be obsolete, and later all disk storage. "I expect even the hard disk to disappear eventually," notes Kutaragi. "If you have all the data on servers, you probably no longer need disk drives ... but to do this, the server is crucial. It's a difficult problem."[Thanks, Ethan][update 1: fixed the title; also, as many have pointed out, it should be noted that what is considered "online" by Kutaragi is rather vague -- it could be that multiplayer gaming is free, or it could mean that connecting to a central hub is free. Also, within one to two years, he is hoping users will embrace digital downloads -- not use them exclusively. Thus, the Blu-ray will still be a viable format for Sony.]
Kutaragi: PlayStation 3 is "too cheap"
In a disturbing twist, Ken Kutaragi has gone on record stating that the PlayStation 3's $600 price tag is "too cheap." The SCE president has again compared the forthcoming console to a fine dining experience. His argument is that no one calls into question the price differential between some slop at the cafeteria and a meal at an upscale restaurant. From his (deep pockets) point of view, "If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem."Does Sony's braggadocio excite anyone? Because it's turning us off.After a paltry E3 showing - from a games perspective - it's hard to see the PS3 as anything more than a Trojan horse for sneaking (relatively) cheap Blu-ray devices into consumers' homes. The PlayStation brand is being pimped, and gamers are paying for it, literally. It's ridiculous for Kutaragi to suggest that his company is doing us a favor by launching the PS3 for $600. It's also disrespectful. Who else gets the feeling that Sony is looking down on us?
Wild industry statements to prepare you for tomorrow
In just a few short hours, Ken Kutaragi will take center stage at a Sony press event (previously open only to third-party licensees) and drop some details about the PS3.As the only thing we're fairly sure of at this point is that the system will be delayed for a few months, we want everyone to be prepared for the massive spin and boisterous boasting that will surely ensue.That's why it's important that you gird yourself for the worst by reading IGN's Top 10 list of the wildest statements made by industry veterans, 'cuz once you read everything that Ken and company have had to say in the past, nothing will seem all that outrageous in the future. We think... "Starting from next year, you can jack into The Matrix!" Before the PS2. Not as metaphysical as living Peter Moore's lucid dream, but still... wow.See also: PlayStation 3 in Tokyo tomorrow, Sony confirms Breaking News: PS3 delayed until November!
PlayStation 3 in Tokyo tomorrow, Sony confirms
Sony poked its head out from behind the curtain long enough to confirm rumors that new PlayStation 3 details will be announced tomorrow at a conference in Tokyo. Ken Kutaragi will address the media, analysts, and publishing partners, in what looks to be Sony's last opportunity to discuss the PS3 before Phil Harrison's GDC keynote. GameIndustry.biz speculates that the event will include information about the pricing, launch date and initial software line-up. Plans to officially unveil screenshots for a PS3 version of Untold Legends have already been revealed (note: the images were leaked last week).[Thanks, Lesley]
