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Australia <3 PSP, according to SCEA
SCEA being Sony Computer Entertainment of America Australia, of course. Michael Ephraim recently spoke with The Age about the success of PSP in the country that fellow blogger, Chris Powell, seems to have an unhealthy obsession with. When asked how he felt about the battle between the DS and PSP, he had this to say:"If you look at the markets, they are completely different. The DS really appeals to a lot younger, very female skewed, and the DS has done a fabulous job. PSP is a product that if you go back to the analogy of PlayStation and PlayStation 2, they are leaders in their field as far as the consumer offering. Price points, perceptions, or consumers coming to grips with what the device truly offers and the value that it offers, does take time. At approximately just under 200,000 PSPs sold in Australia and over 22 million sold worldwide, if you hold that up against any other gaming category, it's done extremely well.""All our research shows that the consumers that have purchased the device think its one of the sexiest and best designed digital devices out in the marketplace. The screen quality is exceptional. But we know we have more work to do on PSP and we have some plans for Christmas this year that will think will help pick up sales, and of course when PS3 comes out, the compatibility with PSP will add even more value. So we would like more sales but we have an incredible foundation, research shows those people who have bought it love it, and we need to just educate the consumers a bit more and show them what applications the PSP is capable of to show the device's value for money."I completely agree, Mr. Ephraim. At 22 million sold worldwide, the system is certainly not a failure, like people are trying to paint it to be. The system is quite successful, and with its ability to do so much, it really is a great value. Sure, it costs $70 more than DS, but you get a whole heck of a lot more.[Via Gamasutra]
Jack Tretton reveals bullish numbers for Sony
An interview with GameDaily BIZ reveals optimism for SCEA Executive VP Jack Tretton. While many find it easy to criticize Sony's moves as of late, there's no denying that press attitudes and reality may differ greatly. For example, according internal sell-through data, the PSP is a much faster success than the original PS1: 18 months after launch of each system, the PSP sold 5.30 million units in America compared to the PS1's 3.48 million."We really feel we carved out new territory [with the PS1] and then we built upon that with the PS2. The parallel that we draw to the PSP is that it is exactly the same to portable gaming to what the PlayStation was to console gaming, that we are carving this new road out and we are selling again to 20-something consumers that were not fans of portable entertainment, were not playing Game Boys because the technology and the software offerings just weren't appealing to them... And now because of the technology in PSP and the game offerings it appeals to them and that same consumer we carved out with the PlayStation is now being carved out with the PSP at an even much greater rate than we did with the original PlayStation"The executive rightly questions whether or not Nintendo is truly "expanding" the market. He suggests that most DS owners have owned a Game Boy Advance in the past. The PSP can appeal to a wider demographic, considering how gamers are getting older and demand more mature games and multimedia functions out of their handhelds. He questions that older gamers would want Brain Age over a PSP: "I would tell you for a fact that there are much more people in their 50s and 60s playing PlayStation platforms in terms of console, than there are playing Nintendo platforms."[Via Joystiq]
Joystiq interview: Jenova Chen
Xinghan (Jenova) Chen has big dreams. A recent graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinema & Television, Chen focused his master's thesis on changing how game designers look at difficulty and redefine the concept of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. With two award-winning independent games (flOw and Cloud) under his belt as well as contributions to a multitude of other games, Chen's resume reads like an old professional in the gaming field. We had a chance to speak with Chen to talk about his thesis, its (mis)interpretations, and his current work with Maxis. Why did you choose this project as your Master's Thesis? The Master's Thesis has to have some contribution to the field that you want to be a master. For me, I have created so many games in the past I feel just creating another game is not contributing anything. I'm more interesting in coming up with another solution in better game design that can be used by other game designers to attract more gamers. For other industries, any kind of interactive design, the theories in this project are helpful.
SCEA announces new communications director
It's been widely speculated that the resignation of Molly Smith, SCEA senior director of communications and brand development, in June was due to Sony's horrid showing at E3.What ever the case may be, Sony has appointed her replacement, Dave Karraker, former public relations chief for brands including Stolichnaya, Maker's Mark, Kahlua, Beefeater, and Courvoisier.According to Gamasutra, Karraker will report directly to Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and will manage the SCEA's communications team responsible for PlayStation products in the North America, including the original PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP and all first-party PlayStation software. "Dave has the ideal blend of videogame, large consumer brand and retail experience to help us meet our goals with the PlayStation brand," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "SCEA's communications team will play a key role in the successful launch of the PlayStation 3, focusing on driving not only consumer demand, but also retailer excitement and synergies across the Sony family of companies." We'll see Mr. Dille, we'll see.(Via Gamasutra)
Sony of America responds to PS3 shortage
Dave Karraker, a big name at Sony Computer Entertainment America, sat down with IGN to respond to the influx of terrible Sony news plaguing the multiverse. We'll summarize the key Q&A below. The 500,000 unit statement is completely true. The North American numbers (400,000) is just below what the PS2 launch had available and is higher than the initial Xbox360 numbers. There will be 1-1.2 million PS3's by the end of December in the US. Sony is still confident in the 6 million fiscal year end mark. Why? They believe the production of the blue laser diodes will grow more efficient over the next couple of months and drastically increase supply. Sony does accept the fact this error has damaged their image, but remain steadfast the PS3 will sell through its entire inventory. As Karraker said, "Any time you push the envelope as far as we are pushing it, there are risks. However, at the end of the day, when people see how advanced this system is, the snags we may have encountered along the way, will quickly fade into the past." Hope so! You can check out the other pieces of the interview if you would like, but most else is just filler or not quite as pertinent to the shortage itself. We've got to stay strong! Sony isn't giving up, so we shouldn't give up on them either. Let's try to give 'em a little love, whaddya say?
SCEA fills months-vacant top PR slot. Salut!
After Molly Smith jumped ship back in the beginning of June, we wondered who Sony would tap to lead their foundering PR efforts. As of yesterday (three months after Molly's departure) they've finally got their man: Dave Karraker, former PR chief for brands including Stolichnaya, Maker's Mark, Kahlua, Beefeater, and Courvoisier. Let's hope that he got a nice parting gift from his previous employer, because he's going to need a stiff drink (or three) to sort out the shambles that Sony PR is in. Let's also hope that Dave's brought his bag of high-proof tricks to Sony. Sellers of tipple have long claimed that underage youth are buying their goods without any attempt on their part to market to those youth. That's pretty badass right there, so imagine what the man should be able to do with a product that's actually legal for those under drinking age...
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.
Kaz Hirai and David Reeves promoted ... wait, what?
Kaz Hirai and David Reeves have done it! They've been promoted even further than their positions as presidents and CEOs of SCEA and SCEE, respectively and have added executive vice-presidents of the Tokyo corporate executive group. Now these gents will not only be in charge of the PS3's release in America and Europe, but they will have a very important say in all of Sony's business strategy planning.What does this mean for everyone else? Take into account everything Krazy Kaz has said, and multiply that times ... Sony's business strategies and planning and you get some pretty tedious situations. Not to bash his promotion -- Sony obviously sees something excellent in him and in David Reeves, but with all the negative press being garnered around the Playstation 3, it doesn't look like a good move to us. Again, it's not possible to really say yea or nay to the move, but it kind of evokes a small chortle. Was it really good to put Kaz and Reeves pretty much in charge of planning and strategy for all of Sony? Time will surely tell.
Sony not so concerned with market share -- ah, that explains it
We've been scratching our heads over all the wild Sony moves during the past few months -- with pricing themselves almost out of the game right at the top of our list -- but we'd been apparently laboring under a false assumption. Silly us, we thought Sony was planning on grabbing market share in this console generation, but we were oh so wrong. "The name of the game is not market share, it's how fast we can grow the industry," says David Reeves, head of Sony Europe, who went on to say "We want to try and double digital entertainment in the next five to six years. Whether we have 40, 50, or 60 per cent market share is not that important." Good to know guys, we're really sorry for getting on your case about all this stuff, we had no idea you're not feeling so competitive this time around. As a side note, Molly Smith, Sony's SCEA PR chief who was brought on shortly after the launch of the PS1, has recently and unexpectedly resigned her post, no word why, but we're sure she's glad to not be dealing with this little sound bite.Read - Sony not concerned with market shareRead - PlayStation PR chief resigns
First shot of Factor 5's Lair for PS3! [Update 1]
This image, reportedly of Factor 5's upcoming PS3 title Lair, recently surfaced on the Internet. Aside from a short trailer on display at TGS last year, little has been seen of Lair, which focuses on dragon combat. If this is an in-game shot, which the visible HUD-like information (action icon, life bar) seems to indicate, than Lair is shaping up to be a visual masterpiece. But given the current track record of pre-release PS3 media, we're not gonna jump on the bandwagon — just yet.UPDATE: added link to high-res image.
