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SCEE to lay off a good number of employees
Layoffs suck. Especially when you don't expect them to happen, as the fortune cookie is meant to show. Chances are, in our lifetimes, we'll all be subject to at least one layoff scare. Joystiq got it right -- Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is pulling an Office Space (complete with John McGinley). The number of layoffs is still up in the air, but it's rumored to be around 160. That's a lot of people (nearly 10% of SCEE's workforce). The reasoning is to streamline communications and reduce costs. Fair enough, but there's always two sides to the coin.This is no time to point fingers and giggle, fanboys of competing consoles. This has nothing to do with flamebait, flamewar, PS3 sales, or whatever. The facts are these: the company has dropped over $1 billion over the last year. That sucks. It is a sad day, but one that every company falls into at some point. [also available at Joystiq]
SCEE may lay off 10 percent of staff
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe may be tightening its belt in the coming days, with a layoff of up to 10% of its workforce (about 160 employees) on the horizon. GameDaily BIZ has confirmed with SCEE spokesman Nick Sharples that the firings are in the works. Sharples' tone suggests that the layoffs are all but a certainty. The exact number of pink slips to be handed out, drawn from GameDaily's anonymous tipster, is still unconfirmed. Sharples chalks up the downsizing to the company's need to streamline operations and reduce costs, which seems like as good a reason as any to lay off some of your staff. There will obviously be temptation to lump this together with negative PS3 sales reports or price drops in the UK, but we'd rather not turn the firing of 160 humans into flamewar fodder. Here are the facts: 1) The company's game division lost around $446 million last year, a drop of more than $1 billion from the year prior. 2) Companies hate losing money. 3) There is no number three. Our sympathies go out to those who might soon be jobless. May we suggest PC gaming as your next endeavor? Romero says it's going to be huge.
Sony hopped on the April Fool's bandwagon
We're calling it the April Fool's bandwagon because it's actually not that, but it would have been a better excuse by Sony instead of calling the release schedule on their UK site untrue. We typed up a nice article yesterday with no intent to fool anyone, yet that's exactly what happened. Just as an aside, if I had made an April Fool's article, it would've been too mean so I decided against it. I'm not good at drawing that line, so I utilized the better part of valor (that's discretion).A Sony spokesperson addressed the issue thus: "We haven't got any release dates for those at the moment; they're just pencilled in for 2007." She's referring to Lair and Heavenly Sword. Why did I just assume it was a woman? Strange. He or she. Anyway, we know that's what they said, but... Lair has been anticipated for May release for a while now. We're going to bank on it still coming out at that time -- Heavenly Sword will come a month or two later, at least in Europe (it's made by an SCEE studio, so they should get dibs). Sorry guys. I was excited too. Let us join together for an angry fist-shake at the Sony webpage designers!
Many territories are lacking PS3 online store
Our apologies to PlayStation 3 owners in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Slovenia, among many others. According to SCEE Director of Corporate Communications Nick Sharples, many of the over 102 territories in the region have no access to the PlayStation 3 Online Store. Different currencies and languages were cited as reasons for the delay. "Stores will reach some territories in due course," he told Games Industry.No dates have been given for upcoming store launches. Sharples also said that some territories will not get a store at all due to other factors such as broadband penetration. "The PS Store may not be accessible in Azerbaijan, for example," he said. We don't have console sale data for each of these countries, so we would love to hear from PS3 owners gaming sans online store how much they care about it, if at all.[Via PS3 Fanboy][Update 1: Fixed a misrepresentation of Sharples' quotes.]
Sony UK talks redesign plans, then denies it (again)
What a tumultuous ride this has been: SCEA says no redesign, and then SCEE managing director Ray Maguire slipped that Sony's current PSP offering was just the "first iteration" of the platform. Speaking at the PSP in Education event, he noted that a smaller, lighter version of the console was coming. Like John Koller, he made specific note that the screen size will never get smaller: it's one of the PSP's best features.Immediately after the event, a Sony spokesperson told Gamesindustry.biz that there are no immediate changes planned for the system: the only developments would come in the form of firmware updates. So, what's the truth, Sony? We've been hearing way too many conflicting reports about this touchy subject.[Via Eurogamer]
Sony talks about the backwards compatibility thingy
Looking ahead, I have a lot of exciting news for you guys today! I'll get it all typed up now, before 1PM, but it's all set to publish throughout the day (one of the reasons it seems we're slow, actually... got to spread out the news. Tossin' it all out in a two hour timeframe really doesn't make much business sense). First up is this, our follow up to the announcement that Sony will release a new version of the PS3 in Europe, sacrificing some backwards compatibility temporarily as well as our other post describing how this is just temporary but may be indicative of a price cut next year due to decreased manufacturing costs.Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's big brother, SCEI, has issued a statement regarding the backwards compatibility software stuff. Really, they should've just quoted us. I think we made a pretty decent rational appeal. What was told/confirmed (even though it pretty much was already) is that "Sony is including hardware of some form that will take the place of the Graphics Synthesizer graphics chip. The Emotion Engine CPU functionality will be replicated entirely through software emulation." Still no word on actual percentages of games playable from the past, but we've said enough on this topic. Let's all collectively shrug, keep our PS2's in a closet for when we want them, and move on. This isn't good news, but it's in no way "OMFG liek boo sONy!" news.
Europe's PS3 to have limited PS2 backwards compatibility?
We'll admit, we're feeling starting to feel for you folks in Europe, as not only do you now have to actually pay attention to where you're driving, but the PlayStation 3 you were planning on snagging exactly one month from today might be hamstringed right out of the box. According to comments made by David Reeves, president of SCEE, support for PS2 titles will indeed be limited, as he stated that "rather than concentrating on PS2 backwards compatibility, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3." It seems that original PlayStation titles won't be hindered all that much, but the situation looks fairly dire for your current PlayStation 2 discs. The actual list of compatible titles won't be published until launch day, and while it was noted that future titles could be added through PlayStation Network downloads, a Sony spokesperson purportedly stated that "backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as in the US and Japanese models." The reason, while still not pinpointed, could potentially be linked to the Euro-spec'd PS3 rocking a "new chassis" designed to bring manufacturing costs of the console down, which might have demanded some hardware cutbacks somewhere along the line. Regardless of the "why," it looks like UK users could get snubbed by Sony once again, so we seriously hope your PS2 won't mind sharing cabinet space with its newfangled sibling come March 23rd.[Thanks, Stoo and Ryan]
Analyst predicts Euro PS3 price cut within the year
The occasionally apologetic Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities has used his arcane analytical powers to conjure up the following prediction: the Playstation 3 will see a price cut in Europe within the first year of its launch. "The PS3 can command GBP 425 from the hardcore and I think you'll see price cuts a year from now, probably to GBP 300." Pachter believes the costs of a PS3 and a 1080p television to be "worth every penny" and expects the system to sell out very quickly after its European launch on March 23rd.This prediction comes in stark contrast to the words of SCEA chief, Jack Tretton, who told Game Informer that the PS3 would be "difficult to cost reduce" and would not see a price reduction as quickly as the PS2 did. It took 565 days from launch for the PS2's North American price to drop. Even working from the PS3's US release date, the idea of a UK and Europe price drop by March 2008 smells a bit of unfettered optimism.
PlayStation 3 launches March 23 in Europe, 425
Sony has settled on a date. PlayStation 3 will (finally) launch across Europe on Friday, March 23, confirmed the console maker in a statement to-be-released at midnight (GMT), and posted (a bit early) on semi-official Sony blog Three Speech. As expected, only the 60GB HDD model will be available during the initial launch window. The 20GB model will eventually arrive "later in the year."Sony plans to ship 1 million units during the European launch. Three Speech speculates that 300,000 units will go to the UK alone, where PS3 will retail for £425 (except in Ireland). Although not explicitly detailed in the official statement, it was confirmed last week that PS3 would retail for 599 Euros throughout the rest of Europe. Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, and flOw (downloadable) headline a list of 36 expected launch titles (including downloadable games).Sony also confirmed that a worldwide firmware update would coincide with the launch in Europe. The official press release follows...
Pursuit Force sequel: Extreme Justice on PSP & PS2
Bigbig Studios is giving it another shot. Despite the original Pursuit Force falling short of expectations (the North American release was admittedly better tuned), SCEE is giving the developer another chance, announcing Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice for PSP -- and PlayStation 2. Both versions are tentatively planned for release in Europe this summer; apparently giving the PSP version no lead-time.Extreme Justice looks to build off of the same over-the-top action featured in the original. Tanks, trains, and airplanes will be added to the mix of vehicles you can jump between, along with a bike and sidecar, jet skis, helicopter, and hovercraft. In addition, players will be assisted by an AI-controlled task force with characters who specialize in air support, high-speed support, special ops, and heavy assault. The "Justice Bar" will also be added to the playing field, a crutch of sorts, granting rookie super-cops the ability to regain strength and prolong missions.The PSP version will ship with a 4-player ad hoc mode. For PS2, 2-player split-screen multiplayer will be added.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Major PS3 firmware update in March?
What better time to roll out features that should have been included in the initial PlayStation 3 launch than with the console's European debut? We kid (sorta). According to SCEE VP of Technology Paul Holman, Sony will deliver a major firmware update with PS3's release in Europe, still planned for March. While Holman did not dwell on specifics, he alluded to the PS3 becoming "as much a media center for the home as it is a gaming machine," enhanced by forthcoming third party operating systems.Assuming Sony does plan to piece together a full-featured patch for March, the strategy looks to mimic Microsoft's, which after two significant Xbox 360 updates (the first coming in spring, after a winter launch) continues to appease fans. Smart move.[Via RegHardware]
Australia to foster PSP game development
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Game Developer's Association of Australia are teaming up to give PSP gamers more original games. The two companies will work together to foster development teams specifically for the PSP platform.Zeno Colaco, SCEE's Vice President commented, "SCEE are excited to work closely with the GDAA to kick start this initiative in the region. PSP has rapidly established itself as a global format for today's digital consumer. Our goal with this programme is to nurture new talent and widen the spectrum of content providers with traditional and new products which use the full breath of PSP's powerful functionality."This seems like a win-win situation for everyone involved: the Australian games scene is certainly ready to boom, and PSP gamers are always eager for original content, regardless of what EA thinks.[Via IGN]
Why the PS3 is worth the price, Jamie MacDonald edition
We've barked up this tree so many times that the tree would probably bark back... even so, SCE Worldwide Studios Europe VP Jamie MacDonald has some more reasons why the PS3 is worth your pocket change loan. Kind of. More like... he defends Sony from the interviewer. We'll do our own Q&A session here, taking liberties to reword the interview questions to reflect their ulterior motives.Q: I already know the answer, but let's start this off on a negative note: Are you disappointed about Sony delaying the PS3 in Europe?A: "I was gutted...of course I'm disappointed."Q: Let's ask leading question: What would you say to people who want Sony products but feel they're thought of last, being in Europe?A: "European consumers have shown that historically they don't mind that, because they end up buying as many PlayStations, if not more, than the US and Japan."Q: Will the delay change your chances of winning the console battle?A: "I think in the long run, PlayStation 3 will succeed because of the great product it is and the great software we make for it."Q: What do you think of the Wii60 concept? For the price of the PS3 you can get the Wii and the 360 (Not... really... but whatever)?A: "A PlayStation 3 console comes with a Blu-ray disc player in the box, it comes with an HDMI connection in the box, and it comes with a hard disc drive - so the kind of entertainment experience you can get with a PlayStation 3 out of the box really is unique amongst the consoles...it isn't comparing apples to apples."On and on... the annoying part of the interview was where the interviewer blatantly tried to corner Jamie MacDonald with the PSP and it's supposed shortcomings (supposed only because he defended it really well). There are hard-hitting questions, then there's just pestering. This overall media bias is kind of annoying, but perhaps we're overanalyzing. What do you think? Is there a horrible anti-Sony fog hovering amidst the media outlets to the point of ridiculousness?
Rag Doll team enlisted for PS3 exclusive
Mark Healey's Media Molecule has inked a deal with SCEE to develop an exclusive title for PlayStation 3. Having yet to release a game since cutting ties with Lionhead, the small, 20-plus-sized team is hungry to prove themselves.While neither Sony or Media Molecule is yet prepared to speak publicly about the concept behind this new title, Mark Healy was quick to tout his small team's abilities, boasting, "[we] can deliver a world class, triple A, next generation product." If successful, Media Molecule could blaze the trail for a new generation of small development teams that provide innovative "next-gen" content on a cost effective scale ... while multimillion-dollar uber-studios blow loads of dough on those spiffy sequels and genre clones.
European PS2 price drop and pretty new pink model [update 1]
Following April's North American PS2 price drop, Sony has announced a European price drop for their top-selling console juggernaut. The formerly €149.99 and £104.99 prices will be lowered to €129.99 and £94.99 respectively, still a good deal more expensive than the $130 US asking price. They've also lowered the price of the Memory Card to €19.99. While this isn't quite the budget pricing we imagine the non-PS2-owner is waiting for, Sony has readied another flank in their assault on these stubborn holdouts.The formula has worked disturbingly well for companies like Nintendo and Apple: a fresh coat of paint and you've opened up a whole new customer base. The new Pink PlayStation 2 will debut at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany, August 23-27th. This sexy little thing is going out dancing with a pair of Dual Shock controllers and a Memory Card, and they're all wearing their prettiest matching pink outfits. And, UK-only, they'll be joining up with SingStar Pop at the karaoke club! Just how much will this little bundle of fun cost? €159.99 or £129.99 in UK (bundled with SingStar Pop). Seriously, resistance is futile Europe.[Update: These things come in threes. It looks like the PS2 isn't the only console getting the pink treatment. Those rumors (from last year!) may have been premature, but Sony is finally making a pink PSP! Joy! It will be available Oct. 27th in Europe only for €229, or £169. They're also employing colorfully-named popstress P!nk to pimp their pink PSPs. We can think of a lot of things we'd rather have Sony invest their efforts in PSP-wise than a pink version. Just saying.]Read - SCEE Announces Introduction of Pink PS2Read - SCEE Announces New Price for PS2Read - A pink PSP to match the PS2
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.
Was Microsoft's vision for Vanguard Vista exclusive? [Update 1]
Sigil Games, developers of the upcoming MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, shocked quite a few people by announcing that they were buying the publishing rights from Microsoft so that they could co-publish the title with Sony Online Entertainment. We've already provided some speculation about what the "varying visions and direction for the title's development" between Microsoft and Sigil were, but a tipster (who asked to remain unnamed) from E3 provides another possible reason for the split. Our tipster claims to have spoken to several developers working at Sigil and at another development company that has Microsoft as a publisher -- we'd say the meat of the tip is on the same level of credibility as someone saying that the Government is tapping your phone (yes, I made a political joke -- the first comment to judge my political affiliation wins my apathy!).According to our tipster, Microsoft intended to make Vanguard a Vista-exclusive title and Sigil didn't like it. The fact that XP users wouldn't have been able to play the game (limiting the user base quite drastically) and Windows Vista's notoriously slippery release date being the obvious disadvantages of such a move on the part of Sigil. If true, the motivation for Microsoft would have been that the title would be the first MMO to take advantage of Live Anywhere, Microsoft's online games platform which blends Xbox 360, PC and mobile phone devices: more Vista sales = profit!It's credible that Microsoft wanted to use Vanguard as the first MMO to work with Live Anywhere but that Sigil didn't want its game to be Microsoft's guinea pig and therefore bought the publishing rights. With Vista around the corner, Microsoft wants to provide as much incentive for gamers to upgrade and by making big name games playable exclusively on Vista it can gain that incentive. At the very least we get a kick out of discussing the vague PR explanations of the reasons behind leaving a game's publisher during the beta stage. It's impossible for us to believe that simple, meaningless "varying visions" caused this massive, late in the game move.Update 1: Brad McQuaid (Sigil CEO, creator of MMORPG Everquest) responds by saying "false rumor", but Joystiq commentator Jack Slater cleverly rebukes: "personally I would just deny everything if I was him, as there is no legal obligation for me to tell the truth on the forums but there is likely a legal obligation to keep the reason for leaving Microsoft undisclosed." Meanwhile, Ctrl+Alt+Del daydreams about how the meeting between McQuiad, Microsoft and Sony went. Funny stuff.
PS3 price point comments poorly translated
We were kind of expecting this to happen: Sony has stated that the comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment France boss Georges Fornay yesterday regarding the price of the PS3 were "not an indication of PS3 pricing" and were "mistranslated or misunderstood". He was in fact speculating that if the PS3 were to launch between €499 and €599 it would be considered cheap in comparison to dedicated Blu-Ray drives (which start at around €700) but that "current video games machines" (excluding the Xbox 360, natch) would still be significantly cheaper than the PS3. Gamesindustry.biz says that this correction suggests the PS3 could launch from anywhere between €150 and €800, but if you ask us that range is about as useful as anywhere between one and infinity. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
PS3 could debut in Europe for 500 euros, says SCEE exec
La PlayStation Trois! French gamers must be familiar with that combination by now, and if a certain Sony executive gets his way, the PS3 could be appearing in Europe for as low as 500 euros this fall.Apparently George Fornay (president of Sony Computer Entertainment France and vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) confirmed to Generation Europe 1, in French, that the PS3 could be priced around the 500 euro mark, most likely between 499 euros and 599 euros. For the unfiltered French audio, try the Play button near the middle of Europe 1's podcast page here.Such an estimated figure may include Europe's Value Added Tax (VAT), so the final price range in the States might well be lower than the current U.S. currency equivalent of roughly $600-$725 for those many euros. Of course, who's to say whether Mr. Fornay was simply speculating on a local podcast or whether he actually exhibited loose lips before the French press?[Thanks, Fan; also via Joystiq]
SCEE VP says PS3 will cost 499 to 599 euros
In a radio interview with Générations Europe 1 yesterday, George Fornay -- president of Sony Computer Entertainment France and vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe -- let a little something slip: the PlayStation 3 will cost between €499 and €599. That's somewhere between $613 to $736 in American dollars! He was sure to point out that while this might sound like a lot of money for a game system, it was in fact cheap for a Blu-ray compatible playback system. Yay?Since I can't seem to get the radio stream to work (and don't understand French if I could) Update: The radio stream has started cooperating, though the French thing is still in the way. If you speak Français, you can jump to the 8-minute mark for the scoop. The news comes to us (via Google's translation services) from Play France. Now, this could be a language barrier problem, but the untranslated page still reads "entre 499 euros et 599 euros donc."Sony already told us it was going to be expensive and we already know the parts ain't cheap, so either Mr. Fornay is trying to set up an unrealistic price expectation -- only to have it shattered when the PS3 price is revealed to be $7.50 -- or he broke the first (and second) rules of the Sony executive's PS3 club: don't talk about the PS3. This thing is going to cost that much just like the PSP was gonna cost $500.
